Scott Desgrosseilliers

CubanAndTheCubs.Com is Back!

We started an online petition awhile ago and got about 400 signatures. Then life too hold and CubanAndTheCubs.Com became less of a priority.

However, the news that Cuban was in town to investigate the books of the Cubs has caused us to rekindle the site. It is much slicker. Mark Cuban has already emailed us back rooting on the site...how cool is that.

Artist Starves Dog To Death As Art

I am a very positive person and don't intend to focus on negative things with my blog.  So after this post it will be back to more uplifting articles and posts.  But I feel compelled to pass along this shocking story and a link to an online petition.  An artist in Honduras starved a dog to death at an art exhibition over several days and received an award for it!

The artist found a stray dog and chained him to the corner of an art gallery. The artist's idea was to showcase the suffering of the dog or something similarly deranged. So the dog was left tied in the corner without food or water until it died. I received a forwarded email showing pictures but I feel they are too disturbing to post up here.  You can read the story, find links to pictures, and sign an online petition against this artist's award here.

Its hard to decide the most disturbing past of this story. In the pictures you can clearly see hordes of observers. Its not like the dog was under heavy secret service security. Someone could have done something. But instead people came to check out the "show". Has entertainment reached a point where live deprivation is a good show?

I really don't know what signing an online petition against this artist is going to accomplish. Probably not much at all. Perhaps being aware that something like this can occur will trigger someone to speak up for a future injustice.

How Technology Affects My Life

I currently make my living working in the technology field.  There are times when I curse technology because my computer is running slow, an internet site is down, or some other technical exasperation.  However, I don’t think it dawns on me or others just how much technology has embedded itself into everyday lives in a helpful manner.  My life is much easier and more enjoyable thanks to the advances of technology.  Here is my 24 hour technology diary from Tuesday 1201 am – 1159am, looking at how I used to do things versus how I do them now a decade later.

Tuesday 1201am -

• Fantasy Baseball 10 years ago:  I hope that sportscenter might mention a quick comment on how any of my player's had performed in that night's games.  Most likely I would have no idea how my team performed.  The following day I would scan the newspaper for the boxscore of the previous night's games.  Sometimes, the games appear.  Other times the game did not end in time for the newspaper printing, so I am clueless.  On tuesdays i would have to buy USA Today and then spend a couple hours computing statistics for my teams.
• Fantasy Baseball today:  I have 3 windows open on my computer.  The first window has live pitch-by-pitch scoring of my fantasy baseball team.  The 2nd window has live pitch-by-pitch scoring of any baseball game I want to follow.  The 3rd window I am emailing trash talk to the rest of my league.

Tuesday 1am -

• Work 10 years ago:  I would be trying to get people out of a Nantucket bar after closing time.
• Work today:  I have a conference call with my India development team.  I am able to show them my computer screen real-time via NetMeeting while I talk to them.

Tuesday 10am -

• Socializing 10 years ago:  Unless I was at home, making phone calls to other friends that I also happen to catch at home, there is little way to get in touch with people other than the use of answering machine tag.
• Socializing today:  I am simultaneously chatting with 7 people on google chat, keeping 4 different phone text conversations going, and responding to 6 different people on email. 

Tuesday noon -

• Lunch 10 years ago:  Drive around to the one or two spots I know of, grimace at the lunch specials, order something anyways.
• Lunch today:  Decide that I once again have a desire for thai food, google "chicago thai", browse and compare menus among my top options, view on a map how close they are, call and place order.

Tuesday 5pm -

• Workout 10 years ago:  Go for a run outside.  Attach my 10 lb. walkman to my shorts, put in a cassette mix tape, the same stale one as always.  Use my stopwatch to tell me how long I ran.  Make a mental note to drive the same route in the future so I can figure out how far I have gone, and have no idea how effective my workout was.
• Workout today:  Put on my Nike+ sneakers with iPod sensor under the sole of the shoe.  Clip on my 1/2 lb. ipod nano, choose from one of a dozen workout mixes.  During my run, my Nikes tell my ipod how far i've run, how fast, what my pace is, and how many calories I've ran.  When I get home I plug my ipod into my computer, and it automatically transmit the info to Nike.  I can go to Nikeplus.com and view a number of graphs and analysis of my entire workout history.

