Did I mention how much I miss the Muppets?

Opinions at Mod-Blog

If my bank fails, how quickly will the FDIC pay me back?

The Consumerist has up a reassuring piece for those concerned about the possibility of their bank going under. And there is a lot of confusion out there on how the FDIC works.

[The] Federal Deposit Insurance Act states that the FDIC is required to pay insured depositors "as soon as possible." (see 12 USC 1821(f)) In practice, this usually means the next business day, or within a few days.

So, while it is always wise to have on hand enough cash to get you thru a long weekend (enough money to keep feeding yourself and your family and to keep the car gasses up), most people would not notice the amount of time it took the FDIC to act upon a bank being closed.

Sunbeam Warnings

If you have kids who wear "crocs" keep them off the escalator!!!

I am not a parent, so normally the many panics involving children (Don't let them eat anything red! Don't let them near cell phones! Avoid nature at all costs!) roll off of me like water off a duck's back. But a recent problem has really caught my attention. Apparently, "crocs" - a kind of waterproof show/sandal - hybrid are very popular with kids right now. Problem is these things have very soft soles, and when they get hot and are pressed against the wrong kind of thing, they can stick tight. And when the "wrong kind of thing" is an escalator it can mean the kids are being dragged to their deaths.

If you are a parent or even temporary guardian for kids, now is the time to set the rule. No Crocs if you are going to the Mall or anywhere with escalators. Feel free to use them on the Boardwalk or the beach, but nowhere where getting stuck might mean threat of bodily injury. Please note, this is NOT an urban legend.

Israeli Newspaper Publishes Obama's Western Wall Prayer

I was not aware of this, but apparently in Israel there is a tradition of writing one's prayers on a piece of paper ad sticking it into the cracks of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Apparently, this is a sign of devotion and a way to get ones prayers directly to God. While Barack Obama was in Israel, he placed his own prayer in the wall - so far nothing unusual. What *IS* unusual is a seminary student promptly plucked it from the wall and an Israeli newspaper published it! This is quickly becoming a major scandal within Israel, because Wester Wall prayers are supposed to be confidential between God and the one who prays.

At the Western Wall, Obama was greeted by a crowd of curious onlookers and photographers. He donned a white skullcap, listened to a rabbi read a prayer, and inserted a folded white paper between the stones. One hardline Israeli protester shouted, "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale."

The visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories was part of an international tour meant to shore up Obama's foreign affairs credentials ahead of the November election. Obama's prospective rival, John McCain, visited Israel in March.

While the prayer published is itself about the most generic one possible, it is refreshing to see a newspaper held accountable for a real invasion of privacy. There was nothing newsworthy about this prayer - unlike if, say, it has asked for a divided Jerusalem - and no reason to flash it before the world. Even a man who wants to be President has the right to a private relationship with God.

Air Travel Woes & Solutions

Thunderstorms along the East Coast played havoc with our travel arrangement last night, and left us stranded in Philadelphia with no way home and no prospect of getting home until late tonight.  And when we discussed our situation with the airline, their essential answer was "Tough luck for you."  Their answer to some of the international travelers - who were understandably more upset - was considerably more assertive, annoyed, and profane.  There have been several "Air Travellers Bill of Rights" put out there (and rejected) but let me suggest a few simple principles that I think could make an airline stand out from others.

1.  My ticket is not to *FLY* me to my destination, but to *GET* me to my destination.

Air travel is expensive and complex and problematic for the customer as much as the the airline.  One can not argue with mother nature and the FAA when it comes to weather.  But simply declaring "your flight is cancelled, so our responsibility is done" is unacceptable.  Airlines should have alliances with bus companies, limo services, and/or train companies so that even if they can not get one to the next destination in the air, there is a way to get there.  There are only a few "severe weather" scenarios which truly stop all traffic.  Most of them simply don't allow us to get there on wings.

2.  There should be no such thing as a "non-refundable" ticket.

I understand the philosophy behind the non-refundable ticket.  The airlines reduce risk, and the customer saves a few bucks.  But there is no such things as "nonrefundable bottle of water" in this country, so why is it acceptable to allow a travel company to be completely free of blame and obligation if they are unable to fulfill their obligation?  The "non-refundable ticket" should be abandoned by airlines as incompatible with reasonable customer service.

3.  The airline should always have extra staff/planes available, if possible.

One of the problems with our flight was that you had hundreds of stranded passengers and only 3 service representatives to deal with them.  And after 10 minutes, one of them fled. And after another 10 minutes of arguing with angry german tourists another fled.  So finally, you were left with hundreds of stranded passengers dealing with 1 faithful (overworked, overstressed, overtaxed) customer service rep.  I work at a bank - not exactly an industry known for their excellent customer service - and it is understood in times of stress that extra staff - tellers, phone CSRs, systems engineers, etc. - are called in to handle the extra volume and provide as much help to our customers as possible.  Why did the airline feel no obligation to do so?  And when flights were cancelled, why was there no question of scheduling extra flights today to deal with the overflow?

Again, I realize that the airlines are struggling just to be profitable these days.  But I think if even one airline adopted these three simple principles, they would have a chance to distinguish themselves and take a large portion of the business that is out there.

Does McCain need Rove?

According to Ben Stein he does. While most of the time I make fun of or criticize actors for making political statements, Stein actually has some political chops and is thus worth listening to.  I think this would be an interesting move by the McCain campaign, but I don't think they will do it.  Though I think that Stein is right that McCain needs to find someone that can help him get a clear message across because all this shooting from the hip stuff is killing him.

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How Bout this for a Personal Trainer

Stanely Cup Used for Christening

Each year each member of the Stanley Cup champions gets to spend one day with the Stanley Cup. On that day, he can pretty much do whatever he wants with it and take it anywhere as long as the two security guards who accompany the cup are with it. Detroit Redwings forward Tomas Holmstrom had is niece Christened with water that was in it. What a special way to remember the day you spent with the Stanley Cup.

An odd move by the FSF

In an odd move the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has decided that Apple is the second coming of the Antichrist (if you remember MS was the first coming). Basically they're ticked that most of the content on iTunes still containes Digital Rights Management (DRM). In order to solve this problem they've decided that the proper course of attack is to clog the Genious Bars at as many Apple Stores as possible and ask a bunch of inane questions.

