Jim Scollins

Just Say No To Healthcare Reform!

2010-03-19T09:22:00.002-04:00

Is there anybody who doesn't think that every American should be able to receive medical attention when they need it, even if they can't afford health insurance? Of course not. But, that doesn't mean we should have the Federal (or state) Government RUN health care in the United States. Who trusts the government to spend their money? Nobody should, and allowing the government to run the health insurance and health care industries is a horrible mistake that will spiral our country even further into debt.

Massachusetts is a great example of why we should NOT support the proposed "Health Care Reform" being pushed by President Obama. Once used as the poster for this program, the Massachusetts system has become an incredible drain on the states budget and is not responsible for other budget cuts that are on the way.

State Treasurer Tim Cahill: “I warned on Tuesday that health care spending in Massachusetts was blowing a hole in the state budget,’’ Cahill said in a statement. “I’m glad that the governor’s office is finally acknowledging that fact.’’
The huge Mass Health program, 60 percent of which is paid for by the federal government, costs the state about $10 billion out of its $27 billion annual budget. According to this story in the Boston Globe.

Mitt Romney recently spoke about how much time and energy the President has wasted on pushing a health care reform bill that the public is opposed to, while he should have been working on the economy and creating jobs. He goes on to say that "You don't have to have the government getting into the insurance business to make it work." Romney's views are a GREAT read, check it out.

It's clear that the public is opposed, but Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and now Barack Obama in Washington are going to push this through for their own political purposes anyway. My feeling is that this is the cornerstone accomplishment for their re-election campaigns. What the public thinks takes a back seat to their own need to have some "historic legislation" to base their next campaigns on. Should the health care bill pass, the price of this mistake will be paid by our children's children, as our national debt grows and grows during tough economic times.

Scott Brown Wins!

2010-01-21T08:53:00.003-05:00

Scott Brown beat the Massachusetts Democratic machine and has brought CHANGE to the Commonwealth. Finally the citizens have proven they will not remain sheep who walk into the polls like zombies and vote for whoever has the (D) next to their name.

When some liberal dirt bag stole the "Scott Brown for US Senate" sign off of my lawn a few months ago, I thought, "this is what we are up against...". But the people woke up and have sent a message to ALL politicians that we are paying attention and regardless of what party you are with we will hold you accountable.

If you have a minute, be sure to read this column by Brian McGrory of the Boston Globe.

Congratulations to Scott Brown, but a bigger CONGRATULATIONS to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for showing how intelligent, passionate, and brave you are for making history on January 19, 2010.

Mass Governor Attacks Tax Payers

2009-07-11T10:42:00.008-04:00

There is some nasty politics being played by Governor Deval Patrick. We've seen these games before. They want to raise taxes. There has been a promise by the Governor to raise the sales tax. In recent months there has been talk of increasing tolls on the Mass Pike, and even talk of a "candy tax". This week we hear they may have to close the Boston Zoo (Franklin Park), and the story even talks about euthanizing animals! Locally they are telling us that they will have to close the local Registry of Motor Vehicles branch in North Attleboro. This is calld a "Quality of life attack", and it is by design. It is a strategic manuever by a desperate Governor who's approval ratings continue to slide.

We get smacked with this new wave of budget cuts that are clearly targeting the average family. These attacks on the average tax payers are an obvious attempt to gain approval for the tax increases the Governor wants to push through. They hope that the conversations at the local bars and grocery stores become: "well, I guess if it's THAT bad that they have to close the Zoo and the Registry may be we really do need to pay more taxes". Think Deval has ever been to the registry? Think that closing a few motor vehicle offices effects anyone on Becon Hill?

I have an idea for the Governor: STOP HIRING more and more 100K new jobs in the State House! Show us better token gestures of the state cutting back costs than turning off the lights on the Zakim bridge. Where are the cost suts that don't lower the quality of life for the masses? When does the State tighten it's OWN belt? The free spending, bigger government liberals that are now running the show need more of our money to keep the party going during the worst ecomonic crisis in 30 years.

