AIM: A Long Farewell

AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, shut down this morning after 18 years.  It was a quiet end to a program that has been abandoned for quite some time.

I began using AIM not long after it started.  It began as a way to communicate with my friends that had AOL, and I didn't.  At first it was just a small set of friends.  Then I started finding random people to talk with.  Before long I was chatting with friends all over the country.

Through my college days, I met so many friends through AIM.  I went on a few dates with girls I met on AIM.  I kept up with my classmates from high school and college.  Through it all, AIM was there.  When my dad was traveling overseas, AIM provided a free, instant method of communication.  My girlfriend, now wife, and I talked almost daily on AIM while we were dating.

In recent years, AIM has been shunned for more accessible platforms, such as Gmail chat and Facebook messenger.  I last signed into AIM a few weeks ago, and found only 1-2 friends actually online.  A few others were "mobile", most likely using either a 3rd party app or left in the background on their PC.  I don't even remember the last time I engaged in a conversation on AIM.  Ask almost anybody that was on my buddy list, and you'd probably hear a similar answer.

It was time for AIM to go.  But the memories and friendships will last forever.

How did we get here?

The last 48 hours have been nothing short of a whirlwind.

I know how we got here, but I don't understand why.

So much attention has been given to the NFL players' decision to kneel during the national anthem at almost every game over the weekend.  Many of them deciding to do so after President Trump's comments on Saturday that players should be fired for taking a knee, and that players that choose to kneel are "sons of bitches".  Players are angry about the President's comments.  Fans are even more angry that the players are "disrespecting the flag and the nation" and have basically said that these "million dollar crybabies" should just shut up and stop complaining.  I've seen so many arguments on social media about it.  It consumes the water cooler talk at the office.

How in the world did we get here?

Sports used to be a distraction from reality.  Baseball, football, and NASCAR helped the country heal after 9/11.  Sporting events were seen as a way to "get back to a routine" after so much turmoil.  Even now, fans use sports as a distraction from events in their own lives.  For those three hours or so, people can relax, enjoy the event, and not be concerned about other events in the world.

This week sports became the distraction.

Players have every right to their opinion and to demonstrate that peacefully, just like any other citizen.  We are very lucky that we lived in a country where we are allowed to peacefully demonstrate and speak freely.  We owe those that have sacrificed themselves a huge debt of gratitude to allow us to speak our mind, whether we do it vocally or silently.

The next few weeks will be critical.  Now that the players have our attention, how will we, as citizens of the United States, react?  What will our response be?  How will the players respond?  The issues raised will not be resolved overnight.  It's going to take time.  But it's also going to take us working together as a country, united together, to solve the problems the players are trying to bring to our attention.

I hope sports again become the distraction that we all enjoy, not fight about.

Now can we go back to using the internet for its intended purposes:  pictures of cats?

New Year, Same Result

30 years.

I've been a Washington Capitals fan for 30 years.

For at least 4 of the last 10 years, I've heard the same story:

"Capitals go into the playoffs at the favorite to win the Stanley Cup."

 And every year it's been the same disappointing result.

With last night's loss, the Caps have not made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs since 1998.  For 3 of the last 4, they have made it to game 7 of the 2nd round, only to lose.  In two of those 4, they were shut out by their opponent.

The Capitals are now 1-9 all time vs Pittsburgh in the playoffs.  On three of those previous occasions, Pittsburgh has gone on to win the Stanley Cup.  I equate it to skinning your knee, getting punched in the stomach, and getting hit in the face with a baseball, all at the same time.  It's quite possible it could happen again this year.

Nobody likes to lose.  Yet the Capitals seem to find new ways to do it every year.  They discover new ways to make the fan base depressed. The long term fans like myself have sadly gotten used to it.

To make it even more frustrating, I read this morning:

Capitals own the best record in the NHL since 2008-09. Chicago and Pittsburgh rank 2nd and 3rd, and have won 5 of the 8 titles in that span.

— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) May 11, 2017

The Capitals have some decisions to make.  Ovechkin will be 31 when next season begins.  Backstrom will be 29.  Both players still have 3 years remaining on their contracts.  Oshie, Shattenkirk, Alzner, Winnik, and Williams are all UFAs.  Kuznetsov, Orlov, Schmidt, Grubauer, and Burakovsky are RFAs.  There will be an expansion draft this season. 

My guess is Oshie, Shattenkirk, Winnik, and Williams do not return next season.  Either Orlov, Schmidt, or Grubauer will most likely be taken in the expansion draft.  Alzner will probably be in high demand as well.   That's potentially 6 positions to fill.

