- Every office has one of them. At the Department of
Economic Security building in Phoenix, 58-year-old Earl Dennison Woods Jr. is
that person. Woods, the half-brother of golf star Tiger Woods, was arrested Thursday for
allegedly making a false bomb threat at the government building where he works.
Earl Woods is the loser who always jokes about blowing up or burning down the
building….except he took that joke one step further by calling in an actual
bomb threat. Sure, most people move past the stage of making bomb threats to
get a day off right around the time they graduate high school, but not Earl
Woods. Either willfully ignorant or simply clueless about the technological
world in which we live, he called in the threat with no regard for the fact
that it would take place all of five seconds to figure out where the call came
from and who made it. Police said they were called after DES employees alerted
building security and more than 100 people were evacuated from the building.
Woods eventually came forward and accepted responsibility for his actions,
telling police the phone call was meant as a joke and he didn't expect his
co-workers to take it seriously. Yes, because people always laugh off bomb
threats. Why wouldn’t Woods expect his co-workers to chuckle, slap their knees
in amusement and say, “That Earl, what a kidder! Always threatening to blow us
all up.” Even if he identified himself when he made the call and repeated his
name before he hung up, a bomb threat is taken seriously no matter what the
circumstances. Woods was summarily booked on suspicion of attempting to
terrify, intimidate, threaten or harass others and is reportedly cooperating
with the investigation……..
- Some small people turned in a large weekend at the local
multiplex as “The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” snagged $73.7 million in its debut to easily
outpace the box office field. While not record-breaking by any stretch, the
number was more than enough to seize the top spot from last weekend’s earnings
champion, “Frozen,” which fell to second with $22.1 million and has banked
$164.4 million domestically in four weeks of release. “Tyler Perry's A Madea
Christmas,” essentially a holiday-themed replica of the same crap Perry has
been churning out for years under the Madea heading, came in third with $16
million in its debut. Fourth place went to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,”
which added $13.2 million to its total and has now brought in $357 million
through four weeks. “Thor: The Dark World” fought its way to fifth place with a
modest $2.7 million weekend and boosted its cumulative domestic haul to $198.1
million in the process. Christian Bale’s “Out of the Furnace” achieved next to
nothing in its second weekend, scoring a meager $2.3 million for a two-week
total of $9.5 million to place sixth. The über-awful “Delivery Man” was next in
seventh place with $1.9 million and that was barely enough to push it over the
break-even line with $27.9 million in domestic earnings against a $26 million
budget. “Philomena” continued to perform well in limited release, accumulating
$1.8 million for a four-week bank roll of $11 million. “The Book Thief,” also
in limited release, claimed ninth place with $1.7 million to boost its earnings
to $14.9 million after three relatively successful weeks. The last spot in the
top 10 went to “Homefront,” with $1.6 million and $18.5 overall. “Dallas Buyers
Club” (No. 11) and “The Best Man Holiday” (No. 12) both lost their spots from
last weekend’s top 10……..
- What a bunch of sweethearts Thailand's military leaders are. These
swell guys magnanimously offered on Sunday to help the politically polarized
country hold a "fair and clean" election next year. "The
military wants to see the February 2 election. If there are signs that the
election will not be fair, the military is ready to make it fair and clean,”
said armed forces chief General Tanasak Patimapragorn. Read between the lines
and that just might mean that the armed forces will play a role in a vote aimed
at ending protests seeking to topple the government. Conveniently enough, the
suggestion was offered at a forum organized by the caretaker government of
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who last week called an election for Feb.
2. Shinawatra is the target of protestors aiming to end the influence of her brother,
ousted ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Thailand's political system.
The protestors have the backing of Bangkok's elite – brilliantly supporting the
revolution with their wealth and avoiding having to do the actual heavy lifting
– and they have already rejected the proposed election and want to set up a
people's council that would eradicate the influence of the Shinawatra regime.
