The Police Burned Chris Dorner Alive

Last night I listened to 4 hours of the only LAPD Scanner stream left on the internet, and what I heard was jarring and thankfully recordings made it on the net. The reason only one stream was left is because the police asked media to only use film from far away and used a 4G signal blocker while the building was strategically set on fire by "burners" mentioned in the below video. It's also of note that the building owner stated there was no Television or Internet connection in the house (which the police already knew), therefore what they stated to the media was a lie.....

Here is the video with the 5 minutes of audio as it's burning, with the way the mainstream media is avoiding this part of the story...you may want to watch it quick:

Remember the most important thing to do is to make sure your mainstream news media knows about this and also that many people know. It's about time ruthless police departments who do anything to protect themselves get their justice, Dorner's methods were savage and wrong but let's make sure something good comes of this....which is the public outing of what justice really means within the city of Los Angeles and the State of California.

Music's New Generation Gap is Drastically DIfferent

The traditional view of older generations having different tastes of music than the younger is one that may just be dead. Sure there is the whole dubstep thing, but that seems more niche than anything else...

What I have noticed in the barely relevant mainstream music media is that authenticity means more than the quality of the music being produced. Two weeks ago on some Star Search ripoff show, a contestant stated she did "the country thing" and apparently offended Keith Urban who is self-identified as a country artist. After this Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson proceeded to provide that "veteran music industry advice" and grill this girl regarding if she's Country or something. Nicki Minaj was visually frustrated at this conversation as was anyone who is sane. This conversation could only exist with two people who are oblivious to the way people listen to music in 2013. Randy Jackson then went on about his 30 years of industry experience (NOT something to brag about) and Mariah ranted about some other nonsense that didn't matter. Before she walked off stage, Nicki made it quite clear that none of this advice was helpful at all to the girl and questioned why it was even given in the first place.

Best Albums of 2012

Looking back at the previous year in music is one of my absolute favorite things to do every year dating back to even before I worked at Record Time. With 2012 being the best year for music in a long long while (since at least 2005 that I can remember) it has been super fun and also extremely difficult to come up with an actual ranked list. My top album of the year is a reissue so I felt guilty having it top my list, BUT when you look at my Last.fm chart of the previous 12 months you will see why I felt so compelled to choose it for #1.

Either way here is my yearly list and I would encourage you to check them out!

Best & Worst Shows of 2012

Even though it isn't over, I like to start my "Best Of" lists early and I figured it was perfect timing to do my favorite shows of the year. Since I'm a smartphone picture addict, I will include digital folksy self shot images of each show, because I care.

1. The Weeknd
St. Andrew's Hall - Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

Within the past year there is no artist I have listened to more than The Weeknd, check here for proof of this. So to say I was excited for this show would be a ridiculous understatement. St. Andrew's was about 250 degrees and it was my last time being around someone I ended up developing true feelings for, so the evening remains bittersweet in that way. Forgetting personal drama, this show was unbelievable and not only my favorite show of the year, but one of my 3 favorite of all time. A perfect setlist, a crowd that sang along to EVERY WORD of EVERY SONG and so much talent that it was off the charts. This was the type of show that you know you will brag about being at in the future.

This didn't stop throughout the entire show. Leading to a performance of Drake's Crew Love that had everyone in attendance singing "This Ain't No Fuckin Singalong", it was a singalong and it was the best show of the year with a bullet.

Want to Hire/Woo Gen Y & Millennials? Ignore the Internet

I just read this piece from the Wall Street Journal describing how oXYGen Financial use stupid marketing tactics to attempt to appeal to younger consumers and it greatly emblematic of what's wrong with America. Yes, that statement is hyperbolic but it's 100% true, businesses have absolutely no clue anymore and have completely lost their shit. Just reading that article makes me wonder how successful their business model is, because it seems to me paying $90 for "investment advice" seems like bullshit from every angle.

People from my generation have been marked to 24/7 for our ENTIRE LIVES, so how does a company that clearly gets this fail so hard. If you look at the last sentence of the article it states "They want to know exactly how you're going to make money off of them and the last thing they want to hear is some slick sales speech" which is truthful, everything else contradicts this statement.

Fuck social media, fuck generational wall building, and fuck these internet business content mills that spout shit that business leaders believe. Why do none of these articles speak of the companies successes and failures? The point of a business is to make money, this is surprising news to maney.

