Archives
May 10, 2007
So you want to be a candidate?
Then the media feels they have carte blanche to ask you anything. Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes apparently subscribes to this theory:
Romney's wife, Ann, who converted to the Mormon Church before they were married, is also interviewed. When asked whether they broke the strict church rule against premarital sex, Romney says, "No, I'm sorry, we do not get into those things," but still managed to blurt out "The answer is no," before ending that line of questioning.
Disgusting.
May 01, 2007
Sensationalize!
So funny how the media seems to cheer for body counts. Today's big story is a multiple shooting here in Jacksonville. How does Channel 6 in Orlando report the story? (Emphasis added)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Six people were shot Tuesday in a neighborhood near downtown Jacksonville, police said.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said all have non-life threatening injuries.
It also was not known whether the gunman was at large or among the dead.
The shooting occurred in the Talleyrand area near Jacksonville Memorial Stadium.
Huh? Who said anything about anyone being killed? According to the police spokesperson, all involved have non-life threatening injuries. Darn!
Channel 4, here in Jacksonville, reported the status of the gunman this way:
There was no immediate word on whether a gunman was at large or among the victims.
That is a more accurate and less sensational way to report the story, since the folks who were shot are indeed victims.
Gotta love the media.
April 23, 2007
One square per visit
The Butler girls will be in trouble if this ever happens. We go through toilet paper at our house like crazy.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Crow calls for limit on loo paper
Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.
Crow has suggested using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".
The other question is, how will this be enforced? I imagine sophisticated toilet paper dispensers. One ticket please.
March 14, 2007
Would global warming make hell freeze over?
If so, I am now a believer. The New York Times published an article yesterday critical of Al Gore and his Inconvenient Truth.
Bjorn Lomborg, a statistician and political scientist referenced in the article, has written a book that I want to read about global warming. According to Michael Crichton:
No one should miss Bjørn Lomborg's "The Skeptical Environmentalist." The author, a Danish statistician and former Greenpeace activist, set out to disprove the views of the late Julian Simon, who claimed that environmental fears were baseless and that the world was actually improving. To Mr. Lomborg's surprise, he found that Simon was mostly right. Mr. Lomborg's text is calm and devastating to established dogma.
Personally, I don't like the scaremongering tactics either. Seems to be used solely for attention and political lucre (and financial profits by those in the EU who are gaming the carbon trade). I think the significant downgrade recently of the threat of rising ocean levels by the UN, while not frequently mentioned, deflates the Chicken Little argument. Should we be good stewards of the Earth and the environment? Sure. But let's be rationale about it.
UPDATE: Cox and Forkum weigh in on the issue.
March 30, 2006
GRIPE: Too much content
There are just too many cool ways to get content nowdays. Between RSS feeds, audiobooks, podcasts, Netflix, Tivo, and RadioTime (think Tivo for radio), there is so much cool stuff to absorb. Plus of course traditional books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Cost isn't a major factor, but time is. I wish there was a Johnny Mnemonic way to load all of this content into my brain daily (and enjoy it, no potential for death, unlike the movie). Listening while working isn't really an option, because I'm on the phone quite a bit. I have no commute. Of the 5 hours I have exercised this week, I have trained by myself for only 2 hours. Of those 2 hours, 1.5 were in the pool and I don't have a waterproof case for the Nano yet.
I guess it comes down to priortization and being picky with content until I can get that brain implant.
UPDATE: I forgot about Pandora and XM Radio.
March 02, 2006
Pet Peeves
Two quick pet peeves:
1. Pete called me earlier tonight and reminded me of one we both share. Making a verb out of a noun. His example was Campbell Brown on NBC (?) asking former FEMA Director Michael Brown "to bottom line this for me." Huh? Another goodie: "Let's dialogue." Using nouns as verbs does not make you look smart or sound intelligent. Trust me. Speaking simply is a dying art.
2. Calling a toll-free number and getting to speak to a "Customer Care Consultant" or some other inane fancy name for a person who answers toll-free phone numbers or works in customer service. I really like it when they promise me at the beginning of the call they are going to provide me with "excellent service." Sha-right. They can't do anything their script doesn't tell them without talking to a supervisor. Fortunately, it seems to be strictly an American call center ploy. Like giving themselves a more empowering title is going to make me feel better about navigating a menu tree that required 20 key punches, entering my account number (which you know they are going to ask you for again later), a reminder that the menu has changed, and 20 minutes on hold. It almost makes talking to my Indian call center friends halfway around the globe almost palatable. In those cases, the only thing Manish calls himself is "Bob" or "Larry."
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