The Cranky Curmudgeon

2011-12-02T09:24:00.001-08:00

It's incredibly disconcerting to raise a forkful of food to one's mouth, only to have most of it fall off due to the shaking brought on by essential tremors. Not actually complaining. After all, I've had a pretty damn good life, and this is really more like a speed bump.

Still, I'm really beginning to understand - viscerally - the phrase "Growing old is not for the faint-of-heart". Neither am I asking for sympathy. I'm merely sharing something that comes to mind almost every time I eat, shave, or hold a glass of liquid. I recall it happening to my mother; now it's happening to me.

As I round the last turn and head into the home stretch, the changes are fascinating and, as a Baby Boomer (born in 1947), soon many of you will be following along. So get your whip ready. The race is getting interesting and it's going to take all you can muster to finish respectably. Thanks for listening to me bitch and moan. http://amplify.com/u/a1j8xd

Marx Knew More Than You Think

2011-12-02T06:09:00.001-08:00

Marx suggested the last stage of Capitalism was what he called "State-Monopoly" Capitalism. He also said consolidation was an inexorable law of Capitalism. Do you think maybe he knew something?

Regardless of what you may think about Karl Marx and the history of Socialism & Communism, current events seem to be vindicating his economic and historical prescience. Read on!

Amplify’d from www.alternet.org

6 Shocking Revelations About Wall Street's "Secret Government"

Top officials willfully concealed the true extent of the 2008-'09 bailouts from Congress and the public.

We now have concrete evidence that Wall Street and Washington are running a secret government far removed from the democratic process. Through a freedom of information request by Bloomberg News, the public now has access to over 29,000 pages of Fed documents and 21,000 additional Fed transactions that were deliberately hidden, and for good reason. (See here and here.)
These documents show how top government officials willfully concealed from Congress and the public the true extent of the 2008-'09 bailouts that enriched the few and enhanced the interests of giant Wall Street

These documents show how top government officials willfully concealed from Congress and the public the true extent of the 2008-'09 bailouts that enriched the few and enhanced the interests of giant Wall Streets firms. Here’s what we now know:

The secret Wall Street bailouts totaled $7.77 trillion, 10 times more than the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) passed by Congress in 2008.

Knowledge of the secret bailout funds was not shared with Congress even while it was drafting and debating legislation to break up the big banks.

The secret funding, provided at below-market rates, gave Wall Street banks an additional $13 billion in profits. (That’s enough money to hire more than 325,000 entry level teachers.)

The secret loans financed bank mergers so that the largest banks could grow even larger. The money also allowed banks to step up their lobbying efforts.
Read more at www.alternet.org

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1j8o0

Use Social to Kick Some Innovation Ass!

2011-08-24T16:33:00.001-07:00

What can I say that hasn't been said already. You want to give your people the power to innovate. Give them what they need to communicate and collaborate. Help them talk to each other and share ideas. Allow them to vote up or down and to participate in the laying, incubating, and hatching of innovative concepts, processes, services, and products. No limits.

PS - Note the use of Jive SBS by Cerner, mentioned at the end of the article.

Amplify’d from www.business2community.com

Innovation: Make It Bigger. Make It Badder. Make It Awesome!

Gia Lyons | Aug 23, 2011 | Comments: 0

(Attribution to Duff Goldman from Food Network’s Ace of Cakes for using his trademark slogan in our title. Thanks, Duff!)

What does it take to come up with a good idea? Sometimes, all you need is a good night’s sleep and time to think. But for companies who live or die based on their ability to innovate, it takes much more, and on a grander scale.

Using Social Business Software, some of our customers have figured out how to scale their innovative efforts beyond traditional R&D teams, knowledge management systems, and customer focus groups.

They’ve recognized that:

* Innovation can happen anywhere, by anyone, not just in R&D;

* Innovative conversations get stuck in people’s Sent Mail folder, lost to the ether after hanging up the phone, or never written down after a meeting; and

* People sometimes don’t know what they know until someone asks them the right question (or, to quote one of my KM friends, “It’s about the interaction, stupid.”)

Companies using Social Business Software are able to cast a wider net for innovative ideas, not only among employees, but also with partners, customers, industry thought leaders, and more.

Take, for example, what Joe Bush from Cerner, a healthcare innovator, says:

A majority of our members, clinicians and IT staffers, simply want a valuable way to connect, learn, and share with others like them. The ER physician in Seattle wants to know how he can decrease wait times for his patients through advanced queuing. An ER physician in Tampa has done just that. uCern [powered by Jive] helps establish that relationship as well as provide a community where that process can be shared with the physician in Seattle, as well as with thousands of other physicians in uCern. uCern is not only Jive SBS technology, it is a highly connected web of interactions across Cerner, our clients, and the complex healthcare environment, with information and relationships at the core.

How is your organization using Social Business Software to amplify innovation?
Read more at www.business2community.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1bsbt

Oy is Right!

2011-08-24T15:48:00.001-07:00

What can I say? I run into this on a daily basis, peddling my services to small business (and I do mean small) here in my little corner of the world. I emphasize it's free, available, and that I plan to show them how and get out of the way; not do it for them. Unfortunately, most of those who want to engage me also want me to do it for them.

They don't get much for what I cost and they're willing to pay, but I keep on harping and showing them how they can find the time for it and how to minimize just how much time they need. What's astonishing is the knowledge that many small business owners will sit around and chew the fat with their customers, but see social media as a waste of their valuable time. OY, indeed!

Amplify’d from smallbiztrends.com

47 Percent of SMBs Still Not Using Social Media. Oy.

Social Media August 24, 2011 By Lisa Barone

Hiscox, a small business insurance company, recently published a survey of 304 small business leaders to find out more about their social media use. Somewhat shockingly (at least to me), only 12 percent of respondents described social media promotion as a “must” for their businesses, with 47 percent of SMBs admitting that they still don’t use social media at all for business purposes. However, they are still hooked on word of mouth marketing, with 50 percent of SMBs saying they couldn’t live without it.

Hmm, I guess social media, that place where people sign on to talk about your business, doesn’t count as “word of mouth marketing.”

While the education component acknowledges a natural learning curve, it is one that small business owners will need to overcome and tackle if they want to compete in the digital age. With more than 100 million users on LinkedIn, 500+ million users on Facebook and 200+ million users on Twitter, your audience is waiting for you to get involved. Your customers are on social media, which means you need to be, as well. And though the tools are new and can be intimidating until you find your legs, the core of social media isn’t much more than just talking to people. More specifically, social media is about talking to your customers. You need to make time to do that

And that really is the most important component – making time.
Read more at smallbiztrends.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1bsav

Good Thing We're Depending on the Russians!

2011-08-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

Two failures in less than 10 days? Pretty ironic this would happen almost immediately after America's Shuttle program comes to an end, forcing us to depend almost solely on Russian spacecraft to resupply ISS. As it now stands, I don't believe we will have the domestic capability to launch supplies, let alone human beings, for at least a couple of years and, if NASA doesn't pull the trigger on a new heavy lift configuration for the nation, it will be even longer. This may just be a speed bump but, as I said, it's rather ironic given Russia's long history of success.

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Russia: Cargo rocket crashes in Siberia

A rocket blasts off from the Russian leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 18.

(CNN) -- A Russian space freighter carrying cargo to the International Space Station has crashed in a remote area of Siberia, Russian emergency officials said Wednesday.

The unmanned Progress cargo craft, which launched at 7 p.m. in Kazakhstan (9 a.m. ET) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, was due to dock with the ISS on Friday.

"The situation with the loss of the Progress is not good, of course, but there are stocks of necessities aboard the ISS to support the cosmonauts that will be sufficient to last out until the arrival of the next Progress" cargo ship, Russia's Space Mission Control executive Vladimir Solovyov told Russia's Interfax news agency.

Space experts said Wednesday's crash was the first failure of a Progress cargo unit in more than 30 years of operation.

However, it is the second failed space launch in Russia in less than 10 days.

On August 18, Russia lost a sophisticated Express-AM4 telecommunications satellite when the launch vehicle put it into the wrong orbit.

He said the six people currently living on the ISS are "well supplied -- actually oversupplied" since the delivery of goods by the final U.S. shuttle mission, carried out by Atlantis last month.

NASA is now reliant on the Russian space agency to ferry U.S. astronauts to orbit, since the grounding of the U.S. shuttle fleet has left the United States with no way to lift humans into space.

Plans are in the works for private companies to begin shipping cargo to the station, and eventually to carry astronauts as well.
Read more at www.cnn.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1bs3p

2012 Republican Political Survival Suit

2011-06-30T06:19:00.001-07:00

The article is pretty straight forward political analysis, but the graphic is priceless satire . . . and sarcasm. There is no love lost between me and many of our so-called Democratic leaders, but the Republican party has surely gone off the ideological deep end and is quickly morphing into a well-off, red, white, and blue version of the Taliban. This seems to me a very creative version of a unisex burqa.

Amplify’d from www.stltoday.com

Editorial: Eight myths to chill an old-school Republican soul

By the Editorial Board

STLtoday.com |

Posted: Sunday, June 26, 2011 12:00 am

| (233) Comments

When Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and House Majority
Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.,
quit the (no longer) bipartisan deficit-reduction talks last
week, it was not exactly a
"Profiles in Courage" moment.

Serious deficit reduction can't be — and shouldn't be —
accomplished without tax increases and broad elimination of tax
expenditures, which would have the effect of raising taxes. The
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform last year

acknowledged that.

But tax increases, in whatever guise, fail the current
Republican purity laws. Mr. Cantor, who will be running for
reelection next year, understands that very well. So does Mr. Kyl,
who won't seek reelection in 2012 — though he's generously
offered himself as a vice presidential nominee.

It's sad to see what has happened to the Party of Lincoln, and
for that matter, the party of lesser mortals like George H.W. Bush
of Texas, Bob Dole of Kansas and Jack Danforth of Missouri. No one
ever would mistake them for liberals, but they were statesmen who
put country before party.

Today we have the spectacle of smart, patriotic men and women
putting their brains and integrity on ice to please a party
dominated by anti-intellectual social Darwinists and the plutocrats
who finance and mislead them.

Consider the mythology that makes up GOP
orthodoxy today. Imagine the contortions that cramp the brains and
souls of men and women of intelligence and compassion who seek
state and national office under the Republican banner.

• They must believe, despite the evidence of the 2008 financial
collapse, that unregulated — or at most, lightly regulated —
financial markets are good for America and the world.

• They must believe in the brilliantly cast conceit known as the
"pro-growth agenda," in which economic growth can be attained only
by reducing corporate and individual tax rates, especially among
the investor class, and by freeing business from environmental
rules that have cleaned up America's air and water and labor
regulations that helped create America's middle class.

• Though rising health care costs are pillaging the economy, and
even though health care in America is now a matter of what you can
afford, Republican candidates for office must deny that health care
is a basic right and resist a real attempt to change and improve
the system.

• GOP candidates must scoff at scientific consensus about global
warming. Blame it on human activity? Bad.
Cite Noah's Ark as evidence? Good. They must express at least
some doubt about the science of evolution.

• They must insist, statistics and evidence to the contrary,
that most of the nation's energy needs can be met safely with more
domestic oil drilling, "clean-coal" technology and greater reliance
on perfectly safe nuclear power plants.

• They must believe that all 11.2 million undocumented
immigrants living in the United States can be rounded up, detained,
tried, repatriated and kept from returning at a reasonable
cost.

• Even though there are more than four unemployed persons for
every available job, GOP candidates should at least hint that
unemployment benefits keep people from seeking jobs.

• They must believe that the Founding Fathers wanted to
guarantee individuals the absolute right to own high-capacity,
rapid-fire weapons that did not exist in the late 18th century.

By no means is this list complete. It almost makes you feel
sorry for the people who pretend to believe this stuff. Almost.

Copyright 2011 STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted in
The-platform

on

Sunday, June 26, 2011 12:00 am

Updated: 10:32 am.

| Tags:

Jon Kyl,

Eric Cantor,

Deficit Reduction,

Republic Myths,

Litmus Test,

Politics,

Budget Talks,

Read more at www.stltoday.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a16bf9

Is SEO Just About Dead?

2011-05-26T20:40:00.001-07:00

Well, maybe not dead, but if this guy is correct (and I have reason to believe he is pretty darn close) one of SEO's holiest of grails (meta keywords) seems to be pretty much a waste of effort. Anyone disagree? I'd surely like to know how to position my efforts wisely.

Amplify’d from en.forums.wordpress.com

WordPress.com

Home

Features

News

Support

Themes

About Us

Advanced

Forums

Meta stuff
Read more at en.forums.wordpress.com

thesacredpath

Member

May 11, 2011, 2:35 AM

The search engines pay virtually zero (0) attention to meta stuff anymore mainly due to abuse over the years. The only thing they might MIGHT use would be a meta description to use as the snippet in a search result, but in my experience even well crafted meta descriptions only get picked up 40 to 50% of the time. The rest of the time the search engines will make their own decision. And meta tags are not even considered at all. They completely ignore them (again due to abuse). The search engines will look at your content and pull what they consider to be the important keywords out of your content.

On my client's site's even though I have the ability to add keywords I don't even bother as the search engines don't use them. I do meta descriptions, but given they only use them about 40-50% of the time I don't spend a lot of time on them.

Catagorize and tag your posts (total of 12 maximum tags + categories), use keywords in your titles and in your content but do not overuse them and everything will be fine. WordPress.COM has some of the best SEO right out of the bag of anywhere around and a wordpress.COM blog with the exact same content will always be higher in search results than a self-hosted blog with all the SEO tricks.

Worry about creating high quality content, post regularly, use keywords in the content and titles and forget about all the rest.
Read more at en.forums.wordpress.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a13xcp

How to Get Your Business Growing Again

2011-05-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

URL: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11128053/1/how-to-get-yo...

