This is a blog

Before Facebook it was how we wrote things that nobody cared about reading and shouted look at me, me, me!

Yuck, yuck. Funny thing is, I still follow more blogs via Google Reader than I do people on Facebook. And I pay more attention to them than I do Twitter. And while I love the effort, Google+ is just kind a playground for the more nerdy types to create longer posts than they can on Twitter.

Now get off my porch. I have to watch my programs, then read my newspaper. ;-)

Better than tech

Despite being a so-called nerd or geek, there are some things I still prefer the old fashioned way. Sometimes I have to force myself to admit that just because something can be automated doesn't mean it should be. Sometimes it makes me want to become a Luddite. Some examples, in various degrees of severity:

Paper books - ebooks are great for traveling, and for saving space, but have no charm. There's no tactile enjoyment and I get sore thumbs from every model I've tried to use for any length of time. Nothing can replace the texture, feel, user-friendliness, or even the smell of a good book. Bookstores and libraries continue to be wonderful places to hang around and browse. As a comparison, browsing the Kindle store is an imitation that brings to mind the Allegory of the Cave.

Cash - I am a die-hard debit card user who rarely has any cash, but.... it is good that there is still a form of currency that is not readily traceable, and it does discourage overspending. When it's gone, your done, rather than hoping the purchase will float long enough that an overdraft charge won't kick in.

Cashiers - win hands down over automatic check out.
It: "Please place the item in the bag!"
Me: "Don't shout at me you stupid machine, it's in the f*****g bag!"
It: "Item did not scan!"
Me: I've dragged it every possible way over the scanner, you stupid f*****g piece of s**t!" You get the message.
This usually continues until the nice person monitoring the six stations comes over to offer to check me out the old fashioned way.

Paper ballots - the more I learn about them, and the longer I work in a large corporation, the more the very idea terrifies me.

CDs and DVDs - here, I don't have as much invested in the physical product. The cover art is nice, but if I want to see that it is available online. I love the flexibility of digital media: variable playlists, not having to swap CDs in the car after only a dozen tunes, and best of all, not having to buy twelve songs when I'll only like one or two at the most. Streaming movies is nice, too. I don't even have to drag my butt off the couch and stand in front of the DVD shelf trying to decide what to watch, and then waiting impatiently for the Blu-Ray player to think about opening, swallowing the disc, then regurgitating several minutes of pre-movie ads, previews, dire warnings against copyright violations and promos about the wonders of Blu-Ray!

What do you think? What did I leave out? What do you vehemently disagree with?

Libertarian without the crazy stuff

I like that description. I stole it from a Scott Adams Dilbert Blog post. He said:

"I should disclose my own biases on this topic. I have described my philosophy as "Libertarian, but without the crazy stuff." Libertarians are for personal freedom, small government, and a defensive-sized military."

He has a qualifying example that explains the "crazy stuff" that libertarians (with a big L) might not have a problem with:

"That sounds good to me. But I think a better objective is something along the lines of maximizing the public's long term happiness. So while a libertarian might favor allowing his suburban neighbor to operate a bazooka firing range in his back yard, I'd be against that, even if it required a slightly larger government to prevent it. "

And this next part is spot on!

"Furthermore, I believe that if you identify with any political group or philosophy that has a name, you are far more susceptible to confirmation bias* than someone who doesn't. And as a general rule, I don't trust anyone with a strong opinion on a complicated topic."


* Google that one - it's something we all do to some extent. Guilty as charged, I'm sure.

Another Friend Gone Too Soon

You never know when a visit with a friend is going to be the last. Years of lunch-time escapes and afternoon walks around the office seem to be a mere moment now. Glad we had a few more lunches and trips the the computer and hobby shop in the last couple of years.

Auf Wiedersehen, Mike!

Tales From My Mispent Youth (in no particular order) Part 1: Crime and Candy

Many of my youthful adventurers involved the U-Totem store a few blocks up Federal Blvd from our house. From trips with my siblings to buy candy bars during the glorious pre-school days to stops on the way home from Sheridan Middle School. I remember them costing 5 cents for about a day * (I'm that old! Really. You'd never guess, though.), then 10 cents for some time before inflation really got rolling and entered my vocabulary. 15 cents hung in there for awhile, before 20 cents made it's oh-so-brief appearance before the unheard of 25 cents. One quarter of a dollar for a bar of candy! Insane! There's no sense in going any further with that – we all know how that turned out.

As for those siblings of mine, they were along for the accidental beginning of my youthful life of crime and candy. The four of us (Patty – oldest sister, Sharrie – next oldest, Randy – older brother, and me) trekked up to the U-Totem for a group candy foraging expedition. It was quite an adventure for a five year old, walking along a busy suburban thoroughfare, clutching my sisters hands for safety, as my brother would likely have had far more important things on his mind. This was, to my knowledge, the first time I'd ever been this far from home without parents along to ruin the fun. Things went fine getting to the store, and I remember clutching my dime and perusing the candy isle, blissfully examining everything for maximum enjoyment value. Having made my selection, I joined my brother and sisters at the counter, as they were no doubt ready five minutes before me.

Now, I was a shy kid, and spent a lot of my youth looking at the floor in the presence of strangers. The tall, gangly teenager working the impossibly high counter would have been high on the intimidation scale. Also, I had the attention span of a gnat. I was a daydreamer. I was already lost in the revelry of imagining the rapture of unwrapping and devouring my candy. All I remember is the hustle and bustle of the transaction, as we all moved as one, out the door, kitty-corner across the parking lot of the Husky gas station next door. It was about then that I noticed that in one grimy paw I was clutching my candy bar, and the other fist was still holding my dime! Oh, the horror! I was now a criminal. A wanted felon at the tender age of five! Thankfully, my older siblings, wiser in the way of the world, calmed me down, and took me back in to explain my accidental theft and clear the matter up.

Ha! They immediately began taunting me, telling me I was going to go to jail. My wailing, bawling and pleas for them to take me back to make immediate restitution did no good. They teased me all the way home. It was the worst candy bar I've ever eaten. I probably spent the next two weeks fearing every ring of the phone or the doorbell, expecting the police to be catching up with me at any moment.

* See The Hershey Bar Index (http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html#candybar) for some historical data. Hereshey's is a good index, and most candy bars cost the same amount.