Sent to "rememberingsteve@apple.com"

As James Cameron once said, "I'm not a perfectionist - I am a rightist." In other words, he wants things done right.

Steve Jobs seemed to have created and boldly embodied that way of life in business and technology more than any other in the history of the modern era. For all the flak from closed systems, proprietary technology, etc. -- Jobs knew that normal people - creative people - needed tools that were as beautiful as the things that would be created with it. Endless pursuit of designing the product so that all areas from conception to end-of-life -- marketing, advertising, engineering, materials, support, etc -- would work in harmony. What happened?

The world responded. This works. It just works. All of it, although most would say the user interfaces were the part that just worked. But, for all Steve's sensibilities (which are needed in so many companies, sigh) - everything about Apple "just worked." Tim is so apt to carry on his legacy (and it is his legacy), so good hands are on the wheel. But, we won't forget why we're all using PCs, touchscreen personal devices, and music/movies on demand anywhere and on any device.

That's what Steve gave us, among many other things in the last 35 years. Yes, I am typing this on a MacBook (although in Boot Camp using Windows 7). Why do I use it instead of a plastic laptop at one-third the price? Because it's beautiful inside and out, works flawlessly and lets me be creative on two dominant software platforms as a media director for two major television stations. Thank you, Steve. You won't just be missed. You'll be remembered for a long time to come.

And, my life wouldn't be the same if my 22 month-old daughter could not play her development games and hear her storybooks on our iPad 2.

 Until karma strikes again in the afterlife.

Interesting thought -- agree? "What atheists did and do? They invented nearly everything around you. They have the lowest crime rates (atheists make 0.209% of the prison population, christians make up 80% of the prison population), they are professors, doctors, inventors and mostly: humanists. Atheists strive for a naturalist, empathic world-view. Moral isn't something that comes from religion. It comes from intelligence (see crime rates, atheism is correlated with a higher IQ, (with religion vice versa)."

The TV setup on the cheap and the way I want

We got rid of DISH Network over a year ago since we were mostly watching about four channels and DVRing the same sitcom episodes to watch over and over. $60+ a month to do that? Preposterous. And that was just for television.

Fast forward to summer 2010. So, the kids are using their laptops to stream TV shows from Hulu, nbc.com and cbs.com (among other sites), and I bought a few Roku HD players for $60 each to stream quite a bit of content from Netflix (thanks for adding newer TV series!) and hopefully Hulu Plus sometime in the next month. These units are located in the master bedroom and the formal living room.

Is this ala-carte programming? Pretty close. Combined with OTA HD programming, the Roku boxes and a Blu-ray player that streams HD movies, YouTube and Pandora, we've covered a lot of ground for programming without any need for cable TV, satellite or u-verse -- all of which are $60+ a month, mostly for content we never would watch.

So, here goes (and this is why the face of TV is changing):

Netflix: $8.99/month for unlimited streaming of movies, TV shows, children's programming and a ton more -- and a single DVD rental out at a time to boot. A lot of the content is HD as well, for free.

Hulu Plus: $9.99/month for unlimited streaming of just about any TV show from any major network, even though we have to wait a day after it airs originally. Oh, and it's in HD. Again, for free.

Over-the-air broadcast HD programs: $0.00/month

High-speed internet: $44.99 to Cox for their 20Mbps service that feeds all this: four laptop PCs, an iPhone, and iPod Touch, two Roku HD boxes, an LG Blu-ray connected player, a Sony PS3, a Nintendo Wii and an IP camera to monitor a room in our house. That's a lotta WiFi goin' on.

So, for $63.97 a month, we get really fast high-speed internet (the "dumb pipe" by all accounts) and pay less than $20 per month as part of that total to consume as much television, movie, music and other content -- on any device throughout the house from game consoles to smartphones to STBs for the bedroom -- as we wish. There are some limits, yes. But, it's the content the family wants, when they want it, on any device they want it on, with no "appointment television" or goofy DVR fees and HD fees that the cable and telecom companies want to "fee us to death" with -- for 98% of the content we would never watch anyway.

Netflix seems ubiquitous everywhere (on all the Roku boxes, the PS3, the LG Blu-ray player and the iPhone/iPod Touch apps), and Hulu Plus is on the Roku boxes and on the iPhone and iPod Touch (via apps). The WiFi router in our house, amazingly, has not melted yet.

Just three years ago I would have not imagined we would be watching TV and movies this way (we rarely rent DVDs or Blu-ray discs). And, for so little money all things considered. Sound complicated? It isn't. Seriously.

