The Other Drummer

How The Lord of the Rings should have ended

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:01:30 -0800

Let's do the math

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:05:11 -0800

Breaking news (as of a week ago - sorry, slow in posting this): 650,000 jobs were created by $150,000,000,000 in stimulus funds.

The government (or, really, you and I) spent $230,769 per job created or "saved".

According to WolframAlpha the median wage for US workers as of 2007 was $31,410.

That means the government spent over seven years' worth of salary for each job it preserved/created.

Conclusions?

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Things I've missed recently (oops)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:13:00 -0800

The World Series. Had no idea it was happening. I hear the Yankees won though.

Elections. Apparently there were elections this week. Huh.

Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing a few political yard signs here and there.

What really tipped me off though was that I got text messages from CNN telling me about election results from Virginia, New York and other states more important (apparently) than my own.

However, I'm very aware that the Motorola Droid ships tomorrow and Verizon doubled their cancellation fee to $350.

Did I miss anything else?

Image courtesy of here.

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My idea of good Christmas Lights

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:27:09 -0800

Picture by: JackBrimstone Submitted by: JackBrimstone

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Silent Monks Singing Halleleujah

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:09:53 -0800

Brilliant.

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WSJ report: Private insurance premiums could triple under ObamaCare

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:52:00 -0700

Rock and a hard spot. The lesser of two evils. The healthcare debate rages on.

Yes, the insurance industry seems pretty screwed up. Then again, I'm most definitely not in favor of a government-run healthcare plan (since, you know, I'm not a socialist). What to do?

The Wall Street Journal just published a short op-ed piece* covering a study of how businesses and individuals across 14 states would be affected by ObamaCare. The findings?

An average family of four would face cost increases of 122% to their private insurance.

Here's the problem:

The study was done by WellPoint, Inc., a huge insurance company that runs insurance plans for Blue Cross. Numbers can be gathered, twisted and presented by someone with less than pure intentions so I'm thinking I should probably take the results with a grain of salt.

So then the government must be right, right?

Our representatives, whom we select and pay salaries to be educated on issues and represent us, were bashing the 238 page report less than two hours after it was presented. Odd, don't you think? In the words of the WSJ reporter, our government officials, "...must have...remarkable powers of digestion and analysis." (For a good read on how our elected officials don't read bills and other things they should, check out this excellent post by Brett Crockett.)

Who to trust?

The author of the op-ed piece sides with (I hope you're sitting down) the insurance company. Sad times we live in when we trust insurance companies more than our own government.

While I'm not necessarily siding with insurance companies, I know I'm not in favor of nationalized health care. And my point in writing all this isn't to sway you either way. It's more to make the point and pose the question:

How do we know who to trust?

*Mr. Murdoch, I hope you don't mind me linking to your content.

Image courtesy of here.

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Epiphany: why it snows early

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:41:00 -0700

I think there is a direct correlation between early snowfall and stores putting up Christmas stuff in September.

Image courtesy of here.

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My Pinewood Derby car

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:58:17 -0700

This rolling coffin was made specially for our ward Halloween party.

I call it Death on Wheels.

Considering the haste in which it was made, Death on Wheels showed well, taking 14th place out of 21 entries.

Props to my wife and father in-law for doing the hard work: design and execution, respectively.

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Which is the better beer ad?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:01:05 -0700

Both have a Halloween theme. One looks very art directed and flashy. The other looks rather plain but is the better of the two.

Flashier isn't always better. Sometimes it's just flashier.

See the full gallery on posterous

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A thought on Microsoft retail stores

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:29:00 -0700

I feel horrible for Microsoft. I really do. And I'm not saying that to be mean.

You know that feeling you get when you're winning a game by such a wide margin that you start to feel embarrassed for the opposing team? It's a bizarre combination of embarrassment mixed with pity with a bit of awkwardness.

That's how I feel about Microsoft's retail stores. They're the nerd who thought dressing the same way as the cool kids and trying to act the same way would actually make them cool. But that's not how it works.

So in the spirit of wanting to help those that are struggling, I offer the following insight to Microsoft that, while probably blatantly obvious to you and me, has apparently escaped their attention:

Apple innovates. Microsoft copies. What proof? Rewatch that video. Those stores are an exact knock-off of Apple Stores, right down to the overly enthusiastic employees in bright shirts high-fiving people as they came in. (At least they didn't end up calling their help desk the Guru Bar.)

People accuse Microsoft of ripping off Apple and OS X. Guess what Microsoft? You just proved them right.

You just don't seem to get it, which is especially frustrating because I know it's in you. For example:

Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Great products (minus the red ring of death).
Zune HD. Beautiful software and beautiful hardware.
Windows Media Center. Probably the best media center software out there.