We are being attacked by the very people we have elected (he didn't get my vote). We should not be intimidated or pushed around by OUR elected officials. I plan to call the Governor's office Monday to express my opinion, and hope you will do the same: Governor's Office: 888-870-7770 You can email Governor Patrick as well.

Liam on the Foxboro Reporter!

2009-06-20T22:13:00.002-04:00

Check out Liam on the front page of the Foxboro Reporter! He is the cool dude with the sunglasses on the bottom left (far feft, not wearing a cap). Liam rode on the Taylor School float in this years Foxboro Founders Day parade. Pretty cool huh?

Comcast Center Parking Sucks!

2009-06-18T16:41:00.001-04:00

This week Jack and I went to his first real concert: Drop Kick Murphy's & Aerosmith at the Comcast Center in Mansfield (formerly known as great Woods).

Parking is FREE which is awesome. Given ticket prices and especially the "service fees" that come with buying tickets directly from the venues preferred seller (which makes no sense to me) a little something like free parking *should* be included!

My sons first concert was a great experience. He is only 11 and I wasn't sure if he was ready for a classic rock show like this, but there was really no part of the experience of going to and experiencing the show that I would deem a negative. He loves Guitar Hero Aerosmith, he knew all the songs, and was really into the whole thing from start to finish.

It is unfortunate that the night had to end the way it did. We were among the first fans to bolt for the parking lots as the last song of the encore ended. Our seats were only 1 section from the exit and were only 7 rows up from the main concourse to that exit. We got in the car at 11:03 pm, and made it about 20 feet before we sat for more than an hour and a half.

Our house is less than 6 miles from the Comcast Center and we didn't get home until 12:50 am, so it took us nearly 2 hours. Aerosmith only played for about an hour and a half, so it took us longer to get home than the main act even played for.

I realize that anytime you put a few thousand people in cars, into a relatively small area it will take time to get them all out. I get it. That said, it should just not take 2 hours to get out, they have to do better. You have a major highway 100ft away. You have a lot of land and could better spread out the exits. You could stop catering to the Premier Parking sections which were all empty long before my car made it up that far to the entrance.

It's not my job to solve it, it is yours Comcast Center. I am not in a hurry to go back, knowing that I need to add 2 hours to my Tuesday night just to sit in my car, 6 miles from home. Figure it out and fix it, what you are doing is simply unacceptable and not good enough.

My List of Twitter Resources

2009-05-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

Twitter Resources

Twitter.com - Do you Twitter? Sign-Up Now!

Directories/Find Twitter Users to Follow

We Follow - A user powered Twitter directory

JustTweetIt - Find other users like you!

TwitR - Another Twitter directory

HashTweeps - Find Twitter users by hash terms

Twello - The Twitter Yellow Pages

Mr. Tweet - Helps you discover great people

Twubble - Can help expand your Twitter bubble

Find Hot/Cool/Popular Tweets

TweetMeme - Tracks popular links on Twitter

HashTags.org - What's happening right now on twitter

DailRT - The most popular Tweets on the web

TweetStats - Researching individual behavior on Twitter

Trendrr - Keep track of trends and compare information

TweetScan - Another search engine for Twitter

Twitturly - Popular URL's on Twitter

Twitterfall - Recent tweets related to the trend keep falling from the top

TweetTag - Find all the links & referencesrelated to particular word.

Share Images & other Files via Twitter

TwitPic - Share Images on Twitter

Tweet Cube - Share your files via Twitter

yfrog - Another image sharing site for Twitter

TweetTube - Sharing stuff on Twitter

Twitsnaps - Image sharing and more
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Stay Connected/Dashboards/Email
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TweetDeck - Cool application that becomes your personal Twitter dashboard

Twitterfall - Watch tweets from all over the Twittersphere drop in real time

Tweet Beep - get Twitter Alerts! by email.

