THE INKSTREME BALLPOINT666cast episode 31 from website666.com:
This week: webstore666! ChemicalFreeSkinny.tumblr.com! HonestFoodGuide.org! And more stories in the news that poked me in my sensibilities!
Leave your comments below!
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thepete.com
stuff since 1998
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Democracy Now! Headlines for October 25, 2010: Texan GOP Candidate: Violent Revolution Might Be Needed in US
Democracy Now! Headlines for October 25, 2010: Texan GOP Candidate: Violent Revolution Might Be Needed in US
More on this.
Texan GOP Candidate: Violent Revolution Might Be Needed in US
In news from Texas, a Republican congressional candidate has told a local TV station that a violent revolution might be needed if Republicans do not win control of Congress in next month’s election. Stephen Broden, a Christian minister, made the remark in an interview with WFAA in Dallas.
Stephen Broden: “Our nation was founded on violence.”
Speaking of high fructose corn syrup... http://dntlk.com/5i
Speaking of high fructose corn syrup... http://dntlk.com/5i
Another gem from ChemicalFreeSkinny on Tumblr:
Eat much of that stuff and you are in for a sweet surprise. Like MERCURY…
Hit the link above for more…a LOT more on why HFCS is very bad for you—which is funny since it’s in so much! Just keep an eye on those ingredient labels. >_<
Alan Turing - Killed by homophobia http://dntlk.com/5h
Alan Turing - Killed by homophobia http://dntlk.com/5h
Now THAT was bullying!
Personally, I feel like none of those kids could have had it as bad as Turing did and even then, I wonder why he couldn’t just leave the UK and be gay and brilliant someplace else.
But this speaks to the ultimate stupidity of letting fear dictate your actions. If there had been a World War III, this man could have saved countless more lives. Hell, if he hadn’t killed himself in ‘54 he might have ushered in the modern age of computers decades earlier. Maybe he’d have invented the iPad.
Thanks to stupid, useless homophobia, we’ll never know.
But it’s not enough to just blame the homophobics out there.
It’s also our leaders that make no sense. How DADT or any kind of homophobia is tolerated in 21st Century America is testament to our shitty, shitty leaders who take a stand like they haven’t any legs.
Obama says bullying isn’t a right of passage—my ass it isn’t! Everyone gets bullied—but this is all beside the point. The real issue is irrational fear. Obama should speak out against irrational fear of ANYthing.
Gays, Muslims, terrorists—OH WAIT… some irrational fear Obama *wants* us to feel. :(
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Barack Obama goes on the Daily Show and gets tumblr-blogged…
From bbook:
“When we promised during the campaign change you can believe in, it wasn’t change you can believe in in 18 months. It was change you can believe in but were going to have to work for it.” - President Obama told Jon Stewart before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 550 at the Harman Center for the Arts in downtown Washington.
The 30-minute interview will air tonight on The Daily Show.
(via NYTimes)
Very fair point, President Obama. Also, sweet mug.
Meh, I disagree—if he had meant that, he should have said that. Preach it to us—make us understand what being grown-up is like, instead of pandering to our hopes and dreams like all politicians do. Besides, how much did you promise specifically that you would do but have yet to? There are still troops in Iraq, Gitmo is open, and I read someplace you think it’s OK to assassinate an American citizen just because you think he’s a terrorist? What’s up with that?
EFFYOU.ORG: This Week's EFFYOU goes to: Former "Rand Paul for Senate" Bourbon County coordinator Tim Proffitt!
EFFYOU.ORG: This Week's EFFYOU goes to: Former "Rand Paul for Senate" Bourbon County coordinator Tim Proffitt!
Keep doing crazy shit, Tea Partiers! The rest of America loves a good spectacle.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tired of the naysayers? Check out NASA’s Climate Change Evidence page: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence
Are you tired of hearing people spread doubt about climate change? Tired of scientific distrust and misinformation? If you defend science, and you want to send people to a one-stop shop for climate change evidence … check out NASA’s Climate Change Evidence page:
Automatic reblog.
Same.
Thanks to itsjustsummer for reblogging stfuteabaggers.
Of course, naysayers can also look at NYC weather—it can’t decide whether it’s late summer (today), autumn (yesterday) or winter (last week).
If nothing else, you must agree that there is more evidence for Climate Change/Global Warming, than God.
With a name like "Spike Maynard" are we surprised this is one of ads? "Made in China" http://dntlk.com/5e
With a name like "Spike Maynard" are we surprised this is one of ads? "Made in China" http://dntlk.com/5e
Yowza… apparently, losing windmill-making jobs to China is something West Virginia voters should be concerned about. O_O
"It’s all about the truth, people." Haha, easy for you to say...
From friendlyatheist:
“It’s all about the truth, people. And all the evidence is crystal clear right now: the earth is far older than 6,000 years. Evolution is a real, and it is a process built on raw chance driven by the brutal engines of selection, and there is no sign of a loving, personal god, but only billions of years of pitiless winnowing without any direction other than short-term survival and reproduction. It’s not pretty, it’s not consoling, it doesn’t sanctify virginity, or tell you that god really loves your foreskin, but it’s got one soaring virtue that trumps all the others: it’s true.”—
Confrontation all the way : Pharyngula
Brilliant. Read this, all of it, now.
(via bildungsroman)
YES! GO READ IT NOW! I COMMAND IT!
Dude, why are we still having this conversation? We’ve ALL been saying this shit for years! I’m sick of people telling me to go read stuff I already know. It’s just replacing one dogma with another. QUICK! GO READ THIS, IT SHALL REINFORCE EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVE!
Gee, thanks, but I’m already pretty firm in my point-of-view. I don’t need to read someone state the obvious.
And for God’s sake (!) stop using the word “selection” when referring to evolution. That suggests there’s a thought process behind things that happen. It’s not “the brutal engines of selection” it’s the brutal engines of FATE. There’s no being or even “unit” that “makes” a choice: “You get to live, YOU do not.”
It’s just random luck meeting random preparedness—fate.
It’s like when people call evolution a “process”. It isn’t. It may look like one because we line the evidence up in a nice easy-to-understand fashion. But the reality is that it’s not a process. It’s a mess of random events that cause things randomly. It’s not even “survival of the fittest,” it’s more “survival of the lucky.”
When we use words like “process” and “selection” we just give the believers room to wiggle and redefine what “truth” even means. That, in turn, allows them to keep preaching. And THAT, in turn, makes me want to walk away from the discussion, sit down and wait for the believers to die.
This is why I asked: why are we still having this discussion?
"In dim times, Japan's young men search for a new model" wait, just Japan's young men?
First off, I’d like to thank the Washington Post for defining “20-34” as “young” in an October 25, 2010 article on the changing socioeconomic landscape in Japan for young men. That makes me 5 years older than young. That makes me feel good :)
Secondly, however, I’d like to point out some bad reporting in the same article and after that I’ve got a question. Check out this cutting:
To hear the analysts who study them tell it, Japanese men ages 20 to 34 are staging the most curious of rebellions, rejecting the 70-hour workweeks and purchase-for-status ethos that typified the 1980s economic boom. As the latest class of college graduates struggles to find jobs, a growing number of experts are detecting a problem even broader than unemployment: They see a generation of men who don’t know what they want.
I emboldenededed that last bit for a reason I’ll get to in a second. So, wow—an entire generation are just fumbling around in the proverbial dark, clueless as to what they are doing or where they are heading. If that’s true, then don’t “the experts” answer the question I emboldenededed in that same paragraph? “The experts” say these guys are “rejecting the 70-hour workweeks” etc, etc. So, doesn’t it follow that they know exactly what they want? Less time at work, more time with people they care about and more personal fulfillment? I mean, who can blame them? Why work your life away for some company? Why ignore any potential dreams you may have, just some other guy can get rich?
At this point, I realized this scenario was starting to sound familiar. However, there was one more point in the article that said to me that maybe “the experts” and the person writing this article, weren’t connecting the fairly obvious dots as they should be. Here’s another cutting from much further on in the piece (important bit emboldenededed by me):
Japan’s dim economic climate, experts say, has spawned a generation of unsentimental job-seekers who see only a spectrum of flawed options.
So, there you go. There’s your answer. There’s no mystery here, Mr. or Ms. WaPo Reporter. It sounds like “the experts” know that, too. What’s more is how this scenario sounds all too familiar.
A “dim economic climate,” you say? “Job-seekers who see only a spectrum of flawed options,” huh? Dude, you just described America. You just described me.
Our way of life has crashed and burned around us. The Japanese have shared this with us for decades—their whole “salaryman” movement was just an analog to the “Me Generation,” here in the US, that idolized Gordon Gekko from the Oliver Stone movie “Wall Street”. So, it follows that we’re both seeing all of the same promises made to us by society broken.
Monday, October 25, 2010
The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, which looks set to make sweeping gains in the midterm elections, is the direct result of a collapse of liberalism. It is the product of bankrupt liberal institutions, including the press, the church, universities, labor unions, the arts and the Democratic Party. The legitimate rage being expressed by disenfranchised workers toward the college-educated liberal elite, who abetted or did nothing to halt the corporate assault on the poor and the working class of the last 30 years, is not misplaced. The liberal class is guilty. The liberal class, which continues to speak in the prim and obsolete language of policies and issues, refused to act. It failed to defend traditional liberal values during the long night of corporate assault in exchange for its position of privilege and comfort in the corporate state. The virulent right-wing backlash we now experience is an expression of the liberal class’ flagrant betrayal of the citizenry.
