Well if you ask me...

You Call that a Kiss?

I finished the book last Tuesday. I remember the day because we had planned to see the movie that day for “buy one ticket, get one free” night and I knew I had to read the book first. I actually had just less than a page to read when Terri parked at the theater.

The Hunger Games is set in Panem, a country that rose from the ashes of a post-apocalyptic North America. Panem is ruled by The Capitol and supported by twelve surrounding districts. Every year the districts are forced to give up some of their young people to compete in a fight to the death.

The book was flawed. Mostly by sentence fragments.^* In parts, though, it was brilliant – the way Katniss is allowed to show her feelings outwardly, and do so safely, is a very nice part of the love story that develops.

It’s a very readable book. Apart from the sentence fragments.* The details of the characters struggle against the elements was especially compelling to me, and something I knew they would not be able to portray adequately in the film.

Of course, like many other readers, I was also struck by the parallels to our culture. Sending children off to a meaningless war simply because it is our duty, the decadent wealth of the few versus the extreme poverty of the many, and the over emphasis of food and entertainment. I’ve read that some don’t even see these parallels – another telling sign that we may be more like the the people of Panem than we realize.

I’ve read many who complain that the very existence of the games is never appropriately questioned in the book. What kind of society would let something like this go on? It seems hard to imagine. I think the lack of discussion about it speaks volumes. Perhaps our society – one that is preoccupied with fast food and reality TV – might fall victim to such a system without notice or discussion.

Actually, one could argue that we endure far more than this. The games in the book are so obviously pointless, that every reader can’t help but notice how cruel it all is. What many readers may not see is that we send thousands of our young men and women (Some even call them children. I don’t, but that’s another story – most who enlist in the military are very young indeed.) off to wars without ample justification. Do we think this is any less cruel? Some of them, just as in the book, train for the opportunity to volunteer for service as an honor. That doesn’t make it any less cruel.

If you’d like a good read, you should pick up the book. It’s not great literature, but I thought it was a good story with enough social commentary to make one think about the world we live in.

If you plan to see the film, you should definitely read the book first.

Of course, like all good stories, this one is about a girl and the boys who love her.

^* I know those are sentence fragments. I was trying to be funny.

NFL Schedule Released for 2012

The NFL schedule was published yesterday so I guess I’m obligated to publish my thoughts on the Jets schedule, but actually I have more to say about the complete schedule. I used what I believe is the official schedule released by the NFL ( you can download it here). You can also view the schedule at nfl.com where they also have a nice printable version.

As I may have mentioned before, we are big NFL fans at our house. We had the NFL package from DirecTV the first year it was available until the 10-11 season. The 11 – 12 season was the first season we didn’t renew it. It worked out for me because every singe Jets game was available on TV in my area except two – so I went out to see those.

We all cheer for different teams (long story) – Jets, Redskins, Texans, and Jaguars (though Billy is a Jets fan too since he has moved to New York). Our local teams are the Ravens, another favorite team of ours, and the Eagles, a team I only pull for if they are playing one of my rivals or the Cowboys (and even then it is hard to do). We also like to watch the Giants and Broncos and any game with implications in the AFC East, AFC South, or NFC East.

So I look at the schedule with that in mind …

Most Exciting Day of the Season

Thanksgiving Day! As long as our teams are still competing at that point, this should be a blast. The Jets host the Patriots, Redskins @ Cowboys, and even Becky’s Texans start the day off in Detroit. I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Season Opener – Dallas @ Giants

We knew the game would be hosted by the Giants, and the Cowboys make a lot of sense. I would have preferred to see the Giant beat the Eagles on opening day, but this is the next best choice. Actually, the Jets beating the Giants would be the best choice now that I think of it.

The Rest of Week One

Jets open at home and host the Bills and the Texans host the Dolphins. I can’t ask for much better than that. Neither game will be on locally unless the Eagles time is changed. It looks like we’ll go out for the Sunday games. I love the Chargers / Raiders matchup on Monday night, but I’m not a big fan of the 10:15 start.

Weeks Two to Seventeen

Primetime Matchups

Some very good games planned – Patriots @ Ravens (week 3), Giants @ Eagles (week 4), Texans @ Jets (week 5), Broncos @ Chargers (week 6), Colts @ Jaguars (week 10), Ravens @ Steelers (week 11) – with a very strong finish for our teams. Week 13 is all NFC East, and then Texans @ Patriots, Jets @ Titans, and Chargers @ Jets, and one last game to be determined. (All Sunday games starting in week eleven are subject to change.)

