#average etho fan behavior

[daily-ethoslab]

OK so my room gets ungodly hot durring the summer like suffocatingly hot. I never thought it was enough to melt rubber or plastic or whatever mouse pads are made of but yea my mouse pad melted. I don't have any pictures of it happening but like here's a before and after of my desk I guess ( I had to dig for these)

this photo was me showing off my glasses but it does have my disgusting mouse pad that outlived my last mouse. (still has my current 1 tho)

vs a photo I took just now. you can kinda see the resedue of the horrid dark sludge that i cleaned off.

no that's not graphite, a pattern on the desk, or dust, that's the mouse pad leaking into the desk. it would not go away no matter how hard I tried to clean it.

I have tried everything and it kinda just stays there. I don't use that desk anymore so eh but yea my last mouse pad melted

[joshuajacksonlyblog]

Trump Derides Bitcoin and Nothing Happens (Except a Price Increase)

President Donald Trump finally broke his silence on Bitcoin, and the result was disappointingly predictable — and bland, compared to the usual flare that lights up his Twitter rants.

Giving him the rare opportunity to talk about something more orange than his spray tan, Trump announced on Twitter, his favored forum, that he is “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” 

He then went on to cite Washington, D.C.’s most referenced use case for cryptocurrency (drugs and “other illegal activities”), to which we responded by reminding him that cash is overwhelmingly used to conduct illicit purchases.

Incidentally, bitcoin has rallied 3 percent following Trump’s comments, everyone (on Bitcoin Twitter, at least) had a good laugh about it and the topic was beaten to death by the mainstream press within an hour of the comments.

Trump also took the opportunity to take a swipe at Facebook’s not-actually-a-cryptocurrency, Libra, which he said “will have little standing or dependability” and whose association will have to “seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National and International.”

Reactions

The comment section of Trump’s tweet thread became a playground for rebuttal as all walks of Bitcoin Twitter descended on the tweet faster than Trump cycles through staffers.

“Mr. President, one could say the same of unregulated fiat currencies, like the privately operated U.S. dollar. The advantage of cryptocurrencies is that they are predictable and transparent. Regulated or not, useful tools can be used for good and evil. Don’t let the U.S. fall behind,” Kraken CEO Jesse Powell warned.

Others were more flippant with their clapbacks. CryptoCobain, for instance, wrote, “I agree Donald. Bitcoin is a criminal tool. Bitcoin was made by Craig Wright maybe you should put him in jail,” while another commenter wryly observed that, once upon a time, you could actually buy a condo in Trump’s New York City hotel for bitcoin.

Justin Sun used it as an opportunity to invite Trump to his million-dollar lunch with Warren Buffet, another famed bitcoin bear. And Saifedean Ammous used it as an opportunity to promote his book, “The Bitcoin Standard” (which, in fairness, could actually teach the sitting president a thing or two).

‘What You Call Thin Air, We Call Math’

Conservative journalist Kassy Dillon chimed in with: “Well, that’s how you lose the libertarians … If you still had any.” 

A few scrolls down, and you’ll see Bitrefill COO John Carvalho’s impassioned and pointedly Libertarian take: 

“What you call money, we call slavery. What you call thin air, we call math. What you call unlawful behavior, we call freedom.”

Echoing the ethos behind Carvalho’s words, Blockstream CEO Adam Back said, “Bitcoin is the free market pulling society back from the cliff of dystopian geopolitical failure, by separating money from State. Via dilluting [sic] the dystopian economic influence of State power. It’s a free market decentralised counter-veiling opt-out force.”

When I opened my inbox this morning, I was greeted by a particularly riled and caustic reaction, whose author, at one point, compares Trump’s ranting to a deflating balloon “[farting] its way around the room in all directions.”

“Imagine giving Donald Trump a money printing machine and then asking him kindly not to use it. My thoughts exactly … This is why the U.S. economy is $22 trillion in debt and why the average lifespan of a government backed fiat currency is 27 years,” George McDonaugh, the CEO of the London-based KR1 blockchain investment firm, wrote in the email. “[Bitcoin] belongs to everyone, always. Think software for money with a free licence to use it how you wish in perpetuity. It’s not possible to win a fight against this kind of utility, and just like all the other software we’ve invented, in time it will eat the world. No wonder old men in suits are shaking their fists at it.”

Bitcoin vs. Trump’s Status Quo

Trump, entrenched as he is in the status quo, obviously has his reasons to defy Bitcoin. As the president of the world’s economic and political leviathan, it’s no surprise he preached in his tweet thread that the “only one real currency in the USA … is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar!” 

