FREE KRAUT! » This Grill Contains links to the future: 03082010

This Grill Contains links to the future: 03082010

Hello everyone. I have survived my blistering work schedule and bring you a dump of my over-900 google reader, fresh with depressing sports news, depressing other news, and jokes about Godzilla.

But first, the Oscar was really for uncovering the xbox of the future.

Depressing sports news:

  1. My other favorite team signed Coco Crisp too.
  2. Oakland’s best feature is barely top-10
  3. Baseball cards are now an effective monopoly.
  4. The A’s suck at Rule 5.

Depressing Non-Sports News:

  1. “Well, the time has come,” said Barbra Streisand, before naming Bigelow. We’ll see that moment replayed for years.
  2. Maryland figured this shit out in 1977
  3. Political reporters don’t understand politics.
  4. This is true.
  5. 7/10
  6. People “debate” whether this is true.

Finally, as Congress nears actual passage, people should take a moment to read this. It’s a useful analysis.

Oh, and I believe I promised something about Godzilla.

182 comments to This Grill Contains links to the future: 03082010

  • nevermoor

    Good on Paul Ryan, although I still disagree with him.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    mk
      up

    Blrgmph.

    Since conservatives continue to swoon unashamedly over Paul Ryan and his near-unique ability to ability to discuss health care at some higher level than Fox News talking points — more examples of the Ryan love-fest can be found here and here — I should interject to point out that Ryan has proven fairly unable to defend himself.

  • monkeyball

    germs in play

    (Prediction: dmoas won’t click on the link, but will respond with a Darby Crash vid at youtube.)

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    dmoas
      up

    Can’t say I’d heard of Darby Crash. I was thinking more in lines with Bitten Index Finger Germs In Play or BIGIP.

  • monkeyball

    What a strange thing to say, indeed.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • monkeyball

    Hates his job / loves his job

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • monkeyball

    Lumbered nist!

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • nevermoor

    Sal bait.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    It’s not really bait for me. I don’t have anything approaching >layman’s knowledge of climate.

    nevermoor
      up

    Sigh. Never mind then.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  • nevermoor

    White People Are Not Terrorists, Part XVIII

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    Eh, I don’t really get the point. Is he saying there’s effectively no difference between attackers trained and financed by terrorist groups and a guy who acts alone?

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nevermoor
      up

    He’s saying our reaction should be similarly non-hysterical.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    I dunno. I think it’s perfectly justifiable to react more to something that is seemingly more threatening. That’s not to say that we should pass a whole bunch of legislation that won’t necessarily fix anything–just that I would expect our reaction to be different to an organized terrorist attack, as opposed to an isolated attack.

    I find it interesting that blogs and news outlets were quick to speculate on the Pentagon shooter’s ‘right wing tendencies’, which turned out to be the opposite. People react differently based on what scares them more. I’m scared of terrorists; bloggers and journalists are afraid of right-wingers.

    Maybe I’m misunderstanding the argument. I agree that we shouldn’t let terrorism paralyze us. But it’s not too tough to understand why an isolated attack by an angry American would be less frightening to some than an organized attack–the organized attack implies that someone else was behind it, and that more could follow.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nevermoor
      up

    I’m all for clear-eyed attempts to disrupt organized activities, but my point (fwiw) is that no one is (or should be) worrying about equipping IRS offices with SAMs or metro stations with TSA screening. The fact that a terrorist is motivated by religious fanaticism and has some non-sophisticated support in a third-world country shouldn’t change the calculus as much as it does.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    Honestly, to me, the religious fanaticism is scary, but not nearly as frightening as knowing that there are more people training for terrorist acts. You’re right–we probably overreact.

    But the religious and non-sophisticated aspects (which are probably more sophisticated than you’re saying) aren’t nearly as crucial as the fact that people are currently plotting to do more damage.

    I honestly don’t know what the solution is. I don’t know if the fixes people propose are the answer (I’d imagine that they’d be somewhat helpful, but likely a burden and not necessarily the most effective use of time and money).