The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, which looks set to make sweeping gains in the midterm elections, is the direct result of a collapse of liberalism. It is the product of bankrupt liberal institutions, including the press, the church, universities, labor unions, the arts and the Democratic Party. The legitimate rage being expressed by disenfranchised workers toward the college-educated liberal elite, who abetted or did nothing to halt the corporate assault on the poor and the working class of the last 30 years, is not misplaced. The liberal class is guilty. The liberal class, which continues to speak in the prim and obsolete language of policies and issues, refused to act. It failed to defend traditional liberal values during the long night of corporate assault in exchange for its position of privilege and comfort in the corporate state. The virulent right-wing backlash we now experience is an expression of the liberal class’ flagrant betrayal of the citizenry.
- Chris Hedges (via underpaidgenius)
Well, thank YOU Captain Obvious! ;P
(No, but seriously, I’ve been writing about shit like this for ten years (though I do think calling the guilty “liberals” is a mistake—a more accurate name: “everyone”). I’m glad people are speaking out about this—real glad. I hope it’s a trend that continues!!)
So, I was working on a screenplay and I went to save my work. Vista on my netbook had unmounted t
So, I was working on a screenplay and I went to save my work. Vista on my netbook had unmounted the SD card I save everything to. But rather than saying “ack! I can’t find where I’m supposed to save this!” Celtx crashes. Blame Celtx, blame Windows Vista, blame who/whatever I have to rewrite a damn good scene.
Oh and a friend had a seizure this morning and that means I don’t even get to feel legitimate in my pain because someone’s aaaaalways got it worse than me.
Oh and when I set up a time to call my friend, I told her “I’ll set an alarm!” I pick up my iPhone and not only is the battery down to 20% after doing nothing but sit on my desk all day, but then it crashes completely.
I’ll be blown away if you’re actually reading this post because I wouldn’t be surprised if Tumblr were to eat this post or go down entirely. Perhaps on the way to read this post a safe might have fallen on your head.
Welcome to my blog of things that go wrong. Reading it may be bad for your health.
Oh and a friend had a seizure this morning and that means I don’t even get to feel legitimate in my pain because someone’s aaaaalways got it worse than me.
Oh and when I set up a time to call my friend, I told her “I’ll set an alarm!” I pick up my iPhone and not only is the battery down to 20% after doing nothing but sit on my desk all day, but then it crashes completely.
I’ll be blown away if you’re actually reading this post because I wouldn’t be surprised if Tumblr were to eat this post or go down entirely. Perhaps on the way to read this post a safe might have fallen on your head.
Welcome to my blog of things that go wrong. Reading it may be bad for your health.
Fuck Sophia Coppola and her “Top Hotels in the World” list.
Sofia Coppola: Suite Dreams - The Director of Somewhere Picks Her Top Hotels in the World
Drool.
Take me there.
Fuck Sophia Coppola and her “Top Hotels in the World” list. Did I say that already?
Liberal media my ass. How much is going wrong in the world, how much power does she have to draw attention to important issues, and she’s taking the time to tell us what her favorite ‘top’ hotels are? Let me guess: the fucking Motel 6’s of the world ain’t on this list, are they?
Fucking disgusting.
Speak out against violence toward women? Homelessness? Poverty? Hunger?
Nahhh, this “star” of Godfather III is going to tell us about the nicest hotels she’s stayed in. Too bad JUST that room in the pic above could house a family of ten from any number of poverty-stricken countries.
Well, we’ve all got to have hobbies, I guess. Too bad this one makes me want to hate her guts.
Underpaid Genius: Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs: The Guardian
Underpaid Genius: Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs: The Guardian
Just the other day I was musing to my wife about how the sushi platters at Trader Joe’s now had fewer pieces in them. Same price, but six instead of eight pieces.
“This, right here,” I explained, “is inflation in action.”
The Absurd Disconnect regarding what we fear illustrated to perfection. We’re a bunch of cowards.
“The Right is going insane. A hundred years ago, when Chesterton was asked ‘What’s Wrong with the World?’ his answer was succinct: ‘I am.’ Now the answer is from more and more of the Right is, ‘They are!’” —Blogger Mark Shea
SIGH… it’s still us that’s the problem.
Wikileaks Iraq war logs: every death mapped…
Found via publicradiointernational:
We need to stop pretending this isn’t real or that it is forgivable.
Wikileaks Iraq war logs: every death mapped
also for reference Iraq Body Count
Can you mouseover and see pictures of the body? I think that might bring it home even more. Gah… no one in charge is providing moral (or even adequate) leadership. I really hate the whole of my country for it’s ignorance, laziness, and it’s truly shitty leaders who only want to take advantage of our laziness and our ignorance.
Livingathomenow says it all above: “We need to stop pretending this isn’t real or that it is forgivable.”
But who do we not forgive? Ourselves? Our leaders? Nobody cares enough.
How do we hold anyone accountable when the people in charge of holding people accountable won’t do it?
Down the Memory Hole? Maybe, but we're watching it happen.
whitneymcn:
For me the issue then becomes whether we, as consumers, should put up with it. I’m switching to Android with my next phone for myriad reasons, one of which is I do think Apple has really started to exploit customer ignorance by enhancing it.
rafer:jeffrock:[much snipped here]
Like the Ministry of Truth, it appears that Apple is deliberately attempting to usurp the meaning of the word Flash in the computing industry and redefine it. They’re tired of the word standing for an inefficient browser plugin. They’ve begun leaving Flash out of stock Mac OS X installs. They’re dodging its implied meaning in calls and pushing what they want it to refer to. Fast, efficient storage.
Down the memory hole, indeed.
Rafer sez:
Jobs is doing some sketchy stuff, vis-a-vis redefining “open,” et al. However, Flash is the longstanding private trademark of a pretty darn big company. If they can’t defend themselves by learning how to either ship a great version of this product or market decently, they deserve to be redefined and forgotten.
I started thinking about a related phenomenon the other night. My main takeaway at this point is that right now Apple understands the power of shaping and controlling language better than any other company out there.
For me the issue then becomes whether we, as consumers, should put up with it. I’m switching to Android with my next phone for myriad reasons, one of which is I do think Apple has really started to exploit customer ignorance by enhancing it.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
666cast episode 30 from website666.com: In this episode I delve into some of the news stories from last week that poked me in the sensibilities. I hope that’s where they’ll poke you, too. Among the topics: Happy Creation Day, so what if gay IS a choice, the separation of church and gadget blog, China douchey with rare earth elements, cancer a modern invention, Juan Williams and his still-existing right to free-speech and MORE! Please subscribe to the feed. Here are the links I talk about in this week’s 666cast: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/happy_creation_day.php http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/19/camp-logos-took-me-from-know-nothing-to-advanced/ China’s embargo of rare earth elements used in everything we make from wind turbines to cruise missiles:http://www.underpaidgenius.com/post/1354211882Turns out cancer may just be a result of modern life (aka humans inadvertently created it—isn’t that how Lily Tomlin shrank in “The Amazing Shrinking Woman”?):http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=6243Mono Lake story:http://busybeechelsea.tumblr.com/post/1360081633
666cast episode 30 from website666.com: In this episode I delve into some of the news stories from last week that poked me in the sensibilities. I hope that’s where they’ll poke you, too. Among the topics: Happy Creation Day, so what if gay IS a choice, the separation of church and gadget blog, China douchey with rare earth elements, cancer a modern invention, Juan Williams and his still-existing right to free-speech and MORE!
Please subscribe to the feed.
Here are the links I talk about in this week’s 666cast:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/happy_creation_day.php
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/19/camp-logos-took-me-from-know-nothing-to-advanced/
China’s embargo of rare earth elements used in everything we make from wind turbines to cruise missiles:
http://www.underpaidgenius.com/post/1354211882
Turns out cancer may just be a result of modern life (aka humans inadvertently created it—isn’t that how Lily Tomlin shrank in “The Amazing Shrinking Woman”?):
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=6243
Mono Lake story:
http://busybeechelsea.tumblr.com/post/1360081633
"The Drug Wars are the New Jim Crow", sure, but it's still about money.
Here’s a cutting from another awesome post from Stowe Boyd’s underpaidgenius blog (that I edited down despite Boyd’s demand) called “The Drug Wars Are The New Jim Crow”:
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent American Undercaste
Racial caste is alive and well in America.
Most people don’t like it when I say this. It makes them angry. In the “era of colorblindness” there’s a nearly fanatical desire to cling to the myth that we as a nation have “moved beyond” race. Here are a few facts that run counter to that triumphant racial narrative:
SLICE…
Read the entire piece.
We are living in a police state, but it is one hundred times worse if you are black.
The net result of the drug wars has been to create a permanent undercaste — mostly young black men — disenfranchised, and unable to participate in a meaningful way in American society.
Yeah, the rest of that is stuff we’ve all heard before—the truth is, you don’t need to read it again because you already know that statistically our society is still absurdly racist. The important thing to read in that post, in my opinion, is Boyd’s own commentary:
We are living in a police state, but it is one hundred times worse if you are black.
The net result of the drug wars has been to create a permanent undercaste — mostly young black men — disenfranchised, and unable to participate in a meaningful way in American society.
