November 30, 2011
"I Love Dis Scene."
I usually don't pay much attention to commentary tracks on DVDs. They generally interfere with my willing suspension of disbelief and they typically don't contribute to my appreciation of the movie. But I may have to pick up a copy of Total Recall after watching this highlight reel of Arnold Schwarzenegger's commentary. It's a commentary track as performance art. It's almost post-modern in its use of super-obvious narration. It's as if Arnie is trying to make a point about the vapidity of Hollywood blockbusters by giving us the most vapid DVD commentary ever. The man is a genius.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2011
Crossed Signals
Over at Slate, Chris Wilson theorizes that we may not have detected any signals from extraterrestrial civilizations because of bad timing. Aliens transmissions could have reached our planet back when we were still wandering the plains of Africa. Similarly, any alien scientists situated a few hundred light-years away and pointing their radio telescopes at us right now would hear only silence. The universe is a really, really big place and there's no guarantee that anyone will be around to listen to a whisper or a shout sent from across the stars. Perhaps civilizations across the universe have risen, flourished, and vanished over eons without ever detecting signs of other intelligence simply because they vanished just as the inhabitants of the nearest inhabited world were discovering the merits of fire. Perhaps we will have already faded into oblivion as a species by the time the denizens of Alpha Centauri broadcast their first anybody out there? into the depths of space.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2011
Sold!
I avoided the shopping malls on Black Friday (as well as the pepper spray-wielding shoppers), but I couldn't completely resist the siren call of online commerce. Who among us has the moral fortitude to pass up the opportunity to purchase Starcraft II for $29.99? Certainly not me. At some point, I should get around to purchasing gifts for others. But when presented with a sale, one must have priorities.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2011
Security Breach
I received an email from Blizzard Entertainment the other day informing me that my World of Warcraft account was hacked. After running a few different malwae scans, I discovered that a keylogger had somehow installed itself on my system. I pride myself on running a clean machine, so this hack was more of personal affront than a cause for alarm. The keylogger is now eradicated and I've changed my most critical passwords (email, banking, etc), so this mischief shouldn't inflict any lasting harm. But I'll be more diligent about running weekly system scans. I suppose I should also be more selective about the fishnet-related sites I visit.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2011
Grazie
Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday. I'll be taking a blogging holiday tomorrow to enjoy some football and mashed potatoes. I'll be back on Friday to share whatever random thoughts happen to be passing through my head. As always, I remain grateful for your continued patronage of my obscure corner of the digital bazaar.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2011
Abed Forever!
Like a lot of Community fans, I was saddened to learn that the series is being placed on hiatus and will likely be cancelled. The show's geeky and borderline absurdist sense of humor strokes this nerd's funny bone just right, but I'll concede that it probably won't appeal to the vast majority of American viewers. Any broadcast sitcom that devotes whole episodes to riffs on alternate universes, Dungeons & Dragons, and stop-motion Christmas specials is probably not long for this world. Perhaps it will find a home on cable or even Netflix. And there's still Parks and Recreation. But at least give me a series finale that ends with Troy singing the Reading Rainbow theme song. Or have Annie and Britta make out. One of the two.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:58 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2011
Critic At Large: Melancholia
Severe depression can be debilitating, but in Melancholia, it also serves as a mechanism for coping with the end of the world. The movie's opening chapter introduces us to Justine (Kirsten Dunst) as she and her new husband arrive at their wedding reception. The reception, held at an opulent golf resort owned by her brother-in-law (Kiefer Sutherland, what are you doing here?), serves as the venue for Justine's latest struggle with what the movies hints is a long history of clinical depression. Over the course of a stressful evening plagued by familial sniping, Justine's behavior becomes increasingly erratic. It soon become apparent to both Justine and her husband that their marriage is over before it could even begin.
By the movie's second half, Justine's depression has become so crippling that she is forced to move in with her sister and brother-in-law. Meanwhile, a newly discovered rogue planet dubbed Melancholia is on a course that may or may not destroy the Earth.
Melancholia, like Lars Von Trier's other movies, is not kind to its characters. The sumptuous visuals in the movie's prelude serve as one of the loveliest spoilers in cinematic history, informing the audience that things will not turn out well. But that knowledge detracts nothing from Dunst's luminous performance or the moments of sheer beauty that Von Trier sprinkles through the rest of the movie. Dunst plays Justine not as a hero or a victim, but simply as a woman whose depression rips away her capacity for self-delusion.
