Problems at Brittingham Park

For lack of a better term, there are many "sketchy" people that hang out at Brittingham Park (on the corner of Park Street and West Washington Avenue), especially in the shelter. This is definitely not a park you would want to be in when the sun sets (I don't even like rollerblading or jogging through it during the day). I often use the park to play kickball, and I have friends who use it to play soccer, and there's one thing we agree upon: if you have to use the bathroom, hold it! That shelter is gross enough as it is, but the bathrooms are even worse. I have seen the sketchy people passed out in that bathroom, and who knows how many times drugs have been used in them.

There's always a huge police presence at this tiny park, but I don't feel much safer with them there. The Capital Times printed a story today about a homeless person who died in the park. The article goes on and on about neighbors' concerns, especially regarding the number of homeless and drunks at the shelter. One thing the author forgot to mention is that the shelter was the base for a group of criminals to plan out their crimes last summer.

It's sad, but I think they need to lock up the shelter each night at 8 p.m. I know, it's the equivalent of putting a bucket under a leak instead of fixing the leak, and consequently I'm not sure where these sketchy people will go, but any solution is better than no solution.

Crocs are Ugly

I'm sure you've seen those shoes: they're plastic, toy-like and full of holes. When I see people in Madison wearing them, I want to ask: "HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON EVER BEING FASHIONABLE AGAIN?" Seriously, they are so ugly and ridiculous looking that I can't imagine what a person's mindset is when they put them on their feet.

I'm not alone in my hatred for Crocs. Check out: http://www.ihatecrocs.com/

I highly recommend reading this MSN.com article on Crocs. Some highlights:

--"the ratio of shame to comfort was extreme"

--an "early Croc-adopter reports that when she went to her daughter's school dressed in Crocs, the kids all wanted to know why she wore 'clown shoes'"

--"'When it comes to shoes, people mistake comfort for support. Comfort is fool's gold—a soft gushy shoe that makes your arches collapse'"

--"'Uggs [a fad] I can make an argument for. Jellies [another fad] also had their moment of being cute and cool. Crocs [just a fad?] are just a pox.'"

Brewers' Ben Sheets on DL--again

What a shocker. Today the Brewers announced pitching ace Ben Sheets was placed on the 15-day DL list. Earlier this season the fragile Sheets had a groin strain and a blister on his middle finger. Here's a look back at his past injuries:

2006: A strained muscle behind right shoulder puts him on the DL before the season even begins. After four starts, he suffered tendinitis and missed more playing time. For the season, he had a career-low 17 starts.
2005: Placed on DL April 29 for Vestibular neuritis. Tore his right latissimus dorsi muscle in late August; initially placed on 15-day DL but was eventually moved to 60-day DL.
2004: Somehow makes it through the entire season but has surgery to repair a lumbar disk herniation in October.
2003: In August and September, suffers from upper respiratory infection.
2001: Placed on DL in August with tendinitis in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder.

Sheets is just someone who can't be depended on to stay healthy.

UPDATE, 7-18-07:
The Brewers announced that Sheets will miss four to six weeks after an ultrasound revealed a partial tear of the tissue surrounding the tendon in his right middle finger.

Can't wait to see what he hurts next!

The Apple iPhone is Crap

No surprises here. Apple comes out with another innovative product (the iPhone), but once again the item is faulty.

Take a look at the iPod. Not the first portable mp3 device on the market, but certainly a sleak-looking device. The first buyers of the iPod soon discovered the faulty battery, and it took a class-action lawsuit for Apple to finally provide replacement batteries. Plus, the iPod was overpriced, easily allowing for other products to enter the market and come out with better AND cheaper mp3 players (see SanDisk).

The iPod isn't the only example, but let's move on to the iPhone. For those of you unfamiliar, it's a combination phone/PDA/music/video player. Most stores selling the iPhone sold out of it within a few short hours. This weekend many buyers soon discovered the problems with iPhone, such as delays in phone activation, difficulty using iTunes and other issues. Then of course, Apple made some bad decisions: going exclusively with AT&T for five years, touch-by-skin screen only (it won't read a stylus), using EDGE network (slower) instead of 3G (faster), having just 4 or 8 GB of memory without the chance of adding more (the former costs a whopping $499, the latter $599) and not allowing third-party software makers to help.

Other problems include: No copying and pasting; no recognition on car adapters; the impracticality of continuing to re-join WiFi network after WiFi network instead of a dedicated connection (i.e. like Blackberry); no removable battery; no video recorder. For people in Wisconsin, only the Milwaukee and Madison areas will be served by AT&T, which hasn't announced a timeline yet for the rest of the state.

Of course, like Apple always does, its second generation iPhone will probably address most of these issues (let's not get started on Apple picking AT&T of all companies). But that's the M.O. of Apple: sell a shitty product, fix it, rob consumers.

And if you own one, your iPhone is a major target for theft.

Here's a funny iPhone video:

The IPhone