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Check out this fascinating article on “the league of dangerous gerrymanderers”: How a few determined partisans rigged Congress through the redistricting process: [The Atlantic] Facebook and “People you might know” Today I received a notice from Facebook that this young lady is a person I may know and want to friend. First off, I can’t say that I have ever had in the past, have now, nor will ever have in the future any friends who look like this attractive young lady. Why Facebook believes we are long lost friends from an earlier time in my life is confusing to me. For one thing, at an earlier time in my life, it is unlikely I was friends with this young gal when I was, oh…say, 35 and she was 9.
This is probably the 3rd young, busty woman I’ve never met but Facebook has suggested as a friend over the last 9 months. I also notice that all the friends of these young ladies are, oddly, guys about my age. Which makes me wonder if it isn’t some sort of gag account used to see who is willing to try to friend them. I’m flattered Mark Zuckerberg and his team take me for such a young and hip guy. But just because many of my posts are rambling, random and ridiculous doesn’t mean I am still in my late teens. Only that I sometimes sound like it. On the other hand, I am most grateful that Facebook doesn’t send me pictures of people like this with the tag, “People you probably don’t know.” If they ever decide to start doing that, it’s find with me if I’m not notified about such things. While his father, contributing RP Jeff Smith, has run his final electoral battle, Charlie Smith is a leading candidate for the Gerber Generation Photo Search 2012. And Charlie deserves the honor — he has his mom’s good looks, and is already taller than his dad. So please click here to vote for Charlie. And vote often! (Seriously, you can vote once a day).  The Politics of Tech Google Fiber is doing its best to embarrass the cable industry into offering better Internet service. I, for one, hope it works. The US is ranked 28th in the world in terms of broadband speeds. [Time] Canada is not doing any better than the US – their broadband Internet has been graded as “Third World” by Netflix. [gigaom] AT&T has come under fire from FCC for Facetime restrictions. AT&T stand by the belief that net-neutrality rules don’t apply to Facetime. [The Verge] Here’s a funny video where Jimmy Kimmel goes on the street to ask people to compare an iPhone 4S under the guise of the new iPhone 5 to the person’s own iPhone 4S. [YouTube] Could a Warp Drive be on the horizon? It appears to be more of a possibility than once thought. [Yahoo!] The RIAA’s living nightmare: music pirating is increasing and it’s driving sales. [RealWriteWeb
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Day 4 since adding generous helpings of Nutella Spread to the Boot Camp diet. I have so far gained 2 pounds—but my mood has been elevated allowing me to not care as much about the weight gain and friends have noticed I am more pleasant to be around and easy going (and they also noticed several small instances of a chocolate-like substance smeared around the corners of my mouth) So far, so good. ==== I hate that awful scary feeling… I’m sure we all do. When we are frantically looking and can’t find it. And then we worry –for a brief moment—that it is gone. All of it. That someone else may have gotten to it already. And that it is too late. And they have finished off the last finger full… … of Nutella. ==== I have heard about edamame three times in five days– but had never heard of it before. I told my daughter that it was time I learnws what it is—but that I wasn’t ready yet to say the word out loud. But it is a cool sounding name for a trendy vegatable. Which made me wonder: Is edamame popular all of a sudden mostly because it tastes good or because it’s fun to say?  No Prix Fixe or full menu today — kitchen’s closed early. But I wanted to make a comment or two about the once-secret video of Mitt Romney that’s saturated the airwaves over the last 24 hours…Frankly, I have no idea what Mitt Romney truly believes. The talking heads seem certain that Romney’ closed-door comments represent his actual convictions. I’m not convinced. He was addressing a small group of high-roller donors who love to feel like they’re getting their $25,000-a-dinner’s worth. Trust me — Romney’s stump speech a signed picture wouldn’t pay for that undercooked beef wellington they served. So, to please his check-writing audience, Romney felt the need to say something “fresh,” to be “bold.” Instead of giving them the usual talking points (or, better yet, insights into the policy plans he hasn’t shared with anybody else), he threw some red meat to the crowd and hoped they’d bite.
 Please don’t be confused here. In no way am I defending Romney. Actually, I’m criticizing him for something which, I believe, is far worse than the socio-political view he espoused that night. Simply put, the man has no core principles. He’s a practical, numbers-oriented business man. And he’s perfectly suited for the board room or corner office. I’m not so sure about the Oval Office.We need leaders who say what they mean and mean what they say. This video cements my belief that Romney simply says what he says depending on the audience, only to later to explain what he means because then he’ll have had ample time to realize what the prevailing opinion wanted him to mean. If that sounds convoluted, it’s because I’m having such a hard time wrapping my hands around him. For all his shortcomings, at least you knew where George W. Bush stood. For heaven’s sake, you could actually find firm ground on which to agree or disagree with him.
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To be sure, the Obama iteration that society is a connecting web of responsibilities is too complex for its own good and comes close to reimagining individual success as not all it’s cracked up to be. The formulation is one Republicans have mastered rebutting, aided by Obama’s ill-advised articulation that “you didn’t build that.” Read the rest of… |
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