    I do think it’s pretty ridiculous for people to say that the changes in security will prevent a future attack. It’s a false sense of security, since crafty terrorists will eventually find a way around whatever security protocols implement, unless we completely strip everybody of any right to privacy. And even then, the terrorists will just become black belts and learn the touch of death.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    mk
      up

    But the religious and non-sophisticated aspects (which are probably more sophisticated than you’re saying) aren’t nearly as crucial as the fact that people are currently plotting to do more damage.

    I think a group’s actual ability to follow through on their aims is pretty crucial. Part of our problem is that we tend not to make any distinctions between aspiration and capability. So a few hundred loosely coordinated fanatics holed up in the Pakistani hinterlands scare the crap out of a 300 million strong country that spends more on bombs and soldiers and jets than the rest of the world combined.

    Also, it’s important not to soft-pedal the “react more” bit. The issue isn’t that some people are slightly more scared about something that is, as you say, seemingly more threatening. I mean, I don’t like heights very much. Maybe nevermoor has nightmares about giant killer slugs. Maybe raw beets and bumblebees freak you out. To each their own. The issue is the institutional response that this overreaction wrought: we invaded two countries, launched missile attacks in a couple more, spent trillions of dollars, caused the deaths of thousands, displaced millions, suspended various civil liberties, and re-organized an enormous chunk of our government bureaucracy.

    monkeyball
      up

    Plus (and I’m not being entirely snarky here) there’s the whole post-Moneyball factor: after 9/11, everyone pretty much knew to defend against OPS, as it were. It’s become much harder for the underfunded underdogs to “compete.”

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nevermoor
      up

    EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK. Slugs.

    And yes, the last bit is what I was trying to get to. As for sophistication, dude put some explosive in his boxers. I could probably buy that kit online if I tried for an hour. This isn’t Jack Bauer stuff.

    It is worse to know there are people plotting, but not worse enough to blow trillions trying to stop them. Not only is MK right that we outspend the rest of the world, but my favorite fact along those lines is that if the US spent $0 on defense, NATO would still be the most powerful military alliance.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    Eh, I dunno. It just seems like we’re comparing apples and oranges.

    Yglesias is harping on the gub-ment for making stupid decisions in the wake of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks. That’s fine. Focus on that. The whole bit about how we don’t go crazy after an isolated attack seems disingenuous. As does the whole Muslim angle.

    Stopping organized crime is different from stopping random attacks. Likening the two seems to miss the point. A terrorist’s religion isn’t what we’re scared of. It’s the terrorism. There’s no real way to stop a random attack, but there are ways to stop terrorist attacks.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    monkeyball
      up

    Hold on a sec — the non-brown-people attacks certainly aren’t random. No, they’re not (sofar as I know) coordinated — but then even things like the shoe/panty bombers aren’t, from a certain angle, any more “coordinated” than some of the “random”/lone white nut attacks in this country.

    There certainly are or could be ways to stop these non-random non-sane non-brown-person attacks.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    JediLeroy
      up

    Poorly chosen wording on my part. What I meant to communicate was not coordinated with a group that has a history of terrorism.

    WTF do you want me to say here, man? I understand that there are ways to stop whitey from attacking. But these ways involve invasion of privacy and other things that you guys complain about.

    My point is that shooting a shotgun at a crowd of people is easier than shooting one bullet each at a lot of people. We are talking about efficiency here, right?

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    JediLeroy
      up

    Forgive my poor metaphor. At least I didn’t resort to poop.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    monkeyball
      up

    It seems to me that what the jihadists (as well as certain other a-holes like, say, Randall Terry) do is to exploit (and, yes, organize/provide material support to) the crazy/confused/violent/quasischizophrenic 20-something nutball men that exist in every society, class, and subculture. Whereas those guys without organization — but often with access to domestic discursive communities that share their paranoias and affinities, and provide technical information beyond what those individuals could achieve otherwise — do perform less efficient executions. But that’s, I suspect, more because they attack imaginary nexuses of political opposition than it is because of any sort of tactical organization. And there are many things — many legal, well this side of the grayest areas of legal methods — that can be done by way of monitoring/intercepting/stopping that kind of organized criminal behavior. So, no dispute there.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nevermoor
      up

    The point is we should react to underpants man the same way (or, at least, with the same absence of hysteria) as we do to this guy.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    I guess I just don’t understand what people mean by “hysteria”. I don’t like the terminology, because it makes it seem like people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

    Do you mean that they shouldn’t hastily try to “fix” everything right away in order to give people a false sense of security? If so, then I agree.