Stop trying to be something you're not. It's horribly awkward and it isn't working. Step back and think about it:

Apple's whole premise is to be different than you.

And you're trying to be them.

But they're trying not to be you.

Do you see the problem here?

You're trying to be someone who's trying not to be you. Let that roll around in your head for a bit.

In my opinion, two of the most important things one needs to be "cool" are:

1. Know who you are
2. Be confident

Find your own identity. As long as you're copying someone (especially someone who is going out of their way not to be you) you'll never find yourself. (Stick that in a fortune cookie.)

I think this could be illustrated very easily with a single question:

Microsoft, when you sat down and decided to open a retail store was it because you thought it was a good idea or did you do it because Apple was doing it?

I think the answer is pretty obvious.

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Early hands-on look at the Motorola CLIQ

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:01:20 -0700

I know, I know. Four posts in one day.

I went for a brief walk this afternoon to clear my head and breathe some fresh air and happened upon a Motorola CLIQ. The CLIQ is Motorola's first Android phone (due in stores Nov. 2).

After reading the reviews I was convinced it was cheap, bulky and built for teenagers. But after playing with it for a few minutes I've changed my tune.

It was smaller than I'd imagined (I was picturing something more like a Sidekick) but it had a little heft to it - just enough to make it feel solidly built. It seemed relatively responsive and the keyboard was much easier to use than, say, the Pre.

My biggest complaint in my brief time with it was the size of the screen. It seemed very small compared to my iPhone and other Android phones I've played with.

Overall, it's an admirable step in the right direction for Motorola's comeback efforts which are being fueled by Android. And after experiencing it myself I'm all the more anxious to get my grubby paws on the Motorola Droid.

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Effective tactical responses in a post-apocalyptic environment

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:52:05 -0700

All PowerPoint presentations should be this entertaining. Five minutes long, watch it here.

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Slate.com says President Monson is most powerful man over 80

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:38:00 -0700

See the other 79 here.

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Oops. Windows 7 on a Macbook Pro on the Today Show.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:21:00 -0700

Someone either A. screwed up or B. has a great sense of humor.

Yesterday Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was on the Today Show to plug the launch of Windows 7. And what kind of hardware did they use to show Windows 7 on the huge screen in the background?

Yep. A Macbook Pro.

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Five reasons why I stopped watching Glee

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:25:34 -0700

Well, crap. This show had a ton of potential. The marketing behind it was great (launching the pilot back in May for a Fall premier with fun teasers along the way) and the pilot episode itself showed so much promise: fun characters, well-crafted humor and it provided the perfect platform to showcase the musical talent of the actors. And, from a marketing/business point of view, another revenue stream by selling the songs from the show on iTunes - brilliant.

It was all downhill after that.

The show has quickly degenerated into some kind of morally corrupt cliche´ teen drama. I'll hit the high (or in this case, low) notes for you (pun intended):

1. In episode two one of the main characters (a 15 year-old girl) goes off about how the idea of celibacy before marriage is ridiculous and teenagers are a bundle of ranging hormones and can't possibly be expected to control themselves. (This is close to a direct quote.)

Promoting teen sex and lack of personal responsibility? Check.

2. The story is structured so you're supposed to root for the glee club teacher to leave/cheat on his wife for a coworker.

Promoting adultery? Check.

3. The wife of the glee club teacher is made out to be the bad guy as she tells the perceived-to-be-innocent-yet-is-really-a-skanky-homebreaker-coworker to stay away from her husband.

Making someone who is defending marriage out to be the villain? Check.

4. One of the characters cheats on her boyfriend, gets pregnant from his best friend, then lies and says the baby is her boyfriend's. (Note: this character is supposed to be president of the school's Celibacy Club.)

Promoting teen sex? Check. Nausea-inducing teen drama? Check.

5. A member of the football team makes money by having sex with the women who hire him to clean their pools. This is, I believe, supposed to be funny.

Promoting teenage prostitution and adultery? Check.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head although I'm sure there's more.

It's a shame. The show seemed original and had a lot of potential. Too bad it couldn't keep the high ground.

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Objectified

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:54:46 -0700

I've been anxious to see Objectified for a while now and finally the DVD arrived. It's a documentary on industrial design. If you're not familiar with the term industrial design, it's how objects are designed and, as it turns out, there's a lot more thought put into (some) things than you may realize.

Topics range from the grip on a potato peeler to talking with Jony Ive. Who is Jony Ive? Trust me, you know his work. He's the guy who makes Steve Jobs look good on stage. Mr. Ive is the design genius behind the Apple products such as the iMac, iPod and iPhone.

Here's the trailer:

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