Call of Prison: Modern Swatting

Swatting has become a lot more common than what some realize. What happened at the end of 2017 has finally seen justice get dispensed. Tyler Barriss is set to serve a 20 year sentence for an incident of swatting that led to the death of a man in Wichita, Kansas.

For a quick synopsis, two guys were arguing over a 1.50 bet in Call of Duty and Barriss decided to do some swatting and gave an address. Unfortunately, police shot and killed Andrew Finch, the victim of the prank who had no involvement with the game or the people involved. Just a bad situation that turned deadly. Combined with previous incidents and this, it's a surprise Barriss didn't get more time. Considering his past, this should hopefully set a precedent.

I read something that the Finch family was trying to get justice on the cops. I feel sorry for them, but these swattings typically involve saying that the person has done something very bad. As much as some would want to see cops have some restraint, when you hear about a man killing his father and looking to set his house on fire, what are they supposed to do? There are real life situations where that does occur. They can't take these false reports lightly because what if it was true? Honestly, cops are in lose lose situations, and this is one of those times where that was the case.

As far as the punishment fitting the crime, it is. I would hope it scares people, but I put serious doubt into that. Until then, it could go either way.

YouTube Videos: Mar 22-28

Legally Egged Off

Some people either become notorious, infamous, or catch attention for something they do in public. Surely enough, the shootings at that mosque in New Zealand is a big tragedy in itself. Unfortunately, what happened a couple weeks ago is diminished by a 17 year old not too long after it that is embarrassing.

After the shooting, Australian lawmaker Fraser Anning blamed it on Muslims. About more than a week ago, he would later get egged by a teenager, Will Connolly. That would lead to a little altercation, the Internet praised the kid, who is 17 years old by the way, and a GoFundMe has been created to help him with legal issues.

This is the kind of person who should not be celebrated for doing something so stupid. And Connolly knew it was wrong, but decided to do it. We're not talking about 10 year old who gets a slap on the wrist. He is 17 and should be punished for his actions. He knew what he was doing and should not be heralded. What Anning said was awful as well, but the kid should have shown a bit of restraint. This stuff bites you when you're fresh out of high school.

Maybe jail time could happen. It would give Connolly time to clear up his head and learn that you don't do anything in public that hurts you that bad. There should be no sympathy for both him and Anning.

Switch Up, Pro and Mini?

Within the past two years, the Switch has been a hit for Nintendo. It has drawn a lot of companies to it and has gotten a lot of games and ports during it's short life so far. Now, there are speculations that they are looking to revise their hardware. In the past, they have been either very late to do it like the NES and SNES, or they have so many like their GBA and DS line. The potential to come out this year is a Mini and Pro edition of the Switch.

A Mini Switch makes a bit of sense. When the Game Boy came out in 1989, it was big but fit into your pocket. It was revised in 1996 with the Pocket. That was smaller, had more hours of battery life, and didn't use a dot matrix display. I could see it with the Switch. A better display, improved battery life are two things I can vision. The price will be my main concern. I would assume 200 to 250 dollars. There's no suggestion on a release date, but if they want to do some damage, getting it out this summer should be their goal.

A Pro Switch is something I'm trying to wrap my head around. Sure enough, you could with better chips in the hardware. How much of a boost will it be? PS4 and Xbox One have their own Pro editions that have more emphasis on 4K enhanced visuals for 4K television. If it can do at least early PS4 and Xbox One, then I'd see that as a win for Nintendo. It will be pricey, which is one of the things they are not known for. Prior to the 3DS, their console and portable systems were generally 100 to 250 depending on the system. Anything above 350 might be a death wish, but if it does come out this year, it's a matter of what to expect in terms of sales and what games benefit from it.

I think a revision is necessary for the Switch. Nintendo is making a right move. Can they stick to it and have them last a few years?

The House of Fox and the Mouse

One blog I had in mind last year was this, but that was put on a back burner. With the  news settled in on what happened March 20th, you'll understand. As of now, Fox is now owned by Disney. What seems like a funny joke from The Simpsons is now in reality. What exactly does this mean?