Personally, I don't really give much of a rip about DRM, it's a pain but if it's what we have to do to get good music fairly cheap then I'll live with it. Besides most of the stuff I buy from iTunes ends up on a CD anyway, so the magic DRM is stripped anyway. Given all of that, I can still understand why some people think it's the worst thing ever - but even so is it so bad that you have to totally inconvience everybody that needs their computer fixed - well maybe not everybody but at least the Mac users. I've had to go to the Geniuses a couple times to get a computer fixed. Generally, when it gets to the point that I have to go there it's pretty bad and I kind of feel like crap because I couldn't fix the problem. Both times I've been there it's been a fairly short wait ( less than 30 minutes), but still it was annoying because I was going to talk to someone that was either going to show me a simple fix that I should have thought of or they were going to tell me it was going to cost too much to get it fixed. If I had had to wait an hour or more then I would have been really annoyed, especially if it had be the result of a punk or a set of punks trying to make a point about something I care very little about in the first place. Not to mention the point they were trying to make would not change any of Apple's policies.

This is just stupid and I hope that the FSF decides to drop this, because it's not going to change anything and lots of people are going to be really annoyed by this/them as a result.

The internet is kinda big...

At least that's the impression the Google folks gave when explaining the way they catalog the internet. The short version is

Even after removing...exact duplicates, we saw a trillion unique URLs, and the number of individual web pages out there is growing by several billion pages per day.

How many servers must they have to run to catalog all of that?

Biking Update - 7/26/2008

This was a good week weight-loss wise. I not only passed the 20-pounds-loss mark, but got within striking distance of 25 pounds! It is again a testament to that old adage that "slow and steady wins the race" that with very little change in diet or activity, I went from one week losing almost nothing to a second week of losing five pounds. I am now up to biking 5 to 6 miles every week day that I ride and 10 to 15 miles each weekend special trip. That is huge for a guy who only a couple of months back thought an active day was going shopping at Target. Here is hoping and praying that I can keep up with this in the long term.

Last week's "special ride" was down at the beach in Stratford near Marnick's restaurant. It was just CRChair and I - our biking friends were busy - but we had a great time riding around the neighborhoods. We got as far out as Short Beach and then over to Long Beach (I had no idea that Long Beach even existed!) We learned afterwards that we had been out in 100+ degree heat most of that time. Partly we had not noticed because of the wonderful breeze that biking brings, and partly because we chose not to think about it. And I again recommend Marnick's famous Onion Beef dinner after a ride. With a breath mint, if you'll be with a lady.

This weekend is going to be something different. We're traveling down to Savannah, GA for the wedding of an old friend. Old as in "I've known her since she was born" not old as in "old fogey." She is originally from New Jersey, and her mother was my mother's roommate in college. It is going to make the exercising regimen and diet somewhat interesting, because neither my schedule nor my food choices are going to be under my complete control. Add to that another night lost to Walking With Dinosaurs diet and exercise wise, and it might mean I will be up some next week. Then again, from what I have seen so far, if I am reasonable with my diet (eat the entree', not the desert) and exercise when I can, I mostly do well. We'll see next weekend.

A Second Cuban Missile Crisis?

Russia wouldn't be this stupid, would they?

Hidden Tracks

I used to like when you'd listen to a cassette tape and all of a sudden realize that there was a hidden track at the end. It was a nice bonus... felt like you got more for your money. I've seen CDs do something similar where they'll list 12 tracks, but then have a 13th track that wasn't listed on the case. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is when an artist puts the hidden track after a bunch of blank space on the last track. In a day and age where we rip our music for our portable players, why would you put in about 6 minutes and 15 seconds of blank space between your final track and your hidden track. It's obvious that when the song ends and there are still minutes left on the track that there's a hidden track in there somewhere.

When Minimum Wage Isn't Minimum Wage

California legislators can't decide on a budget. The Republicans want to cut spending to come up with the $15.2 billion. The Democrats want to increase taxes, specifically on the wealthy. Governor Schwarzenegger's solution? Stop overtime allowing overtime, lay off 22,000 employees, freeze hiring, and drop pay for 200,000 workers from the state minimum wage to the federal minimum wage. The first three are good business sense. The last one, while technically legal by a court ruling (so long as the government makes good on the difference once the budget has been settled) seems highly unfair. For one, it's unfair to the employees who have no control over a legislature that is currently out of session (but being called back for an August 4 vote). Secondly, why can the state of California pay less than state minimum wage when other businesses are required to pay minimum wage. If a private company tried to do this, they would be slapped with fines. Thankfully, the one group that can do something about this, the legislators and their staff, aren't getting a dime of their pay or per diem until they come to a resolution on the budget. More on this here, though it reads as a partisan article.

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience

The Walking with Dinosaurs show was amazing! It is hard to overstate the spectacle or the attention to detail. To see a whole set of my photos, click the image below. CRChair will also have his up shortly.

Prehistoric Smackdown

Prehistoric Smackdown
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Pterosaur

Pterosaur
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

They're heeeeeere

They're heeeeeere
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Walking with Dinosaurs
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Robot Chicken Strikes Back

I just picked up the "Robot Chicken Star Wars" special on DVD. It is an irreverent take on many Star Wars characters and themes, which definitely belongs in the Adult Swim section of cable. But it is also hilarious. And it was just nominated for an Emmy!

On the heels of this, the creators have been asked to make a sequel, tentatively called "Robot Chicken Strikes Back". More hilarity to ensue.

Real Live Dinosaur?!

CRChair got us tickets to the Walking with Dinosaurs show at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT. I hope it is at least HALF as cool as this video.

Ididaride

Our resident outdoorman, Bowhunter, sent me this link for a biking event in the Northeast that some Mod-Bloggers might be interested in.

http://www.ididaride.org/index.html

75 miles is WAY too long for my current level of fitness (I can do about 5 miles on a weekday and 10 miles on a weekend day). But it might be doable as some fraction of that ride. Who knows? We'll see as the date grows closer.

Pledge to go by bike?

Several of us here at Mod-Blog have been enjoying the world of bicycle fitness, riding around southern CT and exploring the roads hereabouts. Those of you who stop by the blog on weekends get to see my weekly report, which divides evenly between the status of my weight loss and my bike rides. My first ambition was to ride each week the mile to the local pizza restaurant where we have "Guys Night Out" with friends. We are now doing that on a regular basis. My next goal is to ride to a few local stores and shops (Wal-Mart is just up the road past the pizza place) and start to make that part of my routine.

Trek Bicycles (the brand of bike I have) is now challenging people to take a pledge to bike more and drive less. While this is certainly self-serving for a company that makes bicycles, it also makes a lot of sense in a time when we see obesity and gasoline prices on the rise. Click thru and think about if you might be willing to take the pledge, or do your own version for walking, jogging, or some other human-powered travel. (Yes, Wedge a rickshaw DOES count.)

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Bikers in Connecticut

The Connecticut Post had up an interesting article on cycling in Connecticut. One of the more interesting points in the article is that the number of cyclists on the road has gone up 5% since last year.

