Tag: politics (Page 2 of 2)

Some Simple Campaign Advice

October 11, 2010 / Scott / 3 Comments

If you go door-to-door campaigning, or if you have people going door-to-door for you, it’s probably not a good idea to wear mirrored sunglasses.

You may be knocking on doors in an area that is safe for your candidate, simply reminding people to get out and vote on election day, but even if those people agree with (most) of your positions, there’s a chance they’ll be distracted and put a little bit off-balance by the fact that you aren’t looking them in the eye and telling them exactly what you (or your candidate) stand for.

And if the people you are talking to disagree with you, you’re going to look downright shady–confirming every paranoid and ridiculous opinion they’d formed about you.

Politics isn’t a poker game. In politics, it’s reasonable for people to expect you to look them in the eye and lie instead of hiding behind mirrored glasses.

Obama Is A…

April 14, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

Inspired by this post via Instapundit, I thought I’d build a little Google Spreadsheets chart based on nothing but some semi-random words. People love charts, right?

Below are the number of Google results I got today from doing a search on “Obama is a _______”. I did this for my own amusement, and I wouldn’t put too much stock in these results. Everyone knows that popular opinion and popular vote count only matter on Wikipedia and if the guy you wanted to win the Presidency didn’t.

Feel free to suggest your own phrases in the comments, and I’ll update the chart.

Delicious Link Dump– December 28th through December 29th

December 29, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

The 30 Freakiest Commercials of 2009 – I love commercials, and not just because they make LOST free for me to watch.

Star Wars/A-Team intro mashup – Seriously? It took us until late 2009 for someone to make this happen? Where is your creativity people?

E-Books Beat Regular Books – December 25, 2009 is the day we turned the corner in publishing. Publishers probably thought it would never happen. If only there’s been some sort of warning…maybe if it had happened in other industries (music, movies, newspapers) they could have been better prepared.

Into the Wild – I read it over the weekend. I haven’t seen a movie for…ever, and the guy who was telling me about the movie gave me the book as a gift. I can’t really say that I like Christopher McCandless as portrayed in the book, but I think that was done on purpose. I can relate to him in some ways though. We’re pretty much the same age, and I know a lot of guys who have some of the same character traits as him. I think it was pretty common for young men from our generation to be a little angry about not having much to be angry about. But I think if this guy had played rugby he’d still be alive today. If you play(ed) rugby, you probably understand why. If you don’t, it’s not something I can really explain to you.

The Sexiest Magazine Covers of 2009 – I wasn’t aware that any magazines were still being printed. Thankfully, there are web sites out there to filter through them and find the things I need.

Happiest States Revealed by New Research – Climbing the ranks in best cities to live in and happiest states to live in as well. Soon, we’ll reach residential nirvana. As soon as we have a house.

Thank you, Janet. – She should get dressed up in a flight suit and have her photo taken in front of a banner reading “The system worked” on an aircraft carrier. Now, watch this drive.

Delicious Link Dump– December 22nd through December 28th

December 28, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

2009: The Year of the Failed Narratives – I love story time! I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that none of the stuff they are trying to sell us involves dragons or unicorns. I mean, if we're going to write fiction, let's go all the way with it.

Ghetto Kool-Aid – The word "ghetto" is over-used. The word "Kool-Aid", however, is not.

The New Flight Security Rules, So Far – When you can count on showing up for a flight four hours early, not being allowed to access your carry-ons (the whole purpose for carrying things on when you have children), not being able to hold objects in your lap (try explaining that to a toddler), and not being able to go to the restroom for the last hour of the flight…why on earth would anyone fly anywhere with kids? This will definitely be changing our travel plans in the future.

Is cable worth it? – Not even if they paid you to watch the commercials

Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You – I don't set things on fire and put them in my mouth, so weed is out. Can I double down on the beer instead? And I won't need the LSD to counter the extra beer for a few years. I won't knock the maggots until I've tried them.

Obama, Left Behind – What he really needs to fix this is a new web site and a fresh Twitter account. They'll be back in no time.

Mortgage Applications Drop to 2-Month Low – I have to believe this is mostly due to the fact that people are hanging out waiting on short sale approval letters. *hint hint*

Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem – Shake it baby! This is the first and only shoot 'em game I ever bought, but it was pretty good. I'm not that into video games, so I didn't really keep up with the drama that was the continual delayed release of the sequel.