Tuesday 11pm -

• Entertainment 10 years ago:  Groan about my 40 channels having crap on, and settle for MTV videos or some lame talk show.
• Entertainment today:  Groan about my 400 channels all having crap on, use on-demand to re-watch HBO series.

As you can see, technology advances have made life much easier for me.  The ease and speed that I can get information should translate into more personal time.  But because of the ease and speed of the information, I seem to have less personal time, because it is easier to fill the time.  Technology has undoubtedly made life better.

Chicago Marathon 2007

I thought something was odd when I noticed that EVERY single marathoner was walking.  I had got back from a flight and the road was blocked downtown a few blocks from my place.  I know that marathons are difficult, but if memory served correct, when the runners are at 600 north lasalle headed south during the Chicago marathon, that is only 10 miles into a 26.2 mile race, how could everyone be walking?  I remarked that they must have split up the runners into divisions and we were watching the very slow half marathon division.  I was wrong.  Along the marathon course there were forced walking zones due to people collapsing from the heat!  The people walking looked miserable.  I could commiserate, when I ran the marathon I had not felt such a deep intense pain often. 

I read today that someone died during the race.  I agree this is newsworthy.  However, it also irritated me to continue to hear "Runner Dies During the Marathon" blaring out to me from every tv channel, website, and newspaper today.  Why is this the only news from the marathon?  I remember in the months leading up to my marathon, I met a lot of people who were running to commemorate amazing feats, or raise funds for a great cause.  I can't find any such stories related to this year's race even though I am sure they are out there.

Mentioned only briefly in the Chicago marathon stories is the fact the race winner was competing in only his second marathon.  Jeezus!  I ran one and my time was anemic, I barely finished in under 5 hours and needed to take many advil during the race to numb my body.  It is unfathomable to think that my very next race I would've run in just over 2 hours.  How did this guy pull this off?  What was his training regimen?  I am extremely curious how someone wins the second marathon they ever attempted.

Sadly, the mass media exists to get ratings, and feels that the best way to do that is to play to fears and titillation.  Similar to how people slow down at a car wreck to ogle the damage, the media figures they are more likely to get attention when blasting out headlines of death and other terrible things.  That's why I don't watch the news.

Cell Phone Junky

I realized something was afoot when I switched my phone from my right to left pant pocket.  I did this because I had spent a good part of the day reaching down to look at my phone, only to find I was the victim of yet another “ghost text”.  A ghost text is when you feel your phone vibrate to alert you to a text, take out the phone, and find out that it was just all in your head.  You never actually got a text, because your phone didn’t vibrate, it was as if the text became a ghost and flew away.

Even though I moved my phone to a different pocket, I still felt my right leg vibrating.  This got me wondering about my cell phone usage, do I really use it that much?  I reset all my text messages and phone call timer for the past week.  I was shocked at this past week of phone stats:  262 incoming texts, 227 outgoing texts, and 22 hours of talk time.  Jeezus!  I didn’t have any clue I was such a phone fool.  Granted my lady was out of town, so that definitely contributed to the high stats, but it still seemed excessive.  I don't have any email sent to my phone like other phone junkies do, my stats were purely text messaging originating from my phone.  I decided to look at the different types of phone usage in greater detail.  Here’s what I found:

Phone usage - Work conference calls were about half of the talk time.  Melissa took up 25% of the talk time.  Friends were the other 25% of the talk time.

Texts - Texts coordinating evening contributed a large number to the text count.  When you are in a loud bar, you can’t answer the phone, it’s futile.  My friends and I furiously text until we have all met up at the evening’s watering hole.  I find this to be one of texting’s biggest benefits – You generally are going to be able to hang out with your group if they are out enjoying Chicago’s fine establishments, which they always are, so I always do.