Battery technology - or lack thereof

You know, I wanted to love Android. That is, Google's mobile operating system. I owned an HTC Hero from day one and bought the HTV EVO on day one. The Hero was laggy, crash-prone but a decent phone. The EVO, while absolutely cutting edge, was great for a while, then went south once I upgraded to the 2.2 software over-the-air. The "Froyo" version of Google's operating system killed my enthusiasm for Android. How? 1) The 2.2 software made all my streaming audio apps sound like AM radio (Pandora, last.fm and Slacker to name a few). 2) The HTC Sense system crashed more often (no, I didn't have any task killers installed). 3) The built-in Exchange client provided by HTC was far from useful - no real-time email push (even set to "as items arrive") and when it did work, it was reallllly slow. 4) the final nail in the coffin: battery life. The EVO has had pretty crappy battery life from the day I bought it, but with 2.2 I could not make it through a workday with light usage before the thing went dead. I was a slave to chargers everywhere: by the bed at home, in the kitchen at home (near the living room), on my desk at work and in the car. I had to keep this thing plugged in *constantly* to ensure I would not be holding a fully discharged phone every day, even with light usage.

So, the deal: while there were some world-class features on the EVO (and in Android in general), what is the point of having a smartphone if you're not mobile? That is, having to be charging all the time (making you "wired" instead of "wireless"). There were more apps I installed that I never used (they seemed cool at the time), like Fring, Ustream, Google gesture search, Chrome to phone and others. If I thought of even using some of these features, the battery would laugh at me and die instantly. Google: you've created a state-of-the-art mobile OS here (not flawless, but excellent). If you could test things before releasing them in a wide distribution, I'd be happier. How Froyo 2.2 got out of testing while being able to destroy the sound quality of the largest streaming audio app in the Android Market (Pandora) is quite unfathomable. But even worse (and this will continue to stymie most smartphones): battery technology. It HAS to catch up to the phone hardware and software. If folks are going to carry pocket computers all day, they can't have them going dead after half a 24-hour day (or in a quarter of a day if used). There are different expectations from consumers here: folks don't consider Android smartphones as equitable as laptop computers. They expect all-day performance, not five hours or less. It may not be fair, but it is what it is.

So, after a two-month love affair, I am going back to BlackBerry, and specifically the 8530. Before I started this Android experiment with the Hero last October, the aging Curve 8330 was a tank of a machine. Yes, the screen was ancient insofar as resolution and the features looked paltry compared to all the new touchscreen smartphones everywhere, but it worked perfectly at its core competencies. They are: email, texting, MMS, twitter, facebook, ebay, sprint TV, bank of america and on and on. Yeah, the browser stunk a bit -- and it still does in the 8530 compared to the WebKit offerings in the iPhone 4 and EVO. But, I'm prepared to step down from a mobile supercomputer to a functional smartphone if it can get me through the day (or a few days) with moderate usage and gives me the core functions I need (not the dozens of flashy apps that are svelte, but that don't get used). If Verizon gets the iPhone 4, I could honestly step into Jobsland; locked-down, totalitarian mobile atmosphere and all. I can't stand AT&T so the iPhone 4, for now, is not an option for me. It could be early next year. Maybe.

Or, if RIM decides to roll out newer phones with the BlackBerry OS6 onboard (like the new Torch has), I could stay with BlackBerry. A few things have proven true: the BlackBerry App World has all the apps I used frequently and the battery life on the newer units (like the Curve 8530 I bought this weekend after getting fed up with the EVO) is stellar. Or maybe it's just marginally better since my battery life expectations have gone true south ever since I've been on the Android bandwagon.

So, welcome back, physical keyboard and smaller screen. It's been a while. And the EVO? Fetched $420 on eBay within 24 hours of posting the auction. It seems they are sold out online and in most Sprint stores. I am assuming home and car charger sales are also spiking as folks realize they must have the EVO plugged in everywhere they are.

Maybe later, Google. For now, some serious engineering is in order with your platform and/or the Android smartphone manufacturers in terms of shoehorning basic core competencies into your smartphones.

Awesome video about the standard "sheep" mobile customer

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos on choices we make

Delivered to the 2010 graduating class at Princeton University....

Great James Cameron interview

He really knows what he is talking about here. If he ran a business (oh wait...he does), it would be larger than what Apple has accomplished in the last five years.

Ajami: The Obama Spell Is Broken - WSJ.com

Ajami: The Obama Spell Is Broken - WSJ.com

Follow this link and read after watching the below video -- do you agree?

Samsung HMX-U10 pocket 1080p HD camcorder

Just got this little bugger from Buy.com for $90 since it is four months into the market and is so incredibly outdated already (heh) -- it's amazing for such a small device. Who knew -- 1080p HD video recording in your shirt pocket! I wouldn't pay $180 for this, but at half that, it's a steal.

Barack Obama's Road to recovery employment chart.

Thoughts?

