I’ve been thinking a lot about water lately. I read an article about surviving in the wilderness (hey…I drive a Jeep Wrangler…it could happen) and the very first thing they recommend was to find a source of clean water. Not shelter. Not food. Not a phone. Water. Apparently, you can go weeks without food, but not very long without liquids. So it positively mystifies me that California is in the fix they’re in. Let me explain… [Read more…] about See Salt. See Salt Run.
Media
Tech-nopia.
While it’s impossible to have a well-balanced perspective on anything when you’re sitting in the middle of it, it’s hard not to think that we are living in a “Golden Age” for Technology. Think about it. Within my lifetime, I’ve seen the following items appear and become ubiquitous – part of the fabric of our lives (in no particular order): [Read more…] about Tech-nopia.
Is Tinder Hot?
My daughter recently talked me into signing up for “Tinder.” If you’re not familiar, it’s an iPhone app that’s designed to help you meet people. Apparently, it’s evolved from being something created for “hookups” (read: “meaningless sexual encounters”) into an app that facilitates meeting people for actually dating.
What makes this interesting is that it’s all based on Facebook, and the pictures you post here.
There’s a lot of different dating sites out there, each one slightly different in their approach. eHarmony makes you go through a long and laborious process before you even get to chat directly with someone in whom you might be interested. [Read more…] about Is Tinder Hot?
ServerGate.
Apparently, Hillary Clinton never learned a thing in her youth, when she served on the Congressional staff of the investigation into Watergate.
In a report tonight in Politico, Congressman Trey Gowdy states that the former Secretary of State wiped her server clean, and has destroyed ALL the emails on it. For those of you who frequent the mainstream media (where you surprisingly might have heard a little about this story) or for those of you coming in late (welcome to the party, pal!) allow me to give you the 50,000-foot view history lesson: [Read more…] about ServerGate.
The People v. Climate Change
To the Honorable Chief Justice John Roberts and the Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States of America:
If it please the court, we hereby submit this petition for an injunction to bind the United States Government from any activity in support of the concept of Climate Change, including, but not limited to, “cap and trade,” “carbon taxes,” “carbon emissions,” and “environmental impact,” either through legislation, executive action, or administrative regulations. We ask the court’s help, due to the fact that Climate Change (nee: “Global Warming,” nee: “Global Cooling”) is so clearly a religion, and therefore violates Article I of the United States Constitution prohibiting the establishment of religion and abridging freedom of speech or of the press. [Read more…] about The People v. Climate Change
On Bullying…and Bullies.
When I was a kid we had bullies. I was a student at Southfield School. And in 6th grade there was a kid who was bullying me. It just didn’t stop. I tried being nice. I tried keeping quiet. I tried telling the Principal. Nothing worked…until one day I’d had enough. I got to my mom’s car and threw my books in, furious, and I told her “Wait here…I’ve got something to take care of,” and I stormed off. There used to be an old wooden long building out by the field, they used as dressing rooms. I stormed onto the field, looking for this kid, mad as Hell, and I wasn’t going to take it any more.
[Read more…] about On Bullying…and Bullies.
The nature of Heaven. And Hell.
You know that joke about what countries would be in charge of things if this were Heaven or if it were Hell? You know the one…where in Heaven, the British are the police, and in Hell, it’s the Germans? Well, I got to thinking about how that would apply to technology. And I came up with this: [Read more…] about The nature of Heaven. And Hell.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will break cable. For good.
One of the many cool things about raising a teen is that you get a whole new perspective on entertainment. Take music, for instance. When I was a teen, I used to look at my dad (who hated Rock with a passion he usually reserved for socialists, communists, and people that requested “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” when he was playing a gig), and think “When and how did he decide that the only music he was interested in was OLD music?” [Read more…] about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will break cable. For good.
Pretzel Logic (with apologies to Steely Dan)
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to watch, does it still make a sound? Of course it does. To think otherwise is silly.
If a man commits a crime and no one catches him, is it still a crime? No doubt.
But what if a politician or bureaucrat (or several of them) commit a crime, break the law, or violate the Constitution and the news media suppresses the story, and does not report on it…is it still newsworthy? I’d say undeniably “YES.” But that’s abstract. The reality is a bit more complicated. [Read more…] about Pretzel Logic (with apologies to Steely Dan)
R.I.P. Thomas Kincaid, 1957-2012
I just heard that Thomas Kincaid died suddenly today. It’s estimated that one in every twenty homes in America have one of his mass-produced masterpieces in it. Not ring a bell? Okay, how about this: Go to virtually any mall in America and look for the shop that sells paintings. Odds are the sign outside the door reads “Thomas Kincaid, Painter of Light.” Ahhhh. Now you get the connection. Now being an artist myself, you might think I’m all about mocking Kincaid. But I come not to bury him, but to praise him. [Read more…] about R.I.P. Thomas Kincaid, 1957-2012