Holy hailstorm, Batman!

We got slammed by some nasty storms yesterday.

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New action blockbuster this summer?  Nope.  I once asked if speedbumps damaged cars….well now I would have to say “yes”.  Jen had to replace her tie rods on the ’scort, and now, $220 later, even the Escape fell victim to the year and a half of speed bumpage.  Stabilizer bars, a tie rod, all replaced.  Sweet.

I want to buy a new car, and I’d like my employer to subsidize the expense.

The Lansing State Journal is reporting that the Lansing Board of Water and Light is projecting a possible 21 percent increase in rates to pay for a new $1 billion power plant.  Never mind the local economy is in shambles, with skyrocketing gas prices and manufacturing layoffs left and right.  Or the local and state government’s can’t get their heads out of their asses long enough to attempt to even balance a budget, let alone create an environment where people and businesses actually want to come here.

No, let’s make customers pay at least a fifth more than they already are, for a new freakin’ coal plant.  What the f- is going on here?!

I’ve got it!

1. Read about a drunken gathering of idiots on popular public social networking sites, as well as the local media hyping up such an event.

2. Attend event, on the sidelines, and record video of it.  Be sure to zoom in on lots of faces.

3. Sell video to the authorities and news media. (So that’s what takes the place of “???”)

4. Profit!

So the other day I was thinking about what it would take to go to the Final Four in Detroit next year.  One, it’s relatively close to home, and two, think about the possibilities of Michigan State playing in the Final Four, in Detroit.  That would be most excellent.  My search lead my to the NCAA Online store, where there were details on how one might actually purchase tickets to such an event.

The basics are that you have until May 31 to enter a lottery for the chance for tickets.  You can opt for one or two “books”, each containing tickets to the games in Detroit.  The books are $150 or $170 each.  You can enter up to 10 times for the random drawing.  You have to front the money first, and if you don’t get selected you get a refund (minus $6 per entry for fees).  Soooooo…..for two ticket books, entered once, I’d have to put up $346 for the chance to get seats somewhere in Ford Field.  I could put in more entries, but that’s another $346 for each entry!  Buuuut, how much is the chance to see the Spartans (if they make it) almost at home in the Final Four!

Luckily, one reporter tells his experience of watching this year’s Sweet Sixteen at Ford Field, and how it essentially was crap.  Which makes sense, if I think about it.  I remember watching the Basketbowl at Ford Field, and really I think I watched most of it on the jumbotron.  So maybe I should just save my money and watch things in the comfort of my own home?  The beer’s cheapers, no line for the bathrooms, and the couch is comfortable.  Heck, we could always go to a bar in E.L., too.

It also makes me wonder…is there any way to petition the NCAA to bring tournament games back to actual basketball arenas?  You know, for the better experience for the fans and all?

I’m messing with Wordpress and a bunch of other stuff….hoping to make some changes here soon.  Let me know if something doesn’t work!

Robert X. Cringely writes an interesting piece about the role technology plays in the K-12 classrooms of today and tomorrow.  He makes an interesting point:  the technology we take for granted today was likely considered superfluous by those before us, and the same will hold true.  Will we consider tomorrow’s tech as unnecessary, since we were able to get by without it?  It’s an interesting idea.  Think about it - our parents managed to get through high school without TI-85s and computers.  Our generation was probably at the forefront of actively using the Internet in school, using graphic calculator for calculus, and revising papers in MS Word.  Do kids even still write first drafts in long hand any more?

Cringely points out how in today’s classroom schools are actively trying to block out cell phones, text messages, instant messengers, and Internet access during exams.  But as a generation that has grown up with these things as second nature, like writing with a pencil, are we holding students back by not embracing new technologies?  It got me thinking….just this past weekend we were at an event where we witnessed two young girls, they couldn’t have been more than 10 years old.  They had a cell phone, and were busy passing it back and forth talking on it.  I remember thinking to myself that when I had kids, they wouldn’t be getting any sort of cell phone until they were much older, if they needed it, and only then it would be limited for emergency use.  Why not, I made it through life without one for quite awhile and everything turned out fine.

But this got me thinking.  Even if I was relatively late to the game, I’ve used my personal cell phone as my primary “contact” number for quite awhile now.  Jen and I each have our own phones, and have no intention really of getting a traditional landline phone.  Why pay for that extra line if we’re already paying for a mobile line that is infinitely more convenient?  I admit that I’ve started to take for granted that most contact numbers I have for people are their personal numbers - if I call that line I expect to get that person.

So our children will probably grow up in an environment where each person has their own personal phone number.  Instant message (via computer or text message) will be even more universal.  Internet access will be everywhere and tied to everything.   Rather than warily look to whatever advances happen, should we instead try and learn about and embrace everything new as much as we can?  Are we only holding ourselves back by the “damn kids, get off my lawn!” attitude?  Definitely check out the main article.

