- Umm, did someone forget to tell new Washington Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis that this isn’t the NHL? Leonsis, who also owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals, needs to realize that he’s now an NBA owner as well and things he could do when he only owned a team in the irrelevant, oft-ignored world of professional hockey won't fly with NBA commissioner David Stern and his crew. Take, for example, Leonsis’ comments to local business leaders Wednesday that he expects the NBA soon will have a hard salary cap similar to the NHL's model. While speaking to a group of Northern Virginia business leaders before the Wizards' daily training camp session, Leonsis attempted to explain where he sees the NBA’s salary structure heading as the league teeters on the verge of a lockout after the coming season. "In a salary-cap era -- and soon a hard-salary cap in the NBA like it is in the NHL -- if everyone can pay the same amount to the same amount of players, it's the small nuanced differences that matter," he said, adding that the bigger a team’s fan base, the more money it has to spend and thus the better its chance to sign and retain good players. Somewhere along the way in making those comments, he seemed to realize that he was crossing a line or two and when asked after the speech to clarify his remarks, Leonsis backpedaled, saying he was not authorized to speak about the ongoing NBA labor negotiations. "It's working," he said of the NHL’s system. "The teams are very, very competitive. There is no way that big markets teams can outspend small market teams. So when the season starts everyone thinks their team can compete for the Stanley Cup." Unfortunately for Leonsis, Stern heard his comments, contradicted them by insisting that rumors of a hard cap are not necessarily true and then fined Leonsis $100,000 for "unauthorized public comments regarding the league's collective bargaining negotiations." Stern then laid out Leonsis verbally, calling him out for his misstep. "We're negotiating and that was one of our negotiating points," Stern fumed, "but collective bargaining is a negotiating process, and that was not something that Ted was authorized to say and he will be dealt with for that lapse in judgment. In other words, welcome to the NBA, b’otch………
- So now that Google Instant has debuted, providing instant, live-time updating search results that pop up without regard to sorting in terms of categories like images, videos, news, etc., there are obvious concerns. For example, what happens if a person types in a few letters that could produce offensive search results, but only until they complete the word or phrase they are typing? Is a child exposed to something he or she should not see because of Google’s newfangled search setup? The answer to that question is a definitive “no,” because Google has also set up a list of words that are restricted by Google Instant. Simply put, there are some terms the web giant's new instant search feature won't work with. The company wants to ensure that no one sees pornographic or violent results they might fight disturbing unless they really mean to search for them. Asked about the feature, Google's Johanna Wright said the restrictions are in place to protect children. But omitting certain results has also caused problems because some users may not be aware of what’s going on and take offense when terms like "bisexual" and "lesbian," which are among the restricted words, don’t produce instant search results. If you type any of the banned words, the instant search will immediately stop delivering new results. You have to hit enter to confirm that you indeed do want to search for them. The entire system is based on data collected over the years about previous users' searches, which then uses an algorithm to predict what a user will type next. A company spokesperson responded thusly when asked about the sticky situation: “There are a number of reasons you may not be seeing search queries for a particular topic. Among other things, we apply a narrow set of removal policies for pornography, violence, and hate speech. It's important to note that removing queries from Autocomplete is a hard problem, and not as simple as blacklisting particular terms and phrases. In search, we get more than one billion searches each day. Because of this, we take an algorithmic approach to removals, and just like our search algorithms, these are imperfect. We will continue to work to improve our approach to removals in Autocomplete, and are listening carefully to feedback from our users. Our algorithms look not only at specific words, but compound queries based on those words, and across all languages. This system is neither perfect nor instantaneous, and we will continue to work to make it better." In other words, welcome to Google, censorship………
- Am I the only one who doesn’t see a problem with having a Halloween festival for children located right next to a strip club? Apparently so, at least when it comes to the south Kansas City neighborhood where many locals are outraged that a children's pumpkin patch would set up right next to an adult nightclub. These conservi-nazis argue that going to a pumpkin patch next to a building where skanks take off their clothes for money is dangerous to kids and as such, they want the pumpkin patch with games and rides for kids to be shut down. That doesn’t sit well with owner Michelle Brown, who says her operation is all about family fun. "I want children. We love kids and a pumpkin patch is all about having kids around," Brown said. Unfortunately, some residents don’t feel the same way and worry that locating Funtown right next door to the adult nightclub "Pure" could spell disaster. "You don't have adult entertainment and put a children's play area, for one month or five weeks out of the year, and it be okay," said neighbor Wanda Buehr. Right, because I’m sure the strippers will be wandering through the pumpkin patch on their way to work and they’ll be asking kids to shove $1 bills into their G-strings as they go. It’s worth noting that Brown could be a bit biased, as she’s a member of the family that owns the bar and the pumpkin patch land. Still, there is a nine-foot-tall chain link fence and a trailer that block part of the view of the club from the pumpkin patch and even if those obstacles weren’t there, it would seem far-fetched to suggest that kids who show up to pick out a pumpkin would have even the faintest concept of what went on next door. "Nobody even knows that's really, truly a strip bar," said Brown. "They're completely safe. It has nothing to do with Pure. This is its own entity. I had not one person concerned or worried about this weekend.” Some of the more ignorant neighbors in the area mistakenly believe that the law would prevent children’s attraction place from setting up next to a strip club, but the law was actually written to keep adult businesses from locating within one thousand feet of schools and day cares. When the adult-oriented business is there first, it’s a different story. Simply put, there is nothing illegal about the setup and anyone who has a beef with it will simply have to take their children or grandchildren to a different pumpkin patch………….