If you count the Thanksgiving games, the Jets have four primetime games this year – one less than in each of the last two seasons, but enough to keep me happy. There are several games featuring the NFC East, and eight times the primetime games feature at least one AFC South team – five of those times it’s the Texans!

Highlights of the Rest

• Week Two – Texans @ Jaguars, Ravens @ Eagles
• Week Three – Jets @ Dolphins, Texans @ Broncos, Jaguars @ Colts
• Week Four – Titans @ Texans, Patriots @ Bills, Chargers @ Chiefs
• Week Five – Broncos @ Patriots – Nice Matchup
• Week Six – Colts @ Jets, Giants @ 49ers
• Week Seven – Jets @ Patriots, Redskins @ Giants, Ravens @ Texans
• Week Eight – Dolphins @ Jets, Redskins @ Steelers, Raiders @ Chiefs
• Week Nine – Bills @ Texans, Steelers @ Giants
• Week Ten – Cowboys @ Eagles (one of the few times I might cheer for the Eagles)
• Week Eleven – Eagles @ Redskins, Jaguars @ Texans, Colts @ Patriots
• Week Twelve – Broncos @ Chiefs, Ravens @ Chargers, 49ers @ Saints
• Week Thirteen – Texans @ Titans, Patriots @ Dolphins, Steelers @ Ravens
• Week Fourteen – Jets @ Jaguars, Ravens @ Redskins, Titans @ Colts
• Week Fifteen – Colts @ Texans, Broncos @ Ravens, Jaguars @ Dolphins
• Week Sixteen – Redskins @ Eagles, Patriots @ Jaguars, Giants @ Ravens
• Week Seventeen – All AFC and NFC East showdowns!

So, How About the Jets

A competitive schedule with some strong opponents early on, five primetime games, and a bye week right in the middle. Looks fair to me.

The Catechism of Milton Friedman

I read a post recently entitled “That’s not Fair” by Barnabas Piper

I understand the point being made – that children need to learn early what fairness really means and that there is a difference between winning and losing, etc, but part of it really aggravated me.

Sometime over the past few decades a mindset of “fair” has developed, calling for everyone to finish in the exact same place and receive the exact same reward. Fair has become equity in the finish instead of equity in the process.

I agree with almost everything else in the article, but here I think Piper is seeing something that is not there. I can’t speak for the area where he lives, or the school where his daughter attends, but I don’t think society as a whole is buying into any argument that everyone should end up in the same place.

I’m being unfair to Piper because his post was more about how to teach kids, and I agree mostly with the points he was really trying to make, but his article may have simply been poorly timed for me. The day before I read it, I read a transcript from an interview Rick Warren did for This Week on ABC.

OBAMA: And I believe in God’s command to love thy neighbor as thyself. And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income or young people with student loans or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills, to shoulder the burden alone.”

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, is he — is he right?

R. WARREN: Well certainly the Bible says we are to care about the poor. There’s over 2,000 versus in the Bible about the poor. And God says that those who care about the poor, God will care about them and God will bless them. But there’s a fundamental question on the meaning of “fairness.” Does fairness mean everybody makes the same amount of money? Or does fairness mean everybody gets the opportunity to make the same amount of money? I do not believe in wealth redistribution, I believe in wealth creation.

The only way to get people out of poverty is J-O-B-S. Create jobs. To create wealth, not to subsidize wealth. When you subsidize people, you create the dependency. You — you rob them of dignity. The primary purpose of government is to keep the peace, protect the citizens, provide opportunity. And when we start getting into all kinds of other things, I think we — we invite greater control. And I’m fundamentally about freedom. You know the — the first freedom in America is actually the freedom of religion. It’s not the second, third, fourth or fifth.
ABC News

Rick Warren, an evangelical pastor, was asked about a comment President Obama made about God’s command to love thy neighbor as thyself. He answers the question in three sentences by essentially saying Yes, God says we should care for the poor, and then comes the BUT followed by more than a dozen sentences about fairness, subsidizing people, and creating jobs and wealth. His answer was right out of the Catechism of Milton Friedman.

His argument is standard neo-con rhetoric – Some mysterious conspirators have conspired to change fairness into something it is not and we are all the victims of that change. We need to stand up and take control before we are forced into doing the right thing. Never mind, that it’s the right thing to do – somebody better not tell me to do it!