I’ve emboldened the part I think is extra important. All you have to do is look at the statistics to know how much harder it is for blacks to make it in the world. Then again, it’s hard for *any* person born into poverty to be able to “participate in a meaningful way in American society.”
Until we can retool our society to *actually* make opportunities equally available for *all*, there will always be this dynamic. The symptom is institutionalized racism, but the disease is an unequal world for us all.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
What's Really In That Tampon? from Mother Jones
What's Really In That Tampon? from Mother Jones
Holy cats, I don’t know how women deal with this! From the above linked MoJo article:
When my period hits, I usually snag the cheapest disposable product in the feminine hygiene aisle of my nearest Walgreen’s. But then I read on the Sierra Club’s website that the tampons and pads in my bathroom cabinet are not only clogging up US waterways and landfills, but they may also contain materials that could harm my body.
Slate’s Green Lantern investigated the environmental impact of period supplies and found out that of the 62,415 pounds of total trash one US woman throws out doing her menstrual years, “pads, plugs, and applicators” only account for about 250 to 300 pounds of the garbage. Still, the individual plastic packaging on my pads isn’t exactly helping to decrease my personal landfill load. Same goes for the 16,800 tampons I’m expected to use in my lifetime, though the non-applicator kind are marginally less wasteful…
Sheesh. Here’s another problem the doesn’t seem to have much of an alternative. But hey, God gave us this planet to abuse, right? I just want to know what we’re supposed to do when we’re knee-deep in “plastic applicators”??
A Different Threat to Net Neutrality
Link: A Different Threat to Net Neutrality
fredericguarino:
I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. Why is accessing their content on Google TV any different from accessing their account in Google Chrome? Or Firefox? Or…? Isn’t the easy way around this just to turn all TVs into PCs?
Regardless, it’s just more dinosauric behavior from the networks. You’re supposed to want to be on more devices, guys! Not less!
fredericguarino:
get ready to rumble !
continuations:The whole fight about net neutrality is about to take a turn from the abstract to the concrete but in a somewhat unexpected way. It is not ISPs or telcos that are turning out to be the immediate culprits, but rather content owners, specifically TV networks. They are blocking Google TV from…
I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. Why is accessing their content on Google TV any different from accessing their account in Google Chrome? Or Firefox? Or…? Isn’t the easy way around this just to turn all TVs into PCs?
Regardless, it’s just more dinosauric behavior from the networks. You’re supposed to want to be on more devices, guys! Not less!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Ever wanted an account on Pixiv but don't know enough Japanese? Check out these links.
If you’re like me, you love anime and manga-style artwork. Pixiv is the DeviantArt.com of Japan and you can’t really see much without an account. Tonight I found a post on DA with screencaps and translations of the sign-up screens on Pixiv. Find it here:
http://sutibaruart.deviantart.com/art/Registration-at-the-new-Pixiv-175263404
That got me the account, but after that, I was having trouble filling in everything on my profile. Then I was able to find this:
http://danbooru.donmai.us/forum/show/4517
The info on that page covered the rest of my bases.
Now the full URL to my profile on Pixiv is:
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2493102
But you can also just hit up: http://j.thepete.com/pixiv
I haven’t posted anything to Pixiv yet, but I will… once I get my confidence up. Hey, most of the time all I draw is this.
UPDATED: I also found this page that has a lot of cool tutorials on using Pixiv:
http://plasticpleasures.wordpress.com/category/tutorials/
http://sutibaruart.deviantart.com/art/Registration-at-the-new-Pixiv-175263404
That got me the account, but after that, I was having trouble filling in everything on my profile. Then I was able to find this:
http://danbooru.donmai.us/forum/show/4517
The info on that page covered the rest of my bases.
Now the full URL to my profile on Pixiv is:
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2493102
But you can also just hit up: http://j.thepete.com/pixiv
I haven’t posted anything to Pixiv yet, but I will… once I get my confidence up. Hey, most of the time all I draw is this.
UPDATED: I also found this page that has a lot of cool tutorials on using Pixiv:
http://plasticpleasures.wordpress.com/category/tutorials/
AW, so nice to see Rick Sanchez working again! RT @MotherJones: What’s a singing chicken doing at ABC News?
A singing chicken just came to our newsroom to serenade a colleague on her birthday. What happened at your office today?
Is it named Kathy Jones?
Man, nothing good ever happens at our office. More singing chickens, please.
Here, here. Nothing this good happened at the Atlantic office today, either. There’s always tomorrow.
QUICK! TAZE HIM!
Maybe that’s the chicken Ernie Anastos was referring to?
Yoko Hikasa as Mio Akiyama from K-ON!
seiyuuplus:QUEUE #105: seiyuu + automatically awesome if the cosplayer does the voice (part 2)
Yoko Hikasa as Mio Akiyama (K-ON)
Siiigh… it’s a shame she can’t really play. :)
I should add that she’s a great seiyu and a damn good singer, too. ?????????????
ADA finds that too much fluoride in the water (and elsewhere) leads to fluorosis in infants.
ADA finds that too much fluoride in the water (and elsewhere) leads to fluorosis in infants.
This is actually surprising since it comes from the ADA and they’re actually admitting fluoride can be bad for humans. Go figure.
I thought it was supposed to make my teeth strong. Instead, it can mess them up. Huh. Neat.
A Few Things I've Noticed While Mobile Browsing on the iPhone
More and more I find myself wanting to browse the web on-the-go but then don’t when I remember how websites and the iPhone seem to work together to make browsing the web annoying as hell.
Offending Website #1: Engadget
First off, Engadget’s mobile version is annoying as hell because every time I back out of an article the main page jumps to the top so I can see an ad display. This results in me clicking on an article I don’t want to read because the page doesn’t jump to the top instantly. Fine, show me the ad, but don’t show me the main page and then jump to the top! Also, Engadget, don’t allow your writers to refer to the source link when the mobile version of your posts doesn’t display it!
No more: “Hit up the source link for more info.”
This is INCREDIBLY ANNOYING.
Also: Where are comments? I can neither read nor post comments to the mobile version of your site, Engadget. PLEASE CHANGE THIS.
There is one more thing I’d like to complain about Engadget doing, but see below for that.*
Offending Website #2: Gizmodo
Forget their recent rabid Apple fanboyism (“modal computing” is the future, huh?), Gizmodo’s mobile browsing experience has just been odd. This is a shame since it’s normally much better than Engadget’s. For instance, check out these screen grabs:
Does that look like gadget news to you? Does the below image?
Ironically, that second image IS gadget news, not that you’d recognize either as Gizmodo’s mobile version. It seems like there’s a random full-page ad it throws up every so often. The catch is that it’s clearly formatted for bigger screens. And what’s the point of advertising for Gizmodo WHEN I’M ALREADY THERE??
>_<
Also, what’s with comments, Gizzy? Sure, it’s cool that we can, at least, read them, but why can’t we post them? How am I supposed to make fun of the shameless Apple otaku that you have writing for you while I’m away from my desk?
Generally, though Gizzer does do mobile browsing pretty well, so kudos.
There is one more thing that Gizmodo does, however, and I bitch about it below.*
Offending iPhone Maker #1 (ok, they’re the ONLY iPhone maker): Apple Inc
Steve Jobs likes to say that you can surf the real web on the iPhone. Steve Jobs also likes to say that Flash sucks ass. Well, you’re wrong and then you’re right, but regardless, FLASH IS EVERYWHERE:
*The really annoying thing that both Engadget and Gizmodo do (LOADS of other blogs do this, too), is post a video (or a slew of them) and then don’t include any copy along with them to explain what’s going on in them. So, if you don’t want to watch a video or can’t, you screwed. Of course, it would help if Steve Jobs could pull his head out of his ass and support Flash.
I am SO switching to Android!!!
Offending Website #1: Engadget
First off, Engadget’s mobile version is annoying as hell because every time I back out of an article the main page jumps to the top so I can see an ad display. This results in me clicking on an article I don’t want to read because the page doesn’t jump to the top instantly. Fine, show me the ad, but don’t show me the main page and then jump to the top! Also, Engadget, don’t allow your writers to refer to the source link when the mobile version of your posts doesn’t display it!
No more: “Hit up the source link for more info.”
This is INCREDIBLY ANNOYING.
Also: Where are comments? I can neither read nor post comments to the mobile version of your site, Engadget. PLEASE CHANGE THIS.
There is one more thing I’d like to complain about Engadget doing, but see below for that.*
Offending Website #2: Gizmodo
Forget their recent rabid Apple fanboyism (“modal computing” is the future, huh?), Gizmodo’s mobile browsing experience has just been odd. This is a shame since it’s normally much better than Engadget’s. For instance, check out these screen grabs:
Does that look like gadget news to you? Does the below image?
Ironically, that second image IS gadget news, not that you’d recognize either as Gizmodo’s mobile version. It seems like there’s a random full-page ad it throws up every so often. The catch is that it’s clearly formatted for bigger screens. And what’s the point of advertising for Gizmodo WHEN I’M ALREADY THERE??
>_<
Also, what’s with comments, Gizzy? Sure, it’s cool that we can, at least, read them, but why can’t we post them? How am I supposed to make fun of the shameless Apple otaku that you have writing for you while I’m away from my desk?
Generally, though Gizzer does do mobile browsing pretty well, so kudos.