My lady had a pretty high share of the text count.  That goes without saying, in the days of cell phones and texting, you are going to have some daily chatter with the better half.  She was gone to Boston so texting came in very handy.  You don’t want to have to step outside during the night to chit-chat while on a trip.  Texting allows you to keep in touch without having to break away from whatever else you are up to.  Although nothing beats hearing her voice over a text, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.

Text replies back to screened phone calls were another common source of texts.  Lots of times I just don’t want to get into a 20 minute conversation due to a variety of factors.  So I will not answer the call, but then text over “hey what’s up” or “eating dinner” or some sort of status.  As I type this, I am not thrilled with this behavior, it has become a habit I need to try and kick.

One thing I try to avoid is mass-texting impersonal messages.  A few of the guilty who will remain nameless like to send out mass texts to a large group of people, with a message of “Hey what’s going on” or “Out?” or “Drinks?”  I don’t send or answer these.  If you can’t take the time to personally text me about what I am up to, I can’t take the time to be your social director for the evening.

I am shocked at how much I rely on my phone for interaction.  Texting has become one of my primary methods of communication.  Thank God I don't own a Blackberry and get all my email sent to my phone.  I just hope the ghost stops texting me.

American Girl Place - Insane Genius

"I think dolls can get massages there," Andy said, which caused me to cough up half my Bacado omelette during hangover brunch this past sunday.  While I incredulously listened on, he described a number of mind-boggling details about American Girl Place.  My mind could not accept what I was hearing, so I resolved to go straight to the store and see for myself.

The place was packed with over-compensating mothers and future "my sweet 16 party on MTV" girls.  They were swarming over every inch of the store.  Particularly popular is the clothing section.  It's not normal little girl clothing though, it's coordinated sets of clothing so that your daughter can dress like her doll.  What the hell??  American Girl Place is selling dolls as members of the family, and business is good.

I wander over to the next section of the store, the Doll Salon.  Here the dolls can get facials and haircuts.  I can't even fathom the board meeting at American Girl Place Inc. where this was pitched.  "Hey Bill, I have a great idea.  The girls can bring their dolls in for a facial.  We will then rub the doll's face with rubbing alcohol to clean off all the little girl grim that is all over it, and charge them ten bucks."  After the laughter in the board meeting subsided, American Girl Place decided to do this, and the salon had a backlog of dolls to tend to.  The joke is on the poor moms and dads that pay for this ridiculousness.

I chatted up the doll stylist.  She kept looking at the doll and saying "she" all the time. It was creeping me out.  "She is getting a little trim".  Ummm, what the hell else could you give "her", her hair doesn't grow back dear.  That trim better be a few millimeters.   There was also a hospital where you could bring busted dolls.  The dolls were dressed in hospital gowns and put in wheelchairs.  I started looking out the periphery of my vision.  Perhaps I was having an acid flashback, and this view of the world would suddenly peel back to reveal true reality?  No such luck though, American Girl Place was really happening.

Shaking my head I strolled through the closed doors that hid the cafe.  The clamor of little girl excitement was decibly equivalent to small jet airplane takeoff.  God bless them, they were just excited.  Maybe they were just excited because every doll got its own high chair at the table and 3 course meal.  However, the high chairs were not just limited to dolls.  One girl had a high chair on either side, for her stuffed pets.  Yes people, apparently make believe pets are allowed to have 3 course meals including tea, right at the table, complete with little bibs around their necks- Heaven forbid any crumbs spilled on their "ANIMAL" FUR!!  I wondered how this little girl's reality fit with mine;In hers pretend animals got elaborate meals at the table, in mine animals got purina dog chow on the floor and -gasp- had to take craps outside.

I was reeling at this point.  I have truly gotten out of touch with the mainstream.  Or maybe I would just be an unfit parent.  American Girl Place shows that if you can create something that little girls will want, their parents will buy it for them to avoid the tantrum.