Barack Obama's Road to recovery employment chart

Google's smokescreen when it came to Google Buzz's rollout

Great analysis here of Google's ineptness when it came to rolling out Google Buzz. What a misfire.

Minority Report is here - astounding

Can you imagine buying a computer in 5 to 10 years that has this kind of interface instead of a keyboard and a mouse? This demo is by Oblong Systems, who created the faux-tech in the movie Minority Report. The tech is actually here now. Wow!

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

Op-Ed Contributor - Microsoft’s Creative Destruction - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - Microsoft’s Creative Destruction - NYTimes.com

Wow -- is Microsoft doomed in the next decade? Hard to fathom right now....but perhaps so.

Skynet is upon us

I've asked several friends over the years this question: are we, as a human race (not a colored race, regardless of color) better off now than we were 150 years ago? Has technology really made humans better? Sure, we do things every day that seemed like science fiction in 1980. We live longer (not sure that's a good thing). We marvel at all the advancements we've made in just the last 25 years. But then again, things are much worse than in 1860.

Many of us don't get outside to enjoy the thrills of nature as much as we need to. We don't have jobs or activities that get us moving, get us exercising. We live in secular little worlds with too much self-centeredness, too many pharmaceuticals clogging up a brilliant human design (note: not really alluding to anything religious there), and so much advanced technology -- designed by imperfect human beings -- that things are bound to screw up more and more and more as time goes by. I'm not on a James Cameron-esque crusade about the evils of advancing technology (and de-evolving humans in a way as a result), but maybe I am. Toyota's "car-thinks-for-itself" automobile computer programming glitches are just the first sign (okay, maybe the 123rd sign).

What's next? Designer computer viruses that can infect humans like biological viruses? Perhaps 1860 was not so bad after all. Plenty of sunshine, lots of exercise, great food (not the processed junk we all eat today) and a great all-around lifetime all things considered. Things are too complicated for the average IQ in 2010. We're becoming dumber. Food for thought (that is, organic, non-GMO food).

There's no going back to where we started

Does America need a fundamental economic reset: Startling words about this can be found here, to all those who love participating in the materialism holiday known as Christmas:

There's no going back to where we started

Computers getting closer to the human brain

Ray Kurzweil would be proud.

So incredibly inspirational...

Wayman Tisdale was such an incredible person. Barely knowing him as an OU Sooner (I was 12) and knowing how special he was in the NBA to Marci and I seeing him in concert back in 2007 at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, I've always admired the man as a model for so many of us. RIP Wayman. We love you.

Star Trek

I'm a pretty decent Star Trek fan, and at the private screening of the new Star Trek that Nick and I went to last night, all I have to say is WOW. The franchise is back in such a large way. I haven't been this excited about a comeback since ST:TNG (I still watch the reruns on any network they appear on). Man, talk about a mind-blower. Nick -- not even a Star Trek fan -- loved it also. Just perfect!

A bun in the oven

Yes, Marci is pregnant (almost 10 weeks now), and I've started a new blog at www.our2009baby.com. Head on over there and check it out if you're so inclined. We're incredibly excited!

We don't know what we don't know

Read this excellent article about the Allen Institute for Brain Science to see what I mean.

A quote by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Everyone gets a trophy

October 14, 2008
Our Everyone Gets a Trophy Economy
By John Tamny

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools." - Herbert Spencer

Any conversation with parents of school-aged children often turns to activities in the classroom and on the field. In U.S. schools today there's a concerted effort afoot to make everyone as equal as possible. While various affirmative action programs have been around for decades to compensate for unequal abilities, in school seemingly no one loses anymore.

Compassionate school administrators have apparently prevailed. Many children are especially sensitive to perceived slights and failures, and rather than force kids to compete, today's schools often make sure that everyone gets a trophy.

The same unfortunate mindset meant to shield children from reality has polluted U.S. economic policy. Rather than expose Americans to the very failures that teach us how to succeed, politicians are devising more and more ways meant to protect us from failure. And, they pass laws that keep others from succeeding so those who are not rich don't feel bad.

Taxation. Start with the presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. When McCain was asked in a November 2005 Wall Street Journal interview about his opposition to the 2003 income and capital gains cuts, he didn't oppose them on economic grounds. Instead, he felt they were "too tilted to the wealthy and I still do." Asked to clarify his position, McCain explained, "We have a wealth gap in this country, and that worries me."

In April of this year, ABC's Charles Gibson asked Barack Obama about capital gains taxes, specifically why he would seek to raise them at all "given the fact that 100 million people in this country own stock and would be affected?" Obama's response paralleled McCain's in that he would like higher taxes on capital formation "for purposes of fairness."

When it comes to taxes in general, Barack Obama has made it plain that he would raise the tax rate on the highest earners, while John McCain comforts his supporters with a promise that he would penalize the earnings of the rich at a lower rate. Both candidates miss the disincentivizing nature of taxation.