    But if you mean that we shouldn’t look for ways to prevent similar things from happening again, I agree less.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nevermoor
      up

    In the underpants example, TSA added comically non-productive rules, there was a political uproar, and there was breathless news coverage.

    In the shoe example, TSA added comically non-productive rules, but there was less of a political uproar.

    In the 9/11 example, there were two wars (one tragicomically unrelated), an entirely new government agency, destruction of important civil liberties, an embrace of torture, etc.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    an entirely new government agency

    Jobs!

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    monkeyball
      up

    Wozniak!

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Future Ed
      up

    Wasn’t it just a cobbling together of other gov’t agencies?

    JediLeroy
      up

    Probably. Who cares? Jobs!

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    mk
      up

    I agree that comparing a disturbed local person to al Qaeda is inapt. Though I also agree with monkeyball above (“It seems to me …”). Further, it pisses me off that I’ve never thought to use “discursive” in a sentence, aloud or in writing. It is a great word.

    Anyway, I just don’t have a lot of patience for this particular brand of fear, given the devastation it has underwritten. I think “well, it’s understandable” is sort of a grotesque elision, to be honest. The fear is not separable from the heinous shit it has engendered; by accommodating the former, we rationalize the latter.

    JediLeroy
      up

    The fear is not separable from the heinous shit it has engendered; by accommodating the former, we rationalize the latter.

    I agree with what you’re saying here. More than anything, I’m a bit irked by how Yglesias seems to be taking a somewhat misguided cheap shot at people for not reacting the same way. He ultimately wants everybody to have a level head regardless of the attacker’s identity or leanings, and that’s fine.

    I’m more bothered by what seems to be a mis-characterization of the right. Maybe it’s not. I dunno.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    sslinger
      up

    Wow, you see his “discursive” and raise an “elision”. Well played, sir.

    monkeyball
      up

    It was almost as if they were … organized

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    Ironic that you would post this.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • nevermoor

    I reflexively support Grant!

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    Future Ed
      up

    Didn’t reagan raise taxes, sell weapons to an enemy and pull out of a country after a terror attack?

    WHy is he so loved by those people?

    nevermoor
      up

    Huge election wins.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    Future Ed
      up

    Is it too much to ask that they not be hypocrites?

    PS increased the deficit and debt as well

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    NO REAGAN! GO AWAY GIPPER!

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • monkeyball

    AWE. SOME.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    monkeyball
      up

    Or, The American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nevermoor
      up

    I almost linked to something about that, but it makes me too angry.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    The law can be slippery! Better let me handle it for you!

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    dmoas
      up

    Oh look, a squirrel!!!

    Sorry LB, I have to keep you all out of jail.

  • ptbnl

    Now this is a graph we can believe in.

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
    monkeyball
      up

    What’s the pee-value?

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    andeux
      up

    nice

    TINSTAAFK
    monkeyball
      up

    Since I’m only a simple monkey, I can only offer a one-tailed test.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    ptbnl
      up

    Of course this graph of kettle-driven peak power consumption during momentous English events is more of a t-distribution.

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
    sslinger
      up

    Now that’s some social science.

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    wow.

    Think it wasn’t more important to them?

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    JediLeroy
      up

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
  • monkeyball

    Metaphor of the year:

    performs virtual colonoscopies at his Washington, D.C.-area practice

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • monkeyball

    LB, maybe you need to just move a bit east

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    Ol’ Gator scares me.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • monkeyball

    There’s apparently an official competition for the starting SS gig

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    batgirl
      up

    I was hoping Rosales would still be rad.

    monkeyball
      up

    I understand his Legion coach was Saul Alinsky.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    If the mummy believes that the kid’s got to earn it, why the fuck is he telling Shea that?! Is he retar…oh, that’s right.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    monkeyball
      up

    It’s the vanilla pudding speaking.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    asvd.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • monkeyball

    I think Kucinich is seeing Costas’ rug doctor

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • nevermoor

    Am I too much of a homer or is this a preposterous ranking system?

