StewStuph

Another installment of  N ot T he E ric S tewart Y ou're L ooking F or. A few weeks ago, maybe a month, someone started using Redbox and submitted an email address that matches mine. Well, today I got a receipt for a rental. That's right, nearly $50 for two movies kept for 13 days each. Who keeps redbox movies for 13 days? Who keeps these particular movies, Ride Along 2 and Zootopia for 13 days? There must some extenuating circumstances that made returning these movies impossible. Maybe the renter is also a hoarder and couldn't find the movies after he brought them home. Maybe the renter was hospitalized suddenly and had no way to return the movies. Sure, they each got 4 out of 5 stars on the Redbox rating, but $50 for two weeks and you don't get to keep the movies? You can buy these movies for less than you spent renting them. I bet if this person ever had a Blockbuster account back in the day, they would still be in business.

It is a great summer. The USA in the semifinals of Copa America Centenario  and the Euro Championships . Everyone that knows me knows I love soccer. So my mother-in-law sent me a couple of somewhat cryptic messages. I had no idea she was watching the games while she was out to lunch yesterday. Jorgia VanDeventer: Why does the time keep going up? 3:29 PM Jorgia VanDeventer: On the time 3:31 PM Me: Because backward time travel is, as of yet, not possible. The closest we have come is our eyesight. Everything we see happened in the past. 3:33 PM Jorgia VanDeventer: That makes perfect sense. 3:34 PM It was at that point that I decided to inform my wife about our transaction. Me: Because the center official keep the time. 45 min. halves. The center official will add on time for long injury breaks, time wasting etc. Coming up soon, the fourth official on the sideline will hold up a sign indicating "stoppage time" to be played. 3:41 PM Me: Oh, I have three monitors. (...

Don't mistake the title of this post for me hating soccer. I love it. I love to watch, play, talk about and generally everything to do with soccer. However, there are some aspects that I find infurriating with the way the game is played these days. SIMULATION My first complaint is common among many people, especially those that are casual fans, or not fans at all. It is the simulation (a.k.a. diving, flopping.) When players fake contact and the resulting injury. This is unnecessary and takes away from the game. Sometimes the officials are fooled and will award a free kick. Other times the officials do not take the bait and simply instruct the player rolling on the ground to get up and continue playing. It is at the discretion of the official if a yellow card should be administered for such a simulation. Too often cards are not issued. I am afraid this tactic will only continue and likely get worse. FREE KICKS When a free kick is awarded, all opposing team players are ...

I mentioned that Sirius XM's Lithium Channel mistake in my last post . It seems that it has occurred once again. This time they played Desire by U2. That was released in 1988's Rattle and Hum. Come on Sirius, put that on First Wave , The Spectrum , 80's on 8 . It does not belong on 90's on 9 or Lithium .

While listening to Sirius XM Lithium , described as '90's Alternative/Grunge, R.E.M. 's The One I Love came on. Being a huge R.E.M. fan, I immediately noted that this song was NOT a product of the 1990's. Rather, it was released in 1987. It would go on to become R.E.M's first top 10 hit in the US. Is this big news? No. Does it slightly bother me? Yes. Do you care? I doubt it. Look, fingers!

I make no claims to be grammatically correct at all times. I am subject to typos and errors. However, if you are going to send a mass email about EDUCATION, maybe you should  have a couple of people look over a draft before hitting the send button. Below is an email I received today. I will highlight the most obvious errors. Eric – For the last few years, we’ve seen a systematic assault on public education in North Carolina. First, they underfunded and our classrooms and refused to give our best and brightest teachers the pay they deserve. Then they siphoned money away from traditional public schools to unaccountable charter schools, as well as private, religious institutions. Now we’re seeing the next step in their plan: the takeover of public schools by for-profit charter schools. Click here to add your name and urge lawmakers to reject HB 1080, which would allow unaccountable, for-profit charter school operators to take control of traditional public schools. There’s no...