What is the Point of Twitter?

Good question. For years, I wondered the exact same thing myself. I mean, what is the point of constantly telling people where you are, what you're doing, and basically sharing every aspect of your life? Right? Riiiggghhhhttt? Right.

I first joined Twitter in 2009 for the sole purpose of following athletes' tweets (the ever-so-clever name given to Twitter posts). It was right around the time when Charlie Villanueva infamously tweeted in the locker room during halftime of an NBA game. I thought it was hilarious (it still is, albeit quite ridiculous), so I followed Charlie in hopes that he would tweet again.

Eventually, I lost interest and my Twitter account sat idly for awhile. Until earlier this year, when I had my 'eureka' Twitter moment, if you will. Do I think Twitter is the greatest thing ever? No. But it's pretty useful for a variety of things. For example:

(1) One-Stop News Source

One thing I have found extremely useful on Twitter is 'following' various news sources, as well as other topics of interest, including CNN, ESPN, Amoeba Music, Adam Schefter (great for all things NFL!), SF Weekly, Pitchfork Music, and various bands I enjoy, to name a few. As things unfold in the NFL, in the US or the world, or in relation to one of my favorite bands, I can get up-to-the-minute info via my Twitter feed. Instead of individually visiting multiple websites, boom, I get all of this info at once!

Even better, because Twitter only displays news / tweets from people I choose to 'follow', my news feed is personalized to include only content that I am interested in. Nothing more, nothing less.

(2) Effective Way to Reach the Masses

Depending on your motives, this may be more or less important. For example, many companies nowadays (especially public relations firms, advertising agencies, technology companies, and other businesses I would describe as 'hip') are using Twitter as a means for recruiting, advertising, and/or a way to get their name/product some awareness in general.

The same can be said for individuals. Many people use Twitter as a way to create awareness for themselves, whether it be amongst a certain group of people or to a specific company or organization.

Additionally, Twitter can be used in this way for actual networking with people. Where else can you interact with hundreds or thousands of 'strangers' and create actual networks or relationships? When done in the correct way, Twitter can allow you to do this. It also allows you to find people with similar interests who may turn you onto new interests that you may not have heard about before.

(3) Entertainment

There are a plethora of entertaining Twitter pages, which provide everything from humorous blogs, witty one-liners, random quotes from a guy's grumpy old dad, or just people with random pictures / thoughts that don't seem to make any sense whatsoever.

Some of my personal favorites include:

@azizansari

@kellyoxford

@shitmydadsays

@UMO

I'm sure there are many other great ones as well.

(4) Links to Other Social Media Outlets

Twitter is great in that it allows you to link it to your Facebook, your Linkedin (if you so choose), any blogs you may have, Instagram, Foursquare, and many other social media sites. With this linkage, it allows you to update / manage many social mediums at once, without having to log onto different sites to get the same message out.

In this respect, Twitter is essentially a Facebook message on steroids, only way better.

(5) Amplification Potential

With millions and millions of people on Twitter, your messages, thoughts, links, etc. have the potential to be amplified much more rapidly than on other social media sites (i.e. Facebook). All it takes is for one person to 'retweet' your tweet (essentially the same as 'liking' something you posted), and all of their followers will be able to see it. If one of them 'retweets', and one of their followers does the same, and so on, your message/thought/funny video/etc. can all of a sudden be seen by millions.

This is an extremely powerful (and dangerous) tool, depending on the message you're trying to share.

(6) What Do I Want Out of Twitter?

Most of what I get out of Twitter has already been listed above. I can get personalized, real-time news from any major news source I choose, as well as some not-so-major news sources. I can learn about tour dates and new album info from some of my favorite bands. I can have a good laugh at one of Aziz Ansari's "Watch the Throne" comics, or one of Kelly Oxford's witty thoughts.

Ultimately, however, I'd like to really make a difference in the world. I'm not exactly sure if that is going to come through work, or through the relationships I make with others, or in some other completely unexpected way. What I do know is that social media and social networking have only just begun to scratch the surface, so I'm going to jump on now in hopes of building relationships and creating social networks that I can draw upon in the future if/when needed.

I know the above paragraph seems pretty vague, but just think of Twitter like this: At the end of the day, you can basically use it in one of so many different ways (or a combination of ways). It's an example where you get out of something what you put into it. If you choose to follow a handful of athletes and celebrities only to periodically check in on what they're doing, then you're probably only ever going to think that Twitter is used for that purpose.

