Extracting oil from the ocean floor is a difficult and complex feat. The technology employed, like all technology, is fallible. Couple the inherent fallibility of the extraction process with the risks involved to humans and the environment and I believe you can understand why I believe offshore drilling sucks.
Once oil has been extracted from the ocean floor, it must be transported across the sea to a facility for storage or refining. Although there have been advances in oil container ship safety, there still exists great margin for error be it on the part of the equipment, the captain, the weather, or any other sea going vessel which may come in contact with the tanker. Couple the risk involved in ocean transport with the risk to humans and the environment and I believe you can understand why I believe offshore drilling sucks.
Although the clip is in Dutch, the action is still quite riveting. I used to play a lot of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear (online video games). Rogue Spear actually had a container ship level that is eerily reminiscent of this real life footage.
My college friend Jonas once quipped at his cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that I was a GIT – a Guy In Training. He’s right. I grew up under the tutelledge of a loving father who’s greatest guy-know-how may have been his ability to change a lightbulb and take out the trash. He won’t argue with that and its not a slight. It just is.
Cut forward some 20 years and as I have rebuilt my life here in Mississippi, I’ve begun to take on ‘guy’ things. Mowing the lawn is one of those activities that while it may seem mundane and a chore to most men, offers me a weekly chance to sweat, breathe in various exhaust fumes, and gain a really nice sense of accomplishment each time I complete the job. You see, I never mowed a lawn until I was 35. I find that the methodical trimming of rows and rows of grass offers me a chance to be in the moment – and besides, I enjoy what I term Lawn Artistry – the craft of creating interesting mow patterns across the yard.
Today I’m going to change the lawn mower blade and rather than going down to the Home Depot (sometimes an intimidating venture for a GIT like me) and coyly asking a Depot person how I change the blade, I took to the interwebs and found this gem.
Yes, the internet is not only for looking at porn, downloading music, facebook and buying stuff – the internet too offers GIT’s like me face saving content that help nudge us on our way towards becoming fully fledged men.
I’m a pretty big Florida Marlins fan. I was able to attend games during both of their World Series championship runs and although I no longer live in Miami, I follow the team as best I can from here in Mississippi through various RSS feeds, bulletin boards, etc.
Unfortunately this tidbit of lameness found itself into my daily content ingestion stream and I’m pretty ashamed.
First off, let me say up front I’m not a CREED hater like so many too cool for school types out there. Despite the pro-jesus message much of their songs contain, by and large I find their brand of music palatable and I’m not afraid to admit that on occasion maybe a half-decade ago I may have even bobbed my head up and down to the beat of their music. I have never purchased or illegally downloaded any of their music mind you, but I have no overt hatred for the band like many people do.
That being said, the video above is truly embarrassing. Had I not seen additional footage of the vid being played on the stadium jumbotron, my instinct would have been to call it a fake. Alas, fake it is not.
Melodramatic, cheesy, bordering on comical? Yes, yes, and yes.
Take these lyrics for example:
Let’s play ball its game day,
We want strike outs, base hits, double plays.
Take the field, hear the roar of the crowd,
Come on Marlins make us proud!
Keep hoping and dreaming and you will soar
(sic., Marlins tend to be limited to aquatic environments)
With a little faith and love, you will soar.
That gurgling you hear is me clearing the little bit of barf that just came up.
Suggestions for next year’s Marlin’s ‘Emotive Montage’ video leadin:
Steer clear of any overtly incendiary musical icons
We’re going to be a mid-tier club again and for the foreseeable future, so let’s not get all grandiose about soaring and playing in the ethereal landscapes of angels
I’m not aware of your specific demographics, but maybe tie in with the Hispanic base more – pump out a english/spanish reggaeton number that can pump of the fans and explore the unique cultural blend that will be the Miami Marlins
was born in Cairo, Georgia to sharecropper parents
plated for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbit’s Field – a stadium my dad would sometimes sneak into during his youth
stole home plate in front of the Yankees and the world during Game 1 of the 1955 World Series
has a son that farms coffee in Tanzania
has been a hero of mine since childhood because he reminds me of my Dad who faced imposing odds throughout his life and has become despite the cards not always lining up in his favor
Mattel Corporation, manufacturer and distributor of the ever-popular board game, Scrabble, has decided to amend the game rules to allow for the inclusion of proper nouns. Proper nouns are, for all those who missed out on 3rd grade English class, are typically capitalized names, places, brands, and company names. Since the game’s inception some 72 years ago, these words were not allowed.
It still remains to be seen if Scrabble Tournaments will embrace the modification to the rules or will rely on the set of rules that have made Scrabble a favorite rainy vacation day activity for over seventy years.
KFC announced today via its website that it will begin offering the much anticipated Double Down sandwich menu item starting April 12, 2010 across most of its U.S. mainland restaurants and buffets. The Double Down is one of a growing number of Food Mashups that combine traditional menu items into new and sometimes nauseating combinations.
My earlier post on the Double Down mentions the specific ingredients for this culinary monstrosity. The Double Dare sandwich includes the following tantalizing ingredients:
2 Original Recipe chicken breast fillets
Bacon
Pepper Jack cheese
Swiss cheese
Colonel’s Sauce (not quite sure what is in the Colonel’s sauce but I’m sure its delicious)
Check out the Double Down’s new digs on the KFC website (complete with Double Down countdown clock!!).
OnePegGenius is the personal website of Rob Rubinoff, an Interactive Director and Information Architect who currently plies his trade at the premier Jackson, MS advertising and branding agency. A greatly enhanced archives page provides a variety of means to browse the site's content library.
Rob lives and works in the town of Jackson, MS where he leads the interactive department at an awesome advertising and branding agency. Life is slower than most places in Mississippi, and Rob tends to like it that way. Some of his favorite life experiences include sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a 44ft sloop, learning to speak Swahili while living along the lower slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and zipping along the curviest of Mississippi country roads in his VW Rabbit.