Cynicool :: the link blog

Sarah Palin Needs Help

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:48:32 -0800

I’m not huge on the national politics thing anymore. I rarely pay that much attention to potential candidates who people love to hate, but the clarity on this post by Nate Silver is tough to argue. I’ve enjoyed reading Andrew Sullivan talk about what an idiot she s, only to have him talk about her genius after she spoke to the Tea Party people, but no one that I’ve seen has come up with this kind of analysis of her without the discrediting anger. I don’t really care if she makes her way back onto a ticket, nor do I care one way or the other if she’s elected to something, but I do appreciate the spectacle she’s become. That’s how politics is now.

Nevada lawmakers unhappy with overtime costs from furloughs | rgj.com | The Reno Gazette-Journal

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:57:41 -0800

Nevada lawmakers unhappy with overtime costs from furloughs | rgj.com | The Reno Gazette-Journal:

Very interesting. I was having this talk a week or so ago about the perception of state workers with regards to furloughs. When they were imposed, it was assumed that the same amount of work would get done. That’s how it was for me while at Tourism. Except the only way to actually handle the situation would be to have to cut services and duties by 4.6% or whatever. If that didn’t happen, then the (mostly wrong) perception would be that the 4.6% was overpayment for the job being done. So, you could perpetuate the political feeling that state workers have it easy (by impossibly extracting more work in less time), or you could actually cut what each agency is doing by the amount being cut from paychecks. This story is the natural consequence of expecting more work in less time (remember, the furlough wasn’t just a cut in pay, but a cut in hours worked as well). You send everyone home for a day a month, you get a day a month per person less of work, and the overtime, where you can earn it (I couldn’t and can’t) increases, resulting in much less savings, or even a net cost to the state.

FT.com / Reportage - Moscow’s stray dogs

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:12:26 -0800

FT.com / Reportage - Moscow’s stray dogs:

This is pretty interesting. I have become more fascinated by dogs since I have had them. I never cared before that, but can certainly respect their intelligence and appreciate they way they go about business.

What Are the Odds That a Given Cow Will Make It to the Super Bowl? - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:23:09 -0800

What Are the Odds That a Given Cow Will Make It to the Super Bowl? - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com:

I’m a geek for this stuff.

Judge censured for ordering class-action lawyer to take pay in $125,000 worth of gift-cards

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:41:59 -0800

Judge censured for ordering class-action lawyer to take pay in $125,000 worth of gift-cards:

I totally think this judge was onto something.

Presenting...The Deadspin Miami Super Bowl Bounty Hunt [Duan!]

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:18:48 -0800

Presenting...The Deadspin Miami Super Bowl Bounty Hunt [Duan!]:

Why do I love Deadspin? Oh yeah, THIS.

The Vice Guide to Liberia. Excellent film.

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:01:00 -0800

The Vice Guide to Liberia. Excellent film.

Dullard Mush: Democrat F-Bombs, Newspaper Pay Walls and Union Censorship

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:21:58 -0800

Dullard Mush: Democrat F-Bombs, Newspaper Pay Walls and Union Censorship:

Heh.

I Love Walled Gardens, by Rory Marinich

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:19:58 -0800

I Love Walled Gardens, by Rory Marinich:

Huge yes to this post. I am interested in openness in the web and devices built for the web, but I just don’t think they matter. This guy makes some outstanding points about how they muck everything up and can just serve to waste time.

Kindle was already limited by its closed platform

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:22:32 -0800

Kindle was already limited by its closed platform:

I disagree. Readers will want to read their books on devices that work well. Openness and customizability is a weird thing that geeks love to talk about but never seems to be necessary to the masses buying things like, say, iPods.

★ The iPad Big Picture

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:33:53 -0800

★ The iPad Big Picture:

Brilliant post in its entirety. As I thought about this thing all day, as a lover of things moving mobile, I got more excited about it. I am hardly an analyst or pundit when it comes to technology, but I am an avid consumer of it. I also am admittedly (and obviously) incredibly biased toward all products Apple.