Bitcoin, as a global and decentralized monetary system, stands in opposition to the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

“Here’s what you’re up against. Who has a vested interest in things staying the way they are? The government. This should not be a surprise,” said Joe Kernen of CNBC’s Squawkbox, who has become a fan favorite of Bitcoiners for his bitcoin-aligned stances as of late.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is debating cutting interest rates as global economic instability looms. President Trump, for his part, pressured the apolitical body earlier this summer to cut rates, ostensibly to keep the market afloat as he vies for re-election come 2020.

Also meanwhile, Bitcoin, which is up 300 percent over the year, doesn’t have an interest rate and it doesn’t give a lick about Trump’s approval, or lack thereof.

The post Trump Derides Bitcoin and Nothing Happens (Except a Price Increase) appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

from Cryptocracken Tumblr https://ift.tt/2SeWZfP via IFTTT

[click2watch]

Digital Renminbi: A Fiat Coin to Make M0 Great Again

Dovey Wan is a partner at Primitive Ventures, a crypto asset investment fund.

Contrary to what many think, China does not oppose blockchain technology.

Rather, it takes issue with bitcoin and other privately issued cryptocurrencies, which it fears may facilitate financial fraud and capital flight. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has, in fact, had an initiative for issuing a blockchain-based digital renminbi (RMB) since 2014. The project has already generated 71 patents and has initiated a trial operation for an interbank digital check and billing platform.

If successful, this digital RMB project could expand the central bank’s influence over both the domestic and international economy. It has broad implications for the geopolitics of money and for the future of private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. To understand the PBOC’s motives, we must first distinguish between the digitalization of fiat currency and digital fiat currency. They are not the same thing. Each has a very different impact on the money supply and on the power balance between central banks and commercial banks.

The digitization of currency, which stems from the advent of electronic payment/clearance and mature interbank IT systems, allows commercial banks to more efficiently and independently generate the credit flows that expand broad money supply, or M2. By contrast, digital fiat currency, enabled by blockchain technology, affects the base currency measure known as M0.

Traditionally, central banks directly control base money creation/destruction but have only indirect power over the broader, credit flow-driven monetary supply. Now, with digital fiat currency, they have the potential to bypass commercial banks and regain control of currency creation/supply end to end, thereby structurally centralizing their power in policymaking.

The PBOC’s interest in this solution comes as highly advanced digital payment systems like Alipay and WeChat have created a cashless and cardless economy. This is a form of currency digitalization, built upon a network of commercial bank accounts, operating at the M2 level of money supply.

By contrast, a digital RMB would be integrated into M0, thus restoring control and influence to the PBOC. As the Vice President of PBOC Fan Yifei put it in a public interview: “With the help of technology innovation, we can gradually transit into issuance and circulation of digital RMB and impose effective supervision of in the private sector.”

High M2 supply and massive shadow banking

From 2007 to 2017, China’s M2 supply grew from 40 trillion RMB to 170 trillion RMB ($25.5 trillion), with an average annual growth rate of 15%, far outpacing the 10 percent nominal GDP growth rate over the same period. This massive expansion is largely due to the excessive issuance of commercial bank loans, primarily for real estate development, local governments’ infrastructure projects, and state-owned enterprises.

It has led to a highly leveraged banking system and left a huge debt risk hanging over the Chinese economy.

What’s more, the measurement of M2 underestimates the real currency growth rate in China due to shadow banking. High-yield “wealth management products” and structural deposits offered by banks, as well as internet financing such as P2P lending, make up a separate financial industry that’s worth 70 trillion RMB.

Wealth management products alone have grown from a 0.5 trillion RMB industry in 2007 to a whopping 30 trillion in 2017. These are not counted as M2 and are often hard to track due to their being hidden from bank balance sheets, making it even harder for the PBOC to manage the Chinese economic cycle. Current attempts to address the problem largely consist of more stringent reporting and regulation, but this merely chases behind the problem rather than stamping it out.

To get ahead of it requires a new financial system altogether. That’s what’s intended with the Digital RMB, a project that’s conceived of as a means of reasserting monetary control in the interests of financial stability.

Design methodology

While the PBOC is still considering different possibilities for network design, it seems likely to be a permissioned network in which nodes are controlled by the PBOC and major Chinese banks. This suggests transactions will be visible to the banks and government, but not to the public.

According to Yao Qian, the head of PBOC Digital Currency Research Center, the designated PBOC digital currency system has a few key elements:

A PBOC-managed private cloud as the IT infrastructure

A database on the private cloud to allow the PBOC to exercise full control over monetary issuance and ledger management

A reserve database accessible by commercial banks, which can either reside on the PBOC private cloud or on banks’ own private cloud

A digital RMB wallet client, published and maintained by the PBOC that’s used by all entities and individual

A verification center where the PBOC can manage institutional and user identity information

A registration center which records the registration of currency ownership and keeps the ledger of digital currency generation, circulation, and inventory management

A big data analysis center used for anti-money laundering, payment behavior analysis, and analysis of regulatory signals.