I'd urge anyone to just give it a try for a few weeks. Follow some people, throw out some tweets, and if it's not for you, fine. But really give it a shot, and I think you'll find the whole experience a lot more worthwhile than you thought.

By the way, you can follow me at @SLaReau7.

Outside Lands 2011

The schedule for the Outside Land's Music Festival was officially released today.  It's pretty cool because it has a feature where you can 'build your own schedule', as well as listen to a couple tracks from each of the bands (to help decide who to put on your schedule).

After briefly surveying the schedule and making some gut-feeling decisions, here's my initial customized schedule (stages are in parentheses):

Friday, August 12th 


12:00 - 12:40 --> Release the Sunbird (Sutro)
1:10 - 1:55 --> The Joy Formidable  (Sutro)

 Whirring by thejoyformidable

2:25 - 3:10 --> Phantogram (Sutro)
3:40 - 4:30 --> Foster the People (Sutro)



4:35 - 5:45 --> MGMT (Lands End)
6:15 - 6:55 --> The Limousines (Panhandle Solar)
7:00 - 7:50 --> Big Audio Dynamite (Twin Peaks)*
7:50 - 8:35 --> Best Coast (Panhandle Solar)
8:40 - 9:50 --> The Shins (Twin Peaks)



10:30 - ??? --> Arctic Monkeys @ The Independent (Outside Lands Night Show)**

*I was thinking this also may be a decent time for dinner.  I'm not all that familiar with Big Audio Dynamite, and I'll need to eat sometime, right?


** One of many 'night shows' in San Francisco during this week.  We'll have to hurry from Golden Gate Park over to The Independent to catch the Arctic Monkeys in a more intimate setting.  


Saturday, August 13th


This is the one day where there aren't a huge amount of acts I'm dying to see.  As a result, the morning / early afternoon is pretty wide open and is easily subject to change.


12:35 - 1:15 --> Macklemore & Ryan Lewis  (Lands End)
1:25 - 2:15 --> The Stone Foxes (Sutro)
2:10 - 2:55 --> The Vaccines (Twin Peaks)
2:55 - 3:35 --> Sonny & The Sunsets (Panhandle Solar)
3:40 - 4:30 --> STRFKR (Twin Peaks)
4:45 - 5:45 --> Arctic Monkeys (Lands End)



6:15 - 7:25 --> The Black Keys (Lands End)

 The Black Keys - Have Love Will Travel by donknox

7:50 - 8:35 --> Paper Diamond (Panhandle Solar)
8:40 - 9:50 --> Girl Talk (Twin Peaks)



(Gets going around 2:00)

Sunday, August 14th


12:00 - 12:45 --> Diego's Umbrella (Twin Peaks)
12:45 - 1:25 --> Lord Huron (Panhandle Solar)
1:15 - 2:00 --> tUnE-YarDs (Sutro)

 Tune-Yards - Bizness by snipelondon

2:20 - 3:00 --> Grouplove (Panhandle Solar)

 Grouplove - Colours by xemper

3:05 - 3:55 --> !!! (Twin Peaks)
3:55 - 4:35 --> Ty Segall (Panhandle Solar)

 Ty Segall - Girlfriend by bruisecruisefestival

4:40 - 5:30 --> Major Lazer (Twin Peaks)
5:20 - 6:20 --> Little Dragon (Sutro)*
6:15 - 7:25 --> The Decemberists (Lands End)**
6:50 - 8:00 --> Beirut (Sutro)



8:40 - 9:50 --> Arcade Fire (Lands End)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well that's it so far.  Looking forward to the festival, especially since I'll be attending with a group of friends, which should make for a pretty good time!

If anyone has any suggestions on artists not listed above, feel free to let me know, as I want to make sure to see as many great acts as I can!

Solving the Debt Problem

Let me preface this blog post by saying that I am by no means a political expert.  Nor do I fully understand (at least from an inside-Washington standpoint) exactly what goes into passing bills, agreeing on provisions, etc.  Additionally, I am by no means trying to start any kind of us-vs.-them political arguments. 

