firehose

jfruh writes One of the knocks against Silicon Valley giants as "job creators" is that the companies themselves often only hire high-end employees; support staff like security guards and janitors are contracted out to staffing agencies and receive lower pay and fewer benefits, even if they work on-site full time. That now seems to be changing, with Apple and Google putting security guards on their own payroll.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

get ready for the rock shocker

US president Barack Obama was sharply critical of China’s newest security demands for foreign companies this week, saying that plans to “snoop and keep track” of users of US-made technology were unacceptable.

Chinese officials are “going to have to change if they are to do business with the United States,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

Beijing is putting heavy pressure on US technology firms who want to do business in China to fork over proprietary source code, provide encryption keys so that Chinese authorities can access user information, and store user data on servers in China. Those demands are focused now on companies that supply domestic banks, but a proposed counterterrorism law would apply to nearly all foreign tech companies doing business in China.

“As you might imagine tech companies are not going to be willing to do that,” Obama said. “I don’t think there’s any US or European firm, any international firm, that could credibly get away with that wholesale turning over of data, personal data, over to a government.”

But Obama’s remarks completely ignore the fact that the most prominent and profitable technology company in the world has reportedly already agreed to China’s demands. Apple fully accepted China’s new cyber-security rules in January, according to Chinese state media:

Details are still scarce, as Apple hasn’t provided any information on the topic, or responded to questions from Quartz or any other news outlets. But analysts told Quartz they believe the company is giving China access to the underlying source code for the iPhone and other devices and services, which could potentially allow Chinese officials to spy on users inside and outside of China. Last summer, Apple started storing China’s iPhone users’ data in China, breaking with other major tech companies who had concerns that such a move could enable the government to surveil users.

The stakes are undoubtedly high for Apple: Its China sales more than doubled to $16.1 billion in the fourth quarter, which helped the company post the biggest quarterly profit in corporate history.

Apple’s capitulation to China’s demands weakens Obama’s position, and makes life even more difficult for other US tech companies, analysts say. The US tech industry has been lobbying against the Chinese cyber-security regulations, and US secretary of state John Kerry and other US officials sent a letter of complaint to their Chinese counterparts last month.

“Apple does place the Obama administration in an awkward position, as it is one of the largest tech companies in the world and it seems to be willing to open its doors in return for market access,” Ben Cavender, a Shanghai-based analyst at China Market Research Group, told Quartz. “This could definitely make it harder for the administration to effectively argue that companies will not be willing to concede to demands from the Chinese government.”

None of Apple’s competitors, or the tech industry trade groups lobbying the Chinese government, would comment on the topic on the record. But some executives said privately that Apple has a long tradition of acting independently from the industry when it comes to dealing with foreign governments.

“Of course this puts other companies in a vulnerable position,” said Charlie Smith, the pseudonymous co-founder of GreatFire.org, which monitors online transparency, privacy and censorship in China. “Anyone who is a competitor of Apple‘s would not want to lose any kind of competitive advantage to them—so if the Chinese say, ‘share your code, Apple did,’ then they will likely share their code.”

“I don’t understand how companies like Apple get away with this stuff,” Smith added. “Their selfishness and greed may put their customers and everyone’s customers at great risk, not just in China but in other places in the world.”

If Apple, “one of the biggest and most prestigious foreign tech brands, isn’t able to resist Chinese demands, what hope do others have?,” said Jason Q. Ng, a research fellow with Citizen Lab, which studies global security and development. “Calculated pragmatism might lead others like Facebook, who have made numerous friendly overtures to Chinese authorities in past months, to cut similar deals for access to the Chinese market.”

Apple did not respond to repeated questions and requests for comment.

 

Cardinal Edward Egan, a longtime foe of LGBT rights and the former Archbishop of New York, has died at the age of 82.