Some might wonder why blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) is needed at all if nodes are not highly decentralized. The answer is that a blockchain model offers a better coordination paradigm compared to traditional currency supply management, which is heavily dependent on bookkeeping. Blockchain’s tamper-proof nature and private-key cryptography prevent false transactions and counterfeiting, while also making it much easier for the PBOC to manage the circulation flow.

Domestic impacts and beyond

The issuance of a digital RMB will not only make cash and coinage obsolete (which is already happening in China), but also make commercial banks and M2 easier to control. It means the PBOC can more effectively control and regulate an overextended debt market. Thanks to blockchain’s traceability and programmability, it will become much more difficult to hide banking products and services from balance sheets.

This also allows for easier execution and more accurate assessment of monetary policy, and makes the measurement of currency supply, circulation speed, currency multipliers, and distribution much more accurate. PBOC can write rules at the code level regarding where digital RMB can and cannot flow to. If it wants to cool down the housing market, for example, it can simply set a program preventing digital RMB from entering the real estate sector.

As for policing individuals, a person’s spending history and assets balance are immediately evident on the blockchain, making it much easier to accurately assess creditworthiness, detect money laundering, and prevent tax evasion and capital flight. This is, of course, is likely to strengthen privacy advocates’ already mounting criticisms of China’s social credit score model, It’s not clear that such criticism is having any influence over the government’s thinking on such matters, however.

A digital RMB could even strengthen China’s influence overseas. If the One Belt One Road initiative succeeds, a digital, borderless, stable currency could facilitate international trade among its 60-plus member countries. This, coupled with the fact that China is the biggest creditor to Venezuela and it holds over 14 percent of African countries’ sovereign debt, would position it to offer a digital RMB as the next reserve currency of emerging-market economies.

This would require those countries to confer to China some degree of influence over their monetary conditions. Would they prefer that to their current dependency on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dollar?

It’s an open question. But it will be highly synergetic with China’s rigorous effort of de-dollarization: reducing US dollar asset in both its foreign exchange reserve, largely increasing its gold reserve and selling off US Treasury debt. Either way, these moves could increase tensions between US and China and might even force the U.S. to pursue a similar digital model for the dollar.

We still have a little time before such questions become pressing. Even so, change is coming. According to people working on this initiative, adoption will come with a great deal of observation and adjustment over the course of 10 years or more, with experiments in various use cases starting in “special economic zones” like the city of Shenzhen. Eventually, the plan is to use incentives such as increasing the transaction cost of cash to push people towards using digital currency.

Cash is expected to disappear almost entirely.

The next question is: what does this mean for private, decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin?

It may seem incongruous that blockchain technology, initially introduced under the ethos of censorship-resistance, is now being used by central banks to further centralize their financial power. But from the perspective of the Chinese government, it’s not hard to see why. Over the long term, a digital RMB has the potential to make global trade more efficient and money laundering more difficult.

Yet, given worldwide concern over surveillance by centralized institutions – both public and private – and the perennial risk that monetary policy mismanagement could foster a currency collapse akin to the Venezuelan bolivar, there’s no reason to believe such programs will kill private cryptocurrencies. On the contrary, it could boost demand for them. Anonymous, non-sovereign currencies like bitcoin or privacy coins become increasingly important in an environment where government money is closely surveilled and controlled.

What’s more, a programmable fiat digital currency could provide a seamless fiat-to-crypto on-ramp. Ironically, projects such as China’s, in which governments aim to concentrate control over money, could foster greater competition from private systems of money such as bitcoin.

Yuan and dollar image via Shutterstock

This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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[poetspade45-blog]

“I fear they have become the culture”: Richard Meier’s accusers say firm is whitewashing his misdeeds despite the #MeToo movement

With Meier a continued presence at his firm, 5 of the architect’s accusers told TRD the shop hasn’t properly responded to the sexual misconduct allegations

From left: Stella Lee, Judi Shade Monk, and Lucy Nathanson (Photography by Emily Assiran)

On a recent trip to Germany, Stella Lee met a fan of Richard Meier, the prolific architect who has faced several sexual misconduct accusations over the last year. The person was upset — not by the nature of the allegations — but by the fact that it had tarnished the designer’s reputation.

“There remain many who continue to admire his work, and I can appreciate that because the work itself is high quality and played a significant role in the high-end residential real estate boom in New York City,” said Lee, who along with seven other women have publicly accused the architect of misconduct during their tenures at his firm. “It doesn’t change the fact that the brand is damaged and that the firm’s figurehead has abused his position.”

Yet it’s that name and brand the firm’s current principals remain committed to. And nearly a year after a New York Times investigation revealed a slew of misconduct allegations, five of Meier’s accusers told The Real Deal that the firm hasn’t done enough and is whitewashing the architect’s alleged misdeeds.