With that said, the arguments going on regarding the debt ceiling are a joke to me.  Not in the sense that this isn't an important issue that should be tackled by our representatives in Congress, but in the sense that it's just really stupid to see both sides (Republicans and Democrats) stand so rigidly against the other like this is some big game of 'chicken'.  It seems too often as though our leaders are more concerned with getting re-elected or getting the incumbent out of office that they don't stop to really think about what our country (and its people) truly want/need.

It's the same old story with the same old talking points.  "Republicans should end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals in America," say the Democrats.  "Oh, but Democrats just wanted to spend, spend, spend," retort the Republicans.  One thing is clear.  Congress can solve this problem is by doing one of three things: (1) decrease costs (spending), (2) increase revenues, or (3) a combination of both.  Either way, our net revenues need to be greater than our net expenses/costs, or we go further into debt.

We could spend all day debating the merits of ending tax cuts, or increasing the capital gains tax so that wealthy hedge fund managers don't pay a lower tax rate than their secretary, or why it is better to have a big government (more regulation) vs. a smaller government (less regulation).  Or, we could look at ways we can work together to solve this issue.  TOGETHER.

Enter Representative Jared Polis (D-Colorado). 

Mr. Polis has proposed four immediate ways to help solve the debt ceiling issue with raising taxes OR cutting spending.

In summary, he believes the following four steps can be taken right now to help increase revenues without raising taxes on American citizens:

(1) Legalize marijuana - already legal in 16 states, taxes on medical marijuana bring in millions of dollars annually.  A 2005 study by a Harvard University professor estimates this number could reach $2.4 billion if pot were made legal nationwide.

(2) Legalize online poker - I wrote about the merits of this in a blog post a couple months back, but Mr. Polis agrees that by changing federal laws relating to online gambling (i.e. legalizing it, making sure it is regulated to protect individuals but also give them the freedom to play, etc.) can bring in a lot more money, as much as $42 billion annually, according to one estimate not cited in the article.

(3) Stricter immigration laws - require the more than 10 million illegal immigrants living in the US to obtain legal status and pay back taxes and fees.  Such measures could raise as much as $5.4 billion in revenues.  Alternatively, immigration reform (including bills considered by the Senate in 2007) could bring in $12 billion by 2012 and $48 billion by 2017.

(4) One-year tax amnesty program - allow tax evaders one year to 'get right' without facing penalties.  This would encourage (at least some) current tax evaders to try and pay taxes owed that they may not otherwise pay.  According to the article, one study by Arthur Laffer (economic advisor to Ronald Reagan) found that one year of amnesty could bring in $800 billion to $1 trillion (yup, TRILLION) in revenues over the course of a decade.

Granted, while the above are based on estimates or studies and are not 100% guaranteed facts, they definitely shed some light on the fact that even though our government cannot agree on how to ultimately solve the debt issue, there are a number of things that could be done in the meantime to generated much-needed revenues that would appease the majority of Democrats and Republicans.

We can argue the morality of legalizing marijuana and online poker, as well as the pros and cons of tax amnesty and immigration reform.  We may not all agree, and that's fine.  But at least we'll be debating something that matters in a productive manner, instead of simply sticking to our guns and trying to not cave in and let the other guy look good. 

Clear Some Space Out So We Can Space Out

I went and saw Portugal. The Man for a third time a couple weeks ago at the Rickshaw Stop here in San Francisco.  Sweet venue, great band, no complaints.

Aside from a couple DJs, the openers were a band called White Arrows, a group of long-haired twenty-somethings donned in Hawaiian shirts.  Currently, they only have one EP out, which is appropriately titled 'White Arrows - EP'.  However, I have a feeling we'll be hearing more from them in the months to come.



Additionally, today marked the unveiling of the lineup for San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival.  Overall, the lineup looks pretty promising.  One inclusion I'm excited for is Shabazz Palaces, an electro-hip-hop group from Seattle.

 Shabazz Palaces - Swerve... by subpop

And another one:



The group's full-length debut, "Black Up" is available now, and the beats are ridiculous.

Brian Wilson is Priceless

No, seriously...

She Shoots, She Scores?

Maybe it's the soccer fan in me, or maybe I had nothing better to do on a Sunday morning, but I have to admit that watching the United States women's soccer team beat Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup got me pretty jacked up.  I literally yelled when Abby Wambach headed in the tying goal in the 122nd minute to force the match to penalty kicks (see: Short-Handed U.S. Stuns Brazil, wins in PKs).