For well over a year, the idea of Fox being bought was there. Despite being around since 1935, they have had some huge movies the last 50 years. Alien, Porky's, Die Hard, Home Alone, Ice Age, Avatar. One offs like Point Break, Mrs. Doubtfire, M*A*S*H, The Towering Inferno, Titanic. So many movies. My suspicion on why there was a deal was so Disney could get the rest of the Marvel properties that Fox had. I honestly think that was their only reason just because they want that stupid cinematic universe garbage the way they envisioned it. I'm hearing they might try to reboot X-Men, which I think is a really bad idea. Turning those guys into the same low I.Q. popcorn flicks as the other adaptations will save some people time and not see them in theaters.

Fox has it's own network, and I believe they still have control of their own stuff. As far as own produced programs, I would assume it's under Disney. I really don't know. Within the last 15 years, the House of Mouse has mostly reverted back to being a company that's more so for kids. While that's been their moniker since its inception in the 1920s, they took chances 35 years ago with their Touchstone label.  Stuff like Splash, Ruthless People, Roger Rabbit for fuck's sake. Without Roger, Spielberg doesn't do all those 90s cartoons. No Tiny Toon, no Animaniacs.  It's why I have a little concern now for Fox.

You look at FX and FXX and the original stuff they have is R-rated type material. What will happen to Always Sunny? Or American Horror Story? Or even regular Fox? A lot of their big shows are TV-14 programs. I can't imagine Disney interfering that much or neutering them.

Disney got themselves out of a rut about 10 years ago and have been making more huge hits than duds. However, they don't take too many chances anymore. It could happen to Fox depending on the kind of projects that are made. I have a really bad feeling about the future of film and TV entertainment.

YouTube Videos: Mar 15-21

Is 430 Million Too Much?

As the years have gone on, I think baseball has gotten more greedier and greedier. We're starting to see a handful of players getting paid more than 30 million a year to play 162 games. In the wake of this week's signing, I have no clue what the LA Angels are doing.

The teams main attraction is Mike Trout. He is one of the big faces for California baseball, California sports, and the MLB. Now, he possesses one of the biggest deals ever. It is a 12 year contract extension that is worth 430 million all together. That means Trout is with the Angels until 2030. Similar to Bryce Harper, he is set to play some of his prime years. It makes a lot of sense because he is one of the very few examples of a five tool player. An example of a good average, power, speed, arm strength, and fielding.

That being said, the Angels may not be learning from their mistake in 2012 when they signed Albert Pujols. But even with that, they got Pujols around the end of his prime and fresh off playing 11 years with St. Louis. Who knows what could happen to Trout. For all we know, he could keep putting up monster numbers. But that's all a guess. And a guess I'll have is how do they handle the contract and try and get players to Los Angeles to turn them into contenders. It makes sense to keep him around until his career ends. But can the Angels change their losing ways?

The big teams in California baseball have been the LA Dodgers and San Francisco. Oakland has slowly the last five years surprised the league with their success. If the Angels can look at the blueprints of those teams, then they can be smart with their decisions and piece together a team for Trout. If not, this will be a huge waste of talent with great stats but on a garbage team.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 12

The Bad Baseball Angel

I guess frustrations were mounting for Angel Hernandez. Not even into the season yet, but he must have had some reason for throwing out a manager. And that's what he did with Houston Astro manager A.J. Hinch. With Spring Training, not every game gets televised unless your favorite team is home or for specific reasons. As with a number of these incidents, it came down to balls and strikes favoritism.

I can't speak my views on unions, but MLB's umpiring union needs to be disbanded. Or at the very least, start punishing guys like Hernandez and Joe West more severely. I know it's pre-season, but something has to change. If not now, then when? How many more times does the country have to hear these guys blow a game and make the worst calls at the worst time? Hernandez was taken off the playoff crew in October for his obvious missed calls in the ALDS. The likelihood could happen again to anyone, but it could be a rarity.

The human element is something we can't ignore, but there's always someone to ruin that aspect. And unfortunately, the union allows them to keep umpiring. I won't say that every umpire needs to be accounted for their actions much like managers and players, but some blame has to be on them. At some point, someone is going to get sick of Hernandez and give him the boot. How much more will he do before he gets let go as an umpire?

Jackson: Naysayers and Bandwagons

Do note that I have no intentions of watching the documentary and am expressing my thoughts about the reviews and aftermath. Now, I think there's a part of the world that wanted Michael Jackson in jail a long time ago. There's no sugarcoating that. But the thing is, we will never know if he truly molested kids. We can only rely on what people have said. As it stands, the two sides who think he either did it or not did it will be at each other for a long time, but a lot of people believe the alleged victims.

