MSFT!

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150437/microsoft_warns_of_ie8_lockin_with_xp_sp3.html

"Microsoft Corp. yesterday warned users of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) that they won't be able to uninstall either the service pack or Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) under some circumstances.

...

"Ironically, of the nine applications called out as incompatible with the new IE8, the only two that will lock up and crash are Microsoft's.

"Visual Studio.NET version 7, said Microsoft, will crash on a PC that also contains IE8 Beta 2. "No workaround is currently available," Microsoft said in the release notes.

"The other Microsoft incompatible application is Windows Live Mail, formerly called Windows Live Desktop, and the desktop mail client meant to replace Outlook Express and Windows Mail. "If you install Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Windows Live Mail will crash when you create or reply to an e-mail message," Microsoft warned."

Do people really use, or try to use, this junk? If so, why? In all seriousness, I don't get it. How does a company stay in business all this time with products like this? Don't tell me market forces create the best services at the best prices, there are way to many counter examples, Microsoft being a glaring one. Their products are not just not the best available, they are actually harmful. They are broken, frequently in very fundamental ways .

MSFT and XP 1/3rd

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/19/windows_xp_vista_7/

"In a survey of more than 3,000 computers, performance testing software developer Devil Mountain Software estimated that more than one in three new machines had either been downgraded by vendors such as Dell, or by customers once they bought the PC."

Microsoft has been holding back technological progress for decades. Enough is enough. Maybe people are finally figuring that out.

Robots

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/opinion/08krugman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This guy has it exactly right. This is what I mean when I'm always saying that the right wingers always have "common sense" solutions; things that "sound right" but actually are not.

Flat tax, "balanced" use of forest resources, users fees, social safety nets framed as "paying people not to work", job creation by cutting business tax, fighting crime by promoting gun ownership, conventional prisons, the death penalty as a deterant, a "free market" solution to every single social problem, off-shore drilling the list goes on and on... All "common sense" ideas that ignore the details, ignore the complication, or ignore the just plain reality of what's been shown to work and not work, by actually trying things.

Sometimes things that seem to make sense, have been proven not to work, while alternate, progressive, plans that seem odd have been proven too work well. If you get into a debate over this the right-ist will go straight to the "common sense" argument, and point out that it doesn't make sense to go down the "soft on crime", or whatever, path, because it doesn't make sense that that would work. Yes, it doesn't "make sense", except that progressive solutions actually DO work sometimes...

To me, if I want to reduce crime or poverty, or etc... It's completely secondary *why* one thing works and one thing doesn't when we have research in hand about what will yield the desired outcome. That's why you can't even debate such people.

They're robots.

Tired

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829354,00.html?cnn=yes

"Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points."

Another Member of the Family Values Party

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/3D590F8A376046948625749D0070B9D8?OpenDocument

"Missouri state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Frontenac, was indicted today in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on May 17, the day after this year's Legislative session ended.

"The alleged victim is the daughter of a state employee. The girl's mother and Muschany -. who is married and has two children -- were romantically involved, the woman said.

...

"The document also alleges that the mother "did admit that the incident did take place, including her witnessing same."

Yep, that's our Republicans!

Why is God Punishing Him?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26012351/?GT1=43001

"Dr. Lynne Taylor, a neuro-oncologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, said residents at the hospital are taught to check for brain tumors in patients who report having a recent car accident in which they didn't realize they struck something."

They should also check for brain tumors in patients who report having recently revealed national security secrets to the public, for petty political purposes.

Toys

http://randazza.wordpress.com/2008/08/02/talk-about-a-bad-day-for-a-pastor/

The leading member and employee of a 600 member mega-church breaks into a woman's house, steals her sex toy and lube, and breaks his leg while escaping...

What is it with these Christian mega-churches? Why do people join them?

Idiots.

Dumb Ideas in Washington State

Here's something I think is dumb: Washington State's "open" primary.

What's wrong with people? Why do they think that people should be allowed to vote in the primary elections of parties to which they do not belong? The system Washington has now is nothing more than a no-parties election with an automatic run-off. Now, to pick their candidates, parties are going to have to hold pre-primary primaries! Or maybe we'll just go back to smoke filled back rooms and not give the rank and file any say at all!

Here's a thought - I don't live in Washington, but if people think they should be allowed to vote in other parties' elections, then I think it's unfair that I don't get to vote in Washington's elections. How about that?

Here's the evolution of representative government:

1) A group of people living in chaos decides to pick one from among themselves to be the leader. To be fair, they nominate people, have a vote where everyone picks one of those people, and the person with the most votes is the leader. Great.

2) Some people end up losing the elections in this system. This isn't fair enough. So the group decides that the two candidates that get the most votes should have a foot race. The winner of the race will be the leader. They call this a "run-off". Later, this is changed to a second vote, and the leader is the one that gets the most votes of the two. But they call this a "run-off".

3) Like-minded sub-groups in the community realize that they stand a better chance of getting their ideas implemented if they band together. They realize that if they all try out to get elected then they split up votes among themselves, each one getting fewer. But if they organize, and select just one candidate from among their numbers, than that candidate will stand a better chance of being selected as leader, on the strength of those ideas the sub-group shares.

4) To pick the best individual to represent the like-minded group in the vote, the group tries various methods. The fairest way seems to be having a vote among themselves. But what to call these votes? Ogg, from cave 67 suggests "primaries" and the name sticks. The Pro-Fire party picks their one best candidate, and that candidate gets all the pro-fire votes trouncing all the anti-fire candidates, who remained disorganized and split up their votes. Civilization moves on.

5) Fast forward to 2008. Some ya-hoos think this is "unfair" somehow and create laws forcing everyone to go back to step two.

5-a) Near future: parties have to pick their candidates by other methods, and come up with a new name for their "pre-primary" primaries. Some parties like this new system since it allows them to pick candidate by secret processes not over-seen be state and local governments. Whether that is good, or that is bad is something reasonable people can disagree about, but there it is...

This is Getting Interesting

ttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25949309/

"But Bush says they are immune from such subpoenas, arguing that Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

"U.S. District Judge John Bates, who was appointed to the bench by Bush, issued a 93-page opinion that strongly rejected the administration's legal arguments. He noted that the executive branch could not point to a single case in which courts held that White House aides were immune from congressional subpoenas.

"That simple yet critical fact bears repeating: the asserted absolute immunity claim here is entirely unsupported by existing case law," Bates wrote."

The things the Bush administration has done and how they did them will come out, eventually...

When Clinton tried to use executive privilege, a lesser claim, with legal standing (and related to his lawyer, so it at least made some sense) there was a vast sloganeering campaign about how "no one is above the law." We don't hear that now. I really wonder if people that felt Bill Clinton
wasn't above the law, think that George W. Bush is?

If there were Democrats out their who could play stupid people as well as Republicans have in the past, Bush would mark the end of the Republican party.

What the...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/31/greyhound-transcanada.html

"When we came back on the bus, it was visible at the end of the bus he was cutting the guy's head off and pretty much gutting him up," said Caton.

The attacker ran at them, Caton said, and they ran out of the bus, holding the door shut as he tried to slash at the trio.

When the attacker tried to drive the bus away, the driver disabled the vehicle, Caton said.

"While we were watching the door, he calmly walks up to the front with the head in his hand and the knife and just calmly stares at us and drops the head right in front of us," said Caton.

Holy crap! Sounds like the start of an X-Files.