Realistically, taxes should be seen as a price or a penalty against effort. This is important because no matter how many times politicians tell us they'll stimulate the economy through income redistribution, the fact remains that economic growth is always and everywhere a function of productive work effort. Or, as Andrew Mellon (Treasury secretary under presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover) noted in Taxation: The People's Business: "when a man's initiative is crippled by legislation or by a tax system which denies him the right to receive a reasonable share of his earnings, then he will no longer exert himself and the country will be deprived of the energy on which its continued greatness depends."

Both Obama and McCain miss Mellon's point because in quibbling over the correct rate for the most productive taxpayers, they're advocating that success should be penalized at a higher rate than lack of success. That the vital, productive few create enormous opportunities for every American seems to concern neither.

Obama also embraces the notion of an earned income tax credit (first floated by free-market hero Milton Friedman) whereby those whose economic production is low will not only escape tax, but be rewarded with a rebate from the government funded on the backs of the more productive among us.

The message from our federal minders couldn't be clearer: if you succeed your reward will be higher taxation; and if you fail, government will embrace your failure through subsidies that reward a lack of productivity. In short, the broad economic message of both political parties retards economic growth by penalizing the productive in order to coddle those who aren't. Everyone gets a trophy whether it is deserved or not.

The pursuit of happiness. Some say that financial wealth is but one measure of success, and that it is misleading to measure success in terms of one's bank statement. At first blush this might make some sense, but only briefly.

To the extent that many Americans choose the arts, academia or nonprofits as their path to happiness, it must be understood why they're able to follow their passions. Indeed, behind nearly every artist is a wealthy patron whose success has enabled the painter to paint. One need only visit the various museums on New York City's Fifth Avenue to see that commercial success (see New York's Frick, or the board of directors for the Museum of Modern Art) is what makes the pursuit of a career in art possible.

While university teaching is often hostile to wealth creation, it's safe to say that a great deal less would exist (see the names on the buildings at Harvard, Stanford and University of Chicago to name a few) absent the eleemosynary nature of the rich. When Joseph Schumpeter wrote in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy that capitalism's "very success undermines the social institutions which protect it," he doubtless had academia in mind.

The economy's success also governs the work of charitable organizations. In 2007, charitable donations from Americans hit a record of $300 billion. But a recent newspaper headline noted that "Nonprofits Brace for Slowdown in Giving". Sure enough, nonprofits frequently only exist thanks to the generosity of the rich. And with the rich in many cases hurting in this uncertain economic climate, the ability of charitable organizations to continue their missions will be severely compromised.

So when it is said that the rich must give back, or that they must be taxed at a higher rate for the "greater good", those not rich should remind themselves why they get a "trophy" despite pursuing work that has little to do with wealth creation. Rather than greedy misanthropes, the rich are society's benefactors. Those who countenance their penalization will also pay the price.

Bailouts. As is well known now, weak-dollar mischief this decade (meant to aid ailing manufacturers) has distorted investment in favor of the "real" while fostering an investment slowdown. The bill for bad policy from Washington has in the past year brought such harm to financial institutions that many believe we're in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Sadly, much as in the '30s, rather than allow the prices of houses, banks and the underlying securities on bank balance sheets to reach market-clearing levels, the federal government has inserted various new rules along with taxpayer money to soften the pain. Even if we ignore the fallacious assumption that money taken from the private economy can be profitably put back in, we should at least question this "everyone gets a trophy" philosophy that says no one can fail.

Homeowners are already subsidized by preferential capital gains treatment, tax-deductible interest payments and government-funded mortgage securitization. Treasury Secretary Paulson has now asked lenders to "voluntarily" rewrite mortgage contracts, while instituting an 800 helpline to the federal government for those fearful of defaulting on payments. During the last presidential debate, McCain, presumably seeking the votes of the irresponsible, said if elected that he would "order the secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home-loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes." The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was, among other reasons, done so that the federal government could more aggressively step into the housing market with taxpayer dollars.

So while 95 percent of homeowners are still making their house payments on time, the government is subsidizing many who borrowed money that they won't be able to pay back. The tax dollars of Americans who waited out this decade's property boom in hopes of buying amid any downswing are spent to prop up the value of homes purchased by the irresponsible.

Short-selling. Short-selling of shares is a risky, but essential, market process whereby negative sentiment is introduced into the stock prices of publicly traded companies. But with various financial firms apparently unhappy with investor opinions of late, the SEC recently banned short sales of 799 firms supposedly harmed by those bears.

