FilteringCraig

When I read about someone suing a company, particularly a successful company, I am usually skeptical about the validity even before I get a chance to look at it. It happens too often that people want to make a quick buck by taking a big company to court, possibly even in a class-action setting where they try and get a bunch of people to jump on board. The lawyers in this country also help drive that trend as they get big paydays.

But after reading this complaint against Ebay, I think the people involved might actually have a gripe.

“…eBay tricks the person offering $100 into paying more. It said the company often sends them a note informing them that while they currently have the highest bid, they should consider upping it in case someone else offers more.”

You wouldn’t think this would be a problem. Your $100 bid is still the lowest, but you are going to give yourself a bit of a safety net by throwing a little more margin in there, say $120 but this is the problem.

“As soon as the person states a higher maximum bid, the suit claimed, eBay declares them the winner. But instead of charging them $100 for the item, it said, it bills them $102.50, even though the second-highest bid remained less than $100. The amount of the inflated charges vary, according to the sale price of the product, the suit claimed.”

I am sure they have this covered in their extensive paperwork and disclaimers at Ebay, but to me that is fundamentally unfair. By changing your top-end range, it shouldn’t change the lower end range of your bid. Also, I realize that $2.50 is not a large sum of money, but again we are talking about millions of transactions a year. Millions of items being sold.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Is the Wall Street Journal making itself irrelevant due to its online strategy?

Key Quote:

Nevertheless, the Journal faces an intractable problem. Because you have to subscribe to access both current news articles and the archive, the Journal is leaving only a faint footprint in cyberspace. As with The New York Times, which insists that readers register to view news and pay $3 per article in the archive, the Journal barely shows up on Google or any other search engine. I googled “Enron” — an issue the Journal covered exhaustively, and which two of its reporters even wrote a book about — and not one article appeared within the first 25 pages (250 results.)

I subscribe to both the online and print versions, but I think this article is largely correct that this way of doing business is largely unsustainable. That being said, if there is one publication who will be able to get away with it in the long term it will be the WSJ.

The Complacency of Howard Stern

Key Quote:

Clear Channel and Howard Stern have agreed to withdraw lawsuits against each other related to Stern’s ouster from the radio giant’s airwaves because of indecency concerns.

Stern bitched on-air to no end about this whole thing and how Clear Channel was a bunch of pansies who caved to the FCC. In the end mister “I have Principals” has also backed down now that he has signed a huge deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. I guess in one sense, leaving shows his commitment to his principals, but backing down in his lawsuit with the great evil Clear Channel seems kind of soft.

More on Stern heading to satellite here.

I Support the Occupation of Iraq, But I don’t Support the Troops

Key Quote:

The U.S. went to war in Iraq to remove an evil and dangerous political adversary from power. Now that we have done that, the American troops must remain in Iraq until the country is a fully functioning democracy, able to spark change throughout the entire Middle East. While I find this obvious, there are still a lot of people in our country who fail to grasp it. I support Bush-administration foreign-policy goals, but I stand firmly against the individual men and women on the ground in the Persian Gulf.

Before anyone gets into too big of a hissy fit, this is from the Onion.

It is a flurry of activity at the NBA trading deadline. Webber to 76ers.

I can’t remember a more active season of trading in the NBA at the deadline before. Gary Payton leaves Boston so that Antoine Walker can return. I wonder if Celts fans are happy about that. The 76ers get Chris Webber. How great do they look with AI playing with Chris Webber? Has AI ever had a player this good in the lineup with him? I am going to say no.

Check out ABT electronics for some good deals and free shipping on selected items.

This seems to be one of the better stores online that I have seen for electronics. Reasonable prices, no taxes and free shipping on some stuff.

After many meetings this week, I have a couple of observations.

1. The word is ETCETERA. It is not to be spoken EX-CETERA. Please be wary of this, especially if you plan on saying it more than 10 times in a presentation.

2. Replicative may or may not be a word depending on who you ask. It is listed in the dictionary, but it is highlighted in red in MS Word. If nothing else, there is probably a simpler word that you can use instead.

3. It doesn’t matter what you have to say, or how you explain it. If you look like Major Dad then I am going to spend the rest of your time speaking trying to stifle a laugh while your gruff voice and surly face gets funnier and funnier to the little mice running on wheels in my brain.

4. If, during a long-winded explanation of something, you insist on using the word “basically” over and over again, then basically, what I am saying is that no matter how, basically, you say whatever you are basically trying to say, it won’t seem all that, basically, basic. Basically, that is what I am trying to say. (basically)

5. No matter how much you want to impress your audience with the ease of use of your product, you should never, and I mean never, draw comparisons to the Ron Popeil Automated Spit with the catchphrase “Set it and Forget It!” unless you want to sell me something for a few easy installments of $19.95

6. If you use a three letter abbreviation to talk about a certain kind of technology that is offered and I, being a huge dork, don’t know what you are talking about, how on earth do you expect anyone in the world to have any idea what you are talking about? You can talk all day about the “XYZ” but if nobody knows what the hell that is, then you might as well just shut up.