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    The average number attached to the Pirates farm system is 24. The average number attached to the A’s is 19. ni-ni-ni-nineteen.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    Future Ed
      up

    Are you suggesting killing the A’s prospects?

    mikeA
      up

    Someone did something similar on minor league ball (except it made sense instead of being stupid) and the A’s came out #1 or #2 (because all their good prospects are hitters.

    See you in the Value Deck
  • Leopold Bloom

    If my new computer can get from Hong Kong to Memphis via Anchorage in two days, how can it take four MORE days from Memphis to Sarasota?

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • JediLeroy

    This is why you’re fat.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    JediLeroy
      up

    Yeah, I know, it’s not really informative. Still kinda funny, though.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nevermoor
      up

    That’s one of the bigger institutional scandals, but no one ever does anything about it.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    monkeyball
      up

    Well, there’s the even larger scandal of general government appropriations being treated as a spoils system, with no reason whatsoever, whether it’s ag, nutrition, defense, or whatevs.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nevermoor
      up

    Sure but this is actively counterproductive on a huge scale.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  • mikeA

    So I was sitting in a cafe today, and this woman on her cell phone asks the room “what band was Keith Moon the drummer for?” I said “The Who.” The woman said “the who?” into her phone. Pause. It turned out she was talking to a friend who was on some sort of game show or radio contest or something, and got that trivia question. The friend thought the woman on the phone had said “who?” instead “the who,” and therefore didn’t answer and lost out on $200.

    See you in the Value Deck
    ptbnl
      up

    You could have avoided the confusion by answering The Escorts or The Beachcombers – she still would have lost the $200 though.

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
    monkeyball
      up

    The Aristocrats!

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    sslinger
      up

    Accompanied, of course, by the Drew Carey “L Snap”.

    Future Ed
      up

    or the high numbers

    sslinger
      up

    You should have said “the band that played the half-time show at the Super Bowl”, to which she would have said “the who?”, and you could have said “Yes.”

    dmoas
      up

    LMAO

    Poppy
      up

    Cash Cab!

    sorry but i have no suits. i dont think anyone ever did.
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    I can’t nobody has mentioned this video.

  • FreeSeatUpgrade

    I’ve been so busy I want to vomit, except that I’m too tired.

    I’ve nevertheless skimmed this fine Grill enough to say:

    I-3: Good. Collecting baseball cards was much more fun under the old monopoly.

    I-4: Does anybody not suck at Rule 5? I mean, since Branch Rickey?

    Oscar: I knew the mike-jacking during the Music By Prudence acceptance speech must’ve had a good story behind it. Lo and behold, it does!

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    dmoas
      up

    You know, when you lose a race down the aisle to the podium, you need to suck it up, lose a few pounds for next time, and not make an ass of yourself on national television. Total bitch move while being entirely incoherent.

    batgirl
      up

    Nice find–that was really weird.

    monkeyball
      up

    I endorse John Cole’s snap discriminatory judgment

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    dmoas
      up

    BURKETT: The final product, it’s not that it’s bad. It’s not what I envisioned when I came up with this project. And it’s not what we promised the boys in the band. It’s just not what we wanted it to be.

    Let me get this straight. You weren’t part of the final vision of the film. You wanted to make a completely different film. THIS film won an award and you think you’re entitled to accept awards for it? Seriously? It won an award BECAUSE of the direction the director & HBO took all the while you were opposing. Even working at cross purposes towards it. Get off your soapbox and STFU. Whether the movie is good or could have been better or should have been something else, you didn’t win this award, they did.

  • FreeSeatUpgrade

    The inside scoop from the guys who made the cool Rube Goldberg video we saw the other day.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  • mk

    This confuses me as well:

    Politico justifies its existence by the number of pageviews it gets in a day. The Atlantic just turned its site to shit to make readers view more pages. Yet every Internet user I know is blind to ads.

    There’s a big disconnect here, one that doesn’t seem to be recognized by any of the media geniuses who spend all day pimping their posts on Twitter.

    I have never, ever clicked on an ad. I don’t even see most ads.

    Roughly 65% of Internet users still browse with IE; maybe a sizable portion of that group is regularly intrigued by banner ads. Still, the page view/ad revenue model seems like a house of cards, as user sophistication increases and Firefox/Chrome (and therefore ad block) gain market share.

