Our kitty Neko relaxes before a photo prepared by a neighbor of our lost love. Kuma disappeared Jan. 15, 2012. Fifteen days later city workers found his collar in a canyon; presumably a coyote snatched […]
Category: Living
Caturday Christmas
Neko sends his best holiday wishes.
Meet Penelope
I rabbit sat last week.
Lestat’s West
I am hanging at a local coffee shop while waiting on car repair—stunned by the amount of business going on here: A physical therapist calling clients; what looks like a professor teaching college students; two […]
Red Hot Dogs from Maine!
I rarely post food photos, but this I can’t resist. A seafood store nearby our San Diego auto service station has red hot dogs from Maine. What a shock! I’ve looked for these forever! The […]
All This Googlism disturbs Me
Today, Ian Betteridge posts: “One thing that is impossible not to notice on Google+: There’s a very distinct skew towards big Google fans in commenting. It doesn’t matter which tech site’s page you look at, the (in my view, tedious) ‘fanboy’ mentality is hotter here than on any other social network”.
I commented on his post but want to draw more attention to Ian’s observation, to which I concur. I am rethinking my social service presence because of pervasive Googlism. While now immersed in the Google lifestyle, I am not a Google fanboy. But the leanings here are quite strong now, and tipping more all the time. Also, there is increasingly less tolerance for non-Google tech posts and more criticism of those regarding competitors like Apple.
It's Time to Fire Congress
Constitutionally, the American people have few options to immediately penalize their representatives in Congress who forced Federal shutdown and threaten the debt ceiling. Someone would want to. According to Gallup, Congress’ disapproval rating is 85 percent. An AP-GfK poll shows even greater dissatisfaction.
Public Policy Polling says that “Hemorrhoids, toenail fungus, dog poop, and cockroaches all might be a little bit gross, but they’re all more popular than Congress”. Sadly, however, Brett Logiurato, writing for Business Insider, is right. The low approval rating doesn’t matter. States elect individuals, whose ratings often are much higher, not the body electorate.
Nighty Neko
The sleeper awakes.
Conspiracy of Debt
We’re doing the worst thing people can do: lying to our young. Nobody, not even this president, who was swept to victory in large part by the raw enthusiasm of college kids, has the stones to tell the truth: that a lot of them will end up being pawns in a predatory con game designed to extract the equivalent of home-mortgage commitment from 17-year-olds dreaming of impossible careers as nautical archaeologists or orchestra conductors.
One former law student I contacted for this story had a nervous breakdown while struggling to pay off six-figure debt. It wasn’t until he tapped into one of the few growth industries open to young Americans that his outlook brightened. ‘I got my life back on track by working for a marijuana delivery service in Manhattan’, he says.
Matt Taibbi
Google+: Subliminal is sublime
Google+ reminds subscribers all about birthdays in the stream, and in sending wishes to someone from Nexus 7 FHD this morning, the default message, “Happy Birthday, +person’s name!”, lit up my synapses.
I wonder about the hidden, subliminal positive connotations of Google using a plus-sign before all subscribers’ names. Does seeing it make us feel happier?
Facebook uses “Like”, which is loaded with positive connotations, and Google copied the approach with +1, which makes sense for a company where numbers are so important—from the math behind search to all the data associated with the search keyword business model.
Some Advice to the Washington Post's New Owner
Today, in the Guardian, former CIA analyst John Kiriakou accuses the Obama Administration of abusing the 1917 Espionage Act, claiming that “only 10 people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them under Barack Obama”.
From Day One, the Obama Administration sought to plug any leaks. What’s said in the Oval Office stays in the Oval Office. That’s context for understanding the aggressive approach to whistleblowers. It’s philosophical. The current White House sees leaks as betrayals, so why not view whistleblowing as treason?
Pedal Power
My daughter broke down with our Toyota Yaris overnight. Waiting on AAA now. Lucky I have alternate transportation.