Category: ranting

“So, you can call anyone you know at any time, and that’s so convenient for you, right? Well, it isn’t. Do the math. How many numbers do you have stored in your phone? Fifty, a hundred, more? Well, they’re the people for whom your phone is a great convenience—they know that they can call you and wherever you are, even if you don’t pick up, they have asserted their presence as a part of your day. You are one person with one person’s communication needs; they are legion, and they want and expect answers now. Want to know real convenience? Leave a message on my machine, or email me, and I’ll get back to you when I damn well feel like it.”

Dana Albarella James, in My Life Without A Cell Phone: An Amazing Tale Of Survival [theawl.com] published at The Awl [theawl.com]

I do have a phone —I had one back in the mid-90’s and was, on at least one occasion mistaken for a drug dealer due to said cell phone, trench coat and dark glasses but that’s a story, about fish and their exorbitant electricity consumption, for another day— but I can sympathize with the sentiment. I don’t talk on my phone much. I much prefer SMS or email. I’ve never really liked to talk on the phone…. But I’ve said all this before… [confusion.cc]

In other news…

It’s a nice piece of speculative work, but it is speculation

Matt Visser, quoted in Stellar Wormholes May Exist [seeker.com] on Seeker

… is scientist speak for “that’s bullshit, what’s this guy smoking?”

Of course hindsight is 20/20.

Also, if memory serves, that’s a key plot element of The Algebraist [wikipedia.org].

If a U.S. president could speak honestly about Libya, he would say something like this:

“Look, I have been alternately horrified by the behavior of the Libyan regime over the past few days and inspired by the courage of the Libyan people. But if you’re asking me what we the United States is going to do about the situation, the answer is very little. Most Libyans reject the idea of external intervention by western powers, and we’re just fine with that since we have few interests in Libya. You can’t expect the United States to take an active role in responding to every humanitarian crisis or regional conflict worldwide unless you take a ridiculously broad conception of our interests, and Americans are increasingly unwilling to fund a military and aid program that could respond to each and every flare-up around the world. You cannot, in other words, have a steak-and-lobster foreign policy on a budget more suitable for McDonalds. But if I’m wrong and you guys want to cut social security and Medicaid to increase funding for USAID, the Department of Defense and the State Department, let me know. As for the rising price of oil? Look, folks, it’s a global market. I can ask our Saudi friends to increase their output, but honestly, we Americans enjoy relatively cheap gasoline since we hardly tax the stuff at all compared with our industrial partners and competitors. I know that comes as little solace to a suburban mom dealing with national infrastructure built around the internal combustion engine, but that’s not going to change anytime soon, and I can hardly tax Americans less, so we’re stuck. You’re just going to have to adjust your consumption as best as possible and save elsewhere.”

Abu Muqawama, in If a U.S. president could speak honestly about Libya… [cnas.org]

I’d vote for the Pres if he said it that way. Too bad politics get in the way. I quoted almost all of Muqawama’s post but check his out for a bit more and some links to what the Obama actually said.

Haven’t said much here about the politics in a while, but on the Jasmine revolution and the unrest in Arab dictatorships; best thing for America to do is stop all financial (military and non-military) aid that was being paid to any of the these governments immediately and funnel the money to NGO and UN aid organizations to help deal with the people. You know; the people not the dictators or their associates