They Took Our Jbbs
I wanted to pass along another editorial I recently read in InformationWeek.  The subject of foreign outsourcing has been a hot topic lately in the tech magazines I follow.  Job loss and outsourcing has also been a close to home point in the local Michigan economy, as well.  Everyone seems to be asking the powers-that-be, be it presidential candidates or the governor, “how will you bring jobs back to Michigan?”.  This quote struck me, though:

In the end, job creation is a byproduct of smart investments, technology and otherwise. It can’t be the goal in itself.

You can’t just magically create new jobs in the state.  There’s got to be something here for industries, whether it’s tech or manufacturing.  It seems like we hear the politicos preach that they’ll fix things (I promise!), but we never hear how.

T-shirts and St. Patrick’s Day
Another site I’ve seen floating around viral-style is StuffWhitePeopleLike.  Ha!  Just off the front page, check out St. Patrick’s Day and T-Shirts.

A quick thought on the prospect of Michigan’s aim to re-do the Democratic primary, this time for reals:  how in the heck are they going to come up with a decent fix?

Chesney said it also remains unclear what — if any — mechanism might be included to prevent those who voted in the GOP primary on Jan. 15 from voting in the second Democratic primary.

I assume that there were a number of people who, in the original primary, wanted to vote for Obama but didn’t because he wasn’t on the ballot and didn’t want to take the time to throw a worthless “undecided” vote.  Or, there probably were people who were uncomitted to either party, and since the Democratic primary didn’t look like it mattered voted in the Republican primary.  If the Dem roster was full, might they have voted in that one instead?  How do you make this fair to everyone?  Do you allow anyone to vote in the new and improved Democratic primary, regardless of what they might have done before?  That’s hardly fair to both parties.  But I have a feeling that no matter what they come up with, there’s no good way to have everyone in the state truely voice their opinion anymore.  Heh, maybe both parties could just do it over.  Good job, Michigan.  Why can’t there be a national primary day again??

On a better note, check out another great comic from xkcd:

If you got a big keyspace, let me search it.

Flat panel LCD TVs in hotels are great and all as a selling point. But what’s the point of having that great high definition set if you’re still gonna have crappy analog cable hooked up to it? And the thing is, standard definition analog cable looks worse on that widescreen LCD than it would on a regular tube TV!

You’ve seen the commercials lately for the Rhapsody/Tivo tie-in with Sara Bareilles, right? The one with that highly overplayed “gonna write you a love sooong” bit? What happened to the original where she shared time with the Cool Kids?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bXXxx1HeWk[/youtube]

Why are the current ones playing both songs by her? Wasn’t the whole point that you had a jukebox through your Tivo that catered to you, no matter how eclectic your tastes were? What the heck is the point of just switching to another song by the same artist? Bah!

Thank, you Daily Show, for showing that you’re the best thing on TV lately until the writers get their thumbs out of their assess and write some more predictable rehashed story lines we’ve probably already seen, but at least it will be new. I never would have expected to see a graphic of the state of Michigan used this way, but it’s awesome:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs5fxMT-PdA[/youtube]

If the YouTube link doesn’t work, the original can be found here, at about the 2:49 mark into the video. Good job on exposing what a clusterf- of politics this state is. Why can’t we just have a national primary day and be done with the mess?

The Lansing State Journal is running a story today about a case of neglected animals found in Eaton County. What is unique, or possibly not-so-unique (which is why the whole ordeal is so depressing) is how the county has handled these pets.

To summarize the article, five weeks ago an elderly woman was forced to leave her home. The house is in BFE Charlotte, described as “squalid”, and was reported to not have any running water or working electricity when she left. She left two dogs and five cats to fend for themselves; the dogs were chained outside in the backyard. Anyone who’s in the area knows what the weather has been like for the past month.

The main issue is that while the county tried to search out a next-of-kin or relative or somebody to claim the abandoned animals, they were still outside uncared for. Some neighbors took pity on the animals and fed and watered them, while other neighbors reported the case to the county sheriff’s office and animal control. But the county officials said that if the animals were technically being “cared for”, they couldn’t remove them from the home. Hence the local paper became involved and you have the link above. It explains it much better than I can.

What I don’t get is how something like this could happen in the first place. It’s obviously a case of neglect, and obvious that proper authorities needed to be involved. Mostly it sounds like the people running the Sheriff’s office and animal control in Eaton County are f-ing retards, inept at best. If there were children still living in an abandoned derelict home with no food, water, or heat, would they be left like that for five weeks while trying to find distant family? Come on!

They’ve posted an update, where the animals are now at the Capital Area Humane Society. There’s still mention of waiting for the animals to be “signed over”, which hopefully means signed over from the Eaton County people and NOT that they’re still looking for the deadbeat asshole family that caused the problem in the first place.

I don’t really know what to do; mainly I just want to spread the word. Judging by the comments attached to the main article others are calling and writing both the paper and the agencies involved expressing concerns. The whole situation is disgusting…s- like this shouldn’t happen. I understand there are rules and regulations and protection for property rights and all that - but come on, people need some common sense, too.