tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13790895729152084852023-11-22T05:40:42.353-06:00Squeezing My Mind GrapesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.comBlogger367125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-62603904569987004862014-03-18T23:59:00.000-05:002014-03-18T23:59:43.128-05:00#McConnelling Made EasyI'm a lazy, lazy man. There's a reason why I haven't updated this blog in two years and that is it. So when The Daily Show did this:<br />
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<b><a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/">The Daily Show</a></b><br />
Get More: <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision">Indecision Political Humor</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></div>
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I had to make a McConnelling video of my own. But I'm too lazy. So when I discovered <a href="http://www.mcconnelling.org/">a website</a> which allows you to automatically make your own McConnelling videos set to music from Youtube, I was overjoyed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mcconnelling.org/view?_id=53291eda53ab12473a1af327">Here's mine.</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-75434044509488839312012-08-28T01:03:00.001-05:002012-08-28T01:03:57.162-05:00Wow!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Between Twitter, Tumblr and to a lesser extent, Facebook I haven't been using this blog much. Maybe it's time to get back to those Battlestar Galactica reviews I've been meaning to write. The show's only been off the air for four years....</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-88902196088764178272012-08-28T00:55:00.002-05:002012-08-28T00:55:22.385-05:00Politify: Find Out How Your Candidate's Policies Will Affect YouI came across a fascinating tool on <a href="https://twitter.com/warmowski/status/240225521877790721">Twitter</a>. <a href="https://www.politify.com/">Politify</a> purports to show you the impact a presidential candidate's policies will have on a personal, local, and national level. It's a slick and cool-looking tool and the people behind it are fairly open about the <a href="http://blog.politify.com/election-2012-sources-methodology/">sources</a> they use in putting it together. So I took it for a spin and took a look at how Barak Obama and Mitt Romney's policies would affect me and my three most recent home towns.<br />
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The results were quite dramatic. And quite skewed:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPlvKwIspYw/UDxPFO6apFI/AAAAAAAACHk/pSoiEFDezig/s1600/politify-haltom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPlvKwIspYw/UDxPFO6apFI/AAAAAAAACHk/pSoiEFDezig/s400/politify-haltom.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haltom City, TX</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3jaKl7Nk_Uw/UDxO2-dQRZI/AAAAAAAACHc/EAJBKOJIXhQ/s1600/politify-plainfield.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3jaKl7Nk_Uw/UDxO2-dQRZI/AAAAAAAACHc/EAJBKOJIXhQ/s400/politify-plainfield.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plainfield, IL</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S-qMfXT6n6s/UDxZpCZFteI/AAAAAAAACH8/XVPaSQ2aC8Q/s1600/politify-chicago.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S-qMfXT6n6s/UDxZpCZFteI/AAAAAAAACH8/XVPaSQ2aC8Q/s400/politify-chicago.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicago, IL</td></tr>
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I must admit to a bit of schadenfreude at seeing my staunchly Republican brother's conservative enclave of Plainfield so heavily benefitted by Obama's policies. For that matter, I also got a kick out of seeing my new home of Haltom City in the midst of the red as can be state of Texas awash in a see of Democratic blue. (Here, the intensity of the red and blue colors which represent the Republican and Democratic parties respectively are meant to show how many people benefit from which party nominee's policies not how the areas are expected to vote.) But it was shocking to see nevertheless.<br />
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Nationwide, the results were similarly skewed:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uh4b9H0e-50/UDxOoX5-LEI/AAAAAAAACHU/MDL-DwknRtY/s1600/politify-usa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="441" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uh4b9H0e-50/UDxOoX5-LEI/AAAAAAAACHU/MDL-DwknRtY/s640/politify-usa.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nationwide</td></tr>
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Of course you might at this point, yell "Bias! Bias!" And maybe you'd be right. But I've been scratching my head over Romney for months, wondering what he's trying to do other than cut his own taxes. While Politify may or may not be biased for one side or the other, I for one am inclined to believe its results. Perhaps that's just because I was already leaning for Obama anyway but I don't see any reason to doubt their results right now.<br />
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Try it and see what results you get....</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-32561722047926237902012-05-06T00:29:00.000-05:002012-05-06T00:29:26.773-05:00My Completely Biased Review of The Avengers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thatsnerdalicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/The_Avengers.jpg?cb5e28" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://www.thatsnerdalicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/The_Avengers.jpg?cb5e28" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>NOTE: While I've tried to keep things more or less spoiler free, I haven't gone out of my way to do so. So if you are worried about spoilers proceed with caution or stop reading altogether.</b><br />
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Let me start out by admitting that I'm a huge <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon">Joss Whedon</a> fanboy. I've always loved his work from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118276/">Buffy: The Vampire Slayer</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162065">Angel</a>, <a href="http://www.hulu.com/firefly">Firefly</a>; even the often misunderstood <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135300/">Dollhouse</a>. And I've always wanted to see what Whedon could do with a big budget movie. So Whedon would have had to have failed pretty badly in order to disappoint me. With that caveat out of the way, I just have to say it: <i>The Avengers</i> is the best superhero movie ever!<br />
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<i>The Avengers</i> has pretty much everything you would expect from a superhero movie: great action set pieces; a great villain; and a slow, steady build up of tension to a great climactic scene. It also has all the elements of Joss Whedon's work: great rapid-fire dialog, wonderfully flawed characters, a shocking death of a popular secondary character, and the story of a group of misfits who come together to form a family. The plot itself is fairly simple. Thor's evil brother Loki is sent to Earth by powerful alien benefactors called The Chitauri who want him to steal a powerful artifact which will allow them to conquer the universe, starting with Earth. Loki does just that and Nick Fury must assemble The Avengers <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054047/">Magnificent Seven</a> style. And we get a brief introduction to each of our heroes as they come together.<br />
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<b>The Black Widow</b> gets the classic Whedon treatment as Scarlett Johansson's character from Iron Man 2 is upgraded from hot chick with some kick-boxing skills to empowered ass-kicking machine with a dark past and impeccable comic timing. In fact, the humor of the film is so funny that it was sometimes difficult to hear some of the dialog over the laughter of the audience in the theater.<br />
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<b>Hawkeye</b> probably gets the least character development in this film but it is pretty clear that he is an every man who must hold his own against against superheros and demigods using only his courage and finely honed skills. Think Buffy's Xander Harris without all the teenage anxiety.<br />
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<b>Captain America</b> is lost in time. He feels like a relic and is without purpose in a strange new world. But he is ultimately a soldier first and when Nick Fury comes calling he eagerly prepares to fight in a war he doesn't understand.<br />
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<b>Iron Man</b> is of course Tony Stark and Tony Stark is of course Robert Downey Jr. If ever a writer was made to write dialog for Robert Downey Jr., it was Joss Whedon. Whedon's brand of witty, rapid-fire dialog was made for made for Downey's witty, rapid-fire delivery. It's a match made in heaven and it's hard not to smile when Downey is talking during this movie and he talks a lot.<br />