New businesses get a lot of attention, whether it's strategies for building a social media base or applying for a first bank loan. Less often do we see attention for businesses that have been around for more than a decade and are profitable but in a holding pattern. To compete with today's newer, faster, leaner and most likely e-commerce-friendly businesses, these older companies need to get the wheels spinning again.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a13nep

How We Got To Where We Are

2011-05-16T14:02:00.001-07:00

http://mariesaid.blogspot.com/2011/05/net-of-safety-and-web-of...

Although it's obvious English is not Marie's first language, her passion and understanding of the things she writes about are admirable. Here she writes about how power resides, ultimately, in we the people and how so much of our progress in civil rights and economic justice has been bequeathed to us by prior generations of sacrifice. This is a good read.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1350z

Using Your Menu Wisely!

2011-05-07T09:11:00.001-07:00

Precipitated by an inter-continental Twitter discussion involving, among other things, Chicken-fried Steak, Vinnie Mirchandani (author of "The New Polymath") posted this instructive picture of a menu, with comments on what makes it useful and well-designed.

Any of my restaurant friends paying attention?

Amplify’d from florence20.typepad.com

Vinnie Mirchandani on global technology innovation and impact on how we work, live and play

The "Menu Magician"

I saw this in the Southwest Spirit magazine. Gregg Rapp runs a boot camp and a consulting practice to help restaurants rethink their menu to become a sales tool.

See more at florence20.typepad.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a11t6v

2011-04-21T08:59:00.001-07:00

Though I've been targeting businesses with lots of foot traffic and churn (e.g. restaurants, retail stores, bars, service providers), I recently got a Dentist's office as a client. It's going to be fun to see if a place people don't exactly go to for fun can nevertheless take advantage of the free ads provided by apps like Foursquare and, perhaps, Groupon . . . as well as other methods like Facebook fan pages, etc. Anyone have any experiences to share. http://amplify.com/u/bzwqp

Do We Need Incentives for Innovators?

2011-04-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

http://traction.tractionsoftware.com/traction/permalink/Blog1654

This is a nice piece on the value - actually its lack of value - of providing extrinsic, monetary incentives to "drive" innovation. Mention is made of the value of "observable work" in making the contributions of participants in workflow visible to all who care to look. There are many others who have pointed this out in similar contexts, including Alfie Kohn, Dr. Russel Ackoff, and W. Edward Deming.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bytpy

They're at it Again; Budget Gamesmanship

2011-04-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

The thought of having to give up any of my meager Social Security and upcoming Medicare benefits (which, correct me if I'm wrong here, I've paid into for about 45 years) is really thrilling; especially when I know it will be used to fund tax cuts for people who have more money than they're actually worth.

Amplify’d from www.rollingstone.com

Tax Cuts for the Rich on the Backs of the Middle Class; or, Paul Ryan Has Balls

Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s latest entrant in the seemingly endless series of young, prickish, over-coiffed, anal-retentive deficit Robespierres they’ve sent to the political center stage in the last decade or so, has come out with his new budget plan. All of these smug little jerks look alike to me – from Ralph Reed to Eric Cantor to Jeb Hensarling to Rand Paul and now to Ryan, they all look like overgrown kids who got nipple-twisted in the halls in high school, worked as Applebee’s shift managers in college, and are now taking revenge on the world as grownups by defunding hospice care and student loans and Sesame Street. They all look like they sleep with their ties on, and keep their feet in dress socks when doing their bi-monthly duty with their wives.

You push a policy like that in the middle of a shaky economy, of course we’re going to have debt problems. But the issue is being presented as if the debt comes entirely from growth in entitlement spending. It’s bad enough that middle-class taxpayers have been forced in the last few years to subsidize the vacations and beach houses of the idiots who caused the financial crisis, and it’s doubly insulting that they’re now being blamed for the budget mess.

But the icing on the cake comes when a guy like David Brooks – like me a coddled, overcompensated media yuppie whose idea of sacrifice is raking one’s own leaves – comes out and calls Paul Ryan courageous for having the guts to ask seniors to cut back on their health care in order to pay for our tax breaks.

The absurd thing is that Ryan’s act isn’t even politically courageous. It’s canny calculation, but courage it is not. It would be courageous if Ryan were, say, the president of the United States, and leaning on that budget with his full might. But Ryan is proposing a budget he knows would have no chance of passing in the Senate. He is simply playing out a part, a non-candidate for the presidency pushing a rhetorical flank for an out-of-power party leading into a presidential campaign year. If the budget is a hit with the public, the 2012 Republican candidate can run on it. If it isn’t, the Republican candidate can triangulate Ryan’s ass back into the obscurity from whence it came, and be done with him.

No matter what, Ryan’s gambit, ultimately, is all about trying to get middle-class voters to swallow paying for tax cuts for rich people. It takes chutzpah to try such a thing, but having a lot of balls is not the same as having courage.
Read more at www.rollingstone.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/byp32

Revolution or Transformation

2011-03-10T09:25:00.001-08:00

Steve Brant makes a compelling argument for how we need to envision our world. He suggests a vision of scarcity is not congruent with reality and proposes we take an abundance view to our world. Life is not a zero-sum game, regardless of what those who would benefit from that being the case have to say about it.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

The Huffington Post
March 10, 2011

The Revolution...Sorry, Transformation Starts Now!

I predict the Naked Power Grab by the Republican party in Wisconsin will go down in history as the second "shot heard 'round the world" which began the second American Revolution. Except, if the Progressive Movement in America really wants to win this Revolution, it will not launch a revolution at all. It will launch a Transformation. The Transformation of America (and, ultimately, the world).

Eliminate fear, my fellow Progressives. That's what the people in Egypt did. And when they were no longer fearful of the power structure in their country, they were able to dismantle it and begin to build a much better country... one that will work for everyone in Egypt, not just the wealthy.

We American Progressives can do the same, except that America's position in the world will mean our work will eventually help fulfill an even greater human dream... of a WORLD (not just a country) that works for everyone!

Here's to winning the war by refusing to play on the Right's battlefield or using their rules!

Here's to winning the Revolution but not "revolting" but by "transforming" (building something better) instead!

Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/btrpg

Facebook Ads Provide Excellent Value

2011-03-07T06:32:00.001-08:00

Let's face(book) it, Facebook has been invading our privacy for years. The result, an ability to target ads like never before. Coupled with a model that makes it easy to experiment for very little money, there's little reason not to give it a shot if you've got a Facebook Fan Page. Read this article from The Globe and Mail for more info. This is a winner for small businesses with small advertising budgets.

Amplify’d from www.theglobeandmail.com

The value of being 'liked'

How much are you willing to pay to be liked? It was a fitting question for JP Davidson and Elah Feder, the creators of “I Like You,” a podcast about modern love, from friends-with-benefits to the ins and outs of queer Jewish speed-dating.

“We were looking for new ways to expand our listenership,” says Mr. Davidson. “Like everybody else, we saw the ads in the Facebook sidebar constantly, and looked into how much it would cost to run a campaign.”

What they found was a lot of “likes” for not a lot of money. Their value, however, remains to be seen.
Read more at www.theglobeandmail.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bteed

Untitled

2011-02-26T10:15:00.001-08:00

Being heavily invested now is the world of small business (I suppose I could add in the word medium here and use the SMB acronym), I thought this would be interesting. However, the very first one - number 10 - is suspect. I think a much more interesting number would be the percentage of people employed by small businesses. I'll bet it would be a significant, but lower number.

I worked for two organizations that each employed around 140,000 people world-wide and there are many that big and bigger. Frankly, I would expect the number of small business, as a percentage of employers, to be that high - but I think the metric is meaningless.

Number one - the last point - makes more sense to me and sort of obviates whatever value number 10 had. However, leading off with a useless metric kind of lowers the value of everything else in my eyes. Just sayin'!

Amplify’d from usgovinfo.about.com

US Government Info

Top Ten Reasons to Love U.S. Small Business
List highlights importance of small business to U.S. economy
By Robert Longley, About.com Guide

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the top 10 reasons to love small business, what the SBA's Office of Advocacy calls "the heart of the American economy."

10. Small businesses make up more than 99.7% of all employers.

9. Small businesses create more than 50 percent of the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).

8. Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

7. The 22.9 million small businesses in the United States are located in virtually every neighborhood.

6. Small businesses employ about 50 percent of all private sector workers.

5. Home-based businesses account for 53 percent of all small businesses.

4. Small businesses make up 97 percent of exporters and produce 29 percent of all export value.

3. Small businesses with employees start-up at a rate of over 500,000 per year.

2. Four years after start-up, half of all small businesses with employees remain open.

1. The latest figures show that small businesses create 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy.

The SBA's Office of Advocacy, the "small business watchdog" of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration]
Read more at usgovinfo.about.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bruem

Frosty, The Red-Nosed Snowman

2011-02-19T12:01:00.001-08:00

There are lots of things I love about being a father of young children. One of them just happened in our living room while I was cleaning the kitchen. Our oldest is away with Mom at a Girl Scout activity and the youngest daughter of one of the other families is here playing with our youngest.

I just listened to her (the friends' daughter) start to sing Frosty the Snowman which, mid-way, transformed into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and somehow ended in an amalgamated medley of the two. Listening to this incredible editing job, which I'm sure was invented on-the-fly, was priceless. I will miss this age as I miss others that have passed. Thankfully my memory isn't what it used to be, so the loss isn't melancholy for long. Still . . .

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bqx3c

Some Weird Stumble Upon-Like Thing

2011-02-13T23:43:00.001-08:00

I came across this while looking for information on the treatment of left-handers during medieval times. This isn't from the page I found, which seems to be quite old and simplistically designed, but I thought the sentiment quite useful to memorialize.

Consider this a very public bookmarking; done so you might judge for yourself if the sentiment is worthy of a moment of your time . . . retrospectively, I realize but, well, what can I say? So sue me.

Amplify’d from www.csun.edu

… A Prayer by a 17th century Nun

"Lord --- Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am

growing older and will someday be old.

Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on

every subject on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody… helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all.

But Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details.

Give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains…

They are increasing… and love of rehearsing them is

becoming gets sweeter as the time goes by.

I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others pains…

but help me endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory,

but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness

when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonable sweet.

I do not want to be a saint…

some of them are so hard to live with…

But a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places

and talent in unexpected people.

And give me O Lord, the Grace to tell them so."
Read more at www.csun.edu

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aq5c1

Dang! I missed today's best time

2011-02-06T12:13:00.001-08:00

http://blog.hubspot.com/Portals/249/images/day_hour_infographi...

I'm sorry . . . and I say that with the utmost sincerity (especially since I'm likely the only one I'm saying it to - which makes it all that much more pathetic) . . . but I really wanted to write about something, anything, today. So I thought I might write about my relationship with blogging. However, as the linked graphic clearly shows, I just missed the ideal time to do so today and, alas, it appears mostly downhill from here.

Nevertheless, thanks to Amplify, I can still fulfill my obligation to myself and get back to work so I can relax and watch some of the best commercials we're likely to see all year. Incidentally, I think there's a football game wrapped around those commercials. Don't quote me on it, though.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aoz7b

Gladwell for Dummies | The Nation

2011-02-04T10:55:00.001-08:00

http://www.thenation.com/article/gladwell-dummies?page=0,0

This is an interesting (and quite long) primer on Malcolm Gladwell, written before his comments regarding social media and social movements. It's surely worthy of a read if you're trying to figure out just how valuable his opinion is. The author of this piece, Maureen Tkacik, casts a fair amount of doubt on his ability to really understand much of anything . . . I think :).

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aohoz

Consider Attending IBM's Social Business Jam? Here's How!

2011-02-01T12:04:00.001-08:00

I am a VIP guest taking part in a unique opportunity to engage in an interactive discussion about the growing influence of social technology in business.

On February 8-11, 2011 I will be joining IBM to host their Social Business Jam where we will cooperatively explore the value of social technology in business, the mitigation of its risks, and the management system required to drive the social transformation required for its use. This web-based event will provide an unrivalled opportunity for thousands of leaders from around the world to pool their knowledge and experiences, and to examine this next generation of business. I urge you to participate. Learn more here: www.ibm.com/social/businessjam

There will be 5 discussion forums occurring simultaneously, where participants can join any time during the event. The subjects of these forums are:

Building the Social Business of the Future

Building Participatory Organizations Through Social Adoption

Using Social to Understand and Engage with Customers

What does Social mean for IT?

Identifying Risks and Establishing Governance

Participation does not require your full-time involvement during the 72 hours of the event. You can log-in to the Jam whenever you are available, and spend as much time as you want to comment, read or engage in topic areas you find most interesting. We're looking forward to your participation!

Please join me in this exciting conversation about the new era of business:

1. Register for the Jam: Please register for the Jam via this link: http://ibm.co/joinsbjam

2. Spread the word about the Jam: Please help us generate buzz about this upcoming event via Twitter (#sbjam) and other channels of communication you have access to.

Thanks.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ao6r5

In Memorium - STS-51-L Challenger

2011-01-28T15:56:00.001-08:00

A little over three weeks ago I wrote a personal reflection on the Challenger disaster, as it changed my life not insignificantly and this anniversary kind of coincided with the end of the changes the original event precipitated. I just thought I'd share my post once again. It's at http://wp.me/paiNK-7v

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/anvi2

I'm OK, You're a Pathological Techno-Geek

2011-01-20T09:45:00.001-08:00

You won't go wrong reading the entire review, but in the interest of brevity I am herewith sharing the author's final paragraph. It's a couple days old. Sorry

Amplify’d from www.boston.com

Antisocial media

An MIT professor and psychologist argues our modern wired lifestyle is damaging us and our relationships, but she may be a bit premature

(Tatsuro Kiuchi)

By
David Weinberger

Globe Correspondent

/
January 16, 2011

But, suppose human nature is more malleable than her psychological model allows. Suppose the Internet is devising a self that is social in new ways that include intimacy, but that also find real human value in thinly spread connections. Turkle’s observations raise disturbing issues, but her theoretical framework so colors her conclusions that, although her book will spark useful debate, it settles less than she seems to think. The changes our technology is bringing are challenging our conceptual frameworks for understanding those changes, including the psychological standpoint Turkle takes as secure.

