Technology

With BB10 until the End

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blackberry-passport-vs-keyboards

More often than not when I am in a social setting and I pull out my lovely BlackBerry Classic Smartphone I get similar comments:

- “Oh, you still have a BlackBerry?” (shocked or frowning face)

– “It’s been a looong time since I have used one of these”

– “Why do you still have a BlackBerry?  I thought they stopped making them”

The last comment can be blamed on BlackBerry’s lack of marketing for BlackBerry 10 and the Priv.  But as for the comment “Oh, you still have a BlackBerry?”, the answer is quite simple: It gets the job I need it for done faster and efficiently – and I don’t play games or care for timesink apps

Now, don’t get me wrong; timesink apps have their place and are very important to a vast majority of users – as is evident with the abundance of apps in the ecosystems of Android and iOS.  And when I say ‘Timesink’ apps I am referring to games (a la Candy Crush, etc.) and social media apps (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.).   The primary function of a phone; or at least 80+% of what a phone is used for is communications – that relates to phone calls, e-mail, sms.  Throw in another 10-15% for organization such as apps for calendars, GTD’s, and contacts.  Every other app is virtually a timesink (and yes, there can be positive timesink apps that allow you to learn).  And on BlackBerry 10, and on my BlackBerry Classic, nothing beats the communications experience.  As for the ‘app gap’ situation, doesn’t bother me as much as I don’t have that much down time to download the latest doo-hicky app – and the Android runtime on BB10, though limited, serves up for the few Android apps that I do use.

With the current state of BlackBerry always in flux, and the state of the BlackBerry 10 OS in a greater state of flux, I still stand behind the device and platform because it is truly a great innovative fast and fluid OS that has an only hindrance of not being able to cater to the ‘lore’ of timesink apps that exist on iOS and Android.

.:: LiBM ::.

sports

Stop Hack-a-Jordan w/ 5-on-4 Basketball

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5-on-4 Penalty Basketball

A lot of talk in the NBA this year has been about how to stop the ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ technique that certain teams employ on terrible Free Throw shooters; case in point DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers. DeAndre is a strong Offensive and Defensive presence, but he is one of the worst Free Throw shooters in the league – for the 2015-16 season he shot a staggering 43% during the regular season.   ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ is a strategic technique that is well within the NBA rules, but it slows down the game, is lackluster, and is a sad sight for sore eyes to watch Power Forwards/Centres try to make free throws. The whole ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ is spawned from the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ technique when teams used to intentionally foul future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal (usually in the 4th quarter and when the game was close), Shaq was a horrible free throw shooter, but a dominant scorer.

NBA: Playoffs-Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers(
(DeAndre Jordan shooting a Free Throw)

Fast forward to the current Era, and the ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ has altered courses of games and is different than the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ because we are seeing the technique used all throughout the game — not just the 4th Quarter. The Basketball journalists and armchair experts have loudly chimed for a rule change; and I am sure Commissioner Adam Silver is working on one. But I have an idea that can radically change the game – and it involves borrowing a concept from Hockey and Soccer: introducing disadvantaged scenarios.

Penalties for Fouls

In Hockey, when there is a penalty committed, the penalty offender is relegated to the penalty box for 2 mins, while his team is down a player; causing a 5-on-4 situation. This concept can be applied to Basketball. Imagine what 5-on-4 basketball would do to open up a game? I propose in situations where there are intentional off-the ball fouls, flagrant fouls, and technical fouls, part of the punishment should include that the offending player is removed from the court for a predefined set of time. Now, if we borrow from the Hockey rulebook, the player would be off the court for 2 mins – resulting in a 5-on-4 situation. And the player would only be allowed to enter back in the game after the 2 mins, but can only enter after a stoppage in play (ball goes out of bounds, foul, etc). Allowing for 5-on-4 situations would deter teams from employing ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ and would force players to think twice about committing a technical or flagrant foul.

Now, I know in Hockey, the power play is stopped after the the advantaged team scores a goal, but this wouldn’t work in Basketball as it is a high scoring game; and you would still have disadvantaged teams scoring as they could jack up 3’s. Basketball has changed from a post-up game to a more nimble run-and-gun game that has opened the court up and put a focus on smaller line-up that can shoot 3’s. But imagine how the game could open up with less players on the court? The defensive and offensive strategies that would have to be employed to play 5-on-4 would bring a new dynamic and excitement to the game — and most importantly it would stop this scourge of ‘Hack-a-Jordan’ so that we don’t have to witness terrible free-throw shooters.

UCN, videos

The Benefits of Living w/ a Hype Man

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I got the idea for this sketch after listening to some 90’s Hip-Hop, specifically listen to Busta Rhymes and his hype man ‘Spliff Star’.  Then I just took that idea and wondered how living w/ a Hype Man (which is essentially a motivational accomplice) would be.

Thanks to Matt & Anthony Engelbrecht for being a part and doing some amazing improv (especially the bedroom scene).

Work

Small Business Malarkey

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big-business-bailout-plan

Small Business Talk

I’ve worked with many small businesses throughout the years and for the most part the experience has been beneficial to me in realizing GA certain salient point – I either don’t really want to work with them or makes me want to focus on my own business (which is small). By definition, ‘small businesses’ are exactly what their title implies – so this causes resources limitations, and more annoyingly the hustling by them to try and get you to do work for free – which I hear to often. Small Businesses can at times use the tactic of “do this job for us, and down the road it may open up the opportunity for more work” – I’m sure that many entrepreneurs and creative professionals have heard this line in many ways and forms:
– You know if you do this for us, well it can be the start of a partnership
– If you do this and it turns out well, I know several other businesses that may require your services

The ‘Dangling Carrot’ works as you (the rabbit) is susceptible to chasing this carrot because we want to be successful – and we want more carrots of course.

Now don’t get this post confused with myself not understanding that small businesses are the backbone and core of this economy – and heck, I’m a small business owner myself, though I haven’t really tried to exploit others to work for free for me, guess my thing with ethics and doing the ‘right thing’, kinda gets in the way.

If you have a small business story to share, please post in the comments.

.::LiBM::.

Logic

Mind bets

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Reward & Punishment Techniques for the Mind

I realized I did this (Mind bets) all the time, but I wasn’t aware of the succinct term until recently, due to listening to an interview with Ray Romano (of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ fame). Apparently, Ray constantly challenges himself with these bets; as quote in a New York Times article:

 he referred to as “mind bets,” a reward and punishment technique he developed to replace his own wagering habit. “I set a personal goal, like, ‘If I don’t break a 90 at golf, then I can’t watch TV for a week,’ and I get as pumped up as if I had $1,000 on a bet,” he said.
New York Times, 2009

In comparison, I do these mind bets in order to really test my Will power at the end of the day. To challenge what I can actually go through and manage – maybe I am testing myself for one day becoming tortured for information by Guerillas in a desolate jungle and resisting the interrogation methods of my captors (Yes, I’m extreme). But in more probable terms I believe that I conduct these mind bets in an attempt to keep the mind in a state of readiness; to not be so complacent – the future is unpredictable and I may have to go through something that will take a lit of units of Will power to get through. And with anything, practice is a necessity for success.

If you have any Mind bets that you’d like to share, please share in the comments.

. : : LiBM::.

Producer of Things