So why do these companies spout nonsense about how attracting younger customers while also clearly missing the point? It's because there is only one way to get the "internet generation" which is a much better term I believe, and that is by offering a quality product or service. Apple is still growing because their products are great, people are cancelling their cable service because the product is shitty....does this make sense?  Apparently not because companies would rather drone on about social media and "fun events" rather than providing honest customer testimonials explaining why we should use their product.

Within the next few months I will be launching my own business, and I will use what I've learned from 15+ years as an internet addict to attempt to build and grow this business. Doing this won't be easy but it sure as hell will be more rewarding than watching assholes take advantage of younger customers and employees. So instead of figuring out how to value a "like", I will be charging for a product and utilizing Facebook and Twitter to promote said product. It seems alarmingly simple but it's something that most companies with 60+ year old leadership are failing at massively.

This blog has a lot of posts bitching about older generations, and I feel I should end this post with an explanation. I'm so upset about this because I know I'm a better employee/worker/person than most of you, but I am stuck in a rigid system of conformity and mindless merit-based hiring practices. This is shit you started and accepted. In my past work experience (note I said PAST and not current as my current employer is fantastic and progressive) here are some things that go on which I can't believe are still happening in 2012 (AND IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT). So if any of you manager types that are bored and reading this online because your employees are doing all of your work, here is why they hate your guts.

• Why are there 2 hour meetings that should only be 10 minutes? 

• Why are work shifts set in hours instead of task completion? If someone completes a task in 2 hours that takes someone else 10 and then has 8 hours of boredom, why are they punished for being a better employee?

• Why do you give a fuck what any employee looks like if they get the job done correctly and quickly? It's 2012 and your stupid dress codes and anti-tattoo/piercing shit is dying fast.

• Why should anyone respect you just because you are older? No one has EVER given me a good reason for this, as respect is always earned and not given based on arbitrary age requirements. Oh and most of the "wisdom" they think they possess, can be Googled.

• Why do we have to be your IT department and still get paid less than Everyone in the IT department?

These are all giant disconnects I have noticed in the new "generation gap" and I hope that the generation I am from stands up for themselves more and realizes they don't have to work in this system, they can change it by being outspoken or doing their own shit.

Life's Pet Peeves

There are issues that everyone has in life and some of them annoy me more than others, here are some of the things peeve me the most:

1. Slowness

This is my hands down top pet peeve of all time. Nothing in life angers me more than someone else slowing me down, and it seems that slowing me down is society's master goal.  I personally believe that slowness is one of the rudest things that a person can do.

A few specific examples:

• Driving
• Not immediately going when a light turns from red to green
• Driving significantly under the speed limit and blocking me in when it’s clear I’m trying to pass
• Stopping in the middle of the road to turn around regardless of traffic situations
• Making unnecessary small talk with the cashier when a long line is behind you

2. The Telephone

I hate talking on the phone, part of it is that I have a hard time hearing after years of extremely loud rock concerts, the other part is that it is presumptuous and rude. If someone texts or e-mails me something I can send a reply at my convenience without interrupting any meeting, conversation or event that I may be at. A phone call, however, requires me to drop everything to speak with you at this given second. Phone calls should be used only in times where it is easier/more convenient than a text or e-mail. 

Telephone use is something that is very generational, in my workplace I have noticed that those over 40 are much more apt to communicate via phone, whereas those who are younger will use alternate methods. Under this umbrella are Voice-mails too, which are probably the most annoying thing on earth. They wouldn't bother me at all if people knew how to leave accurate, succinct messages. This however never happens and instead I have to listen to a minute or more of rambling, boring nonsense.

The next time you need to get ahold of someone and have the phone in your hand, THINK. Is this a message better suited for a text? Usually it is.

3. People Who Don't Google First

In 2012 it is unacceptable to ask me questions like "How do you spell this word?", "Give me directions to Warren from here" or "When is the Nine Inch Nails concert?"

This is another issue that is influenced highly by age, as those who grew up with the Internet generally know how to find information faster (although the Millennials are failing miserably at most aspects of Boolean Logic). If you want another reason that the young folks are bitter at older generations, it is that we are generally their personal library service, providing whatever information they request at the drop of a hat. This ability to do something they are too stubborn/lazy to do on their own usually results in no pay increase for us, instead just bitterness that the older generation can't figure out how to use Google.

4. Dress Codes

Another outdated custom that needs to go away for good. A good percentage of the population actually believes that there is a point to wearing a shirt and tie or "professional attire" to show professionalism. In reality all this attire does is mask incompetence.

Dress Codes are something enforced by old people who are bitter that our generation is changing a meaningless custom. It is important for us to break dress codes as often as possible to ensure future generations will not have this nonsense. It's important that young folks realize that these rules do not need to be respected and this can change if you FORCE these organizations to change.

5. Overhype

This is something that isn't going away and it has ruined many great things. There is nothing worse than people talking seemingly non-stop about something you love, because it will inevitably lead to disappointment and over-saturation. Ignoring all hype is the best first step to fixing this issue.

6. The Music/Media/Publishing/Film Industries

These industries HATE THEIR FANS. Filing lawsuits against fans, making it next to impossible to effectively use their digital products on the device of your choice because of DRM and of course there is the huge factor of being a complete rip off.

Record Labels love to waste money. They used to be able to waste as much as they wanted because of how much they gouged the end consumer who purchased their products. File sharing came along and then the record labels got angry that consumers were now able to say FUCK YOU to the greedy asshole labels. So now after failed legislation and an almost dead business model, the industry has ran out of good ideas.

Thankfully independent artists like The Weeknd, Odd Future, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor and Radiohead have realized that the economic value of pre-recorded music in 2012 is zero and it should be used as a tool for other revenue streams.

How To Get Free Or Cheap Textbooks, and why you should

Community Colleges offer a variety of classes in useful subjects for an extremely fair price to anyone in the community who wishes to learn. The quality of education is the same as a 4-Year college and it is a great help to the area. The only downfall of this is textbooks!

The part of the college experience that is (seemingly) a necessity at every level is a textbook. Inside this book is tons of information that you can find on the Internet for free, it's a good thing these books are very reasonably priced and usually ONLY cost between $100 and $200 each. In order to ensure maximum profits the textbook publishers make sure to release a new edition every year so that used booksellers can no longer sell the previous edition, therefore eliminating reselling. There is also the unspoken fact that the publishers often pay teachers to ensure that their books are used, this is all purely speculation of course.

Well all of this is known and it annoys/rips off anyone who has ever taken a college class. So while making ridiculous (how much money goes into a $200 16th edition of a Biology textbook?) profits on each new edition, the textbook guys realized that they weren't making enough money and thought that it's about time we make sure NO ONE is able to learn for free. The idea is students must buy an online access code to participate in the class, and if they do not purchase it then their grade is lowered. Makes you wonder why Gen Y believes that a degree is something you pay for and the means don't matter as long as the end result is that piece of paper, eh?

This is similar to the entire for-profit college experience where schools screw their athletes, screw their employees and most importantly screw the students. Societal norms however state that in order to become a success, a college degree is necessary and since these schools are "enlightening" the students, it is less likely they will ever be called out on their shit. To make sure that this post isn't just me bitching about the state of higher-education in America, I wanted to offer some good advice on how to get textbooks for nothing or next to nothing without resulting to piracy. Don't get me wrong, piracy of the textbook industry's product makes me very happy but rumor has it this archaic country still has stupid laws that must be followed.

So since we don't want to break any laws, here are some legal ways to fuck the textbook publishing industry and save yourself potentially hundreds of dollars:

1. Buy Older Editions
This is by far the most preferred of the suggestions, it has never failed me and most likely saved me at least $2000. As I mentioned before publishers are notorious for releasing updates every year with next to no changes, because apparently Accounting changes so much from year to year that this is a necessity. Well the trick is to buy a used book of a previous edition, which you can usually find on Amazon.com for next to nothing. An example I will use this Accounting Textbook that is the 14th edition and an extremely affordable $195.92 to purchase new (WHY THE FUCK DOES IT COST MORE THAN AN XBOX 360!?!?!). If you were to purchase the 13th edition of the same textbook on Amazon.com used it would cost $11.21! The changes between editions are so minimal that it is unnoticeable and the extra software they often bundle in is rarely, if ever used. Plus there is the satisfaction that the little money you do spend is going toward someone who was fucked by the publishers.

2. Use Your School Library
Almost all school libraries keep at least one copy of a textbook on hand from each class it offers, these are usually free for students to use for a certain period of time. It's fairly simple to copy any of the information and often the only information needed that can't be found online are questions for homework or assignments.

3. Pool Your Money With Friends
If you are lucky enough to have multiple friends in a class, it's simple to just throw your money together and purchase a textbook which can be passed around as needed. This isn't the most convenient but it beats wasting money on an unnecessary book.