David Weinberger is a senior researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He can be reached at self@evident.com.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
Read more at www.boston.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bn1od

Please Help!

2011-01-15T17:55:00.001-08:00

Hello. My name is Rick and . . . well . . . I'm a bit of a Social Media addict. I've been able to resist Farmville, but I still check in frequently to see what's up on Facebook. I follow amazingly fascinating and informing people on Twitter and have connected with them on Facebook as well. Many of them are in far away locations on the planet, so there's almost always a conversation going on; at any time of day or night. Today it became clear to me just how much of a problem this is for me.

I have an iMac, an iPad, and (I know this probably seems heretical, but what can I say?) an HTC Hero running Google Android. I use or have used Twitter's web app, Nambu, Osfoora, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Twitter for iPad, and maybe some services I can't even remember using. I ran my iPad's battery down by about 3:00 pm PST today and had to switch over to my phone exclusively while it's recharging. The process has me twitching a little bit. The alternative is to sit in my home office, tethered to my Mac, but the weather is gorgeous and at least I can be somewhat ambulatory with either of my other devices.

It's not that I'm on Twitter all the time; it's just that I feel compelled to at least pay attention. I also find myself checking in using Foursquare or Facebook Places, and writing reviews on Yelp. I'm fascinated with the quality of information available via Twitter or, lately, Quora.

I can't seem to disengage, and I don't even work in Tech or a large enterprise (at least not anymore). What can I do? My children are begging me to help them be less bored. I should get them their own smart phones I suppose, but they're only 7 and 9. Still . . . the temptation is strong.

My name is Rick. I'm 63 years old, semi-retired, and wondering what to do with this addiction. Please help!

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bm46n

Tunisia's President Flees After Riots Fanned by WikiLeaks

2011-01-14T13:04:00.001-08:00

URL: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/14/tunisias-president-fl...

A little more information on what's happening in Tunisia.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/blygx

Tunisia's Revolution Was Twitterized

2011-01-14T12:42:00.001-08:00

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/firas-alatraqchi/tunisias...

I think anybody who is interested in the power of social media to revolutionize not merely the way we do business, but the way we live our lives, should be paying close attention to what's happening in Tunisia. I wish I'd known about this earlier. This likely is a harbinger of more changes to come, as peoples' ability to communicate, share, inform, and educate (all of which facilitate collaboration and innovation) expands to ubiquity.

To me this represents an aspect of emergence that is incredibly exciting. It's very democratic and participatory, incredibly disruptive, yet it's hard to say what that will mean as process and structure coalesce behind our desires and needs. Gives me goosebumps!

We couldn't spread democracy through the use of force very effectively (and surely not very efficiently), but technology is doing it for us . . . and to us. I was thinking this is part of our evolution, but then - since we've created the technology - realized it's intelligent design =;^D

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/blyel

Another Reason Healthcare is so Expensive!

2011-01-07T11:33:00.001-08:00

I just had to share this. It strikes me as indicative of just how litigious our society (the United States, that is) has become and how, coupled with many contributing factors, it makes our healthcare (or sickness care) system incredibly wasteful and, therefore, expensive.

I received a "SECOND REQUEST" letter from NexClaim Recoveries, LLC the other day, reminding me I was a slacker in not filling out their previously sent treatment questionnaire. It carried the following "threat":

Your response is required within the next 21 days to avoid further contact.

Now here's what this is in regard to. Last August my then 6 year old daughter was bleeding off some excess energy by spinning madly in the very large elevator vestibule in the San Francisco Hilton. She lost her balance, fell, and hit her mouth on the edge of a small table sitting between two chairs at the far end of the area.

She was bleeding rather profusely from her mouth and I immediately sought medical attention from the hotel. We were very quickly transported to the emergency room at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in a hotel limousine, where my daughter's mouth was closely inspected (after quite an effort on behalf of the staff to earn her trust). Thankfully, the blood was from a cut lip and nothing more; no broken or damaged teeth. The hotel was good enough to retrieve us when we were finished and the lip healed within days.

At no time did I ever contemplate looking to the hotel or anyone else for liability. In fact, if there's any "blame" to be assigned I'm afraid I would be the first candidate. She is, after all, my daughter and I'm the one who "allowed" her to spin around. I was, in fact, sitting in one of those chairs and "should" have been there to catch her, eh?

Well, thankfully NexClaim is far enough evolved in the Technium to have also built a web presence designed to provide people like me an easier way to respond, as well as save themselves nearly a half buck in postage each time it's used.

I have to say I'm still a bit miffed I had to actually take an action - to keep from being dunned - in order to assure these people (and United Technologies-Anthem, my healthcare extor . . . er, provider) I'm not going to do something; like sue them.

When I finished filling in as little as possible of the form as I could and still ensure they will never contact me again, I was taken to a page containing the following.

Thank You for responding via our online questionnaire response form. Your response has been processed and received and you may discard your paper questionnaire. Occasionally, responses may not be processed before another questionnaire is generated. Therefore if you receive a questionnaire in the mail regarding the same treatment, please disregard. Your assigned specialist may contact you if additional information is needed.

Should you have any questions or need to change your response, please feel free to contact our Customer Call Center at 1-888-468-4742 .

Somehow, this is almost like adding insult to injury, as it seems further proof they're wasteful and disorganized, which I believe the entire reason for their existence actually is. I also find it ironic they actually infer I'm a Customer!

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bkv2l

How's That New Year's Resolution Working Out?

2011-01-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

I don't make New Year's Resolutions, never have. I did, however make an Old Year's Resolution back around Thanksgiving. It was to make it through the holidays without gaining any weight and still enjoy myself.

Putting on my pants this morning I realized I achieved my goal and, in fact, appear to have lost weight. I haven't actually weighed myself, but I believe the ease with which I fit into a pair of pants I don't think would have been all that comfortable a month or so ago is proof enough.

The real point I'm making here is, if you need to do something you don't need to wait around for some (let's face it) arbitrary day in the Earth's revolution around the Sun to commence. I'm pretty convinced New Year's Resolutions are designed to fail. Not a good model, IMO.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bkn2i

Whither Goest Ubiquity in SM?

2010-12-31T12:09:00.001-08:00

I'm about halfway through Kevin Kelly's "What Technology Wants", a fascinating book in which he discusses his concept of what he calls the "Technium". Click here for a page on his website with links to numerous reviews of the book.

The point I'm at in the book he's discussing the concepts of risk management and how best to approach new technologies, as well as the potential for both good and bad inherent in them. The thing that struck me the hardest, though, is the recognition that some of the effects of a technology aren't apparent until they approach ubiquity, that is until a certain critical mass of people or entities are using them.

So . . . in that regard I find myself wondering what social media is going to look like when everyone is using smartphones and some of the, say, location-based services are both easier to use and more powerful in terms of bringing people together. Anyone have any ideas on what the future may hold? What will it mean to restaurants and others who depend on a fickle public when everyone joins the conversation?

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/k5mt

Rocketdyne Continues to Advance on J-2X Engine

2010-12-29T16:02:00.001-08:00

If the ill-conceived decision to depend on Russian launch capability for at least two years, which was part of George W. Bush's plan for our Space Program, results in the loss of talent still working at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, it will be at the very least a setback that may take a decade to recover from.

I'm in favor of the commercialization of space and American (actually human) launch capabilities, but it isn't imminent, even if we use aggressive estimates of existing companies vying for leadership. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne needs to become more competitive, but that doesn't require throwing them to the wolves. It would be a sad loss for not just our country, but everyone who believes we have a role to play outside the confines of this planet.

Amplify’d from pr-usa.net

PR-USA.net

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Completes Assembly of Fuel Turbopump on NASA's J-2X Rocket Engine

The J-2X fuel turbopump assembly follows the successful assembly of the oxidizer turbopump, which delivers high-pressure liquid oxygen to the main injector. The engine, whose first hot-fire tests are planned for early 2011 at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, has the characteristics to power the upper-stage of a heavy-lift launch vehicle.

"Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne continues to demonstrate readiness and the capability to support NASA as the nation embarks upon the next era of human spaceflight," said Jim Maser, president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

John Vilja, vice president and program manager for the J-2X engine, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said the J-2X is a significant and long overdue development in upper-stage propulsion. "The J-2X will prove vital in continuing U.S. space exploration, advancing engineering skills, creating opportunities for missions beyond low-Earth orbit, and even providing opportunities for adaptation to alternate fuels in space," Vilja said.
Read more at pr-usa.net

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/jzw2

The Beauty of Diagrams: Vitruvian Man & Others I Can't View

2010-12-27T10:19:00.001-08:00

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vl3h1/The_Beaut...

Facebook and other frustrations. How many times do you see comments friends of yours have made on threads that were initiated by someone who isn't a friend of yours . . . and you wanted to comment as well, but couldn't? It happens to me quite frequently, but I usually just let it go and content myself with gratitude for not being as interested in instant gratification as, say, my seven year old.

However, this morning I became aware of what looks like a fascinating six-part series that was apparently broadcast on BBC4 just recently, the synopses of which are available on the BBC's website, but which also are listed as unavailable in my area.

The series includes episodes on Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, Copernicus and the heliocentric universe, Newton's prism, Florence Nightingale's depiction of the real cause of battle deaths, The discovery and depiction of DNA, and the story behind the plaque carried on the space vehicle Pioneer.

As a long-time fan of Edward Tufte's and the general notion of "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" I was hoping to watch the series. Alas, not only can't I comment directly on my friend's comments; I can't even watch any of the series.

So . . . Jack Vinson - thanks for your inadvertently making aware of the series; curses on you Facebook for not allowing me to make a side comment because the originator isn't a friend of mine; Damn you BBC for allowing me to read your promos about the series, download the damn iPlayer, but not allowing me to view the episodes.

If anybody out there in cyberland knows how I can remedy this situation without waiting a year before the BBC deigns to replay the series, I would be most appreciative. Thanks.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/jn7u

Happy Holidays from a Quantum Gestalt Humanist

2010-12-24T13:33:00.001-08:00

Well, it being that time of year again, I just want to take a moment to wish everyone I know (or whoever happens upon this post) the best. Over the years it's morphed considerably. What was once Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year has become Happy Holidays. There's also Mele Kalikimaka, which is one of my all-time favorites and, as of the last few years, I've taken to wishing friends and family a Happy Chriskwanzukkah.

Recently, however, I came across a new one in the Urban Dictionary, and thought I'd like to share it. So . . . from this former Jew, currently atheist (but who likes the term in the title as well, especially for friends who refuse to believe I'm an atheist), kinda Buddhist, who was raised in a Christian country and is intimately familiar with the holiday now only loosely associated with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (including that Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men nonsense):

Happy Chrismahannukwanzadan

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/jfr0

Usage of the word "collaboration" through the eyes of Google Labs' Ngram Viewer (thx @Renee_Hopkins)

2010-12-17T13:51:00.001-08:00

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=collaboration&year_...

Interesting. Based on a tweet from @Renee_Hopkins regarding the frequency of use of "disruptive innovation", I visited the site and put in the word "collaboration". It looks like from about 1870 on there's a fairly even slope, save for the period around WWII (which, I both assumed and pretty much confirmed by checking some titles, had to do with the scrutiny of European collaboration with the Nazis - though there were some other studies as well). Also, it looks like it peaks in 2000 and is currently waning somewhat precipitously.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/iocn

Henry Porter on wikileaks

2010-12-12T08:17:00.001-08:00

Ah . . . I find the last sentence in this quote simultaneously damning and illustrative of a too-large percentage of our so-called leaders. I'm amazed we put up with their shit! Why are so many so gullible and easily led astray; choosing courses of action that are demonstrably against their own best interests?

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

I have lost count of the politicians and opinion formers of an authoritarian bent warning of the dreadful damage done by the WikiLeaks dump of diplomatic cables, and in the very next breath dismissing the content as frivolous tittle-tattle. To seek simultaneous advantage from opposing arguments is not a new gambit, but to be wrong in both is quite an achievement.
Read more at www.guardian.co.uk

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/i73x

A Few Choice (mine) Quotes From Bucky

2010-12-12T08:09:00.001-08:00

Just thought Sunday morning would be a good time to pass along a few of the numerous quotes attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller I found particularly thought-provoking or enlightening.

Amplify’d from en.wikiquote.org

Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster Fuller (12 July 1895 – 1 July 1983) was an American philosopher, architect, and inventor, known to many of his friends and fans as "Bucky" Fuller.

God, to me, it seems

is a verb,

not a noun,

proper or improper.

No More Secondhand God (1963)

The opposite of nature is impossible

Public lecture at Columbia University (Spring 1965) ^{[citation needed]}

We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian-Darwinian theory, he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.

Barlow, Elizabeth (March 30, 1970). "The New York Magazine Environmental Teach-In". New York Magazine, p. 30.[1]

Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.

Interview (30 April 1978)

Read more at en.wikiquote.org

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/i7o9

I Have To What?

2010-12-11T21:04:00.001-08:00

My 7 year old: Daddy. I have a boyfriend.

Me: What's his name.

7YO: Tyler.

Me: Have you kissed him?

7YO: No! I'm going to marry him.

Me: If you marry him you're going to have to kiss him.

Wife: But not until you're 18.

7YO: Yay!

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/i6uu

I Am Julian Assange

2010-12-08T06:59:00.001-08:00

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/i-am-julian-ass...

Excellent read by James Moore on why what Wikileaks has done is important to our freedom and progress as a people.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/hx3y

When You Die In ‘Real’ Life, Who Will Keep You Alive On Twitter?