The substance of Rick’s rant is important to look at too. He has essentially set up a straw man argument about fairness when he asks “Does fairness mean everybody makes the same amount of money?” No, it doesn’t but I think there are fewer people touting that than he would have us believe. He follows that up with “Or does fairness mean everybody gets the opportunity to make the same amount of money?” Well, except for his preoccupation with money, yes, that’s what fairness is about – equal opportunity. I think many more people understand that than he thinks. The question really is – do his ideas contribute to this kind of fairness? I think not. I wish there was a way to express to these disciples of Rand that there is more to life than dividing people into the lazy and the hard working. There are people in this world who do not have the same opportunity I have in life, and they deserve to be helped.

His very next sentence is this “I do not believe in wealth redistribution, I believe in wealth creation.” I find it very enlightening that he takes a question about helping the poor and turns it into a debate about wealth creation.

Full disclosure. I’ve never been a big fan of Warren’s. I’ve got a lot of issues with some of his theology and his politics, but I am not a hater either. I’ve only written about him once that I can remember, and that was six years ago! Wow, it was six years ago tomorrow, actually. .

Great Ideas – 4/16/2012

• Short term mobile phone storage for NYC students – link
• The Project – SFpark – link
• Here It Is, Your Lineup For Worst Company In America 2012! – The Consumerist – link
• Continuations : 45+10=1 hour (Getting Things Done) – link
• Israeli invention: Writing on sewage – link
• Fix UC: UC Student Investment Proposal – link – I don’t actually like this idea, but I like to see people thinking about possible solutions. I think this will lead to colleges neglecting programs that don’t contribute to the bottom line.

see more great ideas

Birthday Celebration in New York

On Thursday we travelled to New York for the day to celebrate Terri’s birthday. We wanted to see the 9/11 memorial, spend some time with Billy, visit a film or TV set, and see a show on Broadway.

The South pool.

The memorial was worth the visit. As I’ve written before, the events of 9/11/01 had a tremendous and lasting effect on my life. I feel a very personal connection to that site and the people who died that day. It was quite a moment to see the memorial. The pools are a nice tribute and the story of the survivor tree is really something.

Becky and I at the survivor tree.

Becky and Terri in front of the South pool with the survivor tree in the background.

We didn’t have tickets for a show, so we wanted to see about getting tickets at the tckts booth. Since our 9/11 memorial slot was late, we knew we would be late getting in line. We arrived at about 2:40 and I would say there were at least 200 people in front of us in the musical line. We had a list of musicals we wanted to see in no particular order except we knew that Terri’s preference was to see Porgy and Bess. About two minutes before the booth opened, the line started to move. Almost immediately, one of the security staff noticed Becky walking on her crutches, and came to tell us that we didn’t have to wait in line. We weren’t sure whether he was just one of those pitchmen posted around the area to try and talk you out of line and down the street for off broadway plays. Without discussing it, Becky and I both saw his security jacket, compared them to others in the area, and also assumed the nice people in line in front of us would let us back in if we made a mistake. So, we followed him. He took us to another security person, who transferred us to another, who took us to near the front of the line where there were only two people in front of us ( the line is split into seven different lines at this point, so theoretically there might still be 14 people in front of us – but that’s still better than 200 ).

Just got our tickets.

We got tickets in the fourth row for the show at 40% off and we were out of line, sitting at a table in Times Square only nine minutes after the booth opened. It was awesome.

Dr. Who in New York

Then we met up with Billy, ate a horrible lunch at the Roxy Deli (worse than we expected, which is saying a lot because I didn’t expect much from this kind of tourist trap), then went to see the set of Dr. Who. Terri is a huge fan, so to have a show from Britain shooting in NYC on her birthday was quite a nice surprise. We hoped to see the Tardis more than anything, but it wasn’t to be. It was a blast to be a part with all the hard core fans hanging out. One of the best parts of the day, for sure.

Terri and Becky in the theatre.

The show was fantastic too. Porgy and Bess is “musicalized” version of The Gershwins’ original opera. There has been some discussion of the addition of dialogue and songs, changes to the score, changes to Porgy’s character, and replacement of some recitative being replaced with dialogue, but the show was approved by the Gershwin estate and it was fantastic, if you ask me. It did feel like it had been stripped from a longer story, but it worked, nonetheless. I thought all of the musical performances were stellar, the dancing was fun, and the acting was superb. I can see now why Audra McDonald is nominated for a Tony in every one of her performances. Her voice is fantastic, and her acting in this show was as good as any acting I’ve ever seen. We understood the dangers she faced because of the way she acted, and we didn’t need to be told what was going on all the time.

Norm Lewis’ performance as Porgy was also amazing. His voice is perfect and I would not have been surprised to learn that he was really crippled (you know, if I didn’t know that a man his age would most certainly have at least had the appearance of the leg “fixed”).