Twirl - Twhirl is a desktop client for Twitter

Twitter Mail - Send Tweet via Email and Tweet anywhere!

Qwitter - E-mails you when someone stops following you

Twitteroo - Update your Twitter status from your Desktop

Twitterific - Making Twitter extra terrific

Design/Backgrounds/Icons

MyTweetSpace - One of the simplest ways to create a Twitter background.

Twitterbacks - Templates perfect for creating your ideal Twitter background.

Tweeplecard - Tweeple Card production tool

Other Twitter Resourses
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Twi.bz - URL shortener that helps displays original domain name

PollYourFollowers - Put a poll on your Twitter page

Tweet BackUp - Free way to back-up all your Tweets!
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TweetLater - One of my favorites! Schedule your Tweets and more

TwitterSnooze - Hit the snooze button on your "verbose" Twitter friends

TwittTown - A couple of useful tools to check out here

Twittad - Monetize your Twitter profile

TweetTree - Twitter app that visualizes your friends in a recursive tree

Big HUGE List of Twitter Stuff

Business Twitter'ers: Please Practice Better Twittiquette!

2009-05-21T18:53:00.000-04:00

When will business and media outlets stop and try and actually understand how and why the 10 million users they are trying to reach actually use Twitter?

I keep Twitter open in a tab most of the day, and will refresh every so often to see what new Tweets the people I have chosen to follow took the time to post. It is a great experience when there is a variety of posts to sift through. You scan through, pick a couple to focus on and explore further, others get may get passed on, but you know that the source is one that will grab your attention next time. I have spoke to other people who use it similarly.

Here is where so many of the commercial Twitter'ers don't deliver properly. They post little or nothing for hours at a time and then when they come online they post 20 Tweets in 5 minutes. It's like an Outlook reminder went off and they yelled at an intern to post all the Tweets! Looking at my feeds from today since about 8am this morning until 7pm tonight, , ESPN posted about 7 Tweets from 8:00am until after lunch. Good messages that were interesting to me, in a steady volume, so each time I refreshed (every 1/2 hour or so) they had a place on my screen among the other 20 post that you can see without clicking more. Then something happened. In the next hour alone there were 11 ESPN Tweets in a row, all within 2 minutes. Now I had to scroll to the bottom, click more to see the ones that had been pushed off my screen by ESPN spamming me with 11 consecutive tweets taking up better than 1/2 my screen. Less than 2 hours later they did it again with 10 Tweets in less time than a TV commercial break would take.
USA Today seems to ignore me for the bettr artof each hour and then they post 3-5 news tweets all in a row. NESN and WEEI do the same. Quiet, silent, unseen, and then BANG here are 6+ quick hits. I guess they can go to their boss and proudly boast that they posted 50 Tweets today, but what they fail to consider is what user experience they provided their users (a poor one) and how much attention those messages got (not as much as if they did it right!).

I have taken to sending direct messages to the offending commercial Twitter'ers asking them to consider practicing better Twittiquette and mentioning that I (and others) will unfollow them if they don't get with the program. I have already unfollowed a couple of sources and really don't WANT to lose ones like ESPN, but I will not sacrifice the entire user experience because of any one source that takes anything away from the enjoyment I get from the tool when it works as it should.

Let Michael Vick Play

2009-05-20T09:03:00.001-04:00

Michael Vick was released from prison today causing a lot of discussion about whether or not he should be allowed to play football in the NFL again. I don't understand the question. Does anybody question a convicted rapist's right to have a job after he does his time in prison? I always thought this guy was a punk and was somewhat happy when he got busted, but just because we don't like someone or what they did doesn't mean they deserve to be treated differently than someone we do like. How many NFL players have been arrested for domestic abuse, yet are still allowed to play in the league?

