http://www.zachbair.com An open forum to discuss and debate issues en-us Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:14:24 GMT Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:43:17 GMT CF Blogger by DayDream Inc http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss nospam@all.ge.tit nospam@all.ge.tit http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9B2E7AF6-36D1-8BE1-2AAE8CFE2B6AF7EA I honestly can't believe how ignorant some people can be in this country. Or so arrogant. I can't quite figure out which.The latest uproar has been about President Obama's speech to the school kids. I was almost floored when I heard about this. Are you kidding? This is the President of the United States for crying out loud! Obama is not the first nor will he be the last to speak to our kids.This, as usual, has been caused by those who are so far on the right that they can't even identify with the word "moderation" any more, and moreover, can't seem to even get a grip on reality. The President has no interest in pitching politics to kids. He wants to implore them to do better with their education, because he, unlike apparently many folks in our general population, realizes that a good education is key to the future of our country.And now, of course, after the speech was released to the press, you have right-wingers saying that "Oh, yea, he changed the speech after he got his hand caught in the cookie jar!" ARE YOU KIDDING? And if you buy that bunch of baloney, then you are really seriously stupid.Give me a break. Again, I don't claim to be a Republican or Democrat. I want our country to get straightened out. And to you people who just fight Obama tooth and nail simply because some moron told you to do it, or because you don't have the full story; or because you do and you simply don't understand, SHUT UP! Enough already!One final thought. It has taken eight years for our country to go down the drain. It's going to take longer than a few months for Obama to fix it. And with all of the political rhetoric going on, probably longer than that.And oh yea. I'm equally mad at Congress, both sides of the House and Senate. They can't agree on ANYTHING. It's like a bunch of little kids. Selfish little brats who don't care anything about their constituents but would rather just keep their votes. I could go on an on, but I will spare you.So just drop it. Get a life. The word "United" in United States means "TOGETHER". Get it? Politics Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:43:17 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9B2E7AF6-36D1-8BE1-2AAE8CFE2B6AF7EA http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=80D4095B-36D1-8BE1-22D878828A785310 So I know this is not one of those politically explosive topics. But I thought I would just talk a bit about dentists and how much I simply do not like going.I think it's been about three years. Maybe four - since I have been to a dentist. I know, that sounds terrible! Fortunately, I have been blessed with decent teeth, and brush them/take care of them regularly.Well, finally today I broke down and decided it was time to have them checked out. I picked a small dental office down the street from where I live.Upon entering, I smelled that familiar smell, and heard that drill - and already I was wanting to turn on my heels and make a quick exodus. Fighting that desire was difficult, but I managed to fill out the paperwork and sit anxiously, awaiting my fate.After a relatively quick wait of about 15 minutes, my name was called and I was lead to the death chamber, er, I mean the exam room. The dental assistant was very sweet and could see my apprehension, and undoubtedly it helped alleviate my nervousness when she cooed in a light southern accent to "have a seat" in the chair.I did so, and she went to work picking at my teeth. I told myself that it really wasn't so bad, but for whatever reason I realized that my entire body pretty much from the neck town was as tense and stiff as a board and my hands were gripping the chair arms to the point I could see my knuckles were white. I would repeatedly tell myself to relax, and then I would just tense right up again.Well, this only lasted about 20 minutes or so, then she "polished" my teeth. I was more relaxed for that, since there were no sharp objects in my mouth and I was not spitting quarts of blood.Finally she said that the dentist would be in to see me shortly. Ahh. That dreaded moment when I'm informed my mouth is rotting away and they need to fill 20 cavities. To my stunned amazement, I was advised my teeth were just fine! Shocked to say the least, but I suppose my morning and nightly regimen of brushing (but no flossing believe it or not) saved me from the drill!I walked out like I conquered the world. What a great feeling!Now that you know more than you ever wanted to know about my dental experience, I will let you go back to your day. General Interest Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:54:22 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=80D4095B-36D1-8BE1-22D878828A785310 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=57396347-36D1-8BE1-2D95D614D9EF37DA I am absolutely dumbstruck by the amount of people who blindly go to these town hall meetings simply to cause trouble, than to listen and learn. Stop making all the noise, and instead of raising hell, why don't you do some research and contribute to the greater good and help to create a better health care solution! And stop spreading rumors! No matter what, you will always have a choice. That's what America is about. And you, as a citizen, have a responsibility to yourself, your children, and the rest of the country to learn and not just flap your gums because some political action committee said you should.Stop putting up roadblocks and instead ask meaningful questions that your representative