2010-11-29T19:31:00.001-08:00

URL: http://twittercism.com/death-by-twitter/

I started thinking about this kind of stuff when a young women I knew through the International Adoption community died of cancer in her early twenties. She had become a friend on Facebook and her presence remained; curated by her former fiancee and, perhaps, some of her closest friends.

It was eerie, yet I didn't want to let go of her either. Since then my uncle has died, as has a friend and business acquaintance. I 'unfriended' the latter, as I didn't know him that well and never met his family, but it made me feel a little creepy - like I was abandoning him. I know it's absolutely crazy, but I can't help the feeling.

At any rate, this blog shares an interesting take on what happens to us in the social media (i.e. cyberspace) world when we shuffle off our mortal coil and return to that great supernova in the sky. At my age, I'm beginning to think far more seriously about this stuff than I have before. How about you?

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/gryd

When You Die In ‘Real’ Life, Who Will Keep You Alive On Twitter?

2010-11-29T19:29:00.001-08:00

URL: http://twittercism.com/death-by-twitter/

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/gryd

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

2010-11-29T19:21:00.001-08:00

http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html

This is a very cool compilation of just about every type of graphic and chart that can be used to get a point across. No matter what type of data you're conveying, there's almost certainly a method here that will help you convey it clearly. Perhaps some are a bit pedestrian, but they are tried and true; many having stood the test of time.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/grxt

2010-11-25T15:04:00.001-08:00

Today is, regardless of its deeper meaning wrt colonialism, racism, and Imperialism, a special day; perhaps the most meaningful of all our American holidays in terms of family. It's a secular holiday, which I consider special - absent any religious significance that isn't common to everyone. I just want to commemorate it with a quick recognition of everyone I have, and have had, the opportunity to connect with. Thank you. http://amplify.com/u/ggpt

When I grow up I want to be a superhero with a German car. #photo

2010-11-23T16:40:00.001-08:00

You go, Grandma!!

Amplify’d from www.mymodernmet.com

Grandma's Superhero Therapy (18 photos)

A few years ago, French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old Hungarian grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested that they shoot a series of outrageous photographs in unusual costumes, poses, and locations. Grandma reluctantly agreed, but once they got rolling, she couldn't stop smiling.

Frederika was born in Budapest 20 years before World War II. During the war, at the peril of her own life, she courageously saved the lives of ten people. When asked how, Goldberger told us "she hid the Jewish people she knew, moving them around to different places every day." As a survivor of Nazism and Communism, she then immigrated away from Hungary to France, forced by the Communist regime to leave her homeland illegally or face death.

Aside from great strength, Frederika has an incredible sense of humor, one that defies time and misfortune. She is funny and cynical, always mocking the people that she loves.

Read more at www.mymodernmet.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/fyzg

Nice Guide to Using, as well as the Pros & Cons of, Dropbox

2010-11-23T16:36:00.001-08:00

Some useful stuff in here on how to get the most out of a Dropbox account, whether the free one, or one of the paid ones that provide more storage. There are also some tips and tricks and links to further reading.

Amplify’d from www.makeuseof.com

MakeUseOf.com

The First Unofficial Guide to Dropbox [Save PDF or Read Online]

by Justin Pot on Nov. 22nd, 2010

You’re at the coffee shop. You need to access a file that has information about your work, but as you attempt to find the file you realize that you’ve made a mistake. You saved the work on your desktop computer, but you only have your laptop with you. You have no way to access the file.

Enter Dropbox. This program acts as a “magic pocket” which is always with you and contains whatever you place in it. Put a file into your Dropbox and it’s on all of your computers and mobile devices, really handy if you own multiple devices. But there’s more to Dropbox: you can use it for file sharing, backing up your data and even remotely control your computer.

If you’re not using Dropbox yet, you should be. Lucky for you our new MakeUseOf manual “Using The Magic Pocket: A Dropbox Manual” is now available for download.

It’s informative, easy to read and, like all of our manuals, completely free.

Download: Using The Magic Pocket: A Dropbox Manual

Read now online on Scribd

See more at www.makeuseof.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/fyyv

Systems Savvy. Heaven Is Where You Find It?

2010-11-14T07:52:00.001-08:00

http://rickladd.com/

My latest blog post. What is your definition of work. I don't go into it too deeply here, but mine may be radically different from that of many.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/f7h5

Why Connecting Matters - andrewpwilson's posterous

2010-11-11T12:24:00.001-08:00

http://andrewpwilson.posterous.com/why-connecting-matters?utm_...

This seems like a human analog of the Network Effect. It also seems somewhat analogous to gravity. The more massive a body, the more likely it is to accrete matter from its surrounding space. Connections work that way as well.

Whether it's physics or economics that best explain what the author is talking about, there's no doubt having lots of "useful" connections increases the number and quality of transactions you can or are likely to be involved in.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/f0y7

Content is, indeed, King!

2010-11-08T21:13:00.001-08:00

Great article on the triumph of content over form. Thanks to George Dearing for pointing it out.

Amplify’d from www.theatlantic.com

Dylan Tweney
- An award-winning writer specializing in technology, science and business, Dylan Tweney is a senior editor at Wired.com and publisher of tinywords, the world's smallest magazine.

All Posts

The Undesigned Web

nts and political parties communicated to the first mass audiences.

Message and presentation were inextricably intertwined, with the latter lending power, impact and even meaning to

Design reigned supreme in the 20th century, when it was an integral part of the way artists, publishers, governments and political parties communicated to the first mass audiences.

Message and presentation were inextricably intertwined, with the latter lending power, impact and even meaning to the former. Not for nothing was Marshall McLuhan able to say, with gnomic brevity but not a little insight, "the medium is the message."

But in the 21st century, Internet standards have successfully separated design and content. The two live more interdependent lives, sometimes tightly tied and sometimes completely separated from one another.

The message is now free from the medium.

It's that separability of design and text that has led to the third wave of the web, in which readers (or what some would call end-users) are in control of how the content they are reading looks. And, as it turns out, many of those readers like their designs to be as minimal as possible.

As Jaron Lanier perceptively observed in the introduction to his recent book, You Are Not a Gadget many -- if not most -- of the readers of any text in the 21st century are not people. They are machines: Google's web crawlers and indexing engines, for instance.

Even humans have different motivations and needs. Sometimes readers will want to engage with a particular story in the calm, uncluttered space an iPad affords, with no distractions and with the content front and center. Other times, they may want to read things -- as we increasingly do -- in the midst of a busy hub of data. That should be the reader's choice, not the publisher's. To facilitate those decisions, as well as the widespread distribution of content via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flipboard and a hundred other tools used by readers today, publishers need good information design as well as clean visual designs.

The Undesigned Web will facilitate critical thinking, sharing of information, and the wider dissemination of knowledge than has ever been previously possible. That's because it will be easier than ever to separate content from the, ahem, bullshit with which it is frequently cloaked: Distracting photo spreads, advertisements, backgrounds, faux-official layouts and logos, and the like. It will be easier to tweet, retweet, blog and reblog content, adding layers upon layers of discussion and criticism while embedding it into new social contexts.

In this new world, the end of design -- by which I mean its purpose, its goal, the end toward which it aims -- is to make content easier to parse, both for humans and for machines.
Read more at www.theatlantic.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/etqr

Resistance is, indeed, futile

2010-11-07T09:12:00.001-08:00

If you're a Star Trek (or, as my father used to call it, Star Drek) fan (especially TNG), you should appreciate this article. I lead with mostly the pics, but the article is also fairly insightful, IMO.

Amplify’d from searchengineland.com

Back in 1996, the now defunct Boardwatch Magazine had a classic cover depicting Microsoft and CEO Bill Gates as the Borg. For 2010, we’d like to submit some more modern candidates: Google, Facebook and Apple.

The article below assumes some knowledge of the Borg from Star Trek. Never heard of them? Nasty creatures that “assimilated” everything into their “collective” society.

The Google Borg

The Facebook Borg

The Apple Borg

And Microsoft…?

Maybe Resistance Is Futile!
Read more at searchengineland.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/eqjg

Alternative News Media Websites

2010-11-05T22:35:00.001-07:00

URL: http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/politics/alternative-me...

Tired of all the old news sources? You know, the ones that don't really tell you much of what's going on and dwell on the sensational to the detriment of real reporting and analysis. Well, here's a nifty list of alternative media you just may find useful. You're welcome.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/enrm

2009-02-06T22:25:00.001-08:00

@ugorian - I don't use Ping much cause it barely differentiates between the 8 networks it goes to (for me). I really need to get with it.

2009-01-13T16:55:00.001-08:00

My company just announced merit raises are being deferred 6 months. Oh joy! I'm celebrating by re-doing our pool.

2009-01-11T17:34:00.001-08:00

Do believe Tri-tip is official "bird" of tri-counties Ventura, Santa B., & SLO

2009-01-11T16:34:00.001-08:00

I absolutely love talking about learning with my oldest. Talking to a sponge . . . way cool!

2009-01-11T16:25:00.001-08:00

Tweeting, pinging, & posting from mobile dev is cool, but I could really use a browser w/tabs.

2009-01-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

SoCal is really something. Winter has barely started & I'm out in the garage with the kids playing outside. It's over 80 degrees outside

2009-01-11T15:01:00.001-08:00

Testing Ping from mobile device

2009-01-11T14:58:00.001-08:00

Testing out Ping - http://ping.fm

Talk About Your Angst!

2008-10-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are . . . what is it? . . about six days out from what I'm thinking is the most important election of my lifetime. Any election involving Nixon, Reagan, or either of the Bush gangster family was, of course, important, but this one - whew! After eight years of so thoroughly screwing up everything they touched, I am on pins and needles waiting to see if we get a brand new start at fixing things, or if we get something possibly worse than George Bush.

I think I need to explain something too. Although I take the position George Bush and his administration screwed up everything they touched, I think it's important to note they did exactly what they had planned to do all along. The failures were not truly failures, as they fit into the general plan. Don't think for one moment these criminals weren't working toward the dream so famously articulated by Grover Norquist when he said his goal was to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

I have no doubt that is exactly what has been going on, especially when government means services for the people, as opposed to handouts for the well-connected. We have witnessed the most massive re-distribution of national wealth, certainly in my lifetime. Now, perhaps, we can see some of that bleeding stanched.

Six more days! I am on pins and needles. We so desperately need to take this nation in another direction; to back away from the arrogant unilateralism and the move toward the so-called "unitary executive"; the use of torture and the spying on our own citizens; and the outright flaunting of the Constitution when it serves the narrow interests of the administration.

Obama has created one of the flattest campaign organizations ever, thanks in large part to his team's understanding and use of information technology. Let's see if they can translate this knowledge into a new politics of engagement and involvement . . . and - dare I say - democracy.

Cranky

Checking out Disqus

2008-10-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

Just associated a commenting service with my blog - Disqus; not that I expect to get many - if any - comments on my posts, but just because I wanted to sign up for the service to see what it was all about. I noticed Dion Hinchcliffe offers it as an option for signing in. Now I need to learn how to make it work and, better yet, what it does once I've ensured it's working. Hence, this rather terse entry. This is probably something I should really get used to doing.

Throw the Bastards Out!

2008-10-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

So, here's the deal. The Republicans have all but had a lock on every branch of the government for the last close to eight years, and what have they done for us? On every level I can think of (and probably some I haven't even considered) they have made things worse. Our standing in the community of nations may have never been worse, thanks to the use of torture and extraordinary rendition, the abuse of power, the curtailing of civil rights (including wholesale spying on citizens); our economy, now besieged by the ever-growing loss of jobs, the sub-prime greedfest, and the implosion of Wall Street, is pretty much in that tank and now those of us who can least afford it - and have benefited the least from the excesses of these Republican dominated years of deregulation - are going to have to pony up the money and resources to bail out the very crooks who we were led to believe would (thanks to the "wisdom" of the market) be prudent stewards of our economy. Need I go on?

Now we have an opportunity to change the game - to vote the worst of these fools out of office and replace them with Democrats. Now, there is really no love lost between the Democrats and me. I think Ralph Nader was at least partially right when he described them as two sides of the same coin. They all, after all, will defend to the death (probably ours, not theirs) the righteousness and efficacy of Capitalism, regardless of ever-growing evidence of its predatory nature and its penchant for consolidation and monopoly.

However, given a choice between the likes of Grover Norquist (who famously said he wished to shrink government to the size where he could drown it in a bathtub) and his ilk, and the possibility of a nanny-state where bloated bureaucracy and wasteful spending runs a bit rampant, I'm inclined to think I'd prefer the latter. At the very least, more of our children would stand a chance of being well educated and we could ensure everyone in the country had health care. This may seem somewhat ridiculous to those who believe self-reliance is the paramount virtue in this life.

However, I think if one takes a systemic view of not only the nation, but also its place in the world community, making a priority of taking care of everyone; of removing some of the pain and uncertainty - and the unnecessary competition for what are not scarce resources - from the daily lives of all our people, it would go a long way toward creating greater security and that oft-referred-to domestic tranquility most of us crave. At least those of us who don't wish to live in gated communities and lock our car doors whenever we drive through the city.

So . . . I say we give the Democrats a chance to fuck things up which, I have no doubt, they will almost certainly do. As I said, given the choice between the greed and corruption, and the zero-sum, no holds barred, Social Darwinism of the far right, and the pork barrel corruption and bureaucratic tendencies of the not-so-far right, I think we stand a better chance of having decent lives and a safer, more secure nation.

PS - I find it interesting people who don't believe in evolution find it so easy to apply Social Darwinism when it suits their avaricious needs.