Obama & McCain to have Joint Appearance

John McCain and Barak Obama will both attend a forum at Saddleback Church on August 16th entitled "Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion". The candidates will not be on the stage at the same time, but their appearances will be back to back. Obama will go first based on the results of a coin flip. This is the only event that both candidates are scheduled to attend at the same time until after their party's nominating conventions in the fall. It will be interesting to see where this forum is broadcast. (ie. CSPAN, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc...) The Saddleback church is the church where Rick Warren is the senior pastor. Warren will be the only moderator asking questions to each of the candidates.

iPhone 3G remains sold out

I have been trying to pick up an iPhone 3G for weeks now, but have not been willing to stand in line at 4 AM to do so. I have been glued to the 3G iPhone checker offered by Apple and have been amazed to see that despite blips, the iPhone 3G remains sold out almost everywhere. This, after reportedly selling 1 million iPhones the first weekend, and having on-hand far more stock than for the original iPhone launch.

Return of the Muppets?

Let sleeping dogs lie

High Gas Prices

Dr. Horrible - For Free, For Now

I have been avoiding talking about this, because I think it may be too much of a geek in-joke. But as of now Joss Whedon's DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-A-LONG BLOG is up for viewing for free and for a limited time. I have been following along this series on iTunes and have really been enjoying it. It is worth a watch if you grew up with comics or comic book cartoons. I believe as of sometime next week, it will be withdrawn for free an will only be available via iTunes or DVD.

Biking Update - July 19, 2008

This was a better week weight-wise, even though I continue to struggle with the knee injury at times. I finally broke out of the plateau and wound up ending the week out at a new low. I am just a few ounces short of being 20 pounds under my starting weight, which will be a major deal. I had been thinking that I might be losing at a much faster rate than this, based on my first week, but I was reminded by several wise women who have been thru this before that you lose a lot more the first week than any week after. And I re-read an article by Dr. Atkins (yes, I know he is still controversial, even post-mortem) which reminded readers that weight lost quickly is regained quickly but weight lost slowly is regained slowly as well. So, I am encouraged to stay the course and take joy in the progress I do see. The nicest sign of how far I have come this week came in the form of a belt. It was one I had bought at my largest, because the others were getting to be too small. When I started, I was about midway on the pre-cut holes. Now, I am at the very smallest one, and am about to have to retire the belt altogether as being too large! Nice. Although my old belts will be sorry to end their vacation.

Last weekend's big biking trip was again on the Trumbull Trail. My knee was still bothering me, so we decided against trying the Shelton Trail quite yet. It looks to be more hilly and unpaved than the others, so we want to wait until we are both back to nominal condition. It was a great day for a ride - warm but with a slight breeze - and we rode all 9 miles in about an hour and a half. I was ready for another run, but CRChair was not in the mood. And as my body cooled and my knee stiffened, it became clear that his was the wiser head.

Today, we will either head up to Farmington, CT in search of 3G iPhones or we will be biking over near Marnicks in Stratford, CT. It is a beautiful area for riding with lots of sandy beaches, long streets clear of most traffic, and beautiful old and new homes. The last time we were in this area was with Mr. and Mrs. Bowhunter (you may recall the pictures) and we're hoping to discover a few new places and sights this time around. We'll see what there is to see. Next weekend, I will be in Savannah, GA for a wedding, so probably no biking then unless we rent one down that way. Please be praying in this upcoming week that I take advantage of exercise opportunities which come my way, and that I eat wisely at the wedding. I am quite sure there will be lots of tempting and fattening foods there. Have not yet decided if I will let myself have any wedding cake.

Another Way to Look at Giving

Sometimes I think our churches would do better financially if the congregants had some of these thoughts.

AT&T Makes Hot Spots FREE for iPhones

This has been rumored for a long time, but now apparently is official. I wonder if it will be on all iPhones, or only 3Gs. Either way, it is a welcome change.

Motorcycles on the Rise

1st MG ride - lunch stop
Originally uploaded by adrienna.


At my work, motorcycles have never been popular. It is probably that I work at a bank which tends toward the staid and conservative, but aside from one hacker who likes showing off his "Fonzie" side, no one ever thought about coming to work on a two-wheeler. But the last 2 months have changed everything. With gas over $4/gallon, we now have 5 regular motorcyclists, 5 cars sporting bike racks at all times, and several people biking to work (with over an hour ride to and from home).

What changes are Mod-bloggers seeing in people's driving/commuting behaviors at your job? Is it just me, or are motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles on the rise... at least until the first snow?

The Savage Manifesto

I was recently invited to a Facebook group that had a document by Michael Savage entitled "The Savage Manifesto". I'll be the first to admit that Michael Savage is over the top and some of the wording / items in his manifesto are, I'm sure, meant to draw reactions. Still, I prepared my thoughts on it for the group and thought that at least some of the points might generate some interesting discussion here on Mod-Blog. I'll post my replies in the comments so as to keep the article length short.

Why Americans will never embrace soccer (European Football)

I admit that I am mostly posting this to get the reaction of Sean and CRChair to this article which posits 7 reasons why soccer will never be a popular American sport. Personally, I only ever find soccer interesting if one of my friends is playing - and never if I am playing. But I have been lectured on numerous occasions by AYSO parents, referees, and players as to why I should find it interesting and how soccer is in fact the ultimate sport.

1. Americans don’t have the Attention Spans.
Soccer is a continuous game that is heavily influenced by a teams endurance and stamina. Unfortunately, Americans do not understand that concept. While the most popular sport in the United States involves watching a car go around a track for 600 miles, soccer is players running constantly for 90 minutes. Unlike soccer, however, NASCAR also involves the elements of horrendous crashes, pit stops, and fan favorites. Football also stops after every play, and during the four quarters of the game. The same goes for the innings of baseball, and the quarters of basketball.
2. Low Scores.
Because soccer is such a competitive and trying sport, the scores remain relatively few and far between. Americans like scoring, in all ways, forms, and meanings. Look at every other sport and their average scores, and then compare them to a high scoring soccer affair involving 5 – 6 goals. While scoring a goal is exciting, you have to remember spectators endure 90 minutes of passing balls and running in order to witness the goal.

AP Gets to See Newest Star Wars Movie

The new animated Star Wars movie was screened for the Associated Press recently. Here is an article that is part review and part interview with the director. There are no big spoilers in this article, but a couple of minor lot points are given out.

Happy Anniversary Sean

Happy Anniversary to Sean and Mrs. Sean. May this upcoming year be the best of your marriage so far.

iPhone gaming power = Dreamcast gaming power

A major games manufacturer is making a very interesting claim: the iPhone is as powerful as a Sega Dreamcast. Not much talked about today, the Sega Dreamcast was a workhorse of gaming at the time and the games still stack up pretty well against the current generation (I have one in the attic). The idea of having a whole console system in your pocket must be highly compelling for games makers.