can then use to make an informed decision. Politics Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:01:01 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=57396347-36D1-8BE1-2D95D614D9EF37DA http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=4C7EFEA4-36D1-8BE1-24959278383B2683 As you know, from time to time I comment on what Mark Cuban has stated on his blog, blogmaverick.com. Today is one of those days.In his post, The Irony of the Video Business, Mr. Cuban comments on how surprising it is Redbox, a company that rents DVDs through kiosks, is "the most disruptive force in the video business."The true irony here is that about four years ago, when I was CEO of Immediatek, the company I founded in 2001 and which Mr. Cuban eventually bought majority ownership in, Mr. Cuban apparently fell in with the "conventional wisdom" which he has quoted in the referenced blog post. In other words, he was adamantly against kiosks when Immediatek, a company known to be ahead of the curve, was actively engaged in working towards disruptive kiosk solutions. To keep the long story short, our company had tremendous opportunities implementing our designs through third parties, not having to pay a dime for equipment, and Mr. Cuban shot it all down. In an email to me, and I quote:"and so we are clear. We wont [sic] host a kiosk. We wont sell kiosks. We wont even take delivery..."And in another instance:"...there are dozens of companies trying to sell kiosks. None have made it. we are not stupid enough to think we could do something they cant [sic]..."Mr. Cuban was adamant that we were not in the "kiosk" business. That we were in the "content" business. Since when? Immediatek had a history of introducing products such as NetBurn Secure, which was a software product that allowed artists to sell and distribute music in a secure format. Our kiosk designs were an extension of this model, and the music labels were interested. Our first artist that used NetBurn was JC Chasez of NSync. But... our kiosks were summarily dismissed, after months, if not longer, of work, to sew it into our overall offering.So, where was this disruptive thought four years ago? I guess folks should be open to other technologies and ideas, even when they are not yours. Blog Rebuttals Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:01:14 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=4C7EFEA4-36D1-8BE1-24959278383B2683 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=34182979-36D1-8BE1-209DB367D32A361E I've been reading lately about all of the issues regarding airlines. Planes stuck on the tarmac for hours; lost luggage; bitchy crew; long lines, yada yada.From someone who has actually worked in that industry for a time, I can tell you first-hand that people simply don't realize what a technological and logistical marvel - miracle in fact - modern air travel really is. To keep planes flying, more-or-less on schedule for the most part, is an incredible undertaking, and despite improvements in technology, communications, flight instruments, navigational systems and such, the simple fact is that it still has to be run by people, and those people for the most part, I believe, do an outstanding job of getting people to and from their destinations safely.Do they make mistakes? I'm sure they do. I wouldn't want to sit on a plane for seven hours. But ya know, it's going to happen. That's just the way it is.And for you idiots who want to sue the airline for such issues, you are complete morons because all you are doing is a)creating a needless cost center which takes money away from improving airline operations and instead focuses airline resources on defending frivolous lawsuits, and b) causing the airlines to become more conservative in everything they do - including estimating flight schedules - thus creating even more havoc by a plane actually being on-time and waiting at the gate because so much padding was built in to the schedule.So my recommendation to you is to take a chill pill, and just try to be understanding when these types of things happen. Put yourself in the shoes of all the different people that work hard to get you where you are going. For the most part, it's a thankless job. I wouldn't ever want to be a flight attendant, making ridiculously low pay just to hear your bitching and moaning because you don't like your seat. Get over it, and instead focus your negative energy elsewhere. And be thankful that we actually have an amazing system that works (most of the time), that continues to evolve to address various challenges that are constantly introduced. Have a nice flight! General Gripes Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:18:01 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=34182979-36D1-8BE1-209DB367D32A361E http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=0BA8268C-36D1-8BE1-253B627CAF54FDBD Death panels? Are you kidding me? You people need to get a serious dose of education. That's the most ludicrous, ridiculous, outlandish thing I have ever heard. Complete nuts. Politics Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:50:52 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=0BA8268C-36D1-8BE1-253B627CAF54FDBD http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=F56446A4-36D1-8BE1-2F89BC11F394549E It amazes me that here lately I have been reading about these town hall meetings that erupt in chaos, most of them complaining that our country is becoming "socialist," etc. I have a feeling a lot of these folks are the same people who put and kept George W. Bush in office for eight years, resulting in the worst deficit in American history.Here's a simple and interesting fact to swallow. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has 30 members: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.Of these 30 countrys, only three do not have universal health care. Two of them are Mexico and Turkey - at least somewhat understandable since they are poorer than the rest. The other country in this list, however, that doesn't have universal health care, is the United States.This, my friends, is simply ridiculous. The reason we do not have universal health care is because there are powerful drug and health care companies that lobby our politicians and pay outlandish sums in order to maintain their power and their profit. A case in point of how skewed our health care system is: the stupid, repetitive drug commercials that run almost non-stop on television. If someone would step up and ban those commercials, then the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on educating us on "restless leg syndrome" would be spend in other areas such as research and development.But back to my point. For those of you who seriously think that the proposed health care reform is going to force you to have what you don't want, take another look. The system being developed will allow you to still choose your own provider if you so wish, or choose the government's. To me, this is actually better than the universal health care of other countries, because you DO have the ability to choose.People, quit freaking out. This county is in turmoil and we have a president who actually has the balls to do something about it. True, he may not be right all of the time, but at least he is making the effort. The ones that do not like it seem to be affiliated with the right wing establishment that has put our country here to begin with. And I sincerely want to emphasize that I have voted on BOTH sides of the isle, so please don't put me in the "left wing radical" category.The simple fact is that something has to be done, and instead of fighting it tooth and nail, or succumbing to irresponsible, unsubstantiated rhetoric, we should stand behind it and try and catch up to the rest of the civilized world. Politics Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:05:05 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=F56446A4-36D1-8BE1-2F89BC11F394549E http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E5C01585-36D1-8BE1-2B9941ED5ED593AD Recently Mark Cuban posted an article on his blog concerning Net Neutrality. I thought I would throw in my two cents.First, you need to know what Net Neutrality is. Net Neutrality is simply a term that has been made up to emphasize that all traffic on the Internet should be treated the same. According to Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu, Network Neutrality "is best defined as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally public information network aspires to treat all content, sites and platforms equally."Cuban states in his blog that this is good for "traditional TV" because digital TV (i.e. Internet TV) takes hits because other apps such as Facebook and Myspace take bandwidth away from TV.So needless to say, Cuban is against Net Neutrality, seeing that he owns HDNet, a broadcast network.First let's explore what he defined as "traditional TV". There is no such thing as "traditional TV" any more, especially after the "big switch" to digital. Everything is now digital. Note that you get your TV and internet over the same digital cable in many cases. So the idea of traditional TV is already a thing of the past.In the old days (ok, really not that old), you got your TV on the cable or an antenna - let's call it a "pipe," and you got your Internet on a phone line, DSL, or T1. This is a completely separate pipe. Two pipes, two different services.In the quest of greater market share, better and faster Internet, and simply put, greed, big cable companies decided that they needed to get in on the action and they took advantage of an already obvious pipe, which is the cable that goes into so many households throughout the US. Thus, in layman's terms, these folks created a common pipe for delivery of both TV and for Internet.Now let's get back to the idea of Net Neutrality. People who are against it generally want to regulate the speed of your Internet for certain sites and services, or perhaps your access completely. This goes against the grain of the Internet and why it was created in the first place. These folks who want to regulate it are the very same people that enabled the problems to begin with - the big cable and TV providers. They want to choke off your access for downloads and other things so that you get a clear picture; and they want to figure out a way to make more money.Granted, we like to have a clear picture, especially with HD. However, the solution is to dedicate the bandwidth necessary for cable and/or digital TV and to separate the pipe for Internet access.In traditional network engineering, for example, you can break off a certain amount of bandwidth from a T1 for voice services, and dedicate the remainder for Internet. It's not that complicated. And, all packets on the Internet are created equal. Net Neutrality.Another thing Mr. Cuban doesn't take into consideration is the dramatic increase in bandwidth and speed that has been introduced over the past several years. Ten years ago, you had to install a T1 if you wanted 1.544 MBS, and that's only a 10th of what you can get for "downstream" these days (downloads).With so much bandwidth, it would be easy to apportion what is necessary for TV and leave the Internet traffic alone.Of course, it's more complex than this. But my point is that if there is a will, there is a way, without hogging bandwidth, and without hurting either scenario - crystal clear TV or your downloads of Pamela Anderson.Basically what I'm saying is that by effectively using technology, it's possible to separate what was already separate to begin with, which should keep everyone happy; and as consumers, we should be educated enough to know that the cable companies can't