There is one more thing that Gizmodo does, however, and I bitch about it below.*
Offending iPhone Maker #1 (ok, they’re the ONLY iPhone maker): Apple Inc
Steve Jobs likes to say that you can surf the real web on the iPhone. Steve Jobs also likes to say that Flash sucks ass. Well, you’re wrong and then you’re right, but regardless, FLASH IS EVERYWHERE:
*The really annoying thing that both Engadget and Gizmodo do (LOADS of other blogs do this, too), is post a video (or a slew of them) and then don’t include any copy along with them to explain what’s going on in them. So, if you don’t want to watch a video or can’t, you screwed. Of course, it would help if Steve Jobs could pull his head out of his ass and support Flash.
I am SO switching to Android!!!
Underpaid Genius • The Tea Party = The Flat Earth Society
Underpaid Genius • The Tea Party = The Flat Earth Society
Wow. This post from Stowe Boyd’s underpaidgenius blog is scary—in part, he quotes an article describing an interchange between a Senator and a Tea Partier:
John Broder, Global Warning Skepticism in Tea Party
“Climate change is real, and man is causing it,” Mr. Hill said, echoing most climate scientists. “That is indisputable. And we have to do something about it.”
A rain of boos showered Mr. Hill, including a hearty growl from Norman Dennison, a 50-year-old electrician and founder of the Corydon Tea Party.
“It’s a flat-out lie,” Mr. Dennison said in an interview after the debate, adding that he had based his view on the preaching of Rush Limbaugh and the teaching of Scripture. “I read my Bible,” Mr. Dennison said. “He made this earth for us to utilize.”
Boyd then describes his take on the TPers as cherry picking their platform to meet their political needs. I’ve been trying to work on other projects but I had to leave a comment. Here’s what I said:
I’m having serious trouble keeping up with all the stuff worth blogging about—this is ridiculous! And the TPers are ridiculous. You make a good point regarding the TP platform being a grab bag of denial—next thing you know they’ll be applying for tax-free status as a new religion! >_<
And if Ms. Khuri is upset about “money-control avenues” maybe she should make a bigger deal about the Fed since it’s their *mission statement* to control our money.
And is it me or do none of their Global Warming Denials actually deny GW is actually happening? Saying God gave us this world to do what we want with it doesn’t mean we’re not trashing it. I’m an atheist, but what IF there is a God and He said the Earth is to do with as you please—what does the Bible say about dealing with rising sea levels? And changing weather patterns? Does it say in the Bible that God is a cosmic landlord in the sky who will fix our Central Air when it breaks down?
Whether GW and CC are man-made or not doesn’t matter to me. I just want to know what we can do to deal with the consequences. If “God” has an answer or the answer, let’s hear it already.
Of course, if the answer is “have faith in God” my answer to that is: “My name isn’t Job, tell me what to do about NYC’s Broadway becoming a waterway.”
I know every generation thinks things are going to hell in a handbasket, but it DOES feel warm in here, doesn’t it?
There’s a bit more to his post and it’s worth reading so go check it out.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
OSX Lion, oh... and other Apple (un)impressions
Wow.
Well, I’ve glanced over the headlines and read a bit about iLife ‘11, FaceTime for Mac, the new small(er) MacBook Air, and OSX Lion and as is often the case with Apple’s announcements, it’s kind of a big meh for me.
iLife ‘11
iLife ‘11 sounds like it might have some nice features in it—though, I can do with out big-brothery software recognizing faces in iMovie videos (I already have to tell iPhoto to stop scanning my photos for faces) and I can also do without a feature in Garageband that tells me if I’m off tempo (I have a wife for that). However, like an Engadget post on iLife noted, there’s an “effortless movie trailer maker” in iMovie that sounds somewhat intriguing. However, if it makes trailers like Hollywood makes, they might have just called it “monkey makes a movie trailer software.”
But I digress.
Another nice touch for iMovie is the ability to output to 24fps. However, a SERIOUS flaw in iMovie—still no (apparent) support for AVCHD. Bastards. What’s wrong with you, Apple?
In the end, I don’t think it’s worth the $50 to upgrade. I do think it’s lame that they’re not letting those of us who bought new Macs in the past 6 months get the upgrade for free, but, again, I digress.
FaceTime for Mac
FaceTime for Mac is basically useless if, like me, you don’t have any friends iPhone 4s whom you want to video-chat with. Sure, I guess it might work with friends who have Macs, but who cares when you’ve got Skype, Gchat and Yahoo to video conf with your close comrades? Why even bother downloading the beta that’s available.
The new, don’t you dare call it a netbook, 11.6 inch MacBook Air
Well, for starters, it’s too expensive to call it a netbook, coming in at $1000. Second, it’s specs are too advanced to call it a netbook. Third, the screen is 1.6 inches too big, assuming the general cut off size for netbooks is 10 (or so) inches. Hell, 11.6 inches makes the new small(er) MacBook Air just slightly smaller than my old 12-inch aluminum PowerBook from 2004. Of course, the PB is way thicker than the MBA, but at least with my PB, I wasn’t worried about the thing snapping in two inside my bag.
The nutshell is: the new 11.6 inch MacBook Air is too big/expensive/fast to be/treat like a netbook (though only JUST too big) and too small to take full advantage of it’s performance specs. In the end, it’s a big “no, thanks”—I’d sooner buy an iPad (not that I’d ever buy an iPad).
OSX Lion, oh… oh really? Is that what it’s going to be? You’re Lion—I mean—lyin!
So, this was surprising. I recently read some opinion piece on a tech site make the claim that Apple is at it’s most innovative right now. Well, Lion proves who ever said that wrong. Why? Because Apple is “taking what they’ve learned from iOS” and are updating OSX with new/old features from their underpowered, underfeatured iDevices.
That, to me, sounds like the exact opposite of innovation. Though somebody over at Gizmodo had a bit of a o-face for OSX Lion, I personally don’t get it. They’re making it look and behave more like iOS. As in, full-screen apps, the screen splitting open to show you folder contents and more. Windows will (apparently) still be around, but… um, I’m not honestly sure why full-screen apps is a big deal since apps on actual Macs can be full-screen if you or the software maker wants. The Gizmodo post I link to above makes a HUGE deal out of this—they call it “modal computing.” I’m not even entirely sure what the word “modal” means but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t represent a big change from how most of us work already. I’ve recently started organizing my tasks using Spaces (a feature available for years with 3rd party apps or built-in on Linux). One Space for browsing, another for Final Cut and another for running Windows in Parallels. Like that. Apparently, we need a “whole new (fake) paradigm” and go “modal” or use ONLY “full screen apps.” Whatever.
Plus the idea of “full screen apps” sounds an awful lot like what M$ Windows has done forever. So I’m not seeing the whizbangedness here.
The other thing that makes Lion more like iOS is the “Launchpad”. It’s basically like Dashboard only with all of your application icons. What’s bizarre about this “new” feature is that it’s already available on current Macs. It’s called: putting application shortcuts in a folder/directory you stick in your dock.
W.T.F. Steve?
Then folders will work like they do on iOS—aka stupidly for a full-powered machine. For an under-powered device with a small display, the way they work makes perfect sense. But having a full screen split open so you can view what’s inside? That just feels cumbersome and ugly to me.
Then there’s the new App Store for Mac—ooooo, something Linux has had for years, basically, is now coming to Mac with the same absurd restrictions and profit-sharing model as the App Store for iDevices. It’s like Apple’s own protection racket.
“Hey, you wanna sell more stuff? You woik wit us—we take care of yooz. But we get a take. I mean, shur you could sell the app on your own website, but, whooz gonna see it there, huh kid?”
Forget that we already have sites like Download.com that are effectively web-based app stores already. No, Apple wants their own walled garden (again).
OCD, Apple or what?
What’s surprising is that this is a serious retooling of how OSX’s user interface functions on a fairly core level. It’s such a drastic change, I’m surprised they’re not going to ditch the “X” and just call this “OS11” since they’re releasing it next summer, anyway.
There’s more stuff in Lion that I found kind of unnerving (an always visible dock? WHY?) but I need to stop typing now.
Suffice it to say that this is the first time I’ve seen upcoming changes to an OS I (love to) use every day and thought to myself: “Uhm, yeah, I don’t need to upgrade to that.”
In fact, I’d even say that I’d hesitate to by another Mac if 10.7 came with it. It just seems that nonsensical to go backwards like Apple is doing.
Always and Never ?: i like how tumblr turns purple for the gay people that committed suicide, but not pink for breast cancer awareness month...
Always and Never ?: i like how tumblr turns purple for the gay people that committed suicide, but not pink for breast cancer awareness month...
oh my god being gay isn’t a choice. having cancer is.
having cancer is.
“having cancer is”
Ignorance at its finest.
at its finest.
HOW THE FUCK IS HAVING A…
who made this stupid fuckin status?
people with cancer aren’t bullied into committing suicide lame-o
Nah, they just wait around to die because no one cares enough to find a cure.
I mean, SERIOUSLY, how many people die of being bullied because they’re gay? Now how many people die of cancer? Hm… I’m thinking Tumblr and pals can go pink for a bit if that would really help.
The Giant Boobs of Marvel
mockingnerd:
Marvel. Dearest Marvel. I’ve loved (most of) the Women of Marvel one shots that have come out this year. You’ve done a great job showcasing some of the more overlooked female characters and showing, and reminding, us how bad ass and independent they can be without all the gratuitous cheesecake.
So why, oh why, did you pick Greg Land as the cover artist for the collection?