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<b>The Hulk</b> is a revelation in this movie. It is without a doubt the single best representation of The Hulk on any screen since at least Bill Bixby's <i>The Hulk</i> TV series in the 1970's. And Mark Ruffalo's Hulk surpasses in Bixby's Hulk some ways—he's much funnier for example. The Hulk was something of a childhood hero of mine. I went through a stage as a child where I was full of petty, impotent rage and sorely wanted to be able to SMASH! the way The Hulk did. I think that it's safe to say the recent Marvel Hulk movies have been disappointing and it's nice to see a movie which not only does justice to The Hulk but where The Hulk actually steals most of the scenes that he is in.<br />
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Of course merely saying "The Hulk" tends to oversimplify matters as The Hulk is really two characters. There's the monster itself and Dr. Bruce Banner. And both characters are very compelling here. My nephew pointed out something very interesting to me following the movie; <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=mark+ruffalo&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch">Mark Ruffalo</a> actually looks like he could be a scientist much more so than previous Hulk actors <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=eric+bana&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch">Eric Bana</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=edward+norton&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch">Edward Norton</a>. And I think that he might have a point. Which naturally raises the question: Which of these gentlemen would you trust with your gamma rays?<br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsZdUO_i4ChkdgInS7C440r1jSUz-Uwqgb_arVaSaDrWxOl9_v" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsZdUO_i4ChkdgInS7C440r1jSUz-Uwqgb_arVaSaDrWxOl9_v" /></a><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQn2yVjcvfUS7Tp-S-zgouLzqxWpjJyCg5lzrlXnk-k728qLDNzSg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQn2yVjcvfUS7Tp-S-zgouLzqxWpjJyCg5lzrlXnk-k728qLDNzSg" /></a><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAius_RrRBw6rTUA8-B2HzBP2ly0t9L5B4usXuNEZUAgWwgay5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAius_RrRBw6rTUA8-B2HzBP2ly0t9L5B4usXuNEZUAgWwgay5" /></a>
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Ultimately this is a superhero film and in the end good superhero films tend to be less about the hero's final triumph than they are about the hero's journey. And in this film, the story is mainly about how this group of misfit heroes comes together to fight a common foe. Many of the best moments come when the heroes are simply standing around bickering among themselves. And any movie can make a verbal argument between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers as exciting as a knock down, drag out fight between Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America is definitely doing something right.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-22385876443887427202012-03-30T16:43:00.001-05:002012-03-30T16:51:16.570-05:00Peter Beinart on The Colbert Report<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MnT7aarLDSY/T3YlbiIdZnI/AAAAAAAABv4/-JuohfeYyJU/s1600/crisis+of+zionism.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MnT7aarLDSY/T3YlbiIdZnI/AAAAAAAABv4/-JuohfeYyJU/s640/crisis+of+zionism.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crisis of Zionism</td></tr>
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I found <a href="http://peter-beinart.com/">Peter Beinart</a>'s appearance on The Colbert Report to promote his <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-the-crisis-of-zionism-by-peter-beinart/2012/03/30/gIQAlQ3rlS_story.html">new book</a> quite compelling. His views on the state of Israel are pretty standard liberal views but I like the way he frames them. Instead of getting overly emotional or flirting with anti-semitism, seems to have struck a middle ground where he looks at the consequences that Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have for Israel's own democracy. Israel rightfully prides itself as America's closest ally and as the only democracy in the middle east but decades of occupation of Palestinian/Arab lands has created a dissonance in which parts of the country are "freer" than others which cannot last.<br />
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I think I may have to actually read this book. TV shouldn't come with home work....<br />
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<tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Colbert Report</a></td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right;">Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/411354/march-29-2012/peter-beinart" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Peter Beinart</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.colbertnation.com</a></td></tr>
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<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/video" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Video Archive</a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-44140978231613309292012-02-27T14:10:00.001-06:002012-02-27T14:10:16.660-06:00My Guide to Social Networking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://assets.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2009/06/social-networking-sites.jpg?4c9b33" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://assets.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2009/06/social-networking-sites.jpg?4c9b33" width="320" /></a></div>
Admittedly, this is mostly tongue and cheek but I think I'm onto something here.
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://gentlemint.com/">Gentlemint</a>: Pinterest for guys.</li>
<li><a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a>: Tumblr for ladies.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>: Twitter for kids.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>: Facebook for ADHD types.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>: Like MySpace only much less awful.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.myspace.com/">MySpace</a>: Like Google Plus only it was actually successful for a while.</li>
<li><a href="https://plus.google.com/">Google Plus</a>: Blogging for people who don't know what a blog is.</li>
<li>Blogger, Wordpress, and other blogging platforms: Online diaries for people who don't know HTML or what a .plan file is.</li>
<li><a href="http://catb.org/jargon/html/P/plan-file.html">.plan file</a>: An online diary for people who were sick of getting flamed on Usenet.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet">Usenet</a>: The original and best ever social communications platform for the Internet. Like the rest of the Internet it followed the typical path: created by nerds for nerds, then all the "cool" people joined up, and then regular folks joined up. Then it fell to constant infighting, frustrations, and people started leaving for the next big thing. And finally nothing but spam and porn. While many people continued to use it, it hand lost its relevance in much the same way that MySpace did. It's a little hard for me to be too snarky about Usenet, since I used it and loved it for so much longer than these other networks.</li>
</ul>
Enjoy your future folks, it's going to look a lot like the past....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-37251174238540990232012-02-22T12:15:00.001-06:002012-02-22T12:15:39.313-06:00SuperPACking<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FFRBJJiazzE/T0UwDa2ecqI/AAAAAAAABmU/2k9PBZrxtkg/s1600/darthbama.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FFRBJJiazzE/T0UwDa2ecqI/AAAAAAAABmU/2k9PBZrxtkg/s400/darthbama.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SuperPACs Are Bad Until You Need Their Money for Your Reelection Campaign.</td></tr>
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<tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Colbert Report</a></td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right;">Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/408881/february-21-2012/colbert-super-pac---nancy-pelosi-s-ad---barack-obama-s-super-pac" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colbert Super PAC - Nancy Pelosi's Ad & Barack Obama's Super PAC</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.colbertnation.com</a></td></tr>
<tr valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="autoPlay=false" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:408881" style="display: block;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" wmode="window"></embed></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/video" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Video Archive</a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-37294793189380523622012-02-13T23:14:00.000-06:002012-02-13T23:17:00.296-06:00Steve Ballmer, Apple FanboySo I was <a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/02/10/1238247/microsoft-details-windows-8-for-arm">reading on Slashdot</a>, as I often do, when I came across this:<br />
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Suddenly it all made sense. Windows 8. Microsoft's seeming lack of direction and failure to innovate recently. Pretty much everything that had gone since Bill Gates retired. Steve Ballmer is secretly an Apple fanboy who is unwittingly sabotaging Microsoft from within. Yes, it all makes sense now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-41625674990917964802012-01-28T16:46:00.001-06:002012-01-28T17:02:04.337-06:00He Says While Posting On His Blog<div><p>Here's something a gadget geek like me doesn't want to encounter on his travels on the Innertubes:</p>