Earlier this month, TRD revealed Meier remains a consistent presence at the firm, despite a previous report that he would “step back” from day-to-day operations. In a recent interview, Richard Meier & Partners’ newly named managing principal Bernhard Karpf said that Meier, in fact, shows up at the Midtown office twice a week on average. And he explained why the firm continues to operate as “Richard Meier & Partners Architects” with no immediate plans for a name change.

Some of the accusers never thought much would change at the firm.

“I never found it very convincing, this idea of [Meier] stepping down,” Lee said.

During the recent interview with TRD, Karpf said the firm’s name represents a shared “vision” and teamwork. He evaded questions about the allegations against Meier, calling it “last year’s news.” This week, the firm said in a statement that “we are a diverse and inclusive workplace committed to fostering an environment in which all our employees are comfortable and secure. Today, while very mindful of the past, we are working on new opportunities and projects and continue to deliver iconic design and execution to our clients.”

For Lucy Nathanson, Karpf’s words stung. In the spring of 1995, when she was Meier’s personal assistant, she said she was summoned to his apartment to do some last-minute work, as the New York Times previously reported. She said Meier placed a book of 19th Century French pornography in front of her. When she was waiting for the elevator so that she could leave, Meier pressed up against her with an erection, she said.

Earlier this month, Nathanson told TRD that Karpf — who wasn’t a manager at that point — noticed that she seemed upset.

“Oh God, Lucy, it hasn’t happened to you has it?” Karpf asked, according to Nathanson. It was then that it dawned on her that there could be other victims.

The two then went to the kitchen, where Nathanson described what had occurred at Meier’s apartment, she said. Nathanson said Karpf let her cry on his shoulder and advised her to sue Meier, though she eventually decided against it. When asked about Nathanson’s assertions, a representative for Karpf declined to comment.

A few weeks later, Nathanson lost her job due to what Meier called a “restructuring,” she said. Karpf’s characterization of the scandal as “last year’s news,” Nathanson said, is self-preservation.

Nathanson said Karpf is trying to “save himself and his job and his status. I just feel so betrayed.”

She noted that she had considered Karpf a good friend and thought he was “a terrific guy.”

Judi Shade Monk, who worked at the firm from 2003 to 2008 and has accused Meier of grabbing her underwear through her dress at a holiday party, said Meier’s behavior with women was well-known in the office. But pre-#MeToo, the reaction was different.

“Women just rolled with it,” she said. “If you have professional, high-level aspirations, then this is an occupational hazard. Even when these things are unsolicited, it was as if it was our fault. That women were too tempting and men couldn’t be expected to control themselves around us. The blame wasn’t on the man. In hindsight, it’s absurd.”

At the time of the holiday party, she was new at the firm, and said she didn’t want to leave because it would seem like she, rather than Meier, was the problem.

She said the current principals of the firm — Karpf, Vivian Lee, Reynolds Logan and Dukho Yeon — were her mentors when she worked there. By not rebranding, Monk believes the firm is failing to recognize the cultural shift #MeToo brought about.

“They are outstanding people and great architects. I hate to see them be tarnished by hanging their hat on this,” she said. “Richard’s behaviors expose everyone’s livelihoods. Every single person in that firm is vulnerable, and they don’t deserve that.”

The precise nature of Meier’s continued involvement could potentially have legal implications for the firm.

Employers have no legal obligation to get rid of someone accused of, or known to have committed, sexual harassment, according to Larry Pearson, a labor and employment attorney at Wigdor LLP. But not doing so when the person has been accused multiple times of harassment could “seriously undermine” a company’s ability to argue that it doesn’t tolerate harassment or is responsive to such complaints, he added.

In the event of legal action against a company, leaving such a person in a position of unaltered influence “carries significant legal exposure,” Pearson said. But the individual’s degree of influence in decision-making is a “key factor” in determining what discipline the organization is meting out and what it is willing to tolerate, he added.

“Even if the person is just acting as a rubber stamp it leaves open the question of how much influence they really have,” he said.

Further, any employees who enable or ignore issues of harassment, discrimination or retaliation could be held personally liable, regardless of their position in a company hierarchy.

Monk noted that while the principals were promoted when Meier “stepped back,” no new partners have been named to the firm. Current and future clients, she said, should get clarity on just how involved Meier is.

“They need to have the confidence in themselves that they are bigger than that name,” she said. “It’s time to implement a transition plan that will take them into the future. Because the firm’s success is theirs as much as it is Richard’s.”

Stella Lee, who has said that Meier exposed himself to her at his apartment, noted that the architect is famous but not “Harvey Weinstein-famous.” People recognize his name, but don’t always remember the Times story. His accusers weren’t well-known figures in the industry either, which “limits their ability to generate the common knowledge acceptance of these accusations the way someone like Gwyneth Paltrow might be able to accomplish,” she said.