7. Just because a system has some easy to read details that are somewhat reminiscent of a dashboard, doesn’t mean that we need the verb “dashboarding” in the English language to describe your latest creation.

Jonah Matranga is well traveled if nothing else. I missed out on his first band, Far, but I grew to love his vocals after catching on to his solo project Onelinedrawing and with his part-time band New End Original. Now Jonah is playing the band game again with a new major label gig called Gratitude. Joining him is ex-Crumb guitarist Mark Weinberg.

So, how does a former major-label-darling-gone-indie-kid end up in a project that gets signed to Atlantic Records on the strength of only four songs? All I can say is that crazy things are happening in music right now and it couldn’t have happened to a more gracious and talented performer. Plus, having heard the songs, they are deserving of a little praise.

“Drive Away” combines the bigger guitar sound that Matranga’s voice compliments, with poppy hooks and a melodic chorus. “The Greatest Wonder” sounds like some classic vintage U2. Matranga’s vocals sound similar to Bono, and the delayed guitar sound sounds like something straight out of The Edge’s playbook. Combine that with a very U2-esque drum shuffle and a grandiose arena friendly sound and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear this song fill up every inch of every venue in which it is played just like many of U2’s greatest hits.

Don’t think for a second that Gratitude is a tribute band or anything because they keep true to their various roots. Sometimes backing off to Jonah’s solo style and embracing the heavier and punkier roots that have built the bands to this point. If Jimmy Eat World was a genre, “This is the Part” would fit securely in that realm.

But I back off the comparisons. As I finish listening to this album it makes me feel guilty for having drawn so many parallels between other artists when clearly this record sounds like its own true expression. It is just an all around great rock record. There isn’t one song which totally pulls away from the pack, but as a whole it is infectious with its riffs, melodies and truly wonderful moments.

Knowing Jonah’s career, I can only assume that this will be an even better stage show, so be sure to check out this album and try to catch the band live when they come to your town.

It was really by accident that I came across Iron and Wine’s debut, “The Creek Drank the Cradle.” It is not by accident that I have bought and religiously listened to everything that Samuel Beam has put out under his band moniker since that time. “The Sea and the Rhythm” picked up magically where the debut left off. “Our Endless Numbered Days” expanded on the beautifully poetic style by increasing the production value and adding an expanse of instruments to the mix.

Now it seems that Iron and Wine are aiming to be one of the most prolific recording artists of my lifetime with yet another EP, “The Woman King.” With this many releases, a listener could certainly have an expectation of staleness in the air, but somehow, Sam Beam continues to push the boundaries of a folk style that many would have probably considered old hat, if not boring or dead.

But here he is, pushing again and seemingly adding to the surprising spectacle at every turn. Beam creates another wonderful set of lush harmonic landscapes with his acoustic guitar, scarce drums, and other stringed instruments of any and every kind. Even his use of electric guitar on “Evening on the Ground” sounds epic if only because it is he who is using it.

While only six songs, “The Woman King” is not to be missed. Old fans will appreciate the traditional beauty of the title track and “Jezebel,” while those in search of something new from Iron and Wine will appreciate “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven,” and “Evening on the Ground.”

It has been an amazing run thus far. It will be interesting to see just how long it lasts and where it can go from here.

Hunter S. Thompson, the author who pioneered “gonzo” journalism and became an anti-establishment icon with his 1972 book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself at his home outside Aspen, Colorado, Sunday night, police said. He was 67.

I was never a huge fan of Thompson’s until I read some of the quirky sports articles he wrote for ESPN’s Page 2. It will be interesting to see what details unfold in terms of the reason for Thompson’s self-inflicted end. For whatever reason, it would surprise me if there wasn’t a substantial explanation.

As some of you know, my roommate Todd, and I have a band with frequent commenter Kiddicus. This has been about the craziest week ever for this tiny little band with one gig under its belt. Our drummer fractured a rib and wasn’t going to be able to play the show that we have scheduled on Saturday, and then decided that as long as he was on the shelf, he really didn’t want to play with us anymore. We have no problems with him and wish him well, but it left us in an even more interesting situation as we have shows scheduled for March 5th and March 30th.

Brent Kirby who is a singer now, but was originally a drummer offered to help us out and save the day. Big thanks go out to him by the way. And then my guitar teacher KB tracked down an old friend, Brad, who was interested in playing with us. Brad came out and played on Wednesday and is really good, so he is going to be playing with us on Saturday and possibly on a permanent basis going forward.