The wilderness gap

We've discussed some of the issues surrounding that lack of wilderness in the lives of children. It seems that there is a push to make this a real issue among some people. I don't know if it deserves its own syndrome name, but its definitely an issue that parents need to be aware of.

Jib-Jab strikes again

I know this is supposed to be funny, buy honestly it may be the most depressing thing I have seen since the iPhone checker announced CT was clean out of 3G iPhones.

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Responsability and Mortgages

With the mortgage and housing crisis, I've been hearing many commercials on the radio about how to deal with not being able to afford your debt anymore. Some take the form of "let us help you get back on your feet." I understand that bankruptcy is a protection offered by the government to do just that: something happened and we as a nation have decided to give you a second chance to get back on your feet and hopefully make better choices next time, thus contributing back to society. The other type of commercial is the reason for my post today. In the other type of commercial you'll have two people talking. The one has just bought a new car or is out enjoying life. The other is saying, "Isn't your mortgage astronomical? How can you afford a new car / to not have a second job / etc." The first one responds that they used to have to worry about that, but now that they've talked to [insert company here], they're free to do whatever they want. It was the best thing they ever did. This is just another step in the no personal responsibility culture that we have been breeding. I am sure there are some people out there who honestly were swindled into their mortgage / didn't know what they were getting into, but having recently bought a home, I know that I had to do my research, ask questions, look things over, and understand what I was doing: making a promise to pay a debt I was taking on. Yes, there is the protection of bankruptcy for those that need it. If you're declaring bankruptcy to be able to buy a new car / play more golf / etc., you're going back on your word and swindling the company that held your mortgage. As we've seen from recent news stories, the attitude "oh, they're a big company that makes tons of money. It doesn't matter if I don't pay my bills" is NOT true.

Fixing Education

There has been lots of talk about how to fix education, but very few examples of school districts actually doing something different. On a recent episode of Charlie Rose he had on the Chancellor of Washington DC schools who said some very interesting things about how they have restructured the district to gear it toward child success. I've embeded it below. It's a good conversation but beware that it's about half an hour long.



[UPDATE] The video doesn't seem to be embeding well on my browser, so here's a link to the video if you want to watch it.

Singing In Our Public Buildings

A friend of mine is involved in an organization that puts on a weekly conference every year for teens to learn more about government called City on the Hill. During this conference they visit the California State Capital. This year, they decided to sing the national anthem and "God Bless America" in the rotunda. Sergeant-at-arms and California Highway Patrol officers (we don't have state troopers, the CHP takes on this role) entered the rotunda to stop the singing because they did not have a permit. Now, my first reaction to this was "duh, you're supposed to get a permit before singing on public property." Then I thought, why should we need the government to give us permission to sing PATRIOTIC songs on land that belongs to us, the people. I understand the need to not have groups coming in selling CDs or disturbing the peace, but it seems to me that those could be handled as separate issues. What do other Mod-Bloggers think? Should citizens be required to get a permit to sing patriotic songs in a publicly-owned place?

MLS Player Quits Soccer to Become a Priest

Giving a good example of what it is to give up all that you have and are for God, New England Revolution player Chase Hilgenbrinck has decided to give up professional soccer to become a Roman Catholic Priest. Hilgenbrinck said that he has felt the call for a while now and was thinking of putting off this call until after his playing career was done. But in a line that we all should respect he said "Delayed obedience is disobedience." May God bless him and use him to bring others to a personal relationship with Christ.

So are cats or humans more cruel?

Cat doesn't let dog eat - Watch more free videos

Now that the Governator works in an office, he needs this ASAP

Happy Bastille Day

The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. While the medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille contained only seven prisoners, its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution, and it subsequently became an icon of the French Republic. In France, Le quatorze juillet (14 July) is a public holiday, formally known as the Fête de la Fédération (Federation Holiday). It is usually called Bastille Day in English.

No 3G iPhone for Nomad - But Plenty Sold

Well, if I had to guess, we are going to get the announcement from Apple today that the 3G iPhone has outsold the original iPhone in its opening weekend. We spent a few hours this weekend at our local AT&T stores and Apple stores and on the availability checker online, and there are no iPhones to be found in CT. Compare this to the original launch when we were able to get ours on Sunday in the Farmington Apple Store, and there was PLENTY of extra stock left over. Early rumors were that there were significantly more 3G iPhones produced than the original, so it would appear Apple has a huge hit on its hands.



UPDATE: CNET is reporting that over 1 million 3G iPhones were sold between Friday and Sunday, with the millionth coming on Sunday. It took the original iPhone 74 days to reach 1 million sold. 10 million downloads occurred from the App Store as well. Wow.

The reason I appreciate Tony Snow

As mentioned yesterday, Tony Snow has passed away.  I didn't get to know of him until just shortly before he left his radio show.  At the time I was spending a lot of time on the road, so I got to listen to him for 3 hours a day, everyday.  I appreciated his fairness, but more that it felt like he wanted me to understand the issues.  He was bright and happy and never - NEVER - resorted to name calling or talking down to callers who disagreed with him.  Since yesterday I've been looking for something that highlights the way I will remember Tony Snow.  First I wanted to link to a video from his speech at CPAC this past winter, but I couldn't find a good version.  Then I found his commencement speech to Catholic University.  It's a longish read, but worth it.  This is how I will remember him.

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Every Mod-Blogger has had a moment like this

Fannie Mae Meltdown Explained

If you are a normal person, you may have seen all the headlines about "Fannie Mae" and "Freddie Mac" over the weekend and wondered why the economy cares about two old people with weird names. But these are both quasi-government lending companies which are on the verge of being officially taken over by the Federal government. This article attempts to explain the crisis in Fannie Mae in a way that a layman can understand.

By the time I showed up in the mid-1990’s, Fannie Mae had become one of the largest buyers of its own securities. Its stock was up over 40X from it’s 1980s nadir and it seemed as though the single biggest problem it had was deciding on how much money it wanted to make. This was a bigger problem than you might imagine because as a quasi-government agency, and a constant political football, Fannie Mae realized it couldn’t be seen to be abusing its market position. So rather than go crazy and buy every mortgage security in sight, Fannie Mae just settled on charting a nice predictable upward growth in earnings fueled largely by buying an ever increasing share of its own securities.

Now a normal private company could not pursue this strategy because as it issued more and more debt to fund the golden goose, the yields on the incremental debt would start to increase to the point where the strategy no longer made sense. But Fannie Mae was different. Because of the implicit government guarantee of its debt, Fannie could issue incremental debt with little or no regard to its existing debt load because everyone assumed the federal government would backstop the debt.

