It's a No Go

You might be expecting to see something in this space about how a young agency executive, against all odds, braved sub-zero temperatures and a driving snowfall to drive a car most unsuitable for winter weather to New York City in order to get to work, even after being laid up by a flu virus for most of the weekend. Sadly, no. Once I put my fuzzy cow slippers on this morning and looked at the blanket of white out my window this morning at 4:30 AM, the possibility of something like that completely disappeared. I'll just be working from home today, thankyouverymuch.

Normally, on days like this I'd be taking the day off completely to ride around on my quad. But we've got so many projects due this week, I'd be up a creek.

Whither Video Search

So Jim and I were talking a bit about Yahoo's video search beta. And then Jim came up with a really cool idea...Can you picture what it will be like in a year or two when some dishonest politician denies making a comment? All the bloggers will be able to call bullshit and link directly to clips showing the politician making the comment he denied making. How cool with that be?

NY State Do Not Call Basically Ineffective

I signed up my home number for the Do Not Call list in the fall and I'm on the registry. Yesterday, when I was working from home, I got a call from someone pitching mortgage refinancing, so I told the caller I was on the list and gathered her company's information. Since I was in front of my computer, I filed a complaint online. This morning, someone from the Consumer Protection Board called me at the office to talk about my complaint. He informed me that my complaint was being disallowed because of a loophole in the law. I understood that the law didn't apply to charitable causes, companies with which one has an existing relationship and whatnot, but there's another exemption. And it bugs me.

(a) "Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" means any telemarketing sales call other than a call made: (1) in response to an express written or verbal request of the specific customer called; (2) in connection with an established business relationship, which has not been terminated by either party; (3) to an existing customer, unless such customer has stated to the telemarketer or the telemarketer's agent that such customer no longer wishes to receive the telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer; or (4) in which the sale of goods and services is not completed, and payment or authorization of payment is not required, until after a face-to-face sales presentation by the telemarketer or a meeting between the telemarketer and the customer.

Number (4) presents a huge loophole. Prett much anything that requires action subsequent to the phone call to complete the transaction is exempt. The gentleman from the CPB explained to me that "face-to-face" exemptions include mortgage refinancing companies, insurance salespeople, vacuum cleaner salesmen who want to come to the house, real estate folks - pretty much anything that requires further action after the call. He also explained that legislation getting rid of this exemption is going through the usual channels.

Pardon me, but doesn't this make the DNC law completely ineffective? Very few products are actually sold via a transaction completed on the phone. Maybe the DNC list will get rid of the guy who calls trying to sell an electric pimple popper or dent puller for your car, but it's not going to stop most of the phone calls that come in.

Thanks for the ineffective legislation, New York. At least the CPB is prompt in calling to tell folks their complaints are being disallowed...

Again, Exercise Some Control Over Your Kids

I brought home a Super Nintendo when I graduated from college. It had been in my room at the fraternity house and it followed me to my first apartment. The Super Nintendo had replaced my NES, which had replaced my Commodore 64, which had replaced my Atari 2600, which had replaced my Telstar Pong game. It was when I brought this machine home from college that I told my mom "I don't think I'll ever outgrow video games." And I didn't. Next came PC games, which I still play to this day. Then Playstation, then Dreamcast, then Playstation 2. I'm still dropping in at Best Buy after work to pick up the latest and greatest, and I'm 32.

And at 32, I'm only four years above the median age for PC and console gamers, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association. I personally know people who are over 50 and play The Sims, I regularly discuss gaming with people who are my age and older, and I think it's about time that people stopped thinking of gaming as something that only young kids spend time with. Those of us who grew up with Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision or what have you haven't stopped playing. I don't know of too many guys my age who don't have some sort of gaming device in their home, whether it's a computer or a console.

Yet, there's a huge uproar over the marketing of violent and sexually explicit games to children. The Grand Theft Auto series is taking flak every day, as are many popular titles. And once again, it's the parents who are making a big stink, crying "Won't somebody think of the children?!" and failing to take responsibility for their parenting.

Video games have a rating system, much like movies and music recordings. When a game has an "M" on it, it means the title is intended for a mature audience. And when you buy your kids rated M titles without checking them out first, you run the risk of exposing them to what many might consider inappropriate material. Period. There's no excuse for failing to take interest in the media your children consume or for failing to give them guidance.

But the parents continue to complain, saying -get this- that these mature products are being marketed to their kids and that their kids are asking their parents to buy these titles for them. And they want action - government action, specifically legislation.

I've said it many times and I'll say it again. The government is not a device to be employed to make the entire world safe for your kids. The first line of defense against exposure to questionable material should always be the parent. No one is forcing anyone to buy rated M titles for their kids. And some of us like coming home from a hard day at work and sitting down for a long session of stealing virtual sports cars and spraying virtual lowlives with virtual gunfire to blow off some steam. We appreciate that there are things in this world that adults should enjoy but kids should not. And I don't want my government telling me I can't have these things because if I have them, kids will want them, too. I don't care what your kids do when they come home from school, just as they don't care what I do when I come home from work.

So quit picking on Grand Theft Auto and all the other mature games out there. They're made for mature audiences and if you're uncomfortable with your kid having something that's made for adults, it's your prerogative (and duty) to use the word "no" every once in a while.