Let Obama Be Obama

One could argue that Obama’s first term as the President has been similar to President Bartlet’s first term in the West Wing. Both had far from impressive starts. Then near the end of the first season, we find the Bartlet administration desperately trying to deal with a leaked memo -- a memo which undermined the weaknesses of all that was Bartlet (ironically, written by one of his staffers). However, with this episode there came a sudden shift in attitude.

“Let Bartlet be Bartlet.” Instead of putting out a constant deluge of fires, President Bartlet decides to take the bull by it’s horns. This important game changer is reflected immediately there on. The administration starts taking into consideration issues that had gotten them elected, instead of trying to make everyone happy.

President Obama’s address to a Joint Session of the Congress on the 8th, to me seemed like a similar game changer for the Obama Administration. For once, one could sense a more aggressive and getting things done attitude. At this juncture in time, this is exactly what the country requires of him. After all, in a country of over 307 million people, the President can’t make everyone happy, but could work towards some of the promises of his 2008 campaign.

What I’m trying to say is, “Let Obama be Obama.”

Age of Empires III - Winning the Rockies

Our usual weekends encompass not being at home. There’s something always going on. At times like these, it’s nice to have a weekend off to yourself. However, when I do have time to spare on my weekend mornings, Farzeed and I take on the enemy in Age of Empires III.

Yes, it’s a little out dated, but it’s our current vice of choice. Preferably, I’d play something similar to Command and Conquer (The Generals) due to my obsession with tanks, but we easily out do the computer and most human players tend to cheat.

With AOE, we had won against the Expert in all the large maps, but today after numerous campaigns in the Rockies (which is smaller), victory was ours. Yes, we did the impossible and won. But surprising as it may seem to Cathleen, we’ll probably give it another shot, taking on adversaries of the human kind instead.

Breaking up with Netflix

My love affair with Netflix started about 5 years ago, when a friend of mine gifted me a four month membership to the service. There was a Frank Sinatra movie I had been dying to watch and couldn’t find anywhere. My friend was sure it would be available on Netflix, and behold, there it was. As disappointing as the movie had been (I had previously seen it when I was 8 or 9), Netflix was more than impressive.

Even though I was on somewhat of a tight budget, I continued to support one of my favorite dot coms. Netflix didn’t disappoint, continually improving their service and adding instant movies to their arsenal. Like many of their customers in the bay area, I was asked if I could come in for a focus group at their headquarters in Los Gatos. They asked me about my experiences and how I would improve certain aspects of the site. The one thing I pressed on was bringing Instant Play to the XBox.

Six months later, Netflix announced that they were bringing Instant Play for the Xbox 360. Other consoles followed over the years. The movies available increased and the cost of the subscription fell. However, the selection of movies has always been limited. The newer Batman movies never made it to Instant Play, and neither have any of the HBO productions.

So, why did our relationship get sour?

• Even though I own a copy of the Dark Knight, I’m too lazy to walk over to the DVD rack and look through our collection for it. When I’m sitting at the computer, watching it on Netflix would be the prime choice. But as I mentioned earlier, it never made it to Instant Play.
• Movies I had watched half way, like Zombieland, disappeared a couple of weeks later when I sat down to watch them with my wife. This is very annoying.
• Netflix made a deal with the production companies that they wouldn’t have the movies available on Instant Play for at least 28 days after the DVD was released. All of a sudden, Red Box, down at your nearest grocery store sounds more appealing.
• They decided that you had to pay extra if you wanted DVDs delivered at your door. I only used that option once in a blue moon, but it was something nice to have. This is also the reason why their stock plunged today (along with the one below.)
• Starz Play decided to break up with Netflix as well. Why is that such a big downer? Because Starz supplied Netflix with a lot of their content.

And thus, I’ve decided to break up with Netflix as well. Even though I’m a big fan of the cooperate culture at Netflix, it’s quickly sliding down from the pedestal it was once on.