The more I hear, the more I think the operative term in the financial meltdown is "hubris". So many people doing so many stupid things with the assumption they'd be able to cash out before it collapsed.

Your daily dose of cuteness

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

R.I.P. Tony Snow

I never really got over his choosing to leave the media to become White House Press Secretary, but I always respected Tony Snow as a journalist and one of the forces at FoxNews that kept it truly balances and fair. When he left, I stopped watching because the network became what its detractors charged it as being - pure partisan news. Now, he has died of cancer at 53. Please be praying for comfort and peace for his family.

Biking Update - July 12, 2008

This was a definite good news-bad news kind of week. The good news is that after letting myself eat whatever I wanted on Sunday (my birthday), I gained no significant weight and the "shock" to my system got me losing weight agaun. The bad news is that after photographing a softball game on Tuesday (3 hours on my feet), my knee was really, really hurting badly. It may have re-strained it. Afterwards, I decided it was best to eschew biking to let the knee heal. Instead, I have been doing weights for my arms and crunches. So far, it has been working. I am hoping to get back on the bike tomorrow as we re-ride the Trumbull Trail, since it is not too hard.

I did get some cool biking-related stuff for my birthday as well. I got a stand-up pump from Nashbar, reflective snap-bracelets for night biking, and an iPod lanyard for biking. On the day of my birthday, we rode for a while down by the Shelton River as well, which had a wonderful breeze of the water. It was very hard staying away to let my knee heal. But another friend sprained his ankle to a similar level and his doctor made him use crutches for several days. So I figure it was wise to let it heal rather than possibly doing more damage. If it does not do better very soon, I'll probably have to see a doctor myself. But it is fine to walk on and merely aches, so I hate to bother a medical professional.

This coming weekend will have two highlights. The upcoming Trumbull Trail and hopefully the purchase of an iPhone 3G. We'll have to see if both work out. The good thing is since I already have an iPhone and it runs the iPhone 2.0 software, I have some time to let the lines die down a bit. But the new GPS capabilities will be useful on bike rides, especially to a guy like me with no sense of direction. Plus, there are lots of health and fitness-related pieces of iPhone software now to help track how I am doing with my weight loss.

Please be praying that I stay on track, but also am wise about how much to tax my body. I have a tendency to overdo things. And while I want to lose weight, I do not want it to be at the expense of long-term fitness.

IndyMac Bank seized by Federal regulators

Many want to pretend that the Mortgage Meltdown is over. They claim that the worst is over, and all is peaches and cream. But the reality is that the economic system is still adjusting. Now IndyMac Bank is being seized by regulators in the second-largest takeover in American history after a run on the bank by depositors.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will run a successor institution, IndyMac Federal Bank, starting next week, the Office of Thrift Supervision said in an e-mailed statement today. Customers will have access to funds this weekend via automated teller machines. Regulators intend to eventually sell the company.

The Pasadena, California-based lender specialized in so- called Alt-A mortgages, which didn't require borrowers to provide documentation on their incomes. IndyMac's home state, where Countrywide Financial Corp. was also located before it was bought last week, has been among the hardest hit by foreclosures.

Now is NOT a time for panic. Panic will only make things worse. Things will improve, but it is likely we will see a few more failures before we're truly on the far side of the Recession.

Adventures in political marketing

A week or two ago I posed the question "Why are Republicans uncool?".  Almost on cue the GOP launches a website that could make them more cool.  The GOP is looking for input on policy proposals.  This could be a really great people to discuss issues - even if it does end up being only Republicans on the site. As we have seen, even here on Mod-Blog where most of us are Republicans we have a fairly wide diversity of beliefs and focuses when it comes to politics.  As the article says:

The site itself has a stodgy charm to it. But at least the GOP is creating an online forum for citizens to engage with policy makers before they make policy. This could just be an empty effort whose real purposes is to collect e-mail addresses from party members to hit them up for donations. And if that’s the case, the site will soon die. But if the GOP can create an active community of people truly interested and informed about different policy options, and feed that into their platform, it could give them a real competitive advantage over the Democrats.

Here's hoping that this one works out in the positive for the GOP.

On the other side of the aisle, the Obama campaign marketers are either geniuses or nuts, I tend to favor the former rather than the latter.  The campaign is sponsoring a NASCAR car in an upcoming race.  Since it's widely known that NASCAR is most popular among red necks state voters, this could be a good way of garnering a positive look from that voting block. Again, Obama is trying to bring states and blocks into contention that have traditionally be foregone conclusions.  As much as I don't like that a Democrat is doing this, it is good that people are now being forced to think about their vote rather than simply voting for a party.

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Starting Them Young

I guess Communist countries aren't the only ones who use propoganda to indoctrinate their young people. Today I came across the books "Why Daddy is a Democrat" & "Why Mommy is a Democrat". They are childrens books that:

"bring to life the core values of the Democratic party
in ways that young children will easily understand and thoroughly enjoy. Using plain and non-judgmental
language, along with warm and whimsical illustrations, these colorful 28-page paperbacks depict the
Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance, peace, equality, and concern for the well-being of others"

I guess I shouldn't judge too harshly since these books allow parents to share their values with their children. I just wish the parents would change their values and opinions.

If you're trying to score an iPhone 3G today...

...don't forget the iPhone availability checker from Apple.Com. It tells you which stores had what phones as of last night. Personally, I am not sure if I will try today or wait until Sunday to try and get mine. We'll see how the day goes.

Mod-Blog Mish-mash: Oscars and retirement

Rather than write two short posts I'm going to write one medium one, which we can discuss in the comments.  I've been thinking about both of these items for some time and hopefully they make some sense.

If you've spent any time looking at movie news websites over the last 4 months then you've probably heard some chatter about how Heath Ledger deserves the Oscar for his performance in The Dark Knight.  For as long as I've heard this talk I've thought it was foolish simply because most of it is sentimentality based upon his death and not the performance (which VERY few people have seen completely at this point).  This article summarizes my opinion quite well. Beware there is a little spicy language in the article.

Secondly, recently there's been a lot of chatter about Bret Farve coming out of retirement to play another season.  First off, is it really retirement if he hasn't missed any part of a season?  Secondly, if you're going to retire - stay retired!  If you're not sure whether or not you're going to play the next season say that, don't have an elaborate press conference and with tears in your eyes say that you just don't have the will to play anymore.  I like Bret Farve, I think he's a genuinely great football player and probably a pretty good guy as well, but seriously stay away from football for 2 seasons before you start talking about how you 'got the itch again'.  This has happened a good number of times ever since Michael Jordan decided to retire from basketball to be a baseball player then not then a basketball player again, so I guess it's just a right of passage for superstars anymore, but it's quite annoying.  Let the fans grieve and move on.