Abby Wambach heads in the tying goal in the 122nd minute

I'll also admit that women's sports do not generally excite me.  It's not because they are inferior (at least not in all cases) to men's sports.  It's primarily because I am a male and can relate more closely to male sports than I can to female sports.  I know what it's like to throw a touchdown pass, get sacked by a defender, or get hit in the leg with a fastball. However, I'm a bit inexperienced when it comes to hitting a fast-pitch softball or spiking a volleyball down some girl's throat.

But on Sunday, sitting on my couch, I was pumped.  My heart was beating like I was watching the biggest sporting event of the year.  It brought be back to 1999 when the U.S. women defeated China 5-4 on penalty kicks to win the World Cup (see: Brandi Chastain hits decisive PK and takes her shirt off in celebration). 

In fact, it even brought me back to just last year when I was watching the U.S. men trying to advance in their own World Cup.  The U.S. women's match was able to equal the level of interest, excitement, and nerves as the men's matches a year ago, at least for me personally.

It seems as though the rest of the country is getting energized and excited by this match as well.  LeBron James recently tweeted the following via his Twitter account:

"USA!! #HopeSolo. Congrats ladies!"

Whether you're a soccer fan or not (but especially if you are), the U.S. women have a chance to do something the U.S. men have been unable to do: win the biggest championship their sport has to offer.  Doing so not only helps create excitement for the sport of soccer within the United States, it also gives it some legitimacy.  Let's embrace the fact the Team USA might actually be the best in the world at something other than basketball.

Perpetually Winning

I've learned today that my good friend, former roommate, and co-49er season ticket holder, Josh Burstein, has just been selected as Charlie Sheen's summer social media intern.  It was announced via Charlie Sheen's twitter yesterday. 

As strange and far-fetched as the idea of this announcement may have ever seemed (see: Charlie Sheen gets 74,000 applicants for 'Tiger Blood Intern' role), the fact that Josh not only applied, but won, is not surprising in the least bit.

I first met Josh in the Fall of 2008 on the 3rd Floor (Ross House) of Cole Hall at the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!).  Our first conversation basically consisted of Josh telling me about a summer internship at ESPN in New York and borrowing my Memento DVD, which he would return a few months later (literally the next time we would converse).   There was also some talk of Keira Knightly, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the fact that Josh was half Asian / half Jewish.

We eventually became friends, and shared residences for the next few years.  Josh has always been sort of the life of the party.  He has the inherent ability to attract people, including insatiable girls who eat our leftover Ian's pizza and loudly proclaim their race from the bedroom in the middle of the night.  Josh is also a bona fide self-starter.  I've honestly lost track of all the internships he's had, and he has recently started a non-profit for what I believe is an extremely legitimate cause.

He's created video (yes, video) power hours, hosted multiple "Mustachio Bashios", and even has a cameo appearance in cinematic legend that is The Last Kiss.  Of the many other unforgettable moments over the past few years, I will never - for the rest of my life - forget the time Josh acted upon the priceless opportunity to ghost ride his car into a tree.

Suffice to say that at any given time Josh is capable of doing something crazy, ridiculous, awesome, or potentially stupid.  He's also one of the most successful people I know.  Thus, he's obviously perfect for this internship.

Here's the winning final round video application:



Winning, indeed.  Congrats, bud!

I Try to Hide All These Gay Thoughts and Feelings...

...I don't know where they coming frooommm!



Going to see The Growlers tonight with Dr. Dog at The Independent.  It's going to be a psychedelic rock extravaganza.  Pictures and/or videos to follow.  Until then, here are a couple more gems.

Dr. Dog - "The Ark"



The Growlers - "Empty Bones"



The Growlers - "Camino Muerto"

I Wish I Could Get Paid to Buy Vinyls

Went to Amoeba Records today to buy some vinyls.  It was literally the perfect day for walking around San Francisco and browsing through the mecca that is Amoeba Records.

It's a converted bowling alley, which naturally  makes it ideal for stuffing it with vinyls and letting people like myself run loose and splurge on new additions to my collection.

Seriously, mecca...

While I was looking around I got to thinking.  What I wouldn't give to take a shopping cart into this store and just go nuts for like 10 minutes, Super Market Sweep style.  For 10 minutes, I can go around the store grabbing any vinyls that I want, and after the time is up, I get to keep whatever I could fit in my cart.