Egan was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m. after going into cardiac arrest, Archdiocese officials say. Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese, told NBC 4 New York Egan seemed fine when he was eating lunch earlier Thursday and showed no signs of illness. He died a short time later. Zwilling said the Archdiocese was in shock. Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on Dec. 15, 1957. Egan was consecrated a bishop in 1985. For the next three years, he served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. In 1988, he was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport by Pope John Paul II. He was appointed Archbishop of New York in 2000 and made a cardinal in 2001.

Egan is perhaps best remembered for his 2012 retraction of the apology he made in 2002 for sexual abuses that took place under his watch while he was the Bishop of Bridgeport. The New York Times reported on the retraction:

In a interview with Connecticut Magazine published on the magazine’s web site last week, a surprisingly frank Cardinal Egan said of the apology, “I never should have said that,” and added, “I don’t think we did anything wrong.” He said many more things in the interview, some of them seemingly at odds with the facts. He repeatedly denied that any sex abuse had occurred on his watch in Bridgeport. He said that even now, the church in Connecticut had no obligation to report sexual abuse accusations to the authorities. (A law on the books since the 1970s says otherwise.) And he described the Bridgeport diocese’s handling of sex-abuse cases as “incredibly good.” All of which has Cardinal Egan, now 79 and living in Manhattan, drawing fire from advocates who say he has reopened old wounds.

The Diocese of Bridgeport ended up paying an estimated $15M to the sexual abuse victims.

United States Postal Money Orders appear facially as a draft against an account held by the United States Postal Service, and the United States Postal Service requires a purchaser to know, in advance, where presentment of the instrument will occur. This is a defect in the current functionality of United States Postal Money Orders, as those intended for domestic use may not be negotiated if they are transmitted abroad. Consular Services do not assist United States citizens receiving United States Postal Money Orders even within Consulates or Embassies, which are technically places these instruments could be negotiated. The United States Postal Service maintains web services at www.usps.com, which maintains that both domestic and international United States Postal Money Orders can be presented for negotiation (cash) abroad, but while this is stated on the website, only special, more expensive United States International Postal Money Orders may be presented in these predetermined countries. In the United States, therefore, the instrument issued is determinative of all issues surrounding presentment, a fact concealed on the USPS website.

Link

Mari-kun the opinionated, uncooperative, quite stubborn, yet highly intelligent Shiba Inu shows no interest whatsoever in cooperating with her human inosemarine as he tries to perform a strange cooking demonstration.

via reddit

Spirit aficionados Jared Hirsch and Jennifer “Absinthia” Baum have created together a sweetly spicy small-batch concoction called Caged Heat Cocktail Syrup and are currently currently raising funds through Kickstarter to expand their market. The duo originally debuted the syrup in 2012 during the release of St. George Spirit’s Breaking and Entering Bourbon and around the San Francisco Bay Area in such places as Sidebar and Southside Spirit House, to very favorable reviews.

A concoction of tamarind, cardamom, ghost pepper, and cane sugar, Caged Heat is warmly spicy. It makes a statement, but it isn’t overwhelming. It’s caged, get it? …Since so many of our customers have been asking where they can buy bottles to take home, we decided the time was right to grow and expand. In order to do that, we need to move from the small kitchen at Sidebar into a larger commercial kitchen. We need your help to make the syrup available for you, the craft cocktail enthusiast. We need your help getting Caged Heat into your home!

,
Caged Heat Cocktail Syrup Label

Caged Heat Cocktail Syrup Cooking

Jared Hirsch

Absinthia Baum

images via Caged Heat Cocktail Syrup

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Women leading women in prayer is common in Islam and women’s mosques exist in other parts of the world, but a new mosque in Los Angeles is the first here in the United States.

Ando claimed he was struck by inspiration when he saw people huddled around a ramen stall in postwar Osaka. With food shortages rampant, he believed noodles could cure world hunger.