Some say playing in the NFL is a privilege not a right. Fans need to remember that that pro sports are not public property. If a team wants to hire him, he should be able to accept that offer should he choose too, I guess if he was going to be a garbage man, nobody would want to deny him THAT opportunity to work, but because the NFL is high paying and glamorous, we feel he is not worthy? If people against his playing, don't buy a ticket, don't go or watch the games he plays in, but don't deny a person the right to work

I love dogs, I have a dog. I hate what he did but who doesn't deserve a second chance? People get 2nd chances in this country everyday - I certainly have had more than 2... Other athletes with different offenses get 3rd and 4th chances. If this guy messes up again, then crucify him, but until then, let's be fair and let him practice his profession, earn a living, and try and redeem himself.

Massachusetts Dog Racing Not Dead Yet!

2009-05-18T18:43:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears that finally someone realizes that right now might not be the best time to shut down Mass Dog racing tracks! Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) filed a budget amendment today that would delay implementing the dog racing ban until Jan. 1, 2012. Thank God a voice of reason has emerged among the animal rights alarmists.

I mean come on, is this REALLY the best time to put 600 people out of work at Raynham alone? What about the 10 million that establishment pays in state taxes each year? Why can't they take $100K of that revenue and hire reputable people to regulate the sport and protect the animals, so that we don't have to lay off hundreds and give up millions?

Hopefully this delay gains some momentum... here is a short Boston Herald article on the latest development: http://bit.ly/xwHMN

It's 1989 and this is Amtrak!

2009-05-16T00:13:00.000-04:00

The Amtrak Acela is supposed to be the great transportation link of the Northeast corridor. Connecting major east coast cites; Boston to New York, and all the way to Washington DC. They promote all the great amenities of their Business Class, which makes sense considering that should be the majority of passengers that ride the several daily trips between these technology driven cities. There's just one problem. Apparently, Amtrak hasn't heard about the WORLD WIDE WEB!

Are you kidding me? This is 2009, but Amtrak lives in 1989, where there in no Internet. I booked a ride on the Acela last night for a quick day trip from Boston to NYC. I planned on setting up my laptop and getting some work done... I don't travel that often, so I do not have a wireless web provider, but every airport, hotel room, and frigging coffee shop has Internet access, so the high tech 150MPH Business Class seating Acela will hook me up, right? Nope.

I just can't believe it. How is this possible? Amtrak sucks.

The Punishment of a Bad Facebook Reply

2009-05-15T10:25:00.001-04:00

I posted a reply to a Facebook post the other night about the Stanley Cup not being filled with some local Pittsburgh beer the other night, stating that it would actually be Samuel Adams Boston lager...

Clearly, I was wrong, and now will cheer for the Penguins to win the cup as punishment for my actions. I will even find, buy, and consume some of that "Iron City" swill my old About.com friend Andrew Marmion mentioned in his first post should Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup.

By the way, I thought my original reply was fairly creative and fun, unlike the subsequent replies to my post - which were frankly a bit weak, and that should count for something!

I hope we can all just put this behind us now ;-)

- Jim

Here we go again...

2009-05-14T13:27:00.000-04:00

Get your popcorn ready! Celtics (7:00pm), Bruins (8:00pm), and Red Sox (3:35pm) are all in action today. Red Sox at Angels this afternoon... Go Red Sox!

The Celtics will have their hands full, as Dwight Howard and the Magic come in with something to prove, after their mouths put them behind by more than just the 3 games to 3 deficit...

The Bruins need to come out slamming to take this game 7 that would send them to the Conference finals for the first time since 1991.

I will let the Boston Globe tell the rest of the story, since that's their picture above ;-) http://www.boston.com/sports/

Boston Sports Trifecta Part 2

2009-05-13T07:12:00.000-04:00

Another triple sweep with the Bruins and Celtics continuing their playoff runs and the Red Sox picking up a big win out west versus the Angels.

What a great moth for Boston sorts fans, The Celtics playoff series versus the Bulls is being called the greatest 1st round series in NBA playoff series history. The Bruins taking down Canadians in round one is always a big deal here in Boston. No explanation needed for how we feel about each and every Red Sox game.