“That’s the problem here,” she said. “It then leads to a sort of willful cultural amnesia.”

Part of the response, too, could be that the firm is banking on a culture in the real estate industry that may not be receptive to the #MeToo movement, she said, pointing to Karpf’s comments that clients have continued to do business.

“A lot of what Bernie [Karpf] was saying points to the fact that these developers care only about the bottom line,” she said. “These development companies are often run by an old boys’ club culture that would rather sweep this type of behavior under the rug rather than support and stand up for an ethos in which this is no longer acceptable.”

Liz Lee, who worked as a communications coordinator at the firm from 2002 to 2004, was summoned to Meier’s apartment, and when she arrived, he was naked, the Times previously reported. He later, Liz Lee said, put his hand on her buttocks.

“You feel bad for the principals who have been beaten down into this position of defending the namesake,” she told TRD. “It’s a very unhealthy environment that they are just surviving in.”

Karin Bruckner, who worked at the firm from 1989 to 1992, told the Times last year that Meier had rubbed up against her while she was standing at the copy machine. The firm, she said, needs to get away from the perceived starchitect image — the idea that one person is the “lone genius” behind the work. That would, however, require structural change and transparency, she said.

“The issue is so much bigger than sexual harassment,” Bruckner said in an email. “These people are wildly gifted and capable. I wish they could step out of Richard’s shadow. But they must change the culture, and I fear they have become the culture.”

With additional reporting by Erin Hudson.

Source: https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/22/richard-meier-me-too-movement/

[keneerike]

The Definition of Patriotism: Anthem Demonstrations and Protests in The NFL

There's been a lot of talk surrounding the NFL demonstrations during pre-game ceremonies this year. A few readers asked if I had an opinion on them, so I'll weigh in.

- On Claims that Protests will Damage NFL Viewership:

Be they for anthem kneeling or anti-demonstration, anyone who claims they'll stop watching the NFL was a fringe fan to begin with. Ratings across digital platforms have never been higher.

If anything more viewers are tuning in to NFL games just to see what all the fuss is about.

It's just like the ratings for The O'Reilly Factor (while Bill was still on Fox News). Half of the people hate him, half love him, but everyone is there to see what he's going to say next.

Controversy will always sell.

How many Americans actually paid attention to the anthem before these protests started last season? Have you ever stood in your living room while the stadium singer belted out The Star Spangled Banner? Most viewers turned the channel knowing they had a few minutes to spare before kickoff.

Americans tune in to watch football, not commercials and political discourse. The game takes center stage---nothing else. As long as that experience remains intact, the league has nothing to fear.

The NFL is so popular that an entire cottage industry has sprung up to cover winter workouts of kids who aren't even in the league yet.

More Americans can name a top draft prospect than one of their state's senators. #Facts

The National Football League is a religion in America. It's not going anywhere.

- On Fan Reactions, "Patriotism", and Hypocrisy:

There's been a lot of condemnation of the players. Calls for them to be sanctioned, fired even, for not saluting the flag during the anthem.

"Firing" an NFL player, even if it were possible, makes no sense for owners. Not for something as inconsequential as a silent protest during pre-game activities. You can't just walk out on the street and find 220-lb guys who can tackle and run like these guys do.

The skills of a professional athlete are among the rarest and most valuable in our society. There's a reason they're paid so handsomely.

And before you mention "loss of sponsorship" as a reason to discard a kneeling player, remember that NFL games are routinely the most popular television program every week. If one company pulls its sponsorship in response to a vocal minority, there are ten other companies ready to slide in to that slot yesterday.

How else can you convince world-renowned performers to PAY the NFL for the right to perform during the Super Bowl? The audience for marquee NFL events is unparalleled.

The First Amendment grants them the right to kneel, just as it gives you the right to disparage them for doing so.

Of course, we all bear costs for what we do. If you engage in controversial activity, expect to deal with the fallout. Americans who jump on protest bandwagons may find that out the hard way.

A common response to players doing something fans don't like is to burn the "offending" player's jersey. Send a message to both the player and the team.

It's an irrational act, really, from fan(atic)s too wrapped up in their own self-importance.

Burning jerseys doesn't harm the team. They've already got your money from the sale; you're just slashing your nose to spite your face.

You may hurt the feelings of the player, but aren't you better than that? Did he personally do anything to harm you? Let hiim live his life---he doesn't owe you anything beyond a full effort on the field and being a decent human being off of it.

Your pyrotechnics are hypocritical as well. You're running with your First Amendment privileges to burn a player's uniform in effigy because he exercised his rights. Yet, you'd turn around and deny someone else that same accommodation because it doesn't jibe with your beliefs.

Euphemisms like "safe spaces" have been shoehorned into 21st Century lexicons to impose policial correctness and suppress free expression of ideas.That's a growing problem in America---we support free speech: as long as we agree with what you have to say.