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/gJUbR84Yj8g/study-finds-growing-up-with-gadgets-has-a-downside-social-skill-impairment">Study Finds Growing Up WIth Gadgets Has a Downside: Social Skill Impairment</a></p>
<p>The first thing that popped into my head reading this was, "But I didn't grow up with a lot of gadgets and I have terrible social skills." But I'm a gadget geek now. So I can't help but wonder if the reverse is more likely to be true. That is, perhaps poor social skills are part of what drives children to enjoy gadgets in the first place. </p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-4208156148561818902012-01-19T11:51:00.000-06:002012-01-19T11:51:01.975-06:00The Daily Show on SOPA<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZxYke9LMef4/TxhQFtHMCEI/AAAAAAAABiI/tr4Le4D0Npw/s1600/dramatic%2Bchipmunk%2Bis%2Bright.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZxYke9LMef4/TxhQFtHMCEI/AAAAAAAABiI/tr4Le4D0Npw/s640/dramatic%2Bchipmunk%2Bis%2Bright.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You could face as a website, up to five years for streaming ten pieces of music.</td></tr>
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<hr />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MhnXfImJVo/TxhUBMc5KkI/AAAAAAAABiU/2cMvGSNVi20/s1600/when+did+congress+turn+into+Ogre.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MhnXfImJVo/TxhUBMc5KkI/AAAAAAAABiU/2cMvGSNVi20/s640/when+did+congress+turn+into+Ogre.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When did Congress turn into Ogre?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GGUayaRfJnE/TxhVrqH_BPI/AAAAAAAABig/9dld879O6gk/s1600/copyright.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GGUayaRfJnE/TxhVrqH_BPI/AAAAAAAABig/9dld879O6gk/s640/copyright.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What kind of douchebag steals other people's copyrighted work anyway?</td></tr>
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<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQliqHtfn10/TxhWkwzpPSI/AAAAAAAABis/dYXeVePdB8U/s1600/damn+you+bob+newhart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQliqHtfn10/TxhWkwzpPSI/AAAAAAAABis/dYXeVePdB8U/s640/damn+you+bob+newhart.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn you Bob Newhart!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="340" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal arial; width: 512px;"><tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-18-2012/ko-computer" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">KO Computer</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr>
<tr valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="autoPlay=false" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:406251" style="display: block;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" wmode="window"></embed></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Daily Show Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-31224517485838293612012-01-13T10:24:00.000-06:002012-01-13T10:24:29.109-06:00Colber SuperPAC Transfer Activated!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--CZPsaaeGRA/TxBaBnnQDmI/AAAAAAAABh0/FaYz1Aybf78/s1600/colbert%2Bsuperpac%2Btransfer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--CZPsaaeGRA/TxBaBnnQDmI/AAAAAAAABh0/FaYz1Aybf78/s640/colbert%2Bsuperpac%2Btransfer.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I believe I have a pure cash erection.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="340" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal arial; width: 512px;"><tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Colbert Report</a></td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right;">Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/405889/january-12-2012/indecision-2012---colbert-super-pac---coordination-resolution-with-jon-stewart" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Indecision 2012 - Colbert Super PAC - Coordination Resolution with Jon Stewart</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.colbertnation.com</a></td></tr>
<tr valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="autoPlay=false" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:405889" style="display: block;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" wmode="window"></embed></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/video" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Video Archive</a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-3731566470407610452012-01-10T09:57:00.000-06:002012-01-10T09:57:54.993-06:00Stephen Colbert on the New Hampshire PrimaryAh, perspective.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFuxXGqvG9M/Twxe8V88B8I/AAAAAAAABgY/Qb0mTBeFGnQ/s1600/magna+carta.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFuxXGqvG9M/Twxe8V88B8I/AAAAAAAABgY/Qb0mTBeFGnQ/s640/magna+carta.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember, The Magna Carta was written by angry, rich men who believed their leader was an illegitimate usurper.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="340" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal arial; width: 512px;"><tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #e5e5e5;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Colbert Report</a></td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right;">Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/405559/january-09-2012/indecision-2012---new-hampshire-gop-debates---moderate-extremes" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Indecision 2012 - New Hampshire GOP Debates - Moderate Extremes</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.colbertnation.com</a></td></tr>
<tr valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="autoPlay=false" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:405559" style="display: block;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" wmode="window"></embed></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/video" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Video Archive</a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-56652115692568535522012-01-06T10:50:00.000-06:002012-01-06T10:50:50.426-06:00How the Sausage Doesn't Get MadeThe thing that I love about The Daily Show is the way it just has a knack for encapsulating everything that frustrates me about the absurdity of politics. Last night for example....
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kPKGEj3cYXU/TwclLP3jWeI/AAAAAAAABgM/uhOrEcI7Qvk/s1600/how%2Bthe%2Bsausage%2Bdoesn%2527t%2Bget%2Bmade.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kPKGEj3cYXU/TwclLP3jWeI/AAAAAAAABgM/uhOrEcI7Qvk/s640/how%2Bthe%2Bsausage%2Bdoesn%2527t%2Bget%2Bmade.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Look at it Stewart! Look at it! This is how the sausage doesn't get made!</span></td></tr>
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<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" base="." flashvars="" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:video:thedailyshow.com:405256" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512"></embed><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;">
<b><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-january-5-2012/commission--impossible">The Daily Show with Jon Stewart</a></b><br />
Get More: <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-17490084886122607232011-12-03T22:47:00.001-06:002011-12-03T23:06:17.599-06:00So Where Do I Go From Here?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://gomakemeasandwich.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/wheredowego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://gomakemeasandwich.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/wheredowego.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I haven't written much lately. Well, at least not on this blog. My <a href="http://robertocastillo.tumblr.com/">Tumblr blog</a> on the other hand has been fairly active by comparison. And of course I'm extremely active on on <a href="http://twitter.com/ZombieElvis">Twitter</a>, somewhat less active on <a href="https://plus.google.com/103435274201698142072">Google Plus</a>, and I keep in touch with my family through Facebook. So where does Blogger fit in? In the past it was a no-brainer to put whatever I wanted on my blog but now there are so many more choices, many of them more convenient and faster than blogging. Twitter is amazing in this respect and Tumblr fills the gap nicely when Twitter falls short. Tumblr even holds its own nicely against Blogger in terms of longer form writing, something I never really did much anyway....<br />
<br />
So here I am with my old blog writing a post wondering if it will be my final one.<br />
<br />
