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Man called "pervert" for photographing his kids having fun

2008-07-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

What parent doesn't have boxes full of pictures of their kids (or nowadays hard drives full). But the problem in the current state of affairs is that people are so wickedly paranoid about everything that they seek to destroy everyone else's sanity because they fear everything. A man photographing his own kids was called a "pervert" when parents started to think that he was taking pictures of other people's kids to post on the internet.

Half of what I don't understand is why people were freaking out in the way that they did. He was confronted simply for taking pictures, not that he was doing anything dodgy. The owners of the slide that his kids were on claim that "Our policy is to ask people taking photos whether they have children on the slide. If they do, then that is fine." However, what the operators don't seem to understand is that even if they don't, there isn't much of any legal action that could be taken.

People think that taking pictures of people that you don't know is a crime, especially when the subject is a child. I find this funny because in my high school photography class one of ours assignments was to take pictures of young and old people. Would you criminalize a class of photography students for taking pictures?

As with any article, the comments that follow it are often more important to read than the article itself. Depending on where you read the article, you get be surprised at people's common sense or appalled at the stupidity of mankind. Here are some from the original article:

I understand the parents concern. I see nothing wrong with the dad telling the other parents of his intent so they could keep their children out of the photo and then extending the same courtesy to the other parents. Normal parents did not create this multi billion dollar industry mess. We have to protect our children the best was we can.
- Lucy MacKay, Georgetown Ky

This poster is quite unrealistic, and leads me to ask many other questions. After her short post, I have to wonder if she herself announces to others that she is taking pictures of her own kids while the play in the park. When you do announce that you are taking pictures of your own kids, doesn't that make you seem just a touch overprotective?

I sympathise totally with Mr Crutchley [the father], I was recently in a country park with my wife and daughter. My wife had gone to buy the three of us some ice cream, and in the meantime my daughter fell over on some play equipment.

I of course picked her up in my arms to soothe her, and within moments a woman had come over to me and asked where the girl's mother was. I could see in her eyes and tone that she was suspicious of me holding a crying girl. The woman absolutely refused to leave our side until my wife returned.

Just like Mr Crutchley says, it spoiled my enjoyment of the day, and made me wary to go anywhere near my own daughter for the rest of the day - ironic in this age where fathers are so often accused of not paying attention to their children.

I cant help but wonder if anyone would have said anything at all if it had been my wife holding my daughter instead of me.
- John Thomas, England

There is an interesting dilemma where father's are being criticized for not being involved with their kids, but then when they are involved (especially in this case, for safety) the worrying parents of other kids condemn them for being near kids in public.

This is a direct result of the NSPCC's campaign over the last few years to spread the fear of abuse and paedophilia. Sadly this has had the side effect of people (i.e. men) being to scared to help if a child is in trouble and also accounts for the huge drop in male primary school teachers and role models.
- R Williams, Aylesbury, UK

It would take my a long time to find it, but there was an article about a father who volunteered his daughter to take part in a study. The girl's job was to sit on a bench in a mall a few feet from a "Missing Children" poster. Almost all people walked right by the girl. When people who walked by were questioned, many (particularly males) said that they were afraid to do anything for fear that other parents would attack for speaking to a child.

The study proved two things, that no one tried to abduct a child sitting by themself on a bench, and that had the child really been missing nothing would have been done.

On the BoingBoing mention of this article, there are general level-headed people who see what is worng in the situation, being that a father can't even take pictures of his own kids:

It is rather sad. My wife worked as a lunch supervisor at an elementary school. Being a "small town" person and having a flock of younger siblings in her youth she would give crying kids who'd bumped heads or dropped their deserts a hug or pat on the back. Her supervisor said that just wasn't done - there would be no touching whatsoever.

From this I assume that the proper thing to do if you find a child needing help is to review the situation and determine f there is a non-contact way of helping them. If not, just walk away or phone 911 to have properly trained and bonded staff initiate human to human contact - providing parental permission has been arranged.
- Woodwose

Especially in elementary aged kids, I don't see where it is beneficial to the children that the teacher is prohibited from making any contact with the child, even if the child is hurt. I would bet that most of those children feel better because of the comforting that they got from the teacher. It's not like a teacher would do anything intentionally wrong because it would ruin their career if they did inappropriately touch a child. A hand on the shoulder isn't going to kill a child.