Should you be fired from your job because your boss discovers you watch MSNBC or Fox News after hours? If you can do the job, you can do the job. To the extent that your views do not cost your organization money, you should be free to live your life outside the office as you see fit.

- On Trump Commenting on NFL Players and Demonstrations:

It's beneath the office of president to comment on these matters with such fervor. Calling for player finings, bucking long-standing tradition by disinviting championship teams expressing conflicting opinions; it's undignified.

Like many hypocrites---on both sides of the aisle---he's castigating demonstrators for availing themselves of the same rights he so freely enjoys himself.

Histrionics aside, Trump remains the favorite to win the 2020 election.

And that's not because of any landmark accomplishments in his first year in office; The other team still hasn't learned its lesson.

Besides the natural advantages of being an incumbent---united party resources behind you, no primary competition, national inertia---the same factors that kept Hillary Clinton from winning last year remain unaddressed.

Democrats are still blaming Russian boogeymen and a flawed political system for the 2016 loss instead of looking in the mirror. Finger pointing, unfounded claims of racism, and a seemingly-never ending chorus of complaining turned American voters off. The average white bread American voter doesn't want to be branded a racist or sexist without cause.

In an environment with a swelling tide of disenfranchised, disatisfied voters, a candidate free from the stains of "go-along-get-along" establishment politics had a real chance to win. Paired with the kind of name recognition he brought to the table, Donald Trump's campaign platform was one poised to upset the apple cart.

Believing she had enough electoral votes wrapped up, Clinton didn't even bother to visit some of the swing states. Her arrogance gave Trump the opening he needed to seize the oval office and he didn't waste the opportunity.

- On The Efficacy of NFL Demonstrations: Are We Making Any Progress?:

Like many protest movements, this one is long on ceremonial acts and short on plausible solutions.

The only way to wound the NFL is to stop buying tickets and merchandise, tuning in to games, and watching highlights on Youtube. That's how they make their money.

Sports betting brings in the dollars as well, an open secret the NFL prefers to shove under the rug.

The farce that is "amateurism" is also a major contributor. It's a low-cost feeder system for professional sports leagues and lines the pockets of many in and around the NFL.

If you want to break the NFL, these are the pillars you have to attack.

Good luck with that.

Let's explore the ethos behind this particular protest movement...

Shouldn't more people be asking whether boycotting the NFL because of racial iniquities or Colin Kaepernick not having a job is even a reasonable response? Will that actually strike a blow for civil rights or are people fooling themselves?

NFL rosters are nearly seventy percent black, most of whom epitomize the work ethic and dedication to excellence we tell our children to look up to. The rank-and-file is closer in stature to blue collar guys hustling in a 9-to-5 than those mythical 1%-ers people love to hate. Wouldn't boycotting league activities hurt them, too? Are those the wallets we want to lighten?

Too much demagoguery, not enough critical thinking.

The problem with this anthem movement, like most demonstrations, is that the players have no specific stated goal. "Awareness" is not precise enough, nor is "starting a conversation". Only the most dyed-in-the-wool bigots deny racism exists. Awareness is overrated. Problems don't get solved without actionable solutions and the first step to meeting a goal is defining the target.

Open discourse helps. Shaming people in to silence does not. Activists are too quick to dismiss detractors as racists, instead of encouraging an exchange of ideas. All intellectual-dishonesty does is stunt progress. We will not get anywhere if people are afraid to speak up.

If the goal of the anthem movement is to "eliminate racism completely", well, we can stop right there. 

As long as we live in an imperfect world, we will have imperfect people. We can chip away at the iniquities, enlightening the uninformed and ushering in a continous wave of understanding and accountability. The civil rights heroes of the pasts set an example of what can be accomplished with dedication, personal accountability, and a well-executed plan of action. Substantial progress was achieved and we no longer live in a country with government-sanctioned  discrimination and overt violent racial hostility.

Alas, the cognitive biases that lead people to lie, cheat, and steal beget sin against one's fellow man. Racism, sexism, ageism.....you can't legislate behavior. Humans are flawed and absent everyone deciding to drop their prejudices and be born anew, those behaviors aren't going away.

Sorry.

"We just want to start a dialogue."

Ok. And then what? We've been talking about racism since we landed a man on the moon.Talk is cheap.

Here are three steps to designing a protest movement that can stick....

1) You've got to identify specific problems, point out specific instances of wrongs. 

And don't selectively edit evidence to fit a narrative. Lay out all appropriate information and allow reasonable minds to come to a conclusion.

2) Then, out the bad actors. All of them, not just the ones who fit certain stereotypes.

Political correctness has to be checked at the door.

3) Parcel out blame. 

Who did what? Why? What could have been done by everyone involved to prevent this?