Although the new revamped interface for Blogger does look cool once you get used to it. Maybe I'll play around with it a bit....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-46856586110655397962011-07-28T01:13:00.003-05:002011-07-28T01:44:39.546-05:00A President's Job is Hard...You're the most powerful man in the world but everyone wants a piece of you. You start out able to do no wrong but public opinion turns and you can't seem to do anything right.<br /><br />Before—2008:<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G7AKlnZvubVDjdWLAbhPiQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QzxJG6a6umU/SRD8dfJ2yqI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/dDWCFnWrM6s/s800/prezofawesomevy4.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/roberto.castillo.davalos/SqueezingMyMindGrapes?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">Squeezing My Mind Grapes</a></td></tr></table><br /><br />And after—2010:<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/47ruLt41Ry4_c3g4ZNup6g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yslSSsXld-A/TjD99Wf7aMI/AAAAAAAABTs/H4FwVVJW3sQ/s800/tumblr_lp124eG7ng1r0bxv9o1_500.jpg" height="431" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://spockisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/">Spock Is Not Impressed</a></td></tr></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-8480422986683872082011-07-26T16:04:00.003-05:002011-07-26T16:35:52.488-05:00Remember When We Thought Computers Were Used to Educate People?<div>From the bowels of a box of stuff:</div><div><br /></div><div>The disks were gone but the box graphics sure are pretty.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3W5fN4jg1U/Ti8s0exk3_I/AAAAAAAABSc/I9fYX1LlC9I/s1600/IMAG0093.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3W5fN4jg1U/Ti8s0exk3_I/AAAAAAAABSc/I9fYX1LlC9I/s400/IMAG0093.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633770938989600754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px; " /></a>Endorsed by Alex Trebek!</div><div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aU2tMGnwi28/Ti8s0N2L3oI/AAAAAAAABSU/e5HXa_pHIM8/s1600/IMAG0094.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aU2tMGnwi28/Ti8s0N2L3oI/AAAAAAAABSU/e5HXa_pHIM8/s400/IMAG0094.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633770934445530754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 255px; " /></a>Increase your SAT scores by 200 points!</div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-enczpsNhnWU/Ti8szwvl8EI/AAAAAAAABSM/larrQO_hlEo/s1600/IMAG0095.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-enczpsNhnWU/Ti8szwvl8EI/AAAAAAAABSM/larrQO_hlEo/s400/IMAG0095.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633770926633250882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Success Pack!</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jXHbP0C0Dc/Ti8szRIB0xI/AAAAAAAABSE/NjUE3wXZ1NA/s1600/IMAG0097.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jXHbP0C0Dc/Ti8szRIB0xI/AAAAAAAABSE/NjUE3wXZ1NA/s400/IMAG0097.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633770918145807122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Step by Step. So many CDs.</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v6GbCDxwEoY/Ti8szMpSA9I/AAAAAAAABR8/GXW732VKwDk/s1600/IMAG0098.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v6GbCDxwEoY/Ti8szMpSA9I/AAAAAAAABR8/GXW732VKwDk/s400/IMAG0098.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633770916943102930" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A curriculum that covers third grade through college.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wBfwsWGxyYI/Ti8tDSGl7kI/AAAAAAAABTE/_C0MGzJ8ZCw/s1600/IMAG0099.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wBfwsWGxyYI/Ti8tDSGl7kI/AAAAAAAABTE/_C0MGzJ8ZCw/s400/IMAG0099.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633771193286127170" /></a><br /><div>Knowing big words makes you rich!</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9jR9Vuz2wqU/Ti8tDBmSk_I/AAAAAAAABS8/ciNLhnNqZJs/s1600/IMAG0100.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9jR9Vuz2wqU/Ti8tDBmSk_I/AAAAAAAABS8/ciNLhnNqZJs/s400/IMAG0100.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633771188855673842" /></a><br /></div><div>Testimonials. (Which makes me wonder if anyone who actually used this program are actually reading this; if so, how was it?)</div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dGMAuzZ7uIU/Ti8tCqOTmKI/AAAAAAAABS0/2YwXUTUQm_c/s1600/IMAG0101.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dGMAuzZ7uIU/Ti8tCqOTmKI/AAAAAAAABS0/2YwXUTUQm_c/s400/IMAG0101.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633771182581061794" /></a><br /></div><div>It even comes with its own diplomas!</div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XYwlt1rj_dg/Ti8tCVdj_zI/AAAAAAAABSs/5mPDkKbsUDU/s1600/IMAG0102.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XYwlt1rj_dg/Ti8tCVdj_zI/AAAAAAAABSs/5mPDkKbsUDU/s400/IMAG0102.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633771177007906610" /></a><br /></div><div>Get a load of those system requirements. Note how much more memory the Mac version requires and the long list of add-ons required for the PC version. But also notice how much more powerful a modern smartphone is than a PC or Mac of that era.</div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n9BJ5Dj0lX0/Ti8tCKJU-iI/AAAAAAAABSk/RtlcQq6vJ3I/s1600/IMAG0103.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n9BJ5Dj0lX0/Ti8tCKJU-iI/AAAAAAAABSk/RtlcQq6vJ3I/s400/IMAG0103.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633771173970246178" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3W5fN4jg1U/Ti8s0exk3_I/AAAAAAAABSc/I9fYX1LlC9I/s1600/IMAG0093.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-32546973011343278752011-07-22T01:43:00.003-05:002011-07-22T01:56:47.861-05:00Palm Pre Makes Yahoo's List of Phones Doomed to be Collectibles<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m45IoGuve90/TikcJIkY1RI/AAAAAAAABRw/8yBLDb_auxY/s1600/Capture-pre.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m45IoGuve90/TikcJIkY1RI/AAAAAAAABRw/8yBLDb_auxY/s400/Capture-pre.PNG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632063752248022290" /></a>The most interesting thing about this piece is that it lays the blame for the Pre's demise squarely at HP's feet. And I think they're right. Palm was putting out a new update every month, slowly but surely improving the Pre by improving webOS. And then Palm sold itself to HP and nothing. There was a lot of talk and a lot of promises but ultimately those promises were broken as HP made webOS the centerpiece of their mobile strategy but showed little interest in actually making new phones. And the frequent updates which Palm had been so proud of dried up.<div><br /></div><div>The Pre's immediate successor, the Pre 2 is only available on Verizon and sales people tend to steer people away from it. The Veer, a tiny little phone which combines the best features of the Pre and Pixi phones with some nice, fast hardware is only available on AT&T and is similarly neglected. The Pre 3 which was announced in January has yet to debut anywhere. </div><div><div><br /></div><a href="http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/640/5-best-cell-phones-doomed-to-be-collectible/">5 Best Cell Phones Doomed to be Collectible - Yahoo! Shopping</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-74420975212298757792011-06-15T16:39:00.002-05:002011-06-15T16:44:05.538-05:00The Horrors of Presidential Primary Season<div>The election season viewed through the lens of the 24 hour network news cycle becomes a horror movie. That sounds about right....</div><br /> <table style="font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="512" height="340"><tbody><tr style="background-color:#e5e5e5" valign="middle"><td style="padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style="height:14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-14-2011/indecision-2012---the-awakening">Indecision 2012 - The Awakening</a></td></tr><tr style="height:14px; background-color:#353535" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:512px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right"><a target="_blank" style="color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding:0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display:block" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:389599" width="512" height="288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height:18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding:0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin:0px; text-align:center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" height="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding:3px; width:33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding:3px; width:33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding:3px; width:33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;" href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-1320213568216227842011-05-21T23:22:00.004-05:002011-05-22T00:18:53.348-05:00Firefox Aurora and its New Multi-channel ApproachWith its 5.0 Beta, Firefox has debuted a new feature designed to speed up its own development to counter Google Chrome's rapid release schedule. With it's new Aurora release Firefox allows users to easily switch between three different channels: Development which is the normal version of the software, Beta which includes new features which are still being tested; and Aurora which is the latest nightly build of Firefox which can be expected to be unstable but also full of interesting new features.