Speaking of protocols for teachers, it is ridiculous what they have teachers doing. One of the teacher that I had wore latex gloves so that she could put on a band-aid. A gym teacher I had once told us about how a parent thanked him for not following the "correct" protocol for emergencues. An ice-skating boy slipped and cut his wrist. If the teacher had spent time to look for gloves, the boy would have likely bled to death. Instead, the teacher reacted quickly and saved the boy's life.

I am a woman, (hence the name, cranky old woman) and my grandson is on a junior soccer league. So, every Saturday morning, I go to take pictures of his game, and I am subject to a lot of evil looks as well. It's kinda difficult to take just pics of him, when there are nine other kids on the field. I took some pics of him once playing with the next door neighbors, and when I gave some copies to the parents, they were quite rude, and told me they did not want me to photograph their boys. I was hurt, stunned and insulted. But, I am trying to decide how I might have reacted were I in their shoes. Must I be constantly sizing everyone I meet with a camera as a child molester? I guess I can no longer assume others good intentions.
- Cranky old woman

Given the fact that the grandparent was the neighbor, and that it would (should?) be one of the people that you know the best, it is crazy that a parent would be so defenisive about it considering that it is perfectly acceptable to take pictures of your grandkids. When I was a kid, I would spend hours at a time at my neighbors house with her grandkids, and that was one of the few places that I felt totally comfortable. As a kid, I would think nothing of it if she was taking pictures of her grandkids and I playing together.

My friend was taking pictures of me at a park while i was wandering around looking at flowers under the influence of something or other. Some little (adoreable) demon kid ran up and started throwing grass at us. Whatever, He wasn't hurting us and we were laughing about it. So my friend starts taking pictures of the kids, and THEN the mom comes over.

Guess which aspect of the situation concerned her most? Her kid throwing shit at strangers? or photography.

As long as kids are fucking adoreable, shutterbugs will take pictures of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captaintim/2644448055/
- Cpt. Tim

This is completely valid. Many kids, like my nephew, will run to the camera seeking to have their picture taken. And it's not like people don't take picture of random kids. If you see a group of kids at a park doing something completely silly, there is nothing wrong with taking a picture to remember that silliness. I have taken pictures of kids before when I was at airshows. Planes can only be interesting for so long, then the interest as a photographer is drawn to pictures of people enjoying the show, which includes kids.

As a teenager myself, I am fresh out of the age where even my own mother fit into the "unhealthy paranoia" category. I play soccer about twice a week with a drop-in group. My mom always worried about the whole child predator thing and was always warning me to be careful, and thankfully, I have never once listened to her about this. The group that I play with consists of primarily me and one of my best friends, and the rest are primarily adult males. Have I ever once felt uncomfortable around them? No.

After nearly a year with this group and nothing happening, my mom has finally calmed down. This might also have to do with the fact that she just randomly dropped in once to watch, which was rather annoying because the stare of my parents creeps me out more than anything else.

The problem people have with sexuality

2008-06-05T12:39:00.001-04:00

I was reading a news article earlier about a lesbian couple who stirred Seattle, a place typically friendly to gays. It seems that everyone is supportive, except for that annoying little double standard where it is okay for a straight couple, but not a gay couple. However, I think I found the cause:

"I would be uncomfortable" seeing public displays of affection between lesbians or gay men, said Jim Ridneour, a 54-year-old taxi driver. "I don't think it's right seeing women kissing in public. If I had my family there, I'd have to explain what's going on."

"I'd have to explain what's going on." Yeah, who would ever want to explain reality to their kids. Heaven forbid you have to take a parental role and explain that not everyone is a carbon copy of the other.

Continuing story of outed gay students

2008-05-04T17:47:00.001-04:00

This is a follow-up to a post two days ago: Principal outs gay students to peers, parents

ABC News ran a variation to the previous story, one that varied slightly from the one that I posted two days ago. This article includes some of the details about the school and their response, including this little gem:

"The principal did not list any information other than students' names on her personal call list, and she certainly did not specify the sexual orientation of any student," said Van D. Turner, Jr., associate general counsel of the Memphis City Schools Board of Education, in a statement provided to ABCNEWS.com. "Additionally, the list was never posted publicly anywhere at the school."