Oh, and I have been sick the last two days. I have a sore throat and a mild cough. So, singing on Saturday should be interesting. The show must go on I guess. So, if you want to come out on Saturday, you will get to see us with a drummer who has had only two practices and me with some sort of vocal plague.

Hope to see you there!

I was standing around talking to some people today and they were talking about trouble they had gotten into in the past. There were about 8 or 9 people there altogether. One guy was talking about how a guy pulled a shotgun on them while they were turfing a lawn (ie driving all over it) and I mentioned that pulling a gun could probably get you into trouble.

Craig: “The way things are nowadays, if the guy shoots your car, you could probably sue him for the damage.”

(laughter)

Guy #1: “Yeah, that’s why my dad always said if you were going to shoot someone, you better just pull them back into your house.”

(Still laughing and having a good time.)

Craig: “Yeah, that’s why I keep a bag of lime in MY garage.”

(Crickets chirping.)

Guy #2: “Umm, Craig, what are you talking about lime?”

I did my best to explain to them that I had seen a movie about John Wayne Gacy and that was what he put on his victims after he killed them and buried them in the basement, but I don’t think anyone thought it was funny anymore with me talking about dead body decomposition. It didn’t seem like that much of a jump, but maybe I am underestimating just how sick I am.

It certainly wasn’t funny with me explaining it.

I don’t think I am going out on a limb by saying that this team is already better than it was all last season. Yesterday, new Browns coach, Romeo Crennel cut Jeff Garcia who probably isn’t as bad as he was last season. It was just a bad fit and an experiment that didn’t work. On top of that, Cleveland didn’t need his wacky Playmate love triangles. Maybe after Terrell Owens called him gay he had something to prove, but making an ass out of yourself in a Cleveland court room with two chicks isn’t the answer.

Crennel also kept Terry Robiskie onboard, which is a good move in terms of keeping the players from jumping ship. This team wasn’t winning or anything, but they actually seemed like they wanted to play when Robiskie became their coach. When Butch Davis was still here, they had one leg overboard. I try not to defend the players quitting when they make that amount of money, but apparently Butch Davis was almost that bad as a coach.

The state of the union is thus. The Browns still have a couple of decent running back options, in Lee Suggs and Mean Willie Green. They have a few solid receivers now that Quincy Morgan is gone. They have a tight end who everyone was excited about until he got hurt in Kellen Winslow Jr. The Browns also have a defense that is more than serviceable. We will see what Crennel and GM Phil Savage decide to do with Gerard “Small Change” Warren and Courtney “Overcast Skies” Brown.

I guess that just leaves one little piece (or giant hole) called the offensive line. They just named an offensive line coach. Now all we need are a couple of players who won’t get our eventual quarterback killed.

This is optimism folks. Really. It is.

Thanks to my guest blogger dmoney, but it is good to be back. Some quick Vegas stuff.

If you are down a lot of money, your comeback can come from a variety of sources. Never rule any game out, except for maybe Casino War, which people actually play. I was down big-time and made a pretty big rally on Saturday playing Pai Gow Poker.

There is a reason that the original casinos downtown, including Binion’s Horseshoe are failing. They are seedy dumps with food stands that recall the booth you find in the front of Wal Mart, or Target. I don’t care if you sell a shrimp cocktail for $1.29. Blech.

According to the soundtrack that repeated frequently at the Mirage, Keane, Hoobastank and Maroon 5 are the three biggest bands in the world. If I hear “The Reason” ever again, it will be too effing soon. Haven’t Hoobastank achieved Mr. Big status yet? I imagine a bunch of seventh graders loving that song and then casting the band aside for the rest of eternity. I kind of liked Keane and Maroon 5, but after this weekend it might all be over.

All places that serve people need to be like Vegas and treat the customer the way Vegas does. I have played at tables in many different places and nobody ever treats you like a second class citizen in Vegas unless you deserve it. I remember going to tables in Foxwoods and other places and having them hate me even before I put a dime on the table. Dealers and pit bosses, please keep in mind that you wouldn’t have a job if I wasn’t willing to play at your tables. The customer is always right. Especially when you are raking all their money away.

I have an excuse because it was the movie on the plane, but “Shall We Dance” was a horrendous abomination of a movie. J Lo doesn’t really know any better. (”Maid in Manhattan,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Anaconda”) Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon ought to be ashamed of themselves. Also John Turturro should have a lawsuit against Stanley Tucci for stealing his career.

Unfortunately there was no Gallagher sighting this year, although my brother did share a blackjack table with TV’s Josh Taylor. He played Michael Hogan on “Valerie” and “The Hogan Family,” with that Cyclops Sandy Duncan and Jason Bateman. He was also known as Dylan’s father Jack McKay on Beverly Hills 90210. Hopefully we can plan our trip during the porn awards next year and get some better celeb sightings.

But that was it for the trip. A 14 beer night on Saturday night and a long flight home.

I think we might need two Vegas trips a year. Anyone in?