February 2012
8 posts
Hey gamers, this is why we can't have nice things →
One Town's War On Gay Teens →
This is probably one of the most heartbreaking articles I’ve ever read.
who else is uncomfortable with women in tech?...
Case in point: the strange, sad case of Violet Blue at Mac World, wherein a developer showcasing her work is dismissed as The Saddest Booth Babe In The World.
Violet who? She’s a sex columnist like Dan Savage, except neither funny nor relevant. So not at all like Dan Savage. Anyway, after getting called out on her shit, it just gets better:
“I put the woman in a social category based on...
2012 is going to be a dumb year
sadsquatch:
Pennsylvania names the bible as the most important book of the year.
Indiana decides creationism is just as valid as evolution.
A teen wins her lawsuit to have a prayer banner removed from her school, only to face death threats by armchair crusaders.
An Oklahoma senator is worried about fetuses being used in food.
HOLY SHIT WE ONLY JUST FINISHED JANUARY HOLD ONTO YOUR ASSES...
January 2012
13 posts
an excellent allegory about tech interviews →
This is why I often feel that I dislike the industry. Bogging down in minutiae versus getting shit done. Too many of Rands’ Got’cha Gregs hanging around, flaunting their superiority complexes.
Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice... →
There’s no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.
I hear it also causes cancer in lab animals.
1 tag
parislemon: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things →
parislemon:
A lot of people have asked for my take on The New York Times piece yesterday about the true cost of making Apple products in China. Let me first just say that it’s an important piece full of good reporting by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza. Parts of it are very sad — sickening, really.
But…
There’s now an egregiously hyperbolic tag-along linkbait article on Mother...
Conspiracy of the day: Was Megaupload Targeted... →
Personally, I still think the timing was more of a big F U to the anti-SOPA/PIPA activists, but this seems a compelling argument as well. As an added bonus (for supporters of draconian control of the internet), it distracted everyone from ACTA.
Like robots? Like Jim Henson?
You’ll probably like this, then.
Richard Stallman makes some good points about... →
Kill Hollywood, Not Movies
parislemon:
The fallout from the failure of SOPA and PIPA is just as interesting as the main topics themselves. First, many on the web with loud voices are finally waking up to how corrupt the lobbying/political system is in this country. Second, directly-related, there’s a quickly growing anti-Hollywood sentiment.
The most forceful stance has to be Y Combinator putting out a new RFS (Request...
Don't Be Evil* →
parislemon:
*except if evilness is good for business.
The basics: Google, by way of their Getting Kenyan Business Online initiative, stole customers (and data) from rival Mocality.
Mocality uncovered as much in a clever sting operation, not unlike the one Google itself used to catch Bing “borrowing” search results last year.
What a fucked up situation. Google has fessed up to it, but is...
“Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t...”
– Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
December 2011
15 posts
Interesting article over at the Atlantic about Finnish school success. Though really, the bottom line is .. well, the bottom line:
Decades ago, when the Finnish school system was badly in need of reform, the goal of the program that Finland instituted, resulting in so much success today, was never excellence. It was equity.
Why this continues to surprise anyone is beyond me.
I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...
”[..] theaters are losing their charm”
From Roger Ebert’s usually excellent1 column. Anecdotally, this is spot-on. My mother, whose usual modus operandi is to see at least a movie every month, whether or not my father wants to, no matter what is actually playing, has been opining more of late about how much she doesn’t like going out to the theater anymore. When...
“How did a nation that, aside from its mussels and chips, renowned chocolate and...”
– Belgium, a small, unremarkable country, brews world-reknowned beer. The country also makes a bigger range than any other—1,131 at the last count. Its hybrid history and culture are part of the reason why. (via theeconomist)
GoDaddy's support of SOPA should surprise no one
Nerds are funny in their isolated worldview. I’ve often wondered how so many of my peers could justify buying up $1 domains from GoDaddy on one hand, then in nearly the same breath bash the working poor who can’t afford to buy groceries anywhere but WalMart for having the audacity to shop there.
What makes it doubly amusing now is the increasing furor over GoDaddy’s support for...
Great article on the TSA and security theater for... →
But really, you guys had me at Bruce Schneier.
Badges? We don't need ..
My healthcare provider has this useless new rule about showing photo ID before check-in — I guess because unlike credit card based copays, those totally can’t be forged.
I figured it was a matter of time, and, yup, I just flashed my GameStop rewards card because I wasn’t paying attention.
You stay classy, Alabama.
In other happy news, the US is now even more on track for a GINI coefficient approaching Brazil’s own happy mess.
Now that we’re nearing the completion of the Iraq war, it’s worth reflecting upon some of our many numerous accomplishments.
I work for the internet?
Having been thus far too lazy to properly unfollow the defaults, this was on my dashboard today. Allow me to respond, then, and say: Good for you. I, however, my dear tumblr, do not.
I mean, if you want to be cute, I technically do, and have done so for more than a decade. But being just another neckbeard in the tech sector, the reality is that I work for a paycheck. The internet is a medium....
November 2011
8 posts
Possibly the dumbest OWS-themed shit I've seen... →
I silently cringed when coworkers made happy noises over Occupy Flash. But where that simple geek diversion divorced actual productive populist movement from its iconoclastic iconography, this one is less of a divorce and more of a show trial and summary execution.
An interesting, if depressing, data visualization... →
Drive safe this holiday!
October 2011
5 posts
1 tag
2 tags
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to...”
– Steve Jobs (via -redux)
September 2011
2 posts
The title alone .. geeze. →