Listing the couples together and then claiming that the school never specified sexual orientation is nonsense. Almost no one is stupid enough to not make the decision. Also, the school claims that the list was not publicly posted, however, the ACLU says that it was perfectly in view of anyone in the office.

The response that I have seen from places like Digg is also amusing. Some of the responses are either ignorant, or otherwise blind to the point of the story.

It isn't private when there is PDA in the hallways.

The thing is, there was an influx of response from the rest of the student body, which obviously means that not that many people were aware of it before. Also, the school was seeking out the names of couples, even if there was never an issue of PDA.

They want to be treated as equals, don't they? Then there shouldn't be anything wrong with outing them as well as the other heterosexual couples.

Many of the comments on Digg are about treating the two boys as any of the other students, but they fail to note the consequences that happen as a result of the fact that the school went as far as to contact parents, who were unaware that their child was gay. Ideally, it should matter, but the fact is that parents may freak out a little when they are dealt a considerable piece of news such as "your son is dating another boy." Which leads me to one of the only thoughtful comments that I saw:

Oh right, because gay couples have never been the victims of discrimination and harassment, sure, lets just just throw them to the hateful bigots and blame them for their own fate. Lets just ignore all the cases where homosexual teens have been bullied, killed and committed suicide just so we can sit on our high horses and mock them for wanting to be treated as human beings.

Unfortunately, there are fewer smart people, such as this one, and more intolerant like the two further above. I think the problem lies in the fact that people don't know how to put themselves in the position of someone else. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in.

Principal outs gay students to peers, parents

2008-05-02T16:58:00.001-04:00

In Memphis, Tennessee, a principal has created a stir after she asked staff to compile a list of couples. The object was to cut back on the public displays of affection in the school. However, in the process, the principal outed two boys who had just started dating. From the article:

She's accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing so, Beasley revealed their relationship to other students, teachers and even their parents.

This story has ruffled the feathers of many, regardless of whether or not they support equal rights for gays. On one side is the argument that exposing these two boys has wrecked a significant portion of their high school career, but also the idea that regardless of sexual orientation, the principal sought to compile a list of all of the people who were dating, something many saw as a perverse abuse of authority.

Nicholas says his teachers and other students treat him differently as a result of Principal Beasley's decision and that he and Andrew have both had to deal with verbal assaults. Nicholas was also not allowed to go on a trip to New Orleans to help rebuild homes because, as one of his teacher's explained, he would "embarrass" the school by engaging in gay affection.

First off, I think that the school must be incredibly intolerant if the sheer presence of a gay couple offends anyone. I can understand the intention behind wanting to cut back on displays of affection in the way that students should not be making out in the middle of the hall, but simple hand-holding or likewise is no bid deal and should be ignored.

This principal had very poor foresight to think that publishing a list would accomplishing in the way of stopping displays of affection. For one, those on the list would likely be the ones who are already very public in their relationship. The only surprise may come in the form of who is if they are bring caught having a public display of affection, there obviously isn't a problem, but this principal sought to make it a problem.

Another significant issue to ponder is how the staff came to know about the two boys' relationship in the first place. To me, it almost sounds as though they had sought out a teacher for help given the circumstances, but that teacher turned them over and betrayed their trust (only an educated guess). How many false positives are on that list? In some friendships, their is a very fine line between what would be considered a friendship and what is dating.

These kids are bring taught that having any physical contact with someone, even someone that they care for is a bad thing. These kids are being taught that the only accepted form is one that they dictate. The principal is endorsing intolerance. Teachers are often tolerant of the intolerance in schools. Even when a student makes a racial slur or some other direct attack, teachers often sit back and doing nothing to correct the situation. If nothing else, their involvement is often limited to "don't say that again."

My school is just beginning to try to address the issue of racism in a school were the students are very tolerant of race. My school is primarily white, but there are some minorities, which according to our school newspaper, feel as though they are bring alienated. However, the school is addressing the wrong problem. They think that we (as whites) are being intolerant of the minorities when it is the minorities who are backing away from social interaction by choice. Aside from racial minorities, there is nothing being done to create an atmosphere of tolerance. The students are doing a better job than the school; it is the school that gets in the way of everything.