Side note: how awesome was Super Market Sweep?  Seriously, just people going around throwing anything and everything in their carts, trying to ring up as much money as possible.  I'm even pretty sure they got to keep what they put in their cart.  I remember watching marathons of that and always getting pissed when the contestants did anything but go after the Butterball turkeys.  Everyone knew those things were worth like $30 a pop!  As a 10-year-old, I was convinced I could beat anyone in that game, because I'd go straight for the turkeys, and pick up any of the bonuses on the way.

Anyhow, I digress.  After about an hour and a half of browsing, I left the store with the following bag o' treats:

*  Bon Iver - Bon Iver
*  The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
*  Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
*  Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
*  The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
*  Deerhunter - Cryptograms


When I'm shopping for vinyls, there's always an internal conflict that involves me wanting to (1) complete collections of certain artists I have (see Black Keys purchase above); (2) buy new release vinyls of albums I've heard lately that I consider to be really good (see Bon Iver); or (3) expand my collection of classic albums that I ultimately want as part of my collection (see White Stripes and Led Zeppelin).  At the end of the day, I'm usually just very happy to be able to grab some new vinyls to listen to and stack on my shelf.

Speaking of which, here's the current vinyl collection:

There's about 90 or so LPs (12-inch), 20 or so 45s (7-inch), and three 10-inch albums.  I'm pretty proud of it thus far, but here's the space I ultimately need to fill:

Three shelves under the window to be filled.  After about a year I am about 3/4 of the way through the first.  Gives me something to shoot for, I suppose.

Someday, I'm hoping to have a room that looks like this:

And if You Show Me to the Stage, I Rock It

Alas, there is hope!

Cliff notes for those who don't feel like reading:

- Representative Joe Barton (R - Texas) is introducing a bill to legalize online poker
- Bill allows states to choose whether or not to legalize online poker within their state
- Poker sites need to already be licensed in at least one state
- Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (2006) does not explicitly outlaw 'poker', making it difficult to define what is/is not legal
- According to Barton, Republican leadership is generally in favor of such a bill
- Bill is co-sponsored by 11 congressmen, 7 of which are Democrats
- Provisions in the bill restrict those who could apply for a license for the first three years to licensed gambling companies that have significant assets, and require significant vendors to be scrutinized the same way
- Barton does not support legalizing other forms of online gambling because he believes poker involves more skill than luck.
- Barton hopes to have a bill on President Obama's desk during the current Congress.

So this is what Republicans and Democrats actually agree on?

How can you love me, when you don't like me, baby?

I apologize for the lack of posts in the past week and a half.  I am currently finishing the process of moving residences within San Francisco, and have spent a lot of time packing, moving, unpacking, putting things away, splurging at IKEA, and putting furniture together.  As a result, there was very little time to blog.

Anyhow, yesterday was new music Tuesday (literally one of my favorite days of the week besides the weekend).  A number of good albums came out, but one I really want to toss out there is the self-titled debut from Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  It received an 8.1 rating (out of 10) from Pitchfork (my primary source of musical news, etc.).  Basically, anything over an 8 is considered really good. 
I've had the pleasure of seeing this band live twice in the past couple months. It took a little while, but I really started to get into their music.  If you're into psychedelic rock, give it a shot. 

You can stream the entire album here.  Or, just buy it on iTunes.  Better yet, buy it on vinyl for $14 and get the free download card. 

                       *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Side note, it's been a little more than one year to the day that I started my vinyl collection.  Not only that, but it was approximately one year ago that I attended the Portugal. The Man concert at The Fillmore with my girlfriend and my friend who was visiting The City (looking at you, Adam Toy).  Anyhow, the picture behind my blog title was actually taken at The Fillmore during that concert, so technically I am in there somewhere (on the right towards the back, if I remember correctly).

Happy Wednesday!

Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment...

I've been busy moving to a new apartment, which is why there have been no updates lately.  I apologize for this and will surely update more often now that I am somewhat settled in.

On another note, I'm excited to relay that The Cool Kids have a new album coming out July 12th entitled "When Fish Ride Bicycles."  Originally scheduled for release on December 29, 2009 (no typo there), it appears as though the dream will finally become the reality. 

