Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

You are here: Home / Archives for common sense

common sense

Dr. StrangeGun.

…Or How I Wish I Could Stop Analyzing and Enjoy the Movies.

When I was a kid, there were three things I loved – listening to live music, watching live theatre, and going to the movies. In short, entertainment needed to be live or larger than life to jazz me. As I grew up and became a professional musician, my love of live music was tempered by my knowledge. In other words, since I was no longer blissfully ignorant, a slightly out-of-tune french horn or drummer that rushed a little really bugged me – to the point where I could pay attention to nothing other than what to me were glaring errors. Kind of a bummer, really. Can’t tell you how many otherwise fine events have been spoiled for me that way. [Read more…] about Dr. StrangeGun.

What does “American-Made” mean?

The Big Three schlep back up on Capitol Hill, hats in hand, massaging the road sores they got from actually driving from Detroit to D.C., where they will beg for bucks once again. They are in hopes that their performance will be a lot more convincing – not to mention, vastly less tone-deaf – than their last appearence. In the meantime, we’re treated to a parade of concerned Senators and Representatives who wail that, without an immediate bailout, The American Automobile Industry Will Come To An End As We Know It.™

Hogwash.

In order to understand why, you have to grok that there are really TWO American automobile industries – the traditional one in Detroit, and the one that exists everywhere else. [Read more…] about What does “American-Made” mean?

A little housekeeping…

Well, campers, the readership of Captain Digital Speaks! is growing by leaps and bounds. That’s good. Unfortunately, along with that growth comes a bunch of associated problems – mostly of the spam variety. At first, it was enough to simply delete entries that were obviously spam. That worked for a while, but as you would expect, spammers have gotten increasingly more aggressive, not to mention crafty. Whereas before, I’d get a comment that was obviously spam (my favorite had to be the Viagra ad that was posted in reply to a piece I wrote about the Episcopal schism). But recently, the spammers have gotten sneaky – they’ll actually reply with some text that looks as if it’s a real comment…but then link back to a bogus website that either attempts to sell you the latest in sexual dysfunction products, or (even worse in my book) attempts to infect your computer with a variety of virus code. Not fun.

So with something of a deep breath and a great deal of trepidation, I’ve reconfigured the blog to require everyone to register before commenting. Furthermore, I’ve implemented a WordPress plugin that is designed to detect bots and gently discourage them from registering…or posting.

Frankly, I’m a bit fed up with idiots trying to spam this blog. I’m trying to share what I know with a larger audience. It’s a lot of work to post on a daily basis. While I enjoy all the “real” feedback I get, having to deal with a bunch of second-raters who parasitically glom onto creative work and then use it to spread their useless snake oil wares is a colossal waste of time. I’m in hopes that I can eliminate the spammers from the site, and get back to spending my time talking about marketing.

If you have any problems with the registration process, please let me know.

Ayn Rand was Right.

I think most people go through life paying attention to their own specific interests, all the while blotting out what’s happening around them. They only wake up when something dramatic happens, or when it’s too late to do something about whatever it is that’s suddenly captured their attention.

9/11 is a case in point.

Aside from CIA, FBI, and NSA people, most people living in the pre-9/11 world had no concept of the danger we face from Islamic fascism.

That’s human nature, I suppose. We tune out most things that happen around us, because, frankly, we just don’t have the bandwidth. But that’s a dangerous habit when it comes to personal safety/homeland security. I’ve also come to believe that it’s equally dangerous when it comes to society and culture – specifically pop culture. [Read more…] about Ayn Rand was Right.

