June 30, 2009

We Have A Winner

Congratulations to my neighbor, Al Franken, on finally emerging as the official victor of the 2008 Minnesota Senate race. Today's Supreme Court ruling brings an end to a political race that stretches back through the mists of time into early 2007. As a friend pointed out, I am now represented by a Jew, a woman, and a black Muslim. Minnesota: it's like a bigger version of Berkeley but without the legalized pot.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2009

I'm So Gonna Kick Godzilla's Ass

Here's why the Japanese are still on track to rule the world. While GM and Chrysler are subsisting on government cheese and figuring out how to make cars that don't burn through a quarter tank of gas on a trip to the grocery store, Toyota is developing thought-controlled wheelchairs. Toyota's brain control interface appears to be one of the most advanced yet, capable of analyzing and interpreting brain waves in less than a second. The user still has to wear the obligatory goofy-looking skullcap that seems to come standard with any sort of thought-controlled device, but it's still cooler than anything that has come out of Detroit in the last couple decades. Companies like Toyota and Honda understand that all those billions of dollars in R&D can be invested in products other than yet another sports sedan--products that might also have higher profit margins. Meanwhile, GM is still struggling to bring a working electric car to market. Yawn.

I patiently await delivery of Toyota's next generation of transportation devices for people with disabilities: giant thought-controlled robots built to look like samurai warriors.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:48 PM | Comments (2)

June 28, 2009

The Lighter Side Of Narco-Trafficking

I've been watching the latest season of Weeds on DVD and thinking about dark comedy has matured into its own distinct television genre. It used to be that half-hour comedies had to revolve around zany family dynamics or workplace shenanigans. That changed somewhat with Seinfeld and the the like, but comedies were still breezy affairs that didn't take many risks. It's only because of the growing ambition of premium channels like HBO and Showtime that writers have been able to explore the funny that lurks in the shadows. And Weeds is so funny. It amplifies every stereotype about disconnected, materialistic suburban life, but not so much so that it seems absurd. In just the last few episodes of this ongoing story of a pot-dealing single mom in SoCal, it's touched on euthanasia, mourning rituals, absent parents, political corruption, and the perils of the cross-border drug trade (natch). Bleak stuff, but the writers are experts at mining humor from the bleak. The show's spirit is captured in this piece of dialog where slacker uncle Andy is explaining the meaning of life to his teenage nephew Silas:

Silas, look. Life is just blah blah blah. You hope for blah and sometimes you find it. But mostly it’s blah. And waiting for blah. And hoping you were right about the blahs you made. And then just when you think you’ve got the whole blah-damn thing figured out, and surrounded by the ones you blah, death shows up. And blah. Blah. Blah.

You won't find that sentiment in an episode of Cheers.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 01:57 PM | Comments (1)

June 27, 2009

No Employee Discount Is Worth This

I can count on a couple fingers the number of times I've been crossed the threshold of an Abecrombie & Fitch store. I'll happily shell out $70 for a pair of pants, but I prefer to do it in a place that doesn't assault my ears with horrible Europop and the clothes don't make me look like a douchebag-in-training. I don't need another reason to avoid shopping there, but A&F's corporate masters gave me one anyway. A sales clerk at the London store was banned from the sales floor and forced to work in the stockroom because her prosthetic arm didn't comply with the company's "Look Policy". The clerk, also a law student, is now suing the company for discrimination. My guess is that the case will settle quickly and a few middle managers will get sent to diversity training.

Stores have the right to enforce a dress code, but A&F's actions in this case border on the absurd. Are A&F customers so phobic of physical imperfections that they would be driven away by an attractive clerk with a prosthetic arm? If that is the case, perhaps the company should change its logo to something more fitting, like a swastika.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)

June 26, 2009

Steve Jobs, Meet Your Tool

Well, I finally succumbed to the hype. I ordered an iPhone 3G S a couple days ago to replace my current landline and cell phone. Expect to see a rise in the number of blurry pictures posted to this blog along with the occasional video. I've already informed my nurses that taking tweet dictation will soon be added to their list of duties. The phone should arrive just in time for my mini-staycation, giving me ample time to tinker with it and pick out just the right ringtone and wallpaper.

And the descent into insufferable hipster-dom continues.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:21 PM | Comments (1)

June 25, 2009

Even Rock Stars Have To Die

I don't have much to add regarding the news of Michael Jackson's death. I stopped listening to him when I was 16 or 17, but his songs dominated the charts when I first started paying attention to pop music as a kid. I remember lying in a hospital room in 1984 and listening to Thriller. I remember grade school classmates reciting the lyrics to "P.Y.T."