One thing I really enjoy about The Cool Kids is that for a hip-hop band, they don't embody a lot of the things that turn people off to hip-hop music.  For example, their first album, "The Bake Sale", consists of them rapping about such things as going to the grocery store and buying milk, playing basketball, playing Sega Genesis, shoes, pagers, and bicycles.  Notice no mention of drugs, sex, cash, hoes, etc.?  That's why they're so great.  They can rap about the corniest of topics and still make it sound sweet as hell.

Here's a new track off the forthcoming album entitled "Bundle Up", as well as reminder of some of The Cool Kids' current gems to get you all as excited as I am for July 12th:

"One, Two"

"Mikey Rocks"

"88"

"A Little Bit Cooler"

"Gold and a Pager"

Listen to them all, or listen to just one, I don't care.  They're all good.  And the beats are dope.

I don't want to work forever, know what I know, or beg or borrow

Happy Friday to all!  Be safe.


The video is 13 minutes long, but it's so worth a watch.  It's Portugal. The Man's new song "Sleep Forever" followed by another new song called "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)".  They played the video to start their show when I went to see them last month.

"Got It All" is currently the free single of the week on iTunes until Sunday, so get it while it's hot!

In These Modern Times

Within the last month or so, the city of San Francisco has imposed a 5% credit card processing fee on all taxi cab transactions.  The main issue seems to be that taxicab companies want to hire cab drivers as independent contractors so they don't have to pay them benefits.  However, they are now trying to install machines in the cabs to record every transaction made, most likely to reduce the risk of drivers stealing money / not recording every fare received.  To make matters a bit worse, fares start at $3.10 and haven't increased in seven years.  With the price of gas getting out of control (currently in the $4.30 - $4.50 per gallon range in the city), this makes it hard for cab drivers to make a solid living.

Now, I don't take a ton of cabs, but if I'm out with a group of people and we're all relatively far from home, taking a cab and splitting the fare often seems like the most logical choice.

I took a cab the other day operated by the San Francisco Taxi Cab Company, which not only takes credit cards, but advertises on their windows which credit cards they accept.  A group of us get in the car and we start heading home, at which point (and not until then) did the driver say, "It'll be cash only tonight, I'm not accepting credit cards."  When we questioned why, his response was along the lines of "because they take 5% and I won't get my f*cking money until Wednesday (it was a Friday)."

At this time, I was unaware of the newly-imposed credit card fee, and was a bit taken aback by the driver's tone / attitude.  I mean, as an accountant, I am well aware of costs of doing business, and to me, while it was unfortunate for taxicab drivers, this seemed to be a new cost of doing business.  While these taxi drivers count on their fares for the day, my friend Brent pointed out that they would only need to take this hit up front.  In other words, after the first few days, even though fares earned in a given day would not be received for 2-3 days, they would be receiving fares from the previous 2-3 days, which would ultimately cancel that out.

Therefore, the only real issue would be the 5% fee, which got me thinking.  I know that 5% of a driver's daily take can be a significant amount of money to him/her, especially with the price of gas.  But is it worth being a dick about?  Is it worth losing out on a tip or losing someone's business altogether (assuming the driver refuses to take a credit card and the customer decides to try his/her luck with another cab).

In general, I would think that most people tip approximately 15%-20% for cabs, restaurants, services, etc.  I generally like to tip 20%, mainly based on the facts that I live in a high-cost-of-living area, and and cab drivers, waiters/waitresses, etc. depend on tips to help make a living (I'm not judging, though).

I can only speak for myself, but when I use a cab, I find my experiences / thought process to follow one of the following scenarios:

Scenario A - Driver is a dick about me paying cash when he clearly has an operational credit card machine.  I reluctantly pay cash (if I even have any) and don't give a good tip (10%) due to the shitty service.


Scenario B - Driver says he only accepts cash, I ask if he will take a credit card, he says "no, cash only."  Because I only have credit card, I find a new cab and driver keeps looking for business.


Scenario C - Driver asks if I can pay cash, I say that all I have is a credit card, he agrees that is fine.  Driver is friendly and treats me with respect.  I tip at least 20% and probably round up to the nearest 50 cents or dollar to help him make up for his 5% hit.


Scenario D - Drivers asks if I can pay cash, I ask if credit card is okay and he says he's sorry, but he can honestly only take cash or he genuinely prefers only cash.  In this scenario, he may/may not be telling the truth, but as long as he seems genuine/remorseful/caring about the situation, I don't mind paying cash and leaving a normal tip, even though I don't generally have much cash on me.


