Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The 3 interview questions this CEO uses to week out "jerks"

- Drunk or stupid?

- Locast looks to be an interesting product. As a cord cutter I'm going to have to try it out (especially with football season right around the corner)

- You sure he's a "Greek" Orthodox bishop?

- My spirit animal! (I'm sure those left over cookies and gummies that were thrown away were delicious)

- I really want to learn more about the X-37B "spaceplane" (the unmanned replacement for the space shuttle)

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- First Principles: Building blocks of true knowledge

- The Iron Price

- Heh heh - astronaut accidentally calls 911 from space

- Channels starting to get cut as cable TV struggles against dropping revenue

- Holy shit! How about no thank you!

- Russ Roberts on economic alarmists. I'm a big Russ Roberts fan.

- Heh Heh

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Amazon's eye for sports could shatter TV as we know it. Good!

- Love, Happiness, and Time. Interesting and gratifying way to view the world.

- Interesting - if the American Dream is for children to do better financially than their parents then the American Dream is not only alive and well it's thriving! Long read but worth it!

- Christopher Buckley with an excellent remembrance of George HW Bush (aka the Vishnu)

- A guide to tipping in the US. Agree 100% with the $1 per drink at a bar suggestion. In most of the places I go that works out to more than 20% but it's worth it for the shit they let me get away with or for what they have to put up with (insert smiley face emoticon here).

- Marriott had a data breach that could effect 500 million people. That's more more the population of the US.

- If this doesn't make you tear up even just a little - I serious don't want to know you.

Disney / ESPN Streaming Service

Disney plans to launch a streaming service to compete with Netflix sometime in 2019. Not much is known about what Disney plans to do.

Here's what I predict or suggest what Disney should offer.

First it will be a combined linear (live channel) and on-demand offering. This leverages Disney's existing portfolio of products. This means ESPN will have to play a large role. Second it will be kid and family friendly which means no content higher than PG-13. It is this second point that helps explain some of the recent changes at ESPN (but I'll get to that later).

The first part of the package would be the following 10 channels offered for just under $10 per month:

ABC Family
ABC News Now
Disney Channel
Disney Jr.
Disney XD
ESPN
ESPN 2
ESPN Classic
ESPNEWS
ESPN U

That should be appealing to many families and at about $1 per channel it fits most budgets especially for families who have cut the cord. And more importantly it helps stem the revenue bleeding from families cutting the cord which has been a major factor in why ESPN has been a recent drag on Disney stock.

But first ESPN has to be made "non-offensive" to middle America. "Mommy you voted for Donald Trump - does that mean you and daddy are racists?" "Daddy can you help me write a paper on my hero Colin Kaepernick?" Any non-on-the-field content that may embarrass parents or cause blood pressure to rise has to be eliminated or avoided. The first step was to get rid of John Skipper who resigned December 18, 2017 supposedly because he has a "substance addiction".

What if that "substance" addiction wasn't drugs or alcohol but instead "substantial" topics and people who hold "substantial" opinions? People like Jemele Hill or Keith Olbermann. I mean most friends and colleagues were shocked at the idea Skipper had a substance addiction in the common understanding of the term. But I bet most would agree that Skipper's loyalty to the "talent" was a habit he'd find hard to break.

Author James Miller seems to agree with this idea. Miller wrote that Disney CEO Bob Iger offered to have Jimmy Pitaro come over to "help" Skipper but was declined on the grounds that Skipper "thought the move would disrupt ESPN culture." Maybe that was the whole point? Now Jimmy Pitaro has been named President of ESPN and co-chair of Disney Media Networks. The pieces just fall into place.

The second part of the package would be the on-demand content of which Disney has a library that's hard to beat. You'd of course have all the classic Disney movies and TV content for the kids. Then you'd have all the Star Wars properties and Marvel superhero movies (except Deadpool because of the R-rating - let HBO or Netflix pay for the rights to those movies). On top of that you'd have the ESPN Classic library of documentaries and classic games plus all the recent and expanding 30 for 30 documentaries.