Yeah, honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw this was: NICE! :)
The second thing I thought when I saw this was: actually, they mean “Huge Tits of Marvel”
I enjoy breasts as much as the next guy, but I’ve heard there’s more to being a woman than having boobs. I know sex sells, but come on, you could have thrown one C-cup on the cover, couldn’t you Marvel?
On a side note, nice to see Disney hasn’t pressured you guys to family-up your covers, though. O_O
The New MacBook Airs... meh...
chcameron:
New MacBook Airs. 11” and 13”
I say, “meh.”
One word: “SNAP!”
That’s the sound it’ll make when you put it in your bag and accidentally lean against just once. It’s just too damn thin and not small enough. Why is Steve Jobs so afraid of making a netbook?
Yeah, big fat “MEH” from me, too. I have yet to read about the event, but I know to not expect much. Someone recently suggested Apple is at it’s most innovative right now. Really? Is that why it took them almost 3 iPhones to add cut and paste? Is that why there isn’t a camera on the iPad?
I’ll post more about today’s “event” later. Until then, I remain adequately jaded.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Unofficial Apple Weblog posts about Logos Bible-study software coming to the Mac--SIGH.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog posts about Logos Bible-study software coming to the Mac--SIGH.
When I saw this post on TUAW, my first instinct was to just blow it off. Then I started reading the comments and realized that I wasn’t alone in finding it odd that software for such a niche was being blogged about. So, I decided to chime in. Here’s what I said in a comment:
Meh, I’m with the naysayers, let the Christian blogs cover Christian software. This blog already serves a specific niche. Though to be honest a Christian-themed post makes perfect sense on a fan blog for a company that loves to believe in their own version of reality, instead of *actual* reality.
All right, I’m done being douchey. I hope this post was civil enough for you.
That last part was referencing an earlier commenter who claimed to have had a comment removed. The author of the post explained away the removal of the comment as being a result of its lack of civility. I guess that makes it OK…?
Anyway, so the author of the post replied to my comment with:
Then should we let photography blogs cover the photography apps? Geek blogs cover Terminal tips? Writing sites cover writing apps? Where does it end? Why is Christian software a ‘niche’? Whether you are happy about it or not, there are quite a few Christians around.
Haha, are there? I hadn’t noticed them! (Why do you think I feel compelled to speak out in instances like this one?) And here’s what I replied with:
@TJLuoma, fair enough, but I don’t think photographers are linked to things like oppression, homophobia, child abuse and religious wars. But putting aside my personal feeling of offense when Christianity is mentioned, religion is a personal thing. Keep it to yourself and everything’s cool.
Besides, photography and technology overlap, thematically. Christianity and technology don’t. At least, not natively. Software being used as a study guide for Christian doctrine is hardly a natural fit. By your logic we should see TUAW cover apps that only plumbers would use. “Do you know how many plumbers there are in the world? And now they are using software compatible with Macs, so that makes it relevant to TUAW!”
I mean, hey, it’s not my blog, AOL can do what they want with it. This is just my ¥2.
Well, I tried to point out why Christian stuff shouldn’t show up on a tech blog, but if you’re willing to not see the difference between being responsible for untold oppression/torture/death and, say, photography, what’s an atheist boy to do?
Steve Jobs is Scared
One thing I’ve learned in life is that most people don’t speak out or speak up unless they’re scared of something. Fear is a great motivator. In fact, if you think about it, none of us really do anything we don’t want to without fear being at the core of that motivation.
Seeing as the last couple times Steve Jobs spoke to the press outside of his usual key-note-based comfort zones it was to 1) assure people he wasn’t dying and 2) to explain to everyone how he was going to deal with antennagate, it follows that him showing up on that “earnings call” thing yesterday was something he did because he is scared—and I think he’s scared shitless. Sure, I’m scared I’m wrong, which is why I’m posting this, but that’s beside the point. Steve Jobs is seriously brown-pantsing it.
“We’ve now passed RIM and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future.”
Really, Steve? Last time I checked RIM had way more experience in smartphoning than Apple. Last time I checked, RIM had their Blackberry phones firmly established in the business world as the smartphones grown-ups use. Their core market is probably not going anywhere. They shouldn’t try to expand and if they just stick to what they do best, they’ll be fine. They won’t “beat” you, but they shouldn’t care. What’s more is that you won’t be able to make inroads into their specific market, either, because (and I should know) iPhones just take too much effort to do basic stuff. BB’s just work—unlike iPhones. iPhones are like the Windows PCs of the smartphone world (with better design, of course). But seriously, if RIM keeps their flagship product focused on what it does best, they are invincible against Apple.
“…we believe integrated will trump fragmented every time.”
Really? You mean like Apple computers? Or like Windows computers? Last time I checked there isn’t a single type of computer that runs Windows, Linux or even OSX. There are quite a few. So, if by “every time” you mean “every time you’ve tried it with your iOS devices” then I can see your point. However, you completely ignore the rest of the world of devices that run on MUCH more open systems than iOS devices (aka unwalled gardens). There’s also this myth going around that people actually think of Windows boxes first when considering the definition of “open”. No chance. I think Linux. That bitch is open. Sure, I see the theory that Windows is open (ie anyone can program for Windows) but Linux is better known for it. All that aside, “fragmented” (aka too many different hardware configs to code software for) is a bullshit argument since that’s what OSes are for. OSes give programmers a universal set of “buttons” to press (commands to use) that do the same thing on every device that runs the given OS. So, this is an outright and complete LIE.
This is like Al Qeada actually representing a real threat to America. This is like nukes in Iraq. This is like illegal immigration and homophobia. Jobs is trumping this shit up to scare people—plain and simple. And when I see people buy into shit like this, it’s the Absurd Disconnect I talk about so much over at website666.com.
Everyone seriously needs to spend 30 seconds thinking about what they are saying to make sure it makes sense.
“The more Jobs talks about the iPad, the more apparent that he sees it as his true legacy. And as laptops continue to give way to tablets, he’ll be the guy who first gave them to us.” -Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett in a post last night.
Which is absolutely sad since the guy pretty much made computers (and gadgets in general) cool. I love my MacBook Pro and my PowerBook before it (my MacBook sucked ass and should never have been born along with the iBook I had before my PowerBook, but I’m seriously digressing). I’ve loved my iPods and my iPhone for quite a while. What I hate is when Steve gets his fingers in things—iTunes ruins more and more of my iExperience the more I rely on it. For years I never “synced” anything with any iDevice I owned (I just click “manually manage”). Finally, I’ve handed control over to iTunes and I hate it. I expected to like it in a sort of “it’s nice to be part of the hive mind” way, but nope. So it pisses me off that this idiot may think his latest “gizmo” is his true legacy and not making a success out of computers that “just work.”
I’m going to skip over the part where Steve hates Flash—we all know he does and we all know he’s stupid for giving in to this hate since (as much as I wish it wasn’t) Flash is everywhere. I am reminded of this every time I’m reading blogs on my iPhone and I can’t play embedded video. HTML 5, huh Steve?
I’m also skipping his AppleTV propaganda. Apple TV is useless. Newsflash: if you have a Touch or an iPhone, you can pretty much plug that into your TV and do everything the AppleTV can do. OK, maybe not HD, but if you really give a shit, you already have a device plugged into your TV that does. So effyou AppleTV.
“We think the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA-Dead on Arrival. Their manufacturers will learn the painful lesson that their tablets are too small…”
Really, Steve? Is that why you once, famously said that people didn’t want video on their iPods? I may be just one man, but I DON’T want an iPad—why? Because the screen is too big. If I’m going to drop $500+ on something like this, it’s going to be a something that is more convenient than what I have now. Carrying a 10 inch tablet in my bag is just a few inches more convenient than carrying my 13-inch MacBook Pro. And it’s just a few inches LESS convenient than carrying my 7-inch netbook around which has a keyboard attached to it (which will always make for easier typing). And guess what, Steve! My netbook lets me install whatever software I want on it! WOW.
Oh and so, when I do upgrade from my iPhone I’ll be switching to a tablet-phone device. Probably the Dell Streak. The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab is still to big for me (and their backside cam is too crappy), so the Streak is perfect. Great for watching video and (more importantly) perfect for reading. I’ve tried reading books and scripts on the iPhone and it’s like reading a book through a pinhole camera to me. It’s doable, but give me a real book any day—or a Streak, which is big enough for what I need it for but small enough to carry with me everywhere. And if I get a Bluetooth keyboard, I can type on it like a grown-up writer.
So, there are scores of practical reasons for smaller-screens than the one on the iPad. The Kindle has a 7-inch screen and while some folks prefer the DX’s bigger screen, I prefer the portability of the 7-inch Kindle. It’s plenty big enough to read (and I miss that size screen since I gave mine to my Mom) and it’s thin/light enough to keep with me always. It’s still too big to pocket, but the iPad is even more too big.
In conclusion…
I think it’s hilarious that guys like Jobs don’t just take stock in what they have. They have to keep talking shit about other people, other companies and other ideas. Even if Apple ceases to exist tomorrow, they will still have done what no other company has. They lost everything and got it back. They provided real competition to the monolith that is the Windows PC. They created a mechanism where with every sneeze, burp and fart out of Cupertino, they can cause ripples in the fabric of the tech world.
Apple is now worth more than any other tech company on the stock market—and that’s not enough for Steve.
That’s sad, man. To see him so scared like this is sad.