Time to get a Mac?

2008-01-05T18:15:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have begun to heavily consider buying a Mac. I considered getting a Mac Mini this Christmas, but opted not to. I decided that I didn't have a need for it yet. Then, my sister had to send her laptop in to be repaired, so she took my old (over three years) laptop with her to use in college.

In the past, I have considered buying a Macbook for college. I figured that it would be a good, cheap computer to use for college, but the harder I look at it, the more I think that it is not enough. At the time, I thought of only keeping it for a year or two then selling it, but now I think I would rather get a better one and keep it longer.

Now, my decision is to buy a Macbook Pro, which will last me much longer, and is something that I could attach to a thirty inch monitor, if I choose to go down that road later. However, I am in no rush, and don't want to miss a big update to the line. According to MacRumors, the Macbook Pro should be updating soon.

With MacWorld coming up soon, I have to wonder whether or not Apple is going to update the Macbook Pro line. If they update the Macbook Pros, I think I will buy one right away, but if i they don't announce a newer/updated Macbook Pro, I'm going to wait until around graduation to buy one. Hopefully, I might only have to wait a few more weeks to get a new computer.

Google Reader update is a waste

2007-09-05T23:41:00.000-04:00

From past experiences on this blog, I have found that Google employees are best contacted through public posts. In this particular post, I must voice my distaste at the newest (9/5/07) update.

I am not a fan of wasted space. White space is acceptable in some places, but the newest update of Reader has added an intangible void. The left column has become unnecesarily wide. It must be 50-75 pixels wider than it once was. Also, the new icon to hide the sidebar was poorly implemented. The icon simply hogs space and ruins the consistency of the design (note the difference in spacing of sidebar items relative to column space).

Update (9/6/07): They finally added a search bar to Reader. At least something was done right.

Why did I want a Mac- Oh yeah...

2007-07-24T19:27:00.000-04:00

Today I got a stark reminder of a reason I wanted a Mac. While I was browsing Digg, I crossed a site that has caused havoc on my computer.

I would presume that the problem arose through a Java Applet, seeing as how that was slowing the page in the first place. I would assume that the perpetrator used a hole in Java to install the program, which since has been setting off all kinds of warnings on my computer. It took me fifteen minutes to get rid of the program. The program was called "OuterInfo", and it even piggy-backed in another program which I am still working to remove. I completely uninstalled Java, seeing as how I never use it, and as shown here, it only causes trouble.

Right now, I am about to look into a few Linux distros. I am not planning to get a Macbook until Christmas, so I need to salvage/hold on to my laptop until then. I need to find a distro that is known to work well with laptops (Ubuntu?).

Update: I went back to get some information so that I could recommend a ban for the user that submitted the site, but Digg has already deleted the page. I haven't seen Digg act so quickly to solve a problem before.

Collection: Friday, July 13

2007-07-14T00:50:00.000-04:00

Round-up:

Google is being sued for their use of sponsored links. From what I can tell, it is a suit that should not even exist. Perhaps I am missing details, but there are two ways that the "problem" occurred. The first is that a company googlebombed the competition to get their name first. The other is that people are too stupid to know what the "sponsored links" box is. I bet on the latter. As far as I can tell, Google isn't even involved in the conflict (other than the search result).
What Google is involved in is a matter of comedy. Google wrote a bad check. An Adsense publisher found that the check bounced when trying to cash it- not what you would expect from a billion dollar company. The publisher also reached phone hell in Google's computer handling of calls.
Police brutality on video. While I don't approve of what the fans did in this video, I don't blame them. Police these days seems to believe that they can do anything. If they officers had simply carried the man off the field, everything would have been avoided, but they repeatedly hit the man with the nightstaffs (of all things). There was no reason for what they did.
The republicans are not big fans of civil rights.
Edwards: Bush's remarks border delusional.
Optimum copyright period, as determined by economics: 14 years.

I have a feeling that I am going to be busy this summer.