Investors had grown accustomed to parking their cash with money-market funds, but after holdings of Lehman Brothers debt led to a "breaking of the buck" in the Reserve Fund, the Treasury announced a $50 billion dollar bailout of money-market firms. The money for this will come from Treasury's exchange-stabilization fund. Somewhat ironically, the money that Treasury could have used throughout this decade to resist the dollar's decline will be used to stabilize the very funds harmed by Treasury's weak-dollar policies.

And with financial institutions still in trouble thanks to bad investments on their books, Treasury Secretary Paulson pushed a $700b bailout plan through Congress meant to buy non-performing assets from struggling financial institutions. Implicit here is the assumption that the federal government has a hotline to the future that private investors lack. Instead of reducing corporate taxes and other penalties on business success, the government once again coddles business mistakes rather than rewarding achievement.

Absent a policy climate that rewards economic failure and irresponsibility, much of what vexes us now would not, or at the very least would be far more contained. But thanks to a political class that believes everyone deserves a trophy, we'll never know what private economic actors might have done minus the presence of a money-wielding government. Whatever the ultimate result, the bailouts retard the process whereby devalued assets get into the hands of intrepid investors who possess huge incentives to make that which is hurting thrive.

Worse, the bailout culture will cruelly blind most Americans to the lessons learned through failure that very necessarily tell them how to achieve. Indeed, without failure, there cannot be success. So while everyone will perhaps get a trophy from the "benevolent" hand of Washington, it will be at the expense of long-term health and wealth for all.
John Tamny is editor of RealClearMarkets, a senior economist with H.C. Wainwright Economics, and a senior economic advisor to Toreador Research and Trading. He can be reached at jtamny@realclearmarkets.com.

This is why the current college generation is distrustful

When most Americans are fed up with paying higher prices and seeing greed on both sides destroy the American economy, you'll even find it at colleges and universities. Higher tuition costs? Hope you like paying for that university president's new poolhouse.

For crying out loud, are we alone or not?

Who knows. It would be interesting to at least find a few planets out there past our own solar system...

Space Olympics

Good pieces of cosmic candy -- this was incredibly original

Tony Snow's legacy just starting to be great

Another great has passed -- Tony Snow, even to far-left socialist pushmen, was a symbol of dignity in his short time at the White House. To be gone at 53 is just a travesty -- but to have influence and a legacy that will grow even deeper as time passes will hopefully wake many of us up. I don't mean that in a derogatory way; it's the difference between someone who makes decisions based on fact and those who conjure speculation based on mere emotion.

A less better place without you

Sometimes, people make us question ourselves. Make us question each other. Make us all better people by opening our minds, if only for a few minutes. Make us take notice of the world at large instead of our individual personal ecosystems.

They make us proud be to someone who is a citizen of the United States. Make us lucky to be here, observing the grandest, united institution ever created. Make us believe that if we have moments of honesty outside our selfish lives, that maybe we can all be the better for it in some collective way.

You can be left, you can be right. You can be a tree-hugger, you can be a Hummer driver. You can be self-serving or self-giving. But, don't forget the people in this world who balance out all our irregular sides into something that helps civilization continue with a smile on its face.

Google is Skynet

I have a feeling Skynet from the Terminator movies is manifesting itself in the real world through Google. If you want to melt your noggin reading about the sheer scale of Google's massive computing infrastructure, see this. Then, say "hasta la vista, baby."

Who will you vote for President in 2008?

Obama? Clinton? McCain?

Or, Paul?

Who?

Watch this and see what you think -- regardless of if you are a Democrat or Republican.

The iDontcareanymorefornow

Ok, I'm a techno junkie like many of you, but I don't spendtons of money on gadgets. They must have a practical and useful purpose (as opposed to just being pretty), so with all the Apple iPhone madness this week, I'm just about as tired as can be on the device and the marketing hype that Apple created and then spawned into the world. I'll make up my mind once I can pick the unit up and play with it. Until then, I'm of the mind of iCouldcareless. My mind, though, reserves the right to change. And, it probably will, but for now, I've had it up to here (raises hand to head) with the iPhone.

Seinfeld's still got it

The guy is 53 and living handsomely off royalties of various Seinfeld stuff from the long-running (and unbelievably popular) "Seinfeld" sitcom that ended in 1998 on top of the TV world. Yet, he still continues to tour and do stand-up and he's as good as he ever was. Count him in at age 53 (he's still got it) and George Carlin (he's still got it at 71) and he's just a great act in person. Most of Oklahoma City showed up last night at his performance here and were treated to a very good 90-minute show. Did I see a bead of sweat? Not one -- and he's still as funny as hell. Thanks for the awesome seats, Jaime!