It’s OK, Steve, no one’s going to take your Apple Empire away from ya, buddy. It may get a little smaller, but you’ll still be stinking rich and largely in control of all you survey. Well, except *my* iPhone, I’ve turned off your little kill switch. So far the world hasn’t ended, so I’m pretty sure it’s cool.
sources for this post: posts on Gizmodo and Engadget.
Seeing as the last couple times Steve Jobs spoke to the press outside of his usual key-note-based comfort zones it was to 1) assure people he wasn’t dying and 2) to explain to everyone how he was going to deal with antennagate, it follows that him showing up on that “earnings call” thing yesterday was something he did because he is scared—and I think he’s scared shitless. Sure, I’m scared I’m wrong, which is why I’m posting this, but that’s beside the point. Steve Jobs is seriously brown-pantsing it.
“We’ve now passed RIM and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future.”
Really, Steve? Last time I checked RIM had way more experience in smartphoning than Apple. Last time I checked, RIM had their Blackberry phones firmly established in the business world as the smartphones grown-ups use. Their core market is probably not going anywhere. They shouldn’t try to expand and if they just stick to what they do best, they’ll be fine. They won’t “beat” you, but they shouldn’t care. What’s more is that you won’t be able to make inroads into their specific market, either, because (and I should know) iPhones just take too much effort to do basic stuff. BB’s just work—unlike iPhones. iPhones are like the Windows PCs of the smartphone world (with better design, of course). But seriously, if RIM keeps their flagship product focused on what it does best, they are invincible against Apple.
“…we believe integrated will trump fragmented every time.”
Really? You mean like Apple computers? Or like Windows computers? Last time I checked there isn’t a single type of computer that runs Windows, Linux or even OSX. There are quite a few. So, if by “every time” you mean “every time you’ve tried it with your iOS devices” then I can see your point. However, you completely ignore the rest of the world of devices that run on MUCH more open systems than iOS devices (aka unwalled gardens). There’s also this myth going around that people actually think of Windows boxes first when considering the definition of “open”. No chance. I think Linux. That bitch is open. Sure, I see the theory that Windows is open (ie anyone can program for Windows) but Linux is better known for it. All that aside, “fragmented” (aka too many different hardware configs to code software for) is a bullshit argument since that’s what OSes are for. OSes give programmers a universal set of “buttons” to press (commands to use) that do the same thing on every device that runs the given OS. So, this is an outright and complete LIE.
This is like Al Qeada actually representing a real threat to America. This is like nukes in Iraq. This is like illegal immigration and homophobia. Jobs is trumping this shit up to scare people—plain and simple. And when I see people buy into shit like this, it’s the Absurd Disconnect I talk about so much over at website666.com.
Everyone seriously needs to spend 30 seconds thinking about what they are saying to make sure it makes sense.
“The more Jobs talks about the iPad, the more apparent that he sees it as his true legacy. And as laptops continue to give way to tablets, he’ll be the guy who first gave them to us.” -Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett in a post last night.
Which is absolutely sad since the guy pretty much made computers (and gadgets in general) cool. I love my MacBook Pro and my PowerBook before it (my MacBook sucked ass and should never have been born along with the iBook I had before my PowerBook, but I’m seriously digressing). I’ve loved my iPods and my iPhone for quite a while. What I hate is when Steve gets his fingers in things—iTunes ruins more and more of my iExperience the more I rely on it. For years I never “synced” anything with any iDevice I owned (I just click “manually manage”). Finally, I’ve handed control over to iTunes and I hate it. I expected to like it in a sort of “it’s nice to be part of the hive mind” way, but nope. So it pisses me off that this idiot may think his latest “gizmo” is his true legacy and not making a success out of computers that “just work.”
I’m going to skip over the part where Steve hates Flash—we all know he does and we all know he’s stupid for giving in to this hate since (as much as I wish it wasn’t) Flash is everywhere. I am reminded of this every time I’m reading blogs on my iPhone and I can’t play embedded video. HTML 5, huh Steve?
I’m also skipping his AppleTV propaganda. Apple TV is useless. Newsflash: if you have a Touch or an iPhone, you can pretty much plug that into your TV and do everything the AppleTV can do. OK, maybe not HD, but if you really give a shit, you already have a device plugged into your TV that does. So effyou AppleTV.
“We think the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA-Dead on Arrival. Their manufacturers will learn the painful lesson that their tablets are too small…”
Really, Steve? Is that why you once, famously said that people didn’t want video on their iPods? I may be just one man, but I DON’T want an iPad—why? Because the screen is too big. If I’m going to drop $500+ on something like this, it’s going to be a something that is more convenient than what I have now. Carrying a 10 inch tablet in my bag is just a few inches more convenient than carrying my 13-inch MacBook Pro. And it’s just a few inches LESS convenient than carrying my 7-inch netbook around which has a keyboard attached to it (which will always make for easier typing). And guess what, Steve! My netbook lets me install whatever software I want on it! WOW.
Oh and so, when I do upgrade from my iPhone I’ll be switching to a tablet-phone device. Probably the Dell Streak. The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab is still to big for me (and their backside cam is too crappy), so the Streak is perfect. Great for watching video and (more importantly) perfect for reading. I’ve tried reading books and scripts on the iPhone and it’s like reading a book through a pinhole camera to me. It’s doable, but give me a real book any day—or a Streak, which is big enough for what I need it for but small enough to carry with me everywhere. And if I get a Bluetooth keyboard, I can type on it like a grown-up writer.
So, there are scores of practical reasons for smaller-screens than the one on the iPad. The Kindle has a 7-inch screen and while some folks prefer the DX’s bigger screen, I prefer the portability of the 7-inch Kindle. It’s plenty big enough to read (and I miss that size screen since I gave mine to my Mom) and it’s thin/light enough to keep with me always. It’s still too big to pocket, but the iPad is even more too big.
In conclusion…
I think it’s hilarious that guys like Jobs don’t just take stock in what they have. They have to keep talking shit about other people, other companies and other ideas. Even if Apple ceases to exist tomorrow, they will still have done what no other company has. They lost everything and got it back. They provided real competition to the monolith that is the Windows PC. They created a mechanism where with every sneeze, burp and fart out of Cupertino, they can cause ripples in the fabric of the tech world.
Apple is now worth more than any other tech company on the stock market—and that’s not enough for Steve.
That’s sad, man. To see him so scared like this is sad.
It’s OK, Steve, no one’s going to take your Apple Empire away from ya, buddy. It may get a little smaller, but you’ll still be stinking rich and largely in control of all you survey. Well, except *my* iPhone, I’ve turned off your little kill switch. So far the world hasn’t ended, so I’m pretty sure it’s cool.
sources for this post: posts on Gizmodo and Engadget.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Who says Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn’t like Pluto?
Who says Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn’t like Pluto? (I’m pretty sure Pluto is not a planet still, though.)
Found via spaceandstuffidk:
sagansapien:helveticarock:oh my god. oh my god. ohmygodohmygod.
See, Tyson likes Pluto just fine. Here’s the proof.
Let the healing begin.
“All natural?” More like “all NOTural.” HA! Sorry, this cartoon is funnier.
Found via falconieri:
Actually, it does have a meaning, or perhaps, purpose, which is deception. It is literally meant to mean nothing, so that the consumer will believe it means something.
I have to start eating correctly.
Since 2003, I’ve been doing the simple (but often difficult) task of doing my best to eat as few fake foods as possible. Basically, I check every ingredient label and if there’s anything chemicaly-sounding listed, I move on. I also/especially ignore foods with high fructose corn syrup and even regular old sugar in it (though I’ve always understood that regular refined sugar is better for you than HFCS).
What helps me stick to my guns is to think of eating healthy as a kind of rebellion. This makes perfect sense when you take note of all the utter shit most food companies want to feed us. So, think of yourself as an Outsider, trying to fight TheMan who is trying to poison you. After all, he is.
On a side note, does anyone know if HonestFoodGuide.org is on the up-and-up? The first thing you do when Person A accuses Person B of lying is check Person A’s facts. So, anyone know?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Lego Storage Bricks...
Damn. I want every single one of these boxes. I wouldn’t even store things in them—I’d build stuff! Hey, they’re Lego boxes, after all!
666cast episode 29 from website666.com: It’s part 3 of the “Fall of the American Empire” series! In this week’s ep, I break it down into very simple terms/concepts as to why America’s way of life is going away. Please subscribe to the feed.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Tea baggers? Walmart? Warren Buffett? Get a life. Look no furthur than your mirror for the answer to today’s america. Also look around the world and see the people rising up in defense of their future. What kind of people lets the future of their children be stolen and do nothing? Maybe you can eat your cell phones and flat screens when food prices go off the cliff. Maybe your local sports bar will feed your family. Maybe the mall will give you shelter when you become homeless. Silence and indifference has wiped out america. but you don’t have time to worry about that right now, the holiday season is here. Shop til’ you drop…
Tea baggers? Walmart? Warren Buffett? Get a life. Look no furthur than your mirror for the answer to today’s america. Also look around the world and see the people rising up in defense of their future. What kind of people lets the future of their children be stolen and do nothing? Maybe you can eat your cell phones and flat screens when food prices go off the cliff. Maybe your local sports bar will feed your family. Maybe the mall will give you shelter when you become homeless. Silence and indifference has wiped out america. but you don’t have time to worry about that right now, the holiday season is here. Shop til’ you drop…
10 Reasons Why Ordinary Hard-Working Americans Are About To Really Start Feeling The Squeeze
Start taking some personal responsibility for your situation.