Thoughts on Barbara Bush.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush
Former First Lady Barbara Bush

Before there was a “W” in the White House, and before there was even a “President Bush” there was a campaign where Ronald Reagan ran for the White House against 1-term President Jimmy Carter. Reagan’s running mate was George Herebert Walker Bush, U.S. Congressman, U.N. Ambassador and director of the CIA. I was living in Shreveport, Louisiana at the time. As was the custom, the candidates and their wives spent virtually every day on the road, campaigning. For the opening of the Reagan-Bush/GOP headquarters, the campaign sent Barbara Bush to cut the ribbon and say a few words. I was a fledgling radio guy – the News Director for my college radio station, and the appearance of a candidate’s wife was newsworthy. So I hopped in my ’65 Galaxie 500 and motored downtown to check things out. Had little idea of what I was doing, mind you – just thought it would be cool to attend an opening.

When I arrived, a couple of people recognized me…my father was fairly well-known as a local musician, and some of his friends were movers and shakers in the local GOP. As the event was winding down, one of them asked me if I’d like to ride with Mrs. Bush in the limo taking her out to the airport. No idea why – they could have had any number of “real” reporters there do a story on her, and get some quality time with the candidate’s wife. But they picked me. [Read more…] about Thoughts on Barbara Bush.

A(n im)Modest Proposal.

Jonathan Swift, 1667 – 1745

Jonathan Swift, 1667 – 1745

With apologies to Jonathan Swift, I have my own modest proposal for the Bailout Bucks Sweepstakes. 

 

I think the government should write me a check. (And every other taxpayer for that matter.) 

Think of it this way…if the government is going to start bailing out every Tom, Dick and CEO, why not me? And you? I run a small ad agency in Amarillo. Like most people today, money’s tight. I have bills to pay. Fortunately, I didn’t do anything dumb like buy a house out of my price range, or rack up a huge debt for capital equipment I couldn’t afford. But because of some unexpected expenses (medical, family, business), I’ve got very little cushion left. We did all the right things – saved every penny we could, made extra house payments when we could, stopped buying non-essential things. Still, it doesn’t take much to shoot one giant hole in our savings parachute. Mind you, I’m not whining or complaining. At all. In fact, I think we are some of the lucky ones. Mrs. Digital and I are gainfully employed. We have a roof over our heads, and food in the refrigerator. We are self-reliant, and if we screw up, we’ve got nobody to blame but ourselves. 

So here’s my plan… [Read more…] about A(n im)Modest Proposal.

Wanna hear something REALLY scary?

News item:

Zogby Poll: Almost No Obama Voters Ace Election Test

Released: November 18, 2008

UTICA, New York — Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.

 

Only 54% of Obama voters were able to answer at least half or more of the questions correctly. [Read more…] about Wanna hear something REALLY scary?

Motor City Madness.

Let’s get one thing straight. I love American cars. My wife and I both drive Jeeps. While Mrs. Digital has, on occasion, driven a rice-burner, I have never owned anything but an American automobile. On the other hand, I think that American automobile manufacturers management is clueless, the Unions are parasitical, their boards of directors are derelict in their duties, and the whole thing needs to have one giant hycolonic, so it can be reformed into something that is once-again a shining example of American know-how and productivity.

Lord knows, it’s miles away from that today. [Read more…] about Motor City Madness.

You can’t get there from here.

Cajun Country, USA

When I was a kid, I used to do a lot of powerboating with my family. My Dad is a very gung-ho kinda guy; anything he thinks is worth doing is worth OVERdoing (which is sort of the unofficial family motto). When he got interested in boating, he didn’t just buy a boat – he bought a boat and took every course the U.S. Power Squadron and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offered. Seamanship, Navigation, Meteorology – you name it. He took it. (He got interested in shrimping, and ended up with a commercial pilot’s license to take people out for hire 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico, but that’s a story for another time.) Anyway, once upon a spring vacation, we were cruising along the Intracoastal Waterway in South Louisiana. Dad had us on a boating cruise looking for the grave of the famous pirate/War of 1812 Hero Jean Lafitte – and the location of his secret hideout known as the Temple. 

As a kid, the treasure hunting aspect of this fascinated me. The cruising down bayous at about 5 knots (5 nautical miles per hour for you landlubbers) interested me a lot less. Boring doesn’t begin to describe. But I digress. [Read more…] about You can’t get there from here.