I was also very impressed with several other characters, most notably Carla (Nikki Renee Daniels) and Jake (Joshua Henry). They opened the show with Summertime and continued to sing and dance beautifully through the whole show. David Alan Grier was excellent as Sportin’ Life, and Philip Boykin turned in a fantastic first Broadway appearance as Crown, a character we all hated so much we booed him during the curtain call – to which he curtsied.

In addition to seeing a great show, we also had the treat to see one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. After the show ended with a standing ovation for two curtain calls, Ms. McDonald wanted to say a few words. Most of the audience sat down, while a few left because they assumed they knew what was coming. She told us about a fund raising effort underway for Aids research and told us how we could give that night or later online. Then she mentioned a man in the audience who had contributed online ( “like we could do too” she added ) “such an incredible amount” that she wanted to know if he would come up on stage and say a few words.

He and another man both made their way onstage as Ms. McDonald explained that his organization also donated to many other causes, etc. When they both arrived center stage, she asked him a question about the donation. He completely ignored her (as I’m sure was planned), took the hand of the other man, and started telling him how much he loved him. He stopped briefly to ask the other guy if he was alright – He responded by shaking his head no – and then continued by pulling a ring from his pocket and dropping to one knew to ask him to marry him.

The place erupted in applause.

The other guy said Yes.

Two Cents Each – 4/13/2012

Detox // ShaunInman.com

"Stats are cool and all but only when they don’t break the experience for your users." – AGREED!

Political Animal – Why People Go To Law School

Agreed. Too many students choose a path based on the wrong way to reach goals they don’t really want to achieve anyway.

Why the Church has a Shortage of Leaders : What’s Best Next

I agree that we must recover the doctrine of vocation. The church is too pre-occupied with itself and its subculture.

The Evangelical Rejection of Reason – NYTimes.com

Many Christians were really upset when this article was published. I know many of them see the logic as circular, but that is simply because they are afraid of what science will teach them. I have issues with Dobson, but I wouldn’t put him in the same camp as Ken Ham or David Barton. Otherwise, I agree with this article entirely.

‘A Test You Need to Fail’: A Teacher’s Open Letter to Her 8th Grade Students | Common Dreams

Excellent! We are absolutely testing for the wrong things. Student are taught to play a game, to fill in the circles, to meet all the requirements. Doing original, creative work is not rewarded.

Reply to comment – National Review Online

Mr. Sowell,
You should be ashamed of yourself on two counts.</p>

1. Agreeing with Geraldo Rivera. It may very well be good advice to not wear a hoodie, but Rivera’s comment was that the hoodie was just as much at fault as the shooter. Even if the shooter is proven innocent, one can’t blame the incident on the hoodie, and no matter how solid the advice, now is not the time to give it.

2. Linkbait – you pull the reader in with a title about the hoodie and a few paragraphs about how you agree with Rivera, but the remainder of the article is about something else entirely. </dd>

Mitt Romney can’t shake away impressions he’s made – The Washington Post

"In an attempt to foreclose even the remote possibility of a contested convention, the Romney campaign has been trotting out a bevy of prominent Republicans to announce their support. But is it just me, or do these endorsements have all the enthusiasm of a series of hostage tapes?"</p>

</dd>

Daydreaming like a Missionary | Ordinary Pastor

"In other words day dreaming is often musings upon what it would be like if God were not God and I was."</p>

I never really thought about daydreaming like this, but I guess that’s what it is – mostly.</dd>

Seth’s Blog: When execution gets cheaper, so should planning

"The goal should be to have the minimum number of meetings and scenarios and documentation necessary to maximize the value of execution."</p>

Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard – period.</dd>

A VC: Finding Your Voice

Absolutely! It’s a real joy to see people find what matters to them and act on it.</dl>

more

What If It Weren’t Your Kind of Religion

I was thinking about the Ahlquist v. Cranston case the other day.

What if your local school had an eight foot tall banner on which was printed a prayer opening with “Our Heavenly Mother” or something else offensive to mainline evangelical Christians? What if it were a Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim prayer?

I’m serious. I know many will dismiss this out of hand as “not the point” or with “that would never happen because this is a Christian natiion” – but I think it is the only way to look at this.

I know a lot of Christians are frustrated and/or furious about this case and others like it. I know it’s hard to understand people who see the world differently than we do. I know it’s hard to fathom someone might not “believe” at all. I know it’s hard to believe that anyone would be offended by a prayer as mainstream, inclusive, and “innocent” as the one at the center of this case. (the prayer is quoted below)

The fact is, someone was offended* felt excluded by it.