(via rainbowhill)
A great sentiment and I agree with everything in it but only to a point—what about the responsibility of our leaders? We, The People, end up getting blamed for our problems because we don’t speak up and do something, but we elect leaders to represent us. We vote with our dollars to make sure companies we like are successful. Where are THEY in playing the “Take Responsibility Game” and why do we keep supporting them and letting them get away with not doing their part?
In a world where our leaders in government and business provide us with no positive examples to follow or learn from, how can we be blamed for our conditioned apathy?
It’s our leaders in government and business who have the resources to set a good example. They can afford to be heroes. But they’re not. And they blame us. And we blame ourselves.
I’m sick of being blamed for shit I didn’t do. I didn’t know my cell phone caused strife in Africa. I didn’t know the car I drove for 10 years would add a ton of pollutants to the atmosphere every year I drove it. However, when I found out, I did something about it. I sold my car. I switched to compact fluorescent bulbs, I made sure to recycle. I don’t own as many computers as I could. I do a host of other things that help reduce my impact on the world around me.
And you know what? None of it’s going to do any good because our leaders in government and business are still dropping the ball. They still fail to see that they are there for us—not the other way around. And since they are in control, there’s not much We, The People can do.
Friday, October 15, 2010
A Day Late for Blog Action Day 2010? Nah--7 Years Early.
OK, so I may be a day late for Blog Action Day 2010, but I was WAY early on writing about how water is becoming a serious global concern. Here’s a post I wrote on my old blog, back on April 30, 2003:
MEXICO VS. US IN WATER WAR I
After oil, what do you think is the most important comodity? Okay, after money, what do you think the most important comodity is? It’s water. And in fact, since water is a basic neccessity of life itself, one would be inclined to believe that water is more important than oil or money. And water is a focal point of stress around the globe. For the US, it hits home when water treaties signed decades ago are said by US sources to be ignored by the Mexican government. In fact, things have gotten so heated that even foreign press has taken note.
At the web site for Scotland’s National newspaper, TheScotsman.co.uk, an article was posted on June 17, 2002 referring to the situation as a “Cold War over Water”. See, back in 1944 the US and Mexico signed this treaty that agreed that Mexico would pay 114 billion gallons of water to Texas a year by regulating dams on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. However, Mexico is now over 500 billion gallons in debt and after a recent spigot opening on the Mexican side of the Falcon Lake Resevoir, over 11 billion gallons have been dispensed to Mexican farmers who have been dealing with a terrible drought for the better part of a decade. This angers Texan water officials and farmers because not only is Mexico failing to use that water to pay off their debt, but the water taken from Falcon Lake will ruin the fishing situation there and farmers off the Rio Grande will have a much harder time farming at a time when they too are dealing with the same drought affecting Mexican farmers.
This situation is only made worse by the fifth placement of the Rio Grande on the 10 most endangered US waterways list compiled by American Rivers, a Washington DC-based environmental group. They point out that the Rio Grande has gotten so thin that it lacks enough water to even make it to the Gulf of Mexico.
Either way, the water situation is a serious one and unless the mainstream media starts covering it, before we know it, we’ll be ill equiped to deal with a world where water is, in the short term, more important the money or oil.
Read more about the US and Mexico’s “Cold War over Water” in the Scotsman.
Read about the Falcon Lake Resevoir situation at the Valley Morning Star website and MySanAntonio.com.
Actually, both of those two links are bad, but you can still read those articles here.
Want to read something a bit more recent? Check out this Newsweek article from a week ago that calls water “The New Oil.” Yep, just seven years after I did pretty much the same thing.
Learn even more about how water has become a global issue by heading over to http://blogactionday.change.org
You can also follow @chlorine on Twitter to learn all sorts of interesting stuff about how it helps keep water clean around the globe.
Changing Journalism? "Changing" My Ass
Sometimes I wonder what planet I’m from because I just don’t get things other Earthlings claim. Some of what follows I agree with, but a most of them raise, not just red flags but, huge, fluorescent-colored WTF flags. I’ve emboldenededed, and added numbers for the ones I disagree with.
Found via stoweboyd:
Changing Journalism, Changing Reuters
David Schlesinger, EIC of Reuters News
The rules of today’s journalistic world are these:
Knowing the story is not enough.
Telling the story is only the beginning.
The conversation about the story is as important as the story itself.
The more you try to be paternalistic and authoritative, the less people will believe you. (1)
The more you cede control to your audience, the more people will respect you (2)
The more you embrace new technology as a platform, the more your ideas will compete. (3)
The more you abandon the faceless and characterless, the more you can set the agenda (4)
The more you look beyond the story for connections, the more value you will have.
And if you have value and no one else does, you will get paid. (5)
Simple? No.
But it is exciting and transforming. (6)
1) The more you try to be paternalistic and authoritative, the less people will believe you. Yeah, that Glenn Beck is going nowhere FAST!
2) The more you cede control to your audience, the more people will respect you Really? Is that why Rick Sanchez is loved my millions? Oh wait, he’s not. For giving an entire show over to Twitter, he made himself a joke. Aside from Sanchez, it’s pretty obvious that people like to be told what to do (see point 1). Giving control over to people only sounds good on paper—in reality, no one needs *more* options. We have too much to think about as it is. We need BETTER options—hence, the whole “going beyond the story” thing makes perfect sense to me.
3) The more you embrace new technology as a platform, the more your ideas will compete. This may or may not be true. I don’t see any obvious evidence of this. The porn industry is always fast to adopt new technology, but I’ve been hearing they’re suffering just as much as everyone else these days and I’m pretty sure you can’t accuse them of not embracing the Internet when it first started to go mainstream (unlike everyone else in mainstream media).
4) The more you abandon the faceless and characterless, the more you can set the agenda I don’t even know what this means. I see zero connection between being faceless and not being able to set the agenda. This is what I hate about lists like this—no context, little explanation (guys, see the first few points ON YOUR OWN LIST to know what I’m talking about).
5) And if you have value and no one else does, you will get paid. Uh-huh. So value is something easily recognized, is it? Is that why there are so many amazing films coming out of Hollywood every year? Is that why for decades TV had the unflattering nickname of “the boob tube”. I see very few truly valuable shows/movies/news reports being produced these days.
The problem is that we’ve got two different definitions of “value” here. The list claims “The more you look beyond the story for connections, the more value you will have.” which makes perfect sense—but ONLY if you’re defining a “valuable story” as a deep, well-researched story. The catch? That’s not the definition the business world uses. The business world wants sensational articles that will get people to buy magazines or click links. That’s the definition of “value” to business. So, there’s a disconnect here between what the list claims and what the reality is. It’s almost as though the person that wrote the list didn’t bother GOING BEYOND THE STORY. >_<
6) But it is exciting and transforming. Seriously? No it’s not. It’s how journalism should have always been done and the only reason it isn’t is because we’re all in it for a buck. Jeez-Lou-eez, guys? How does this stuff get reposted and quoted when it’s so obviously full of holes?
I mean, here’s a list of crap that journalists are supposed to do that is “exciting and transforming” and isn’t simple. Yet, it is pretty simple. So simple, the guy that wrote it couldn’t be bothered to follow the very rules he was laying down and THINK about some of his claims before speaking them aloud.
Just because you consider yourself a liberal or a progressive doesn’t make you any less responsible for your words. Just because you quote other liberals or progressives (or whatever they’re called) doesn’t mean they’re always right or that you don’t need to question everything they say—even if it sounds good to you (at first).
These “rules” are sadly just wishful thinking. Hell, they might be the real reason why newspapers are failing. Maybe we should reinvent journalism to the point where serious journalists get paid with our taxes.
Or, maybe, we consumers need to stop paying for such stupid shit in the first place.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Holy crap—look how Africa compares to the Western World and Asia. Those damn flat maps are really misleading!
From imaginasi0n:
I did not realise this. WOW.
THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED A CONTINENT PEOPLE
Inexplicable disappearance of a village in the Qinling Mountains
Inexplicable disappearance of a village in the Qinling Mountains
No idea if this is real… but I love stories like this…
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Yeah, this is probably the best (it’s definitely the most subtle) Jaws shirt, EVER.
Yeah, this is probably the best (it’s definitely the most subtle) Jaws shirt, EVER. I’d wear it with my Mushnik’s Florist ballcap :)
From candy-color-haired piratekitten:
possibly the greatest JAWS shirt ever, and now it’s mine.
I need $9. :)
From housingworksbookstore:
Actually, that should read “White MEN Ruin Everything.”
Still wishing Zinn was still around. He was still doing good work, dammit…
Sweet Valley I have no idea what these books and TV episodes are... really...
housingworksbookstore:
When I was a kid, I read the Sweet Valley High books. I read them all. I may still read them from time to time as an adult but will not confirm this publicly. I loved Elizabeth and Jessica, those adorable blonde twins, those charming California girls. They were twins! But different! I loved Todd, Elizabeth’s serious boyfriend. He played basketball. Jessica was a bit of a loose girl. She made out with more than one guy in high school. I empathized with homely Enid and misunderstood Lila. These people were my secret friends once I had exhausted the charms of Little House on the Prairie. I loved how chaste the books were and how satisfying each story felt. When the Super Editions were released, I was there, I was invested, thrilled to have twice the Sweet Valley goodness in one book.