Learn more about designing effective protest movements here:

http://justtaptheglass.com/post/109205123403/slacktivism

Complaints of police brutality? I covered that here. 

When you're in the crosshairs, the best course of action is to be polite, yet firm. Know your rights and comply with lawful orders. You don't have to kiss the ring---as a civilian, the cops work for you, not other way around---but that's no reason to act up. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Many cops are decent enough, just wanting to do their jobs and go home. Minimize the hassle and you might catch a break.

It's not a rite of passage to square off with a cop, impugning his authority every step of the way, no matter how many selectively-edited videos you see on the news. What we see and hear renders lasting impact on how we think, instilling normative cues that determine how we interact with the world around us.  

This is another reason why consuming too much of the wrong media is a real threat to our society, much more than NFL players kneeling during the anthem or the contents of some politician's email server.

That's a cause we can all get behind. 

Too many knuckleheads double-down on idiocy, turning what would have been a minor infraction into a life-altering "this-could-get-me-fired" encounter.

If I learned anything from Road Rash, it's to make sure you can get away if you flee a traffic stop.

Treat police interactions like a flu shot: Hold still while the needle is in; endure the temporary pinch of pain; move on. Wriggling your arm during the injection can inflict serious damage.

Too many people antagonize the police, mouthing off to officers or flaunting their authority, as though their auditioning for internet fame. They think they can say and do whatever they want with no repercussions, as though free speech grants license to be a jerk.

All these political issues....we'd be better off spending time working on our own lives rather than fighting about some issue of middling importance. How much does some dude sitting on a sideline actually affect your daily life? Or what some politician says about [insert your favorite controversial hot potato] to rile up his fan base? Is publishing another angry comment on the internet going to solve the problem?

We fill the emptiness in our lives with television, or music, or fretting over the latest news to hit our feed. When we turn our attention inward, the silence can be deafening. Many of us struggle being alone with our thoughts, so we fill that space with media, controlled by entities who are all too ready to control that real estate.

This is what a mind without boundaries and direction looks like.

You can make a ton of headway if you behave rationally in a world increasingly-designed to distract, addict, and disorient. Know when to expend effort on issues that really matter and when to hit the "off" button.

[miamibeerscene]

Winning a Medal at the Great American Beer Festival is All About Style

Hutton & Smith Brewing Company collect their medal from Charlie Papazian. (Credit: Photo © 2016 Jason E. Kaplan)

September 28, 2017

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and more importantly, that means I get to wear puffy vests again. Like, with every outfit. It’s sort of my thing.

But I’m not here, sadly, to chat about puffy vests. I’m actually here to discuss one of my absolute favorite cities in the world, Denver, and the upcoming inundation of seemingly unquenchable beer fanatics who will be descending, once again, on the Mile-High City, as it does every year in early October.

It’s time for the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the largest beer competition and festival in the United States. Hundreds of breweries. Thousands of beers. Pretzel necklaces, tap takeovers, and the delightful madness that comes with putting this many beer fans in the same geographic area. Let the wild rumpus begin, Denver-style.

(READ: What Is the Independent Craft Brewer Seal?)

Admittedly, we’re used to seeing a lot of editorial pop up this time of year about GABF, and it’s almost exclusively focused on new beers, the latest brewery openings, and the general consumer experience around the festival. This is all well and good because it’s an unremitted riot to actually attend the festival as a beer fan, but I’d like to discuss the other half of the festival if you don’t mind. I’d like to talk about the actual competition.

The Great American Beer Festival Competition

GABF Competition Director Chris Swersey announces medal-winning beers. (Credit: Brewers Association)

Creating a fair, equitable and relevant beer competition of this scale in an industry as dynamic as American beer is like hitting, at best, an extremely fast-moving target. But the staff of the Brewers Association (who put on the festival), along with the cavalcade of trained judges and volunteers from across the country, pull it together every year with an admirable level of grace and authenticity for a competition of this size (and I’m not just saying that because the BA publishes CraftBeer.com). The stakes are high, the entrants prolific, and the scrutiny from media and industry people alike is a persistent reminder that there are some seriously interested eyes on what decides a medal-winning beer.

There are a few basic truths for the GABF competition categories every year — and more importantly, why those categories change with the evolution of the industry itself.

I had a chance to sit down and chat with Chris Swersey, the GABF Competition Director for the past 15 years. Through his experienced lens on the competition structure, you, as a beer lover, can start to understand what’s actually happening at GABF and how experienced judges judiciously dole out those shiny medals to the most deserving beers at the competition.

(LEARN: 75+ Popular Beer Styles)

I was rather impressed with Chris’ transparent and mission-focused message on the competition’s goals around the style categories. The GABF Competition Organizer’s goal, year over year, is for their style categories to be fresh and relevant — and most importantly, representative of a general expert consensus of which styles and definitions make the most sense in that year of judging. It pays to mention the sheer number of creative beers being produced every year that have never been made in the United States before, a tribute to this country’s leadership and influence in the global beer landscape. The competition structure echoes this sentiment and puts a framework under which they can safely and objectively judge the beer.