Collection: Wednesday, July 11

2007-07-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

I am finally back home with my own internet connection, and some time to spare. It took a while for me to sift through the last few days worth of RSS feed items. Here's what I found:

Errors in Microsoft's "standard" could prove to be potentially dangerous, depending on it's implementation. Some of the formulas contained in it are incorrect. Microsoft shouldn't even be trying to make this a standard.
Rudy Giuliani took a strong stance against medical marijuana saying that it is all a move to legalize it entirely. I am personally annoyed at the fact that he is denying all benefits of using marijuana for medicinal purposes because it may become closer to being legal. If it were legal, it wouldn't need to be sold on the street, and thus be safer than it is now.
Michael Moore is demanding an apology from Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer criticized Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11 three years ago, even though Moore turned out to be right. Moore infers that he will only do live interviews because they will edit out his argument if they have time to do so.
Want your liquids back from security? Simply take it from the bin.
Dell offers Linux computers now, but there is a hidden mark-up. Only Windows computers are offered a $225 upgrade for free. To match that with a Linux Dell, you would need to pay the extra money. I can guess that later Dell will say "we tried, but they didn't sell well."
Canadian airport security is wising up by allowing context to the use of "forbidden words." By this I mean that saying "my gun jammed" will not call the police, but saying "I have a gun" will. Basically, they're adding a touch of common sense to airport security.

My sister is having a lot of trouble with the Geek Squad. When my parents bought the laptop last year, the extra warranty was added for the accidental damage coverage. All I can say is that if a device is under manufacturer's warranty and Geek Squad, do not send it to the Geek Squad.

Collection: Saturday, July 7

2007-07-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

Round-up, today environmentally:

Five things that are worse than global warming. Basic gist: we're taking faster than nature provides. Trees are removed faster than they grow, we pollute more than time will decompose, etc. I would not consider myself to be a tree hugger, but it is sick how little people seem to care about the environment.
An environmental group says that computers running all night cost businesses $1.7 billion. But the real gem is in the last paragraph: people just don't care. My computer runs all the time because it causes too much trouble to have to reboot it (read: time). Until the computer can intelligently determine when I am going to use it and power on/off accordingly, nothing is going to change.

New York is behind me now. I have a college campus tour Monday, then I am on my way home. I just learned today that my sister is taking my laptop on a trip in the coming week. Her computer is caught in the infinite loop of repairs, and seeing as I have another computer I can use, it is only suiting that I loan her this one. The real trouble is how I will be able to work, I always use this computer, it has all my files.

Collection: Friday, July 6

2007-07-06T23:37:00.000-04:00

Today's round-up grew a bit:

A new poll shows that a majority (54%) of americans favor impeachment of Dick Cheney. There is even a site that has video evidence for Cheney's impeachment (link: site auto-plays video).
Why the cable industry sucks: companies are blame CableCARD for an upcoming rate hike. They say that it would simply cost too much. I don't know how much the CableCARD even matters, but I don't like how cable companies have such a lock-in (read: get service from them or not at all).
Toledo cops sell out their cruisers for $15,000. I think this is a wise idea for side-stepping the costs, but I don't trust cops enough to feel that this is right. I can see a CEO being pulled over and declaring that he should not get a ticket because he helped finance that officer's car.
There was a case similar to Libby's where Bush did just the opposite as he did the other day. Foul play? Surely.
Fox News reports that Universal healthcare is breeding grounds for terrorists. I think that Fox's viewership is the 20% mentioned in my post yesterday (point two).
Rupert Murdoch has bought Dow Jones. Part of the deal is a legally-enforceable agreement that the WSJ will remain independent in it's reporting.

Goodbye New York. Tomorrow morning I leave the city. When I have time, I'm going to write a post about all of the things that I saw/learned/etc in New York.

Collection: Thursday, July 5

2007-07-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

Politics. The more you know, the more you despise the general public:

The White House lip-mover (Tony Snow) said today that Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence was "what he does normally." Yes, ignoring the supreme court and protecting political allies, however corrupt, is what Bush normally does.
Oh, but the grand-daddy of them all: 1 in 5 americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth. This makes me think, there should be some basic questions on the ballot similar to this. If someone doesn't even know that the earth does the revolving, their vote should not be counted. We need not just voters, but educated voters. How many people go to the polls and vote by the name of the candidate, not what they actually know about them?