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A priest's advice on finding a spouse

It is funny how UNcommon it is to find COMMON sense in the world. But here is advice from a celibate, unmarried priest on what to look for in a spouse. It comes not from direct experience, but from watching happy and miserable parishioners. Funny how simple and logical it all is.

“Don’t marry a problem character thinking you will change him. He’s a heavy drinker, or some other kind of addict, but if he marries a good woman, he’ll settle down. People are the same after marriage as before, only more so.

“Take a good, unsentimental look at his family — you’ll learn a lot about him and his attitude towards women. ...I remember counseling a pious Catholic woman that it might not be prudent to marry a pious Muslim, whose attitude about women was very different. Love trumped prudence; the annulment process was instigated by her six months later.

What do our married (and formerly married) readers think? Good advice? Do you have any more for we singletons?

NYS to Wilderness Camps: Make Way for Regulation!

Long-time reader and commenter Bowhunter asked me to post this article about the incresing regulation of Wilderness Camps in New York State. This is affecting some ministries near and dear to his heart, forcing them to bring on extra staff and denying some of the boys the chance to meet with God alone in His creation.

When it comes to outdoor wilderness camps, the forces of nature butt up against an equally daunting power: New York's vast state bureaucracy.

Some of the push for stronger regulations followed the 1998 death of an 11-year-old boy who drowned in a rain-swollen creek while attending Camp Scatico in Livingston, Columbia County.

Lately, though, the operators of wilderness camps like this one have been fighting back in efforts to make the rules more realistic.

"What used to be considered common sense now is codified. It's hard sometimes to codify common sense," said Ron Mackey, director of Deerfoot Lodge, one of a handful of true wilderness camps that remain in the state.

Among the regulations causing headaches is a new law requiring all minors - even those with full wilderness, first aid, and survival training - to be accompanied by an adult at all times. This means 17-year-olds preparing for being counsellors have to bring along "adults" on hikes intended to test their independence and survival skils.

Last-minute iPhone 3G Details

Apple Insider has up some interesting last-minute details on the iPhone 3G. If you plan to run out this weekend and pick one up, be sure to skim thru them.

* The actual activation of an iPhone 3G through the modified iTunes app Apple and AT&T will use takes less than 30 seconds. A credit check takes about 5 minutes and the remainder of the process that includes picking a plan takes less than 5 minutes.

* The majority of customers signing new 18-month contracts with AT&T should be prepared to possibly have their existing rollover minutes reset to the number of monthly minutes included with their new iPhone 3G plan. This is standard practice for AT&T and it's possible it will carry over to iPhone upgrades.

They also have up a quick summary of the first iPhone 3G reviews that are out there on the web.

If You Thought the President Was Unpopular...

Consider these numbers on Congress.

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

That's right, the only people less popular than the President are the clowns in the Democratic controlled Congress.

From Sean: Origins of your favorite muppets

Sean is remote this week and only has a very little time online, so he asked me to post this article for your reading pleasure.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16220

MOD-BLOG REVIEW: The Incredible Hulk

Movie: The Incredible Hulk
MPAA Rating: [PG-13]
Mod-Blog Rating: ****/5

The Short Version:

This relaunch of Marvel Comics's character owes very little to Ang Lee's version of a few years back. This one instead is almost a big-screen remake of the TV Hulk, complete with themes of alienation, loneliness, and always being on the run. The characters are pretty strong, the acting good, and the plot works within its own universe. The only real problem is the main villain who fights the Hulk in the last act as a monster as large and as strong as the Hulk. The villain neither fits the Marvel comics mold to satisfy old-school fans, nor really is convincing in its own right. Thus, the viewer is left somewhat unsatisfied. That being said, it is a very fun film and worth your time to see. Just don't go expecting anything on the level of the Iron Man or Spider-Man films. Parents with young children should also be aware there are several scenes which could easily inspire nightmares. While the Hulk is a favorite of young-'uns, best to wait for this version until they can really differentiate between fantasy and reality.

The Long Version:

Ang Lee's Hulk may be the most-reviled of the Marvel Comics films to come out, since Spider-Man revitalized the genre. It is by no means the worst by most objective estimates - I'd argue Punisher or Daredevil (non-directors cut) takes that particular cake - but it managed to alienate the majority of its audience by ignoring most of the comic-book canon and then also failing to truly be a super-hero movie. The director himself pitched it as a Greek tragedy, and that is exactly what he provided. Unfortunately for him, the Hulk comes out of a much later tradition - the horror story Frankenstein, which many consider to be the start of the "horror of science gone wrong" tradition of storytelling. It is not about how parents spoiled their child or about the fickle quality of fate, but rather about the dangers hidden within the promises that modern science makes.

This time around, rather than try to salvage something out of Ang Lee's Hulk, Marvel essentially called a do-over. They hired a new director and brought in Edward Norton who not only plays Bruce Banner (the Hulk's alter ego) but also wrote or rewrote the majority of the script. The new effort owes far more to the popular television series than to the comic books. This Bruce Banner is not a conflicted abuse child, but a man haunted by a dark secret and a power that he can not control. He is constantly on the run both from the military men who want to exploit the Hulk's power (remember, it is the most powerful being in the Marvel universe) and from his own runaway emotions which could trigger a transformation at any time. He hides himself away in South America, urban America, the wilds of Canada - anywhere he can hope to avoid his twin nightmares.

But, of course, it would not be much of a movie if the Hulk stayed in the shadows, and ultimately Bruce Banner is drawn back to New York City in hopes of finding a cure. Instead, he finds a new foe in the Abomination (a creature almost as powerful as the Hulk) and a chance for redemption as the city is saved from one rampaing monster by another rampaging monster. If anyone missed the pure visceral thrill of seeing the Hulk smash everything in sight in the first film, will be very satisfied in this one.

But ultimately, that final act is the Achilles Heel of the film as well. The Hulk is a full CGI creation - as is required by an 8-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide creature which tear thru a city like jagged glass thru a bare foot. So is the Abomination. And neither is known for their eloquence. So, the last 1/2 hour or so of the film is two computer-generated puppets grunting and beating the stuffing out of each other. It is hard to get completely absorbed into the action when you know nothing onscreen is real, and when every action is so over the top. It is a lot of fun, but simply not "real".

The other thing to be aware of is that the transformations in this movie are fairly horrific for a film which could be regarded as targetted at children. Please take the PG-13 rating seriously, as the bone-crunching transformation of either the Abomination or the Hulk could easily give nightmares for years to come. And the level of violence is well above that of a Saturday morning cartoon.

But overall, this one is a winner. Don't expect a masterpiece, but take it in if you want some good old fashioned mayhem.

