yodaveg's Comments (133)

“If a pair of pants, why does this matter?”

“This just in: Beck calls for Americans to protest government by skipping work this weekend.”

“evrywon knows edjacashun fills yer hed wit dangeris ideers. keep yer kids home afore obamma terns em inter soshilists.”

“Dems have become like chocolate truffles--crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle. Sometimes you have to fight back.”

“Lawyers recommend you file your age discrimination suits while you're young, giving you a better chance of surviving until the case is settled.”

“Science is a metaphor? For what?”

“As Shakespeare observed--no, wait, it was Mel Brooks--"We mock the thing we are to be."

When the developmental stage of separation was acted out as generational rebellion, it was inevitable most would outgrow it. It was not an era of individualism but of conformity—and thus easy to for cultural critics to lampoon and marketers to co-opt.

Real individualism--that is, the allegiance to one's self-created values, ideas and behavior--was not born in the 60's. It's as old as humanity, requires courage, and it was perhaps best described in Emerson's essay "Self Reliance":"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

I'm not saying the counterculture movement embodied by Woodstock was bad. It helped overcome oppression and repression, and it helped end an unjust war. And the music rocked, man. But the only conformity it rejected was it its parents values.”

“Two things: First, to pronounce either men or women as inherently better leaders is to overlook the the defining individual differences that characterize managers. Second, what the heck is "gender-management software"?”

“Hmm. By your logic, Saddam's REPUBLICAN Guard were Republicans. Sounds right to me.”

“Wait a second. While Jane has a lot of good points here, those of you who say Obama is no different from Bush are smoking banana peels. Like with those who stayed home or voted for Nader instead of Gore, your huffy impatience can end up being a potently bad thing.

Obama s an incrementalist, not a revolutionary, and we on the left have to keep the pressure on him. But to throw up your hands and write Obama off is extreme political childishness.”

“I am one of millions of newbie gardeners, with a big, fenced-in plot taking up about half my front lawn. It's a look that takes getting used to. And as a newbie, my harvest has been anything but bountiful. But I love the idea of doing it. My farmer ancestors in the old country would laugh if they saw me standing there in awe watching plants grow.

I've been trying to outsmart the varmints who think I planted my garden for them. I make lots of mistakes. But I'm having a great time.

I agree that anything more than a small patch of lawn for the kids to roll in is a waste of resources.”

“Pretty thing gruel here, Mario. You can do better--I can tell by reading the aura on your photo.”

“Funny. Not ha-ha funny. More existentialist-political sad-funny, like Michael Moore meets Woody Allen.”

“Hm. What have you got up your sleeve?”

“There is a corollary to your rule I hold in higher regard: Lower your expectations.”

“If ignorance is bliss and happiness is a warm puppy, then ignorance is a warm puppy.”

“Recent developments in brain science have proposed a biochemical basis for spiritual feeling and enlightenment:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_gene

It's shocking that we are not studying the its intersection with Hoffman's creation.”

“Looks like the New York State legislature hasn't changed much in 223 years.”

“I think he mean potato trees.”

“And left-handed people. And vegetarians. And bald people. And men with beards. And stutterers. And people who can't handle air-conditioning. And those who can't do without it. And pet owners. And children. And . . . .”

“There is some good sense in here, but it comes across with the overpromise and hyperbole of an infomercial. Oh, wait--he's selling books.”

“Sure, and mp3 player functionality is a commodity. Now, why does Apple have 75% of that market? Two things will drive adoption of the Touch--the Apple cachet and the growing mountain of apps.

In fact (going out further on my limb), I predict the Touch is the precursor to the One Device, the unified phone/pc/Web device of the future. Web-based apps and storage will obviate the need for a large drive or processing power. Virtual keyboard and built-in projector will do away with keyboard and lcd screen.

Now don't get me going on the mind modem . . . .”

“The iPod Touch is the iPhone without AT&T. Also, unfortunately, without the phone. But with Wi-Fi, a headset and Skype, it's a reasonable facsimile thereof. Both are available with 32 GB flash drive. Both run the apps.

As Wi-Fi grows more ubiquitous, the Touch, which requires no monthly contract) will become the mobile device of choice.”

“This scenario is contingent on one thing: bandwidth. Universal everything on-demand in HD (which is what people will want) requires prodigious amounts of storage and bandwidth. Are we there in 5-10 years? Maybe.

Okay, it's contingent on another thing, too: Simplicity. Although the programmable VCR was around for 20 years, in most homes the consarned contraptions flashed "12:00." It wasn't until the idiot-friendly DVR emerged that people began large-scale personal time-shifting. The Web-to-HD monitor connection is not yet easy or reliable (idiot-friendly) enough to spur adoption beyond a few technophiles.

The solution, I think, is the development of the true home server, a powerful Web-connected media hub (a dumb pipe, yes). Whether the set-top box or home PC evolves into this role first is up for grabs. And the 5-10-year horizon is iffy.

Of course, this doesn't begin to deal with the business model for content distribution. Premium cable has shown that many people are willing to pay for content. But that business model has not even been invented yet.

So TV is bread, warm bread maybe. But not toast yet.”

“The key, as Hillary says, is to give people tools to feed themselves. It's a lot more sustainable than the old model of sending corn and rice and turning starving people into starving and dependent people. As the saying goes, we need to teach people to fish.”