Slacking intensely

ESPN360 and the iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:56:00 +0000

Notice I didn't say ESPN360 on the iPhone - for that you'll have to look elsewhere. But for someone like me, whose Comcast internet means no ESPN360 access, I just found out my iPhone was the key to unlocking the online sports streaming service.

Since ESPN has obstinately decided to use the cable TV model on the web - charge the providers, not the customers - those of us who get our Internet through a non-participating ISP (and for all I dislike about Comcast, I can't blame them for not buying into this horrible precedent of an online business model) can't access the Worldwide Leader's online live video.

The iPhone is no help on the go - as far as I know, there's no way to watch the video on the device. But navigate to espn360.com using AT&T's 3G (or Edge, I imagine) service and ESPN sees you as qualified. If you have a free myESPN account (or if you sign up) you can then click "Remote Access" to set your username as someone who can use the service. Then at home using a non-360 ISP, log in to ESPN and start watching.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Heard this story on NPR this morning - it nearly made me physically ill. Things like this just make me angry, and I have no good idea on what to do about it, other than get better funding for DNA labs these days and hope the system really is competent and stories like this are the exception rather than the rule.

Family Of Man Cleared By DNA Still Seeks Justice

falling off the blogging wagon

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:30:00 +0000

Clearly, I have not thrown much up on this virtual wall lately. Facebook and it's easy iPhone app have sucked most of my random thoughts away from this venue - status updates are the wave of the present.

The usual time-sucks - work, my other (freelance) work, and a desire to capitalize on my leisure opportunities are in play here, as is my general trait toward inaction in the absence of an actual deadline.

I'm hoping to keep, or restart, or start for the first time (depending on how you look at it) a line from my brain to this outlet for my thoughts, mostly for my own amusement (which is all it's ever been, since a sporadic blog of totally random links and thoughts garners about 5 hits a day at the best of times).

No promises, of course. But maybe I can wean myself off the Facebook and start to throw a few status updates Blogger's way.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:53:00 +0000

William Jefferson is now unemployed, leaving him more time to hang around his house and gaze longingly into what I hope is a now-empty freezer.

Please, please, can somebody send Charles Rangel back as well?

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:28:00 +0000

In a roundup of news stories about Congress today, two stories were about Republicans warning Democrats about pushing through their agenda in the next Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned Democrats today against preventing Republicans from offering amendments on the floor and making labor legislation a top priority in the 111th Congress.

Just one day after Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) won the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Republicans are seeking assurances that he won’t use his new position to push legislation that would grant California and other states the right to regulate greenhouse gases from automobiles.

Now, I understand there are some legitimate concerns about one party pushing through legislation. Legislation designed solely to cement the party's position in power or to remove checks - such as completely removing the ability to offer amendments, especially when you should be able to easily vote down the ones you don't like - would be something I'd genuinely worry about. But Republicans making threats to Democrats about passing policies that are more or less part of the platform? After this past election, I'm not quite sure what the Republicans think they have to back up their threats. Although I'm fairly sure the Democrats are capable of capitulating.

Cultural confusion

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:46:00 +0000

This headline seriously confused me, until I realized it means an entirely different thing in Britain than it does here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3468111/Pot-plants-instead-of-bouquets-for-medallists-at-2012-London-Olympics.html

Lieberman

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:26:00 +0000

The vote was today, and the Senate Democrats voted essentially to ignore common sense and allow Lieberman to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee. This is the sort of thing that makes me angry.

It's not as bad as the Dems capitulation in recent years on all questionable national security measures (FISA, the Patriot Act) but it's not a good start to this supposed new era of Democratic leadership.

I didn't want Lieberman kicked out of the party. But it seemed pretty simple - support the other party's candidate and badmouth your own, lose your most powerful platform. The justifications don't make sense to me - the talk about reconciliation and unity to honor Obama's message is the worst sort of smokescreen. This feels, pure and simple, like Congressmen unwilling to take a stand to take power away from a colleague because they don't want to have to worry about losing power themselves.

I don't advocate holding committee spots over the head of any legislator who breaks ranks on an issue. In fact, I would be even more angry about that sort of move, which seems more in keeping with the Tom DeLay school of political philosophy. Principled stands on issues, or even a crass political move on a vote, doesn't merit retribution from the party. But this isn't about one issue, or any principled stand, it's about a Senator who has actively campaigned against the symbolic head of the party, as well as staked out ground well to the right of where the party should be heading.

What really makes me angry at this move isn't even the issues surrounding the Lieberman vote, but what it tells us about the mood of the party leadership. The Democrats have been playing scared for a long time, even after picking up control in 2006. After riding a wave of obvious sentiment against the way the country has been governed and Bush's presidency, instead of making coherent arguments and standing up against Bush on key votes, instead they've made an occasional valid point and then immediately backed down once the votes were cast. It's as though Rove's politics of fear have the bulk of the Democratic congress so worried about falling prey to easy attacks on complex votes they aren't willing to do anything that might give the other side an opening.