Why I Support Obama

2008-07-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

Many write about what Obama will or will not do. However, I think if we're really listening to his message we need to think about what we will do for, surely, what is happening must continue whether Obama becomes President our not. I think the most stunning, exciting, and wonderful thing about his campaign is the organization that supports him. His candidacy has created the largest and flattest political organization this country has ever seen. We need to learn from this, to build on it, and to ensure it develops into something that gives greater and greater representation to us, the people who power this country.

It's truly amazing that people of my generation (I'm 61) have grown from the "people our parents warned us about" to "the one's we've been waiting for." I haven't been this pumped in over thirty years.

Let's just remember, while it is well and good to revel in Barack Obama's nomination for President of the United States, he cannot single-handedly do much, especially in the aftermath of this criminal administration we've suffered for the past 7 1/2 years. We, not he, are the change we must believe in.

I'm Voting Republican (NOT!)

2008-06-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I was driving home from picking up my oldest daughter at school. Ahead of us, and in the next lane, was a vehicle with a bumper sticker that read "Too Informed to Vote Republican". As I pulled up next to it at an intersection, I honked and gave the driver the thumbs up and yelled "great bumper sticker". He immediately grabbed on and handed it to me through our windows (a little tough to do, as I had to lean way over to grab it!).

At any rate, I haven't put it on my vehicle yet. I have a bumper sticker for KPFK, Pacifica Radio in the Greater Los Angeles area, but it's sufficiently non-descript as to not cause me to worry about someone breaking one of my windows or something like that. Back in the late sixties and early seventies I had lots of bumper stickers on my VW Mini-bus, but that was way back in the wayback machine, and I haven't felt comfortable with the concept of people knowing my politics while I'm driving. However, I'm beginning to think the time has just about come to put it on.

In the interim, I thought I'd post a link to this wonderful video I came across while reading the comments to an article in the Huffington Post.

Bugliosi Hits a "Home Run"

2008-05-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

I have long believed and advocated that George W. Bush must be tried for war crimes as a result of his dishonest and illegal prosecution of the war in Iraq. Now, Vincent Bugliosi, best known for his prosecution of Charles Manson and other defendants in the 1969 murders of Sharon Tate and the LaBiancas, has published a book on doing just that.

In 2001 he wrote "The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President", an indictment of the actions of the U.S. Supreme Court in stopping the recounts in Florida and appointing George Bush as the 43rd President of the United States.

Now he's written an even stronger, more forceful indictment of Bush himself. His latest, just published the other day, is entitled "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder". I have not, as yet, read this book, but he has a website (http://www.prosecutionofbush.com) where you can read about the book, as well as some excerpts. I commend you to it and am including one of the excerpts here in the hopes someone who might not ordinarily do so will find it.

BTW - If you can read this without being thoroughly disgusted (whether you believe him guilty of murder or not), you too may quality as a bona fide sociopath. And, yes, I know it's long, but it's worth every single moment it takes to read it.

Cranky

Bush's Reaction to War
By Vincent Bugliosi

How has George Bush reacted to the hell he created in Iraq, to the thousands of lives that have been lost in the war, and to the enormous and endless suffering that the survivors of the victims -- their loved ones -- have had to endure?

I've always felt that impressions are very important in life, and other than "first impressions," they are usually right. Why? Because impressions, we know, are formed over a period of time. They are the accumulation of many words and incidents, many or most of which one has forgotten, but which are nonetheless assimilated into the observer's subconscious and thus make their mark. In other words, you forgot the incident, but it added to the impression. "How do you feel about David? Do you feel he's an honest person?" "Yeah, I do." "Why do you say that about him? Can you give me any examples that would cause you to say he's honest?" "No, not really, at least not off the top of my head. But I've known David for over ten years, and my sense is that he's an honest person."

I have a very distinct impression that with the exception of a vagrant tear that may have fallen if he was swept up, in the moment, at an emotional public ceremony for American soldiers who have died in the war, George Bush hasn't suffered at all over the monumental suffering, death, and horror he has caused by plunging this nation into the darkness of the Iraq war, probably never losing a wink of sleep over it. Sure, we often hear from Bush administration sources, or his family, or from Bush himself, about how much he suffers over the loss of American lives in Iraq. But that dog won't run. How do we just about know this is nonsense? Not only because the words he has uttered could never have escaped from his lips if he were suffering, but because no matter how many American soldiers have died on a given day in Iraq (averaging well over two every day), he is always seen with a big smile on his face that same day or the next, and is in good spirits. How would that be possible if he was suffering? For example, the November 3, 2003, morning New York Times front-page headline story was that the previous day in Fallouja, Iraq, insurgents "shot down an American helicopter just outside the city in a bold assault that killed 16 soldiers and wounded 20 others. It was the deadliest attack on American troops since the United States invaded Iraq in March." Yet later in that same day when Bush arrived for a fund-raiser in Birmingham, Alabama, he was smiling broadly, and Mike Allen of the Washington Post wrote that "the President appeared to be in a fabulous mood." This is merely one of hundreds of such observations made about Bush while the brutal war continued in Iraq.

And even when Bush is off camera, we have consistently heard from those who have observed him up close how much he seems to be enjoying himself. When Bush gave up his miles of running several times a week because of knee problems, he took up biking. "He's turned into a bike maniac," said Mark McKinnon in March of 2005, right in the middle of the war. McKinnon, a biking friend of Bush's who was Bush's chief media strategist in his 2004 reelection campaign, also told the New York Times's Elisabeth Bumiller about Bush: "He's as calm and relaxed and confident and happy as I've ever seen him." Happy? Under the horrible circumstances of the war, where Bush's own soldiers are dying violent deaths, how is that even possible?

In a time of war and suffering, Bush's smiles, joking, and good spirits stand in stark contrast to the demeanor of everyone of his predecessors and couldn't possibly be more inappropriate. Michael Moore, in his motion picture documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, captured this fact and the superficiality of Bush well with a snippet from a TV interview Bush gave on the golf course following a recent terrorist attack. Bush said, "I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you." Then, without missing a single beat, he said in reference to a golf shot he was about to hit: "Now watch this drive."

Before I get into specific instances of Bush laughing and having fun throughout the entire period of the inferno he created in Iraq, I want to discuss a number of more indirect but revealing incidents that reflect he could not care less about the human suffering and carnage going on in Iraq, or anywhere.

1. The first inkling I got that Bush didn't care about the suffering or anyone, not just those dying in Iraq, was from an article in the September 22, 2001, New York Times just eleven days after 9/11. Though 3,000 Americans had been murdered and the nation was in agony and shock, the man who should have been leading the mourning was, behind the scenes, not affected in the tiniest way. The article, by Frank Bruni, said that "Mr. Bush's nonchalant, jocular demeanor remains the same. In private, say several Republicans close to the administration, he still slaps backs and uses baseball terminology, at one point promising that the terrorists were not 'going to steal home on me.' He is not staying up all night, or even most of the night. He is taking time to play with his dogs and his cat. He is working out most days." So right after several thousand Americans lost their lives in a horrible catastrophe, behind the scenes Bush is his same old backslapping self, and he's not letting the tragedy interfere in the slightest way with the daily regimen of his life that he enjoys.

In fact, he himself admitted to the magazine Runners World (August 23, 2002) that after the Afghanistan war began: "I have been running with a little more intensity . . . It helps me to clear my mind." (In other words, Bush likes to clear his mind of the things he's supposed to be thinking about.) Remarkably finding time in the most important job on earth to run six days a week, Bush added: "It's interesting that my times have become faster . . . For me, the psychological benefit [in running] is enormous. You tend to forget everything that's going on in your mind and just concentrate on the time and distance." But even this obscene indulgence after 9/11 and during wartime by the man with more responsibility than anyone in the world wasn't enough for Bush. He told the magazine: "I try to go for longer runs, but it's tough around here at the White House on the outdoor track. It's sad that I can't run longer. It's one of the saddest things about the presidency." Imagine that. Among all the things that the president of the United States could be sad about during a time of war, not being able to run longer six days a week is up there near the top of the list.

A New York Times article not long after 9/11 (November 5, 2001) reported that Bush had told his friends (obviously with pride) that "his runs on the Camp David trails through the Maryland woods have produced his fastest time in a decade, three miles in 21 minutes and 6 seconds." USA Today (October 29, 2001) reported that Bush used to run 3 miles in 25 minutes and now he was "boasting to friends and staffers" about his new time, and was "now running 4 miles a day."

So with his approval rating soaring to 90 percent in the wake of 9/11 -- and with his being the main person in America whose job required that he be totally engaged every waking hour in working diligently on this nation's response to 9/11 -- Bush, remarkably, was working diligently on improving his time for the mile. I ask you, what American president in history, Republican or Democrat, would have conducted himself this way?

2. One thing about Bush. He's so dense that he makes remarks an intelligent person who was as much of a scoundrel as he would never make. They'd keep their feelings, which they would know to be very shameful, to themselves. On December 21, 2001, just a few months after 9/11 -- a tragedy that shocked the nation and the world in which 3,000 Americans were consumed by fires, some choosing to jump to their deaths out of windows eighty or more stories high -- Bush, who could only have been thinking of himself, told the media: "All in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me." He said this because that is exactly the way he felt. What difference does 9/11 make? I'm president. I love it, and Laura and I are having a ball.

Indeed, on January 20, 2005, right in the midst of the hell on earth Bush created in Iraq -- when the carnage there was near its worst and American soldiers and Iraqi citizens were dying violent deaths every day -- Bush, referring to himself and his wife, told thousands of partying supporters at one of his nine inaugural balls: "We're having the time of our life." Can you even begin to imagine Roosevelt in the midst of the Second World War, Truman during the Korean War, or LBJ and Nixon during the Vietnam War, saying something like this?

3. Does it not stand to reason that if Bush were suffering over the daily killings and tragedy in Iraq, he would be working every waking hour to lessen the mounting number of casualties as well as find a way to satisfactorily end the terrible conflict? I mean, as president, that's what you'd expect of him, right? Isn't that his job? Yet we know that although Bush is still in office, he has already spent far more time on vacation than any other president in American history. For instance, by April 11, 2004 (he was inaugurated January 20, 2001), he had visited his cherished ranch in Crawford a mind-boggling thirty-three times and spent almost eight months of his presidency there.

Although the office of the presidency follows the president wherever he goes twenty-four hours a day, and at least some part of every day on vacation, no matter how small, was spent by Bush attending to his duties as president, we also know that Bush's main purpose when he goes on vacation, obviously and by definition, is to vacation, not work. CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, who travels with Bush and keeps track of such things, told me that as of January 1, 2008, in Bush's less than seven years as president, he visited his ranch in Texas an unbelievable 69 times, spending, per Knoller, "all or part of 448 days on vacation there." As amazing as this is, Bush also made, Knoller says, 132 visits to Camp David during this period, spending "all or part of 421 days there," and 10 visits to his family's vacation compound at Kennebunkport, Maine, spending "all or part of 39 days there."

So the bottom line is that of a total of approximately 2,535 days as president, most of them during a time of war, Bush spent all or a part or 908 days, an incredible 36 percent of his time, on vacation or at retreat places. Hard to believe, but true. Nine hundred and eight days is two and a half years of Bush's presidency. Two and a half years of the less than seven years of his presidency in which his main goal was to kick back and have fun. You see, the White House digs, with a pool, theater, gymnasium, etc., weren't enjoyable enough for Bush. He wanted a more enjoyable place to be during his life as president. *

My position in life is infinitely less important than Bush's, yet during the above same period of Bush's presidency, I not only worked much longer hours every day than Bush, I worked seven days a week, never took one vacation, and only took three days off to go to the desert with my wife to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. If it had not been for the anniversary, I wouldn't have even taken those three days off. I realize I take working to an extreme, living by the clock each day, always looking up to see how much time I have left, working from morning to morning (retiring usually around two in the morning and starting my day at ten in the morning). Still, it is striking to consider that in seven years, I took 3 days off and Bush, the president of the United States, took 908. Even Americans who lead a more normal life than I, even fat-cat corporate executives, haven't taken anywhere near the time away from their work that Bush has. Indeed, I think we can safely say that even though Bush has the most important and demanding job in this entire land, he has irresponsibly taken far more time off from his job to have fun during the past seven years than any worker or company executive in America!!! Is Bush, or is he not, a disgrace of the very first order?

*Remarkably, during his campaign for reelection in 2004 Bush very frequently spoke of the "hard work" he and his administration were engaging in. This was the first time I had ever heard an American president speak of the "hard work" involved in his job. I have heard them speak of the immense "burden" of the office of the presidency being responsible for the destiny and welfare of millions of people. But you see, for someone like Bush who was born on home plate and thought he had hit a home run, anything he does, any effort at all, he considers "hard work."

In Celebration of Jerks?

2008-05-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

I suspect anyone with half a brain is aware that Bill O'Reilly is, perhaps, one of the biggest Assholes in the known universe. Recently, for reasons that completely escape me, he was chosen to receive the highest honor bestowed at this year's Emmy Awards, the Governors Award. A Boston TV host on Comcast's CN8 Channel in Boston, Barry Nolan, protested the award and launched an email campaign to encourage members of the New England Emmy chapter to join him in recognizing that, ". . . at least the people who had been honored in the past had pretty much followed the part of the Hippocratic oath that says, 'First, do no harm.'"

As a result of Mr. Nolan's efforts, and his temerity in pointing out what should be patently obvious to anyone interested in actual "fair and balanced" reporting, he was fired from his position. Today he posted on Think Progress and I love what he said about what constitutes free speech. He says it all got him to ". . . thinking about the myth of free speech. In today’s America, speech is only “free” when you are talking down to someone less powerful than you. Speak 'up' – and look out."

You can read the rest of his post here. You can also read more at Think Progress if you've a mind to. They cover some great stuff . . . if you're a progressive. If not, well . . . you probably don't belong here reading my blog. Go visit one of the premiere Assholes in the world - O'Reilly, Limbaugh - take your pick. There are far too many others and it's not my job to point them out to anyone.