    At a certain point, you have to

    1. keep regular content free, create “premium features” that you charge for (Fangraphs, THT), or
    2. give away partial access, charge for full access (New Yorker, FT), or
    3. charge for the whole shebang, or
    4. rely on donations, or
    5. integrate ads into your content

    #5 is relatively easy to do on, say, a podcast (use humor) or a TV show (have the protagonist drink a Coke), but probably impossible to pull off in print without disavowing editorial integrity and/or alienating your readership.

    I wonder which option SBN will eventually choose.

    nevermoor
      up

    Eventually?

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    mk
      up

    Huh. Is that the norm all around SBN these days? (I haven’t visited in forever, and in any event seem to have irrevocably logged myself out)

    My reflex is to mutter an expletive and stop reading after “This post is sponsored by Comcast …”, but maybe it doesn’t bother people as much as I assume.

    nevermoor
      up

    The first one was an apology and a statement that there was no mechanism for actual content review, just that Comcast was paying for a weekly series on red zone issues

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    monkeyball
      up

    the page view/ad revenue model seems like a house of cards, as user sophistication increases and Firefox/Chrome (and therefore ad block) gain market share

    I think you’re making some erroneous assumptions there — and failing to make some other assumptions that should follow.

    A. I think you’re assuming FAR too high a degree of sophistication for the current and future web user — everyone is online now, which means that there’s a whoooooooooooooooooooooooooole lotta stupid people online.

    B. Take your revised sophistication metric from (A) … and lower it even further. “Everyone” being online isn’t like “everyone” voting — it’s really Ev. Er. Y. One. American Idol fans. Strike that — casual viewers of AI, who can’t really muster the attention span or energy level to even have a consistent interest in AI. People who can’t read are online.

    C. Ad tactics and technologies will continue to keep pace with both increasing (sub-) audience sophistication and increasing ad-block technologies.

    D. Likewise, platform/medium/format innovation will also keep everything in constant flux. In 12 months, “we’ll” “all” be on some new thing that we don’t currently have any inkling of — and the money/eyeballs/advertisers will follow. (Or, if they were smarter, lead.)

    E. Of course, advertisers are pretty dumb, too — remember, they kept newspapers in business for 100 years, with no idea of what they were getting by way of ROI. Advertisers are more sophisticated now, yes (certainly, their increase in sophistication has been steeper than that of consumers) — but they’ll still sink money into bad communications tactics (they just won’t sink very much money into any one particular channel).

    F. That said, there are a lot of smart, creative people on both the client side and the agency side (and on the medium/platform side; and sometimes synergistically on all sides at once), and there may be tactics in play that you don’t even know about that actually are influencing your or other folks’ decision-making.

    G.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    ptbnl
      up

    The articles I’ve been reading most recently seem to been converging on the idea that online advertising will increasingly be directed at micro-markets identified by social networking, and that the we will pay for “free” services not with our money but with our privacy.

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
    mk
      up

    I almost feel like I should join Facebook just so I can competently comment on the commodification of communication/identity.

    monkeyball
      up

    Can I have $5 your friend list?

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    andeux
      up

    I have this sudden urge to go buy some prescription drugs.

    TINSTAAFK
    monkeyball
      up

    I can recommend a drug that will alleviate those feelings.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    mk
      up

    Points taken/conceded.

    mikeA
      up

    American Idol fans.

    Unsurprisingly, I learn this includes Buan.

    See you in the Value Deck
    whiteshoes40
      up

    Hey, what are you saying about American Idol fans? I’m offended.

    whiteshoes40
      up

    And speaking of illiterate people being online (that group doesn’t include *all* American Idol fans, thankyouverymuch): I don’t know if y’all saw this a few weeks back, but I found it hilarious–and yet disheartening, when thinking about the future of our society… which is kind of the same feeling I get when working with college freshmen on their writing. Hmm. Anyway, an inordinate number of people thought that this blog post about logging into Facebook was actually the new Facebook login page. You’d think such a mistake would be impossible, but apparently that is not the case.

    Poppy
      up

    That’s horrifying… wow.