ram things down our throats simply because they say so. Tech/Entertainment Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:11:26 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E5C01585-36D1-8BE1-2B9941ED5ED593AD http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E036544F-36D1-8BE1-2FAC70F9359A70B9 Unassuming family man has story worth tellingIn a short span recently, we lost Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson -- both icons of at least one generation if not more -- and then Billy Mays, the pitchman who we all know from hawking OxiClean. And let's not forget Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite and the list goes on.These high-profile deaths always garner heavy press coverage. Recently, however, my co-workers and I endured a loss a lot closer to home, but equally devastating, and equally newsworthy. His name was Joey Easterling.Joey's story should be told, too.Joey was a very unassuming young man, quiet and diligent in his daily work, never forgetting that family always came first. Confined to his computer at work, he would grab a quick lunch and get right back to it, remaining intently focused. Eventually the phone would ring signaling the close of the day."Honey, what time you coming home?" It never had to be said, it was written all over his face: "Yep. She loves me!"The same was true on a particular Friday in April. Joey would reach many milestones on this weekend. He looked forward to seeing family from out of town, as well as his closest friends. It would be one of the happiest weekends in his life. Neither he, nor anyone else, realized that it would also be his last.Joey was overjoyed about picking up a motorcycle he had just purchased. The bike was about 50 miles from his home. He and his wife and child excitedly made the drive to retrieve it.Although stormy weather was approaching, Joey decided he was going to beat it, and decided to ride the bike home.It was the first and last time Joey would ride it. On the way home, he somehow lost control of the bike and crashed into a guardrail at highway speed. His wife and child were following behind him in the car and witnessed the crash.We are told that Joey probably went quickly and likely didn't feel a thing. One can only hope that was the case.The following week was difficult for all of his co-workers. The "seal" of his cubicle had not been broken since Joey left on that Friday afternoon. Joey's father-in-law had phoned one of the guys at his job to help put together some items for his memorial. Even a glance to his personal space seemed inappropriate, but the guys carried out their solemn task.Joey never had his 15 minutes of fame, never "moonwalked" in front of millions of people, and never became famous from wearing a skimpy swimsuit (thankfully). Nor did he have the opportunity to travel the world. But I can comfortably say that he was happy, left this earth at peace with himself and had many friends and family who loved and admired him.Let's not forget our local legends -- even if they are not known to millions. Columns Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:22:52 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E036544F-36D1-8BE1-2FAC70F9359A70B9 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=D0EE7D9E-36D1-8BE1-2373CD04E50CA673 What is our world coming to? Last week, there were headlines from every major news outlet concerning the 7-year old that apparently ran from the police and led them on a short chase.To my amazement, the Today Show featured the boy and his parents on their national broadcast this morning. Are you kidding?Why would we ever in a million years glorify something like this? In reality, the little thief needs to be grounded for a long period of time, in addition to a good old-fashioned butt whipping. And yes, I believe in corporal punishment. It worked for 99% of the people I grew up with.Having these people on a national show and glorifying it is simply ridiculous. That's not teaching the child that what he did was completely wrong, and it's not punishing the parents for something they are obviously not doing. It's just giving too much attention to the "act" itself.Please people. Re-evaluate your values, and raise your kids right. And the media, well, you guys need to stop feeding the egos of people who want 10 minutes in the limelight. General Interest Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:10:06 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=D0EE7D9E-36D1-8BE1-2373CD04E50CA673 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=C313C744-36D1-8BE1-202E90A240279AE2 One of the most respected men in our time, Colin Powell, interjected the voice of reason into the ongoing Gates / Crowley spat. Here's what Gen. Powell had to say:"I am saying Skip [Gates], perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it. I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal." I have to say, the general is right on target. Not everything in this country is about race. Sometime's it is about when you know you shouldn't open your mouth. I believe that is one of those instances. Both parties certainly have some blame in this; however, the police officer as I pointed out earlier was doing his job, and until he was able to secure Mr. Gates' identification, he had no idea who he was dealing with and therefore had to be prepared for anything. Thank you, General Powell, for providing a level-headed assessment. Politics Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:36:09 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=C313C744-36D1-8BE1-202E90A240279AE2 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=C1BCED59-36D1-8BE1-2D6A165B3CDC1EE6 As previously noted, I classify myself neither as a Republican or a Democrat. I typically go with the person whose overall philosophies are similar to mine, and who I think