Cranky

Payback Will Definitely be a Bitch

2008-05-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

OK - I've built this modest blog on the premise that the world is filled with Assholes. At first, I vented a bit about the stupid people and things I encountered in my life and, for some time now, I've wished to change the tenor of my diatribes a mite. I didn't actually want to entirely shift focus, merely broaden my outlook and take into consideration some of the first-class Assholes I don't necessarily meet in my daily life but who are, nonetheless, out there in the public such that I can't miss them unless I work real hard at it.

I don't get any of my news from the MSM (Mainstream Media, for those of you who aren't familiar with the acronym - or, as some may think of it - the epithet) any longer. I've given up on any of the standard print or broadcast media to convey the truth. Hell . . . they don't even do a very good job of covering the bullshit they do; sound bites and half-truths are all they seem to be willing or capable of providing any longer. There is one valued exception with respect to the broadcast world and that's KPFK, here in the greater Los Angeles area, one of the Pacific Network's five radio stations.

What I really like about KPFK is, with the exception of their news broadcasts, they cover stories in depth. Seldom do I listen to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, or Uprising with Sonali Kolhatkar, or Beneath the Surface with Jerry Quickley without getting a least a half-hour of coverage of a story; frequently with many voices contributing to the discussion. Never vitriol, though they cover subjects the perpetrators of which deserve the scorn and opprobrium of all thoughtful citizens of not only the United States, but the world. Did I mention Explorations with Dr. Michio Kaku? OK - that's another story. Let's get back to first-class Assholes.

So . . . I do read the Huffington Post, along with a few other blogs, for my news and entertainment. Today it was pointed out that one of the pundits (note the definition states ". . . may be used in a derogatory manner as well - ahem) on Fox News actually conflated Barack Obama with Osama, suggesting it would be useful (and funny) if someone assassinated both of them. You can see for yourself below.

Somehow, I don't think this is terribly funny. Actually, the more I think about it the more I am looking forward to that day of reckoning, when Fox News, the people who have hijacked the Republican party, and this administration are called to task for what they've done to our country. This kind of crap just can't be allowed to stand and, I believe, won't for all that much longer. It is, perhaps, an aphorism (certainly the phrase has been used in numerous ways) that "the darkest hour is always before the dawn". I once thought that darkest hour was during the war in Vietnam, but I was obviously wrong, especially since we were treated to the machinations and despicable regimes of both Reagan and the first Bush after that misbegotten adventure was over. I am hopeful we have seen that darkest hour though, to be honest, I'm not sure things won't actually get a lot worse before they get better.

There are signs, most notably the campaign of Barack Obama, that the tide is turning; that we might wrest our government from the thieves who have usurped our power and used it to enrich their friends and cronies. We should keep in mind, however, that history is neither determined (nor made) by individuals. We have always been taught the "Hero" theory of history, and it is generally written about single, extraordinary humans doing extraordinary things. I don't believe such a viewpoint is accurate. Howard Zinn's book "A People's History of the United States" does a far better job than I can of making the point that history is made by the people. There may be individuals who are thrust into the limelight, but without the support of numerous (sometimes countless thousands) of others, their efforts would go all but unnoticed.

When we do get our country back, and I'll be quite happy just to see the trend reversed - to have our nation start the long slog back to being a country whose people try to do the right things; who aren't willing to send their children and their treasure around the globe, interfering in the affairs of other nations solely for the profit of a very few Americans (and others, we should point out, who are in league with them), perhaps we can start making those guilty of the crimes perpetrated in our name pay.

When that time comes, there are many who must pay the price for what they have wrought. Those who have profited from the war in Iraq; those who have supported and enabled them; those who have lied and cheated and foisted their hypocritical views of how and why we should engage in these atrocities; all of them deserve to be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction and tried for their crimes. Yes. I am presuming guilt, as it's clear as the nose on your face what they have done. Fortunately, more and more people are seeing this and - if we're lucky - it won't be long before justice is served.

Cranky

2008-05-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

As the father of two Chinese girls, and the husband of a third-generation Japanese-American (Sansei), I am deeply affected and troubled by racism. Not that I wasn't aware of, and sympathetic to, the plight of all people of color before I met my wife; but the effects are more personal than they could have been before. Here's a short YouTube video on Asian-Americans for Obama I think is worthy of sharing.

Hope you enjoy it and give it some thought. I will have more to say about this in the future.

Cranky

Mitt Romney Jerkorama

2008-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't much time to say anything here; getting ready to head out the door to work. I nevertheless had to take a moment to share a wonderful blog by Chris Kelly, on the Huffington Post. Lucky him. He gets paid to just listen to the debates and write something about them. Than again - he's forced to listen to the debates; something I find excruciatingly painful. Anyway, you owe it to yourself to check out this blog. Here 'tis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/mitticisms-amnesty_b_80162.html

Enjoy!

Never Too Late

2007-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I decided to roast a turkey on my Weber Silver C. I had purchased a rotisserie designed to work with my Weber grill and I was determined to find a recipe that would provide something a bit different than the oven-roasted turkey I had enjoyed on Thanksgiving for so many years. Happily, I found a recipe in another of Weber's contributions to the art of grilling, and I herewith present it as the holy grail of best-tasting turkey recipes. This one provided a richness of flavor that went to the bone, and I have never forgotten how special it was. It's too late for this year's Thanksgiving holiday; perhaps I'll make it for Chriskwanzukah. I produce it below for anyone to enjoy. It's really quite easy and incredibly delicioso. Enjoy!

Sage, Orange, and Clove Rotisserie Turkey

From Weber’s Big Book of Grilling™

For the rub:

2 tablespoons granulated orange peel
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 turkey, 12 to 14 pounds
2 small oranges, washed and dried
12 whole cloves
6 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch fresh sage, tied with cotton string

To make the rub: In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients. Set aside. Remove the pop-up timer, as well as the neck, giblets, and any excess fat from the turkey and discard. Rinse the turkey, inside and out, under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Pierce the oranges several times with a knife and insert six whole cloves into each of them. Put the clove-studded oranges, garlic, and sage into the turkey cavity. Truss the turkey with cotton string. Pin the neck skin flap to the body with two or three small trussing needles.

Skewer the turkey lengthwise through the oranges and center on the spit. Rub the entire exterior with the rub mixture, pressing it into the skin. Set the spit on the rotisserie and let the turkey rotate over Indirect Medium heat until the internal temperature reaches 170°F in the breast and 180°F in the thickest part of the thigh, 2 ¼ to 2 ½ hours.

Turn off the rotisserie. Wearing barbecue mitts, carefully remove the spit from the rotisserie and place it on a cutting board. Loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. Remove the spit and discard the oranges, garlic, and sage. Carve the turkey into serving pieces. Serve warm.

Makes 12 to 14 servings

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack

2007-11-21T16:18:00.001-08:00

OK - I haven't posted for a long time now. This is somewhat related to my wife, my daughter, and me returning to China last year to adopt our second child. She turned out to be a pistol (we nicknamed her "Typhoon Girl") and - well - along with work, and now school, I just didn't have much time to post. This was exacerbated by the fact that I'm not really all that cranky and I just ran out of things to beat people over the head with . . . at least these small social things I've written about.

Anyway, I'd kind of like to get back in the saddle here and don't much care if anyone pays attention or not . . . I just want to spend a little time now and then making a few points.

So I'm starting off with a little thought about the mainstream media and, especially, passing on a post I just read on HuffPo entitled "Lapdogs of the Corporate Press". I have all but stopped watching anything euphemistically called "News" on any of the cable channels or major broadcast channels. I seldom read the paper, with the now infrequent exception of the Sunday Los Angeles Times's Opinion section (which is decidedly more conservative than I can remember). I only listen to KPFK, my local Pacifica station, not merely because they share my view of the world, but also because they spend more time on subjects than you will ever get on any of the other outlets.

Now to a little test I wish to offer you, dear reader (and I probably am even being optimistic in using the singular; is there a tense for imaginary people?), and I'm going to try and embed a link to the little video that is the meat of the above-mentioned post. This may not work. Hmmm. It adds a nice black box below this text and doesn't even show up in the "preview", but I'm going to post it anyway to see what happens when it's for real. Anyway, it's nice to be back and typing here.

So . . . if it doesn't work, and on the off chance someone actually visits here, I'm adding the the link to this great video here.

Update at 1920 hrs. - same date - It didn't work, I don't have time to figure it out, so I took it out. The link works just fine.

Another update - way after the first one (Hey! So I don't always re-check every damn post - better late than never, eh?) Anyway I'm trying again now that Blogger has changed some of their code to more easily accommodate videos, though I think its mostly slanted toward YouTube. Anyway, here we go.

Holy Moly . . . it works!!

READ THIS; YOU WILL WEEP

2006-07-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

You may not like the N.Y. Times. I'm certainly not enamored of them. However, my take is they were far too willing to follow the lead of this group of criminals and thugs who occupy the White House currently. I think "the" paper acted as a shameless apologist for numerous oversights, mis-statement, lies, and negligent acts - far too many to find it within myself to easily forgive and forget.

Nevertheless, there is a book review appearing on their website I think everyone should read, especially if you never read the book. The book in question is titled "Fiasco", by Thomas E. Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post, and the review itself is plenty damning of the Bush administration and virtually every (wrong) move they made from the runup to the blundered execution of the war in Iraq.

Here's a quote from the review, which can be located here:

"Mr. Ricks’s narrative is based on hundreds of interviews and more than 37,000 pages of documents, and many of the book’s most scorching assessments of the White House and Pentagon’s conduct of the war come from members of the uniformed military and official military reports.

"An after-action review from the Third Infantry Division underscores the Pentagon’s paucity of postwar planning, stating that “there was no guidance for restoring order in Baghdad, creating an interim government, hiring government and essential services employees, and ensuring that the judicial system was operational.” And an end-of-tour report by a colonel assigned to the Coalition Provisional Authority memorably summarized his office’s work as “pasting feathers together, hoping for a duck.”

"Mr. Ricks writes in these pages as both a reporter and an analyst, and many of his findings amplify observations made by other journalists and former insiders in earlier books: namely that the Bush White House routinely ignored the advice of experts (be they military, diplomatic or Middle East experts); that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s determination to conduct the war with a light, fast force had crippling consequences for the American military’s ability to restore law and order in post-invasion Iraq; and that infighting between the State and Defense Departments, between civilians at the Pentagon and the uniformed military, and between the military and the Coalition Provisional Authority severely hampered the making and execution of United States policy."

THANK YOU - I THINK

2006-07-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

So what is it with Thank You cards? When did they become de rigeur . . . a fixture of every child's birthday and gift-giving Winter solstice celebration?

My daughter celebrated her 5th birthday recently and we had a party for over twenty children and adults. We provided entertainment for the children, lots of food and drink for everbody, really nice loot bags for the kids, a large cake, and a pinata filled with lots of candy. My wife spent around a week's worth of her spare time researching and purchasing everything necessary to make the kids feel special. This included purchasing inexpensive cowboy/cowgirl hats and bandanas, as the party was held at a nearby farm where the kids could feed animals and enjoy some really fun and clever rides. I spent a good 10 - 15 hours running around and picking up things and making arrangements. We really wanted everyone to have a good time.

Now comes the aftermath. My wife is not the best at sending out Thank You cards, and I have virtually no experience doing it at all. I mean, isn't it against the law for men to do this kind of thing - no matter how sensitive they are? So . . . here it is, a couple of weeks later and the cards she took the time to purchase are still sitting on the table . . . in their original box. They're taunting me. Like chocolate in a candy dish, I sometimes hear them calling out my name.

Isn't a sincere "Thank You" at the party's end enough for everybody? I don't know; maybe she feels better about not doing it than I do, but why do I have this sinking feeling we must carry some sort of guilt because we have yet to send a hand-written, personalized note written by us as though it was our child channeling Emily Post or Martha Stewart?

Here's an example of a Thank You we received the day after a 5-year-old's birthday party:

Thank for coming to my birthday party. I was really happy you could be there. The Spiderman backpack will be really useful next year in Kindergarten to carry my laptop as I'm learning how to post covered calls without the help of my broker.

Now how are we going to follow that?

2006-05-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

PISS OFF

I was born and raised a Jew in a Christian country. My best friends and many of my cousins (due to a "mixed" marriage) were Catholic. I spent most of my formative years immersed in the ideology and dogma of two of the west's "great" religions.

I have since looked carefully at Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Islam, and have a great deal of respect for Zen. I am, however, essentially an atheist. I sometimes refer to myself as a Quantum Gestalt Humanist. I can no more prove the non-existence of (one or more) God(s) than you can prove the existence of any God(s).

But I have faith. I have faith that my life has purpose, as does yours. I have faith that the universe is unfolding as it will, regardless of what you or I believe in. I have faith that the Sun will rise tomorrow and that two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen will make a molecule of water.

I have faith that the "fact" of evolution is far more mysterious and wonderful than any story told by the authors of the Bible, and that this world is absolutely amazing and beautiful and wonderful.

I'm also quite convinced that the religious right would gleefully hang me by my ankles merely because I don't share their "beliefs", and that is something I will not tolerate. Frankly, I don't care what you "believe" in, or what your faith says is the way the world works. It's really none of my business. But the moment you start trying to tell me how I have to believe, how I have to live my life, and that I am wrong or evil or bad because I don't agree with you, is the moment you and I go our separate ways.

Believe what you want, you Christian zealots and fundamentalists, but DON'T TREAD ON ME.

WHAT THE FLOCK?

2006-03-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

Jesus H. Christ on a fucking stick. Damn it, I'm pissed. All these fucking bloggers out there seem to have endless hours to research and write. Me, I've got a full-time job figuring out how to hurl humans into space. It just pisses me off. I want to spend my time studying the nuances and quirks of all the sociopaths and megalomaniacs who reside and/or work within the beltway, but the need to actually make a living is getting in my way!

I really want to dissect the people who purport to represent us. I don't believe more than a very small minority have any understanding of what our lives are like, let alone possess the kind of empathy and compassion it takes to represent us adequately. This goes for most Democrats, as well as virtually all Republicans.

Now I don't mean to be unfair, and God (or whoever's in charge of these things) only knows there's plenty enough greed, avarice, and sloth to go around, but the Republicans are in charge of everything at present (Executive, Legislative, and - arguably - Judicial branches) and things have never quite been as incredibly fucked up as they (crazy me) seem to be.

I really don't know for sure that it would be any different had the election not been stolen from Al Gore (yes. I know you think this is sour grapes. I recommend Vincent Bugliosi's book "The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose our President") or from John Kerry for that matter. They all seem to bow to the same master - the almighty dollar.

Yet, is it so crazy of me to opine that this administration, and the zealous sycophants who enable it, have pretty much refined narrow-minded hypocrisy into a purified essential oil (forgive me) oozing self-deluded righteousness? I have a hard time convincing myself I'm not seeing what is really happening. How about you?

Anyway, I have neither the time nor the energy (at this point) to engage in the level of research and study I believe this effort really requires but, much like the current administration, this isn't going to keep me from speaking my mind. It may be an unwarranted, self-administered pat on my own back, but I kind of think I have a better grasp on what's actually happening in our country, and in the world, than this administration has. At the very least, I'm not making money off of my decisions. How many ways can you say "conflict of interest"?

BACK FEINGOLD

2006-03-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

I've been awfully busy lately. The transition from the company who sold us to the company who bought us is almost complete. At least, the IT transition; we're breaking the electronic umbilical cord this weekend, and it's been a struggle to deal with all the issues it's created.

Since I haven't really had the time to post anything (only partly true; I've been having trouble deciding on how far to take this particular blog in the direction I'm contemplating - more about that later), I thought I would just make sure the two or three people who happen to come here have a chance to keep up with what I think is important in our national discourse.

Jane Hamsher wrote a little piece on Firedog Lake about Russ Feingold's appearance on "The Daily Show". You can read it here. You can see a video clip of the show at Crooks and Liars - here. I really like Jane's writing, I can almost smell the blood dripping off her canines. She's deliciously vicious. Here's a sample of just how nasty she can be.

I am becoming more and more enamored of this guy, precisely because he is speaking truth to power and because he's not pandering. It's high time we had some politicans with conviction, who will stand up and say what needs to be said without calculating how it will affect their next election cycle.

CALLING ALL CARS

2006-03-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

I used to have this dream, even as a child too young to drive. In this dream I could talk to people in their cars through their radios . . . even if the radio wasn't on. This way I could tell them what I thought of them and there was nothing they could do about it.

I could use it today on all kinds of assholes and jerks. I want to know why the Department of Motor Vehicles (or whatever the fuck they call it in your State) doesn't test for sociopaths before giving out licenses. Would that be so hard?

Now that I think about it, it would probably shut down the economy and every aspect of our so-called civilized society. Think of all the soccer moms, in their Hummers, Armadas, Expeditions, and fucking Mars Rovers who would have to walk their kids to wherever it is they're taking them to in those giant, oversize, over-hyped, gas-guzzling boats masquerading as cars. And don't even talk to me about all the folks on the road who are obviously far more important than the rest of us. You know the ones - can't wait their turn; don't merge safely and courteously. The dickheads, frequently driving sports cars, or luxury cars - take your pick.

One of the things I'd like to ask them, in addition to "why on Earth, when there was nobody behind me, did you wait until I was two car lengths away before pulling into my lane?" (see my earlier post - here - for more), is "Did you pay extra for those fucking turn signals you don't seem to be able to understand how to use?"

Why is it people will approach an intersection where you are patiently waiting for traffic to clear, fully conscious they are going to turn and you needn't worry about them (at least not if they fucking signalled their intentions with those turn signal thingies they paid for but don't use) and not even notice you are there?

And the inverse is true as well. Here you are approaching an intersection where lots of people do turn, but you're going straight. These clowns are so used to people not signalling that they pre-empt you and just pull out in front of you. Then they either look surprised, or actually put out, that you didn't do what they believed you should have done.

Like I said, this world is filled to the brim with assholes. I want my radio transmitter. Maybe I should talk to my friends at JPL.

DISTINCTLY DUMB DESIGN

2006-03-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

As someone who works closely with Engineers (actually, Rocket Scientists) without actually being one, I am mindful of the elements of good design. My laptop doesn't suffer from this feature, unfortunately.

I have a Dell Latitude - D600. Unlike the earlier version my company provided for me, this one has only one battery. Well, actually, it has two but you can only have one inserted into the laptop at a time.

This presents an interesting problem, because you also can't charge a battery unless it's in the computer itself and, of course, plugged into a source of energy - like a wall outlet. Now, if I want to use this laptop away from an outlet, I am not only constrained by the two - two and a half hour battery life of each battery (for a total of approximately 5 - 6 hours), but I also can't recharge a battery simultaneously.

If Dell had just put a connection on their batteries, it would be a piece of cake to retain some flexibility in location while still ensuring I have adequate power by recharging a battery simultaneously.

Absent a critical redesign by Dell there is, nonetheless, help of a sort on the horizon. Check out this article about the >newest, fuel-cell batteries, which will give us up to nine hours of uninterrupted power.

Dell. You done fucked up, but this technology may be your redemption. Yeah, right!

I LOVE YOU. YOU LOVE ME!

2006-03-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

Damn! I'm trying to do at least one of three things today: Engage in some spirited email conversation with my High School graduation class group site; write something - anything - on my blog site, and/or; get some work done. I've got a monthly newsletter due that was set back by my trip to Houston and a few other things.

But how the hell can I even think about being curmudgeonly (for accomplishing number two, at least) when I'm sitting here listening to Barney, Thomas the damn tank engine, Angelina Ballerina, Kipper the Dog, Sagwa, and Dragon Tales; not to mention Bella Ballerina, the ballet DVD from Australia my daughter might be learning some ballet from.

Not only that, I just got gifted with a cake . . . a cake that suspiciously resembles a blue barrell filled with little, red plastic monkeys with long, curved arms used to hang on to each other; Bella is singing about "eating your fruits and vegetables every day". Is this the right atmosphere for a god damned cranky curmudgeon? I'm not convinced.

And I really wanted to complain about something. God damn it!

SHIT FAHR - AHM GITTIN' HIRE

2006-03-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

I was reminded there's a whole lot of Cowboy poetry out there nowadays. A quick Google shows lots of links. Here's the first one returned http://www.cowboypoetry.com/. Anyway, I just wanted to be the first to publish a few Cowboy Haiku. I don't have titles for them; they're fresh off the ol' keyboard. Here ya go, pard. Hope ya lahk 'em.

This cowboy wears spurs
They will jingle all the night
If he gets lucky

My hat does not fit
Perhaps it is because
My head is swollen

Blood on the saddle
Could it mean I really have
Hemorrhoids to boot?

I DON'T THINK I'M CRANKY ENOUGH

2006-03-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

I've re-read many of my posts and it seems to me I'm just not cranky enough. Listen. I'm not out in the world every day looking for insults and transgressions against me. I'm just not that offended by all the crap that goes on around my little corner of the world.

Nevertheless, there's plenty out there to be cranky about; it's just not of a personal nature. Oh no. It's far more important than that. Personal insults are . . . well . . . just not that important. I mean you can turn the other cheek, or slap the shit out of someone. Either way, it's between you and him/her and, after all is said and done . . . all is said and done. Next story. Move on.

What's out there to be really cranky about is the lies, distortions, thefts, and homicides being committed in our name on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Our government is out of control and seems to be getting worse every day. Our economy is highly dependent on the suffering of others throughout the world, as it has been at least my entire life. Such is the nature of Imperialism; the thing we're truly world-class at.

So, while I plan on remaining cranky about the "little" things, I'm going to start being a little more verbal about the transgressions I see in government, religion, and all manner of public life. I'm going to spend a little more time putting out my view of the cowards, criminals, and charlatans who are so prominently guiding this country down the road to ruin as fast as their bank accounts can take them.

I GUESS I KNOW MY PLACE

2006-03-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

On the way back home we flew out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport. I don’t know why they call it that. What the fuck’s wrong with International? Why intercontinental? Hell, more planes flying in and out of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago actually fly between continents than they do from George Bush. Why don’t they, in the spirit of the bombastic asshat the airport is named after call it the “Intergalactic” airport or, even better, honor his dumbfuck son and call it the “Intergalactical” airport? That would fit.

So, when I fly on business, which isn’t all that often, I have to fly coach. My company wouldn’t even spring for business class, let alone first class. If I flew a lot, perhaps I would join a frequent flyer club and when I accumulated enough miles I could upgrade once in a while. Anyway, after sitting down in my seat, and just prior to the plane (a Boeing 737) being pushed back from the terminal, the purser comes on the intercom and notifies us that, due to “safety and security reasons”, those of us from rows four through 19 are confined to use of the two bathrooms at the tail of the plane. The front one, due to “safety and security reasons” is limited to the people in that other class of service, ahem, First Class.

I can understand them wanting to keep the unwashed masses away from our betters, but do they have to bullshit us about it? I mean . . . give me a break. Safety and security? If I’m going to hijack a plane, I think I’m going to get me a first class seat. It’s much closer to the cockpit and folks up there are generally viewed with less suspicion than the rabble in the back.

The way they’re doing it, that’s one bathroom (up front) for approximately 8 people in the royalty section, and another two (at the tail) for the remaining 90 in the human cargo section. That makes the first class folks about five times better than the rest of us, yeah?

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

2006-03-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

While in Houston, I stayed at the NASA Clear Lake Hilton. I checked in around 6:00 local time and, in accordance with my company’s policy, I made an allowed phone call to home to assure my family I had arrived safely. I usually don’t bother wearing a watch, as I always have my cell phone with me and it provides me with the most accurate time available. In fact, it even picks up the local time so I don’t have to change it when I travel and, in this case, that is exactly what I did.

My phone told me it was around 6:30. However, I had just forgotten that I was in the Central time zone and it was only 4:30 at home. There was no way my wife was at home and, sure enough, I got our answering machine. I left a very brief message noting my safe arrival and hung up. I couldn’t have been on the phone longer than 45 – 50 seconds.

When I awoke on Friday morning, the day of my departure, as is customary in most hotels nowadays my closing statement for hotel charges had been slipped under my door sometime during the night. I glanced at it and almost fell over. That phone call of less than a minute had been billed to my room for almost $13.00.

I couldn’t believe it. The call I had made later, when someone was actually home and we talked for a while cost almost $30.00. I was dumbfounded at first. I went downstairs for breakfast and, after having some time to think about it, went back upstairs and called to notify the front desk I was checking out. They asked me if everything had been OK and said it had, with the exception of those phone calls. As a result of the complaint, they took the first charge off my bill. I’m still upset about the other charge being so much, but I’m at a bit of a loss for what to do.

The way I’m thinking about it now is that, if my company reimburses me for the call, I probably will just let it go, as it will not be worth the time, effort, and aggravation to do anything about it. However, if they won’t pay for it, or if they pay for only a small portion, I’m going to complain and suggest they push the hotel to put warning stickers on the phones, “WARNING! Use of this phone may be dangerous to your wallet” or something like that.

2006-03-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

CAN COOKIES ALTER SPACE & TIME?

It’s been said that flying is hours and hours of crushing boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. I’ve experienced that before, but mostly it’s boredom for me. It’s very difficult to sit still for long periods of time, with nothing to do but watch a movie, read a book, sleep, or eat – all done within the confines of a narrow seat with little to no legroom.

Such was my trip to Houston last Wednesday. The first leg was uneventful, except for the fact that it was unnecessary. I started at Bob Hope Airport, which is what they call the Hollywood-Burbank airport (international airport designation BUR). When I was a kid it was called Lockheed Airport, which may give you an idea of just how old I am.

I like flying out of there. It’s fairly small, which means it just can’t get too crowded and you never have to walk too far. It’s also reasonably close to my home, which means I can get there without too much traffic hassle. But I really didn’t need to leave from there, especially to fly first to San Francisco.

This all happened because I was the unknowing victim of a desire by one of my colleagues to fly United Airlines. He has traveled a great deal and has frequent flyer miles, which he uses to get upgrades to better seating; either business or first class.

Unfortunately, the Office Admin who made my reservations merely copied his entire itinerary and changed the name. So, unbeknownst to me, I was placed on a flight to San Francisco, on my way to Houston, Texas, all because my colleague wanted a little more leg room for a three and half hour flight. I would have sat in coach to save myself the extra two and half hours (or more) it took to fly up north and wait for a connecting flight.

One thing I noticed on the plane. United Airlines apparently no longer serves meals on their flights; they offer snacks and “boxes” for you to purchase. I ponied up my $5.00 and bought a box of salami slices, cheese spread and crackers, potato chips, applesauce, and two Partridge Farm Milano cookies (my favorite cookies of all time).

As I prepared to dig in to these treats I had just procured, I realized the box was shrink-wrapped, like a god damned CD. Now, think of it. They won’t let you take a nail clipper on a flight, but they sell you a box of food wrapped so tight you practically need a knife just to get to the perforated strip to open the box. I finally got it open after much effort. What the hell do people with arthritis do?

MY PRE-TRIP THIRST

2006-02-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

MY PRE-TRIP THIRST

This'll be a short one. I'm getting ready to attend a NASA Knowledge Management conference in Houston, where I'll be presenting on the history of, and our experience with, an Expert/Expertise location system and knowledgebase that's been used by my company for almost three and half years.

