Rivalries Can Actually Be Healthy

This is Super Bowl week, culminating with Super Sunday. The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks should be a classic matchup.

Old school football fans remember when these two teams used to face each other regularly as part of the old AFC West before Seattle moved to the NFC. It was a bit of a rivalry, including all star players such as John Elway, Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy, among others.

Rivalries can get heated, especially for the super competitive folks. However, they extend beyond sports, and can actually be good for overall competition, fan bases, and obviously business.

SPORTS:

Two of the best rivalries in all of sports are the New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox in baseball and the North Carolina Tarheels/Duke Blue Devils in college basketball. Both of these rivalries are intense, have lots of history, and the games often have championship implications. The same can be said for Auburn/Alabama and Ohio State/Michigan in college football, The New York Knicks/Boston Celtics in the NBA, and many others. You live for the days when these types of teams play each other.  Often houses, and even families,  are temporarily divided depending upon the magnitude of the games and fan bases. 

BUSINESS

There are also rivals in the business world.  Some notable ones are Google/Apple, Xbox/Playstation, Ford/Chevrolet, Nike/Reebok, and McDonalds/Burger King. It can get intense in these respective boardrooms as the executives and marketing teams want to stay ahead of their counterparts.  Like any other rivalry, it's almost natural to pick a side.

ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITIES

There will always be certain yings and yangs in this realm. It became extreme and fatal in the 90s with Tupac and Biggie. Some rivalries that have been lesss fatal include Beyoncé/Rihanna, Michael Jackson/Prince, Adam Sandler/Ben Stiller, AC/DC/Metallica, Jay-Z/Nas, and even networks such as CBS/NBC/ABC, MSNBC/FOX news, and soap operas such as The Young and The Restless/All My Children. 

Paraphrasing a line from the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby", having a good competitor can make you better. Katie Couric needs Diane Sawyer, the Today Show needs The Early Show, The View needs The Talk, American Idol needs The Voice. George Lucas needs Peter Jackson. LeBron James needs Kobe Bryant. Jimmie Johnson needs Matt Kenseth. The Beatles needed The Rolling Stones. The list goes on and on.

A friendly rivalry is usually fun and not hate filled. You want to be on your game and do your best. This rival can often be your greatest motivator. You compare each other constantly, always striving to do better.

So as you tune into the Super Bowl this weekend, remember that the game imitates life in many ways. We all want to be on the biggest stage of our careers or passions, and it always feels better to win.

Libraries: A Dying Institution

Remember when once upon a time you had to go to the library to check out a book? You had no option of downloading it. You had to use the card catalog to search for the book, Microfiche to look at old newspapers, and you took pride in checking out library books.

Technology has its downsides. One of them is making physical libraries more irrevelant. Many of the services that a library offers can be found at home or a Google search. This has caused many libraries to reduce hours, close in many cities, and even give away books that no one even checks out or reads.

Believe me,I'm an advocate of the library system. As a writer and lifelong reader, I do not want to see the library go anywhere. I thoroughly enjoy going for many reasons. One is that many services, such as checkout, Wi-Fi and Internet are free. Plus they are good for quiet hangout locations and even study meetings.

Replacing the physical presence of this institution would be a disgrace. It is never creepy or uncool to read and browse in a library. Everyone is welcome. 

I'm also an advocate of progress and technology; therefore, the changing of this modern system is quite the double-edged sword. People want information faster and more convenient. However, the intrapersonal touch is lost.

I would personally give the public library system about 20 years before it becomes a distant memory, or an archives center. Social media may even get involved, as well as bookstores such as Amazon. Change is here, and there's no stopping it. We can only make the best of it.

At least folks haven't stopped reading and getting books and information. That would be the biggest tragedy.

Text Neck Is Serious

Usage of cellphones has increased hundred fold over the past few decades. The introduction and expansion of smartphones into mini computing and texting devices that are often touchscreen or tailored to heavy eye and finger usage have been popular.

There are always side effects obviously. Outside of contract committments, data capping, and the overall expenses, you cannot forget the wear and tear physically. And no this is beyond carpal tunnel. There is a condition called text neck.
Trust me, text neck is very real. Often many of us do it out of habit. This goes along with proper poise and posture. Several people drop their necks while playing with their cell phones. This causes tension on the back neck tissue and muscles and can even cause nerve damage in the upper back.

However, awareness and prevention is key. An ounce of preventiom is worth a pound of cure. What you want to do is try to hold your neck and back in an upright position. Then hold your phone in front of your face to avoid even slumping your eyes. Also, use both hands if possible to increase comfort.

I have practiced these techniques personally and the differences in comfort is astounding. Lying down and holding your phone over you is also effective.

Many of love our iPhones, Galaxys, Notes, and other mobile devices. Therefore, we deserve to use them without fear of suffering permanent damage to your upper body torso. 

Balance is key in achieving goals and living a healthy life. Apply this balance to your cell phone usage and you can avoid those annoying neck pains and cricks.

The Google Explosion

Microsoft and Apple have been going head to head in the technology world for a couple of decades now. However, it seems whenever Apple releases a hot product or gadget, Google (owned by Microsoft) is not far behind. You have several successful Samsung products such as the Note, Galaxy, and Nexus, Google Chrome and Cloud. Google even has a social network: Google +.

However the one thing that Google has one upped Apple on for years is Google itself. By this, I mean the search engine.

People, myself included, are so quick to visit Google in search of something. Random information, facts, photos, recipes. Heck I will Google in the middle of a conversation to try and settle a debate or heated discussion. I am a Googling fiend, and apparently I'm not alone.

Yahoo, MSN, and even Dogpile that combines all the search engines are good as well. However Google has branded the online research technique. They have impacted it so much so that people now say "I'm going to Google this or that". Google is thus a verb.

We recently had a Super Bowl full of excitement, blackouts, Beyonce' gyrating, and of course the ads. I remember an ad Google ran in 2010 during the Super Bowl about its search engine. This guy was searching (or Googling) on how to woo and romance his girlfriend. His Googling and research evolved to looking for engagement rings, wedding venues, tuxes, realtors, and later baby items.

Google is an important part of our lives. Even Apple users cannot deny how Google has changed us as a culture.

Being that I enjoy trivia, Google does take some of the fun out of it, for those that do not play fair. However, random knowledge is part of the Google experience.

Perhaps you came across my blog via a Google search. I hope you continue to visit my blog weekly, and look at my past posts. Google is truly helping improve everyone's lives with their one size fits all approach.