February 2010

The Fishwrap is Dead

Driving around the block the other day, I saw three newspapers sitting in  someone’s driveway.  It was an unusual sight because you just don’t see newspapers delivered in the suburbs anymore.  Paper boys are extinct.  One of my favorite activities used to be sitting on the back deck with a big cup of coffee and reading the paper.  Now, I sit on the back deck with my laptop hoping my battery will last through one cup. 

I keep hearing in the media about the terrible economic state of the newspaper industry across the states.  Nationwide, newspapers have gone out of business, downsized and been put up for sale due to the drastic drop in circulation for these publications.  They cry foul over the internet and all of the bloggers and other media sites that have been created.  One of the biggest complaints you here is the lack of quality of the news on blogging and off brand sites.  These people aren’t trained journalists.  They are not verifying their facts.  Blah, blah, blah.

I see it as a complete lack of foresight by the newspapers.  Why pay to have the paper delivered when I can read it for free on my computer?  Not only can I read it for free, but I can read almost any newspaper in the world. I remember starting with email and internet usage in the early 90’s.  There weren’t a whole lot of news outlets online yet.  If my local paper had hit me up for a subscription to read online back then, I probably would have paid it.  Instead, everybody gave it away for the last twenty years and now they’re crying over it.

I can’t help but think that the competition is good.  Sure, there are the yellow journalists that will make false claims and misrepresentations, but they will naturally be ferreted out.  I don’t know about you, but when I find out a media outlet has been untruthful, I tend to never watch or read that publication again.  There are so many more viewpoints available to us with this plethora of news outlets on the web and on cable television.  Imagine MSNBC and FOX news being your only news outlets on television.  You get to choose between the communist channel and the totalitarian channel.  Something turns me off and I just go to another news outlet.

I see a day when newspapers don’t exist anymore.  I see a day when home phones don’t exist anymore(I want to cancel our home phone, but Karen thinks I’m crazy).  Remember when Dick Tracy would look into the television screen on his watchband?  That day is here.  Time to embrace the changes and use them to our advantage and not cling to the days wrapping your fried fish in a newspaper.

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Sweet 16!

First of all, I am amazed that I have helped create a human being and have gone through sixteen years with him.  His mom and I are excited for him and we truly hope he is enjoying his high school years since we don’t have much time left with him.  Before the blink of an eye he will be a man and off living his life.

It seems like a lot of parents and the government are completely paranoid about their teens getting a driver’s license.  Karen and I can’t wait.  I wish he could have gotten his license on his birthday, but with his broken leg and all, he’s a little behind schedule.  However, in a couple of weeks, we should have a new driver in the house.

I am looking forward to this for mainly selfish reasons.  When you have three children, a lot of your life is spent in the car.  Almost every night of the week, either Karen or I are driving around for dance, soccer, swim, surfing and whatever else you can think of.  We believe the kids need to work hard in school, but we also believe they should have an athletic endeavor to keep fit, so it is all brought upon ourselves.

About three years ago, I had a melt down in the car.  It was Labor Day weekend and there was a soccer tournament.  Why do these morons schedule games at seven in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays?  After a long week at work and spending the entire weekend at a soccer tournament in one hundred degree heat, I lost my temper in the car on the way home.  All this driving around was getting to me.  Something had to give.  We had to change our priorities and we had to actively look to carpool with other families. 

I got over my tizzy and life continued, but when you’re child is fifteen there is a constant tug of war going on.  They want to do more and go more places, but they are entirely dependent on you for transportation.  I don’t know about you, but getting up at 5:30 in the morning, working all day and then picking your son up at  11:30pm on Friday night at a party that is eight miles from your house just isn’t appealling.  I’m becoming a fuddy duddy.

Here we are on the brink of a new driver in the house and I can’t wait.  He can take himself to and from school.  He can help drive his sisters around.  He can drive himself to and from swim practice.  He can drive himself to and from the beach.  We cand send him to the grocery store.  We can make him go gas up the car.  It seems the possibilities are endless.

You’d think it’s my birthday as excited as I am.

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