Wal-Mart in person

Holy cow -- I've never been to a Wal-Mart annual shareholder meeting before (although I've covered them from live webcasts). The actual event, which I traveled to Bentonville for this past week, was more like a circus and entertainment venue that a shareholder meeting. Pretty neat stuff to see in person, and even better with full media passes to some great seats and up-close coverage. Whew though, the thing began at 7:00am and I was outta the hotel to be first (or 2,000th) in line at 6:15am. Man, they start these things early. Catch my mind-blowing four-hour coverage here.

Mark's contribution from the Big Apple

A shout out goes to my stepbrother Mark Conine who graciously snapped this once-in-a-lifetime image today while working relaxing in NYC's Chinatown. I wonder if this place serves MSG desserts?

As we steep deeper into personal, corporate-subsidized excess

This little snippet, published almost 90 years ago in Forbes magazine, says it all. Don't be so obsessed with the material that you don't enjoy the immaterial.

My 5,000th blog post

Well, after a little under 17 months, I've officially written over one million words in over 5,000 blog posts for various properties at Weblogs, Inc. (an AOL company). Woo hoo! The blogs I write and edit at include:

• www.thewirelessreport.com (now retired)
• www.bloggingstocks.com
• www.bloggingbuyouts.com
• www.thatsfit.com
• www.engadget.com
• www.engadgetmobile.com
• www.thecancerblog.com

All things considered, I can't believe I hit a milestone like that in such a short time. Man has it gone by fast.

Since I've written over a million words, perhaps a book is in order. Now, what do I want to write about. Hmm...

Jay Leno hits the nail on the head

Do you agree with the below? This is so incredibly true, and it's another vote in the ballot box on what I've maintained for years: the media is the most destructive force in the nation. Now, on with Leno's comments...but wait, they really aren't his after all. The below still rings true to many of us ;-)



The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking . ''What we are so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having topresent identification papers as we


move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is
what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander in Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it ... are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain, OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful butt every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a "general" discharge, an "other than honorable" discharge or, worst case scenario, a "dishonorable" discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should  thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides,flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Jay Leno

Companies that are getting naked

Is your company naked? If not, read this article and then think again. The power is shifting to the consumer audience, not the closely-guarded PR department. It's a new world out there, folks. Damn it's good to be a blogger ;-)

So many celebrities are hothead egomaniacs

We all know that divorce and children can be a mix that is handled with delicate gloves. This is generally lost on Hollywood celebrities, that left-wing group of talented performers that have no clue how much they are out of touch with the real world. That rant aside, thanks (Alec Baldwin) for the damage you've done to your daughter (click to listen). And Americans keep breeding kids that are psychologically hampered the day they are born due to parental (in)actions. Nice.

Themes on material excess

A few songs that I king of like jamming to while driving deal with what I would consider material excess -- a theme I see all too often in the days of McMansions and huge SUVs. A few faves? How about Big Time by Peter Gabriel and Workin' It by Don Henley. Check the lyrics out.

Virgina Tech shooting

An opinion I agree with -- read on.

Darrell Hammond at it again

The only saving grace on SNL these days is some of the short clips featuring veteran performers -- like Darrell Hammond. He's one of the best in the last 20 years I think. Watch him being Don Imus below. Truly friggin' funny.

Internet democratization -- good or bad?

Although it's great to see the end of the big, corporate agendas in mainstream media, is the opinion and view of every blogger a good replacement for much of the worthless, consume-everything tripe that consumes mass media these days? See what this pundit has to say...

Powered by ScribeFire.

George Orwell's 1984 coming true

This is a little scary, but not unexpected these days in the media-fed "be scared of everything" nonsense that has assisted in ridding many western countries of liberties and certain freedoms. Ok, maybe I should live off the grid and blog anonymously from now on? Just give me municipal WiFi and a box under a bridge.

I agree with Oprah on this one

Although Oprah's ego can get a little too inflated sometimes and her show's guests check their brains at the show's sign-in, I completely agree with her on this viewpoint. This is yet another example of why marketing and advertising is a force that many parents fail to shield their children from -- and look what happens. "I want an iPod -- to hell with homework!" Bleh -- nice generation we have coming up here, yes?

A line from Peter Drucker

It's not what you achieve, it's what you contribute. Like this man -- we should all be so noble.

The first iPod commercial

I remember seeing the very first Apple iPod commercial back in 2002 and thought it was great. This was before the color "silhouette" commercials became popularm and it demonstrated the power of taking your own content with you. The iPod would go on to rule the world of digital music as millions probably started dancing in front of their PCs like the guy in this commercial spot. I still giggle watching it :-)

Buffett's predictions from 1999

This article is worth a look if you follow Warren Buffett...

Pat Green Concert, November 11, 2006

This was a great concert last Saturday night at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, Oklahoma that was just completed this summer. Now there's a bit of Vegas even in Oklahoma City!