While these aren't the only scenarios that could play out, they demonstrate my general opinion towards this issue.  I have no problem tipping someone for doing well at their job, and that includes demonstrating high quality customer service.  Even though they prefer cash, it's ultimately more beneficial to them if I pay a $10 fare with a credit card and leave a $2.50, less a 5% charge, vs. them being mean / demanding / disrespectful and me paying somewhere between $10 - $11.


Overall, I guess my recent thoughts regrading this issue really made me realize that treating people with respect, delivering high quality customer service, and being a good person, especially in the face of a little adversity, can really pay dividends.  In some ways, literally. 


I have no problem paying a little extra to help out my fellow man, especially if I feel the respect or kindness is reciprocated somehow.  With credit cards being the way of the future, it will be interesting to see how things shake out, especially if there are no base fare increases in the near future, not only in San Francisco, but in cities around the country.  I guess we will all have to stay tuned.

If you look real high, you just might find, sitting in the stars, glistening, glistening...

Pretty hard to get pumped about going to work when the ballpark is just a stones throw away.

Photo effects courtesty of Instagram.

I Got Mine

It's "New Music Tuesday" (at least according to iTunes)!

Go out and get some new tunes.  I already got mine:

Cults - "Cults"

Arctic Monkeys - "Suck It And See"

Beirut - "East Harlem / Goshen" single

Will comment more once I have given them each a few listens.  

Everyone is Golden

On April 15th, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the heads of various major online poker sites under charges of bank fraud, illegal gambling, and money laundering.  I'm not going to go into too much of the details, but to make a long story short, online poker has essentially disappeared in the United States for the foreseeable future.  Ultimately, the DOJ determined that online poker sites are in violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which basically rules online "gambling" to be illegal.  It is silent with regards to "poker" specifically (I can get into the merits of arguing why poker is not necessarily considered "gambling," but perhaps I will save that for a different day.

To read more about the whole situation, check out this article.

It goes without saying that I completely disagree with the DOJ's (and US Government in general) decision to ban online poker.  Not only did I use to play extensively as a source of a second income (I basically made a living playing online poker while I was in college, didn't have to work a 'real' job for spending money, and was able to pay for my security deposit + first month's rent when I moved out to San Francisco), but I enjoyed the competition and the intellectual challenge to constantly adapt to the way different players were playing, thinking, etc.

I understand that what the heads of these poker sites did was wrong.  They used illegal means to transfer funds between bank accounts, to and from payment processors, and to / from players' accounts.  However, I can't help but think that our government is missing out on an incredible opportunity.

According to Forbes, PokerStars - the largest online poker site that served the US - has approximately $1.4 billion (yup, BILLION) in annual revenues, with approximately $500 million in profits.  This figure will no doubt decline now that a chunk of the player pool is no longer able to play on the site.  However, imagine if the US government regulated online poker and taxed the shit out of it!

For example, to become legitimate, all online poker sites would have to register with the US government and follow certain guidelines in order to stay "in compliance" with regulatory rules.  Such guidelines may include, but not be limited to, transparency of the use of players' funds, limits on daily/weekly/monthly deposits to help prevent players from overextending themselves (this is near impossible to completely achieve, but I believe these limits could go along way), and maintaining certain debt and/or liquidity ratios.  As long as sites stayed 'in compliance' with set guidelines, they would be eligible to operate within the US.  The kicker is that the government would be able to tax their revenues at a significant rate.  Consider even a 20% tax rate (it would likely be higher), which would yield $100 million in additional tax revenues, which could be used to improve government programs like health care, medicare, and most notably, education.

And that's just PokerStars.  Full Tilt Poker and Party Poker, the next two largest online poker sites, generated revenues of approximately $500 million each during 2010, with approximately $100 million in profits.  Applying our assumed 20% tax rate above, that's an additional $40 million in tax revenues for the United States government.  Obviously, I am make general assumptions, but you get the general idea.  However, since there is no depreciation for online poker rooms (like there is in brick-and-mortar casinos) a large percentage of profits will flow to the bottom line and ultimately be taxed.

Due to the UIGEA (mentioned above), it had become much more difficult to get money online (certain banks would not process transactions to online gaming sites).  If online poker were made legal and regulated, the doors would be opened to everyone and anyone (over the age of 21) who was interested in playing, which would substantially increase the overall player pool, and in turn, annual revenues, profits, and tax dollars.