After spending 30 years on boorish American television—with its endless number of seasons and lack of a licensing fee—Tracey Ullman is returning to the BBC. Ullman will be hosting a six-part comedy series for the BBC, appropriately titled The Tracey Ullman Show. The BBC’s report doesn’t say what form the show will take—though sketch comedy seems like a safe assumption—or when it will premiere, but everyone involved seems pretty excited. Shane Allen, the BBC’s controller of comedy commissioning (a very British job title), said, “It’s about time the Americans gave her back,” adding that she “has been the missing gem in the British comedy crown for too long.” He also said that “talent doesn’t come much bigger” than Ullman, and that British TV viewers are “in for a huge treat.” American Tracey Ullman fans, however, will have to wait and see ...

Ferretti shares:

Sardauscan is a open source Sub 30$ 3D laser scanner that you can easely print yourself.
Even 12$ if you already have a hercule HD twist.

download the files on: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:702470

---

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

It takes a certain level of dedication to not only make a costume for yourself but to also make one for an animal companion. Ewenae Cosplay has a large cosplay portfolio full of armor builds so it’s no surprise she was up to the task of outfitting her horse with Skyrim Dovahkiin armor to match the set she made for herself. I don’t know if her horse can climb up the side of crazy steep cliffs like the horses in the game can, but he doesn’t need to.

She worked on the costumes for herself and her horse (her photo captions are in French, but I think the horse’s name is Killer) last summer. She tore black cloth and fit it on the horse and built a front armor piece and also a piece to fit onto his nose. She sculpted horns for the horse that matched her helm. The armor was all made from foam so it’s quite lightweight, and it was painted to look silver.

You can see more work in progress photos at Facebook.

via Kotaku

The onslaught will continue.

"We're looking at him as kind of a slot and tight end type of guy," Art Briles said of 390-pound LaQuan McGowan, the offensive lineman who scored a surprise touchdown in the Cotton Bowl.

"He can certainly help us in the run game in those situations. The way we're looking at it is we've got three games in non-conference to kind of feel it out and see what he can do and teach him what to do in live action."

via ESPN

The best part:

LaQuan McGowan has been wearing #80 in practices and working at TE position. Guess Cotton Bowl was just a preview.

— Craig Smoak (@CraigSmoak) March 3, 2015

Well, yeah:

Briles on McGowan at TE: Hardest thing is practicing with him because we don't want to get anyone injured. He's just a different cat.

— Craig Smoak (@CraigSmoak) March 3, 2015

Davis' near triple-double propelled the Pelicans past the Pistons and keeps New Orleans playoff dreams alive.

While Russell Westbrook's fourth consecutive triple-double rightfully got most of the attention on a crazy NBA night, the Thunder's biggest threat in the standings, the New Orleans Pelicans, also had a star player go nuts in a key victory. Anthony Davis led the Pelicans past the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday with 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks on his first game back since missing time with a shoulder injury. Ho hum.

Davis didn't show any signs of lingering physical problems in his almost 42 minutes on the court, torching a physical Pistons' front line near the basket.

''I told coach, 'Don't take me out of the game,'" Davis told John Reid of the Times Picayune. "I had so much energy tonight. I loved being back on the floor with my teammates."

The Pelicans needed him out there too, as Omer Asik and Dante Cunningham struggled with their shot, going a combined 2-12 from the floor while Eric Gordon managed just four points on five shots.

Davis carried the team for most of the night and also came through at the end of the game, scoring two of the Pelicans' last three field goals on mid-range jumper. On the last play of the game, he disrupted a Reggie Jackson potential game-tying three, showcasing all the ways he can impact a game.

The Pistons are fighting for the final playoff spot in the East and challenged New Orleans, with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond combining to log 26 points, 33 rebounds and seven blocks and Jackson and Jodie Meeks providing scoring from the perimeter. They started out the game better and even led by double digits at one points before Davis took over. Once that happened, they couldn't sustain their performance.

''He had one of the most well-rounded games I have ever seen, defensively, offensively, hitting shots, (and) affecting the game in multiple ways," said Pistons veteran forward Anthony Tolliver. "He is a special player."

