Adventures in My Mind
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Apr 30, 2002
Patrick Neilsen Hayden has from Electrolite has a terrific post about the continuing line blurring between morality and business model. Read his post False Witness.
Again, I must ask, what the hell are these people thinking? How does one get so twisted into thinking that the loss of your market share is equivalant to theft? Is there a school that gives out rubber stamp diplomas in shamelessness, moral turpitude, and audacity?
When I hear people like Jamie Kellner, Jack Valenti, Hilary Rosen, Sen. Ernest Hollings, et al talk it's like they are speaking in some alien tongue. I haven't the slightest ability comprehend the words that come out of their mouths. Of course we're talking about money so liberty be damned!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 4:23 PM
Apr 29, 2002
The U.S. has had strange pollitical and military allies for as long as we've been a nation. Occaisionally these "friends" have created no end of trouble for us over the years, with former friend Saddam Hussein being one of the most prominent contemporary examples. Another often over looked --or brushed under the rug more likely -- example is our "moderate" friends on the Arabian peninsula, the Saudis. Don't know what I mean? Read on:
Representatives of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah requested that no women air traffic controllers direct his flight on his way to visit President Bush at his Texas ranch earlier this week, according to regional and national aviation officials.
What better friends to have than a bloated, corrupt oligarchy that not-so-secretly breeds anti-U.S. hatred to distract its people from revolution, while continuing to deny 50% of its population even the most basic civil rights. Certainly our Constitution has much in common with repression, oppression, authoritarianism, and theocracy. Welcome neighbor!
We all know we do it for oil, but this situation is more embarassing than being the spouse of the drunken relative that no one likes who ruins all the family get togethers. We quietly apologize as we push our belligerent mate toward the door before he says something that everyone will regret. Welcome to the strange world of international relations.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:03 PM
Apr 26, 2002
RIAA wants tax dollars to combat piracy (Courtesy ZDNet)
So not only does the contemptable Hilary Rosen think that her customers are criminals she wants tax payers to foot the bill for her industries inability to adapt its dinosaur-like business model to changing technology. Her's is really an amazing stance. First, call for a block on all technology that allows consumers to practice their legally protected fair-use rights, and second, demand that Congress pay for their Ludite proposals.
To be fair, most of the talk was about stopping true piracy, bootleggers, dupe factories, and the like. These forms of piracy must be stopped. The mass duplication and selling of software, music, and movies must be stopped. But make no mistake, Rosen and her dispicable croney, the MPAA's Jack Valenti, threw some knocks towards criminals ... er, uh ... I mean, consumers. And you know who I mean, you scofflaw! Put down that MP3 player, don't you know that Bono might be able to eat tomorrow if you make one more copy of a A Beautiful Day for your girlfried? Who will lobby the U.N. for debt forgivness then? Who will then demand "pride in the name of love?" Have you no dignity? No sense of compassion?
When will these two vacuous shills for millionares and billionares get the point on this: adapt or die. Every industry faces competition from within and without. To ignore that and attempt to maintain "the old ways" is doomed to failure. The very fact that recording artists, who are truly affected most by infringement, are fractured over issues such as Napster shows that there needs to be significant change in the recording industry, and soon. Technology is not the villain. Consumers are not the villains. Myopia and clinging to out dated business strategies are the real villains.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:31 AM
Apr 25, 2002
There really is no value to this link. I post it only because these are the things that you find entertaining when you are unemployed.
The Mini-Mizer
I had some fun making the new unemployable me, complete with goatee, grill spatula, beer, and tattoos! I slack therefore I am. Descartes Rocks!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 4:21 PM
Apr 24, 2002
Cleaning up, clearing out and packing. That is what you do when you close certain chapters of your life. Yesterday was a day like that. My mom and brother, Sami, Aidan, and I drove up to Andover, OH to handover a piece of property that my grandmother had recently sold. This campsite has been in our family for thirty years so closing it up for the last time and handing over the keys was a tough moment, even though we haven't really used it that much since my grandfather died 6 years ago.