4. Just Don't Buy A Book
The content of about 60% of the courses I had in college were entirely based on the teacher's notes and lectures, with the book being unused. Whatever you do, don't buy the book before the first class! Wait until a few weeks go by and see if you really need it, because oftentimes you don't. Effective Google search techniques found any information I ever needed.

Remember, our unethical Government is mostly on the side of "Big Education" and often will create or modify legislation to protect whatever shady business dealings the industry participates in. When can someone from the Pearson or McGraw-Hill give an honest answer as to why the fuck a book costs $100+ in 2012? The answer is never because there isn't one. The industry is taking advantage of students and most of these students have no idea there are legal methods to avoid them.

In case you have ever pirated a textbook in the past (something we would never recommend here) don't feel too bad because it only cost the publisher about $4 to print, bind and ship. Of course publishers will state that this doesn't include the $15,000 spent on creating the "Professional PowerPoint" included with the book, the untold fortune spent on bland clip-art licensing and the costs of sending free sample books to every professor in the free world, all of which are completely necessary in order to create a textbook of course.

When spending money to support this corrupt industry, remember that Pearson is not just the largest textbook publisher but also the largest publisher period with revenue of over $9 billion dollars in 2011. The amount of money they are making and wasting is staggering, and that money is coming directly out of your pocket when you buy one of their products.

It's important to note that "Big Education" is the true culprit behind all of this and the blame is actually more on their shoulders than anyone else. The Open Textbook concept is one that should be integrated and utilized by every reputable educational institution in the world, yet it is finding resistance from professors, school administration and of course from their out of touch and greedy competition themselves.

I guess academia's misguided and naive opinion of Wikipedia is emblematic of why something like open textbooks have not grown. Throughout college professors would lambaste and ridicule Wikipedia, repeatedly claiming that it is not reputable and "anyone can edit it!" so it must not be any good. Well EDUCATORS, tell me a better, cheaper and more thorough resource than Wikipedia that currently or ever has existed? Every single paper I completed in school was done so using Wikipedia as my main resource, of course citing it would have caused World War 3 but it's funny that I used the sources provided by Wikipedia as my sources and all of a sudden I have a finely researched paper.

Wikipedia and Open Source Education in general are a bit similar to Economics, in that aspects of human behavior create an unknown balance resulting in an efficient system. When an article is edited incorrectly, it is usually fixed quickly and when a fact is provided that is not cited, it is made clear to the reader. This along with leaving the ability to add information open creates a virtually unlimited knowledge base it is possible to tap into. Open Source Textbooks have been criticized for quality by many and this is a valid criticism, but it is one that will be remedied in the near future as the knowledge base grows. There is no way a new work can compete with a 13th edition that has been refined for anywhere from 10 to 40 years. If you explain all the points I stated above to the average University Professor or Dean they would be completely unable to understand the concept because they are clueless to the shift in economic value of data.

I find it funny that Joseph Henry Vogel who filed the patent mentioned earlier is an Economics professor in Puerto Rico with a Doctorate in the field. While browsing his website I noticed that he values the spreading of information and also the fair market value of the work in providing that information. Unfortunately, Mr. Vogel fails to realize that the market value of that information is quickly dwindling and the medium to convey it is now free. The fact that this blog posting by a rather anonymous 27 year old will probably get more views than much of his work is a great (and terrifying) illustration of this point.

It also appears that Mr. Vogel views piracy of textbooks as a crime that has so far been unpunished, which comes across to me as arrogant, self-righteous and once again, naive. Joseph Henry Vogel has authored or co-authored 4 works listed on Amazon.com, since these are geared toward academia the cost of a new copy range from average to ridiculous ($110 for Genes For Sale) and while the high prices may be to an institution or publishing company owning the rights to the work, it is still an example of the issue at hand. There is absolutely no reason educational materials should be this expensive for the public to access, none. With all due respect to Mr. Vogel, in 2012 your ideas are simply not worth anywhere near the actual cost.

I guess our biggest difference is that you come from an era where the perception of college is the noble and upstanding pursuit of knowledge, which at that time it was. This credibility and perception, the view of someone with an advanced degree has not changed and that is where the problem lies. I and others consider myself more well read and informed than many "experts" in various fields of interest. But because I chose to not waste money and teach myself, I lack that line on my resume that says I'm an expert. Which in 2012 is what a degree means, a line on a resume.