Darth Vader Feels Blue (via billyfaithfull)
I presume I’m the last Star Wars nerd on earth to see this (gets going around 0:40), but man I laughed my ass off. Just as good as this.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
We still need to govern. To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership.
A Handy Post-Apple Event Guide for the Geek
The internet can be a cruel place. Before you rifle off your thoughts on the newest i-thing, do yourself a favor. First, take a deep breath. Feel better? Good. Now read this list before you hit “post”.
- Remember, you probably aren’t the intended market. Do you understand the difference between bash and tcsh? Trust me on this one. Put down the laptop.
- Never post about the device on the first day. As self-rightous as you feel right now, you’re probably wrong. Your gut-reaction will only solidify how terrible you are at prediction. But you won’t know it until someone publicly embarrasses you 5 years later when the 3rd revision of i-thing is the hottest product since negative blogging.
- You don’t know shit about producing/engineering physical products. You understand manufacturing schedules? Consumer trends? So you know exactly what Apple makes per device? What the burn rate is? What the software cost to write? Then perhaps it’s out of your depth to tell the internet how one of the largest producers of the most popular consumer products in your lifetime has no clue what they’re doing.
- For everyone who feels like you do, there are 5 that don’t. And they have YouTube channels.
So what do you think, champ? Still feeling up to it? Then fire away! Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Alan Kay: With the Tablet, Apple Will Rule the World
I did say recently that “This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.” But was I talking about the slate? Or about the fact that I’m about to bone AT&T in the rump with extreme prejudice?
Obama Moves to Centralize Control Over Party Strategy
Counting the new Republican Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts, the 41 Republicans in the Senate come from states representing just over 36.5 percent of the total US population. The 59 others (Democratic plus 2 Independent) represent just under 63.5 percent. (Taking 2009 state populations from here. If you count up the totals and split a state’s population when it has a spit delegation, you end up with about 112.3 million Republican, 194.7 million Democratic + Indep. Before Brown’s election, it was about 198 million Democratic + Ind, 109 million Republican.)
Let’s round the figures to 63/37 and apply them to the health care debate. Senators representing 63 percent of the public vote for the bill; those representing 37 percent vote against it. The bill fails.