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Voicemail good or bad

I was unaware that there was any dislike for voicemail out there until I read this article.  Personally, I don't have a problem with it, but that could very well be because I don't have to use it very often. 

But now an increasing number of people are just plain avoiding voicemail (for my impromptu and unscientific survey, see the comments here, which are predominantly anti-voicemail). It takes much longer to listen to a message than read it. And voicemail is usually outside of our typical workflow, making it hard to forward or reply to easily.

I was wondering if any of our readers were aware of such negative feelings ( or have them themselves) about voicemail?

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Read Through the Bible Via E-Mail

One of the things I struggle with is trying to faithfully read my Bible. Remembering to make the time, remembering where I left off, etc. means that I normally don't stick to any plans that I start. I may have found one that will work well for me now. A church has set up a free service where you will get a passage every day by e-mail. By reading through each e-mail, you will read through the Bible in a year. How will this work better for me (and may others out there)? First, if I get behind, I know exactly which e-mails I still need to read. Second, because it's an e-mail, I can start out reading some on my computer, read some more while waiting in line somewhere on my phone, and then finish up later on reading in book form if I'd rather not read off of an electronic screen. E-mails are text and hyperlinks only (no graphics) and the text comes in the NASB translation.

How effective is your sunblock?

My grandmother died of skin cancer when I was 4, so my parents have drilled into my mind from an early age that wearing sunblock during the summer months is non-negotiable. And I have always been a major nag to my friends to make sure they were wearing some too. I have been happy to see the SPF ratings available going up, to offer more and more protection. However, a recent study may suggest many sunblocks are ineffective or even harmful and so far it appears the FDA has been unwilling or unable to act.

The EWG analysis suggested that nearly half of the products contained ingredients known to become inactive in strong sunlight...Some release skin-damaging free radicals in sunlight, some could disrupt hormone systems, several are strongly linked to allergic reactions, and others may build up in the body or the environment. FDA has not established rigorous safety standards for sunscreen ingredients that fully examines these effects.

It appears, from my reading, that wearing sunscreens - even the bad ones - is still preferable to wearing none. But depending on what you buy, you may find yourself far less protected than you had thought. If you are interested, there is a list of the best and worst sunscreens for your examination.

Happy Birthday, Nomad!

We here at Mod-Blog want to wish Nomad a very happy birthday. Hope your day is great and wish we could all be there to celebrate with you.

How should churches handle sex offenders?

Every good church preaches that God welcomes anyone and that we are all sinners and that only Christ can truly heal and regenerate a repentant sinner. All good churches want to be houses of worship for all people who are seeking Christ, and want to have their doors open as much as possible. But, what do you do, when opening your doors to everyone, means opening yourselves up to proven dangerous men, especially those convicted of molesting children? It is something that had not occurred to me before, and apparently I am not alone.

It's the same question facing a group of Protestants in Carlsbad, Calif., right now, members of the Pilgrim United Church of Christ who learned in late January that 53-year-old Mark Pliska, a convicted sex offender, wanted to worship with them. The normally progressive, welcoming congregation balked at the notion, and the resulting firestorm forced pastor Madison Shockley to tearfully ask Pliska not to come to services until the church could sort things out. (Shockley says he will announce the church's decision in mid-May.) "Nothing in my almost 30 years of ministry has prepared me to turn somebody away," Shockley told the local paper. But Shockely's biggest surprise wasn't that a sex offender wanted to worship, but that so many members of his congregation had been sexually abused as children; he estimated one in four of female congregants and one in 10 men. Having an offender in the pews with them on Sunday - even one who had served his time, registered with the authorities and voluntarily identified himself to the pastor - was too big a hurdle for these former victims, Christians or not.

The simple answer is obvious: the church should let in even convicted murders and sex offenders, as God is the god of all people. But we are told to be "innocent as doves, but wily as snakes" in scripture, and thus need to find ways of allowing them in without exposing the church to danger. How do we do that? I am not sure. I am interested to hear the opinions of other Mod-Bloggers on this, especially those who have served as pastors.

Wii Finally Seen in Stores

Nomad and I saw a sight as rare as an albino squirrel. We saw Wiis for sale in a regular store yesterday. So for anyone in Connecticut who still wants to buy a Wii, they had about 4 available at the Target in Trumbull as of 5pm July 4th.

Biking Update - July 5, 2008

Last weekend, after the last post, we headed over to the Trumbull, CT Trail with Nick and Nora with the intent to ride the whole thing. At the very start of the trail, it is a very short steep climb up from Tait Road. I approached the climb and took a very sharp turn - in fact far TOO sharp - and wound up tangling myself up in my own legs and fell to the side. I tried to fight the fall and thus wound up trying to bend my knee sideways. That pretty much ended the trip, so we went to see WALL-E instead.

The sprain or strain was honestly not too bad. I could walk on it immediately afterward, but it hurt quite a bit to bend and the lateral stability was simply not much there. So, my week started off with a day of no exercise and then a slow working back up to a full ride. Perhaps for this reason, or maybe something else I missed, I am pretty much flat this week weight-wise. I am no worse than last weekend, but also no better. It is a little depressing, but everyone who has ever lost a lot of weight has said that it is all about consistency and that slow but steady wins the race. We'll see, but it is my intent to stay with it. The one exception will be tomorrow - my birthday - as I plan to go to a restaurant I enjoy and have whatever I want.

The best news is that at the end of the week - Friday, July 4 - we rode that same Trumbull Trail with Mr. and Mrs. Bowhunter. (Nick and Nora were out of town exploring the Revolutionary City of Boston.) We rode pretty much the whole thing - 9.1 miles - and my knee felt just fine at the end. I am still wearing a knee brace for exercise times. But it is all moving very well now. Here is hoping I will have more good news next weekend.

Happy Independence Day

May we never forget to honor the brave men and women who fought and died for our freedom. May we never forget to honor the wisdom of the visionaries who forged the great compact and wrote the Declaration.

Deep Thought of the Day: Is it okay to teach choose a lie?

This article is coming off of viewing the film BE KIND, REWIND on DVD. Some of these comments may be construed as spoilers. So if you are concerned about that, you may wish to skip this post.

Watching the movie this week, it ends off with a short section whose basic point is, "When a lie is more beautiful than reality, choose to believe the lie." This reminds me of another movie which essentially had the same moral: HOUSESITTER with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. Both showed people living in a less-than-ideal society and seeking to escape despair by embracing a lie. They are shown, in fact, triumphing by rejecting truth and reality.

