Archive for August, 2007

Youth Soccer Underway. Butterflies & Loose Dirt Beware!

On Wednesday, my son started practice for the upcoming CYO Soccer season. He and one of the other 4-year-olds were moved from the 3/4 age bracket to the Kindergarten league, which is 5- and 6-year-olds. I wasn’t crazy about that at first, it was clear that he sized up better with the older kids. So be it.

My very first post on Derrich.com was about this very topic. I questioned my whole attitude toward this…would it be fun or frustration that I felt as a result of watching this every weekend? Well at first my competitive nature got the best of me. But I was quickly reminded of how I was at the tender age of 3. So, this year will be different. I’ll “coach” to a degree out of natural instinct, but I’ll be sure to remember that they’re all about having fun at this point. Allow me to show you exactly what I mean.

Here he is recovering from a fall that came as a result of some Alpha Male wrestling.

In this photo, he shows off his best Power Rangers moves.

And they actually played a little soccer.

So, regardless of what they’re doing out there, I urge parents everywhere to get your kiddos involved in youth sports. With all of the distractions (i.e. video games, television, Internet, etc), your kids will benefit from the exercise, the interaction with other kids, and be exposed to a team-oriented environment…and familiarize themselves with different species of butterflies, and discover the effects of applying the kinetic energy of a soccer cleat to a patch of dirt.

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Credulous Where Credulous Is Due

Getty Images

While browsing through my usual sports links for the day, it seems like I’ve read nothing but negative stories about several sports figures. We have all read about Michael Vick and his dogfighting scandal. I’m not going to defend his actions, but he gave a seemingly sincere apology. I mean…he didn’t use notes, he didn’t sound coached. And best of all he’s willing to take responsibility. That doesn’t justify his actions, but he’s on the right track to redemption…even if it takes him a lifetime.

Enter Lance Briggs. Wrecks his beautiful Lamborghini Murcielago into a light pole, flees the scene, reported the car stolen, then fessed up, and returned to the scene…all because he “panicked”.

Yahoo! Sports reported that there are drug allegations against Tim Couch. In the story, they quote Couch as saying,

“The bottom line is I was not in the NFL during any of the period of time (when the regimens called for the use of steroids), so that also makes me feel like, what’s the story?” Couch said. “… I don’t know where this stuff comes from. I don’t know where you got any of this.”

Well, “Mr. Football”. This comeback talk makes me feel like, “Dude, give it up already!”. Besides, he wasn’t in the NFL at the time, so it’s all good. Right?

And then there’s Houston Rockets guard, Rafer Alston, who allegedly shanked some poor schmuck in the neck. This about a month after he apparently applied the jounce to some valet guy’s arm at a Houston nightspot after his car was towed…not to mention he spit on the guy. Can you say “anger management”?

My friend and namesake, Derek, poses the question “Have athletes been conditioned to think that the law does not apply to them?” in his post, Above The Law. I agree that most public figures wield this attitude primarily because people let them. But I definitely think that in the case of these four instances only Ron Mexico and Tim Couch fit into this category since their actions were premeditated. Alston is included for not having learned his lesson the first time he thought he was above the law, and Briggs just gets a Darwin Award nod.

This brings up another observation — why are we talking about dogfighting, a car crash, and a Miss Teen USA contestant that speaks in tongues? Ok. I’ll leave her out of this. While listening to sports talk radio today, all anyone wants to talk about is whether or not Michael Vick is sincere and what was going through Lance Briggs’ mind eaarly this morning. Seriously. Put these into order of severity. All are bad to some degree, but I think neck slashing takes the cake. How about you?

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Miss Teen USA Contestant Fluent In Gibberish

Yeah, I feel badly for her. Under enormous pressure, Miss Teen USA contestant, Lauren Caitlin Upton, from South Carolina answered a question from the audience during what was arguably a blonde moment. Hey, Lauren. No worries. I’d be totally nervous standing next to AC Slater too. Look at the bright side…you’ve generated over 4 million views by U.S. Americans on YouTube in under 3 days. That’s gotta count for something.

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Goodbye, Samsung SCH-U740! Hello, BlackBerry Pearl!

I couldn’t help it! The frustration grew and grew. While the Samsung SCH-U740 arouses curiousities…a “crowd pleaser” if you will…I had a hard time warming up to the phone.

My main concern initially was whether or not I would be able to effectively use the “cramped” QWERTY keyboard. I have large hands; but the only character I had issues with was the “P”, which is located near a raised lump in the phone. The keyboard definitely caters to obsessed IMers. I hated the fact that I couldn’t find the parenthesis buttons. I like using smileys.

Using the Internet browser proved frustrating as well. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Good Review Can Go A Long Way

Reviews on Derrich.com are primarily paid reviews. There’s no secret there. But sometimes, I feel the need to publish a review for an exciting new product or service that I’ve used. Before I make purchases, particularly of electronics, I always search for reviews by an end user. While it’s nice to read a review by an editor, or a manufacturer’s explanation of their product, reviews by consumers are first on my list. Recently, I wrote two reviews that have earned some noteworthy attention.

Infiniti G37 Coupe Review
I had the opportunity to test drive an Infiniti G37 Coupe about 2 weeks ago. I wrote all about the experience and included some pictures. Since then, my review has been linked on numerous G37 and Nissan forums. I have received a little over 1,000 hits (1,005 as of late last night) from Google searches on some variation of “Infiniti G37 Coupe”. Last I checked, my post was in the Top 10 search results for many of those variations…and #1 under “G37 test drive”.

Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Detailer
I have virtually zero bad things to say, if any, about Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Detailer since I wrote my review over a week ago. I snapped a couple of photos of its “Hydrophobic” effects on my car, which simulate the beading qualities of a fresh wax.

Shortly after I posted the review, I decided to forward the link to Meguiar’s. Within a day, I had received the following email:

Dear Derrich,
Let me be the first to thank you for taking the time to send in this link. That is a great write up, and if you do not mind I will be passing this on to other departments within Meguiar’s. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me anytime. Have a wonderful day!

Thank you very much,
Ash Erickson

Shortly after I replied with an email just short of “Heck, yes!”, I received an email from its public relations company, that also represents other auto-related manufacturers. To my surprise, I was congratulated with a good amount of sample products from Meguiar’s and a variety of other manufacturers. My camera is kaput and I’m in the middle of changing phones (more on that later), so I can’t offer you pictures of these items. But the moment an opportunity arises, I’ll get that up.

There are only a handful of bloggers that write thorough AND interesting reviews worth reading. I’d like to include myself in that category, but that’s for readers to decide. Whether or not the review is sponsored, a good review (in my opinion) includes photos for depth and focus on the main characteristics on the product or service…and how those features benefit the user. And don’t hesitate to point out any fallacies. Those are the things that help consumers decide whether a product is right for their needs.

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Find & Share Coupon Codes at Deal Locker

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This is a Sponsored Post.

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Text Link Ads On Sale!

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BlogRoll

• Milk Was A Bad Choice
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