The regime has remained in power for a decade thanks largely to broad support
from the urban and rural poor. The military has been eerily mum on how it could
“help,” but its leaders have a long history of intervening in politics in
support of traditional Bangkok elite that includes generals, royal advisers and
old-money families. Oh, and the military has also staged or attempted 18 coups
over the past 80 years, including one in 2006 to remove Thaksin, so there’s
that as well. Military leaders believe protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban is
backed by two powerful retired generals, former defense minister General Prawit
Wongsuwan and former army chief General Anupong Paochinda. Both are longtime
enemies of Thaksin Shinawatra. Factor in the Democratic Party lawmakers who resigned
from parliament on Dec. 8 to join the protests and this whole situation is
growing more combustible by the day……….
- California-based Oculus VR is a start-up on the uptick. The tech company
has raised $75 million and is now full-go to market its virtual-reality
headset for video games. Such products have failed in the past, but Oculus VR
is hoping that the eight-figure pool it has thanks to Silicon Valley investor
Mark Andreessen of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz will shift that
paradigm. With that $75 million, Oculus plans to produce commercial versions of
its virtual reality glasses for video games called Oculus Rift, which users
mount on their heads with a strap. Eventually, the company plans to market the
glasses beyond the gaming world. “We believe Oculus will not only alter the
gaming landscape but will redefine fundamental human experiences in areas like
film, education, architecture, and design,” Andreessen said in a statement.
Building a commercially viable virtual reality technology business is difficult
and most tech experts have long wondered whether 3D virtual reality devices
have any potential for mainstream acceptance. Oculus debuted its 3D gaming
goggles after raising $2.4 million vie Kickstarter last year and there was very
centralized interest from gamers who paid $300 for each pair. A subsequent
round of venture capital funding in June snagged an additional $16 million and
since that time, the company has been developing a technology platform for its
hardware to support video games and other applications and sold over 40,000
development kits. Still, questions persist about the device’s bulky design that
complicates the gaming experience. Armed with feedback from early adopters, Oculus
built a retail-ready prototype it believes will offer a comfortable and
smoother experience, Oculus Chief Executive Brendan Iribe said. Other companies
have tried and failed with 3D goggles, but Iribe is confident his company has “been
able to make this massive leap” to solve hardware and software challenges” that
have plagued previous attempts……..
- Yankee arrogance is alive and well. The New York Yankees
haven’t won a world championship since 2009, but their trademark condescension
hasn’t suffered in the interim, as evidenced by the front office’s reaction to
their former second baseman Robinson
Cano characterizing their seven-year, $170 million offer as a sign of
disrespect and electing to sign with Seattle. After he five-time All-Star
second baseman finalized a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners,
Yankees team president Randy Levine condescendingly said he feels bad for Cano
because it’s clear to him that Cano wishes he were still playing in the Bronx. “I
feel bad for him because I think he's disappointed he's not a Yankee. But I
respect him, and he's free to say whatever he wants to say. We still respect
him, and he'll always be fondly remembered as a Yankee,” Levine said. Levine
added that Cano's age -- he turned 31 in October -- precluded the team from
giving him the sort of deal Seattle offered and pointed to Los Angeles Angels
star Mike Trout as the sort of player to whom the Yankees would commit to 10
years. "Now, if it was Mike Trout, I'd offer him a 10-year contract,"
Levine said. "But for people over 30, I don't believe it makes
sense." The logic of not giving 10-year deals to players on the tail end
of their prime makes sense, but what’s truly hilarious is Levine supposedly
pitying a man who is guaranteed to make a quarter of a billion dollars over the
next decade and suggesting Cano is deserving of that pity because he’s torn up
that he’s not a Yankee any longer. How very Yankee of Levine to assume that his
(formerly) gold standard organization is so wonderful that even $240 million
isn't enough to salve the sting of not playing for the Bronx Bombers any
longer. Maybe it’s Levine who is actually hurt that a star player in his prime
elected to bolt for a giant stack of cash rather than opt for less money to
stay with the vaunted New York Yankees. Owner Hal Steinbrenner also chimed in,
saying, "I don't take it that personal," Steinbrenner said.
"There was nothing disrespectful about the last offer that was on the table,
which was $25 million for seven [years, annually]. I'm not quite sure why he
feels that way, but it is what it is." Well played Yankees, well
played……….
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