    Comment #966: James’ Journal. March 10th, 2010: The Internet is afraid. I have seen its true face. The ‘tubes are extended gutters and the gutters are full of quizzes and friend requests and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated stupidity of all their Farmville and Mafia Wars updates will foam up about their waists and all the middle aged women and 14 year olds will look up and shout “WTF?! I NEEZ MUH FACEBOOK OMG CAN I PLZ LOG IN!!”… and I’ll whisper “no.”

    sorry but i have no suits. i dont think anyone ever did.
    monkeyball
      up

    Actually, I wasn’t at all slagging on AIFs. I can’t stand the show myself, but everyone watches it — that was my intent there.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    mk
      up

    Interesting addendum.

    1. Site in distress. Ad block causing revenue to plummet.
    2. Site says “screw you, free riders”, gives a blank page (metaphorical middle finger) to ad blocking readers.
    3. Readers are not amused.
    4. Site backs down, retracts middle finger.
    5. Site also says: look, sorry about flipping you off, but you’re killing us.
    6. Now feeling remorse about unwittingly running the site into the ground, many formerly aggrieved readers whitelist the URL and/or sign up for premium (pay) accounts.

    mikeA
      up

    I go to a site that makes me turn off adblocker to keep using it, and I’ve wondered why more sites don’t do that, but I guess the answer is that at most sites it would be hard to let people know whey they were being blocked.

    See you in the Value Deck
    monkeyball
      up

    To stop those monsters 1-2-3,
    Here’s a fresh new way that’s trouble-free …

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    that’s most likely going to be impossible at some point. They haven;t figured out yet how to put a leash on it yet, but trust me, they will. There’s money to be made.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    nevermoor
      up

    Plus, you’d have to like the site to be willing to do it. And that makes it hard to attract new readers.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    dmoas
      up

    If your financial structure is built on forcing people to see ads and not be able to block them, you probably should rethink your financial structure. Yes, it hurts the bottom line, but forcing people to see things they don’t want to see is probably going to be bad for the bottom line. Same deal with pay-per-view sites. Ultimately if there’s info on the site you want to know about, you’re going to find it elsewhere for free and without ads.

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    If I force people to see my penis, is that bad?

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    monkeyball
      up

    You should probably rethink your psychosexual structure.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    Leopold Bloom
      up

    should I file for moral chapter 11?

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    ptbnl
      up

    Either that or 501c(3).

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
    dmoas
      up

    Probably. Cause I’d just find my pussy free and without your penis elsewhere.

  • nevermoor

    Promising third world inventions, Part III.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    FYI, I saw a guy test driving one of these around campus today. They look very cool.

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    Missed this the other day. They do good things at your school.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • nanotrebuchet

    I accidentally clicked on this. Are all non-Slusser/non-Poop SFGate bloggers this bad?

    monkeyball
      up

    All the ones at “City Brights” that I’ve happened across are.

    Basically, if they’re not a Chron staff writer, they should be avoided. Goodman, Michael Bauer, and John King are all great. I haven’t read Steinstra’s blog, but I’d imagine he’s really good.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    so…non-journalists will be the death of journalism?

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    exactly. As God intended.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
  • Leopold Bloom

    This station also plays way too much Rush. it’s almost like they’ve got a pro-Canadian stance…

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Do not knock Rush. They’re my favorite Canadian/objectivist band.

    JediLeroy
      up

    Right ahead of Nickelback.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    1. If your band name includes a metal of some kind, you have to fucking rock like hell. Nickelback FAIL.
    2. Excluding Rush from the Olympic ceremonies was an epic Canadian FAIL.
    3. What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy.
    4. I bet Neil Peart sleeps with, like, 50 pillows.

    dmoas
      up

    I thought Nickelback was what you get after realizing they suck. You get your nickel back.

    JediLeroy
      up

    Yeah, I stopped listening to the radio a few years ago, because I don’t like Nickelback.

    Actually, I haven’t listened to the radio since the nineties, other than the classical broadcasts on NPR. There’s so much music in my collection that I actually want to listen to that it makes no sense to force myself to listen to what other people think I should hear.

    For finding new artists, Pandora is the way to go (or was when I lived in a place that wasn’t IP blocked by the service).

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Yeah, I’m a fan of Pandora. When I gave it two artists and it extrapolated my whole iTunes based on a week’s worth of ups and downs, I was pretty impressed. And it’s good at finding things that I like that I haven’t heard before.