While we all could use it when we wanted, it was definitely pap's place. Everything there reminds you of him: the old golf clubs, the tools, t-shirts from the late 70s, and a collection of screws, nuts, and bolts that would bewilder the most ardant packrat. Saying goodbye to camp turned out to be the last chapter in saying goodbye to him; it wasn't easy, especially for mom. But she got through; we all did.
At the end of the day, we were all tired and we all had our little bits of memorabilia that we took home with us.
We love you, pap, wherever you are.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 9:26 AM
Apr 19, 2002
Ah, the rites of spring! Spring hell, it's been like mid-August around here, high 80s and even higher humidity all week. While I have to admit I was getting sick of the cold weather, I certainly wasn't prepared for swelter this early in the year.
I do love Spring, though. Flowers are blooming. Trees are budding and slowly turning green. The grass is growing. Ugh, the grass. Oh, how I hate to mow the grass, especially that first cut. It's like trying to muster the courage to bungie jump while being terrified of heights. My neighbor has cut his grass 5 times already and I haven't cut mine once. The back yard is looking like the Yucatan peninsula. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to break down and cut it this weekend. Argh!
My cousin John got the hook last night on Survivor. He made a good run, but then the tables were turned. I'm not entirely unhappy that he's off, though; now I don't have to watch it anymore. Now that's good news!
Have a good weekend.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 4:30 PM
Apr 16, 2002
Shiftless
Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've been busy trying to pick up some pieces of late. And by that, I mean that I've been sacked! That's right. The dot com axe has fallen again--this time on me. My official last day is this coming Friday, but I've been off the job since last Tuesday. I'm really pissed off about the entire matter, but my former bosses have extended some kindnesses to me so I won't be taking the opportunity to vent any of that anger here.
I've got a couple of leads, but things are looking pretty damn bleak right now. So if any of you dear readers know of any interaction design/information architecture positions open in your neck of the woods, by all means, drop me a line. Relocation is not a problem, unless it's like Alabama or Arkansas or any place like that.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 9:56 PM
Apr 11, 2002
Gateway supports your right to enjoy digital music.
Check out the latest commercial, if you haven't seen it on TV already. It's a great spot with a great message. If only they could make a good product.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:48 PM
Apr 8, 2002
I hate celebrities.
I don't hate the people who are celebrities (most of them anyway), but I hate their celebrity status, their near god-like reverence within our society. Every little detail of their lives are served up as either don't-you-wish-you-could-be-so-cool-so-hip-so-radiant envy or there-but-for-the-grace-of-god pseudo inspiration.
Case in point: there was nothing on television yesterday afternoon, and, while flipping through the channels, I came across an E! interview with Ashley Judd, you know the one who keeps making that exact same movie with Morgan Freeman. Anyway, it was an innocent enough interview. We learned of her love for University of Kentucky basketball and some wow-she's-just-like-you-and-me moments with her sister, you know the one who's eaten all those chocolate éclairs.
And then, out of left field, the interviewer says, "You once thought about joining the Peace Corp?" Lovely Ashley, with a combination I'm-so-glad-you-asked and oh-stop-you're-embarrassing-me look in her eye, then begins to tell us that she has always had very strong beliefs and that she often does something about it, you know like that time she wouldn't do that topless scene because she didn't believe there were enough zeroes in her paycheck, uh ... I mean, that her character simply wouldn't take it doggy-style on the first date, even if it was George Clooney slappin' away on dat ass!
I nearly hurled a shoe at the TV! Especially when the reporter followed her deep revelation into the psyche of Ms. Judd with a rousing "Peace Corps? I mean, I would never ..." Would never what? Think about joining? Lift a finger to help another living soul? Are we supposed to believe, as the reporter's incredulous reaction would have it, that merely thinking about something achieves the same result as actually doing something? Or is it just that unbelievable that someone as self-absorbed as your average Hollywood starlet would consider the greater good before embarking on a life of privilege and luxury. Either way, it's a pretty sad statement.
