Bits & Pieces (Tuesday Night Open Mic)

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Kevin S. Willis

I’m a long time fan of Apple products, and prefer to exist in the Apple ecosystem. And that’s not going to change—I’m going to be using an iPhone 10 years from now, I have no doubt.

However, there is one area where I envy the Android-toting rebels and misfits: Google maps for Android. It is light-years ahead of the map functionality on iOS. It just is.

3D models of city areas, information on the indoors of certain places, restroom information, etc. Not to mention, vector data so it’s wicked fast and much easier on your dataplan. Sigh.

Ah, well. I’ve got nothing to complain about. I long wished for a device that combined music player, telephone, and PDA, and now I have it—plus it’s also a still camera and a video camera and a video game device! And an acceptable GPS. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: I feel blessed to have been born when I was. But I still would like to see Google Maps for Android on iOS. But, I won’t, because they’re competing or something.

***

I have many favorite movies. One of them is Fight Club.

At age 12 or 13, I first saw Looker. Other than Scrooge, it was my first exposure to Albert Finney. This was the scene from the movie that first caught my attention:
Only it wasn’t in French when I first saw it. 

— KW

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Anders Behring Breivik Was Insane

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Kevin S. Willis

Surprise! Anders Behring Breivik is not right in his head.

Much TV watching, playing of checkers in his future. Just punishment for the brutal murder of 77 innocent young people.

Too bad they couldn’t have moved the trial to Texas.

Prosecutors said Breivik, a self-declared anti-immigration militant, believed he had staged what he called “the executions” out of his love for his people. “The conclusion … is that he is insane,” prosecutor Svein Holden told a news conference on Breivik’s psychiatric evaluation. “He lives in his own delusional universe and his thoughts and acts are governed by this universe.”

If the court accepts the psychiatrists’ conclusions, Breivik would be held in a psychiatric institution rather than in a prison. Norwegian courts can challenge psychiatric evaluations or order new tests but rarely reject them. Breivik could be held as long as he poses a threat to society, but may be released if found to be healthy.

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CPA Sex – it’s not just for accountants!

Posted on November 29, 2011 by markinaustin

From Herman Cain’s attorney, describing the new allegation:

This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault – which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate,” said attorney Lin Wood, who Cain hired after several sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him earlier this month

Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults – a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life.

I wanted WJC to resign because he diddled a WH clerk.  It was their relative power positions in that workplace that  motivated my thinking, not the infidelity itself, about which I had no opinion for public consumption, nor was I impressed with his misdemeanor false swearing under oath in a deposition about an immaterial subject.

In theory I agree with Lin Wood, but the news loves S-E-X and I am sure there will not be a public outcry to protect the privacy of anyone in public life, ever.  Of course, one party here made her conduct quite public, for whatever reason, so the genie is out of that box, so to speak.

In theory, do you agree with Lin Wood?  I am curious how many  of us think consenting private adult [cpa] sex is not a legitimate ground for inquiry.

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Is it any wonder?

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Arcanaut

Good morning, everyone!  I apologize for being absent for solong.  Currently, am still job-hunting,and not focused much on politics at all. I miss it!  I miss y’all!  Even QB.

Kevin and Michi: Thank you for contacting me.  You have no idea how good it feels!  I am stuck here in Manassas, and don’t darego out anywhere to spend anything.  Won’teven go the pool hall, damnit!

All of which leads me to the following:

The job market has changed so much in justa few years, literally! It is drastically different from what it was just 10years ago, and at THAT time, it didn’t have much in common with the way that Iwas taught to job hunt waaaaay back in the 80’s. Now it feels like I am on aroller coaster ride taking the long way around to the Black Hole of Resumes.

It used to be that with some good oldpavement pounding, you could find a job. In the mid-90’s, I took the yellow pages, and just started cold-callingevery business that had an interesting name. I found a job in a week.  I usedthe Sunday newspaper (you know, actual PAPER?)

Today, I go to Careerbuilder andMonster.  I’m trying to figure out LinkedIn.  Gadblummit, I am NOT going to signup to Facebook!  Enough already!!  Besides, I have NO CLUE where any pictures ofme are.  I have nothing to post.  I’m looking for employment, ‘k? I don’t wanta date. Unless they’re paying for everything.

So where am I going with this?  Why does this rant belong here, on this blog?Well.

In job-hunting today, on one hand, you areexpected to hand out all kinds of information about yourself to the generalpublic, in sites such as LinkedIn and FB.

On the other hand, be very carefulregarding identity theft, and pick your friends carefully, as some employersnow routinely run searches on social networks and Google about you before theyhire, and they check your friends as well.

It is these searches that are the cause ofmy ire.  I am looking for a job, youknow, that stuff that you do all day in order to collect a paycheck?  I am not looking to date you.  It really isn’t your business that my brotherhas mental issues.  They don’t affect MYjob!  It isn’t your business that myex-fiancee is still my friend, and that his daughter had a baby out of wedlock(how quaint!) a month ago. It isn’t your business that my old friend fromcollege, that I haven’t seen for 10 years, may have a drinking problem.  He lives in Atlanta.  I am looking for a job in the DC area.  Yes, I play pool.  I love to play pool! What does that have todo with fixing workstations?  If you wantme to dedicate every waking hour to YOU, Pay me!

And now we move on to finances.  Don’t you think, that if I am job-hunting,that I then may have a cash-flow issue? Isn’t that part of the whole situation that I am job-hunting to get outof? Steady paychecks have a way of clearing those things up pretty quick.  So, why are you denying me a job because Ihave been slow paying a couple bills?  Doyou really think that I am going to pay them faster now?

All of the above though, is just theinsult to the injury.  The injury:

I found your job listing.  I went to your website, I spent an hourfilling out an application with all the same info as the resume that yourequested I upload/cut’n’paste, I spent another 30 minutes browsing your site,and running searches on you.  Theresponse from you? Nothing. Black Hole. Nothing.

Oh, I might get one that says, “We gotyour resume.” That’s it. No other follow up. (more on this in a bit).

What happened to etiquette and manners? Afterspending all of that time, I expect a response. Something that says “Thank you for applying, position is filled”, or theone that says “Thank you for applying, we are not accepting apps now”.  You can’t be bothered for a little courtesywhen your job description clearly stated that “Friendly and prompt customerservice is a must”?

Or, if you are going to send a cannedresponse like “We got your resume”, do you mind following up on that?  I have responded to a job ad where thedescription also stated “track issues and follow up on all tickets promptly”.  Obviously, you need to hire me, because I neverhear from you again.

Worse. You apply to a position, and amonth later, and two months later, the SAME JOB IS STILL BEING ADVERTISED. Youknow what? They were just fishing. Trying to compare salary requirements, is all. They have no job. Theynever did.  Arseholes.

So, we have rudeness inside the workplace,and outside the workplace, and in our politics, and in our blogs. Is it anywonder there is such random violence, or that there is protesting going on?Really?

Ok. My rant is done.

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Don’t mess with Joe

Posted on November 29, 2011 by ScottC

I don’t mean to step on the Bits and Pieces thread, but I saw this today and just had to put it up here. Any of you old timers remember Joe Kapp, the old quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings back in the late 60’s? Kapp is the only quarterback in history to appear in the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, and the CFL’s Grey Cup. Anyway, apparently the other day Kapp was being honored at a CFL alumni luncheon along with an old rival of his from the 1963 Grey Cup, Angelo Mosca. It seems that there was some kind of incident back in 1963 involving Mosca and a teammate of Kapp’s, which resulted in some hard feelings. Old grudges, it seems, die hard.

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