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Re: Northeast-style racism (Scripting News)

devilinthedetails — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:57:46 -0000

It's not just the northeast. There is a very strong under current of racism in the midwest as well, especially in smaller towns and rural areas. However, at the same time, a lot of those same ignorant people would say the exact same thing about Hilary Clinton (if she wasn't a woman, she never would have gotten this much attention. If it wasn't for Bill she'd be another no-name lawyer from wherever she's from.)

Honestly, I was immensely surprised by Obama's victory in the Iowa caucuses, I thought for sure that he would suffer a bit of the racist backlash.

It's not regional so much as it is generational and economical.

Re: How Do Memes Start? A Case Study: 100 Books in Facebook.

devilinthedetails — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:46:22 -0000

The BBC list from Dykeman's article is screwy, they list The Chronicles of Narnia, then they list "The Lion, the Witch and the Warddrobe". They also list both Hamlet and "The Complete works of William Shakespeare".

This certainly sounds like a silly meme, as many of these literary classics haven't been required reading for a long time. This reminds me of the controversy caused by the release of the Modern Library 100 Greatest Books of all time list, which had most readers in something of an uproar.

Re: How do you stave off the travel ills?

devilinthedetails — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:29:20 -0000

This is mostly an echo.

Sleep, hydration, handwashing are probably the top three.

I've found that a good sinus rinse (yes it is kind of gross) can help knock out the phlegm/drainage issues, but you have to be careful when you do it. Don't do it right before bed or it will just make it worse.

Multivitamins are great for normal everyday defense, but if you're traveling a ton I would suggest taken extra vitamin C in addition to your vitamin. Pick up some C pills that will give you an extra boost for traveling days. You can't OD on it, so go for the C with rose hips, gives you like 1666% of your DRV.

Good luck and stay hydrated.

-I am also not a doctor, but I do have two young children who bring home god knows what from daycare.

Re: Snapple Antioxidant Water is a Soft Drink

devilinthedetails — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:37:18 -0000

Sobe Vitamin Water, Gatorade Propel Fitness Water, Powerade Option Fitness Water and any other imposter product out there. They're not water.

It's not unlike my issue with calling soy beverage milk, it ain't milk, it's soy juice.

Re: Creepy Sleepy Show #92 - The Creepy Diet

devilinthedetails — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:45:58 -0000

Ahhh, hippy diets. I'll be thinking of you while I'm drinking a nice cold beer, taking a smoke break between quarters and indulging in some serious deep-dish pizza as I watch football.

By the way, you know what really works for staying healthy. Eat less, exercise more! Quitting smoking helps, and no fast food. But drinking epsom salt?!? Y'all are nuts.

Enjoy your descent into the world of the raw food hippies.

Re: Creepy Sleepy Show #93 - The Creepy Diet part II

devilinthedetails — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 11:37:14 -0000

Here's what I recommend for your continued diet, and it has worked fairly well for me over the past several months (although as I said in my comment on the last diet show, I have not lost any weight due to a build-up of new muscle).

Cut caffeine almost completely out of your diet. No pop, coffee, etc... I will admit that I do drink black tea, mainly for the antioxidants (of which there are a shit ton, and I hate green tea) which has caffeine, but none of the acid contained in coffee. Replace those things with water, lots of it. I probably drink close to a gallon of water a day (and I haven't been sick in over 2 1/2 years, not even a cold).

Eat throughout the day, not just at breakfast, lunch and dinner. SMall meals throughout the day keep your metabolism going all day as opposed to the spikes caused by large meals. Make the small things low fat and high protein (yogurt, string cheese, beef jerky, etc..). Eat more fruits and vegetables. Cut ground beef almost entirely out of your diet (use to eat it all the time, almost never eat it now). Substitute fish and other seafood (shrimp, scallops, all high in protein and low in fat.) I do occassionally eat chicken or pork, but I try to keep it to a minimum, and everyone needs a really good steak now and then.

WOrkout 3-5 days a week, this is the most important part. Get your heart rate up and keep it up for between 30-60 minutes. SInce I started working out regularly I have tons of energy and just feel better all around.

Do these things and I guarantee you you will feel better all around. YOu may end up spending a bit more money on food, since processed shit is always cheaper than good quality food, but it's well worth it.

Easiest way to avoid the shit, shop only the outer portions of the grocery store, aisels are where you get in trouble. Obviously there is no reson not to buy spices, bread, cereal, etc... Just try to stay away from boxed dinners (mac & cheese, hamburger helper, etc...)

All of these things have helped me feel much better in general. As an added bonus for Mr. DHP, the increased water levels should help your arthritis, but if not you micht consider some glucosamine (which should help your joint pain).

Well, that's all I got for now.

Re: Castro Dead? - NOPE!

devilinthedetails — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:22:18 -0000

This was obviously an attempt by the Bush Administration to divert attention from the resignation of Alberto Gonzales. Or it may have been an attempt by Perez Hilton to divert attention from Lindsay Lohan's stint in rehab.

Rumors are just that rumors, and I have to say that I don't think that this was in any way an attempt by Dan to mislead anyone. He got a report, said Castro may be dead and we are trying to confirm. When the confirmation came back, he updated stating as much.

Yes, everyone and their brother will jump on a rumor if it is as big as this, and no offense but Talk Radio News is a legit news source. I'm pretty sure Dan wasn't perusing Perez Hilton's website and thought it was credible.

