I guess I really can’t be calling people luddites when less than 24 hours ago I was asking for help texting.
Open Thread
by John Cole| 89 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
by John Cole| 89 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
I guess I really can’t be calling people luddites when less than 24 hours ago I was asking for help texting.
Comments are closed.
RareSanity
Did you get a Google Voice number yet?
jeffreyw
Cute overload called.
superluminar
it’s no worse than the very first comment on a thread about grammar being left by toko_loko.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@jeffreyw: Damn you take great pictures. Of course I have the benefit of your early work!
MikeJ
This morning I had a pileated woodpecker at the bird feeder pissed off that three rock doves were there at the same time. This afternoon, three or four Stellar’s jays and red shafted flickers.
The pileated has been coming by most mornings, and I can hear him a half mile off. Nice to have the warning he’s coming.
PeakVT
Meh, there’s a difference between finding a technology hard to use and griping endless about a technological change.
THE
I have a perfect front page topic for ya John Cole:
This.
We are on the edge of an energy revolution that will sweep away the world as we know it and transform human possibilities.
The Dangerman
Send “cute overload” pic to Red Sox fans; they are in dire need after dropping Game 1.
JGabriel
@THE:
B-b-but, Solyndra!
.
Martin
Well, you can, but we’ll mock you over it.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Michael Moore coming up on rachel.
scav
@PeakVT: Be fair, I’ve not heard people en masse griping about the technological change in itself, at worst (from a purely technological view of the issues) I’ve seen people griping it doesn’t provide the quality (and a few other attributes, captioning, etc.) they want and that’s a fair criticism. If it’s not doing what they want . . . or is not being happy about being handed the latest and greatest screwdriver when you want a salad spinner out of line?
JGabriel
It sounds like a SciFi Mary Sue plot, but this time it’s true: Video Gamers Solve AIDS Retrovirus Puzzle.
Pretty cool shit.
.
Roger Moore
I think you mean “Consistently Wrong Since 2002”. HTH.
andy
As far as I am concerned you can’t call it REAL telephony unless the device you are speaking into is attached to a larger infrastructural grid by a wire. Only the purest such adherents graduate to the rotary dial. Such is the Deep Knowledge of the form…
SiubhanDuinne
John, you are adorable.
Bruce S
Robert Reich – who has been a vocal critic of the Prez on economic policy recently – was on O’Donnell and graded the budget plan an “A-” (because he’d like to see a bit broader hit at the very top of the income pyramid), saying “This is the right President at the right time and he’s done the right thing – morally and politically.”
Democrats who have any principles are uniting around the President and are energized by his reaching out to the country with his agenda and further isolating the GOP – but I’m sure some folks here can keep finding reasons to persist in attacking the Dem’s loyal “left-wing,” rather than recognizing that – if anything – they’ve played a useful role in raising their concerns over the past months of the “deficit debate” and, if they haven’t been “heard,” it simply appears that they are on the same page as the Prez. Perhaps he made these political and policy choices in a vacuum, but I doubt it…
pattonbt
I follow US politics too closely. I am definitely a lefty, but one who doesn’t get too much caught up in the left civil wars because I am fine with my “lesser of two evils” vote for D knowing the current D party will never give me the left ponies I want, but wont actively try and destroy the country and world economy just because they are petulant. I want so much more from D politicians, but know my expectations will never be remotely met.
I’ve lived in Aus for the last 8 years and married an Aus woman who has almost no desire to follow any politics (but votes consistently left). We watch the news every night (local, national and international). She knows where I stand and normally doesn’t want to “get me started” railing on the R party in the US. So last night on the international news they had the back and forth sound bites on the two Obama proposals. And then Ryan and McConnell came on and blathered away. And, unprompted, my wife says “how does anyone believe such obvious lies?”. So I tried to explain to her the state of play right now in the US, and she just couldn’t fathom how anyone could follow the R party.
Which brings me on to tangent two, the Liberal (read Republican) party here in Aus. They are being infected, to a smaller degree, by the tea bagger way of things, and like in the US, it is working. The labor government (while pretty inept) is imploding and head tea bagger, Tony Abbott, is primed to be Australias next PM if things hold for the next 12 months.
It’s quite scary, but they use the same playbook as the tea baggers. Hate everything, no compromise, scare the elders, pretty sound bites over any policy, etc. And just hate, hate, hate, hate, fear.
I really want the Aus people to see through this before we end up like the US, because I think the US has a decade or two coming up which will not be pretty (economically or politically). And much of that is self imposed.
lamh34
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
jeffreyw
Mmm…those Szechuan peppercorns do add spice to your life.
RossInDetroit
I’m a Luddite so in my case, yeah you can. From the sidewalk.
MikeJ
@The Dangerman: At least the Devil Rays have 5 games against FTFY left.
JGabriel
@pattonbt:
Hell, I live here and I can’t fathom how anyone can follow the GOP. Makes no damn sense to me at all.
.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@MikeJ: The Braves are hanging by a thread up 5-4 int he 7th.