Finally, another aspect of legalizing online poker that should be of interest to the US Government is that of job creation.  Currently, all major online poker sites operate overseas or in Canada (as a result of the aforementioned UIGEA).  With legalization in the US would come opportunity to set up offices closer to some of the actual customers, which would then create jobs in finance, customer service, administration, etc.  Obviously, I'm not talking hundreds of thousands of jobs, but maybe hundreds, or thousands, which are both bigger than 0, and that's the point.

The morality of gambling should not be the question here.  It is not up to you or I to decide whether or not poker is (a) considered gambling; (b) if so, if it is in the same boat as blackjack and/or other casino games; and (c) whether gambling itself is somehow 'wrong' or 'immoral' or against some kind of inherent moral code ingrained in all of us as American citizens (hint: it's not).  The fact of the matter is this:  if people want to play poker for a living, and they can't play online, they'll go to casinos, or move to Canada, or find some alternative means of playing.  However, any of these alternative means result in no additional tax dollars to the US government.

It's along the same lines as the legalization of marijuana.  You may or may not think that smoking marijuana is 'right' or 'okay'.  The truth is that many people smoke it on a daily basis, and are going to continue doing so, whether it is deemed illegal or not.  The only difference is that if it were made legal and, most importantly, regulated, the US Government could place a high tax on sales an generated much needed revenues.



The first easy step in achieving improvements in the above areas is the legalization of online poker.

(On a somewhat related note, Phil Ivey has filed a lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker and is boycotting the 2011 World Series of Poker.  Read more here.)

What's the Bizness, Yeah!

I went to see Yeasayer at The Fillmore a couple Fridays ago with some friends.  Overall, it was a great show.  The Smith Westerns were one of the opening bands.  They're basically a bunch of 20-year-old kids from Chicago who just released their second album, Dye It Blonde.  I highly recommend giving it a listen, as it is probably one of the better albums of 2011 thus far.

Anyways, like I said, the show was great.  Smith Westerns were good, Yeasayer was awesome, AND we got a free Fillmore poster (my collection is at 4 now!).

However, what I really wanted to talk about was the opening act.  It was one dude with basically an iPod and a microphone named Hush Hush.  He used the iPod to play what sounded like some pretty awesome beats.  However, once he started singing, things quickly went from potentially awesome to (not so) borderline inappropriate.  For example, check out this song.

I read one account of a guy who saw Hush Hush perform a few nights before we did, and he described the experience as, "Never in my life have I been so fascinated and felt so violated at the same time."  Yup, that pretty much sums it up.  It's almost disappointing because a lot of his songs have a pretty solid musical sound and are then tainted once the lyrics start.  Although, I get the feeling that's kind of the point with this guy.

Here is another nugget for your viewing pleasure.

Finally, you may have noticed the title of this post may seem a bit weird or not make much sense relative to the rest.  I've basically decided that some of my post titles will contain lyrics / lines / phrases / excerpts from various songs that are stuck in my head that day.  Today, "Bizness" by TuNe-YarDs is the lucky winner.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy May 5th!  I've never been big in celebrating cinco de mayo, and I think the celebrations that go on in America regarding cinco de mayo sort of miss the point altogether, but that's neither here nor there.

In an effort to try and stay current on new music, I'm going to be doing a quasi-album review each Friday.  The review will basically be related to a new album that dropped within the last week or two.  So stay tuned for the first review coming tomorrow (I hope).

Also, I'll be attending a Portugal. The Man concert at The Fillmore in San Francisco tomorrow night.  For those who have never heard of this band, consider giving them a shot.  They're incredibly talented songwriters and put on a great live show as well.  They have a new album coming out in July, which will no doubt be subject to a future Friday album review.  I'll leave you with this little nugget from their first album. 

Portugal. The Man - "AKA M80 the Wolf"

I'm really looking forward to the show tomorrow, since the Fillmore is one of the more legendary concert venues in the US, or at least on the West Coast.  Either way, they have pictures hanging on all the walls of all of the great musicians that have played there in the past (Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, etc.).  Basically, anyone who has ever made it big in music has played at the Fillmore at some point in their lives.

You know it's legit when you have the check-cashing store on the street level.