<div><br /></div><div>It's all credibly slick and cool. Just select <i>About Firefox</i> in the <i>Help Menu</i> which tells you your channel and click <i>Change</i> to select a new channel. You select your new channel and click on Apply and Update and Firefox installs a new version of itself and restarts. </div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nq9rlcwsshI/TdiPqZfiTRI/AAAAAAAABNE/AMIuxSGR_4M/s1600/Channel-Changes.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nq9rlcwsshI/TdiPqZfiTRI/AAAAAAAABNE/AMIuxSGR_4M/s400/Channel-Changes.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609391294450388242" /></a>But I have to wonder if this is the right approach for Firefox. As slick as Firefox's channel switcher is, I prefer Chrome's approach of having separate installs of the browser for different channels. With Chrome's <a href="http://tools.google.com/dlpage/chromesxs">Canary Build</a>, you can have your cake and eat it too. One safe, always up to date browser and another separate browser with cutting edge, experimental technology which will occasionally crash. And one can have dozens of pages open in tabs and another can open to just one or to your start page.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aurora on the by contrast feels like an all or nothing proposition. You can switch between channels easily within one install of the browser but what happens if the latest nightly Aurora build is unstable? Will there be a way to switch to a more stable channel without bringing up the <i>About Firefox</i> box? I hope so. </div><div><br /></div><div>And I think that Firefox with its more powerful extensions can benefit even more by having two separate browser installations. It is fairly common for early Betas of Firefox to be incompatible with many extensions. Having a "stable" installation of Firefox with all your favorite extensions and a second "experimental" installation which runs alongside it would probably be something that most Firefox users would enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I realize that I could probably set this up myself using Firefox's <a href="http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_manager">Profile Manager</a>, that tool is <a href="http://www.ghacks.net/2011/01/19/firefox-profile-manager-to-be-removed-soon/">on its way out</a>. And in any case it's probably overkill for most users. It would be much easier to have a check box that says "Maintain Separate Aurora Installation" or something like that in the <i>About Firefox</i> box.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-13355177164188887482010-11-23T15:14:00.003-06:002010-11-23T19:39:49.817-06:00Good News for PalmOS FansFor a while it looked like Palm had turned its back on PalmOS, the operating system which had powered its PDAs and smartphones for year. And to a certain extent they have but the situation may not be as dire as die-hard PalmOS fans had thought. <div><br /></div><div>With the latest version of webOS, version 2.0, Palm has removed the PalmOS ROM from the phone which is the actual code which the Classic PalmOS emulator uses to run PalmOS apps on webOS phones like the Palm Pre and Pixi. It was a serious enough problem that MotionApps, the company which makes Classic essentially <a href="http://www.precentral.net/webos-20-pushes-classic-palm-os-emulator-out-picture">threw in the towel</a> and stopped selling Classic. But it turns out that with a little <a href="http://www.precentral.net/classic-webos-20-made-possible-thanks-webos-145-doctor">digging and command line hacking</a>, that the PalmOS ROM can be <a href="http://forums.precentral.net/general-webos-chat/269404-how-keep-classic-webos-2-0-above.html">installed</a> on a phone with webOS 2.0.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two interesting points come out of this development. One, longtime PalmOS users who have already purchased Classic will be able to continue using once they upgrade to webOS 2.0 devices like the Pre 2 or after their older devices are automatically upgraded to webOS 2. The other interesting point is that since the PalmOS ROM is clearly separate from the Classic emulator, then creating a PalmOS emulator for webOS might be a lot easier than people realize. Even if MotionApps stopped selling Classic, it should be possible for someone else (perhaps even Palm themselves) to create an emulator for PalmOS apps. </div><div><br /></div><div>While I wouldn't expect to see a lot of PalmOS emulators coming out any time soon, it's an interesting thing to note that since Palm is putting out the PalmOS ROM themselves through their webOS Doctor software, it should help keep PalmOS die hards going while they search for webOS equivalents to their beloved PalmOS apps.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-43604877239852523672010-11-15T11:11:00.003-06:002010-11-15T11:36:02.825-06:00Caught in the ActOn last Thursday's Community, a furry little paw grabs Annie's purple pen:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TOFqnQhpCII/AAAAAAAABLc/memq2rzr5js/s1600/community.s02e08.cooperative.calligraphy.itouch-mw.mp4_000041833.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TOFqnQhpCII/AAAAAAAABLc/memq2rzr5js/s400/community.s02e08.cooperative.calligraphy.itouch-mw.mp4_000041833.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539826239325931650" /></a><br /><br />A second later, it's gone:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TOFqnsEMQMI/AAAAAAAABLk/ggi2QHjmjxc/s1600/community.s02e08.cooperative.calligraphy.itouch-mw.mp4_000042000.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TOFqnsEMQMI/AAAAAAAABLk/ggi2QHjmjxc/s400/community.s02e08.cooperative.calligraphy.itouch-mw.mp4_000042000.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539826246718603458" /></a><br /><br />Let's go to the video:<br /><br /><object width="512" height="288"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/ojfpde48jGW2g8BggHBxJQ/40/44/i43"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/ojfpde48jGW2g8BggHBxJQ/40/44/i43" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="288" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br /><br /><div>Also available in <a href="http://julvett.tumblr.com/post/1550680050/tonights-community-amazing-you-can-even-see">animated .gif format</a>.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-30171209469268301922010-11-12T21:42:00.003-06:002010-11-12T21:47:51.878-06:00Screenshots From The Aerodynamics of GenderI loved Abed's Terminator vision in last week's episode. Here are some screen shots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J8NkY38I/AAAAAAAABKw/5uvYPAOM1Mw/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000587878.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J8NkY38I/AAAAAAAABKw/5uvYPAOM1Mw/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000587878.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875521751375810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J71S_gnI/AAAAAAAABKo/9V1wYFzuET8/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000813062.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J71S_gnI/AAAAAAAABKo/9V1wYFzuET8/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000813062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875515235959410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J7qSMrKI/AAAAAAAABKg/lMckPFbFmOY/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000814480.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4J7qSMrKI/AAAAAAAABKg/lMckPFbFmOY/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000814480.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875512279837858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwxR_S4I/AAAAAAAABKY/HMy1sjKPF78/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000815064.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwxR_S4I/AAAAAAAABKY/HMy1sjKPF78/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000815064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875325179448194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwpGaCyI/AAAAAAAABKQ/rkjT1IDO7sE/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000817483.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwpGaCyI/AAAAAAAABKQ/rkjT1IDO7sE/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000817483.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875322983385890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwcCgRtI/AAAAAAAABKI/Kneco42OUUo/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000847221.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwcCgRtI/AAAAAAAABKI/Kneco42OUUo/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000847221.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875319477356242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwK4G0UI/AAAAAAAABKA/6-05yv2Bb0I/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000850349.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4JwK4G0UI/AAAAAAAABKA/6-05yv2Bb0I/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_000850349.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875314870341954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4Jvy0wPWI/AAAAAAAABJ4/oFYMf5pJusc/s1600/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_001146937.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/TN4Jvy0wPWI/AAAAAAAABJ4/oFYMf5pJusc/s400/Community.S02E07.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi_001146937.