- Has the question of what to buy the ridiculously wealthy person in your life for Christmas already been weighing on your mind? Might I suggest purchasing one of the five of the exclusive new $1 million advent calendar made by German car manufacturers, Porsche? This gem contains 24 bedazzled windows -- representing each December day before Christmas -- that hide 24 epic gifts for the upper-tax-bracker friend in your life. The gifts include: a pair of 18 carat gold sunglasses, aluminum fountain pens, a lambskin jacket, a limited edition chronograph watch, a customizable designer kitchen and oh yeah, a luxury eight-meter yacht. Should you score one of these calendars - measuring more than six feet tall and made of brushed aluminum - you will be the only person on your continent with one, as Porsche has decreed that only one can be sold on any continent in which they do business (sorry Antarctica). "This is the first time we've ever offered such an item," said Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO of the Porsche Design Group. "We think it will make for a very precious Christmas." The yacht is the standout gift for sure, and rest assured that the "Royal Falcon Fire 28" or "RFF28" was specifically designed by Porsche for the calendar, so you know it will be good. The craft is powered by a 525 horsepower engine, making it more powerful than many of the company's über-popular cars. “The motor yacht showcases the timeless, purist and functional design which characterizes all of our products," Gessler beamed. However, the yacht does pose one problem, as it won't actually fit inside the calendar's aluminum tower. Instead, your disappointed gift recipient will find a mounted back-lit photographs. But the proud owner of the yacht will be able to have it dropped off at the port of his or her choice, courtesy of Porsche. Thus far, only one “serious” buyer has stepped up to make an offer on a calendar, but something tells me that even the world’s brutal economic climate won't be enough to prevent the wealthy and opulent from reveling in excess once again……….
- So who’s ready for a revival of the happy go lucky, fun-loving days of Joseph Stalin? No, I’m no teasing you about reviving the regime of one of the most vile and horrible despots in world history, at least not if you believe long-time Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Just one day before being forced out as maor, Luzkhov penned a letter in a Russian magazine accusing President Dmitry Medvedev of leading Russia back into Stalinism. "Fear to express one's opinion in our country has existed since 1937," Luzhkov wrote, referring to the apex of Stalinist repression. "If the country's leadership is supporting those fears with its own remarks... then it is easy to come to a situation where we have only one leader whose words are carved in stone and who should be followed strictly and unquestionably. How does that correlate with your appeal to 'develop democracy?'" His letter was published in The New Times and so far, Medvedev hasn’t even bothered to acknowledge its existence. Cynics might argue that Luzkhov was just bitter over being removed from office on Tuesday, tagged with claims by Medvedev that he has lost confidence in the mayor’s ability to run the city. Somehow, Luzhkov had managed to run the massive metropolis since 1992 and has just now become incompetent, fit to be replaced by his first deputy, Vladimir Resin, who was appointed acting mayor. Medvedev pointed to the fact that there are more than 20 corruption investigations underway into Moscow officials, but said they are not connected to the firing of the mayor. Uh-huh, sure they weren’t. According the Luzhkov’s letter, he was originally asked to resign voluntarily on September 17. He was then given a day, then a week to consider it and he wrote that the week "allowed me to formulate a number of questions which are of concern not just to me.” Luzhkov also threw out the radical concept of resuming direct elections for Moscow mayor, abolished when current prime minister Vladimir Putin was president. After that, the letter torches Medvedev for saying at a recent forum on democracy that those who disagree with him can join the opposition. "This reminds me of another quote which went down in history: 'Those who are not with us, are against us,'" Luzhkov wrote, paraphrasing Russia's Communist revolution founder Vladimir Lenin. Another accusation in the letter is that Medvedev staged a smear campaign against Luzhkov to drive him from office. Medvedev has in turn alleged corruption, ineffective leadership and failure to solve some of the city’s most basic problems, like massive traffic jams. All in all, a thoroughly hate-filled and bitter dispute that makes one thankful not to live in Russia……so we can watch with amusement from afar………..
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