Beer Style Guidelines

A GABF competition judge reviews a beer. (Credit: Brewers Association)

Every year, around April, Swersey sits down with a list of notable names from the BA, including BA President and legendary homebrew champion Charlie Papazian, to sift through hundreds of comments collected over the year from beer judges, beer writers, brewers, and all manner of qualified industry professionals on the beer styles needed for the upcoming competition. According to him, they actually include around 75-90 percent of the comments every year in their assessment and review of the beer categories that are going to be used in that year’s GABF competition.

The guidelines are fundamentally based on the Brewers Association Style Guidelines and the World Beer Cup Styles, which is the guiding light document on which GABF’s competition structure is based

“The idea there is that the guidelines evolve slowly every time,” says Swersey. “We might have 150 different beer styles entered into the competition this year, but we don’t necessarily have that many categories at GABF. Charlie and the rest of the team might recognize the category, but some styles just don’t get enough entries to make it a specific category unto itself. ‘Experimental beer’ is a good example of a grouped category or master category, and the idea there is that the category has enough to be meaningful.”

(READ: Why No Brewery Won GABF Silver or Gold in Pumpkin Beers)

The idea of keeping a fluid definition around beer styles might sound heretical to some of the more dogged style purists out there, but it’s actually the only proper way to give the competition enough wiggle room to adequately bucket the thousands of beers entered every year. Creativity and evolution, a hallmark of our thriving domestic beer culture, is fostered through this fluidity, and the GABF competition recognizes the need for consistent change.

“Think about GABF as a track meet. There are different events like hurdles, pole-vaulting, etc. Each GABF beer category is an event in a track meet.” Chris Swersey, GABF Competition Director

To put a rather explicit bow on this entire point, this year’s upcoming 2017 GABF competition includes 98 beer styles and their sub-categories. I procured a copy of the 2002 Competition Beer Styles and there was (drumroll please) 58 styles and their sub-categories. In a 15-year period, and through the continued growth of our homegrown beer culture, we’ve seen a 60 percent increase in the number of beer styles that will be judged!

That’s a pretty astonishing increase in such a short time period, and Swersey capped the discussion with a good metaphor on how to think about the categories themselves.

“Think about GABF as a track meet. There are different events like hurdles, pole-vaulting, etc. Each GABF beer category is an event in a track meet. Each track event has its own rules, so each beer category has a set of rules that entrants must adhere to in order for us to properly judge the beer.”

The Taste Experience

Along with the rules and style guidelines, GABF actually gives the brewers and judges a chance to think like a typical beer drinker. It’s easy to get lost in the myopia of misunderstood beer terminology if you’re not in the business itself. Michael Jackson, the infamous beer writer and a personal hero of mine in the beer world, was unequivocally clear about his view on how to approach beer styles. He did our whole industry a huge favor early on and urged us to think about beer the way a consumer thought about beer. He got into the head of “what is that taste experience” and how does that translate for the average beer consumer. Competitions like GABF are essentially trying to capture this ethos.

(LEARN: Beer 101 Online Course)

Purchasing Beer

When it comes to purchasing decisions and consumer behavior, the message on beer styles becomes clear and emphasizes how important they are to the beer industry overall. Just like a judging panel at GABF uses the style guidelines to put guardrails around their judgments, they also provide a unified signal from brewer to consumer on the intended goal of the product in your hand, explicitly offering beer fans around the world a unified vocabulary with which we can discuss, debate and decide on our own preferences. If your beers don’t fit into a style, as a brewer, you have a challenge ahead of you in the market.

This year’s competition saw almost 8,200 submissions from thousands of breweries across the country. When the roughly 280 highly trained judges (from malt suppliers to brewers to journalist, all trained in expert sensory evaluation) sit down to assess these beers in the three days before the big weekend in October, the style guidelines will be front and center to give each entry a fair shot at being tasted well and judged accurately.

You have no idea how thirsty I am now that I’ve finished writing this article. I’m gonna head over to a local brewery here in NYC to try a few of their beers. I hope they’re good.

Chris McClellanAuthor Website

Chris McClellan works as a Guinness Brewery Ambassador, educator, strategist and digital marketing professional for the beer industry. He’s a Certified Cicerone®, and as a native Vermonter, he’s a firm believer in great beer and the amazing story behind each sip. Chris also founded The Brew Enthusiast, a consultancy and editorial website focused on maximizing a brewery’s storytelling potential across digital, social, and editorial strategy. Please reach out to him any time if you’d like talk awesome beer, or if you just need a hug. Read more by this author

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