This is shaping up to be a really weird week in current events.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2009

This Is Getting Old

The fact that Governor Mark Sanford had an affair doesn't particularly interest me. How he conducts his romantic life has little bearing on how he chooses to govern his state. His record as governor provides ample fodder for criticism, enough to land him on Time's "Worst Governors" list a few years ago. But he also presumed to use the bully pulpit of his office to make moral judgments on others. When he served in Congress, he was a vociferous critic of Clinton's marital infidelity and, more recently, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage.

It takes a special kind of douchebaggery to build a political career on one's staunch defense of "traditional values", but then make a complete break with those values in one's private life. It's not surprising, it's not interesting, but it's douchebaggery nonetheless and it seems endemic among conservatives. You would think Republicans would have a clue by now. You would think it might begin to dawn on them that they should stick to their low-taxes, limited-government schtick and tone down the self-righteous scolding. But they aren't big on self-awareness, which guarantees a steady parade of middle-aged white men coming before the cameras to lay their hypocrisy bare.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2009

Footing The Bill

The Supreme Court issued a big decision yesterday that has special education advocates cheering and school districts breaking out in cold sweats. The court ruled that school districts may be required to pay private-school tuition for some students with disabilities, even if they never received special education services in a public school previously. Some kids are undoubtedly better off in private settings, particularly when the school district lacks the expertise or resources to serve a particular student's needs. But private-school tuition is expensive and public school districts aren't getting any richer. I'm not sure that this will lead to substantially higher numbers of kids being placed in private schools, but parents may now feel more empowered to demand that public school officials do more to assure that their children are being provided a free and appropriate public education. Not necessarily a bad result.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:46 PM | Comments (1)

June 22, 2009

One Of Us

All the other geeks are linking to the clip below of geek idol John Hodgman praising Obama as our first "Nerd in Chief" in an address to Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, so I might as well do the same. This whole meme of our president symbolizing the rise of the geeks seems to be catching on. Extra geek points to Hodgman for showing off his detailed knowledge of Dune esoterica. I really do need to read that book. I was waiting for him to close with some catchy Klingon phrase, but that might have pushed the audience from amusement into befuddlement.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2009

Critic At Large: The White Tiger

This new century, still only a few years old, is likely to witness the rapid ascendancy of China and India as both economic and political superpowers. But before they can claim that kind of status, both countries will have to endure the same kind of social upheaval that nearly tore America and Europe apart in the early decades of the last century. Perhaps that explains the enormous popularity of Slumdog Millionaire among American audiences. We see echoes of our own past in the struggles of present-day Indians to rise out of poverty through hard work, ingenuity, and a dash of luck. But that movie is only one version of India's rags-to-riches story. Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger offers a darker glimpse of modern India.

The book is a series of confessional letters written by a Bangalore entrepreneur named Balram and addressed to the Chinese president. Balram only knows the Chinese leader through reports on Indian news, but he feels compelled to share his story of how he left an isolated village to seek work in New Delhi. Balram eventually finds work as a driver for a wealthy family, a position that his village relatives both envy and respect. But Balram soon realizes that he is nothing more than a servant in a long line of servants. He has no desire devote decades of his like to working for a cruel, petty boss only to be tossed to the streets when his eyesight fails or his reflexes slow. Balram decides he needs to take drastic measures to escape the dreary life of a servant.

In telling his story, Balram indicts much of Indian society: its hopeless public education system, its messy and thoroughly corrupt political system, the bleak and persistent poverty, the greed of the wealthy outsourcing business owners (who themselves are servants to American corporations). These indictments are also Balram's not-so-veiled excuses for his actions. But the book succeeds because Balram doesn't try to delude himself or the reader. He recognizes that he is a deeply imperfect man trying to get by in a deeply imperfect country. His cynicism is tempered by his wit, giving this book a sharp satirical tone that even Dickens would have respected.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:04 PM | Comments (1)

June 20, 2009

Not My Thing

I briefly checked out the Stone Arch Art Festival and it reminded me why I'm indifferent to these kinds of things. The people-watching is interesting, but most of the art seems so kitschy to me. Is there really much of a market for bronze sculptures of frogs with notebook computers sitting on park benches? Or for generic landscape watercolors? I saw only a few things that I would actually consider displaying on my own walls. Anyway, I think I've had my fill of art fairs for the year.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2009

Take A Good, Long Look

From the I Knew That Already Department comes a Wired Science story about the evolutionary roots of our tendency to stare at those with physical disfigurements. The story focuses primarily on staring at people with facial deformities, but the concept almost certainly applies to the rest of the human body. From the article:

To ensure the long-term survival of our species, we’re genetically predisposed to be attracted to symmetrical faces. The idea is that normal, healthy development free of disfiguring diseases or genetic mutations produces a symmetrical face. We unconsciously see symmetry as a marker of genetic quality. Our reaction to a face that is disfigured, however, also has links with short-term survival.

