I Never Liked LeBron

As a Miami HEAT fan, reading the title of this post may strike many as just a classic case of sour grapes after LeBron’s decision to go back to Cleveland. I can understand that. However, a look at the big picture should put it all in perspective.

Back in 2010, when Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh announced that they were signing with the Miami HEAT, I was very happy. At that point, LeBron could go play in China for all I cared. You see, he always struck me as self-absorbed, self-centered, egotistical, entitled, and narcissistic.

But of course, we all know what happened next. Shortly after Wade and Bosh made their announcement, LeBron made his. Now don’t get me wrong. I never liked LeBron, but I was excited about the possibilities. After all, here were three of the best players in the NBA coming to play for my hometown team!

And when I read Dan Gilbert’s letter, ill-advised as it may have been, I actually understood what he meant. I saw LeBron’s behavior in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference finals. I also felt that he quit on his team, even before I read the letter.  Because when you want all the glory when things go right but none of the blame when things go wrong, that’s what you do when adversity strikes: you quit! Still, he brought his “talents to South Beach” and that was good enough to not think about all that other stuff too much, especially when watching the Big 3 at their best. I was always aware that the Miami HEAT had put together something quite special, and I never took it for granted.

Fast-forward to 2014. The HEAT just got their asses handed to them by the Spurs in the NBA Finals. And as early as LeBron’s post-game interview, I can see that same detachment I saw in 2010. The dude’s already got one foot out the door, I thought.

And so on the morning of July 11, 2014, LeBron made his big announcement that he’s going back to Cleveland. And like so many others, I tuned into ESPN to watch the coverage. I went on SI.com to read his statement. I went on Twitter to gauge people’s reactions. And I started feeling quite bothered by it all. Not because LeBron left Miami. Sure, I would’ve preferred for him to stay with the HEAT than go anywhere else. What really bothered me was the narrative, which in turn fed into the national conversation. I saw LeBron’s Instagram post “I’m Coming Home” and kept hearing and reading things like “redemption” and “doing the right thing” and “the best possible story” and “making everything right” when people discussed LeBron’s return to Cleveland.

How could people be so naive, I thought? Is American society so empty and vapid that people will grab on to this overt display of cynical opportunism and call it a good thing? Does anybody really believe LeBron is “going home” because his “relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball”? Is this relationship so big that he would’ve left Miami to “inspire” Cleveland if the HEAT had just won their 3rd or 4th championship in a row? Does anybody really believe he would’ve gone to “give them hope” if the Cavaliers hadn’t spent the last four years stocking up on talented young players? If you believe any of those things, then you probably also believe that Dan Gilbert giving LeBron’s gang of cronies a lot more leeway than Micky Arison and Pat Riley ever did didn’t have anything to do with LeBron’s decision, either. And yet, of all the reasons for LeBron to go back, the opportunity for LeBron’s crew to basically run the show in Northeast Ohio is probably the biggest of them all. This has absolutely nothing to do with sentiment and emotion and everything to do with Machiavellian machinations.

The bottom line is, yes, LeBron is going back to Northeast Ohio, and that’s home to him. But to focus on that as some sort of feel-good story and simultaneously ignore what are probably the real motivating factors is the worst kind of ignorance: the willful kind! To see things the way they really are does not make one a cynic. The one who acts selfishly and opportunistically but pretends otherwise is the real cynic… and the ultimate hypocrite!

And that’s why I never liked LeBron!

Is Your Mobile Phone Company Ripping You Off?

How do telecommunications companies maximize their profit when it comes to customers’ data usage? Well, before I attempt to answer this question, let me preface everything by declaring up front that I’m not a tech wizard by any means. Like most people, I know my way around a computer and a smartphone for most basic uses and applications, but I’m at a loss when it comes to describing or explaining the intricacies of how this technology works. Having said that, I don’t think it takes expert knowledge to draw the conclusions I do in this post. As a matter of fact, some basic common sense along with an understanding of how our capitalist system works is more than enough. Let me start with the facts…

I am a Sprint customer. I currently own a Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone with a Sprint unlimited data plan. On a recent Saturday, I opened the YouTube app on my smartphone to watch a music video. At the time, I was connected to Sprint’s 4G LTE mobile network, rather than a Wi-Fi signal. When I clicked on the video, I got a message saying that the connection to the server was lost. I tried a number of troubleshooting steps (power cycle, soft reset, uninstall app updates, etc.), but nothing resolved the issue. I attempted to contact Sprint, but of course nobody was available outside of normal business hours (no 24-hour live customer service from Sprint). I then disconnected from the mobile network and connected to an available Wi-Fi signal. The YouTube video played without a problem on Wi-Fi. I went back to the mobile network, and the same error message appeared again. Hmmm…

Something else that has happened related to data usage is when I’ve moved from an area with 4G LTE coverage to one without it. At that point, my phone automatically connects to the much slower (and therefore less data-intensive) 3G network, if available. However, when I return to an area where I know there is 4G LTE coverage, the phone often remains on the 3G network instead of switching back to 4G LTE, which obviously keeps data usage lower.

It’s no secret that telecommunications companies want to charge their customers for data plans (unlimited and otherwise) while limiting traffic on the network as much as possible. Comcast, for example, admits to throttling Internet speeds when customers go above a certain amount of data per month (there’s much more to write about Comcast, but they will probably get a whole separate future blog post). Sprint encourages customers to connect to Wi-Fi whenever available rather than the company’s mobile network under the guise of prolonging the phone’s battery life. It may indeed be true that connecting to Wi-Fi prolongs a phone’s battery life, but that’s beside the greater point that Wi-Fi doesn’t cost Sprint anything while connecting to their mobile network does. Even the phones are designed to make it real easy to connect to Wi-Fi (swipe down>>>click “Wi-Fi” button… two steps) while making it significantly more difficult to connect to the mobile network (Apps>>>Settings>>>Network Connections>>>More networks>>>Mobile networks>>>Mobile data>>>click check box… seven steps). I’m probably the farthest thing from a conspiracy theorist, but these companies spend A LOT of money paying people to figure out ways to increase profit. So I don’t think I have to be sized for a tin foil hat for suggesting that these companies do the things described above ON PURPOSE!

What follows from all this? It appears that Sprint (and surely all other telecommunications companies as well) sometimes disables the network for data-intensive apps like YouTube in order to keep their customers from using too much data, even when these customers are paying for “unlimited” plans. These companies can do things like this on the weekends, not only because this is ostensibly the time when customers use their phones the most, especially for entertainment purposes (thereby using the most data), but also because tech support is not available to “solve” the connectivity issue. By the way, when I got back on YouTube later during the week, SURPRISE... the problem was gone! Of course, these companies can explain these problems away as isolated incidents that they had no control over.

It’s a shame that we live in a society where on the one hand, corporations could be getting away with such underhanded tactics just to increase profit, and on the other hand, most people are too ignorant or dependent on these companies’ products and services to do anything about it. For related news and information on this issue, visit stopthecap.com.

A Musician in the Middle of a Mess

There was a flyer circulated by an agent at Main Event Talent Agency (Main Event) related to a dispute with a World of Beer franchisee (WOB) over money owed to a number of bands that Main Event represents. I’m helping to disseminate it for at least two very important reasons. First, I play in two of the bands that are owed money, so in a way I’m suffering twice as much as anybody else! Second, I believe in fairness, and when a business does not honor its obligations, it should be known far and wide so that people can make an informed decision and take their business elsewhere if necessary.

It is for the second reason and fairness that I must also call a spade a spade. A large part of the blame for what has happened here lies directly with Main Event. As intermediary agent between the bands and the venue, it is Main Event’s responsibility to do their due diligence. This means that Main Event must ensure that the venues it deals with hold up their end. Main Event should also have a legally binding written business agreement (contract) with all parties involved, so that if anything like what’s currently happening goes on, it has the necessary evidence to seek damages in a court of law. My understanding is Main Event does not have such a contract with WOB, which would be a plain old bad business move.

Despite a number of invitations extended to Main Event’s agents over a period of many months, none of them has ever gone to see either of my two bands perform, not even once, even though they’re making money off our performances! So, if Main Event is hiring out bands that none of its agents has even seen live, how can anyone reasonably expect Main Event to have done its due diligence when establishing business with WOB? If they had done so, might not this whole situation have been avoided?

I don’t know where all this will end up. Hopefully, WOB will do the right thing and pay what it owes to all the bands. After all, they received valuable entertainment services which contributed to their sales. The honorable thing to do is to pay up promptly. As for Main Event, despite its normally successful track record, hopefully this experience will teach its agents to be more diligent. Oh, and while they’re at it, getting to know the product they’re selling a little bit better can’t hurt, either!

So, what can we the musicians, caught in the middle of this mess, do? After all, for us, dealing with sleazy and shady characters has been an occupational hazard for as long as music’s been around… and that’s just within a band itself! When it comes to venues, managers, agents, and all the other people who want a piece of the pie for bringing musicians and audiences together, well… we need to stand united and not provide our talents for the benefit of those who do not value it!