Stripper For Christmas – Ho Ho Ho! Yeah, that wasn't very original.

Delicious Link Dump– December 15th through December 17th

December 17, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

8 More PowerPoint Train Wrecks – I went to a great 2 day coaching clinic last weekend. About 10 minutes of the 2 days included the use of PowerPoint. Coincidence?

In Search Of Clark Griswold’s House – You have to check every single light individually.

Carbonhagen Meltdown – LOL! “…riots, madness, styrofoam cups, people eating meat, real fur coats, CFC-laden hairspray cans, it’s crazy.”

STOP! –

45 Free Online Computer Science Courses | – Street Fighting Mathematics? I’m in.

In pictures: Zambia’s leading lady in the ring – My buddy I.B. sent me this. He’s an Indian guy who grew up in Zambia and has a British accent. He also wrote the first code editor I’m aware of that allowed you to highlight and comment a complete block of code.

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That’s a relief. Now we don’t have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

Delicious Link Dump– December 6th through December 8th

December 8, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Women linked to Tiger Woods – At least he has a better eye for talent than Bill Clinton.

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power – If this is true, please explain to me why chicks always dig the guy who can beat up everyone else.

Surf’s up as biggest waves in five years come to Hawaii after North Pacific storm – Sick.

About Those ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich’ – I guess it's time we start paying our fair share after all. And I'm not rich.

More Regulation to Help the "Underserved"? – If a man was smart he would try to figure out where this will create a bubble, invest there, wait for the bubble to inflate, then get out before it bursts. If I man was smart…

Changes hit home for appraiser – Hooray for regulations! Increased cost to the consumer AND reduced income for the service provider! Yay!

America’s Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities – Cool…we unwittingly moved form the #22 city on the list to #18. Look how smart we is.

Apple’s Lala Acquisition – I have high hopes for what is possible here, but my hopes for an Android app are diminishing.

An iPhone App to Track How Badly AT&T Sucks – But it works right out of the box. And if it stops working, you can pay someone else to fix it.

16 Reasons Why We Might Unfollow You On Twitter – A pretty good list here. I can't say I disagree with any of it.

Sentinels Of Freedom Golf Ball Drop – Great Idea for a great cause!

“V” Is For Valuable

November 4, 2009 / Scott / 2 Comments

That’s the valuable time I won’t spend watching this show. I appreciate the fact that they made me not want to watch it in the first episode instead of doing something like Heroes did–making me invest two pretty good seasons of sitting slack jawed in front of television only to become unwatchable.

Yeah, I’m that guy who can stop reading a book 175 pages in.

Not even a glimpse of a lizard tongue! I did enjoy the sly references to the current political climate though. Let’s hope that changes some people’s minds about where we’re headed.

Image Credit

Delicious Link Dump– October 26th through October 29th

October 29, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Davidson County (TN) GOP Moves To Oust Ron Paul-Supporting Vice Chair – I've quietly followed this for a while. It seems to be a classic case of "I'll push you away so I can cry when you don't love me."

Facebook Grabs For The Entire Web – All your faces will belong to us.

The Key to a Happy Marriage…. – In every instance of this article, you can exchange the word "man" for "marriage", and it still makes sense. Just saying.

We Are Living in an Ayn Rand Novel – You know I always wanted to pretend I was an architect.

AZ County GOP Pols Squash 1st Amendment Rights – Republicans just can't stand to see Democrats doing something and not jump on the bandwagon themselves.

Sprint Drops Call Forwarding Fees With Google Voice In Mind – NICE!!! Just read yesterday that Google Voice would let you port your number and I was cursing my 2 year contract. Thanks Sprint for doing more for your customers!

Gallup’s Conservatives and Libertarians – Once you know how you should be labeled, is it easier to accept the label?

Susan Finkelstein Arrested, Prostitution For World Series Tickets – Dumb idea to start with. What guy with World Series tickets is going to trade them for sex?

Toxic Chinese Drywall Creates A Housing Disaster – Good to know about when looking for houses in Florida.

Rockslide Could Close I-40 For Three Months?!?! – Wow…good thing no one was hurt.