My symmetry ends just below my chin. I twist and curve like a slow river. I certainly don't begrudge people's stares. A few million years ago, I would have been that funny-looking ape with the oversized head who kept scribbling nonsense on tree bark.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2009

Doom And Gloom

The democratization of information--through blogs, Twitter, and other sources--is a boon to obsessive policy wonks like me. We now have the tools to follow every incremental step of the legislative process. But that same instant access to information amplifies every daily victory or setback into world-shaking events. Take the current debate on health care reform. Proponents of reform haven't had a great week. Two of the major Senate proposals received high cost estimates from government economists, which may or may not affect the scope and ambition of a final bill. But the debate was sure to get contentious once real dollar amounts and concrete proposals started getting a public airing. Everyone involved in the debate already understood that health care reform is an expensive proposition. Congress only began public debate on health care this week. But already, we're seeing blog posts with titles like "Health Care Reform D.O.A.?"

That's not to say I'm blase about the prospects for real health care reform. I'd like to see Democrats a lot less skittish and a lot more forceful about key aspects of reform like a mandate for coverage and a public plan option. And Obama needs to counter GOP criticism about the cost with reminders that they oversaw one of the biggest entitlement expansions in the form of Medicare Part D.

I'm not ready to declare the fight over before it's even begun. My seatbelt is fastened tight for the bumpy ride ahead, but I remain hopeful that we'll get where we need to go.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2009

Getting Off

Porn and the internet go together like, well, porn and the internet. It's become so ubiquitous that now it's just another feature of the pop culture. But we don't often think about the people consuming all that porn. Video artist Robbie Cooper decided to point a camera at the people looking at internet porn for a project entitled Immersion: Porn. He interviews several people--men and women, straight and gay--about their reasons for viewing porn and then records them watching the stuff, keeping the camera focused on their faces. The video can probably be considered NSFW, as it's pretty obvious that these people are enjoying a little self-pleasure. But the images are arresting and a vivid reminder that nothing strips away our reserve like an impending orgasm. And it's honest in a way that porn never is. No pizza delivery boys or voluptuous schoolteachers here. Just average people dying little deaths.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:00 PM | Comments (1)

June 16, 2009

Governing By Fiat

As expected, health care and human services took a heavy hit in Pawlenty's unallotment plan announced today. General Assistance Medical Care, the health care program for extremely poor Minnesotans that was the subject of emotionally wrought debate in the Legislature last month, will end a few months earlier than originally planned. Personal care attendants will have their hours further restricted. Outreach efforts that help people sign up for health care programs will be sharply reduced.

And meanwhile, another deficit looms in 2011 because these one-time cuts do nothing to fix the structural imbalances in the state budget. We haven't quite reached California or New York levels of dysfunction in our state capitol, but we're getting there.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2009

Maturing Technology

You should be proud of yourself, Twitter. You're actually good for something besides being an idle diversion for bored middle-class Westerners. Your role as a key communications tool for Iranian protesters is getting you all kinds of love from uber-bloggers like Andrew Sullivan. And good on you for delaying regularly scheduled maintenance to keep those lines of communication open. Maybe you can send Ashton Kutcher to Tehran for some man-on-the-scene tweeting. At the very least, it might give a few hundred thousand of his followers the incentive to learn where Iran is.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2009

Striking Resemblance

I haven't read any of Texas author Kinky Friedman's mystery novels, but I was browsing books on-line yesterday when the cover for his 2004 The Prisoner of Vandam Street caught my eye:


Take away the cowboy hat and cigarette and it kind of looks like me.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2009

Out With The Old, In With The New

Do you consider me your friend? Well, that may be true now, but you might want to hold off on getting me that BFF charm bracelet. Studies show that social circles tend to look completely different after seven years. And no, that cute woman on your list of Facebook friends who used to know you in college but now only writes on your Wall once a year doesn't count.

