Swag Award December 21-27

In the wee hours of Christmas Eve, Senators on Capitol Hill took a landmark vote on the health care reform bill that they had been debating for months. It was the first Senate vote to take place on Christmas Eve since 1895. The House of Representatives voted and passed their version back in November, and the Senate vote was one of the remaining barriers that needed to be overcome in order for the dream of reforming our nation’s health care system to become a reality. The vote was split along party lines with all 60 Democratic Senators voting in favor of the bill, 39 Republicans against and one abstention from Senator Jim Bunning ( R) of Kentucky.

The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, cover 15 million additional people under Medicaid, and subsidize private coverage for low and middle-income citizens. The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans.

Since the monumental vote occurred on Christmas Eve, I thought it would be only fitting to tell this story in a similar fashion as ‘Twas the night before Christmas.’ Enjoy!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the House
All the Senators were anxious to vote and get the hell out.

The decision was split along party lines like a hair,
and President Obama hoped that health care reform soon would be there.
Two weeks ago, to most the bill was considered dead,
Months ago Joe Wilson wasn’t afraid to say he didn’t believe what the President had said.

Most Americans were off of work and nestled in their beds,
While visions of affordable health care danced in their heads.
A mom in her kerchief, and a dad in his cap,
Dreamed of the day when a routine trip to the doctors wouldn’t take all of their stacks.

When out of Capitol Hill, there rose such a clatter,
The Obama’s were on vacation, but rose to see what was the matter.
I awoke that morning and turned on the TV in a flash,
To see news anchors talking about the new bill that had just passed.

With the Senate Majority Leader looking pleased and content,
I said to myself “I can’t believe they finally passed it.”
So rapid to the microphone all the Democratic Senators came,
And Harry Reid, the leader called them all by name!

Now Specter! Now Kerry! Baucus and Franken!
On Chris Dodd! On Lieberman and the other Senators, he thanked them.
A major victory indeed for the Obama administration.

There’s no public option in the Senate bill,
And it has to be reconciled with the bill from the House of Reps.
But we can all agree that for reform to happen,
These were some important first steps.

Reducing the cost of care, and coverage for millions more,
Leveling the playing field for the average citizen and looking out for the poor.
The Senators rejoiced in unison, and then hopped on their various flights.
“Affordable health care for all, and to all a good night!”

Swag Award of the Week December 14-20

There’s not much to say about this week’s winner. I don’t know his name, but this little guy from China impressed the hell out of me. With moves like that, this kid will be on ‘So you Think You Can Dance?’ in no time. I’m sure he has no idea what Swag is yet, but he already has tons of it.

Watch this little guy move:

Coverage debate: AT&T vs. Verizon

By now you've all seen the Verizon ads on television proclaiming the superiority of its 3G network to AT&T's. Verizon claims that their 3G coverage far exceeds AT&T's offerings, thus providing faster download times and an overall more user-friendly experience. My friends and I, some with AT&T, others with Verizon have been waging an ongoing battle about which service provider is the actual winner. Considering that I've been an AT&T customer since 1999, and am the proud owner of an iPhone 3G-S, I think it's safe to say I'm a bit partial; but now there is empirical datat to confirm what I knew all along.

AT&T IS BETTER...

I came across an NY Times article that reported the findings from third-party companies who research and monitor service provider performance. How are these tests perfomed you ask? According to the article, "third-party services that run network tests for the major carriers... dispatches drivers across the country with phones and laptops equipped with data cards. They have covered more than three million miles of roads this year, while running almost two million wireless data sessions and placing more than three million voice calls."

So these companies actually sent people out through the cities, suburbs, rural areas, bridges, tunnels, dead zones, etc. to collect a year's worth of cell service data. The verdict: AT&T has the better service.

I won't repeat what was said in the article, but here are a few key points that make a strong case for AT&T as the better provider:

-iPhone’s “air interface,” the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, had shortcomings that “affect both voice and data.” In Lehman's terms this means that if you haven't been happy with your iPhone at times more than likely it was the phones fault and not the carrier.

-AT&T does not publicly defend itself because it will not criticize Apple under any circumstances.

-“AT&T’s data throughput is 40 to 50 percent higher than the competition, including Verizon" which means it will most likely take you twice as long to download that YouTube clip or Facebook photo album on Verizon than it would on AT&T.

-"In every market, AT&T had faster average download speeds and had signal strength of 75 percent or better more frequently than did Verizon."

And there you have it. So AT&T has the superior service, but the iPhone's shortcomings cause users to become disenchanted with the carrier and not the phone itself. And AT&T will not speak negatively against Apple; probably to prevent jeopardizing its relationship with Apple as the exclusive carrier of the iPhone. This is what happens when you have superior service and exclusive rights to a device that isn't as reliable as it should be...a conundrum indeed.

Swag Award of the Week December 7-13

I am proud to announce that the "Swag Award of the Week" goes to Mark Ingram, RB from Alabama who was awarded the Heisman Trohpy this past weekend. Ingram was the offensive catalyst for the Crimson Tide team that went 13-0 this season and will face Texas for the national championship in a few weeks. In true Heisman form, Ingram brought his A-game to the biggest stages this season; 150 yds at Virginia Tech, 140 yds at Kentucky, 172 yds at Ole Miss, 99 yds vs. Tennessee, 144 vs. LSU & 149 at Mississippi St.

Those performances, while important in preserving Alabama’s national championship hopes paled in comparison to the show he put on against Florida in the SEC Championship game. At the time, Florida and ‘Bama were ranked #1 & #2 respectively and many fans and sports writers alike billed the matchup as the real national championship. Whether it was national championship or not, Ingram treated it as such and carried ‘Bama literally and figuratively 28 times for 113 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 32-13 drubbing of the heralded Gators.

For the majority of the college football season, Ingram remained a dark horse in the Heisman ballots, trailing Colt McCoy of Texas, Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow. The afore mentioned players all had a great deal of hype surrounding them, and NFL scouts water at the mouth when considering their draft prospects. Throughout the season Ingram remained on everyone’s radar, but was never considered the front-runner even as his team continued to win largely due to his efforts, in the toughest conference in the country.

See Mark’s emotional acceptance speech:

Alabama, one of the nation’s most storied football programs had never had a Heisman winner until Mark Ingram changed all of that. I think over 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns for an undefeated team in the SEC makes a very strong case. A case that sports writers ultimately could not overlook this year in the closest Heisman race ever. Ingram beat Stanford’s Toby Gerhart by merely 5 votes. Mark Ingram proves that despite the circumstances, the obstacles, the hype, if you are confident in yourself and your abilities then the sky is the limit. Now that's what I call swagger. Congratulations Mark.

Check out some of Ingram’s highlights from this season: