BEING GOOD WITH SOCIAL MEDIA isn’t so tough.
Archive for 2011
July 9, 2011
AT SLASHDOT, A REVIEW OF Susan Landau’s Surveillance or Security: The Risks Posed By New Wiretapping Technologies.
AT AMAZON, markdowns on office electronics.
JOHN NOBLE WILFORD: 3, 2, 1, and the Last Shuttle Leaves an Era Behind. People wonder why I haven’t written more about the last Shuttle launch. The truth is that, while the Shuttle is cool in many ways, thinking too much about how it all worked out just makes me sad. I prefer to look ahead.
ERICK ERICKSON gets mean. Maybe it’s something in the water in Macon.
My thoughts here.
CHINA’S BUMPY RIDE AHEAD. “There’s a good deal of turmoil simmering beneath the surface of China’s miracle.”
COFFEEMAKER UPDATE: So I’ve had the Keurig for several weeks now, and it’s working out quite well. I’m particularly fond of the Newman’s Own, Double Black Diamond, and Dark Magic blends.
Two cups of the Newman’s Own helped me power through the rough part of a book chapter I’m working on just yesterday.
NEW YORK POST: CLUELESS ABOUT JOBS.
FRANK CAGLE: Conservatives should remember they can hate Al Gore, but still be for clean air, water. Just not as excuses for social control.
HALTING GLOBAL WARMING by burning coal.
OBAMA ON THE DEBT CEILING INCREASE: “We’ve got to get our fiscal house in order here in Washington. I’m not sure it’s going to happen under the current leadership.” Okay, he said that in 2006. But it’s just as true today!
ETHANOL FOLLIES? Automakers to void warranties on older cars burning E15 gas. “Fuel with a 15 percent concentration of ethanol is headed to America’s pumps soon and buyers with older vehicles may want to steer clear. Pumps dispensing E15 will be identified by a large orange sticker and the fuel is only approved for use in vehicles that are from the 2001 model year or newer. Using the 85-percent gasoline mix in older cars, lawnmowers or boats is prohibited by law because the fuel may cause damage to vehicle systems. That’s pretty rough, but according to Consumer Reports, that’s still not enough for many car companies. According to the institute, nine automakers thus far have made it clear that they won’t honor warranties of older vehicles found to be running E15 through their systems. Toyota, General Motors and Chrysler are all among those manufacturers.”
If I owned a gas station I’d be reluctant to sell this, figuring that someone would sue me if their warranty was voided.
STUDY: “ROMANTIC FICTION” BLAMED FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROBLEMS.
Blaming romance novels for unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancies, unrealistic sexual expectations and relationship breakdowns, author and psychologist Susan Quilliam says that “what we see in our consulting rooms is more likely to be informed by Mills & Boon than by the Family Planning Association”, advising readers of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care that “sometimes the kindest and wisest thing we can do for our clients is to encourage them to put down the books – and pick up reality”.
Her comments follow a recent claim that romance novels can “dangerously unbalance” their readers, with Christian psychologist Dr Juli Slattery saying she was seeing “more and more women who are clinically addicted to romantic books”, and that “for many women, these novels really do promote dissatisfaction with their real relationships”.
Hmm. That’s the same kind of thing women have been saying about Internet porn for years.
THE CARNIVAL OF SPACE IS UP!
MORE ON THAT ATF GUN-SMUGGLING SCANDAL: The government’s gunrunners. “ATF agents essentially stood by and watched — as one critic put it, US law-enforcement agents essentially provided security for gun smugglers working for Mexican drug cartels. That such weapons are turning up in drug cases north of the border is hardly surprising.”
IN THE MAIL, From Janet M. Cromer, Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury.
FRED UPTON SHOWS US how not to repeal the light bulb ban. Fred, if you don’t get this repealed, you’ll still be blamed no matter how much lip service you give to free markets. Results are the only thing that counts here.
THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: “In what appears to be a gross Obama administration oversight, former Bush administration political officials are still receiving taxpayer-funded credit cards in the mail.” Kind of a metaphor, isn’t it?
ECONOMIC NUMBERS: TIME FOR AN INSTA-POLL!
ROBERT SAMUELSON: That Awful Jobs Report.
The question now is whether the meager job creation heralds prolonged stagnation. Many economists have predicted a rebound in the second half of the year: Zandi expects the economy to grow at a 3.5 percent annual rate, up sharply from the estimated 1.9 percent for 2011’s first half; Gault is slightly below that. Both are sticking to their forecasts. They expect the negatives of the first half to reverse: lower gasoline prices will bolster consumer spending; restored supply chains will raise auto production; better weather will permit more construction spending.
But the bleak job market raises the specter of much worse. It could trigger a vicious circle.
Plus, whenever Obama opens his mouth, an industry dies. . . .
I THINK WHAT REALLY OFFENDS THEM IS THAT HE PAID FOR IT WITH HIS OWN MONEY: Newsflash: Rich Man Drinks Expensive Wine. It’s kind of like how corporate jets are evil, but flying around on taxpayer-provided Gulfstreams is fine.
UPDATE: A harsh take from Ann Althouse: “How much does Prof. Feinberg weigh? I’d like to calculate her level of intoxication. A woman who’s drunk half a bottle of wine and gets emotionally overwrought after calculating the price of items consumed at another table by a politician she loathes should probably restrain herself from going over to that table to tell him off. . . . TPM should be ashamed of itself passing along this embarrassing story and for the way it presented this material. In the middle of the piece, TPM informs us of Congressional ethics rules barring expensive gifts from lobbyists. I was thinking: Oh, maybe this is a serious problem. But if you keep reading, much further down, you see that Ryan paid for the meal with his own credit card, and TPM saw the receipt. Ridiculous! What hackery from the once-respectable Talking Points Memo!”
Well, their name has always kind of given the game away.
NOTE TO CHARLIE RANGEL: Jesus Would Have Paid His Taxes. Instead of taking Rangel’s “taxes are for the little people” approach. If you’re going to talk about the value of federal spending, how about rendering unto Caeasar, chuckles . . .
Jesus probably wouldn’t have gotten sweetheart treatment from the IRS, either.
UPDATE: Reader Kevin Greene emails about Rangel’s comments: “Didn’t they warn you that if you voted for John McCain that America would be turned into a religious theocracy? Why yes, yes they did.” Guess I should’ve listened!