Pat Green puts on one hell of a show for a Texas guy :-)

Nice Fake Mac Ad

This is the damn funniest "fake" Apple MacIntosh ad I've ever seen. Highly recommended for everyone, but especially WindowsXP fans. Heh.

Malnourished with fruits and veggies

This blog post over at Xtend-Life says it all -- we're all eating fruits and vegetables culled from overextended growing "factories" and if there were vitamins and minerals in these fresh products before, they have since disappeared in the name of corporate profits and very inferior products.

The word on warranties: Don't bother

Do you buy warranties on anything you purchase these days? I am especially wary -- and you should be too. Why? Because strangely, things rarely break these days.

Blogosphere Leaders and Losers

This is a great but simple rundown on why some bloggers matter and many don't -- even if the bad ones are quite intelligent. Call it the "monetary psychology" of the blogosphere these days.

The Death of Radio

Sometimes John Dvorak is a little snarky, but he' right on here regarding the sad state of regular radio broadcasting. Long live satellite radio and podcasting!

Although this is the second post in a few weeks about terrestrial radio, it's one thing that I have given up as of January 2006. It's gone, out of my life and not at all forgotten. That industry is in a slow demise. Poor babies.

The Demise of Radio

This blog post over at Newsome.org reminds me why I haven't listened to a lick of terrestrial radio in about nine months. Way (way) too many annoying ads, boring playlists and sappy deejays and a complete waste of my time. Buy XM or Sirius and take control of your listening. I had XM until recently but plugged in the Sirius One (I love this thing!) and will *never* go back to terrestrial, commercialized ClearChannel radio. With iPod integration, gigs of music at your fingertips and with satellite radio on the playing field, radio can't -- and will not -- survive unless they are able to stuff 51 minutes of ads per hour into the programming. I am sure that will really drive people to the radio then (chuckle). It's called "market disruption", ClearChannel -- look into it, innovate a little (HD Radio is bleh, boring -- no added value) -- then call me back.

Over and out.

Lawmaker wants to shoot Madonna into space - Sep 14, 2006

For crying out loud -- with all else happening in the world, some goofy Russians are -- well, trying to get into the news with cheap parlor tricks I guess.

National TV debut...of sorts

Well, after folks at AOL (one of the companies I contract with) telling me that Ask.com was running national television ads featuring a quote from yours truly, I finally saw that spot on TV today while chewing through an episode of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. I tried to catch the ad during the recent U.S. Open, but alas, it was hard for me to watch tennis this year with so much else going on, so I missed it on prime-time.

The full-page New York Times ad that came out at the end of July featured my quote as well alongside Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal, so it was kind of cool -- make that *very*, super-like cool -- to see my quote in a national television commercial. The link to the commercial I grabbed from my DVR is below in Windows Media format if you want to take a peek (3.9MB).

Download the Ask.com commercial

How to Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger - WikiHow

Someone who just doesn't get it...for the most part.

Remembering 9/11

Although I was safe in the Midwest the morning of 9/11/01, nobody alive at that moment in time will ever forget what transpired on that day here in the good 'ole USA. To that, please take a moment of silence today to remember those lives and those still living that were forever affected by this terrible trajedy five years ago today. Peace all.

One of those surreal moments

This was one of the weirdest cloud formations I've seen in quite some time, and was snapped while driving to my stepbrother's 40th birthday party this past Friday. The sun was coming out of the top of the cloud formation in a very neat but odd sight. Maybe it was a sign of things to come, as I would not make it home that night. Thank goodness for extra beds somewhere in the vicinity ;-)

Thursday night paradise

There's just nothing better than enjoying a Jamastran cigar, a Red Stripe Jamaican beer and then settling in to enjoy the original CSI in HD and 5.1 surround. Who said Thursday nights weren't perfect?

The Internet is a series of tubes

This is Jon Stewart at his best over at YouTube. It shows just how hopeless our government is regarding telecommunications technology that has shaped, and will continue to change, the face of the U.S.

NBC launches news vlog

NBC launches news vlog

You know when NBC and Brian Williams decide to have the top stories available as "video podcasts" -- or vlogs -- that online media is yet again changing the way Americans consume media.

New York Times to change format, revenue disappoints

New York Times to change format, revenue disappoints

Dont'cha just love when predictions come true? The New York Times, which has steadfastly refused to bow to the power of real-time Internet media and bloggers -- among other things re-shaping the world -- is changing up its operations in a huge way.

Welcome to the 21st media century, NYT.

My last travail into brick-n-mortar retail

As many of you do, I "sometimes" visit physical retail stores to sample products and just look around. Specifically, I am talking about electronics stores like Best Buy and Circuit City. Strangely, I enjoy shopping at Circuit City much more now because the stores are much, MUCH quieter (no loud hip-hop blasting over the speakers where it makes concentration hard). Yes, Circuit City has much less foot traffic than Best Buy, so this is not really a good thing for Circuit City.