To me, this was the most exciting thing about Obama's campaign. On some key points, when the opposition was trying to stir up resentment about his positions Obama didn't take the bait. Instead of retreating or responding in kind, he actually stood behind his position. Look at his speech on the politics of race. Or his willingness to stand behind his statements about pursuing diplomatic talks with our enemies.

I think there is a real danger of the Democrats losing the public affection they've gained in the past two election cycles, but to me the most likely way that will happen is by concentrating on votes that are clearly designed to benefit the people passing them - by worrying more about amassing power than benefiting the nation. And by not passing sweeping reforms of a progressive bent. The situation calls for large measures, and the leadership should be willing to make complex arguments to the American public, even if such moves may be seen as politically unpopular in the short term.

What this vote tells me is the Democratic Senate is not going to be interested in those sorts of large-scale measures or complex discussions. They're going to be interested in enjoying the political power they've been denied for much of the past three decades. And this is going to be the surest way to screw it all up.

the light at the end of the tunnel

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Apparently driving the I-395 tunnel is similar to a near-death experience.

I've driven that tunnel, and my experiences have been far more mundane - more bored to death, less glowing white light enveloping the end of my road...

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:14:00 +0000

New personal rule: when I'm cold and want to check the temperature, make sure the weather app on my iPhone isn't set to display the Los Angeles conditions on opening.

Barack in the window

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Barack in the window
Originally uploaded by slack13

We bought a pumpkin the other day, as is mandated during the month of October, and this is what Kirsten created.

this makes no sense to me...

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:40:00 +0000

I was looking at the websites of various candidates for Montana state office today, and I came across this.

That is not the current official website of the Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but it does appear to be a website that previous was her official site, and it's the top Google link for a search on her name. Ignore, for the moment, that her official website is hosted by her AOL account. Look down the page at the endorsements she's touting, presumably to show her qualifications for this office. Then remember, this office is the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (head of state schools):

Endorsed by: National Rifle Association
Montana Right to Life
Montana Shooting Sports Association
Montana Contractors' Association
Montana Wood Products Association

None of those seems to me to have anything to do with the schools. Am I missing something?

Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:58:00 +0000

Watching baseball on Fox and a NCAA BCS title game ad came on, finishing with a shot of two players looking at the National Championship trophy. The two teams represented? USC and - Missouri.

Of course, that's not looking like a great choice this week (although I guess the Tigers could be right back in position if they somehow pull out a win this weekend) but as a Missouri alum, it's pretty odd to see anybody put the Tigers in line for a Championship.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:20:00 +0000

This is just about my favorite Internet comment ever.

this is not a joke

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:25:00 +0000

An actual police report from a neighborhood listserv:

Theft 1
SHIFT: DAY 09/30/2008 09/30/2008
1430 UNK
GEORGIA AVE AND PINEY BRANCH RD NW
Street/Highway/Road 402 08139126
Status: Open
C1 RPTS S1-2 APPROACHED C1 AND SHOWED C1 A BROWN PAPER BAG AND
STATED THAT THERE WAS FORTY-TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS INSIDE OF THE BAG.
S1-2 TOLD C1 FOR FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS C1 COULD HAVE IT. C1 REMOVED
FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM C1'S BANK ACCOUNT AND GAVE IT TO S1. S1
GAVE THE BAG TO C1 AND THERE WAS NOTHING INSIDE.

This just presents so many questions, I don't know where to begin. But it is the first time I've heard of an e-mail scam work without the e-mail.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:42:00 +0000

One more shout-out to the Washington Post before I move on:

These last few weeks have been a good time to be a subscriber to the Post. As the nation's financial system melts down, the paper has been on top of it with well-crafted, nuanced stories full of detail about how decisions were made and who was making them.

Of course, the gist of all the stories is that no one - in government or otherwise - really has much of a clue about what to do, but the daily coverage has been top-notch.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:32:00 +0000

If you haven't seen it yet, take some time and read these two stories from the Washington Post this week.

The two-part series on Dick Cheney and the showdown between Justice and the White House over the secret surveillence program is amazing reporting - it's also worth checking out the earlier stories in the "Angler" series on Cheney, and I'm definitely going to want to check out the book when it comes out.

It's this sort of thing that keeps me going to the front door in the morning to pick up the Post. Often enough, I'll think the paper is overrated - the local coverage, especially, doesn't stand out from any other major metro paper.
But then a series like this comes along, or some excellent Olympics coverage, or a long-form feature story, and it makes up for all the mediocre days. It's the stories that take a long-term investment of time that make the paper great, and it's those stories that are often the first ones cut as media outlets try to beat the economy by cutting back on coverage.

nice touch, Apple

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:40:00 +0000

On iTunes AppStore today, all links work except one: when I try to see "All Free Apps" I get an error message saying the store is unavailable.