Melancholia is playing in theaters and can also be downloaded from Amazon and iTunes. It looked great on my LCD TV and I'll be curious to see whether the additional revenue from downloads prompts other studios to experiment with simultaneous theatrical and digital releases.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:43 PM | Comments (2)
November 18, 2011
Making Plans
Enjoy your weekend. I'll be spending mine not seeing the new Twilight film and not buying a Kindle Fire.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2011
The Rich Uncle Argument
Over at the Atlantic, constitutional scholar Garrett Epps hypothesizes that the expansion of Medicaid could be the real undoing of health care reform. States opposing the ACA will argue that they have become so dependent on federal Medicaid funding that it must comply with any new conditions attached to the funding (like the expansion of Medicaid to single adults living in poverty), no matter how sweeping or burdensome, or risk losing the funding entirely. According to the states, this amounts to an unconstitutional abuse of Congress's spending powers. It's a bit like the ungrateful trust fund kid objecting to his rich uncle's recent edict that he must maintain a 3.0 GPA or the trust fund spigot gets turned off. And Epps seems to think there's at least a chance that the conservative Court could buy the argument.
It's an interesting theory, but I'm skeptical. I'm not aware of any precedent that questions Congress's ability to attach conditions to the funding it doles out. To rule otherwise would cast doubt on nearly every other program that distributes money to states, whether it's related to education, food safety, or just about any other realm of public concern. The Court would also have to set forth some fairly specific criteria defining reasonable and unreasonable exercises of Congressional spending powers. Such wading into the legislative weeds might give even the most right-leaning justices pause. My own guess (and it's only a guess) is that the Medicaid expansion will stand regardless of how the Court rules on the individual mandate.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2011
For A Good Cause
My apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. The blog was having server issues, but everything seems fine now.
If you're reading this while it's still Wednesday evening, consider making a contribution to your favorite Minnesota charity by visiting the Give to the Max site before midnight. It's an easy way to take care of those charitable contributions you've been meaning to make and it benefits wonderful organizations doing great work in the community. In fact, I'm heading there as soon as this is posted.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)
Love And Devotion
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2011
Let The Punditry Begin!
Pity the poor Supreme Court law clerks who will have to absorb and summarize for their bosses the avalanche of briefs (from the litigants as well as a host of amici) that is sure to come now that the Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Of course, they will also have a front-row seat to one of the most significant legal battles to visit the Court in at least a decade, so any pity should be tempered with envy. And with the Court allotting five and a half hours for oral argument, NPR might as well plan on letting Nina Tottenberg host the entire day's programming.
Over the next six months, law professors will be shoving themselves in front of any available camera to share their unique insight into how the Court will ultimately rule. My advice: treat it all like so much dinner party chatter. Nobody can say with any certainty whether the Court will rule one way or the other or by how wide of a margin. It's all guesswork and opinion. Whatever the outcome, it will likely contain at least one surprise. But I'm relatively certain of one thing: the Court won't strike down the law in total. Even if the insurance mandate is struck down, states will still be required to set up Exchanges and insures will still be prohibited from discriminating on the basis of health status. A Court ruling might not settle the issue so much as reframe it just in time for the 2012 election.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:49 PM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2011
Siri Is A Telepath
Some enterprising lads have created a video showing them controlling the iPhone's Siri assistant with their brains instead of voices. The video could be a hoax, but these guys seem awfully earnest. Assuming this demonstration is genuine, Apple would be wise to hire them now so they can get to work on incorporating this technology into the iPhone 9.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2011
Alternative Input
I've been tough on Apple and the lack of accessibility in iOS for people with motor impairments. But today I learned about AssistiveTouch from the Times' David Pogue. AssistiveTouch is an on-screen interface that emulates physical gestures on iOS devices. Based on Pogue's description, it seems that AssistiveTouch can emulate almost any gesture and users can program their own gesture macros. Users must still be able to tap the screen with a finger or stylus, so it may not be the ideal solution for everyone. Still, this is certainly a step in the right direction and Apple deserves kudos for improving iOS accessibility. I now feel a little sheepish for not digging deeper into my phone's accessibility options.