The Pelicans, who have been ravaged by injuries not only to Davis but also to starting point guard Jrue Holiday and sixth man Ryan Anderson, are determined to stay on the playoff hunt. They are only one game back from the Thunder in the standings. With Davis back, they have an answer to Russell Westbrook, their own star who can will them into the postseason with incredible performances. The battle for the eighth spot in the West just got a lot more fun now that The Brow is healthy.

The former NASCAR champion was accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend last year.

Kurt Busch will not face criminal charges for his involvement in the alleged assault of ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, the Delaware Attorney General's office announced Thursday.

"The Delaware Department of Justice has carefully reviewed the complaint made of an alleged act of domestic violence involving Kurt Busch in Dover on Sept. 26, 2014, which was reported to the Dover Police Department on Nov. 5, 2014 and investigated," the Delaware Department of Justice said in a statement. "After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident. Likelihood of meeting that high burden of proof is the standard for prosecutors in bringing a case. For this reason, the Department of Justice will not pursue criminal charges in this case."

Busch, indefinitely suspended by NASCAR Feb. 20, issued a statement Thursday afternoon:

"I am grateful that the prosecutors in Delaware listened, carefully considered the evidence, and after a thorough investigation decided to not file criminal charges against me. I wish to thank my family, friends, fans, and race team who stood by me throughout this nightmare with their unwavering support. Thanks also goes to my legal team for making sure that the truth got out and was fully provided to the prosecutors. As I have said from the beginning, I did not commit domestic abuse. I look forward to being back in racing as soon as possible and moving on with my life."

Driscoll accused Busch of assaulting her inside his motor home on Sept. 26, 2014 at Dover International Speedway, the site of that weekend's NASCAR race. The couple had broken up the week before the incident.

Driscoll testified in a protective order hearing that Busch was an "alcoholic" and battling depression. She testified to showing up unannounced at Busch's motor home due to some alarming texts she received from him. When Driscoll arrived, along with her then-nine-year-old, she and Busch fought. It was then that Busch grabbed her by the throat and slammed her head three times against a bedroom wall.

Busch denied the assault, but acknowledged "cupping" Driscoll's face, saying he "tapped" her head against the wall in the process. He also testified that he was, in fact, scared of Driscoll because of comments she had made about being an alleged assassin who had killed drug lords around the world.

During cross-examination and in comments to the media, Busch's attorneys attempted to portray Driscoll as a vengeful ex-girlfriend determined to ruin Busch's career.

A Family Court Commissioner ruled in favor of Driscoll's request for a no-contact order last month. In his determination, Commissioner David Jones said "more likely than not" Busch "committed an act of abuse" against his former girlfriend.

The decision by the Delaware Attorney General's office to not charge Busch was "disappointing" Driscoll said in a statement she emailed to SB Nation Thursday.

"While I respect the process, I am disappointed that full justice was not served here," Driscoll said. "My family and I take a measure of solace in the Order of Protection From Abuse granted by commissioner Jones, who ruled my account of the facts was the most credible. At great risk to my personal and professional reputation, I have spoken candidly, at length, and on the record, to a variety of outlets in an effort to correct the distortions and sensationalism that have unfortunately marked the coverage of this painful time in my family's life. I would urge anyone covering this case to stick to the well-established facts. Giving further air to baseless and discredited accusations about me does a disservice to the public and reduces a serious matter for law enforcement into tabloid gossip."

Busch was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR on Feb. 20, two days before the Daytona 500, following Jones' findings. The 2004 Cup Series champion lost two appeals to overrule NASCAR's decision. He has missed the first two races of the season and will miss Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch's home track.

On Monday, a NASCAR spokesman confirmed to SB Nation Busch had agreed to the terms and conditions set forth by the sanctioning body to receive possible reinstatement. No timetable was given for Busch's potential return.

What is MLS?

