Scandalous Internet Pics Won’t Ruin Your Life, But Don’t Take Them Anyway, NFL Picks Week 15

What’s that called when bricks are all roughed-up more than usual? You know, when they’re not smooth like the outside of a house, but jagged and rough instead. Whatever it’s called, I scratched my hand on a wall like that yesterday, and it sucked, so I need a name for this decorative style that I now hate.

• Last week there was a minor Internet scandal involving Vanderbilt University, though certainly not minor to the people involved: a cheerleader in Kappa Delta and her boyfriend (?) decided to get very visibly freaky in her sorority formal’s photobooth, only to have the shit hit the fan when the digital photobooth automatically uploaded all of its photos to Facebook. Naturally the Internet was on this within about five seconds, complete with name, identifiers and partial life story, and that was that. Was this dumb of those two? Yeah, not recognizing that a digital photobooth was probably going to capture the digital originals was up there with butt chugging in the realm of the stupid. (Shockingly, both involved college students.) That said, I had to disagree when my friends stated “her life is ruined” by this whole thing.

  We’re in an era when this sort of thing is going to become more and more common. Even if it’s not something quite so pornish like in this case, there’s probably some good material hidden in the Facebook-tagged pictures of your new college double-fisting Natty Lights on the Diag. We’re all just going to get used to having a good percentage of coworkers with digital histories of indiscretions, and that’s not going to be any different than the people at your workplace now — it’s just that you can review the evidence. That’s a seismic cultural shift, but if I’m the boss, I really don’t care what you did in your college years if you can get the job done. Is it a distraction if my clients can google you and find outrageously revealing photos of you? I really think not, because if they can’t get past it and you’re at my firm doing a solid job, that’s on them to be professional.

  It’s obviously a judgment call whether that employee has shown the maturity to get past the incident, because yeah: if you think this person has the potentially to screw up equally bad even after the last time, then yeah, that person can take a hike to go work for some other sucker. But if it’s someone who’s learned their lesson and otherwise totally qualified? No, their life isn’t ruined, nor should it be. Enjoy your transparent life.

• Oh, and no matter how hot you look and how careful you think you are, accept that any nude photo of yourself is going to get out to the public. If that’s a smart business move for you, well OK, but otherwise it’s hardly worth taking in the first place. You can go Google naked photos of me right now and you’ll come up short. Why? Because I’m Internet smart. Sucks to be you.
• And the NFL picks for the week. I actually won two weeks ago, so this comeback to finish at .500 thing is totally happening. (Probably not, but you gotta believe.)

  Last week: 8-7; Overall: 95-108
  Cincinnati -4.5 At Philadelphia
  Green Bay -3 At Chicago
  At Atlanta -1.5 NY Giants
  At New Orleans -3.5 Tampa Bay
  At St. Louis -3 Minnesota
  Washington even At Cleveland
  At Miami -7 Jacksonville
  Denver -2.5 At Baltimore
  At Houston -8.5 Indianapolis
  At San Diego -3 Carolina
  Seattle -5.5 At Buffalo
  Detroit -6 At Arizona
  Pittsburgh -1.5 At Dallas
  At Oakland -3 Kansas City
  At New England -5.5 San Francisco
  At Tennessee -1.5 NY Jets