While I guess this is somewhat in line with a Hollywood philosophy, where the whole industry is based on creating fantasies and fictions. It seems like a fairly dangerous and insidious way of thought. It encourages us to have contempt for truth, to actually have a contempt for any idea or situation which is contrary to our preferences. It is narcissism to think that our desires have anything to do with truth. True science and philosophy is seeing the world as it is, and analyzing it that way.

What do Mod-Bloggers think? Is it wrong to think it better to embrace a lie when the truth is undesireable?

Moving Fireworks

Short video of that same fireworks show. Well, 91 seconds of it, anyway.

Is broadband saturation necessary?

I can understand the drive by internet content producers and providers to push for complete broadband saturation - they get more money from either fees or advertising. But I think that misses the point entirely. The push for broadband saturation seems like an issue of vanity for the tech crowd. I was listening to a podcast a couple of weeks ago where the commentators were lamenting that US broadband usage is 'so' low. When I think about it, not everybody needs broadband - nor do they want it. If all you do on the internet is check your email and the weather, then broadband isn't really cost effective. Or perhaps keeping dial-up access is a way of limiting yourself from attachment to the internet. Either way its a good argument for not getting broadband access. On the other hand, if a person in the US wants to get broadband then they should have access to it - this is the only good reason I can see for pushing for broadband saturation. If we push for broadband saturation simply because we want to compare better with other countries then we've totally missed the boat and are not using our resources efficiently.

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Fireworks!!!

Since the big cities dominate the fireworks displays on the 4th, most of the smaller towns in Connecticut do their fireworks shows before or after Independence Day. Last night was the Fireman's Parade and Fireworks display for Shelton, CT. Nick and Nora went down to watch with CRChair and I, and I thought our Mod-Blog readers might enjoy seeing the photos I got as a way to whet the appetite for Independence Day. Click on the image below for the whole set.

Solar ban reprieve

The Bureau of Land Management have decided to reverse their decision to ban solar development on public lands. This is a good move that I'm sure Nomad is happy about!

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The danger of CFLs

The house we live in came with lots of energy efficient lighting. I used to have an attitude of "well, it's not quite as great as a regular bulb, but at least it lasts five years." Then I heard about the dangers of if one breaks and how you should throw out anything that it touches. I recently heard about someone who had one break over their bed and is now out a set of bedding. Rep. Ted Poe of Texas speaks out some more on the dangers and inconveniences of CFLs.

Bush: More Oil, Me: More Solar!

It appears that President Bush is now asking Americans to push Congress to allow more Oil exploration on domestic lands...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080702/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

...which I am not against. We need to try all avenues to oil independence. But may I politely remind the President that there is something he could do TODAY to help with searched for alternative energy? Maybe force the BLM to repeal its ban on applying for solar power land use for the next two years?

http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUKN3044908320080701?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10171

I'll say it one more time. If this ban is not lifted by the Executive or Legislative branch by Independence Day, none of them deserve to stay in office. It only proves an inability to (1) obey the will of the People, and (2) recognize the kinds of things that matter.

Why are Republicans so uncool?

I know there's an argument that says that Republicans are cool because of something, but in popular culture whatever that argument is doesn't seem to hold water. Take for instance this 'Rock the Vote' contest on MySpace. The winner gets to perform at the Democratic National Convention. Two questions arise, 1) why is it desirable to perform at the DNC (as opposed to the RNC) and 2) why is it that the DNC is bringing in rock bands to perform? I believe that both of these point to a critical flaw in the way the GOP has marketed itself - particularly to the younger, hipper, more tech savy portion of society. The GOP does not have a considerable web presence - especially compared to the gauntlet that both the DNC and the Obama campaign have put up. A nominee that says he barely understands computers isn't helping either. Because of this the Dems have found a way to connect with young voters in a way the GOP hasn't. Since the DNC looks more cool, those younger voters are more likely to listen and be swayed by the arguments of the left. It goes beyond simply having a web presence, but I think that this one area along with things like the contest mentioned above are emblematic of why the Democrats are seen as so much more cool than Republicans.

I am in no way saying that we should replace competence for coolness. I simply believe that it's possible to have both with Obama being a living example of this and McCain being the ultimate contradiction. The GOP has a lot of money, so why can't they hire a competent marketing strategist to at least get a cool factor for the party, if only to bring in younger voters - even if they seem incapable of nominating somebody that is completely competent (and cool).

It may come to this

Fuzzy math

I found this interesting.  Apparently text messaging isn't the best deal on the web - if you don't have an unlimited plan.  Basically text messages on AT&T cost $1,310.72 per megabyte (6,553.6 text messages at $0.20 each).  Hmmm.... and the reason Sean doesn't text message is?

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Basic computer instructions

I ran across this post about basic computer instructions today over my lunch break and thought it was interesting. As the computer tech for my company I have more stories than I can count, still it amazes me when people who use computers every day have to be told, "you have to turn it on for it to work" or "you have to plug in the computer for it to work" (sometimes back to back). What are some of the best stories Mod-Bloggers have about this type of thing. I do ask that we not mock those of older generations who are just not used to computers, but people that use them all the time are fair game.

Car Talk comes to television... sort of

Car Talk is one of my 3 or 4 favorite shows on NPR.  Unfortunately because it's on so early I can't listen to it live and am forced to listen to the podcast.  Nonetheless, it's fun and sometimes even educational.  Apparently a lot of people like the show and now it's being brought to TV, except not as a call-in get your car fixed show.  instead it's going to be a cartoon with Click and Clack as the main characters.  It sounds like it'll be funny and I'll probably give it a go - provided one of my two local PBS stations picks it up.

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Prince Charles' Car Runs on Wine

Prince Charles has converted his favorite Aston Martin car to run on wine. The car gets about 10 miles to the gallon of the wine and produces 85% less carbon emissions then it did when it ran on gasoline. The Prince gets his wine from a biofuels manufacturer who buys excess wine from a local British wine producer. This gives a whole new meaning to the term "Drink and Drive".

Gas speculation card

One of the major factors economists are positing for the rapidly-rising price of oil is speculators who are buying gas futures on the open market for higher and higher prices. Not to let the American consumer be outdone, now a company is letting the average American speculate on their next tank of gas.

Save money by pre-purchasing gas at today’s prices, then fill up with your MyGallons Card when prices rise. No matter how high prices at the pump will go, the price of the gallons you’ve purchased will be locked-in.

While I am always up for saving a buck, I have to say I am skeptical about this kind of scheme. First, there is no guarantee that you won't buy high (when gas is up) and wind up gassing up when the price is lower. (It does happen, really.) Second, this tends to make us less sensitive to sudden changes in price, thus insulating oil companies and Congress from our ire. Third, it is accepted "by most fill-up stations", so there is no guarantee that the one you choose to use will be among those.

Still, I have to admit it is a creative way to combat rising gas prices.