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538875308413828450" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-40505524201568416462010-11-07T13:45:00.009-06:002010-11-08T21:52:14.839-06:00Palm Drops Classic, Why It Matters.<div style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2Dmozs9dsx4USIcVwUvzEw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_YsJ90-kx6Lk/Sjx0sNgT-xI/AAAAAAAAAqw/GTaxJGZ6Cdg/s800/classic_2009-20-06_002813.png" width="320" height="480" /></a></div><div>Two weeks ago MotionApps, the developers of the Classic PalmOS emulator for webOS, announced that they were <a href="http://motionapps.blogspot.com/2010/10/motionapps-hands-classic-over-to-palm.html">discontinuing</a> Classic due to a dispute with Palm:<br /><br /><blockquote><div style="font-style: italic;">We are sad to announce that Palm has removed Classic’s ROM from the new webOS 2.0 device ROM which will result in Classic not working if utilized with Palm’s new webOS 2.0.</div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic;">This is contrary to our agreement with Palm and was done without our approval or consent. Based on this action, MotionApps will immediately stop selling Classic. However, as a courtesy to our clients, we will continue to support existing Classic customers on webOS 1.x for the immediate future. </div><div><br /></div></blockquote>It's certainly a disappointing development for users of old school PalmOS apps like myself. But does it really matter? The truth is that I already have webOS replacements for most of my PalmOS apps. But a lot of these webOS apps are <a href="http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/2010/11/bible-readers-for-webos.html">inferior</a> to their PalmOS counterparts. Additionally, there are many PalmOS apps which still <a href="http://forums.palm.com/t5/webOS-Software/WebOS-and-Audible-aa-format/td-p/208016">do not have webOS equivalents</a>. And a lot of the PalmOS apps which have transitioned to webOS are <a href="http://palmdoc.net/?p=3330">still not ready for prime time</a>. Finally, a lot of developers who made popular PalmOS apps are simply <a href="http://www.precentral.net/developer-pov-dave-haupert-ddh-software-handbase-webos-and-palm">not interested</a> in developing for webOS because its development tools are not mature enough yet.<br /><br />While Palm has worked hard to foster developer interest, they are facing an uphill battle. Currently the webOS App Catalog has roughly 4300 apps. Add in the apps in Palm Web and Beta feeds and that number jumps to well over 5000. But Apple's iOS has 250,000 apps and Google's Android has 140,000 apps. And this isn't just a matter of quantity over quality, there are many <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/skymap/">unique</a> and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shop-savvy-barcode-scanner/id338828953">powerful</a> apps which are not available to webOS users. A lot of this stems from limitations in the APIs of webOS and in the hardware of webOS phones. And that's all the more reason why Palm needs the Classic as a bridge between the limitations of webOS and the power of PalmOS. More than 30,000 PalmOS apps can be run in Classic.<br /><br />Ultimately, it does Palm no good to further alienate a group of developers which were already upset with the move from PalmOS to webOS and who are attracted by the much greener pastures of Android and iOS. MotionApps has handed over the Classic source code and intellectual property rights to Palm, so Palm has all it needs to restore and support Classic themselves. There would seem to be no reason why they couldn't put it back in a future version of webOS.<br /><br />So it makes a lot of sense for Palm to support Classic. They already go out of their way to support webOS and Homebrew developers. And they are working on tools to allow developers to build "hybrid" apps which will use both traditional C/C++ code and the HTML/Javascript code that powers webOS apps. A PalmOS emulator like Classic, could be another tool for Palm to get apps on to their platform.<br /><br />Classic wasn't perfect. It was slow and it was the only app on webOS that could actually crash my phone. And using felt like living in a mobile computing ghetto—PalmOS apps ran inside Classic and couldn't be used as cards and you couldn't copy and paste between PalmOS and webOS apps. But it did allow access to a great number of apps which otherwise wouldn't exist for my phone or which are better than the apps which are available to me.<br /><br />Now that Palm has full control of Classic and a perpetual license to PalmOS, they can fix all that if they want. They can make PalmOS apps run seamlessly as cards alongside their webOS counterparts. They can make it possible to copy and paste between PalmOS and webOS apps. They can even "skin" PalmOS apps to make them look more like webOS apps. For that matter why not add a PalmOS section to the webOS App Catalog where users can install legacy PalmOS apps? But all this will all take time and money—two things that I don't think Palm wants to spend on PalmOS. Having said that, Palm is still developing webOS anyway and it makes more sense for Palm to expand its capabilities instead of contract them.<br /><br />I've seen a lot of comments about DOS and Windows XP bandied about in discussions about Classic. And Microsoft's <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/winhistoryprographic.mspx">history</a> of support for Windows XP is actually a pretty good example of how to handle aging software—an example which Palm would be wise to follow. Up until last month <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-xp/default.aspx">you could still buy</a> a PC with Windows XP preinstalled nine years after it debuted. (And you can still "downgrade" a PC with Windows 7 to XP.) Microsoft supported Windows XP with Service Pack 2 until July 31, 2010 and still supports Windows XP with Service Pack 3 to this day. For almost a decade, Microsoft has supported Windows XP with the result that it remained their most successful software program even long after it became obsolete.<br /><br />Now compare this to what has happened with Classic. On October 19, Palm introduced webOS 2.0. By October 25, MotionApps withdrew Classic from the webOS App Catalog accusing Palm of breaking its agreement with them. That's not the kind of orderly transition from one platform to another that engenders user or developer confidence.<br /><br />While Classic represents a tiny subset of the webOS user experience, there seems to be little point to removing a useful capability from it at a time when webOS is struggling to gain acceptance. The openness and freedom of the webOS experience is one of the things that distinguishes it from its competitors. At a time when Apple was trying to outlaw Jailbreaking and Google was challenging the legality of rooting Android, Palm actually made it easier to hack your phone. And Classic represented an example of that freedom—the ability to install and run "obsolete" software which you still found useful. For me the bottom line is that if I wanted a handset maker telling me what software I can and cannot use on my phone, I'd have gotten an iPhone.<br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.precentral.net/webos-20-pushes-classic-palm-os-emulator-out-picture">With webOS 2.0, MotionApps drops Classic PalmOS Emulator in Palm's lap | PreCentral.net</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-91448126277140353392010-11-01T23:37:00.005-05:002010-11-02T22:56:50.024-05:00Bible Readers for webOSI had a very religious upbringing and I still go to church regularly. And I've carried some form of bible reading software with me since I installed a the original OliveTree BibleReader on my Palm III back in 1999. So when I got my Palm Pre, I was very interested in looking for Bible readers on webOS. With the the Pre entering its seventeenth month of existence, the development of software in this area gives a good overview of the growth and lack of growth in webOS.<div><br /></div><div>I have tried to take a look at the various Bible apps which I've encountered on webOS and will review them in turn. While this software round up will not be exhaustive I will try to be reasonably thorough. </div><div><br /><br /><b>webOZ Mobile Apps</b> has created a number of readers for various translations of the Bible, each of which is sold separately (for $1.49-2.99). In addition, webOZ sells other Bible study tools like dictionaries which can be accessed from their Bible readers. Each of these apps are simple, fast, and intuitive. The Scrolling is fast and smooth. Tapping on an arrow on the lower left corner of the screen activates an auto-scroll function. To the right is an arrow which scrolls a page at a time. And in the middle is an options button which drops down a convenient menu for highlighting text, bookmarks, copying text, email, and search.</div><div><br /></div><div>Each reader presents the user with a clean, friendly screen which makes it easy to drill down to the book you are looking for. Chapters are a little different as they appear on a drop down grid at the top of the screen once you've chosen your book. Verses however are awkward, you can't drill down to the verse you are looking for, you have to scroll through your chapter to find it. Searching is fast and intuitive (the app begins to search as soon as you begin to type) but it requires an active connection to the Internet to work.