In the wake of the Leaving Neverland documentary, stances on certain Hollywood celebrities has changed. The Simpsons has decided to ban their season 3 episode with him for good, which I think is a pure overreaction. Some radio stations have stopped playing songs. The fact that Dan Reed didn't bother to ask defenders like Macaulay Culkin, who was critical to the 2005 trial, shows a clear bias and one sided affair.  I don't get it. I really don't. As I said in the earlier blog about this, Jackson can't defend himself since he's been dead for almost 10 years. What's the point? Where's the evidence that isn't people that say they were molested? Stuff like doctor's reports or anything? I'm not a crime expert, never will be. But if it didn't work the first or second time, why the hell would it work a third time?

With the way things are, Jackson's legacy is tarnished by this. How much of it, I'm not sure. But the documentary was not a critical darling at all. As a critics' standpoint, it's well regarded, but some of them were not going to let Reed off easily. Of course, you got outside of it, people who will love it and hate it. Was it creepy for Jackson to have stuff like this? Yes. But basing it on what two alleged victims said is not enough to instantly have different stances. As I said not too long ago, I'm not the hugest fan of Jackson. This, however, is trying to favor one side where the other side can't do anything about it because of the bias.

If it was for a quick buck, Reed should be ashamed of himself. As I said, I can't form an opinion on whether Jackson molested kids or not. An interview is not going to change on me being neutral. This will end ugly in some way. As for the alleged victims, if I were them,  I would want to be in hiding for a while until all this dies out because of the reception from both sides. Those two are going to have their heads on plenty of people's plates. Until then, expect a lot of hell for a good while.

YouTube Videos: Mar 8-14

Wake Up, Desperate College Scandal!

Seems like every year now, we hear more college scandals. This time now, it's an admissions one. It's stunning to read that it's an almost year long investigation from the FBI with estimates of 25 million in bribes. In the ensuing part to find those people, at least 50 have been indicted in "Operation Varsity Blues," and the list is crazy. You got coaches on it from very prestigious schools and a couple actresses involved.

From what I understand from reading it, people are posed as the students to take tests or said students would be considered athletes. Some of the colleges include Texas, USC and UCLA, Yale, and Georgetown. As a result, a number of coaches have been let go or fired if they haven't been arrested yet. This is coming at the worst time as the NCAA March Madness tournaments begin very soon. It puts the schools reputations in jeopardy.

The schools reputations are not the only thing. Those actresses mentioned are very well known. They are Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. Huffman may not have the biggest roles, but she is married to William H. Macy and had a big show in Desperate Housewives. Loughlin is known primarily for Full House and doing stuff aimed primarily for families. Both her and her husband are indicted. It puts a dent on their reputations, especially Loughlin considering being Aunt Becky for a long time. If they did pull these stunts, they deserve to be mocked as they are right now.

Seems like a tradition now these days to hear one controversy after another with colleges. All the shit that is going on on these campuses, I understand going after parties and drugs and all that. But to stoop that low. It doesn't matter if you are famous like Huffman and Loughlin, or the blue collar adult who has a child with godly talent at something. You not only hurt yourself, but you hurt tons of things and people that go beyond the college of choice. There is no escaping this disaster.

Game Emulation Stories: Volume 1

This might be the start of something I want to do, but we'll have to see if it pans out and if I talk more about it. I've had my share of playing games via emulators and emulation over the last decade or so. I'm going to talk two games in this volume.

One of the games I would keep playing via emulators was the Sega Genesis version of Home Alone. I had tried it back in the mid 2000s on emulator, but 2010 was where I played it extensively. It would be something I would get a chance to play any time I didn't have any college work. Around Christmas, I walked down to a local used game store that had been open for almost two months and found a copy of it. Along with Tecmo Super Bowl (Genesis), Doom (PlayStation), and Mission: Impossible (PlayStation), I bought Home Alone.

It is a game I always try to play around Christmas. This is a fun one that captures the spirit of the movie. The graphics are solid for a game released in late 1992. Christmas vibes are what I think of with the outdoors and each house is unique. There is fun in assembling weapons and setting traps. It may be the best of games that the first two films had.