    I have a Canadian friend who tells me that there are Canadian content laws requiring a certain fraction of radio airtime be given to Canadian artists. This has the practical effect that Nickelback is played every hour.

    JediLeroy
      up

    This has the practical effect that Nickelback is played every hour.

    So, it’s just like America, but forced to be? I know that (TV caricatures of) Canadians are often quick to claim their celebrities, but I wonder if they’d claim Nickelback.

    I found a lot of really good bands through Pandora, like Built to Spill, Rogue Wave, and the Great Lake Swimmers.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Built to Spill is great. There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and Keep It Like A Secret are two excellent albums, and the song Cleo is a must-listen for parents-to-be.

    I saw them in concert a few years ago in Boston. It was not so great since a) the crowd was urban hipster douchebags and emo kids b) the background visuals were the Doug Martsch’s own brand of pretty bad photography. The band had basically no stage presence either. It was the second-most disappointing band I’ve seen in concert (the most disappointing was Cake).

    monkeyball
      up

    Flip side: the most surprisingly awesome band I’ve ever seen was Voivod. Triple bill with them headlining, my friends and I went mainly to see Faith No More and Soundgarden. This was … ‘89? ‘90? Small club in Cleveland.

    Anyway, we all thought Voivod was kind of a joke going in — weird Canadian suprematist mathrock. But, geezus, they blew the other two bands away. Like standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier with sorties taking off every two minutes. And the crowd was … well, frenzied doesn’t begin to describe it. We were all sitting in the balcony watching the scene below, just shaking our heads, wondering where all the Voivod fans in Northeast Ohio came from.

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    When I saw Sting at the Concord Pavilion (my first concert – I was 12), I was shocked that the opening bad, one-hit wonder Geggy Tah, brought the house down.

    I’m not a big Foo Fighters fan, but Dave Grohl knows how to do rock concerts.

    I’m not much of a concert-goer (especially in recent years), but I will say that the best concert I’ve ever been to was The Violent Femmes at the Greek Theater. Now that was a show.

    mikeA
      up

    The best live act by far is Sigur Ros. Blew me away.

    See you in the Value Deck
    mikeA
      up

    Also, I agree about Grohl. I don’t think I’ve heard more than 1-2 Foo Fighters songs ever, but I saw them at Bridge School awhile back and he put on a great show.

    See you in the Value Deck
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    I’m almost certain you’ve heard more than 1-2 Foo Fighters songs in your life. We’re the same age, it was impossible not to hear them even if you were just (for example) walking through the mall or playing baseball against a one-legged pitcher.

    JediLeroy
      up

    playing baseball against a one-legged pitcher

    Please tell me that euphemism is on purpose.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    mikeA
      up

    link

    See you in the Value Deck
    JediLeroy
      up

    Ah, ok. But I mean, what are kids at that age doing, anyway–if not “playing baseball against a one-legged pitcher”?

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    mikeA
      up

    My story took place during the dead ball era.

    See you in the Value Deck
    mikeA
      up

    The really notable thing from that comment is my NO HITTER!!! though.

    See you in the Value Deck
    mikeA
      up

    Also, I am a different man than the one whose repertoire included the term “schooled.”

    See you in the Value Deck
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    totally, brah

    nevermoor
      up

    Far out.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    JediLeroy
      up

    A’ight.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    JediLeroy
      up

    I love that your glorious sporting achievment is “schooling” the disabled.

    That’s like me scoring 30 points a game in a church basketball league.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    This was my most glorious sporting moment: I was sitting in a classroom eating lunch in high school. I was near the middle of the room. Somebody on one end of the room announces that he is giving his apple away. A student on the other side of the room claims it. The first guy throws the apple, hard, across the room. Instinctively, I stick my hand in the air and intercept the flying apple perfectly. The room breaks into applause.

    JediLeroy
      up

    I’m sure I could one-up sal, but FK’s formatting won’t let me.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    JediLeroy
      up

    I made a full-court shot at the recess bell in sixth grade.