But you know what? That’s not the point. I’m sorry the prayer made Miss Ahlquist uncomfortable, but this won’t be the last time she is offended][2] feels excluded or uncomfortable with something she reads. We can’t decide public policy based on what offends people[ makes people feel excluded.

Similarly, we cannot build public policy based on what doesn’t offend most people.

That’s the point! Public policy should not depend on the percentage of people offended by or uncomfortable with specific religous traditions. The United States was founded, in part, on the principles of religious freedom. Many people, including some atheists presumably, are not offended by or uncomfortable with the prayer. Some Christians, on the other hand, might be offended that the prayer does not end “in Jesus’ name.”

So seriously, imagine a situation that puts you in the minority. How would you feel in that case?

Jessica Ahlquist put it very succinctly when she said

It ís almost like making a child get a shot even though they don’t want to. It’s for their own good. I feel like they might see it as a very negative thing right now, but I’m defending their Constitution, too.

We might not see it that way, but she really is defending our religious freedom.

Our Heavenly Father.
Grant us each day the desire to do our best.
To grow mentally and morally as well as physically.
To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers.
To be honest with ourselves as well as with others.
Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win.
Teach us the value of true friendship.
Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West.
Amen.

* A commenter points out that Ms. Ahlquist was not offended by the prayer. In fact, she did state in depositions and interviews that she did NOT find the prayer offensive (though she did admit it made her feel excluded). I might argue that I was using the word offended differently than in the sense of finding something offensive, but I should have been more careful choosing my words.

I think this makes my point stronger (albeit harder to read now). Even Ms. Ahlquist admits that the prayer is not offensive.

Thou Shalt Not …

Billy came to visit for Easter weekend, he stopped by the library to pick up something interested for us to watch. He decided on The Decalogue, a series of ten one-hour films written for Polish television in 1989. Each film represents one of the ten commandments.

We did not get a chance to see all of them, but I enjoyed the ones I watched very much. Very good filmmaking.

We also watched a great film again (the second time for all of us, third time for Billy) – The Muppets is a great film.

I also watched Star Trek (2009) again when Becky and Terri were away. Didn’t really like it as much the second time.

T-E-B-O-W, Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!

I’ve been a Jets fan since the mid 70s and a Gators fan since the early 90s. I’ve also been a huge fan of Tim Tebow since he started with the Gators. I’ve followed his career and public work for years. Though I’m a huge fan, I’ve always thought he would be a worse than average NFL quarterback at best. Though I’m a fellow Christian, I have disagreed with Tebow on a few matters of faith and practice.

Now Tebow has become a Jet and I am excited. Perhaps not as excited as he is ( see video below ), but I do think this is a good move for the Jets. I think Tebow may very well light a fire under Sanchez. I also think Tebow gives us the real option from time to time. The reason the option doesn’t work in pro football most of the time is that the QB running it is not a legitimate threat to pass. Tebow is. I know some of you are laughing. What I mean is that Tebow does pass. He may not pass well, but he does pass.

As a Jets fan …

I thought Peyton Manning would have been a better fit, but I agree with this guy – why complain about it? Why not let it ride and see what happens?

As a Christian …

I’m offended by articles like this one. The author is implying that Tim Tebow doesn’t belong in New York because he is a Christian.

As a reasonable person …

I disagree with articles like this one. The author implies that Tebow doesn’t belong in New York because of his views on homosexuality. Tebow and I may not agree on this issue, but I certainly don’t agree that he doesn’t belong in New York City because of it.

Is Google Losing Its Mind

Not long ago I noticed how frustrated I’d become with Google’s search results. I’d been frustrated with Google for some time, but still relied heavily on the search page. Now it dawned on me that the search results had been growing less relevant for quite some time.

The next day I found a couple of people whose opinions I respect wondering about recent moves by Google. About two weeks later, the theme resurfaced. It was clear that others were having the same frustrations. I figured whenever the mood struck, I would post my thoughts.

Then Jeffrey Zeldman posted this gem. His experience was so reminiscent of my experience using Google Apps and YouTube that I thought it was time to get my thoughts in writing.

Irrelevant Search Results

I’ve always thought Google’s concept was flawed. The idea, as I understand it, was to rank pages based on credibility. If I am searching for information on building paper airplanes and there are millions of such pages, the best way to rank them is according to the number of, and credibility of, other pages link to them. The assumption is that if several other human authors of pages about paper airplanes, or pages that are linked to from pages about paper airplanes, have linked to page A, perhaps page A has “earned” some credibility. The idea, in principle, is very solid. The flaw, which many saw from the beginning, is that it can easily be “gamed.”