Today, I squealed like a ten year old because there’s going to be a sequel, and now they are adults, Elizabeth and Jessica. I hear tell of a rift. Elizabeth is in New York. Where is Jessica? Why is there a rift between them? I don’t know, but not nearly soon enough, we will have answers. Don’t you dare tell me dreams don’t come true. (via Control Yourselves: An Adult Sequel to Sweet Valley High Looms on the Horizon | HTMLGIANT)
Wow—but my question is will there be a sequel to the live action TV show.
…not that I, as a straight male, ever watched it… well, much…
Time to find a second Earth, WWF says
Time to find a second Earth, WWF says
From unknownskywalker (READ IT ALL!):
Carbon pollution and over-use of Earth’s natural resources have become so critical that, on current trends, we will need a second planet to meet our needs by 2030, the WWF said on Wednesday.
In 2007, Earth’s 6.8 billion humans were living 50% beyond the planet’s threshold of sustainability, according to its report, issued ahead of a UN biodiversity conference. “Even with modest UN projections for population growth, consumption and climate change, by 2030 humanity will need the capacity of two Earths to absorb CO2; waste and keep up with natural resource consumption,” it warned.
If everyone used resources at the same rate per capita as the United States or the United Arab Emirates, four and a half planets would be needed, it said, highlighting the gap in “ecological footprint” between rich and poor.
The “Living Planet” report, the eighth in the series, is based on figures for 2007, the latest year for which figures are available. It pointed to 71 countries that were running down their sources of freshwater at a worrying, unsustainable rate. Nearly two-thirds of these countries experience “moderate to severe” water stress.
“This has profound implications for ecosystem health, food production and human wellbeing, and is likely to be exacerbated by climate change,” WWF said. Signatories to the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are to meet in Nagoya, Japan, from October 18-29 to discuss ways of addressing Earth’s dramatic loss of species.
UN members pledged to achieve by 2010 “a significant reduction” in the rate of wildlife loss. Biologists say many species, especially mammals, birds and amphibians, are in headlong decline, their numbers ravaged by habitat loss, hunting or the likely impact of climate change.
• Source: PhysOrg.com
The World Wildlife Foundation says our planet will begin to run out of resources for us by 2030 and says we need to find another planet for ourselves—anybody wanna say no?
But wow—I never expected such a specific date to be available for when Road Warrior Times are to begin. I just figured I’d wake up one morning and discover that it’s socially acceptable to bash someone’s skull in for their gasoline.
Joking aside, can we please start spending serious money on the development of a Faster-Than-Light Drive NOW? We have a need and if we’re all adults, we can see that it is logical to start doing this since we know it will take a while to make it work.
Missing Hercules…
Missing Hercules…
I miss Incredible Hercules. I mean, I know I’m picking up Chaos War - which appears to be the culmination of Pak and Van Lente’s run on the character - in trade, but still; I miss panels like this in what I pick up week to week: Awesome. (via Now Let Us Never Speak of This Again
)
Oh, 100% agreed. Incredible Hercules has been some of the most fun I’ve had reading a comic (second only to Langridge and Samnee’s Thor: TMA), and, for what it’s worth, I thoroughly enjoyed Chaos War #1.
Ha—neat. This is probably the first time I’ve seen someone else reference a mainstream project done by someone I know personally :) Neat. I wish Fred and I were better friends so I’d be able to brag more :D
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Who else thinks...
Who else thinks the thing the Chilean miners are being rescued in looks like an entry plug from Evangelion?
New York judge rules 'private' Facebook content can be used as evidence in court -- Engadget
New York judge rules 'private' Facebook content can be used as evidence in court -- Engadget
Sounds great, huh? This is another reason I’m slowly deleting all of my past content from FB and planning on limiting how much I post there in the future.
EUROPE! HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINE
EUROPE! HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINE
Reblog this link to support our global campaign to stop Europe’s multiple attempts to restrict access to medicines for patients across the developing world.
Help us send a message to the European Commission to keep their HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINE!
Thanks for your support!
Yeah, I’m pretty much pro-humanity and anti-unregulated-corporate-power, so this hits me a couple different ways. Please reblog or RT or reFB or whatever—spread the word that untold lives are at risk because big pharma wants to control patents and the EU might let them.
HILARIOUS video encouraging people to do their part to reduce their carbon emissions by 10%.It’s so hilarious that several sponsors pulled out of the event it’s advertising.Spoilsports!What’s sad is that even if all of us reduce our carbon emissions by 10%, it still won’t save the planet since so much of Climate Change is caused by what factories put out. We really need to figure out how to stop artificial carbon emissions completely. Or at the very least, stop the biggest contributors first.
Wall Street firms to pay higher compensation
Wall Street firms to pay higher compensation
From ibtimes.com:
Wall Street is set to witness a record rise in employee compensation for the second consecutive year, according to Wall Street Journal.
About 35 securities and investment firms are expected to pay $144 billion in compensation and benefits in 2010, up 4 percent from $139 billion in 2009, according to a survey, WSJ said. While compensation is set to rise at 26 firms, revenue increase may be seen in 29 of the 35 institutions, the survey showed.
It’s so nice that there’s no one who can stop all this from happening. It’s like we don’t mind our money being taken out of our pockets and put into the pockets of a comparative handful of people. >_<
I think I smell a candidate for effyou.org this week!
Story found via Frederic’s Tumblr.
Monday, October 11, 2010
666cast episode 28 from website666.com: Part 2 of the “Fall of the American Empire” series, this time with special guest ranter—Stew—who happens to be one of my best and oldest friends in the universe. Please subscribe to the feed.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
NY Gubernatorial Candidate Carl P. Paladino Attacks Gays in Brooklyn Speech
NY Gubernatorial Candidate Carl P. Paladino Attacks Gays in Brooklyn Speech
Republican candidate for governor of New York, Carl P. Paladino, spoke to a gathering in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that included Orthodox Jewish leaders as reported by the NYT:
“That’s not how God created us,” he said, reading from a prepared address.
“I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.”
And then, to applause at Congregation Shaarei Chaim, he said: “I didn’t march in the gay parade this year — the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did, and that’s not the example we should be showing our children.” Newsday.com reported that Mr. Paladino’s prepared text had included the sentence: “There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual.” But Mr. Paladino omitted the sentence in his speech.
Ah, well, that’s one Democratic win guaranteed!
Thanks, Carl!
NEWSWEEK: Should bullying be a crime?
NEWSWEEK: Should bullying be a crime?
As a soon-to-be dad, in a recent post, coalspeaker writes eloquently about his concerns about bullying. But yesterday he wrote a great post called “The Great Division meets the Great Diversion” where he points out:
Americans have been forced to debate fraudulent issues.. Gay marriage, social issues.. we are blinded by anger that has no bearing on our lives.
This is something I’ve taken to calling “the Absurd Disconnect.” And sadly, I think even coalspeaker got hit with it in between writing these two posts. Bullying is like terrorism—it’s always been with us and it probably always will be with us. And just like the media took a handful of extremists and helped the government turn them into a war against our very way of life, the media is blowing this whole bullying thing completely out of proportion.
Should bullying be a crime? Of course NOT. The things we already designate as crimes are already more than enough to cover our bases. In fact, these things are too much since hate crimes are essentially punishment for wrongthinking. It shouldn’t matter why I kill someone. All that should matter is that I kill someone.
Likewise, you can’t arrest someone for being a horrible person unless he/she actually does something horrible (and illegal). And if picking on someone smaller than you is horrible then you better start arresting people in the US government and the US military and… you get the idea.
I believe firmly in a human right to choose to live or die on your own terms, but killing yourself because of what other people think? That seems pretty stupid to me.
Is it sad that a bunch of gay teens killed themselves? Of course. Is the bullying they experienced wrong, unfair and mean? OF COURSE. But were these kids ultimately responsible for their own choice to end their lives? Yes.
You’ll never make everyone happy—there will always be someone out there who hates you vindictively, whether he’s a bully or a Taliban. The smarter thing to do is just live your life as best as you know how and let the hard times make you stronger and smarter.
And does ANY of this have any bearing on saving our way of life?
Nope.
Just another absurd disconnection.
Friday, October 8, 2010
This is why I called this blog website666.
Found via posnonrel and thereisnogod:
thinking: it’s of the devil
(via)
Health Buzz: Health Care Bill Is Constitutional, Judge Rules - US News and World Report
Health Buzz: Health Care Bill Is Constitutional, Judge Rules - US News and World Report
What the hell is this??
From the above linked article (emboldened by me):
At issue was whether Congress could require Americans to purchase a commercial product like health insurance under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, the New York Times reports. Since the decision not to purchase health insurance would affect interstate commerce, U.S. District Judge George Steeh ruled, Congress can lawfully require the purchase.
Say, WHAT? Why am *I* responsible for affecting interstate commerce by NOT doing something? This seriously makes no sense. By not smoking, aren’t I affecting interstate commerce? Since I don’t smoke, there is less demand for cigarettes which means interstate commerce slows, right?
I read the NYT article linked to above and that doesn’t do much to make the judge’s decision more logical.
Essentially, he’s pulling from his ass this idea that if I choose to not get insurance, I’m going to stick those who do with the bill. I don’t see how that works.
I am morally against the health insurance industry. I think an industry that makes money off of others’ suffering is wrong. I want a public option and will refuse to pay for health care through an insurance company if I can help it.
This is nothing short of corporatism.
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