Delicious Link Dump– October 13th through October 16th

October 16, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Clean Your Computer Screen From The Inside – It really works!!!

Paranormal Activity –Don’t Need To See It – I’m a scary-movie-wimp. I hate them. I’d rather just read spoilers (like this one) and know that it would scare me if I saw it.

John Mayer’s Hilarious Political Answers – I’m actually liking this guy more after reading this interview. Yeah, he’s conceited, but guess what….he really IS an effing great guitar player. Flaunt it!

Google Should Stop Playing Around With Wave and Focus on Spreadsheet – I have to say, this is dead on.

Social Media Venn Diagram – I was going to post this to Facebook, but knew I’d get more attention with it on Twitter. I hope this guy makes a million bucks.

Eating practices of the best endurance athletes in the world – No wonder I can’t run like a Kenyan. I can’t even EAT like a Kenyan.

Remove RelevantKnowledge – This has to be the worst piece of crapware ever. Not sure how I ended up with it, but it makes your machine crawl. I was able to uninstall through Add/Remove Programs, but this guide should help you if you aren’t able to handle it there.

Delicious Link Dump– October 12th through October 13th

October 13, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

We Learned Good From The Romans

We look back at the Roman epoch with a sense of relief. We’ve learned so much since then. No longer do we consider our leaders to be gods among men. No longer do we hand them unearned and meretricious awards and prizes. We don’t turn on and destroy members of previous administrations. We don’t tolerate incompetent and corrupt sycophants in high office. We’ve learned to recognize disorders such as pathological narcissism and assure that the victims do not gain high office. Any president who placed his prestige on the line with an athletic contest would be laughed to scorn.

The Wrong Way To Pass A Class – Unfortunately, I think it may still work in many cases. This guy can probably pull on his own and doesn’t need any help from a strumpet like her. Good for him.

Business School For Free On iTunes – You even get a voice recording of someone reading a diploma at the end.

Death by Spork Would Be Torture in Deleware – The best outcome for this kid would be to NOT have to return to this band of idiots to be “educated”.

Pitfalls and Perils of Blogging – Some stuff to think about.

Willie Nelson’s Got a New Broadband Plan – It looks like a box full of networking equipment, but really you just put your weed in there.

Sifting Mountains of Data – When I retire, I’m going to sit on my back porch and whittle on data. All. Day. Long.

Digital Passive-Aggressive Communication – This articulates something I’ve been saying much better than I can articulate it myself. Wave combines the rapid fire communication of Twitter with the give and take (or “ignore”) of email. It just needs to be beefier at this point, and we need to train our brains to use it.

Jamie Dupree Gets the White House Heisman!

September 14, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

I heard WSB Atlanta’s Jamie Dupree, a bona fide member of the media, talking about getting the Heisman from the White House and found an account of it on his blog:

I emailed Deputy White House Press Secretary Reid Cherlin, who was quoted extensively in a story in Saturday’s New York Times, and asked if I could get the information emailed to me.

“Where are you seeing that I distributed “talking points”?” Cherlin replied somewhat huffily to me by email.

He then went on to say that “having never worked with you or heard from you before, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that I didn’t send anything to you.”

Hmmm.

I guess I hit a nerve by having the nerve to ask for information from the White House Press Office.

At least he didn’t give me a Serena Williams reply.

Mad Men, Hitler, and Head-On Commercials

July 22, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Flashback to 1933: US ad industry digs Hitler.

The article then goes on to quote Hitler at length talking about something that Americans who worked in advertising at the time already believed: that the masses are morons who respond only to simple messages repeated thousands of times…

You really do see it every day in advertising–a catchy phrase is repeated often and all of a sudden it is part of the vernacular. It becomes an accepted truth of the society.

I certainly hope no politician ever tries to change our political system into one driven by empty slogans.

Bullets and Seeds

May 26, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

I’m a little surprised this article on suburban survivalists doesn’t mention bullets at all.

“There’s so many people who are concerned about the economy that there’s a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all lines, social, economic, political and religious,” he said. “There’s a steep learning curve going on right now.”

It’s nice to have canned food and a generator, but veggies taste much better when they are a side item. If you are a serious suburban survivalist, it seems like you’d be stocking up on ammunition as well.

While you can still buy it.

Gettin’ After It!