Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Much Sorry with Delays
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How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
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Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
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Thursday, May 1. 2014

Thursday Rondelet

Bird Dog needs therapy, so you're stuck with me. I imagine he's
currently trying to convince some girl to rub him the wrong way in order
to relax his tense muscles. He should just read the papers. Everything
in there will rub you the wrong way. 


Half the population of Illinois would move if they could.


Sounds low. Hell, I wish I could move to Illinois, just so I could move out of Illinois.


15 "Retronym" Terms in modern usage.


Retronym? Hmm. The term the author is looking for most of these terms is "a debasement."


Delightful Portraits From Around America, at Slate


The photographer, and her audience, aren't accustomed to regular people.


He's not obscure, exactly; he's just not universal. Ahmad Jamal in 1959


I don't know about you, but Ahmad Jamal seems cooler than I am.


Wired is very concerned that Hackers Can Mess With Traffic Lights to Jam Roads and Reroute Cars


Yes,
and a man could walk into the middle of any intersection and start
directing traffic, and people would obey him if he looked legit. So
what?


Supreme Court reverses patent judges (again) in 9-0 decision on lawyer fees


The Supreme Court wants to ensure lawyers get paid, coming and going. Duh.


Driver caught using cell phone jamming device


I'm not saying he should have done it. I'm saying I understand.


Guess "The Deadliest Animal in the World" before you click this link to Bill Gates' blog


I got it wrong. I hereby apologize to my cat.


Grantland is flummoxed that the world's greatest living juggler quit and opened a construction company


People who can't do much of anything are always astonished that people than can do something can do something else, too.


Apple freaks can't understand why nothing can kill the PC. Since the iPad can't do it, Dustin Curtis figures cellphones will


Dustin's
hypothesis is that old people don't count. My hypothesis is that young
people can't find their ass with a map and a flashlight.


Inc. Magazine wonders about The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship. Ooh, sounds pretty grim -- to a journalist


Take it from me. Entrepreneurism isn't easy, but it's a porcupine, and all the needles face out.


The Execupundit:



As the
employees examined some of the equipment, the owner stood by and said
nothing. He was remembering how difficult it had once been to afford
those machines, even the basic ones. What the employees regarded as
standard, he saw as an achievement.



Institutional memory is important.


The Times is shocked that Yahoo's Marissa Mayer's remuneration is tied to the performance of a company she manages


Lots of things shock the Times -- except shocking things, generally. CEOs get a piece of the action, and talking about it like it's wages is stupid. Me? I just like saying "Marissa Mayer's remuneration" over and over.


NASA appears to have allowed people to vote on the design of their latest spacesuit, with predictable results.


What happened to you NASA? You used to be cool.


How I removed Email From My Life


Install of labeling it, threading it, full-screening it, and adding it Google Hangouts, I just answer my emails. Seems easier.


The Mayor of Toronto, currently up for re-election, has apparently been seen smoking crack. On video. Again.


He and Marion Barry should star in a buddy picture.

Posted by Roger de Hauteville in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:55 | Comments (15) | Trackbacks (0)

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I know people who love Chicago and would never leave. Nice place to visit (briefly). No desire to stay.
#1 NJSoldier on 2014-05-01 07:48 (Reply)
RE - Yahoo! CEO's $$$ tied to performance? Gosh, that must have The Gray Lady's nickers in a real wad - since their methodology of operation never contemplated that style of compensation.

Talk about a sheltered life...
#2 fred zeppelin on 2014-05-01 08:48 (Reply)
The Death of the PC has been foreseen, but will never come to fruition - they are far more inexpensive than ANYTHING Apple produces, far more known\used in the real world, far more acceptance for business\governance usage, and nothing has risen to surpass it.

The smart phone\tablet market may do this, but they are far more limited in both computing power and usage than the standard desktop\laptop.

Even what Apple fields is limited, but mimics what the MS-based PC does. Not saying MS is better, but it is FAR more accepted\implemented. Try and repair a Mac - almost impossible. I (and many others) can do most repairs on PC's, even with the current iterations, and Google searches. Apple doesn't allow that.

They have been saying this since the late 90's - and the PC\Microsoft keeps chugging along... I look forward to 'the one OS that binds them all', but it isn't there yet. Redmond isn't Mordor, but it does hold the Cat-bird seat in usage, even with the slippage that has occurred.
#3 fred zeppelin on 2014-05-01 09:06 (Reply)
PCs, particularly desktop/laptops, tend to be more powerful, too.

As toys and entertainment vehicles, tablets will eventually be more prevalent. As useful productivity tools, the PC will likely remain atop the heap for some time.
#3.1 Bulldog on 2014-05-01 09:11 (Reply)
It is the difference between an appliance and a tool, plain and simple. An Apple product is an appliance, a PC is a tool. I think there are some who are afraid of using tools.

What an Apple product does it does well, but that's it. Full operability has been stripped out in favor of simplicity. I was recently comparing an app on an iPhone with the same version for an Android phone (I know, it's technically not a PC but many look at Android as the PC of the smartphone world) and was underwhelmed. Clunky and lacking the options and flexibility that the Android app had.
#3.1.1 Kellym on 2014-05-01 11:42 (Reply)
The sealed-box Apple concept always annoyed me.
#3.2 NJSoldier on 2014-05-01 09:21 (Reply)
I use my PC for work. I am pleased with my relatively new PC,as it is faster, quieter and cooler than my old PC. My old Dell was very reliable, so it was both cheaper than a Mac and also a good value. Apple is more expensive, but it doesn't appear to be as good a value. More buck for about the same bang as a PC. While the MS OS may have its quirks, they don't bother me as I am well accustomed to them.

I also notice that a lot of Apple computers have greatly reduced hard drive size in favor of having data in the Cloud. No thanks. I want my data accessible at all times.

A tablet, a laptop, or a phone won't do for my work. I need that big keyboard. Though you can hook up a big keyboard to a laptop, I prefer a desktop for two more reasons: first, a desktop provides better computing value than a laptop. It is also easier to replace and upgrade a desktop than a laptop. Like fred zeppelin said, it is not difficult to get into a PC desktop and replace or upgrade a part.

One-size-fits-all no longer applies. Phones, tablets, e-readers can be used in lieu of a PC for specialized functions. My e-readers are much better for reading docs than my PC. But there are things that PCs can do that phones, tablets, and e-readers cannot do.
#3.3 Gringo on 2014-05-01 13:10 (Reply)
It seems to me patent law needs to be changed dramatically, along with copyright law.

I have no problem with someone getting granted rights to develop what they invented, for a limited time. Unlike some Libertarians, I believe there are some benefits to this. But the time frames are too long, and the fact is too many patents get locked up by firms for no other reason than to keep them out of the market.

In addition, some ideas (like Amazon's 'one click purchase') really should never be allowed to be patented.

Patent trolls exist because the laws are screwed up and need to be altered.
#4 Bulldog on 2014-05-01 09:10 (Reply)
Wholeheartedly agree - how it is used is far different than prior to 1995.

While at it, also update copywrite and trademark too - the current 'favor media' approach is unworkable, and is far more repressive than solves the piracy issue. But, until we get the RIAA and their like-ilk (along with their $$$ and cherry-picking lobbyists for writing laws Congress don't understand), its only gonna get worse.

You should see the Taj Mahal PTO built across the Potomac - Its a monstrosity to the egos of the DC crowd - I did some server migration work there after it opened, and its a testament to grandiose designs on a simple procedure...
#4.1 fred zeppelin on 2014-05-01 09:44 (Reply)
Ergo

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/05/01/the-conservative-case-against-todays-copyright-law/
#5 fred zeppelin on 2014-05-01 10:26 (Reply)
Half of Connecticut wants out, too.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/slideshow/Poll-Half-of-Connecticut-residents-want-to-leave-84932.php
#6 Pinata on 2014-05-01 12:08 (Reply)
re: NASA

my choice for NASA spacesuits
#7 Ming the Merciless on 2014-05-01 12:42 (Reply)
"Dustin's
hypothesis is that old people don't count. My hypothesis is that young
people can't find their ass with a map and a flashlight."

pundits have been saying that the PC is dead for over a decade, that 'real soon now' (tm)(p)(r)(c) everyone will use XXX (fill in your favourite gadget) instead of PCs.

And each of those gadgets is very nice, for something. Yet all of them have a few things in common:
- terrible text entry system
- small screen
- very limited options for adding external devices like printers, data carriers, sensors, etc. etc.

Used to be the PDA, then the tablet PC, then the smartphone, then the tablet, and I'm sure they'll come up with something else in a year or two that will "kill the computer".
#8 J.T. Wenting on 2014-05-01 13:38 (Reply)
There was a recent survey in Maryland and 47% of the population said they would leave if they were able to.
#9 Ray on 2014-05-01 15:08 (Reply)
I've seen that too, and it was dismissed by the local media, saying the 'transient out of state workers' were included in the sample.

You know its hitting close to home, when the Eastern Shore counties, along with the Western Counties are fed up with the three central counties dictating to the others on everything. I'm just waiting for the locals to raise a ballot initiave like CO did for their three break-away Counties did. Maybe Annapolis, PG\Anne Arundel\Balto Counties would take notice, but dismiss it with the Race Card(tm)
#9.1 fred zeppelin on 2014-05-02 06:35 (Reply)

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