will do the best job.On both sides of the two-party mash up, there are those that I call "fanaticals." These are the people that believe every single word that their candidate or elected official says, no matter how idiotic. And, of course, there are candidates (or elected officials) that fall in this category too.The past eight years of the Bush administration is a proving point. I have never in my entire life seen so many "cattle" blindly follow someone and fail to question even the most easy to understand BS that was coming out of that administration. It's as though Bush was all-knowing and God forbid anyone question him. And now, after eight years of virtual isolationism, poor business practices, and some of the worst foreign policy ever, we are all now paying the price.Again - I'm not affiliated with a particular party. But it sure seems like to me lately that the "far right" fanaticism has completely enveloped the Republican party (although there are a few shining stars of reason).And we STILL have those out there that would rather believe and hang on every word that morons like Rush Limbaugh spew than listen to the voice of reason.This whole thing about "birthers" just takes the cake. Lead by fanatics like Limbaugh, there are those who *still* do not believe Obama was born in the USA. Please! Get a life, folks! This theory was disproved months ago, and no matter how much noise you make, it's not going to change.Hey, look, I'm sorry if you don't like Obama. He already has his hands full, and unlike some people who would rather do nothing, I believe he is doing the best he can to dig us out of the various holes that we allowed Bush to dig for us. Distractions like this only cause the country to lose focus on the real issues. Personally, I'm going to give Obama a chance to fix what it took eight years to create. It ain't gonna happen overnight.So instead of pulling out your fanatic play book, shut your mouth and get behind the president. Give the guy a chance. And, Rush... please, shut up already! Politics Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:21:40 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=C1BCED59-36D1-8BE1-2D6A165B3CDC1EE6 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=BD8E2805-36D1-8BE1-225621F64ABD2534 Well... I'M not rich, by a huge stretch of the imagination. I was, of course, referring to Mark Cuban. Yes, this is the continuation of my previous post about the continuing saga of Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Don Nelson, a former coach of the Mavericks.On my previous post, I included a link to a transcript of a deposition that was released recently. It was a truly fascinating read, especially for someone such as myself who has had direct dealing with Mr. Cuban (he bought my company back in 2006). Because of this knowledge, I can read into the responses that Mr. Cuban is providing to opposing counsel and not only see a pattern, but an almost embarrassing disregard to basic facts.Specifically, at one time they are questioning Mr. Cuban about a series of $200,000 payments that was to be made to Mr. Nelson as part of a consulting agreement. The CFO of Cuban's company emails Cuban to tell him that yes, in fact, the money is owed, per the contract, and that it should be paid. Twice, in fact. Cuban's response? Basically (and I'm paraphrasing) to "see what Mr. Nelson will do". Say what?So the lawyer and Cuban go round and round about this part of the contract, and each time Cuban tries to wrangle his way around the question without giving the obvious answer that yes, indeed, the money was owed.To quote one of his responses, it goes something like this:"Q. (Opposing Counsel) - Ok. So at this point in time the--your CFO says, the contract's coming up, and we are going to have to start paying him the $200,000. You say that's not the way I remember it. They e-mail back and say, yeah, I looked back, and we owe him the money. Your CFO has now told you twice that you owe the money, and you say now, I might have left it out of the e-mail, but we didn't agree we would pay, so let's not pay it. What's that all about"?A. (Mark Cuban) - It's part of a give-and-take conversation.Q. (Opposing Counsel) - Sounds pretty clear to me. The guy says we owe it, you say that's not the way I remember it. He says yes, here it is, we owe it. And you said that's not the way I remember it, so let's not pay it. Why were you disagreeing iwth the CFO who had all the records and telling him not to pay it?A. (Mark Cuban) - Because we were having an interactive conversation here. It may not seem like it, but my method, this would be a single phone call for most people. So as you can see, this is all happening within a very brief, brief period of time. And so this is just my way -- I might have been someplace, you know, who knows what the circumstances were, but it's my way of having a give-and-take conversation. So this is all for all intents and purposes a single conversation.Q. (Opposing Counsel) - It's a single conversation.A. (Mark Cuban) - Yes, sir.Q. (Opposing Counsel) - So you are -- are you going to tell Judge Ashworth that your CFO who has now told you twice, we owe this consulting salary, are you going ot say that the Mav's chief financial officer is speaking out of school?A. (Mark Cuban) - I don't understand the speaking out of school. Is part of it - you know, in business conversations you go back and forth with your management."This my friends goes ON and ON, to the point where it is ridiculous. This is a guy (Cuban) who makes it a point to let everyone know that he enjoys being the "smartest guy in the room". Does this sound like the smartest guy to you? Either he *thinks* he is so smart (and possibly rich) that he can outwit highly trained attorneys who have pored over a legal document, or he is simply so stupid that he truly doesn't understand what "pay the man" means. I seriously doubt the latter.Eventually this exchange - this single exchange about this consulting fee - goes on for about a dozen pages! And then the interviewer recalls previous testimony from Cuban that he said he wanted to see Mr. Nelson "on his knees" begging for the money.Are you kidding?Unfortunately, this is in black and white and reinforces the fact that some people feel it is their God-given right to behave in an unethical fashion.To continue, another section points out money that is to be paid (the larger sum - several million dollars) that apparently Cuban also had failed to pay to Mr. Nelson. Along the lines of the questioning, Cuban tells the interviewer, and I quote:"Well, in many business situations you will have money set aside as escrow, you will have money set - you will have set asides in case of contingent liabilities or contingent scenarios. In this particular case this was money he had earned, that was earned but had the opportunity to - if certain scenarios weren't met, that it would not be paid. You can still earn it, but --you can earn a lot of things in life and then screw them up.(Reply from the Counsel)You taught us that, Mr. Cuban."This exchange goes on and on and in the end Mr. Cuban can't really explain the contingent liabilities nor can he explain why Mr. Nelson wasn't paid.Let's look at the words "contingent liabilities." In my experience, this is a way that someone can justify screwing you out of money, but in a "legal" sense. They have an attorney write up language that is so vague and broad that they can justify keeping money that otherwise would have been paid. This is not the first time I have heard those words come from the Cuban camp.At any rate, this is a guy who is worth billions of dollars, who is trying to screw a 60+ year old man out of what is in reality pocket change to Cuban. Why is it that some people, when they come into a large amount of money, they forget about behaving in an ethical fashion and believe that somehow because they are rich they can do what they want? I mean seriously! This poor man (Nelson) just wants the money that a contract promised him. And you have a billionaire trying to get out of paying it. This case seems pretty clear to me. Of course, I'm not a lawyer and I'm only getting this from the source, er, I mean a replicated copy of an official deposition. So who knows. It just amazes me and truly brings to light that some of my own personal experiences I have had with Cuban do not seem to be isolated. General Gripes Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:52:05 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=BD8E2805-36D1-8BE1-225621F64ABD2534 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=AF3308FF-36D1-8BE1-2E201D498DD13EF9 As I was scanning through the daily news articles, I ran across something very interesting. Some of the previously unreleased confidential documents of depositions in the Mark Cuban / Don Nelson dispute were released today, and made available in the Dallas Morning News. I will write a lot more on this later, but for a fascinating read in the interim, click here. Tech/Entertainment Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:57:53 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=AF3308FF-36D1-8BE1-2E201D498DD13EF9 http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=AD13D257-36D1-8BE1-2FEAC11B2105D520 I come from a well-schooled family. I grew up as a kid in a house of educators and people in the law field. Specifically, my mom was an English professor, so I was around academia quite a bit.All of the press about the police officer in Cambridge doing "racial profiling" is a bit much. How can anyone say that when no one really knows the facts? It's ridiculous! And yes, I respect Obama as our president, but I also believe he spoke a little too soon.Let's wait for the facts before we pull the race card. The fact of the matter is that it sounds as though the officer was doing his job - from the incomplete facts that *have* been disseminated. This officer apparently actively teaches a course in racial profiling, and is well-respected in his department and the community. He once attempted to save a high-profile black athlete. The unfortunate fact, too, is that there are those in the community that cannot wait to pull the race card just to start a fuss. I can't say that's the case here, because again, I don't have all the facts. Do you see what I'm saying? It's really hard to figure out what happened with incomplete information, and people on both sides of the issue should not rush to judgment. I don't care what color you are - things happen and sometimes things get out of hand, but that doesn't mean that every time it happens it is racially motivated! Sometimes I feel like we are in a country of little kids who can't seem to get along despite the fact we are all basically the same.Here's the way I look at it. The cops respond to a call of two men breaking into a house. I'm a former Air Force cop. Let me tell you. I don't care WHO you say you are, if I catch you in a house where there has been a 911 call, until I know for sure that you are who you say you are, you are going to be treated as a suspect. Period. When you are in law enforcement, your own safety is at risk every time you do your job. So if you are black, white, green, yellow, red... whatever... if you are giving me lip and you are not cooperating, then guess what? It's going to raise my suspicion and put me that much more on guard in a tense situation. That, my friends, is not profiling. It's making sure that the suspect isn't going to whip out a firearm and end my day (and life) too early! General Gripes Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:04:33 GMT http://www.zachbair.comdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=AD13D257-36D1-8BE1-2FEAC11B2105D520