Sadly, I only have one more day in New York, then I am heading off to see the rest of my relatives. I'm going to miss New York and all the fun I had this year.

Collection: Wednesday, July 4

2007-07-04T12:10:00.000-04:00

Happy fourth! Not much today in the news:

Subaru, no doubt, is an environmentally friendly company. Just about every car they sell gets at least 20mpg. Based on that, it should not surprise that they haven't sent anything to the dump in three years.
Ron Paul has always had a grip on social media, particularly digg, but today it was uncovered that he has people who are gaming the system. One person has noticed that masses of people digg only Ron Paul stories. Anything with his name they digg.
Africans are asking the wealthy donors to stop sending aid. For one, the biggest flaw has always been giving the money to the government. It's fairly obvious that the presidents there are quite corrupt and much of that money never reaches the people. Besides, there are better things we can do like build wells and buildings. Throwing money doesn't solve anything.

Today was a lot of fun. Fourth of July party all day long.

Collection: Tuesday, June 3

2007-07-03T23:21:00.000-04:00

News galore:

AT&T is trying to set the record straight by refunding customers who were forced to buy accessories with their iPhone. The bad press was getting to them.
Windows is losing developers quickly. In the last year, the number of developers has fallen 12%, which is something you notice.
Firefighters are attacking Giuliani for his failures during 9/11. Among items on the list is false air quality assurances and the poor handling of those who risked their lives to save others. There is also the fact that h placed (or left) the emergency command in a building that had been previously attacked. I root for the firefighters.
James Madison once said: "[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty." We have a word for you Bush, it's "impeachment."
Oh, and McCain is failing off the the tail. His campaign only raised $2M. That's bleak compared to Obama's $32M.

I made a second trip to the Apple Store today to make up for all of the things that I forgot to pay attention to. It was mostly the little things like the camera, where things like the power button was, and so on. It turns out that the speakers that I was looking at ~~don't work~~- I think I just realized the problem: The Harman Kardon Soundsticks have a special volume adjustment that I totally forgot about.

Collection: Monday, July 2

2007-07-02T22:17:00.000-04:00

A day's round-up:

Bush could very well be facing contempt charges for ignoring a subpoena.
Of course, the "traditional" media is completely ignoring the impeachment movement. There are 10 co-sponsors, and it has not made a single headline. This is why the internet is so great. You are not spoon fed by corporations.
The majority (72%) says that if the founding fathers were to see today's current government, they would be disappointed. It's nice to see one thing that the country agrees on.

When you follow politics, especially in the "traditional" form, you are disgusted in many ways. The AP had a story a few days ago about Giuliani's stop at a bagel shop. Who Fucking Cares?

My visit to the Apple Store

2007-07-02T17:33:00.000-04:00

...Fifth Avenue that is. First off, I didn't take any pictures because I didn't have a camera. Overall, I must say that I was very impressed (even at the building). I looked at everything that I could.

Considering how it was making such a big headline in the news, I played with one of the iPhones as they had them out on display. The interface is very slick, but I could easily imagine being caught in all the layers of menus. The "home" button helps with that though. The only drawback is fat-fingering. It is hard to be precise, but Apple did well with larger buttons.

The big reason that I was even there was to look and touch the Macbooks. I will be honest when I say that I am in love. It is slim, and very light- about half the weight of my current laptop. I think that most of things that I am worried about are primarily how well I will adapt to a new operating system. I have used Windows machines for as long as I can remember, so I have no idea how smooth it will be. I totally forgot to pay any attention to the camera, but that is very minor. Thinking back, there is a bit that I overlooked.

I also looked at the displays, as I plan to get one when I go to college if I am entirely impressed with the computer. An extra display would be nice for managing space, as well as to be used as a larger area for watching movies, something that I know is very common in college. From what I saw online, I was split between the 20" and the 23". I needed to get a feel for the actual size (20" is good). The 30" is simply enormous.

I may go back again later this week so that I can cover all of the areas that I now realize that I missed. I tried testing some speakers, but found that some other jackass was playing with another set, making it impossible to judge the Harman Kardon Soundsticks. In many ways, I am going to miss New York; I don't want to leave.

