Wow, there may be a new low in this year’s Presidential election season…here’s Jon Stewart telling it like it is:
Nothing like pandering to your heavy political demographic of 14-year-old boys, right? Here’s the full segment. I have to say it’s like watching a trainwreck, horrible yet magnificent at the same time. I think McCain’s is the most awkward, although “Hill-Rod” is quite possibly the lamest nickname ever.
Let’s celebrate! Here’s what I think would be fun….
- Having a giant tire fire in the back yard
- Drive fast to work
- At any stop sign or light, rev the engine to spend more gas
- Go the store and buy as many aerosol cans as possible, and use them all in the parking lot. Ask the clerk for the ones with the most CFCs.
- Visit nearby Michigan State’s campus, and hold a rally. Have signs and shirts saying “Down with Ozone!” and spray the aerosol cans around. Preferably near an Earth Day celebration rally.
- Fill up any number of gas powered small engines, mowers, chainsaws, weed whackers, etc., and just let them run.
Any other suggestions? 
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!
Tags: idiots
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?
Tags: basketball, michiganstate
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!
Tags: blogging
We’re one of those teams. You know, the ones you see on the ticker at the bottom, hopelessly down and you’re like “Man, sucks to be that team. They don’t have a chance.”
How different would things have been if they didn’t have to start the second half with a 30 point deficit?
I want to be able to revise my bracket after the first round - there’s a whole tons of teams that I underestimated, as well as ones that I overestimated. Even the sure things aren’t sure!
Sigh….maybe next year? Was it too optimistic to think of making the Elite 8?
Oh, wow, this is cool. I’ve seen this mentioned in a couple different places now; Muxtape is a SIMPLE way to create and share MP3 playlists online. You sign up fast (just give a username, password, and email address) and then are given a blank slate to upload up to 12 MP3s to share with the world. You point people to yourusername.muxtape.com and they are greeted with a minimalist playlist to listen to the songs streamed over the Interweb. Alas, I don’t think I have any songs I can actually legally upload, but I love the concept.
I’ve having a field day just browsing the playlists. What an eclectic collection! I’m rocking to alexlines right now…it feels akin to browsing YouTube or Wikipedia for random things…..just stumbling on new crazy stuff! Now all I want is a direct link to be able to download songs (or even the entire list!) from Amazon…
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.
StewartColbertBooks.com - Books from the Daily Show and the Colbert Report
I finally found it! An actual updated list (even with RSS!) of the books featured on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report!