You could market the on-demand package separately for $5 per month or you could get the linear  channels and the on-demand for $12 per month. That's an attractive package. It not only competes against Netflix but in many cases complements Netflix. Most people who cut the cord have multiple video offering. It's not an either or situation

If you keep cable then you are already paying Disney top dollar. If you cut the  cord and you either have a family or like sports the $12 per month is not much to spend especially if you've just dropped a $120 cable package.

Anyway - this is one man's read of the situation.

Cuting the Cord

I imagine many are thinking I too want to get rid of cable but I don't want to miss certain network shows or I don't want to go cold turkey with no sports programming but I don't know what my options are. Well friend - I'm here to help you out. Here's the major options for people looking to cut the cord but not all the way.

- DirecTV Now - 60+ channels for $35/month.

- Sling TV - 20 channels for $20/month

- Hulu - live TV plans starting at $39.99/month

- YouTubeTV - 40+ live channels for $35/month

- PlayStation Vue - starting at about 50 channels for $39.99/month. Although for $44.95/month the package in Boston includes NESN (Red Sox and Bruins) and NBC Sports Boston (Celtics).

Right now I have HBO Go, Amazon Prime and YouTube (regular YouTube not the pay version). And this is fine for me. I want to watch less TV not more and I like going out to watch a game. But to be honest the PlayStation Vue option with the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics is tempting me to come back on the dark side. I no longer have Netflix but that siren song is also calling.

Top 5 - Thoughts on President-Elect Trump

Holy Shit! Didn't see that coming - did you? Here's my Top 5 initial thoughts on a Trump Presidency.

1. I know many are going to wake this morning with the feeling that they are now living in a Stephen King novel. But in the real world there was no Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone to save the day. "The missiles are flying. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" I know this new reality is scary for many people but in actuality President Trump is most likely going to have to delegate much of the day-to-day responsibilities both because he has no experience and also because I don't think that stuff interests him. Think a more disinterested Jimmy Carter instead of President Greg Stillson.

2. Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House is in position to become the real power for the next four years. Half the country hates Trump and the people who represent those people in Congress will be willing to reach across the aisle to vote for any measures Speaker Ryan puts forth that are viewed as keeping Trump in check. And if Ryan has eyes on a 2020 run for the White House this could be a very interesting dynamic.

3. Can you pardon yourself? I'm all for President Obama pardoning Hillary Clinton for the email business. That damage is done and even though it sends the wrong message that some people are above the law - it is probably best to move forward without long drawn out court proceedings. But will pardoning Clinton embolden President Trump to pardon himself? Can the President do that? Sorry everyone who went Trump University and everyone else suing him. How funny would it be if that was the real reason Trump ran for President in the first place - to pardon himself.

4. Cutting the cord. The biggest losers in last night's results (besides Hillary and the Clinton Foundation) are the MSM (Main Stream Media). They enabled Trump by giving him free air-time. They rooted Trump on because they thought he would be the easiest candidate for Hillary to beat. They have lost all credibility by slowly losing any veneer of being impartial over the years. They say that the two main reasons cable TV stays relevant is because of news and because of live sports. For many people watching the news just proved to be a gigantic waste of time. Those people in the media didn't know dick. And on top of that I'm guessing that Donald Trump will most likely demand being on TV almost full-time as President which will result in many more deciding they can watch their live sports at a local bar. Cutting the cord will be a much bigger thing in the next couple of years and the media having to then shed jobs will be the karma paid for the MSM shilling for Hillary.

5. It bugged me how much President Obama golfed during his Presidency but if President Trump wants to golf every day for the next four years - that's OK by me. It lessens the opportunities for him to do any damage at his now day job.

We have now gone from a man who served as Governor of a major state and had executive experience to a one-term Senator known for voting "Present" to a man who had never previously been elected to anything. I don't likey this trend.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I love stories like this

- Oh the irony!

- How can you not love Charles Barkley?

- Indeed - this is an example of why grammar is important

- The cord-cutter's guide to watching college football

- This is unbelievable. High school football coach suspended because some little snowflakes got blisters in practice.