Collection: Sunday, July 1

2007-07-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today's news round-up:

Google took a big bite in the rear when the Health Advertising blog published a negative review to Moore's Sicko. Google took in all of the negative headlines over this story. Since then, the author of that post has stated that it was only her opinion. But that does not explain why Google allowed that to be published, and it is still untouched since the coverage. I think that Google made a huge mistake in even getting involved. As such a large company, they have no business in making such statements.
Obama outdoes all other democratic candidates in fund-raising. He must be making a good impression on people.
AT&T is ruining Apple's reputation. Some AT&T stores were forcing customers to buy accessories with the phone. This has to be Apple's biggest mistake. They may have a flawless device, but ever time the AT&T blunders, Apple takes a hit.

I am finishing up my Apple Store post mentioned yesterday, so expect it tomorrow.

Collection: Saturday, June 30

2007-07-01T00:43:00.000-04:00

Here's today's round-up:

O'Reilly claims that "lesbian gangs" are taking over the country. And by taking over, he means that there are three instances. Way to try to classify gays as violent and then trying to say that they are "recruiting." How can anyone anyone listen to this guy and not feel lied to?
The video of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech is cleverly cropped so that the banner is no longer in the video.
AT&T is ruining the iPhone. The mass of people trying to activate has crippled AT&T's service. I seriously think that it was a huge mistake of Apple to limit the iPhone to AT&T. The iPhone now is only as good as AT&T, and that doesn't say much.

I did make it to the Apple Store, but I will write about it later.

Collection: Friday, June 29

2007-06-29T23:45:00.000-04:00

I walked down to the Fifth Avenue Apple Store today, and found the madness that is the iPhone. I just wanted to look, but there was probably a thirty minute wait to get in the store. I went at about seven, so I figured that iPhone rush would have passed, but it was still going strong. But apart from that, here is the day's news round-up:

The House nearly defunded the office of the VP. Apparently, faced with losing all his money, Cheney realized that he is in the executive branch.
An interesting study concludes that wearing a helmet tends to draw cars closer to a bicycler. Safety groups are screaming that this does not eliminate the need for a helmet.
More previous government employees are calling for impeachment of Cheney.

Even though I didn't get inside the Apple Store, I must say that the Fifth Avenue store is impressive to say the least.

Collection: Thursday, June 28

2007-06-28T23:05:00.000-04:00

The weather here is unbearably hot. Thankfully, I get air conditioning for the time that I am here. Here's the round-up:

There is a short interview/internal Microsoft email about life at Google. It really gives a nice perspective about how people at Google live. It is interesting to see Google compared to a college.
A police officer was put on leave after a videographer caught him fighting with a group of young teens for skateboarding. Much of the officer's actions were unprovoked, and it appears that there is no justification for his actions.
Headline: FEMA knew!! Um... surprise?
Slightly dated news, but Fox News viewers are less informed than Daily Show viewers. I think this is funny as a "news organization" loses to a comedy show. America at its best.
There is a cute little story of the 15 year journey of fleet of rubber ducks. The ducks were washed off a cargo ship, an have been floating around the world in the ocean currents.
Reports are saying that year-old Apple employees get a free iPhone. Another great reason to want to work for Apple. Anyone who recently quit may (or may not) be upset.

It can cool off in New York City any time now.

Conservapedia: just a little confused

2007-06-28T19:07:00.000-04:00

As part of a Daily Show comment, I was looking at conservapedia's article on homosexuality. I say a link for gay rights, and could only wonder what they had to say. I found this tidbit to be interesting:

Amid growing public focus on gays and lesbians, 91 homosexuals were found to be employed in the U.S. State Department. Congressional investigators discovered homosexuals employed in 36 of 53 branches of Government, as well as in the armed forces.

Now, I may be getting the wrong interpretation, but they just said that there are 53 branches of government. Let's see, there is the Executive branch, Legislative branch, Judicial branch, and the office of the VP. Even counting the fake, I only get to four. This is a great example of how backwards people are.

FTC shoots down net neutrality

2007-06-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

People argue about whether the actions proposed by net neutrality proponents are the best choices, but not many will fight you when you say that something is wrong. The Federal Trade Commission denies that there is a problem.