Speaking about thinking about things, I once thought about solving world hunger. I also once thought about achieving world peace. Oh, yeah, and there was that one time that I thought there was much more to connect the Theory of Relativity with Super String theory than there was separating them. Aren't I such an incredibly talented, inspiring, motivated, beautiful, successful, (insert your own adjective) person. I know that my thinking doesn't really compare to Ashley's thinking about joining the Peace Corp, but hell, I'm not a movie star with a country singing mom and sister. I'm sure JFK's ghost stopped sulking about Dealey Plaza and returned peacefully to its grave, content with the findings of the Warren Commission, when that little tidbit came across the aether.
Wow! Thank you Ashley. You are an inspiration to us all.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 2:45 PM
Apr 4, 2002
Survey finds rudeness is getting worse
Is this a problem for you, too, because it is a huge problem for me. I despise rudeness in all of its various forms, especially within the service industries. What's wrong with being polite? I'm not talking about vacant smile, Stepford Wives kind of nice either; I'm talking about please, thank you, your welcome kind of nice.
Whether its a call center rep or a fast food worker it seems that being nice and/or courteous no longer registers on the things to be to your customers list. When did this happen? Why did this happen, and most importantly how can we change it?
I'm pretty consciencious about how I spend my money. I often boycott companies and organizations that have deceitful policies or poor customer service. Now, however, it seems that my list of boycotted companies is longer than the ones I will frequent. This is because no one prides themselves on customer service anymore. Customers are looked at as chores or barely tolerable evils and not as a valuable and precious part of the commerce equation. It's a very simple axiom really: no custmers = no business.
Even in social circles similar rules apply. The more rude you are the less people will like you. So go ahead keep being a rude bastard and you'll die alone and unloved. You'll also die poor, because you couldn't sell any of your worthless product because your call center reps couldn't bother to be nice to anyone. I know that this is a bit of snippy tone to take when talking about rudeness, but it really is maddening how rude the world is becoming.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:35 PM
Apr 3, 2002
I'm not sure what to make of this story: U.S. Urged to Step Down in Mideast.
It seems that the EU feels that the U.S. lead peace negotiations have been a failure and it's time for them (the EU) to step in and save the day. It's hard to criticize their first assumption that the peace process has been a failure to date, because it has. The only question is whether or not that has anything to do with U.S. involvement. But they make it extremely easy to criticize their second assumption that things would be better if the EU took over lead negotiator status. The premise is laughable in its extreme arrogance and condemnable in its ignorance.
There is no doubt that the U.S. government's hard-line pro-Israel policies have done much more damage than good. They have failed to address, even in the most cursory ways, the true problems facing the Palestinian people: lack of hope, economic hardship, lack of self-determination, and lack of identity or sovereignty. It has only been recent, and with much reluctance, that the U.S. has shown support for a Palestinian homeland. Until Palestinian problems are addressed fully and honestly, there will be no peace. Continuing to view this as an Israeli security problem will increase the intransigence of Palestinian extremists and their supporter in Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
There is also no doubt that the extreme pro-Palestinian stance of most European nations will do much more harm than good. The old nut that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter is a false delusion under which the EU is suffering. There is no excuse for terrorism. It is a self-defeating activity that disguises callow, ignominious behavior as bravery and martyrdom. By excusing terrorism and the institutionalization of such by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad as a logical response to victimization is foolhardy and disastrous to the future existence of Israel. Just as the Israeli's must be held accountable for their deplorable treatment of Palestinians, the Palestinians must be held accountable for their embracing of terrorism as a political tool.
The EU want to be players on the world stage, hence the raison d'etre for the EU to begin with, and I think this is just another case of their political gamesmanship. Anything that the U.S. can do, they can do better. That remains to be seen, although at this point, the world should welcome any type of constructive input that the EU might be able to give vis-à-vis the Middle East.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:29 AM
Apr 1, 2002
In And Justice for Some, Michael Kinsley writes, "Our misplaced emphasis on justice in specific over justice in general encourages competitive victimhood, and 9/11 represents the gold standard of victimhood."
Our plight is worse than yours, and this big ol' lawsuit we just filed will prove it!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 2:46 PM