Since Google has now reigned supreme for years, most people have seen the results of this game. As a matter of fact, Google has implemented at least two strategies over the years to mitigate this problem. In spite of those strategies, Google’s result are still growing .

I still use Google, but not as my first option. First of all, I find myself looking to the StackExchange network, Wikipedia, Quora, and IMDB for much of what I used to Google. When it’s time to do a general Internet search, I find myself using Duck Duck Go, then Bing, then Google. I am happy with the results I get with Duck Duck Go, but I tend to worry I might miss something if I don’t at least check Bing and Google.

Privacy

A while back there was a lot of talk about changes to Google’s privacy policy. I never looked very carefully at this change, and I think Google may have reversed some of those changes, but I’ve never been 100% comfortable with Google’s approach to my privacy.

Other Crap

Recently, Google introduced Search, plus your World. Quite a few people have expressed opinions about this and all the crap with which Google clutters it resultsactually makes the results worse.

My Google Account(s)

This is the dealbreaker for me – and very frustrating. I signed up for Gmail on May 20, 2004. I thought it was fantastic. In January 2008 I discovered that Google offered private label email via Google Apps. It was a no brainer. I immediately set it up for some of my domains and migrated one client from Exchange almost immediately.

Then the integration started. All of my Apps accounts were to become real Google accounts. It all sounded very nice, and I would have the option of managing them separately or setting up multiple sign on, but neither option would prevent the real problems to come.

The first of the issues was trying to use multiple sign on for more than two Google accounts. It seemed to work well for me if I only had two accounts, but adding a third creating all sorts of oddities – inexplicably jumping from one account to the other and being logged off unexpectedly.

Then Google+ was introduced. I joined back in July and I thought it looked like a great service. I know some don’t like it and others think it’s the greatest community the Internet has ever seen. I don’t like that I had to use my gmail.com address (instead of my main email address which is a Google account), but otherwise it is a better than average experience.

Since Google+ now allows Apps accounts to sign up, things have broken terribly. I have a habit of opening G+ posts I want to read later in another browser tab. Unfortunately, if I am logged in to more than just my gmail.com account the new pages sometimes open in the other tab but G+ thinks I don’t have an account because it is treating me as though I am logged in as the other user – because I am. This doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does it makes G+ unusable for me.

If you think that’s nuts, you should read about all the fun I’ve had with YouTube.

I used to hate April Fools Day

As I wrote last year, I was never a fan of April Fools until the Internet jokes started. Now I look forward to it every year. This is the kind of gag I think this day was made for. That one above was my favorite April Fools gag this year by a long shot.

It came as no surprise to me that Google turned in the best of the year in my opinion. They actually had quite a few good ones this year (listed below), but there were some other nice gags.

Seth Godin’s contribution was very funny and actually makes a bigger point. Reminds me of something Mark Cuban posted years ago (though that was not an April Fools gag).

Richard Branson’s entry is great stuff.

As usual, ThinkGeek turns announces a great new product.

The rest by Google …

• Nigeria – you’ve got to see this one to appreciate it (the warning is bogus)
• Google and Nascar Team Up – great video at nascar.com

• Gmail Tap – link

• Chrome Multitask Mode – link

• Click-to-Teleport – a whole new way to drive in-store sales
• The YouTube Collection – ALL of YouTube on DVD!
• Really Advanced Search – a few amusing options added
• Australia – Street Roo
• China – underwater search

The Future of Work

As promised, today I am backing a project backed by a friend.

Today’s project is The Future of Work, a project backed by Micah Baldwin.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

A Kick Ass Philanthropist

Well, maybe not …

My 12in12 goal this month was to back a different kickstarter project every day. To be honest, I thought this would be easy after the first two months. I was wrong.

In January, my goal was to stick to my morning routine – get up early and read before I started work for the day. Not only did I stick to it every day in January, but I have every day since except for February 1.

In February, it was back on a good diet. I stuck to that very well in February, but not as well since.

I knew finding a project I cared enough about to back every day might not be that easy, so I even cheated a bit. I spent the last couple days of February finding and saving some projects I might back in the event I got stuck one day.

All I needed to do was login, find a project, back it, and write about it.

I’m ashamed to admit that I failed to do just that 11 out of 31 times. Well, unless you don’t count this one.

Past Life

Recently I mentioned that I chose a project because my one and only Kickstarter follower had starred it. For the last two projects of this monthly challenge, I thought I would back projects which have been backed by two friends of mine who backed a project my son was involved in a few months ago.

Today’s project is a novel entitled Past Life, a project backed by Todd Jordan (someone I connected with on FriendFeed years ago).

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

P.S. I actually have to back two projects today, since somehow I actually didn’t back one on Monday. I found it on Kickstarter, decided how much to chip in, posted all about it to my blog, but didn’t actually back it. Since I’m not doing that well with this month’s challenge, I am going to count it.

Should We Cut Congressional Salaries?

Every once in a while I see the same idea making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere. The idea is that we should cut salaries for politicians so that the money can be spent on other, presumably more worthwhile, needs – like military salaries and social security benefits, for example.

The most recent picture is this one …

The figures in this image are not accurate, AND they trivialize the issue.

While I understand the sentiment, I can’t “pass it on.”

Most importantly, it’s not accurate.

None of these salaries are “for life.” The Presidential pension as of 2008 was about $191,300, and the average congressional pension in 2007 was $53,000. The President’s salary is $400,000, not $450,000. The President does receive another $169,000 in other cash benefits (most of it nontaxable) and a place to live. No doubt, a pretty sweet deal, but the figure tossed about is inaccurate.

These are not outrageous compensation packages.

I know the numbers are large when compared to the salaries of average Americans, but these compensation packages pale in comparison to what executives earn in the private sector. YES, YES, YES, I realize that the President and members of Congress earn their living from our taxes. I understand that. Anyone paying attention to public policy over the last few decades, though, must realize that companies “competing” in our “free market” are subsidized by our tax dollars too.

Cutting the salaries won’t solve the problem.

Many proponents of this idea like to mention that Congress has done this once before. This is true. Given the economic circumstances in 1933, this was probably a good idea, but I am not sure it was what people think it was. In 2012 dollars, Congress cut salaries from $151,000 to $143,000, a cut of about five percent (5%). If Congress members took the same cut today, their salaries would drop to $164,000. This would save $5,350,000 – an extra $60 per year for each soldier deployed in Afghanistan. If we split this up for all military personnel, we get $4 per year for each person on active duty. If we include reservists, each can have an additional $1.75 per year.

I know I didn’t count pensions in this number, but it seems obvious, at least to me, that we are getting nowhere with this logic.

I think we do an injustice to the idea if we trivialize the numbers like this. Anyone who puts her life on the line every day to protect our freedom deserves more than $38,000 a year. No question about it. But we are not going to find the money in salaries.

So, what is the solution?

Perhaps we don’t need 1,400,000+ active duty personnel. If we stationed troops in fewer places we might be able to pay the ones we have fairly. Perhaps we should look more closely at the huge staffs our politicians have.

Maybe we do something about the hidden taxes. Policy in this country is made based on secret deals made behind closed doors. Somebody is paying for that. We like to complain about lobbyists, but we pay for that. We buy the products that support the profit margins of these corporations and they use those profits to pay lobbyists. Or worse, they pay more than they can afford, then fail miserably, and ask for our tax money to bail them out. Eliminate the connection between wealth and influence in our government and we might be on to something.

PressurePen

UPDATE: I actually didn’t back this one, but I’m counting it because I did the hard part on the 26th – I logged in, found the project, decided how much to chip in, and blogged about it. I have since actually backed it.

Today’s project is PressurePen, a pressure sensitive stylus for iPads and Android tablets.

From the project page …

Professional artists and interested amateurs love to use their iPads to draw and sketch ideas, take notes, and produce original artwork. Even the best stylus currently on the market has the limitation that it can only present a single level of pressure to the tablet — drawing is either on or off. To mimic variable pressure, a number of software tricks have been developed, but none realistically reproduce natural media or the direct feedback of a pressure-sensitive stylus.

In addition to the iPad, there are a growing number of excellent Android tablets that could benefit from pressure sensitivity. Integrated active digitizers exist, based mainly on proprietary Wacom technology, built into the tablet itself.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Stop the Bleeding

Got an email form Kickstarter yesterday telling me that someone was “following” me. Turns out it’s a new feature.

So, today I decided to back a project which my solitary follower was backing or watching. The project I chose is Stop the Bleeding, a comedy webseries designed to help the hemophiliac community.

From the project page …

What is Stop The Bleeding!? It’s a comedic webseries centered around a proactive hemophiliac determined to improve the lives of those in the bleeding disorder community through an endless series of ill-conceived & poorly executed endeavors.  He’s well-intended and incredibly ambitious…if only he knew what he was doing.  Think: Michael Scott in The Office.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Delmarva Drops the Phone

This is not about me. It may seem as though I am whining about my Sunday afternoon and how my day was ruined. It really isn’t about any of that. I just point out all the aggravations to emphasize how much could have been avoided with a phone call.