Comrade Mary
@jeffreyw: Dead of cuteness, I am.
jeffreyw
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Shit man, these new cameras do everything but kiss babies for ya. All in all, that’s a job for a professional.
JGabriel
@pattonbt:
How much of that is supported by Murdoch-owned media? Enough that one can say it wouldn’t work without Murchoch’s propaganda distribution outlets?
.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@jeffreyw: What ya using?
(your shots from 69 aren’t bad either)!
Comrade Mary
.. and after I get some stuff done for a client, I’m playing Kingdom Rush, which will solve no scientific puzzles whatsoever, but it will make me very happy.
hhex65
IOKIYAR
/jk
JGabriel
lamh34: See #13.
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General Stuck
After being called everything but a milk cow on this blog, I don’t mind the luddite charge, especially since I have no idea what it means, nor do I care to know.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
I saw the magic number again: One of the evening news programs reported that 72% +- 3% of the country wanted to see taxes raised on those making over $250K. So 28% said no.
Some Guy
You are a man of sharp elbows and warm hugs, John, it comes with the territory.
Litlebritdifrnt2
@jeffreyw:
Squeeeeeeeee! Is that another rescue? Please do tell the story.
Litlebritdifrnt2
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Well there’s that 27% again. You can’t do anything with the crazy.
khead
@Comrade Mary:
Yup. puppy + earlier kitties = death by cuteness
Also, protein modeling sure has come a long way since my days in biochem (get off my lawn!). That story is pretty cool.
Some Guy
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Also too, Kung Fu Monkey is a genius.
But if we take it as axiomatic, it is really scary that nearly 3 in 10 people are basically stark raving mad.
Mad on any issue at any time, which means its not the same 3 in 10. Wouldn’t that mean that most of us are kind of 27% on some issues at least?
Maybe we need a new test, sort of like a personality inventory, to see what issues on which we become the 27%’er?
jeffreyw
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): I took delivery of a Nikon D7000 late last week. Those early pictures were with a Pentax Spotmatic. I still have it, bought at the Naval Exchange in Taipei while on R&R.
jeffreyw
@Litlebritdifrnt2:
This is pretty much everything I know about the little fellow.
gwangung
Yes.
And the REALLY stupid don’t care and won’t stop to think.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@jeffreyw: I used a instamatic!
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Some Guy: Well, I’m pretty sure most everyone – except for the guy from the surrender planet – has some lines they won’t cross. But what we’ve got is a group of people who would drink bleach if Obama said not to.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Michael Moore is very happy with the president tonight.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@jeffreyw: Whoa, high dollar!
Loneoak
@MikeJ:
I’ve had hummingbird feeders for awhile, but only recently decided to hang a seed feeder. I figured that since I live in an ecosystem that is fairly sparse on song birds (coastal redwoods—the big guys outcompete anything that would feed a songbird) I wouldn’t be constantly refilling it. FAIL. They’re emptying the 1-lb feeder once a day. So now I have to decide if I get a 5-lb feeder or tell them to find their own damn food once in awhile.
Halcyan
It’s good to see you have the capacity of self-reflection. Probably a big factor in why you could no longer be a Republican in this day and age.
Some Guy
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): OK, so now we need to start lobbying Obama to tell people not, under any circumstances, to drink bleach. Pretty, pretty please, I promise I will try to stop you unless maybe you pout really hard.
Gin & Tonic
@jeffreyw: That D7000 is a remarkable piece of work.
jeffreyw
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
$126, no tax!
Omnes Omnibus
@General Stuck: You, sir, are a milk cow. There. Now you have been called everything on this blog.
Some Guy
Apropos of nothing, I am watching the original Gamerra, which I love, and I am really surprised at the bowel/bladder control of people suddenly confronted with giant reptile monsters. Shouldn’t there be a lot of embarrassing moments under such circumstances? Who keeps it together with a 200 foot turtle (with giant fangs no less) getting its rampage on?
Some Guy
@Omnes Omnibus: There is a mooo in mojito.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@jeffreyw: meant the new one!
jeffreyw
@Gin & Tonic: It is a dandy. The transition from the D90 was pretty painless. Still exploring the 3D auto focus, some time spent the other day at the hummer feeders tells me that magic is not yet gone from the world.
Southern Beale
On that note, the smiley emoticon turns 20 today!
Omnes Omnibus
@Some Guy: No, there is rum, mint, lime, simple syrup (or powdered sugar), club soda, and ice in mojito.
superluminar
@jeffreyw: just wanted to +1 those Szechuan peppercorns, they’re amazing & I use them more than I do black peppercorns now.
The Dangerman
@MikeJ:
If I were the FY, I would consider fielding my scrub team and sit everyone of consequence (incredible rash of minor groin pulls amongst the starters, etc.)…
…though the Rays might be a dangerous playoff team with their rotation. More dangerous than the Red Sox lineup though?
superluminar
@Some Guy: who wouldn’t lose their shit confronted by a 200ft Mitch McConnell?
jeffreyw
@Raven (formerly stuckinred): Oh! lol They were scalping it when it first came out, it is still priced a bit north of a kilobuck.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
Chipper loses a ground ball in the lights!