Well, you didn't call it 'the MLS', which is a good start. Major League Soccer is a 20-year-old professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. Creating the league was a requirement for the U.S. hosting the 1994 World Cup and despite some bumps (two teams were contracted in 2001) the league will grow to 24 teams by 2020, has stadiums all over the country and no longer has teams with names like ‘the Wiz' or ‘the Clash'. It does, however, have a 'Real Salt Lake' and a 'Sporting Kansas City', so it's not perfect.

Are the players actually any good?

If you're used to watching the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play, MLS players will probably disappoint. But that's not really a very fair comparison, and although there are no world-class talents in the league, the level of play is actually fairly high, and it's only getting better. A few years ago a lack of quality was a major issue, but the league's come along in leaps and bounds recently, and boasts some very watchable matches as well as some household names.

You'll have probably heard of, for example, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, both of whom have held their own in top European Leagues. New to the league this year are guys like Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco, Kaka and David Villa. English heroes Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard will be joining in the summer. In fact, most of last year's United States World Cup squad is now playing in MLS.

Who's the best team?

That's a great question, as the field seems to be pretty wide open. The defending champions are the LA Galaxy, and while they still have Robbie Keane and will get Gerrard by mid-summer, they lost Landon Donovan. The Seattle Sounders won the Supporters' Shield -- that's the champion of the regular season -- and return their team mostly intact. But Toronto FC went on another wild spending spree, bringing in Altidore and Giovinco and bolstering their defense. There are probably five teams that have a reasonable claim at top team heading into the season.

The New England Revolution, FC Dallas and Columbus Crew all have youngish teams that added to their impressive rosters and will be a handful. There's also no more Chivas USA to kick around, meaning there's no one team we can easily dismiss (although we have serious doubts about the San Jose Earthquakes). Even the expansion teams look like they'll be competitive.

What's all this stuff I've heard about messing with offsides and not allowing draws?

We prefer to pretend that the 1990s never happened. Don't worry, MLS plays by FIFA rules now.

Why else should I pay attention?

Because it's fun, mostly. MLS fans have imported most of the best bits of worldwide soccer culture -- the tifo (soccerese for ‘big awesome drawing'), the mass chanting, the flags -- and managed to avoid things like stabbing each other in the legs for wearing the wrong colors.

There's also a sense of parity that just doesn't exist in most soccer leagues. Enough teams make it to the playoffs to keep things interesting, and even the worst teams one season can improve enough in one winter -- we're looking at you, Toronto FC -- to be contenders in the next. In 20 seasons, nine different teams have won MLS Cup and 10 different teams have won the Supporters' Shield.

If you're into scarves, being an MLS fan will help add to your collection while keeping your neck toasty and warm. MLS is also great if you're into guys with chainsaws. Although that won't help keep you warm unless you're really into guys with chainsaws.

There's seriously a guy with a chainsaw?

Yes. Sadly, he does not often feature on the field of play.

Is it really a professional league if the stadium is quiet and empty?

No, it's not, but MLS doesn't have that problem. The league averages more than 19,000 fans per match, which is good for eighth best in the world, and that was with Chivas USA averaging a crowd made up of friends and family. Without them, two new teams expected to at least hit the league average and a new stadium in San Jose, MLS will almost certainly press past 20,000 this year.

If you want atmosphere, check out Seattle, where 44,000 screaming and singing fans is the norm. Their rivals, Portland, match that passion, and if you look almost anywhere in the league, you can find a few hundred lubricated fans banded together as a supporters' group screaming obscenities at the other team's best player.

And how does the multiple trophy thing work?

The league itself awards two major trophies at the end of each year. The first goes to the team that finishes the regular-season with the most points for which they receive the Supporters' Shield. Aside from a trophy -- and some level of pride -- that team also receives home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The MLS Cup is awarded to the team that wins the playoffs. They've tweaked the format a little this year, now allowing six teams from each conference (so 12 total, up from 10 a year ago). The top two clubs get byes to the conference semifinals, seeds No.s 4 and 5 and seeds Nos. 3 and 6 have to face off for the right to get there. The winners from each conference meet in the MLS Cup; the winner is the league champion.

