- I’ve known one of my closest friends since he moved here in the eight grade and we attended college together. Like his father, he went into the ministry. I had concerns over that because I thought he lack compassion. It was definitely lacking in our relationship. I happy to report the man has grown by leaps and bounds, and I’m so proud of him. He was part of the group of friends going to Cosm to watch the Fiesta Bowl to honor another friend’s accomplishment of earning his MBA from LSU last month. This friend who I thought lacked any compassion has certainly been there for me for the roughest three or four year patch of my life. But this time he surprised me with a Christmas present. I don’t he he’s ever given me a present before. I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful of a gift it was. It was this U2 coffee mug with all their albums on a shelf. I think he said it popped up in an advertisement and he thought I’d like it. I used think he was disappointed in me for loving the band because they were faux-Christians, for lack of a better word. I felt a sense of judgement anytime I spoke of them or Bono. All that to say, I was impressed with this thoughtful gift and feel there’s some significance behind it.
- We are now a quarter of a way into this millennium. That’s a lot of progress from my birth year of 1975. Just reaching the year 2000 felt like a significant milestone. In some ways, the year 2000, a major non-event, by the way, feels like it was just yesterday, but in a weird sort of way, it feels like eons ago as well.
- It sure has been fun following the Texas Longhorn football team this season. I thought they were going to blow it yesterday, but they won in overtime against Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Their next game will be a good one against The Ohio State University at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. These are my two favorite football teams, so it will feel a bit weird. But I’m a Longhorn at heart. Depending on how you look at things, I might even be a Longhorn. But I tread lightly because I don’t want to be a poser or steal any valor. I earned a business certificate from the university, taking several classes on the Austin campus. The only reason I think that may qualify me is that during my JFK deep-dive, I ran across this article on the University of Michigan’s website about Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow, earning a certificate from the university. They literally call her an “alumna of Michigan.”
- This major incident seems under-reported – US Treasury says it was hacked by China in ‘major incident’
- Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the US Treasury Department’s systems earlier this month and were able to access employee workstations and some unclassified documents, American officials have said.
- I thought I’d write about my Cosm experience in case you are interested in checking it out for yourself. They really don’t sell individual tickets; you buy them in pairs or up to eight for a booth and table. Depending on the game, the price will vary. For instance, as of last night, they still haven’t priced their tickets for the College Football Semi-Finals or for the NFL playoffs. They’ll base their price on the popularity of the teams and matchups. I thought the $ 50-a-piece tickets we bought were the best bang for the buck. Here’s a diagram of the venue, and I circled our seats. We knew going into it that our view was going to be slightly obstructed at the top. The table in front of us sat eight and I think it cost $550. Premium seating was right above us on the front row.
This is what the domed screen looked like from my seat. You’ll notice the view is slightly cut off at the top. The sound was fantastic, maybe a little too loud.
This is what I saw directly in front of me. I don’t know why I didn’t realize going into it that they intended for it to be an immersive experience as if you are either standing on the sidelines or in the crowd. They will switch from about five different views, and I think I captured all of them in the collage below.
Every now and then, they would show a reply like this.
However, looking all the way to the right or left while on the floor level, you’ll see the traditional telecast.
Again, you can see how our view was slightly obstructed, but it wasn’t bad. But, if you are looking for an immersive experience, it may take away from that. It would have felt more immersive if we were about 10-15 feet closer. If you are curious about what the very top of the dome looks like, here you go. These photos might make it appear that there is a screen and the industrial roof at the top is part of Cosm, but what you are seeing is the bottom of the actual roof of the stadium in Arizona. I don’t think any of my photos show it, but there were empty seats at the corners of the stadium, which surprised me; I thought a big bowl game would sell out of every seat in the venue.
Directly behind us were some white cushioned seats. Here’s the view from when I sat in them. You miss out on all the action.
Behind those chairs (visible below) were several large couch sectionals, and this is the view when seated in them. At least there’s a television with the traditional telecast, but you still get a good audio experience with the sounds of the crowd.