The Caps at the moment have around $23 million in cap space.  Kuznetsov and Burakovsky are coming off entry level contracts.  They're going to command 3-4 million at least each.  That drops down to $15 million in cap space.  With only 11 players currently signed to the Caps for next season, one wonders how they are going to fill said holes.

This might have been the Caps last chance with this core group of players to win the Cup.  And once again, they didn't get it done. 

What's up with JGR?

We're now 7 races into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.  So far, Joe Gibbs Racing has zero wins and only 3 top five finishes.  Two of the four teams are outside the top 20 in points. 

At this point in 2016, JGR had 3 wins and seemed to be the team to beat for the Championship.

What in the world happened?

One team's drop off was to be expected.  The sudden departure of Carl Edwards in January caught many by surprise.  Daniel Suarez was placed in car.  Having never driven a Cup car, nobody expected Suarez to immediately have success in the Cup series.  When crew chief Dave Rogers took an unexpected leave of absence, it created more turmoil for the 19 team.  Suarez is still a rookie, so he gets a pass.

Matt Kenseth currently sits 22nd in points.  Matt finished a strong 3rd in Atlanta, but three DNFs in the first 7 races has pushed him down in the standings.  Kenseth has yet to lead a lap in 2017. 

Denny Hamlin won the 2016 Daytona 500 and had a strong start to last season.  This year Hamlin has struggled.  His best finish was a 6th at Las Vegas, but has only managed to amass one other top 10 in 2017.  Hamlin has led 28 laps so far this year.

Kyle Busch has been JGR's top performer again this year.  A 2nd place at Martinsville and a 3rd at Phoenix have boosted him to 7th in the standings, the only JGR driver to be in the top 10.  Busch has led 413 laps so far this season. 

What happened to a team that seemed so strong last season?

Some ideas as to what has happened:

1.  Stage racing:  JGR has played the strategy game several times this season to attempt to win stages.  This has not worked out well, with Kyle Busch having the only stage wins for the team so far this season.

2.  Bad luck.  All four drivers were involved in accidents in the season opening Daytona 500.  Busch was bumped out of the way on the last lap of stage 2 at Martinsville.  Matt Kenseth has crashed in 3 different races.

3.  The 2018 Camry is still working out the "bugs".  This is less likely, as JGR's satellite team, Furniture Row Racing, has found success with the new car.  However, since the car was a completely new design, it is possible that the teams and drivers are still struggling to find the perfect setups.

4.  Loss of Carl Edwards.  Most multi-car teams share information between drivers and teams.  The loss of an elite driver in Carl Edwards means a loss of critical data to the other teams. 



Hendrick Motorsports, who was on par with JGR last season, just picked up their first win of the season with Jimmie Johnson.  However, Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne have run well in the first few races.  Johnson has struggled as well until his win. 

It's too early in the season to hit the panic button.  But if JGR doesn't turn things around by Talladega, it's going to be a long season for a team that has enjoyed a ton of success over the last several seasons.

Birthdays: why do people get so excited about them?

I "celebrated" my birthday a few days ago.  When I say I celebrated, I mean that my daughter kept reminding me every waking hour in the days before that it was coming.  When you're 6, birthdays are all the rage.  They're fun, exciting, and usually present and party filled.  But after a while, you tend to stop counting.

The last time I truly celebrated was my 30th.  My wife planned a surprise party, that I almost spoiled due to business travel.  Last year I spent my birthday in a foreign country.  I didn't know anybody there and didn't speak a lot of the local language, so I didn't venture out other than to restaurants to get food.

This year, I went to work, went to dinner with my wife and kids, and had a team meeting with my ice hockey team for our upcoming season.  Yeah, I was real excited about it.

I got to thinking why people think birthdays are important. Let's go over the things that happen on your birthday, at particular ages:

16:  in most states, you are eligible to get your driver's license.
17:  Can see "R" rated movies without a parent or guardian present.
18:  Voting.  Purchase lottery tickets and cigarettes.  Now considered an "adult" so you can enter contests, promotions.  You can apply for credit cards in your own name.
21:  You can legally purchase alcohol, gamble in a casino.  Some rental car agencies will allow you to rent a car with an additional fee.
25:  Rent a car without the additional fee.  Car insurance rates drop if you have a good driving record.

After 25, what privileges do you gain?  The only two I can find:

50:  You are eligible to join AARP.
55-65 (depending on location):  Start becoming eligible for senior discounts.
65:  You're now on Medicare.

So between 25 and 50, to me, you're just gaining a number.  It's just another day.