There are also three further major competitions in which an MLS team might be involved, the U.S. Open Cup, the Voyageurs Cup (aka the Canadian Championship) and the CONCACAF Champions League. The former is a knockout tournament open to every team in the United States Soccer Federation (think England's FA Cup), the Voyageurs Cup is the rough Canadian equivalent and the Champions League is a competition between the top sides in leagues around North America, Central America and the Caribbean. No MLS side has won it in its current format, but they're getting closer and (theoretically) will one day defeat their Mexican overlords.

Will there ever be promotion and relegation in MLS?

Do you believe in alternate universes?

Where did the new teams come from, then?

Just like all the other North American leagues, they bought their way in. This year, MLS added Orlando City SC and New York City FC. Orlando had actually been playing in the lower leagues, while NYC FC is owned by Manchester City and was created entirely from scratch. In 2017, Atlanta and Los Angeles are both expected to join. Two more teams will be added by 2020, with Minnesota, Sacramento and Miami being the leading contenders.

Do these teams already have fans?

So many, bro. Both new MLS teams are boasting season-ticket bases of about 14,000. And that's with both playing in temporary stadiums. Orlando will play in the refurbished Citrus Bowl, where they are expecting an opening day crowd of over 60,000, before moving into their own digs next year. New York City is playing in Yankee Stadium.

When do they get their own stadium?

Look a bear!

Does anyone understand the roster rules? What is 'allocation order'?

OK, so the roster rules are a little bit involved. They're also a little bit... fluid. The short version of this answer is that the structure of the league means the players are actually employed by MLS rather than their teams. There is, therefore, no free agency and the rules for bringing in overseas players are murky at best and made up on the spot at worst. The short version is 'no'.

As for allocation order, it's probably best not to ask.

What is a Designated Player?

Since the league is salary capped, it's difficult to bribe convince someone like David Beckham to work on his tan raise the league's profile by coming to Los Angeles. And so, when the LA Galaxy acquired David Beckham, a new rule was born: Teams can use a 'Designated Player' spot, which counts for a fixed amount on the salary cap, then pay the DP whatever they want. Currently, teams are allowed up to three DPs. Every team has at least one of those players and 16 teams use at least two of their three spots.

What's with all the weird team names?

When a new league tries to draw off about five different naming conventions at once, what tends to result is a big mess. There are clubs with traditional sounding English names (D.C. United), others that go in for something more European (Real Salt Lake), ones with standard US-franchise names (Chicago Fire), one that is simply named after its owner (New York Red Bulls) and another named after its parent club (Chivas USA, which is thankfully no longer a thing). The latest trend is for teams to add "SC" to their names, so now we have Columbus Crew SC and Orlando City SC. That's "soccer club", in case you were wondering.

The most reasonable explanation for this is that MLS is still relatively young and went through a significant portion of its history trying to figure out what it wants to be. The best way to handle the issue is to say your sillily-named team does it right and to then relentlessly mock everyone else's sillily-named team.

What about all these teams with '2' in their name?

That's another relatively new wrinkle to MLS. Starting in 2014, teams were allowed to launch stand-alone reserve teams that would play in the third-division USL. LA Galaxy II were the only MLS-owned team in the league last year, but they'll be joined by seven other MLS-owned teams this year. Among them are the equally-cleverly-named Sounders 2, Timbers 2, Toronto FC II, Whitecaps 2 and Red Bulls II.

It's ‘football'. Stop calling it soccer.

I bet you're a lot of fun at parties.

The Dolphins have been big players in free agency before, and appear ready to become one again.

