How to watch sporting events without a cable package.

I've received a lot of interest on how to watch sporting events without paying for a cable package.   For many people this is the biggest thing that prevents them from stopping their cable or satellite subscription.   Broadcast sporting events have always been a tricky subject.   Even when one has the most expensive cable or satellite package they can be subjected to things like blackouts or just the failure of your local carrier to broadcast the game that you want to see.    The good thing here is that with the advent of the web there are now more options for watching sporting events than there are even on cable and satellite.

We'll start with the free options and go from there.   ESPN is a great option.   They stream ESPN 3 live for free directly off their website.   They also feature a large cache of content on demand including Sports Center Right Now, a regularly updated version of the popular Sports Center program.   ESPN is now offering a live feed of their network via XBox 360.   It does require the XBox live subscription, but that's only about $50 a year and it allows you to play games online.   Still considerably cheaper than cable if you only like to watch ESPN, which many people I know do.

If you have a TV that's capable of picking up digital over the air signals, there is still a lot of sports that are broadcast on free network television.   From Monday Night Football, to playoff games, to Saturday golf tournaments.    These are also often available directly from the network's website.  

Now for the pay options.   Most professional sporting organizations offer a multi-level subscription package that allows you to watch either a specific team, or every team for the duration of the season.   These are available directly from the organizations website and generally require a computer to view.   The subscriptions can get a little pricey, but if you only pay for one subscription per season it's still generally cheaper than paying for cable or satellite.

There are also grey market options available.   Services like TVU, Sopcast, and TV Ants allow you to watch live streaming video from a variety of sources.   From the History Channel to college and professional sports.   They require a download of their software, which may or may not contain spyware or other malicious programing.   Then the user is able to access thousands of live TV feeds from a specific website which may or may not be illegal.    This internet forum http://www.myp2pforum.eu/ gives a full listing of live tv feeds for nearly every game at any given moment.   For the more adventurous user, this may be an option.

The ability to watch live sporting events is what causes many people to spend that extra $600-$4000+ a year on cable and satellite.   Really though, in this modern age you can easily get by with some ingenuity and a high speed internet connection.   Instead, put that money towards perhaps seeing your favorite team live and in person instead of on your tiny TV screen.   It's also a godsend to people that spend a large amount of time away from home, either at work or on the road.     Never again will you have to wait a week or more to view your favorite team.

Farewell to two great comedians.

RIP Tony Curtis and Greg Giraldo.  Mr. Curtis, you gave birth to the hottest allegedly transgendered individual I've ever seen.   Greg Giraldo, You were great on the Howard Stern Show.  And here's a great clip where he owns Dennis Leary.

Medical Marijuana

There are literally 5 medical marijuana dispensaries one block from my house.   I honestly don't know how what I percieve as a very small market can support so many stores.  At any rate, I think it's great.   More tax base for local government along with jobs.  

Also, I always said that drugs don't cause crime, drugs being illegal cause crime.   That would seem to be the case here.   I often walk down the street after dark with my wife and 2 year old son.   I see very normal looking people streaming in and out of the local dispensaries with their "medicine."   So far I've yet to see any violence associated with the brisk marijuana trade in our neighborhood.   If anything the dispensaries seem to be causing a stoner food reaction.   The nicest looking dispensary on the street is flanked by a gourmet donuts shop and a bakery.   Cookies and donuts are two things that stoners and I can agree on.

Google Trends

So the current google trends puts. "audrina patridge, haley joel osment, jennifer grey, lauren, jennifer grey cancer" as the current trend. I'm really out of touch because I know none of these people. I'm hoping this line will drive more people to my site though.

Non-Alcholic beers

Here's the question, why are non-alcoholic beers so terrible?   Now I'm not trying to make some joke about how alcohol is great and everyone needs to drink it.   Rather, I'm trying to figure out why beer companies across the board only create very weak, bland, light lager styles of NA beer.  

My wife is currently pregnant and craves very hoppy beer.   Of course, this is the one thing she can't have.   I've searched everywhere for every variety of NA beer I could find.   So far we've tried.

1. O'Douls.    Ok, this is made by Budweiser so you have to immediatly assume it has no hop flavor, a very thin fizzy mouthfeel, and a horrible aftertaste.   Well, you assumed right.    If there's anything worse than Bud Light, it's O'Douls.   All of the NA beers from American macro-brewers fall into this category, so I'm done reviewing them.   If you want to know what they taste like, put a few drops of food coloring in seltzer water.   I'm serious, that's about as much taste as they have.
2. Kaliber.    Better, but it's still pretty weak.   Basically this is an NA version of Harp, which if  you've had it you know is a fairly light lager.   Now, I don't condemn beers because they're not bursting with malt and hops.   This beer isn't bad for what it is, it's just not what we want.   It's still a low flavor light tasting beer.   I'd almost prefer that Guinness produced an NA version of Guinness draught.   After all, that beer is only 3% abv or so, so it shouldn't be hard to take 2.5% away.
3. Saint Pauly Girl NA.   Saint Pauly Girl is a really bad product.   Not because it's ostensibly worse than Budweiser, but because it markets itself as a premium beer.   It's not, it might as well be Budweiser, Miller or Coors.   And it shouldn't cost more than those three.   Again, the NA version of this beer is much like the with alcohol version.   Nothing to write home about here.
4. Clausthale.   I haven't tried this one, it appears to be another light lager in the Heineken style though.   Again, not what we're looking for.
5. Paulander NA   Ok, I thought this beer was decent.   My wife the hop-head described with a weak back and fourth motion of her hand.    I can't really jump on Paulander for this one.   They created an NA beer that taste like their WA pilsner.   I just wish they would create an NA version of their  Oktoberfest, or dunkelweizen, or even hefeweizen.

Now beer companies, you've heard my rant.   Go fourth and create.  The momster demands a non-alcoholic beer that's bursting with flavor.   If any of you have ever lived with a pregnant woman, you know that's more than a request.

Grocery Stores

The King Scoopers by me is dirty.  Now I find that the Sunflower Market is cheaper than Safeway.  I think I like Denver.

How to deal with internet bullying.

Internet bullying is a very hot topic these days.   Like most people, I dealt with bullying to varying degrees throughout my school career.   Luckily, I didn't have to deal with the digital component that plagues bullying today.   Internet bullying has reached the point where it exists not only in an individual school, but it comes from thousands of people that view embarrassing actions of children on the web.   A case in point would be the Star Wars Kid.

Now, the way I see it, it's generally very difficult to stop widespread actions like internet bullying.   The best thing you can do is monopolize on it.   If you're a kid that's getting bullied setup a website that people can come to in order to bully you.   The Star Wars kid should have copyrighted and posted his video on a site with advertising.   Then he should have gone after anyone that posted the video anywhere else without his permission.  The result would have been that the thousands of people that wanted to view his video would have had to come to his website to see it.   Imagine the money he could have made off of google adsense and other advertisements.    At that point he no longer would have been a victim, but rather an entrepreneur.