Of course, I'm now wondering if I can rig up a lightweight headpointer that would allow me to use an iPad.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2011
iVote
Oregon is using iPads to help people with disabilities vote. It seems like a great idea. Ballots can be marked with a tap (or a puff) and the text can be enlarged or read aloud. iPads might be much more cost-effective than those clunky accessible voting machines that are collecting dust in precincts across the country. I'd still prefer true e-voting that allows voters to submit a secure ballot from any device and location, but that's probably a pipe dream. But pilot projects like this might get us closer to that vision.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2011
Could Scalia Surprise Us?
Another appellate court ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. And once again, a conservative judge wrote the majority opinion. Judge Laurence Silberman is decidedly conservative in his reasoning. He agrees that the ACA's insurance mandate is a novel exercise of Congress's Commerce Clause powers, but novelty doesn't imply unconstitutionality. He defers to Congress in its choice of policy tools to address an issue of national concern.
These appellate rulings should give pause to anyone--myself included--attempting to make educated guesses about how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the law. Judicial thought may be influenced by political leanings, but those leanings aren't determinative. The final ruling may not be the 5-4 affair many Court watchers expect.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2011
Slobber Attachment Sold Separately
Robots could potentially do plenty of jobs better than humans, but guide dogs can probably sleep soundly tonight knowing that their jobs are secure. Despite Japanese efforts to create a robotic guide dog (is there any function the Japanese won't hand over to robots?), their creation is too pokey and awkward to be of practical use. And even if they perfect it enough to one day be a viable replacement for a dog, it probably won't be inclined to snuggle with its master on the sofa.
Complete tangent: whenever guide dogs are mentioned, I can't help but think of this brilliant Onion article.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:03 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2011
One-Stop Shop
I ordered a bunch of Blu-ray movies earlier tonight and decided to give Amazon's Prime service a try. The video streaming included with Prime membership doesn't interest me much, but I'm a bit intrigued by the ability to borrow Kindle books. I'm guessing that the Prime service will continue to grow as a platform for the Kindle Fire tablet. If Amazon adds music streaming and an expanded video library, Apple and Netflix could have some real competition. Even at twice the $79 membership fee, it could be an attractive deal for media junkies like me.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2011
Subsidizing The 1%
The politics of the Vikings stadium debate are a curious thing. Republicans in the Legislature refuse to pass any bill allowing a local sales tax increase to fund a stadium without a referendum. Any referendum would likely fail in either Hennepin or Ramsey counties, which leaves Governor Dayton in the awkward position of cautiously supporting a solution that includes gambling revenue. Despite all the political hemming and hawing, the Vikings will likely get their new stadium. No political officeholder wants to be blamed for letting the local team depart to Los Angeles in an election year. And while I don't have strong feelings about the stadium's location, Minneapolis would probably be the most sensible site. The transit infrastructure to support a stadium already exists here and the skyline provides a more interesting blimp-cam view than anything the suburbs can offer.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2011
Classic Rock
The Onion reminds us that U2's Achtung Baby album is twenty years old now. A few thoughts:
- I'm getting fucking old.
- Achtung got all the hype when it came out, but Zooropa is still the better and more rewarding album.
- I remember being really disappointed that I didn't have anyone to take me to the ZooTV concert in Madison.
- I had just purchased a fancy 5-disc CD bookshelf system shortly before this album was released. I don't think it left my CD player for at least six months after I bought it.
- This album served as something of an introduction for me to the world of electronic music.
- I'm getting really fucking old.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:56 PM | Comments (1)
November 01, 2011
Expired Warranty
As shiny and powerful as my computer is, the technology I use to control it is quite old and little decrepit. For example, one of my p-switches (which function as my left and right mouse buttons) began to fail yesterday. I found a spare unit at my office, so I wasn't too concerned. But when I called the manufacturer to see if the malfunctioning switch could be fixed, they told me that they don't do anything but the most basic repairs on these devices. I'm lucky to have a spare because a similar switch from another manufacturer would set me back over $300.
I understand that assistive technology makers operate on thin margins and can't be expected to support their products indefinitely, but it's frustrating to be so dependent on a device and not be able to obtain any support for that device. Perhaps I should recruit a couple like-minded engineers and start a little company that offers lifetime guarantees on assistive tech devices that don't cost more than an iPhone.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:03 PM | Comments (2)