    I often catch things with my feet, like falling drinking glasses, to save them from destruction. Once, I “caught” a frozen turkey that fell out of the freezer. Big mistake.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    monkeyball
      up

    Christ, what a basketball

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Feh. It wasn’t a perfect game,

    FreeSeatUpgrade
      up

    I once caught a no-hitter, Little League, age 11. We won 13-10; our pitcher gave up all 10 runs in the 3rd inning on a couple errors, a couple HBPs, and 10 walks…the inning ended on a 10-run-per-inning mercy rule. He was otherwise perfect.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    lenscrafters
      up

    My concert going experience is limited but Bloc Party has to be one of my favorite bands to see live.

    JediLeroy
      up

    Yeah, I’m a huge fan of their music. I’ve heard that the Shins (also awesome) are equally bad live.

    Strangely, one of the best bands I’ve seen live is Muse, though I’m not a huge fan of a lot of their music (I like maybe four or five songs). They put on a really good show, though. Disclaimer: I didn’t pay for the ticket–it was free, since I was on the guest list of the opening band, which my brother manages.

    As for urban hipster douchebags: lately I find myself making fun of mac-owning, indie-rock-listening weenies, both groups to which I belong(i.e., “I bet that guy owns a mac.”). At least I don’t wear skinny jeans.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    There is no pair of jeans in existence that could be considered “skinny” on me.

    JediLeroy
      up

    We should hang out some time. It’d be like Twins.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    lol

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    They claim Bryan Adams. They’re gonna claim Nickleback.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    Future Ed
      up

    Slightly off topic, but the greatest canadian is Nardwuar the human serviette. He has a great band called the evaporators.

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    Pandora scares me. I always think it’s reporting my illicit behaviors to Steve Jobs,.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    When you click “thumbs up” on Britney Spears, urban hipster douchebags who work for Pandora start laughing at you.

    JediLeroy
      up

    That’s almost iFSU proof.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    Poppy
      up

    LOL

    sorry but i have no suits. i dont think anyone ever did.
    JediLeroy
      up

    Also, nickel is totally soft.

    What metal are weenies made of?

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Gold, probably. Ridiculously soft.

    ptbnl
      up

    Emos are made of lithium.

    If this is His will, He is a son of a bitch.
  • monkeyball

    In high school, I was a featured breakdancer for Scratched With Dizziness

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • FreeSeatUpgrade

    Pretty hand-cut paper maps of cities:

    San Francisco:

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  • nanotrebuchet

    Leopold Bloom
      up

    GOD DAMN IT! STOP POSTING UNAUTHORIZED IMAGES OF ME, DAMN MISCREANTS!

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman
    Ice Cream
      up

    Christ, what a flag South pole.

    How can there be any "sin" in sincere?
    monkeyball
      up

    Fixed

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
  • JediLeroy

    So, any board game fans here? (I think mikeA was, IIRC).

    I recently found Carcassonne, which is a lot of fun. This site has off-brand Java versions of Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan available for free, along with ranked and non-ranked online play.

    I also recently found that Days of Wonder allows online Ticket to Ride play for about 10 bucks a year. I haven’t signed up, so I’m not certain about the price.

    Does anybody know of any other good board games that don’t take days to finish?

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Carcassone is awesome.

    monkeyball
      up

    Christ, what a Carcassone

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nevermoor
      up

    I got into this with iglew (or someone) on ** awhile ago with the goal being games with relatively simple rules suitable for 2 player when player #2 is my wife.

    I ultimately bought:
    Battle Line
    Carcassonne: The Castle
    Lost Cities (BG version)
    Dominion

    We really like battle line and LC (which scales up to 4 players). We played Carcassonne once and liked it but haven’t gone back to it. I haven’t been able to get her to try Dominion, which is somewhat more involved.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    monkeyball
      up

    {snerk}

    games with relatively simple rules suitable for 2 player when player #2 is my wife

    It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.
    nanotrebuchet
      up

    Hasn’t gotten her to try “dominion” yet, either.

    nevermoor
      up

    That’s where I thought we’d go first.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  • Leopold Bloom

    mini note book rocks. I write this as I lay prone in bed on my back with the laptop on my ample gut (see Artic picture above).

    I have not had wireless since 2005? I forgot how awesome this is.

    I caught my second wife screwing my step-dad. It's a cruel world, Walt. -Saul Goodman

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