So if you're waiting for me to buy that drink, you'd better get on my case because time's a-wastin'.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:27 PM | Comments (1)

June 12, 2009

Hard Time

Note to self: if I find myself in front of a judge facing serious prison time, don't try using the pity-me-I'm-a-poor-cripple defense because the judge probably won't buy it. A Minnesota man with quadriplegia recently learned this harsh lesson when a federal judge recently sentenced him to five years plus change for possessing child pornography. The judge ruled out home confinement for the man because it wouldn't be sufficient punishment and I can't disagree with that sentiment. But I can't imagine he will get the same level of care he received at home.

I'm not sure how well I would adjust to prison life. Maybe I'd be the jailhouse lawyer; the guy everyone comes to when they need help writing a letter to the warden or parole board. But whatever I earned in cigarettes would probably have to go to the hired muscle protecting my...er...honor.

I'd better make sure I don't have any unpaid parking tickets.

Thanks to Rose for the tip.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2009

It's Not Even Football Season

President Obama delivered a speech on health care today in Green Bay, my hometown. And the news sites are bursting with stories on how Green Bay is a model for delivering quality health care at a low price. It's good to see the city get press for something other than the Packers. It's still a conservative town, but I'm betting that the local Chamber of Commerce is loving the attention. Green Bay is only a few hours from Chicago, so it should be familiar territory for the president. If asked to participate in a blind taste test, he could probably distinguish between a beer-battered brat and a plain brat.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2009

Listen And Obey

Now that the latest iPhone model includes voice control, I'm inching away from "That's a mildly interesting device," and closer to "Hmm, I might like one of those myself." I'll probably wait for reviews to learn how well the voice control actually works. I'm hoping the recognition algorithm has enough flexibility to accommodate the quirks of my gimpy accent. Back-of-the-throat consonants like "guh" and "kuh" are a little tricky for me and, when I'm feeling lazy, I sometimes drop them. But as long as I don't have to call too many people named Gavin or Coco, I might be okay. 

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:51 PM | Comments (1)

June 09, 2009

Moving From The Hypothetical To The Possible

It had to happen sooner or later. After all the Sunday talk show appearances, committee hearings, newspaper op-ed pieces, and campaign promises, Congress eventually had to put a proposal for health care reform in writing and share it with the public. That milestone arrived today when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released its 615-page health care bill. I'll begin perusing it over the next few days (reading draft legislation is my twisted idea of fun), but I did note that it contains an assumption that Medicaid will be expanded to people with incomes up to 150% of poverty. That's about $16,000 a year. But currently, a lot of states cap eligibility at 100% FPG, which is about $11,000 a year. Boosting the income cap by 50% would make Medicaid available to tens of thousands of people who are still barely getting by but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid currently.

It's important to remember that this is just one bill from one committee. The particulars of a final bill will evolve over the next few months and the debate should prove fascinating and, assuming it gets signed into law, historic.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2009

Don't Know When To Quit

First, the important stuff. I fixed the link to the picture in yesterday's post. Scroll down and get your puppy fix.

And according to the Times, I'm way overdue on abandoning my blog. Apparently, one should consider giving up this hobby if one doesn't land a book deal or cultivate a devoted and readership. I'd be lying if I didn't have similar dreams back when I started doing this back in 2002, otherwise known as the Internet's Cambrian Era. But now it's become habit. It's weird; I'm not nearly as rigorous about anything else in my life. Just ask the first draft of the novel sitting on my hard drive; the one slowly dying of neglect. And if I stopped doing this, I'd most likely start talking to myself. And I'll still be doing this even when this blog is a creaky, rheumatic corner of the Internet that never gets any visitors except for the occasional spambot or renegade artificial intelligence looking for a safe place to hide.

And just to show my appreciation for my readers--all 7 of you--here's another picture of Mollie and one of her sisters. Mollie's the one on the left. Or is she on the right? Whatever. Puppies!

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:44 PM | Comments (8)

June 07, 2009

Everything's Better With Puppies

My siblings and I pooled our money together and bought a golden retriever puppy for our parents. She won't be a replacement for our beloved Sasha, but she will be a faithful companion who will always be up for a walk or or a game of catch. We thought about making it a surprise, but then realized that it might be wise to give them some advance notice. Puppies usually don't usually come with gift receipts.

Anyway, this is Mollie. She'll be Wisconsin-bound in a couple weeks.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 04:42 PM | Comments (2)

June 06, 2009

Will It Still Have That Annoying Unicorn?