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fact that every translation is sold separately is both good and bad. On the bright side, you can take advantage of webOS's native multitasking to run multiple translations side by side. On the other hand, you do get the uneasy feeling that you are being nickeled and dimed by having to buy each translation. (But they are cheap, so it's not too bad.) More worrying is the fact that webOZ simply does not have that many translations available for purchase. I'm Latino and I grew up using the Spanish language 1960 Reina Valera translation a lot and as far as I know webOZ only offers the 1909 version which uses older sounding language. When I'm reading in English, webOZ presents me with the opposite problem, they have the older King James version but not the 1963 Modern King James version.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, webOZ presents a nice stable of clean, easy to use Bible translations for the casual churchgoer. But more serious Bible students should probably look into something a little more powerful.</div><div><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-26.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-26.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-1jpg-2.jpg" target="_blank"><br /><br /><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-1jpg-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>YouVersion (simply called "Bible" in the webOS App Catalog)</b> started out as little more than app wrapper for mobile version of the <a href="http://www.youversion.com/">website</a> of the same name but recently their Bible reader has improved greatly both in terms of looks and usability. It's tight integration with the YouVersion website is potentially very useful for serious Bible students.</div><div><br /></div><div>YouVersion presents a nice, clean home screen which allows access to wide variety of Biblical translations. Once inside, it is easy to switch between translations. There is also an attractive dark theme for low light situations. It is easy to drill down by book and by chapter but as with webOZ it is impossible to drill down to specific verse, except by searching for it. Search is fairly quick but noticeably slower than with the webOZ Bible readers which search as you type.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tapping on a verse allows you do a wide variety of things with the text, including copy it to the clipboard. But most other functions—even creating a bookmark—require you to have an account with YouVersion. But you can email the text and look at Contributions (essentially crowd sourced notes about the verse you've selected) made by YouVersion users. If you do have a YouVersion account, you can add Contributions of your own and share them with other users.</div><div><br /></div><div>YouVersion is a fairly powerful Bible app but a lot of that power is due to its tight integration with the YouVersion website. So while hardcore Bible students will likely find it to be a valuable tool, more casual users might not be willing to commit to joining yet another website. </div><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-25.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-25.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-24.jpg" target="_blank"><br /><br /><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-24.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><div><br /></div><div><b>Bible Reader Plus ($1.49, free version available)</b> is an app wrapper for the mobile version of excellent <a href="http://mobile.biblegateway.com/index.php">BibleGateway</a> website which boasts "over 100 versions and 50 languages." But it does have a few interesting tricks. Once you've selected your verse, what you can do with it depends on the format of the Bible. The bibles come in three formats: web, database, and audio. Web bibles can only be copied and pasted like ordinary text you come across on the web. But text database and audio bibles can also be highlighted and shared online through, Facebook, Email, and SMS. And audio bibles can also, as the name implies, read the text back to you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bible Reader Plus also has tools for creating a Bible study plan with reminders, journals, and reports. Its web bibles also allow you to type out the book, chapter, and verse you are looking for and drill down to it which is a feature that other readers lack. Another nice feature is that it can open multiple cards so you can run several different translations side by side.</div><div><br /></div><div>The biggest advantage of Bible Reader Plus is the sheer number of translations that it offers. But its many translations have an inconsistent look and feel and not all of its features can be accessed in every translation. As a result, Bible Reader Plus works best as a supplemental tool for serious Bible students or as a tool for casual users who occasionally look up a single verse.</div><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-27.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-27.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><div><br /></div><div><b>BibleZ (Free) </b>allows you download XML databases for a variety of translations of the Bible. The databases are quite large and don't always download nicely over 3G connections. They do however download well over WiFi . As with the webOZ offerings, you may not be able to find your favorite translation for BibleZ. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you can, BibleZ offers the most attractive interface of the Bible readers I am reviewing here and allows you to switch between translations and drill down by book and by chapter easily via cleanly laid out menus and selection screens. As with most of the apps in this roundup, there is no way to drill down to a specific verse unless you do a search. And BibleZ is a little slower than the other apps to jump from its search results to a specific verse. </div><div><br /></div><div>When BibleZ goes into landscape mode its interface elements disappear which is a nice feature when you just want to read. BibleZ also includes quick access to your reading history, notes, and bookmarks. It also allows you to tap on a verse to add a bookmark, note, highlight, and to either copy or share a verse through email or SMS. </div><div><br /></div><div>All these features make BibleZ a very attractive and powerful app. The only thing holding it back is is the number of tranlations—BibleZ has a lot of them but it simply can't match the number of translations that online bible based apps like YouVersion and Bible Reader Plus boast.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-28.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-28.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><div><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-29.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Simple Bible (Free)</b> Like BibleZ, Simple Bible depends on databases to load its biblical translations. Simple Bible has fewer databases and a clunkier interface. When you first start Simple Bible, it shows a splash screen with "What's New" and "Donate" buttons. This screen can be disabled, as can the the pop up encouraging you to download the Ten Commandments companion app. Once these screens are disabled, Simple Bible presents you with a list of your Bibles and a link to download more within the app. As with BibleZ, the databases are large and best downloaded over a WiFi connection.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once you have opened your bible, a button toggles between the Old and New Testaments and menus allow you to select books and chapters quickly but you have to scroll to your verse or search for it. Bookmarking is rudimentary and clumsy. But Simple Bible does have one nice feature. You can tap on the screen and all the interface elements disappear, allowing for distraction free reading in either portrait or landscape mode.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall Simple Bible is something of a misnomer, while it is a nice free app it is also clunky and tends to get in your way more than it helps.</div><div><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-30.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-30.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-31.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-31.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>OliveTree BibleReader</b> is an old school PalmOS program which runs well inside the Classic PalmOS emulator. I saved this program for last not because it's the best (even though it is) but because Palm's recent decision to <a href="http://www.precentral.net/webos-20-pushes-classic-palm-os-emulator-out-picture">stop supporting Classic</a> means that the days when webOS users can run PalmOS apps on their phones may be numbered. Nevertheless, Classic still runs on the Palm Pre, Pixi, Pre Plus, and Pixi Plus for the moment at least so I'm including OliveTree in this roundup.</div><div><br /></div>BibleReader uses databases for its biblical translations which much be purchased and installed separately from the reader in Classic. Some of these translations are free but others can be <a href="http://www.olivetree.com/store/home.php?cat=262">quite expensive</a>. But OliveTree leverages the maturity of PalmOS to create an app with the kind of power and versatility which blows away the webOS apps in this roundup. In addition to bibles, BibleReader can also open commentaries, dictionaries, ebooks, maps, and more.