On March 10, NFL free agency will open and money will start flying from all directions. One team which is apparently ready and willing to spend are the Miami Dolphins, who are reportedly targeting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Suh, who is set to hit the market after five stellar seasons with the Detroit Lions, is the top-ranked free agent on most boards.

ESPN insider and former NFL front office executive Louis Riddick spoke about Suh's market and the Dolphins' interest via conference call on Thursday.

"I think it's a real possibility. I think the interior of the defensive line, to upgrade it would help the defensive end position. They started off rushing the passer very well last year with (Cameron) Wake and (Olivier) Vernon, but as the year went on those guys fizzled out and they didn't have the push inside that they needed. ... I think it's very real that the smoke coming out of there at that position and Suh in particular, is very real."

After releasing receivers Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson, along with corner Cortland Finnegan, the Dolphins have $9.5 million in cap space. The team is also expected to part ways with mercurial receiver Mike Wallace, saving them another $2.5 million. Miami would have to continue shedding salary to afford both Suh and its upcoming draft picks, considering the mammoth contract he is about to command.

"Suh has let it be known his agent will determine where he goes, and an agent number one marching order is maximizing money. Suh will get a record deal, and it will be well north of $50 million and push high into the teens in terms of average per year. If Detroit can't sign him, the attention turns to Nick Fairley and what kind of deal can be reached there."

The Lions are also trying to keep Suh in town, but declined to tag him at $27.2 million on Monday's deadline.

Eagles making the same mistake?

The Philadelphia Eagles have spent the better part of the last two weeks clearing out a boatload of cap space. After releasing Trent Cole and Cary Williams, head coach Chip Kelly dealt LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso, giving Philadelphia $40.39 million to work with when the market opens.

There has been rampant speculation that the Eagles will be aggressive in free agency to fill team needs before trading a multitude of picks to move up for Marcus Mariota come the NFL Draft. Riddick believes it would be a foolish move on the organization's behalf to spend lavishly, something it did in 2011 when Riddick was the director of pro personnel.

"During my time in Philadelphia we went full scale in free agency in 2011. ... It is not a formula for success when you look back historically. I was involved in it with my time in Washington in the early 2000's too. It is always hard to gut your team and then reload in free agency."

Colts making moves?

The Indianapolis Colts made a surprise run to the AFC Championship game in January before being blown out by the New England Patriots. Despite their success, many in the league see the Colts as a bad roster with Andrew Luck propping them up.

With $41.28 million in cap space, general manager Ryan Grigson has the wherewithal to acquire help on both sides of the ball. Indianapolis has been active already this offseason, moving on from LaRon Landry and Ricky Jean-Francois. Riddick believes the team could fill some needs, perhaps with a mix of stars and lesser-known talent.

"The easy answer in DeMarco Murray, but at the same time the offensive line needs to be upgraded. I know it is easy to bash Trent Richardson and he's not the same he was in college, but that line needs upgrading. They need a big power back that can slash and get north and south to take some pressure off Andrew (Luck). ... They have some issues to work through and on the defensive side of the ball, one of the names jumping out to me right now, who could end up being one of the better signings of the league if he can stay healthy, is Tyvon Branch at safety."

Yep, it's officially the NFL offseason.

Houston Texans safety D.J. Swearinger is under investigation for allegedly stealing his own truck off a dealership lot without paying for customization work, as first reported by TMZ. The dealership, Espi Motors in Houston, filed the police report alleging that it did $20,000 worth of work, which included including a matte black paint job with a batman logo, speakers, new wheels, a custom grill and a train horn, according to TMZ.

Espi Motors reportedly tried to track down Swearinger after the safety took off, but were unsuccessful. They filed the police report afterwards.

Swearinger started 12 games in 2014 -- his second season in the NFL out of South Carolina. He had two interceptions and a sack to go with 52 tackles. He is entering the third year of a four-year rookie contract worth nearly $3.5 million after being selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

There is no word yet from Swearinger or the Texans. SB Nation was unable to reach Swearinger's agent or Espi Motors' attorney for comment.