The web is getting more Hollywood all the time. Last year, Joss Whedon made some waves with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the quite funny web-based musical that had geeks everywhere humming along. Now Ridley Scott is planning his own web series set in the Blade Runner universe. It's already got a cryptic but catchy title: Purefold. Scott doesn't own  the rights to Blade Runner or the Philip K. Dick novel on which the movie is based, so this will all be done with a wink and nod. The Tyrell Corporation will instead be called [insert vaguely ominous-sounding name for a futuristic conglomerate here] and replicants will be instead be called [insert your favorite synonym for "robots" or "clones" here]. What remains to be seen is whether the characters will spout paraphrases of William Blake poetry.

Scott plans on releasing the series under a Creative Commons license, which means that anyone can edit, mash, or otherwise play with the original video to create something new and share without fear of getting sued into oblivion. It won't surprise me at all if the remixes are better than the original.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2009

Give It Up

I came home the other day to what I thought was a fried router. No matter what I did, I couldn't get a connection. The thing dates back to the early years of the Bush administration, so I shrugged and figured it was time to order a replacement. Of course, the old router is now working perfectly well. But I won't be deterred from consigning it to the trash when the new one arrives. Old tech has a tendency to give a last gasp of functionality before total failure. We had a good run and I'll always have fond memories of all the fishnet images it served up for me, but it's time to move on.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 04, 2009

Winning Hearts And Minds

According to Senator Baucus, the health bill that eventually clears the Senate will probably include a public plan option. Wow, so this is what newfound political clout can accomplish. Considering that Baucus was initially cool to the idea of a public plan, this is a big deal. Of course, nobody has actually seen a bill yet and plenty of political shenanigans could still occur. We could see a neutered public plan that offers only bare bones coverage. Or we could see some kind of "trigger" nonsense, where a public plan remains inactive unless private insurers fail to provide affordable coverage after a vaguely defined length of time.

There are still a thousand ways that a public plan option could be excluded from a final bill or watered down, but Baucus's statement is a hopeful sign that Obama's promised health reform will be truly progressive. 

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)

June 03, 2009

Capitalism, Work Your Magic

Google may finally give me something that I've been requesting for quite a while: the ability to download and read books on my computer. Having conquered the world of search, Google is now setting its sights on Amazon and the e-book market with plans to begin directly selling books by the end of the year. No proprietary device will be required to read books purchased from Google; any Internet-capable device should suffice. This could prompt Amazon to open up its library to other devices, but that might leave a lot of Kindle owners wondering why the hell they spent $400. I don't care who takes my money, as long as I can read George R.R. Martin's next book on-line. Those fantasy doorstops are a real pain to keep open on a bookstand.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:27 PM | Comments (3)

June 02, 2009

Getting Out While The Getting Is Good

Governor Pawlenty announced earlier today that he will not seek a third term. Most of the local pundits assume that he has ambitions for national office, although he's going to have to work hard to keep himself in the spotlight. Mike Huckabee was a former governor when he ran for president and things didn't turn out so well for him. Pawlenty might also try challenging Amy Klobuchar for her Senate seat, but he'll have a tough time toppling a political figure who is generally seen as likeable and competent.

Pawlenty will finish his term having done little to make Minnesota a better place to live. He's mostly muddled through, keeping his promise not to raise taxes (sort of), but otherwise demonstrating no real vision for the state. He did launch some promising initiatives to address homelessness and mental health, but those eventually had to be sacrificed at the altar of his anti-tax zealotry. Not even a collapsed bridge in downtown Minneapolis could convince him of the necessity of an incremental tax increase to fix our roads and improve our transit system. His last major act as governor, the coming unallotment, is going to hurt a lot of people who are already struggling. Not exactly a strong finish.

And whoever in the GOP candidate next fall is likely to be just as conservative as Pawlenty, if not more so.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2009

You Can't Eat Just One

We attorneys are often called upon to argue the important issues of the day. The rights of of the individual versus the rights of the state. Guilt and innocence. The intent of the Constitution's framers. Whether or not Pringles are, in fact, potato chips.

Yes, some poor chap had to argue in front of a British judge that Pringles should be considered "savory snacks" rather than "crisps", and therefore not subject to taxation. The attorney further argued that Pringles lack a certain essential quality of "potatoness" that ipso facto excludes them from the universe of potato crisps. The judge, being a sensible man, dismissed these specious arguments and ruled that Pringles are indeed potato crisps. Of course, I'd still love Pringles even if they were classified as industrial waste, so the ruling makes little difference to me. But it's comforting to know that I've been stuffing my pie-hole with something that is legally related to an actual plant that grows in the dirt.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)