The last is another Genesis game. As a kid, a cousin of mine had Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure. I played it a few times in the early 2000s and that was it. Around the same time in 2010, I played it again after a long time. It was a hit of nostalgia since I hadn't seen the show in about almost a decade at that point and about seven, eight years since playing the game. It's a Sonic the Hedgehog type of game. Looks like the show, has a great soundtrack and has solid controls. My only complaints are a somewhat high difficulty and a complicated password system.

I played it for a while in 2010, but stopped and didn't come back to it until August of 2011. It was one of those nights where I played it overnight on my laptop and used save states to beat it. When it got to the credits, I knew a few characters, but most I didn't know or remembered. It got me very curious and it got me to watch clips of the show. Then it grew to watching episodes and writing a spec movie script of my own. I do own an actual copy of the game and have beaten it legitimately on a real Genesis.

Hope you folks enjoyed these two stories and hopefully I'll do more of these in the future.

The Game Emulation Route

I have seen and played games on emulation since 2001-02. Only in the last decade have I greatly embraced the concept in spite of still buying games. It's a way to play certain games you can't find or buy depending on the problem at hand. That being said, it's a slippery slope as despite the various systems that are covered, it also has plenty of hiccups.

Very few arcades exist and unless you're going to Illinois or Wisconsin for the famous arcades, you more than likely don't have an arcade or your selection is very poor no matter the good games. That's why MAME has been around for a very long time. So that you can play stuff you remember or never had a chance to try. Especially as arcade hardware starts to dwindle in working condition. Being able to play The Simpsons on emulation was nice with a college friend and myself.

Console wise, it adds a whole new depth of what there was to offer. For one, you get to see games from other parts of the world. Stuff that either should have released in other parts or shouldn't have. There may also be games that you may have missed out on when they were out. I have a few stories like that which I will get into in another blog soon. But overall, with the vast amount of systems, the world's your oyster.

It's not without it's flaws, though. Obviously, it's not replicating the hardware all the way. A number of arcade games suffer from sound issues. Glitches are present in the graphics of certain systems titles, especially ones like the Nintendo 64. Systems like the 3DO don't get a lot of love from the emulation community and the result is less than stellar. We also see multiple emulators for a single system and the results vary. The SNES is a prime example with at least three that have their ups and downs. Last to talk about is whether these emulators will continue to work as we move further into the future and see future operating systems with much better specs.

Now, I can't say I'll recommend emulation, but it is route that can be taken. Just a word of caution as not everything will work properly.

YouTube Videos: Mar 1-7

Who's Bad, Jackson?

I'm going into this by saying I'm not the hugest fan of Michael Jackson, but I have enjoyed a few songs he did. But if you were to ask who were some of the most famous musicians, he would be one of them. He was the epitome of 80s pop and could do a lot of things that would make your head spin. In between the music came several instances of child molestation crimes which he would be acquitted of. This HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland, even though I will not watch it, screams an attempt for money and 15 minutes of fame. 

Out of all the times to do something like this, why now? The narrative will always be split. You got the fans that will scream that Jackson did not do anything. Of course, you got the other side who insists he molested kids, which was the subject of parody and jokes on things like South Park and Scary Movie. There's no winner out of all this. It's going to an endless war that quite frankly, will last a long time. 

The thing is, more people will believe more into the victims. Jackson can't defend himself since he's been dead for almost 10 years. That family can't do anything except say that the alleged stuff didn't happen. If these incidents actually happened, then you can't fault the two victims who came out about it. But all you can rely on is what people said. And word of mouth does not always give you ample proof of molestation, whether it was true or not. 

As I stands, I can't form an opinion on this. If the proof was there that Jackson did heinous things, then it would change a lot of people's views on him. If he didn't, then the witch hunt needs to completely stop. How many more times can you try to make something out of stuff that was dropped almost 15 years ago? As I said, an endless war with no winner. It's a fight that will pop up in the future. The question is when. 

Geeks and Jocks Episode 11

Big Sports Deals Effects

This is kind of a follow up on my Harper blog, because some players complained about free agents not getting deals. Now these days, how well a player has done is going to determine their value to their current team or future teams who may lure them away. There have been some deals that many will not want to see happen again.