I've been packing (something I'm pretty good at, but still tend to put off 'til the last moment) and am now sitting on the potty (with the lid closed), playing lifeguard, while my four-year-old daughter bathes. Soon I'll have to wash her hair for her and put in the detangler before I try to comb out her hair without having her scream in pain. At this stage of my life, I think I'd rather have a digital rectal exam. At least it would be over in a matter of seconds and my back wouldn't have a chance to seize up on me.

Anyway, before I go I was wondering. With all the money I pay out in taxes and, given that those funds pay for things like FEMA (lest we forget, that stands for FEDERAL Emergency Management Agency), why the hell am I worried I need at least a month's supply of water and food to make sure my family can survive a really destructive earthquake?

Do you have any idea how much water a family of four needs to make it a mere 28 days? At the bare minimum of three liters per day, that's a total of 336 liters. In those big, plastic bottles grocery stores sell, that's 36 of them. At no less than $2/bottle (which is an infrequent bargain), that's . . . well, you figure it out. I haven't included food.

Well, I can afford it. What about my neighbors? People who live within 5 miles of me? Can everyone afford it? I doubt it. What will the folks who can't afford it, or who really didn't see or understand the possibilities, be doing to survive if OUR government, to which we pay tribute in the form of taxes, can't be counted on to provide rapid assistance? And you can't be serious if you think I'm being cynical; not after Katrina. Not with this vindictive, bumbling bunch now controlling the country's purse strings.

I just wanted to get that off my chest. I'll have more to say about what I think I have the right to "expect" (i.e. feel "entitled" to) from my government later, but I'm going to leave it alone for now. I hope to post at least once from my hotel in Houston.

2006-02-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

LESS THAN PREFECT

Why do people, perfectly rational in other ways, defend the indefensible? Why do they continue along a path that is demonstrably wrong and easily abandoned? I'm not talking about the barbarous torture being carried out in our name, with our money, by our government. I'm talking about the indefensible butchering of the English language by educated, enlightened people.

I'm talking about people who are scientists, who make their living off understanding and precisely defining physical properties of phenomena in order to reshape the world and our relationship to it. People who demand, and thrive off of, minutiae - accurate minutiae.

I heard three words in a meeting the other day that just drove me crazy. These three words were:

Libary (for library)
Ec Cetera (for et cetera), and
Hierachial (for Hierarchical)

Hearing these words butchered gives me the chills, but I learned a long time ago not to question an Engineer's pronunciation of any word, lest one wishes to be the recipient of a surprised, somewhat pained expression followed by a derisive comment on one's propensity for detail. Something like "Well. You knew what I meant. What are you? A Lawyer?".

Well. Maybe. Maybe I knew what you meant and maybe I am a Lawyer. The latter part of the question is of no real consequence, and can be safely ignored as the silly attack it is, but the former isn't necessarily all that clear. I knew what you meant? Could I be certain?

One of the simpler equations in physics is f = ma (force = mass x acceleration). Would an Engineer complain if I expressed it as f = na in a paper or in an analysis of a design or test results? Would it be OK if I said "Well, it's only off by one letter and, after all, you know what I meant" (hee hee)?

I suppose, to be fair, there is the tongue twist factor to take into consideration. After all, library, et cetera, and hierarchical take a bit of concentration and practice to say properly. But here's the real issue. Language is used to - now get this - communicate. Good, accurate, complete communication requires precision. It ain't horse shoes or hand grenades.

So here's what I have to say to those sloppy speakers who complain about merely being asked to correct their butchered pronunciations and complain they're close enough to being "there".

They're ain't no there their. You're turn to figure out where your going.

2006-02-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

TWIST AND SHOUT

"Hello! My name's {enter favorite name here} and I'll be your server tonight. May I get you something to drink?"

How many meals start off with these two innocuous lines? For me they are usually the prelude to the antithesis of what getting that drink is supposed to be, a short, appetite-stimulating moment of anticipatory relaxation prior to enjoying a calm, stress-free meal. I don't know about you, but my week is normally far too hectic for most meals to be truly relaxing. I do the bulk of the cooking in our house, and I have no use (for the most part) for things like shake-and-bake. That means there's prep work prior to, and cleaning during and after, the actual act of eating. Sometimes I eat half my meal while I'm cooking it.

I am also a Scotch drinker; have been for a long time. Scotch is the only type of alcohol with which I can attain the proverbial "three sheets to the wind", yet awaken the next day with no hangover. I have always attributed this to the fact that Scotch is usually (in my case always) imbibed either "neat" (all by its little lonesome) or with water in one form (on-the-rocks) or another (with, what else, water). There is nothing froo-froo about drinking Scotch. Nevertheless, while not necessary, adding a twist (for those of you who do not drink, a twist is a sliver of lemon peel, the twisting of which releases a spritz of essential oils; it is not a wedge of lemon or lime from which the juice gets squeezed into a drink) adds just the right amount of subtle citrus flavoring which, to my palate, goes well with the smoky earthiness of Scotch.

So, here's the problem. Why is it April, or Jonathon, or Heather, or William can never, ever remember I asked for that little twist of lemon? Why am I always put in the position of accusing my server of not being able to do their job as well as I think I have the right to anticipate? Mind you, I'm a good tipper and I'm not really all that demanding. I grew up in and around the food business and have spent a fair amount of time putting up with demanding patrons at eating establishments. I know how difficult it can be and I appreciate someone who does it well. I frequently tip 20% of the total (including drinks and sales tax), even if they forget my twist.

But . . . why can't servers remember this one simple, little thing? Why? Why must I frequently forego it just because it's not really, really that important? Although I'm not usually at a loss for why I think things happen, I don't have a good answer for this one. I'm stumped. I'm coming to accept it as a universal law, like - Hubble's Constant. It's a corollary to another law I've noticed in restaurants; servers will never notice, despite ample opportunity to do so, that I'm left-handed and will invariably place a new drink on my right side. But that's another story.

P.S. - I realize this isn't really that terrible a rant and probably not worthy of a true (and cranky) curmudgeon, but I have too much respect for working people, especially those at the bottom of the heap, to ever get too pissed at them. Call me a softie, but there's plenty enough crap out there to get worked up about. This ain't one of 'em.

2006-02-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

CLOSET CHRISTIANS

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:6

(New International Version)

I don't believe in God. I really don't care if others agree with me. I only care that they respect the relationship I have with the Universe, whether it's through a God, a group of Gods, or woven between the interstices of the space-time continuum contemplated by quantum physics. I believe that having convictions, and being secure in those convictions, means not needing to be validated by the acceptance of others.

I have difficulty calling myself an Atheist, only because I can't prove the non-existence, anymore than anyone can prove the existence, of God. However, I don't like referring to myself as an Agnostic, mostly because it sounds rather smarmy to me; like I'm not sure of what I believe. Mostly, I like to say I'm a Quantum Gestalt Humanist. You figure out what it means. I need to get to my rant.

How many times during the day, while driving to and from work, grocery shopping, dropping the kid(s) off at daycare or school, etc. do you see either those little fish (some plain; some with the greek letters for ichthus, or fish) or a window decal depicting a little girl or boy, or both, supplicating themselves in the shadow of a cross? What are these people trying to say? Is it meant to be some sort of secret code, so Christians can recognize each other across the lanes?

If you listen to some Christians whine and complain about how they're persecuted, you'd have to believe this is their secret, vehicular handshake. These people actually think they're persecuted. WTF? The United States of America is what, something like 90% Christian? They permeate every aspect of society and are represented overwhelmingly in all levels of our government. Christmas, the holiday many of them have taken to complaining is being phased out, effectively lasts for well over 10% of the year, the admonition to wait until after Thanksgiving before decorating notwithstanding.

I'll tell you what I think it is. I think it's the very thing Jesus was saying one shouldn't do in the above quote found in Matthew. I think Jesus knew people whose faith was steadfast had no need to brandish it publicly, as though it were a badge of courage or strength. Indeed, I think those people who feel the necessity of advertising their religion are the least faithful of all.

I'm not exactly a religious scholar, but I think it was Paul of Tarsus who made prosyletizing into a competitive sport. I don't think Jesus would have approved. After all, he was Jewish and Judaism teaches that the most important thing one can do is live a "good" life, that is an ethical, righteous life. It is more important than liturgy or dogma and, therefore, it is one's deeds, not one's words by which we are judged. As a Jew, Jesus would not have found it necessary to convert people, or to preach to them. He was a teacher, not a preacher.

I think Paul felt guilty because he had persecuted and killed so many early Christians and, much like Charles Colson or numerous serial killers who, after lives of despicable and heinous acts, find and accept Jesus as their personal savior, he determined to make amends for the damage he had done. I'm not saying it's a bad thing he repented; only that - like so many true believers - he swung that pendulum just as far in the other direction from where it had been and, therefore, avoided any kind of moderation in his pursuits.

In his book "The Wisdom of Insecurity", Alan Watts discusses the difference between faith and belief. He posits that belief is rigid and unyielding, but faith is open and accepting. People who feel the need to wave their so-called religious convictions in our faces are believers. Faith is beyond their comprehension, because having faith requires an openess to things as they are, not as we wish them to be. These people, these cross-wavers - at least the worst of them - are certain they "know" exactly what truth is, and they are not shy in telling us where our faith leads if it isn't in line with theirs.

I really don't care what religion you are. I expect the same from you. Your religion, your belief, your faith are none of my damn business. However, the moment you start pushing your brand of soap as the only way to be clean, as the only way to live one's life, as the only way to what you believe is the ultimate goal of our existence on this planet, then you've made your religion MY business. You open yourself up for criticism and you deserve every bit of scorn and anger dumped on your judgmental hide.

2006-02-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

GROCERY SWINE

I think there are numerous ways in which our country's celebration of the individual is unhealthy and counter-productive. One of them is clear to me whenever I go grocery shopping. There are two behaviors of many shoppers who demonstrate this. The first is those lazy jerks who, having either picked something up they no longer wish to purchase, or whose children have grabbed something from the shelf, leave it wherever they are when they change their minds or discover their little darlin's behavior.

Now, if it's a bag of rice or a can of soup, the only damage is it creates extra work for the folks working in the store. I suppose I shouldn't say "only damage" as even the creation of extra work translates into greater cost and, eventually, higher prices. Even worse, though, is the tendency of those who decide they no longer wish to purchase something which needs refrigeration, to leave it next to the potato chips, where they happen to find themselves when their befuddled minds finally comprehend the shallowness of their culinary desires.

Add to that the folks who buy things they don't really want, but wish to "try out", and then return it after they've given it a go, and you've got some large ancillary costs that have to be passed on in order for expected profits to be realized. This "trying out" behavior isn't limited to grocery stores, btw, but we'll stick to that option for now.

There's another thing that truly irks me. I'm not saying I lose any sleep over it. In fact, generally by the time I've left the parking lot I've forgotten about it. That may be why it's taken me years to reach the point where I can remember to say something about it. But it does make my blood boil a little when I see it happening. It's not as egregious, but it's somewhat related to the practice of perfectly healthy people parking in handicapped spots (even if they've managed to con their Doctor into helping them get a handicapped placard).

What I refer to is those who, having transferred their groceries from the shopping cart into their vehicle, now feel it is their right to leave that shopping cart in the parking space next to them. Most of these people are actually thoughtful enough to place the front wheels onto the median strip that divides the parking lot, but some will even leave their carts just sitting next to them, right in the middle of a spot. I suppose this wouldn't matter much in an area which saw little traffic, but in a busy store it can be a bit of a problem.

What bothers me about this is the message, which is "My time is more important than yours. My convenience is more important than yours." I can't figure out how much of this is sheer laziness, outright stupidity, or semi-pathological sociopathy. I'm inclined to think it comes from a culture which is increasingly slanted toward the "me-first, you never" mentality; a belief that life is a zero sum game and you have to grab all you can get or someone else will take it and you'll be left holding the bag.

This is, undoubtedly, a theme I will continue to harp on as I touch on other subjects in my curmudgeonly quest, not to right all wrongs, but merely to anger those who commit these wrongs and - perhaps - spur others to action in calling people to task when they exhibit these piggish qualities.

2006-02-23T22:59:00.000-08:00

ROAD HOGS

Here's one of my pet peeves though, truth to tell, I've got a lot of them. I'm no longer the pedal to the metal kind of driver I used to be. Sometimes I get back the urge and take advantage of the fact that the freeway I use to get to and from work generally travels (in the fast lane) at speed in excess of 80 mph. Most of the time, however, I like to hang back in the slow lane and just accept the fact I'll be a minute or two later than if I jammed for the ten miles I need to get to my offramp.

So, here's what really pisses me off. Why is it folks who have been content to drive along behind a truck for the last mile or so, suddenly decide to pull out in front of me, even though there is no one behind me and they have to know they're going to cause me to slow down?

I don't expect them to put together the fact that we're going uphill and I don't exactly have a muscle car, so they're definitely impacting my world. But there's nobody behind me! Why the fuck can't they wait that extra moment for me to pass? This is especially egregious when I'm using my cruise control to conserve a little gas and make my drive even less stressful, because I then have to change lanes (if there's nobody coming up on us), step on the brake, or hold the coast button down. Either way, it's an unnecessary pain in the ass caused by a rude, thoughtless asshole who obviously was the only freaking person on the road.

I find a lot of people are incredibly thoughtless and inconsiderate; frequently rude, selfish, and amazingly unconcerned for the people they share the road (or the planet, for that matter) with. There are no laws against it, of course, though it seems all of our social and religious philosophies decry this kind of behavior. Yet the world is filled with pigs and dickheads. I don't get it. Maybe I never will. I also don't like it and I will never, ever get over it.

I'm going to try and figure out how to better understand why it's so and how to counter it. I hope there are folks out there who can contribute to this effort. Regardless, I want to fight against, and marginalize this kind of behavior, especially when it comes from people who think they are thoughtful and respectful. I'm also going to point it out in every way I see it, whether it's some jerk throwing trash out of his car, or a shopper leaving their cart in the middle of a parking space. More to come.