5 Thoughts for March 12, 2015

• Football: George Farmer ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the USC pro day. Just saying, Pete, that's faster than Farmer's former high school mate, Paul Richardson (4.40). He also out-benchpressed all but three wide receivers in the 2015 combine in Indianapolis. You're missing out on a speedster who blocks well.
• Technology: Living in the US, we are spoiled. Despite all the hype, Google Wallet and Apple Pay are not available outside of the US. With Google, the time between devices, apps and programs made available in the US and the rest of the world is lengthy. It took 3 years for Google Play Music to spread to Canada.
• Technology: A few days after Apple's introduction of the new Mac Book sporting a single USB-C, Google showed off the updated Chromebook Pixel, sporting multiple USB-C ports and a price tag lowered from $1299 to $999. Even though the hardware inside, supports the price tag, the lack of high-powered apps built upon web technologies means that the price is too high.
• Net Neutrality: The FCC released its rules on Net Neutrality, which they had voted to pass, a few weeks ago. It's just about what you'd expect from Net Neutrality, specifically, clear rules against blocking throttling and paid prioritization. Then there's the wiggle room provision that blocks "unreasonable" interference or disadvantage to users and edge providers. This probably means that while Comcast can't allow its interconnection with Netflix to downgrade, such that its own OnDemand services receive an advantage over Netflix, Netflix probably can't demand Comcast to upgrade its side of the interconnection to meet peak traffic.
• Shopping: Last week I bought a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Pro 12.2 tablet from Groupon, and now I'm tracking it as it travels across the country. From years of observing their methods, if the truck does not get here by Friday evening, it won't make its Monday delivery window. You can view its progress, here: http://goo.gl/RvFdIk