With that, I offer a short opinion on this thing. It’s going to be a gigantic success and it’s going to change computing. Just like I think my iPhone has forever changed my computing from something entirely stationary to something mostly mobile, this will have that effect, only further as it will allow actual production to take place where my iPhone has not. What I mean is that with the addition of the iWork suite and the increased size of the device itself, this will now be a true mobile computer that can easily do what a vast majority of people spend a vast majority of their time on computers doing—writing and reading.

To add to it the things that Apple is saying about their production, as outlined in the Gruber post, you get a pretty clear picture of the future brought to us by, let’s face it, the real innovator in computing.

I started my day thinking just as I did when the original iPod was released—that I didn’t have much need for one. Almost a decade later and several iPods into my relationship with them, I realize how wrong I was on the iPod (I really liked the name ‘Canvas’ that was thrown around and think iPad is horrible) originally. After only watching the video on this iPad, I am already seeing how wrong I was for a few hours. I will own one and I will use the holy hell out of it. I can’t wait until they’re around for us to try out.

Man arrested 74 times in 24 months

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:10:26 -0800

Man arrested 74 times in 24 months:

Can you get arrested for “resisting arrest?”

A Myth of Grass-Fed Beef - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:57:40 -0800

A Myth of Grass-Fed Beef - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com:

Hmmm. So a movement is possibly ignorant to the facts or is fudging them to make their point? Who would have thought?

Tired of people getting their news for free, Newsday puts its web site behind a pay wall for $5 a week. After three months, they have a grand total of 35 paying customers [Fail]

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:07:03 -0800

Tired of people getting their news for free, Newsday puts its web site behind a pay wall for $5 a week. After three months, they have a grand total of 35 paying customers [Fail]:

What I love about these moves by news companies is that they will say it doesn’t matter because all of their print subscribers and all of the local cable company subscribers have free access. What they fail to understand (or at least admit when they spin it) is that they’re now not growing. They have 35 new people. That’s it. The print subscribers have it. Great. So we’re still relying on the print model and the way other people would have found them (online) is now shut off. News companies that do this deserve the death they’ll cause themselves.

Gridiron time

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:21:38 -0800

Gridiron time:

This is so funny.

The Vice Guide to Liberia | MetaFilter

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:07:02 -0800

The Vice Guide to Liberia | MetaFilter:

I have been watching this as they come out and it’s really something. Vice seems to me to be the absolute best when it comes to creating interesting, ballsy documentaries on the web. Their guide to North Korea is about an hour long and had me in a trance the one day I sat down to watch it straight through. They do things that I haven’t seen anywhere else and they are also good at just telling a story in a way to keep you interested. To top it off, the stories are stories that help you understand the world better. You should not only watch these, but you should be watching vbs.tv for any new stories, as they’re all worth it.

Haiti earthquake: 360° video - Special Coverage on CNN.com

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:01:42 -0800

Haiti earthquake: 360° video - Special Coverage on CNN.com:

This is way cool. It looks like they’re shooting with a 360 degree camera view and putting the footage together in a way that makes it interactive. Outstanding stuff.

Mark Sanchez Is The New JaMarcus Russell, Only Worse [Nfl]

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:29:58 -0800

Mark Sanchez Is The New JaMarcus Russell, Only Worse [Nfl]:

Wow. I had no idea Sanchez was this bad. And I actually had no idea Russell was as good as the numbers indicate, even thought they’re not that good. They’re still better than I thought.

About those cruise ships docking at Haiti...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:52:10 -0800

About those cruise ships docking at Haiti...:

It’s hard to disagree with this.

Company Introduces Sarcasm Punctuation Mark, Patent-Pending, for $2

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:34:33 -0800

Company Introduces Sarcasm Punctuation Mark, Patent-Pending, for $2:

I hate this idea. How dumb could it be, really? The point of sarcasm is to see who gets the joke, right? I’ve always hated when people do the thing because if you have to say it’s sarcasm, it’s not funny anymore!