This is about Delmarva Power and their failure to make a few phone calls to avoid inconveniencing a few customers.

I was retiring for the night on St. Patrick’s Day 2012 when all of a sudden I heard the unmistakable sound of a driver losing control of his car just east of my home. An accident was about to happen – I knew it before I heard the large crashing sound.

We don't know exactly what happened, but judging by the skid marks on the road and the tire tracks on that hill, lt looks like he took the curve too wide (very common here) and over corrected.

I grabbed my phone and my pants, and called 911. I quickly realized how difficult it was to put on my pants – in the dark – while talking on my cell phone, so I handed the phone to Terri to finish the report to 911. We saw through the window that a young man (I guessed 23 and I’m almost certain I heard him say that later) had been driving and that he was already out of the car walking around. We confirmed that noone else was in the car when we got outside.

That’s the good news. I don’t mean to lose sight of that. I am very grateful this young man was not seriously injured. His safety is much more important to me than my convenience. I am sure he agrees with me.

Our electricity was out because of crash, but someone from Delmarva arrived and turned it back on after the police had cleared the scene. When we woke up on Sunday morning and realized the pole had not been replaced, we assumed it would happen on Monday.

Then the Delmarva trucks started to arrive. The first one I saw was at approximately 8:30 a.m. The truck stopped, someone got out of the truck, looked at the pole, and then got back in the truck and left. Several more trucks came by over the next three hours. One drove by very slowly, stopped at the four way stop, did a U-turn in the middle of the intersection, and drove back by very slowly again. I saw six trucks go by. Some of them were large ladder trucks, others smaller, one a pick-up. Only two of them stopped. Noone from Delmarva stopped in or called to tell us what was going on.

Then at 1:30 p.m, a bunch of trucks came, blocked off the street, and turned off our electricity with no warning. My computer was on and working, we were drying laundry, and planning to watch basketball in about an hour. We also had plans to go out for a movie that evening.

When I went out to see what was going on, they said “they told us they called everyone on this block.” It’s a very long block, but I think there are only five homes that were without power because of this. We confirmed that at least four of these homes, mine included, did not receive a phone call. They also seemed to indicate we would only be down for four hours. One guy told me “a couple hours” but the guy that appeared to be in charge told me “three to four hours.” We were without power for six hours – on a Sunday afternoon.

Why do I bother to write about this? Well, a simple phone call would have changed everything. I challenged them on that a couple of times. The first defense was that someone told them they did call. Later, they told me it was an emergency and they didn’t need to call. When I challenged them on why it takes 14 hours to even start replacing a pole that is in danger of falling, they said they didn’t have enough people. Understood. So, someone should have thought to make five phone calls during that 14 hour period – or at least tell us the pole replacement was considered an “emergency” but that they didn’t have enough hands to replace it.

If we had known we would be without power, we would have finished the laundry earlier (or not started it), not turned on the computer, and we would have planned on going out for the day. I can’t really speak for my neighbors, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that all of them have the financial resources to go out for the day with a little bit of notice.

We would have also made arrangements for the dog. Our JRT, Vanilla, doesn’t take kindly to strange men making lots of noise in her yard.

BTW, in case you were wondering, we are aware of activities that don’t require electricity. This episode didn’t *ruin* our day, but it did wreck some of our plans. We adjusted, and everyone is safe – that’s what matters – but Delmarva could have picked up the phone and made at least five of its customers happier.

That’s all I’m saying.

This is the pole the next morning before it was replaced.

Duende: Suit of Lights

Today’s project is Duende: Suit of Lights, a feature film about a man, presumably a matador, who flees into the desert to elude his demons and ends up joining a troupe of rodeo clowns.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Tabber LED Guitar Light Sleeve

Today’s project is Tabber, an open-source LED guitar teacher.

From the project page …

Tabber creates a whole new field of visual learning for your guitar. We put the notes that you need to play, when you need to play them right on the neck of the guitar. Our LED light sleeve can be placed on or off the guitar at any time. The light system does not affect the sound of the guitar in any way, and it’s tactual feel is barely noticeable, especially for beginners. The kit contains 13 light strips (12 frets plus open notes) which are all connected to an Arduino Uno processor. Power is supplied through a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The kit will utilize Bluetooth technology to control all of the lights from your mobile device. You will have an application that you can download to select through songs, chords, scales, light patterns, and lessons, and that’s just the start.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.