If you're into basketball, then the Allan Houston contract with the New York Knicks will make you sick. With six years and 100 million dollars, that should be a little ridiculous but not horrible. Add in bad knees, and you have a rule now regarding waiving a player and the whole luxury tax thing. About as equal is Albert Haynesworth and a deal roughly similar to that with football's Washington Redskins. Whether the effort was in or the animosity with him and Mike Shanahan in 2010, it was anything but good.

As I said for baseball, players complained about guys like Harper not getting deals. Teams are a lot more cautious now. Albert Pujols is one of the great modern players of the 21st century, but his deal with the LA Angels is a bust. Some of the years haven't been putrid, but for a guy that made 27 mil last year? I don't know. I know there's comparisons to Ryan Howard's contract because of it being centered on the Phillies. As I said in the last one, this is different. Harper is going to be in the prime years of his career. Howard was already past his prime when his five year deal started in 2012. I don't think the system is as flawed as some like Justin Verlander say it is. As much as any team would love to have their dream lineup and bullpen, everyone has their pros and cons.

It's like anything. You don't know what you are going to get. Could we see Harper not living up to it? Maybe. But there have been guys like Robinson Cano (ignoring the PED thing for a second) who have done tremendously well with their long term deals. Harper is capable. Can he just be mature be committed to playing and getting a World Series trophy?

Harper's Lucky or Unlucky Break

The number thirteen is something that can be viewed as mysterious. Whatever the case is for the Philadelphia Phillies, they are holding on Bryce Harper for a very long time. After seven years with Washington, he got a 13 year deal with the worth being 330 million dollars. He may not be making the most, but to get something long term may be good.

Given his career so far, he has been rather inconsistent. While capable of hitting home runs, he has been having years where he is great and then he slumps a little bit. Last year was a good indicator. Questions were asked on whether he was tanking or not. Comparisons have been made so far about Ryan Howard's contract from 2012 through 2016. While I would have fear if I was a Phillies fan, I think it's different. Howard was at the peak of his career and after 2011. He wasn't the same player like he was in his first three to four full seasons.

Harper still has a lot of prime years left in him to make his name in baseball. Now, he will be playing until he is 38 or 39. It's not like Howard's situation or even Albert Pujols' 10 year deal, which I'd say was a big bust. Teams are very concerned about these kid of deals. There is power to him, but the Phillies need to contain him and control his anger. If they want to be contenders in the next few years, they can't have him lose his cool and get ejected in critical moments of the season. Getting support around him and developing some of their prospects would also be a great help.

The National League East might become the go to division if it isn't the American League equivalency. Harper's deal will go down as the greatest ever or the biggest bust for any free agent when it's all said and done.

YouTube Advertising Horror

One of my earliest blogs when I first started a couple of years ago was a YouTube blog about advertisers pulling away because their ads being on really hateful material. Let's just say the video sharing site is still pulling off a lot of favors to please advertisers. As I said in that one, I use AdBlock and avoid annoying ads for crap like Liberty Mutual, though they have gotten smarter with not shoving 30 second ones down your throat.

What is happening again? YouTube is going after predatory stuff and going after Momo videos. So what is it? It's a hoax and a challenge for kids. They are to do dangerous things, and that can include committing suicide. That kind of stuff does not fly with the site and they are trying to get rid of any content that might relate to that. That's not the only thing they are going after. Also in the hunt is removing millions upon millions of comments on videos involving minors because of predatory stuff. Regardless of the content being good or bad, add in the numerous channels that may have been deleted and a few other things, it shows something that is both good and bad. 

On the one hand, it is good to try and protect kids. After all, this is probably the biggest video sharing site on the planet. I wouldn't be surprised if there is people who hunger for them and act all sexual. That should be an obvious warning sign. Not sure about little kids, but definitely it's teenagers. You can't blame YouTube for doing this. In the last few years since Trump became president, there has been a focus to get rid of inappropriate content and comments of that nature. It's noble.

However, this is a full nuclear panic as no one can comment. Not even content creators. Why not let the content creators review the stuff? This is a case of bending down to major advertisers like soda companies major retail stores. As I said, it's a good thing, but it is a bit of an overreaction in disabling it for everybody. Unfortunately, it's the case of a number of people ruining it for everybody. As probably per usual, Google won't explain anything and if they do, it will be an automated robotic response.

YouTube Videos: Feb 22-28