Looks like somebody wants their commission.

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:22:00 +0000

T-shirt of the day:

On the front, "Mennonite Mafia." On the back, in the style of a name
on an athletic jersey, "Spudnuts."

Bristol Palin's baby daddy is 'psyched' to be father, says his pal

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:42:00 +0000

You've gotta love the New York tabloids - any time a major political story includes the words "baby-daddy" and "stand-up dude" I'm going to be hooked.

NY tab story on Palin baby daddy

maybe a bit of an overstatement...

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Heard while entering RFK Stadium for a D.C. United game tonight:

D.C. United has the best fans, in the history of sport.

Well, no.

disappearing demolition derbies

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:53:00 +0000

The highlight of my rural county fair growing up was always the night of the demolition derby. I haven't seen one in a dozen years, although if I ever saw one advertised near me I'd jump at the chance to go.

Unfortunately, today the demolition derby is falling victim to the economy, at least according to this account.

Derbies demolished

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Michael Phelps' .01 second win last night will get some play on the highlight reels for a while (I assume - since I've been at the tennis until past midnight most nights, I haven't actually watched much of the prime-time coverage). I've been checking out a few different outlets' documentation of the finish, and the most startling thing is how different the finish looks depending on where the cameras were set.

The overhead TV camera makes it look as though Cavic beat Phelps to the wall. But Sports Illustrated had a camera underwater, right between the two lanes, and the frame-by-frame look at the finish seems to give Phelps the slight edge.

Shame the super-super-slow-mo footage swimming authorities looked at wasn't released...

cavemen

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:56:00 +0000

The Geico cavemen ads have clearly outlasted their humor usefulness, but that rarely stops advertising executives.

The new tennis ad simply baffles me, though. As you're sure to have seen unless you're one of those who manage to live without the pleasures of television, the caveman is playing a match against Billy Jean King. As he taunts her, she points out he's not winning and hasn't even gotten a serve in, to which he responds "you might want to look at the scoreboard." Both do, which shows that, in fact, he hasn't scored a point.

So here's my problem with all this - what's the point of the caveman appearing to not know the rules of the game? The whole premise of the Geico campaign is fact the tagline "so easy, even a caveman can do it" plays into a wrong-headed stereotype in this alternate world where cavemen simply happen to be a hirsute minority constantly struggling with the perception they have not evolved past the primitive pre-humans who lived in caves.

So either this ad is saying cavemen really are so stupid they don't know what's going on, in which case the point of the previous commercials sort of gets lost, or maybe they're indicating that the whole match is rigged, right down to the scoreboard operators, which doesn't seem very sporting, really.

tennis

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:09:00 +0000

This week I've once again been thrown in a perhaps surprisingly common situation - professionally covering a sport I know nothing about and have barely watched.

In fact, this week almost certainly marks the first time I've watched an entire tennis match (it probably checks in as the first time I've watched an entire set) in person or otherwise.

I've been covering the Legg Mason Tennis Classic here in D.C. for the Associated Press, an event that's turned out to be far more enjoyable than I expected.

For one, I'm generally always up for immersing myself in a sport I have no experience with (I've played tennis a few times, but I probably have more time in with Wii tennis than the real thing). A few matches have been wonderful to watch, and some of the personalities have been good to deal with throughout the week and I can now talk reasonably knowledgeably about tennis.

Thursday night had some of the best action of the tournament, but was also one of the worst days there.

Most of the time, play has started around 4 p.m. and wrapped up around 11, which works since I've been spending the rest of my time at the day job. Thursday, the last match finished at 1:27 a.m.

The main cause was a 2 hour, 43-minute match Andy Roddick managed to win (the best match of the event by far) - it pushed the whole schedule back. And then the final two matches on the schedule also went three sets and past two hours.

Thankfully, no day job for me Friday. And the matches went gloriously quickly. So I'm headed out to do something I haven't had a chance to do for a while - actually have a social evening.

Then more tennis - two more days to the end.

UPDATE: Of course, after I wrote this we sat through an hour-long rain delay. I'm still getting out before midnight, though.

olympics update

noreply@blogger.com (daimon) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:10:00 +0000

I have determined that the Air Pistol events might be the worst possible event to televise. In this case, it actually needs commentary. Because all eight contestants shoot at the same time, I can't figure out how they determine which one to keep the camera on.
However, it's so bizarrly bad I'm captivated.

To recap: live video of team archery - good. Live video of individual air pistol - bad.

More to come, I'm sure.