<div><br /></div><div>Every aspect of BibleReader can be customized with preferences for desktops, fonts, toolbars, and scrolling all of which can be tweaked by the user. You'll notice most of the apps in this roundup have one format the verses while YouVersion uses a different format which groups verses into paragraphs. As far as I can tell, the verse format cannot be changed in any of the webOS apps. But in OliveTree BibleReader this format can be changed. <div><br /></div><div>Even though it looks pretty ugly next to the beautiful webOS apps in this roundup BibleReader is simply much more robust than its webOS competitors. It can remap the virtual buttons in Classic to control any of BibleReader's features. And BibleReader has a lot of features. Its bookmarks menu is better and easier to use than the bookmarking feature of any of the other apps in this roundup and it can be edited, saved, and exported as a file. It has menus for switching between translations and for quickly accessing your reading history. </div><div><br /></div><div>BibleReader has a versatile and customizable verse chooser which allows you to drill down to a specific verse quickly and easily. And if you use one of the BibleReader desktops which support a "live toolbar" you can actually tap on any chapter or verse and select a new one from the verse chooser.</div><div><br /></div><div>BibleReader's biggest weakness is that it was originally designed for a stylus-driven screen. Some of the screen elements are quite small and can require some pinching and zooming for large handed users. Similarly, the fact that it must run inside the Classic emulator is another weakness for BibleReader. Classic is slow to load and is about to be abandoned by Palm. So while in many respects BibleReader blows away the competition an one very critical respect, it isn't even in the race.<br /><div><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-3jpg.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-3jpg.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-33.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-33.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/?action=view&current=photos-temp-0jpg-32.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/RobertCastillo_photos/photos-temp-0jpg-32.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Conclusion:</b> It's disappointing to see Palm abandon its Classic emulator so soon. While there are some good apps in this roundup, none of them have the power and flexibility of BibleReader and a similar story can be told about apps in other categories. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake for some who doesn't already have a large investment in PalmOS apps to try them right now.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for the webOS apps, if it has your favorite biblical translation, BibleZ is your best bet. It has a great combination of flexibility and power. If you don't have a favorite biblical translation go with one of the webOZ translations. It's simple, fast, and perfect for casual users. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379089572915208485.post-9943714303964938482010-11-01T19:14:00.000-05:002010-11-01T23:29:12.275-05:00What We Need is an Ellis Island for the American Southwest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freefoto.com/preview/1210-11-58?ffid=1210-11-58"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 600px;" src="http://www.freefoto.com/images/1210/11/1210_11_58---Statue-of-Liberty-New-York-City_web.jpg?&k=Statue+of+Liberty+-+New+York+City" border="0" alt="" /></a>One of the big issues in this year's mid-term election is immigration. As usual there is a lot of bluster on both sides of the issue. But one thing that I haven't seen is a lot of ideas for actually controlling immigration in an orderly manner. Conservatives, when not jumping up and down screaming "What part of illegal don't you understand!" tend to focus on enforcement, calling for border fences and putative action against employers who hire illegal aliens. Liberals tend to focus on legalizing illegal aliens, talking about "a path to citizenship" and using the word "comprehensive" a lot. And Libertarians call for open borders.<div><br /></div><div>The problem with enforcement is that it doesn't work. While it is not a particularly well known fact, president <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072501790.html">Obama has actually increased</a> the rate of deportation of illegal aliens and auditing of businesses which hire illegals. And yet the screams of the opponents of illegal immigration have never been louder. The truth is that we'll never be able to deport 12 million illegal immigrants and until we as a nation admit that, we'll never solve our problems with immigration.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's where the liberal "path to citizenship" comes in; whether you call it an amnesty, a pardon or whatever; an illegal would come forward, pay a large fine, and "go to the back of the line" where after a period of time they would be eligible for citizenship. While it seems like a fairly good idea to liberal ears, the major problem with it is that the average Democratic politician doesn't have the guts to actually go through with it. For example the DREAM Act which was a relatively modest version of this idea (applying only to young people with no criminal records who agreed to join the military or attend college) was proposed but will not be voted on until the Senate's <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/11/reid_promises_dream_act_vote_in_lame_duck_session_win_or_lose.html">lame duck session</a> largely because Democrats were afraid of blow back in the election. With large Republican gains and possibly an outright Republican takeover of one or both houses of Congress <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/house-forecast-g-o-p-plus-54-55-seats-significantly-larger-or-smaller-gains-possible/">expected in tomorrow's election</a>, it seems unlikely that the lemmings in Congress are likely to approve any kind of comprehensive immigration reform.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the very unlikely case that our government does grow a spine however what's wrong with the open borders policy advocated by Libertarians? Nothing really except that it removes a lot of control from the government. And Americans would fear increased competition for low-paying jobs from cheap, illegal immigrant labor. And of course it makes it easier for terrorists, drug dealers, and other assorted nogoodnicks to get into the country. The truth is that no country has truly open borders and the United States will not be the first.</div><div><br /></div><div><a title="By Ken Thomas (KenThomas.us (personal website of photographer)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellis_Island-27527.jpg"><img style="float:right; width=" alt="Ellis Island-27527" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Ellis_Island-27527.jpg/512px-Ellis_Island-27527.jpg" /></a>So here's my idea. Politicians love to idealize the past and pander to voters who long for the "good old days." So why not reach into the past and create another <a href="http://www.ellisisland.org/immexp/wseix_5_3.asp">Ellis Island</a>, this time for the American Southwest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically, the United States would create one or more processing centers on its border with Mexico. They would be places where potential immigrants could go, get some papers and maybe a lead on a job. They could also be searched, vaccinated, and be subject to background checks. The upside would be that the United States would know who is entering the country and would be able to track them more easily if it needed to do so. It would also eliminate the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6444388n">dangerous crossings</a> of the border which have led to the death of many illegal aliens. With thousands of illegal immigrants removed from the other parts of the border, drug runners and terrorists trying to cross the border would be more likely to stand out and border enforcement would be more likely to work.</div><div><br /></div><div>This would be a small part or of a truly comprehensive reform of our immigration system. A single processing center on our southern border would not resolve the problem of <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5485917">immigrants overstaying their visas</a>. And it certainly wouldn't do a thing about the 12 million illegals who are already here. But it could resolve the emotionally charged issue of people crossing our border illegally.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course this is all just spitting in the wind if our politicians continue to be either gutless talkers or mendacious panderers on this issue. And the current election cycle doesn't give me much hope. But if America's politicians do ever grow up and actually fix this problem, it would help if they'd look the story of Ellis Island for inspiration.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13824336736160456540noreply@blogger.com0