Random Thoughts 9/25/12

• I've recently watched a few Civil War documentaries that leaned heavily on the letters of people of that day… and listening to these begs a question.  In a time when many folks didn't finished 8th grade – if they had any formal schooling at all – how is it that they all sound like poets compared to the way people talk and write today, when 56% of the country has attended college?  The 19th century vocabulary and diction seems so advanced, even from just average people.  In contrast, go read some Facebook or Twitter posts and weep.
• My oldest turns 12 tomorrow.  Wow.
• Just remember that the NFL referees with 10 or 20 years of experience also make bad calls each and every game.  Thus, I don't think the pressure is on the NFL at all, even after the Packers/Seahawks game last night.  Rather the league sees a bunch of rookie referees that will get better every week.
• I wish the more experienced referees were in the game, but the (union's) notion that these guys are so special that they can never be replaced… is nonsense.  Eventually the scabs will gain experience and be equal to the union guys.  Someday.
• If you get a black iPhone 5, you're going to want to get a case.  The black coloring can scratch off the aluminum with normal use.  Some examples online are pretty minor but a year or two of going in and out of your pocket may rub the paint off all of the edges and affect resale value.
• Sci-Fi struggles on television.  Look at the last few years, filled with big budget, poorly written dramas, that have struggled to find and keep an audience: "Terra Nova," "The Event," "FlashForward," "V," "Jericho," and now "Revolution" and "Last Resort."  "Heroes" went dramatically downhill after the first season and "Lost" fans were famously un-thrilled with the answers they did or didn't get.  Even the legendary 1960's "Star Trek" only survived three seasons before cancellation.  With an occasional exception, American network television is not a good place for science fiction and fantasy.  Life and death, save-the-world story lines don't work well with the business of television which insists on quantity over quality to be profitable. 
• However, genre-TV (sci-fi, fantasy, historical drama, etc.) can work on cable and online, where the business model is completely different (though admittedly the budgets are much smaller).
• Tonight is the banquet for Hands of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center.  I'm a big fan of their executive director.