Archive for January, 2008
Dear Wisconsin : Wake up!
I live in the fair state of Wisconsin (in the fair city of Milwaukee, for those of you playing along at home). Having grown up next door in lovely Minnesota, I’ve enjoyed exploring the various similarities and differences between these two Midwest neighbors.
Recently, I’ve become extremely frustrated with the short sighted approach taken by my state legislators when considering a state wide smoking ban. Minnesota, Illinois, and a handful of municipalities in the state have gone completely smoke-free for indoor workplaces. The state legislator is stuck on this issue and it doesn’t look promising for this session.
Here’s the flaw in their logic, and the reason I’m scolding them for being too short sighted:
Instead of promoting Wisconsin as a progressive, dynamic state and enticing young professionals like myself, the legislature is bending over backward to protect the economic interests of the small bars in northern Wisconsin. Net effect : Minnesota & Illinois look a whole lot more appealing!
Yes, I am drawing a clear line here. I firmly believe that there is more economic benefit for the state as a whole to promote and encourage a health-conscious agenda that appeals most to today’s professional adults. Even if that comes at the expense of a few bars up north. Of course, every state that has gone smoke free has discovered that the bar owners generally increase revenue by attracting more customers, but I’m sure there will be at least a few hole in the wall bars that will suffer. So be it.
The times are changing. Wisconsin needs to wake up and meet the change head on!
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, politics : Comments (5) : Jan 31st, 2008
Jan 31, 2007 : Never Forget
One year ago today, we learned just how far the Boston police could overreact to a harmless advertising prank.
In honor of the anniversary, makers all over Boston put up similar LED artworks.
Filed under culture : Comments (0) : Jan 31st, 2008
State of the Union 2008
Someone, please hand that man a calculator.
As far as I can tell, Bush’s final State of the Union address can be summed up thusly:
Cut taxes. Increase government spending & programs. Never leave Iraq. God bless America.
Not exactly the sort of message we’re looking for, and certainly not the sort of message you would expect from the party that once stood for fiscal conservatism. It’s pretty clear that those days are long past when Bush starts trumpeting his economic stimulus boondoggle plan that’s likely to do no good at great cost.
Cato Institute: Pressroom — Cato Scholars Comment on Bush’s Last State of the Union Address via kwout
Filed under economics, politics : Comments (0) : Jan 29th, 2008
USPTO is broken
In another example of capitalism-gone-wrong, the US Patent Office just issued an extremely vague patent for “A mobile entertainment and communication device in a palm-held size housing” (Read: smartphone).
The company filing this patent is a group of patent-trolls who prey on the success of others by filing patents for products they didn’t invent, then suing everyone with a bank account once it proves to be commercially successful.
Gigatec - Home via kwout
Patents are a crucial legal tool to protect innovators & inventors. When abused in this way, everybody loses. [Read more at Engadget]
Filed under technology : Comments (0) : Jan 26th, 2008
Fun with Google
I’ve never invested much time or energy into promoting tadfad.com, so it’s always a little surprising when Google picks up on one of my pages. Using their webmaster tool kit, I stumbled upon this today:
For all those Volvo radio hackers out there, I’m #1 in Google results. [Small victories must be celebrated.]
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (0) : Jan 25th, 2008
Italy
Things Italians are good at:
- Making wine
- Making delicious food
- Smoking cigarettes and looking cool
Things Italians are not good at:
- Democratic government
International News - New York Times via kwout
Filed under politics : Comments (0) : Jan 25th, 2008
HD Radio : no radio required
I’ve been debating the purchase of an HD radio for some time now. The promise of HD radio is free radio with higher clarity & quality than FM/AM and additional stations that you won’t get anywhere else. Sounds pretty good!
The one downside is that you have to invest in a new radio with a digital tuner to get these signals. So instead of free, you’ll end up spending a few hundred dollars (each) for your home & car. Bummer.
But wait! You have a computer, right? (Of course you do, you’re on it right now.) Most stations offer a digital broadcast of their radio programs, offering you the benefits of HD radio without the additional equipment. All you need is a computer (and old one will do), some speakers (Apple’s Airtunes helps) and an internet connection and you’re all set. I use iTunes to play the stations, but you can also use WinAmp or your favorite audio player.
To get you started, here are a few of my favorite stations:
- 88.9 Radio Milwaukee [music]
- WPR Ideas Network [news]
- WUWM - Milwaukee Public Radio [news]
- WUWM-HD2 - Milwaukee Public Radio [music]
- KNOW - Minnesota Public Radio [news]
Enjoy!
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, technology : Comments (0) : Jan 24th, 2008
Confession : I don’t like Facebook
Way back when (like 2005) I was invited to join Facebook by my friend Tony. At the time, it was still limited to a few schools and I wasn’t quite sure what do to with it. During the rest of my college years, I used it periodically and was underwhelmed by the whole experience.
Fast forward a few years. Facebook has grown to include just about anyone, they’ve added more features than you can shake a stick at, and it’s entered popular culture as the de facto social network king. (MySpace is reserved for child predators and middle school kids). It’s valued at something north of $15 billion and it’s the new hot tech company to work for (surpassing even Google).
Even with all the success and praise thrown upon the
sitenetworkempire, I’m ready to admit it: I don’t like Facebook.
Maybe it’s because they’ve gone corporate and the site is now chock-a-block full of ads. Maybe it’s because 99.9% of Facebook aps are really annoying. Maybe it’s because I’m anti-social and weird. Whatever it is, I don’t like it.
And I’m not alone:
I’m calling it - 2008 is the year Facebook peaks and starts to fall. It may not be evident immediately, and they’ll likely be phenomenally profitable for another few years, but this is the year the web-elite start socializing elsewhere.
Filed under culture, technology : Comments (2) : Jan 23rd, 2008
Gaza crises
Here’s a quote from Israeli PM Ehud Olmert:
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt ‘won’t force Gazans back’ via kwout
Nothing says Peace Process like forcing a whole population to live in near-crises mode because a small fraction of extremists are using violence to try to force change. And nothing discourages violence like cutting off food, supplies, and energy. . . er, wait.
Glad to see that Egypt is treating the situation like adults. Shame on you, Israel. (I’m not letting you off the hook either, Palestinians!)
Filed under culture, politics, war : Comments (0) : Jan 23rd, 2008
MacBook : Extend your battery
I’ve been using a Mac laptop for about 6 years now. (It’s an old iBook, it’s extremely underpowered by today’s standards, but it has an awesome custom paint job by my friend Kori and I’m not giving it up until it breaks.)
For anyone who owns a Mac, you know that they’re beautiful, elegant machines. The old stereotypes of expensive, underpowered, and lacking in software simply aren’t true anymore.
One of my favorite features of the Mac is the inverted color scheme. This is good for your eyes if you’re doing a lot of reading/writing, and it will extend your battery life. (example below)
To activate, press Control-Option-Command-8. (Or go into the Universal Access System Preferences).
I use this setting almost exclusively on my iBook, and it really does make a difference in battery life. The only caveat is it inverts all colors, so photos/videos will look weird (like film negatives).
Happy MacBooking!
Filed under technology : Comments (6) : Jan 22nd, 2008