No matter how far these teams go, this will go down as one of the best 4-6 week stretches we have seen in along time.

...oh and Patriots Training Camp opens in roughly 10 weeks.

Roger Clemens is Still Talking...

2009-05-12T18:48:00.000-04:00

Despite having already lost the battle of public opinion, Roger Clemens is continuing to try and convince the world that he was clean of performance enhancing drugs. The really sad part of this story is a hero has fallen and is carrying on like a prize fighter too punch drunk to know when to quit.

The once great Rocket now looks and sounds like a dumb hick as he stumbles through interviews showing his basic lack of intelligence by using made up words and sounding like a high school kid caught drinking beer trying to deny it. He still claims Andy Pettitte "mis-remembers" his account of Brian McNamee injecting them both. He is still actually uses that non-word, because despite hiring a PR damage control specialist, they haven't figured out a more convincing argument.

On ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show this morning Roger also claimed that because of a family history of heart issues it would have been suicide for him to take such drugs,. hard to see HGH in that argument, but the really pathetic part was he names family members that suffered heart attacks to back up his case - including his step father. Um, Roger, that really doesn't help back up your case ;-)

I was a fan of Clemens when he was with the Red Sox, and beyond (other than the Yankee years ;-). Many fans in Boston were not fans, but I respected him and was proud to have him be one of ours. The memories are now stained, not only by the truth, but by his actions since the truth came into light. I just wish he had apologized and moved on.

Here's more on this if you aren't already sick of hearing it: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/roger-clemens-speaks/

Another great Boston Sports weekend!

2009-05-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

Another great Boston Sports weekend! Congratulations to the Bruins, Celtics, and Redsox all won last night! It was a rare night where three teams were in action, two in playoff series and the other against a new but formidable rival.

The Bruins are facing elimination and needed to step up big and they did, scoring 4 goals in a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes still lad the playoff series 3-2 but the Bruins have proven they will not lie down and die - they will fight.

The Red Sox took care of business and defeated the Tamp Bay Rays 4-3, winning the 3 game series 2-1. Hoping Dustin Pedroia is ok he left early with an apparent groin injury. I am really begining to hate Tampa Bay BTW...

The Celtics played at Orlando in their round 2 playoff game, trailing in the series 2-1 and had to come out with a win. Big Baby Glen Davis delivered two HUGE shots the second with the clock ticking ZERO while the ball was in the air, for the win. It was an amazing finish.

As a Boston sports fan it was one of those rare weekends and especially of the great nights that you dont soon forget. My only gripe is that all three games aired at the same time! R-I-D-C-U-L-O-U-S. Makes no sense, TV, commercials and money made it impossible to fully enjoy one of the best days on Boton sports.

But 3 wins is 3 wins! Go Red Sox, Go Bruins & Go Celtics!

...and Tuesday we get to do it all over again!

Celtic Legend Bill Russell on Jim Rome Radio

2009-05-10T07:11:00.000-04:00

I tweeted about this a couple of days ago, but it really deserves more notice. A really neat moment with Celtic legend Bill Russell took place on (of all places) Jim Rome's radio show the other day. Check this out:

Jim Rome: "We're talking to Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell, and the book - "

Bill Russell (interupts): "Jim Rome."

Jim Rome: "Yes?"

Bill Russell: "I apologize for interrupting you. Can you do me a favor?"

Jim Rome: "Absolutely. What is it?"

Bill Russell: "When you introduce me, can you please refer to me as the former captain of the Boston Celtics? That means way more to me then any Hall of Fame or other personal title. That was the most important thing for me."

On the show recap when Rome summarized that moment, he finished with "chills".

You can here the interview here.
http://www.jimrome.com/home/show_audio_archive.html (Thursday May 7, 2009)

Blog Post #1

2009-05-09T09:30:00.000-04:00

I am not sure I want to do this...