For being the largest consumer of the tubes, you would think that the US would be on the bleeding edge of network technology. In fact, we a near the end of the tail, with many still passing us. The current median connection speed in the US is 1.97 Mb/s, while Japan flies around with 61 Mb/s. They're over half way to the triple digits while we still haven't made the double digits.

As a developed nation, and a leading one at that, it is embarrassing to see how pathetic this country is. It is sad that we are cheering for a 5Mb/s average. And for what do we blame this: cheap (not price) ISPs.

People are generally satisfied with their 2Mb/s connection because nobody knows any differently. Since ISPs started, the high-speed offerings have changed very little. In the past five years, Charter has gone from 3Mb/s to 5Mb/s. I have even noticed them throttling YouTube. And all of this is because ISPs don't want to upgrade their networks. We are at the same place we were at five years ago.

But things can change. Years ago, long-distance phone calls were extremely expensive. Now, the cost is negligible. How did this happen, phone companies have to compete. Cable companies do not. What we need is something to force the internet carriers to innovate. That "something" should be congress.

Collection: Wednesday, June 27

2007-06-27T22:58:00.000-04:00

It's just smoldering in NYC, but it's nice where there is air conditioning.

The RIAA buffoons are at it again, but in some of the most disgusting ways. This time, the cronies called a 10 year old's school to intimidate her. The target was the mother, but it is simply gross to see a collective of jackasses that are so disrespectful of everyone. And the other thing I don't get is why congress or judges won't do anything to stop them; oh wait- bribes.
Trying to fight copyright infringement, an Aussie ISP regularly deletes media files: any file ending in .mp3, .avi, .mov, and .wmv. This is a prime example of how stupid people ruin things for everyone else. And by people, I mean recording industry goons.
Cheney decides that he really is part of the executive branch.
Ann Coulter claims that the Edwards are using her attacks as a way to raise money. I think her logic is a bit backward: when she attacks, Edwards' name is all over the news, thus people notice him and then donate. I may offend many with this, but anyone who listens to a word that woman says I deem a babbling moron.
Google is complaining about Microsoft, people are saying Google is just jealous, but everyone has a point. I don't like that Google is being so aggressive to get their claim to fame, but I also think that Microsoft is still a monopoly. I mean, not like Vista's market share is large or anything, but Microsoft cannot lock you into their product in the way that they do. Microsoft deserves to be called a monopoly for life because of the way they treat consumers.
Warren Buffett, the world's third wealthiest man, asks for a tax raise for the rich, citing that all rich pay a smaller proportion into the system.
Giuliani praises Regent University for their "wonderful" influence.
The bald eagle is about to be delisted from the endangered species list. While there is no longer a threat of extinction, there is no reason to stop protecting it. Perhaps we need another list for animals that must be protected. Why do people think that it is alright to trample animals and their environment? Cows, sure, we eat them. Eagles on the other hand are simply birds that have no reason to be shot.

I'm beginning to love New York.

Collection: Tuesday, June 26

2007-06-26T23:24:00.000-04:00

Another day, another list; a shorty:

Dick Cheney was in the bunker before the attacks, and had "orders."
Internet radio was silent for the day to protest the outrageous fees from the royalty board.
A must watch episode of the Daily Show on Cheney's fourth branch.
The BBC reports that the "law-abiding majority" is a myth, but I don't think that there is any way to say that. The governments just have so many stupid laws that everyone is a criminal for living. Under the table pay: who wants to see a third of their money go towards a bridge to nowhere?

If things pan out tomorrow, I may hit the Apple Store, tonight didn't work.

Collection: Monday, June 25

2007-06-25T23:31:00.000-04:00

Today is short and sweet:

Technology can make or break anything. Elections are a critical event in our country, so an accurate count means everything. In order to insure that, however, the source code must be open. In Florida, the court has ruled that the "secrets" of machines takes precedence over a fair election.
Justice works for once: pants case thrown out.
George Bush has turned this country in to the worst it could be. Everything about it is backwards. In an ideal world, the people know everything going on in the government, but in Bush's world, the government knows about the people and the people know nothing.
We look like fools: librarians are "terrorists".

I might be down at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store tomorrow. I hear people are lining up outside already.