Anyway, since I rarely buy anything directly from Best Buy anymore -- they are my "touchy-feely" showroom before I go online to Amazon or Buy.com and save oodles of money with no taxes and free shipping -- I occassionally wil buy something there just to try it out. Hey, they have a 30-day return policy if you're unsatisfied, and I take full advantage of it :-)

The reason I rarely shop there has a little to do with how high their prices are compared to finding the exact same product online for much cheaper (eBay, Buy.com and Amazon always toast Best Buy's prices), but it's how I'm treated when, gasp, checking out. I constantly am pitched magazine subscriptions and extended warranties just trying to buy a disposable MP3 player or USB flash key. They way the checkout clerks try to personalize this line blows my mind: "Sir, with your MP3 player purchase today, you're qualified to try any of these free magazines -- which would you like today"? That's a pretty hard direct sales pitch, with a semi-decent close line. I'd love to have been in the slightly-above-minimum-wage training session where they drone this line into checkout employees, who say it like a badly-acted, robotized stage line without emotion or even eye contact. Jeez Louise. I could be buying a loaf of bread at Best Buy and I'd get the same treatment: "Sir, because of your purchase of Wonder Bread today, ....". More Best Buy marketing genius at work. It's the exact same EVERY time I buy any item at Best Buy. You know what? Not only do I not buy anything at Best Buy any longer -- even to try out -- I don't visit its stores in person or online as well, unless there is something only they have that I need, which is rare. I don't need stupidly-pitched hard upsells when buying a $50 MP3 player, nor do I need an extended warranty on that $35 clock radio.

Recently, I went to make a deposit to one of my bank accounts through the drive-through at a Bank of America location. The clerk is friendly and all is well -- then, she sends my receipt for the deposit back through the pneumatic tube -- and tries to pitch me on something I never asked for. Folks, I understand suggestive selling -- from fast food restaurants (that I don't eat at, ever) trying to upsell everyone to "Biggie Size" or "Add a Coke" to this Bank of America ploy: "Sir, we'd love to give you two tickets to the Redhawks baseball game (local MLB farm club) this evening if you'd apply for a new Bank of America credit card". A credit app comes in the tube with my deposit receipt. Yes, the last thing I need is a credit card. I hate them. I carry one only, and it's balance is small. Yes, I'm one of the few who believe you should pay for things you have (I learned this the hard way), so I am not a credit junkie.

Not only did this credit card upsell come at me from a blind angle -- which was annoying enough -- the 1/2-page credit app was something I would see from a pawn shop in the ghetto or barrio. It was a half-page photocopy in both English and Spanish, and it was probably a tenth-generation photocopy since the entire app was off-center on the 1/2 page and it looked like an old newspaper article from the 1950s. This is the presentation Bank of America wants to give a new credit applicant -- let alone one that is a long-term customer with multiple accounts?

My point is this -- I know retail establishments are hiring these Harvard MBAs to increase sales and deposits -- but a second-grade education could give me these ideas. Not only do they annoy your customers, they drive customers to competitors as well. Like I said, Best Buy rarely gets my business, and this recent Bank of America upsell thing -- which I giggled at and politely dismissed to the teller -- grated on my nerves a little. These examples are not even close to being innovative marketing -- they are annoying "used car" sales pitches. Anyway, I'll reserve harsher bashing on Bank of America until I see this ridiculous credit card upsell a few more times, but I may switch my accounts to a more local bank who treats customers with respect and doesn't push things that customers never asked for in the first place.

Now you understand why I like to prefer online business and purchases if at all possible -- no annoying people and upsells, if they exist, are a click away from oblivion.

WWdN: In Exile: i meant every word i said

WWdN: In Exile: i meant every word i said

Another great post, Wil. I've sat on my back porch many a' time listening to XM via DirecTV with a glass f Merlot and a decent Macanudo or Hoyo stogie, so this post just kinda took me back there.

You lost that one, dude, but you really gained it all back. You know what I mean.

AOL News - Lay, Skilling Convicted in Enron Trial

AOL News - Lay, Skilling Convicted in Enron Trial

After having watched the Mark Cuban-produced "The Smartest Guys in the Room" recently, I've followed the Enron trial (for former execs Lay and Skilling) since February when it started. Well, today, the verdicts were read: both men were found guilty on almost every charge before them. Lay was grilled with a guilty verdict on all six counts while Skilling was found guilty in 19 of 28 charges against him. Sentencing was set for September.

And so passes the case against two wealthy executives that were at the helm of the business world's Titanic-esque collosal collapse, Enron. These convictions will no doubt be discussed at length all over the web this summer before the sentences are handed down.

In my opinion, both are receiving exactly what they deserve. And now, life goes on :-)