And with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th the Braves lose on a walk off.
MikeJ
@The Dangerman: I think (and hope and pray) that the Sox will not quite collapse far enough to be out of it. They *will* go through. Of course then they’ll have to play the FY, but anything can happen then.
But I’m a sucker. They’ve got me thinking it’s possible, and I know in my heart of hearts that they disappoint.
jeffreyw
@superluminar: Yes, I do love the numb!
dimmic rat
I would go gay for John Cole, im not too ashamed to admit it.
Gin & Tonic
@The Dangerman: The Red Sox are hard at work losing the second game, too.
PeakVT
Need some lulz? Sheriff Joe Arpaio provides.
Omnes Omnibus
@PeakVT: Good lord. My wingnut and gun nut cousin in Phoenix is a member of Arpaio’s volunteer posse. The groups sound like little volunteer militias. Did I mention that my cousin out there is a bit nuts? Well, she is.
RareSanity
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
I will not let the Braves break my heart again
I will not let the Braves break my heart again
I will not let the Braves break my heart again
I will not let the Braves break my heart again
Ah, who am I kidding? I’ve always been a sucker for the Bravos…
On a side note, if you didn’t see the 30 Rock “premiere” on Comedy Central, it was awesome. The pilot and the first three episodes, all in a row, “with limited commercial interruption”. One of the most beautiful sentence fragments in the human language…”with limited commercial interruption”.
Some Guy
@Omnes Omnibus: More of a spelling play, but point well taken. If John WERE a milk cow, he would be one who makes a terrific mojito, Farside-like.
RareSanity
@Raven (formerly stuckinred):
Dammit…they did it again!
Some Guy
@superluminar: Badumching! Can Mitch eat fire, though? I think he is prehistoric and immune to nuclear weapons, but I want to see him fly with jets from his arm and leg holes. As opposed to his usual flatulence-powered flight capacity.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw:
PUPPEHS!!
Evolved Deep Southerner
As far as I’m concerned, the Braves haven’t been worth a damn since Sid Bream, Jeff Blauser, Mark Lemke, Otis Nixon and David Justice were on the roster.
Evolved Deep Southerner
@Evolved Deep Southerner: Oh, oh, and Juan “Senor Smoke” Berenguer. Can’t forget him. He was the heart and soul of that team.
KCinDC
David Brooks is very disappointed in Obama, after years of supporting him (which is news to many of us). This is yet another indication that Obama is doing the right thing, but alas also an indication that the media are going to be flaying him for incivility and partisanship.
suzanne
Water may be the universal solvent, but alcohol is the universal analgesic.
Heh. I said “anal”.
Perfect Tommy
Xeon E3-1235 Sandy Bridge, Asus P8B WS, 8GB ECC RAM and I’m ready to start building… at least I came out of this disaster with a slight upgrade.
El Cid
Either Roosevelt’s commie New Deal is still haunting us, or the federal government has wrapped its totalitarian hand around the throat of yet another patriotic small business.
It’s all confusing.
The real victim here is, of course, the 2nd Amendment.
Papa Reese was able to make this view known real clear to the poh-lees. This from the 7th of September:
OMG OBAMAZ FINALLY COMING TO GITCHER GUNS N BULLITS!
Yutsano
@suzanne:
You need time away from the kidlets. Next long weekend I could hop a jet and go visit and shtuff.
TooManyJens
So long, DADT.
suzanne
@Yutsano:
Yes.
Any time!
What I really need is another drink and the fuckwit’s insurance company to fix my car without hassling me too badly. What are the odds?
Yutsano
@suzanne: I have other friends in the Valley of the sun. Every now and again my old roommate bugs me to go see her. Last trip was for her wedding. But flying into Sky Harbor…root canals are more enjoyable.
Doch.
Wanna borrow a lesbyterian lawyer? She’ll work for free since she can’t charge because of her day job. And she’s really good at being mean when called for.
burnspbesq
So I walk into the CFO’s office at a client this morning, and instead of being greeted by an admin I am greeted by 120 pounds of bull mastiff.
Portland is a different place.
burnspbesq
My dentist loves Cokie Roberts. Every time I listen to her, I grind my teeth uncontrollably. She reallllly outdid herself this morning talking about the Obama tax proposals.
Kills me. She just makes shit up (outlandish shit that can be debunked in a matter of seconds), and Inskeep never calls her on it.
Amir Khalid
@KCinDC: There’s one accurate assessment in David Bobo’s column, you gotta give him that: he keeps admitting, “I’m a sap.”
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: Did you get a kiss? :) You’re welcome to come practice up this way you know. Keep an eye on the spawn and all that.
RossInDetroit
@suzanne:
Alcohol is the perfect solvent for the veneer of civilization.
Ben Cisco
@burnspbesq:
There’s a reason for that.