I think you're just mad that everyone is anxiously awaiting the death of Castro, you dirty socialist you!

Re: Creepy Sleepy Show 125 - With Eric Strauss and PodShow Jake from the PME

devilinthedetails — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:40:47 -0000

Did I actually hear you say that you like Al Sharpton? I mean, I know you were drinking, but dude, how can you like Al Sharpton?

Sharpton is nothing more than a snake oil selling opportunist. He doesn't give two shits about what happened to those kids in Virginia, all he wants is to get his name in the media as often as possible.

I'm sure that the fully exonerated Duke Lacrosse players are anxiously waiting their apology from Mr. Sharpton (who basically called them rapists and demanded their expulsion from Duke along with the rest of the media who has decided that innocent until proven guilty is now completely reversed, as long as it's a good story.)

Re: Creepy Sleepy Show 139 - The Influence of Media on Politics

devilinthedetails — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:48:28 -0000

It was me. I was present for the popping of Tamboli's Creepy Sleepy cherry.

Re: DHP News From Nairobi, Kenya

devilinthedetails — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:25:24 -0000

Amazing stuff. Little different than what we've got here, makes you appreciate it a little more than normal.

Be safe Dan.

Re: A President’s Regret

devilinthedetails — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:27:46 -0000

Clinton is remembered more often for scandal than his accomplishments as President, however, he is one of only two presidents to be impeached.

What President Bush seems to have forgotten is that those popularity polls represent the feelings of the people of this country, and we are ultimately his boss, not the other way around.

I hope that history remembers him not for the charm of his good old boy image but for the unfortunate decisions he made as president that have garnered the lowest approval ratings in the history of the presidency.

TO be honest, humble in one interview doesn't make up for eight years of conceit, arrogance and the utter inability to admit the mistakes of his administration.

Re: Why Plurk Is Better Than Twitter

devilinthedetails — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:26:57 -0000

I am on both Twitter and Plurk and I see them as being useful for different things. Plurk at this point is a far more personal networking site (although it still has a fairly small user base compared to Twitter), yet with Twitter there is far more information being disseminated.

I think that most people will tend to stay with the network where their following is, for me at present it's twitter (600+ followers).

Plurk is a great idea, but at this point it doesn't have the community that Twitter does, yes, Twitter may not provide you with as much feedback, but the same could easily be said for Plurk, it's all dependent on the content you are submitting to the site. As with all social media, content is king.

Re: The Roll and The Why

devilinthedetails — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:43:45 -0000

I would suggest the addition of two blogs that I read on a regular basis.

The first is Adrants (http://www.adrants.com) which is as entertaining as it is informative.

The second is the blog for Punk Marketing (http://www.punkmarketing.com/punk-blog/) which I thoroughly enjoy (although it is not updated as often as I would like.

There are plenty more out there, Matt Cutts (Google), Bill Tancer's Hitwise Blog, Searchlight. These are all really insightful reads.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Greg

Re: Apple Is a Mean, Hot, Devil-Woman

devilinthedetails — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:26:26 -0000

The question is why is it Apple v. Microsoft? Aside from the Zune/iPod war, the only place they truly compete is in software.

Why isn't it Apple v. Dell? Or Apple v. HP? Especially given that Apple pc's (that's what they are after all, personal computers) can and do run Microsoft products.

My first mp3 player was an RCA, I have had a Samsung and currently use an Insignia. I don't buy Apple because I refuse to pay more for branding (and I have no need to be able to access the internet via my mp3 player).

Apple has successfully sold itself as more than a tech company, it is a lifestyle brand. They have their walking billboard loyalists who fawn over every new product release, even when they treat them like garbage. They will be allowed to do so as long as they continue to make products that their faithful digirati will champion.

Microsoft is limited because they are a software company (for the time being anyway). They are not going to start selling computers, dvr's, etc... anytime soon. Apple casts themselves as Microsoft rivals more so than the other way around. Steve Jobs managed to convince people to buy into the iLife and until it becomes too hellish a place to exist, those who have opted-in will remain.

Personally, I will opt-out of the iLife. I spend 40+ hours a week in front of a computer, and that's plenty.

Re: The Other 23

devilinthedetails — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:00:03 -0000

I agree that who you are can change often within the 24 hours of a given day.

I disagree that everyone one is forward-thinking and open-minded when they're blogging.

Shouldn't it be more like the other 16? Unless you never sleep, which is possible I suppose, though not for very long.

Re: 2008/07/24/plurk-microblogging/

devilinthedetails — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:03:29 -0000

Good god I hope Plurk isn't the MySpace of "Micro-blogging", which I personally find to be a woefully inadequate way to describe Twitter, Plurk, identi.ca, etc...

I have to admit I was surprised by the ambient negativity of the column, especially coming from someone who plurks more than anyone I've ever seen. It is no secret that I am not a fan of Plurk tying useability to Karma (which I see as little more than a way for them to identify their "power users") but people can do whatever they want, I don't have to see it.

Personally, I'm still on the twitter/plurk fence using ping.fm to update both a lot of the time. But I see in plurk the potential to become what Twitter can no longer effectively be, a place for conversation with a group of folks you get to choose. On twitter you can choose who's in your stream, but group conversations are nearly impossible, even with summize and quotably.

Re: 2008/10/07/politics-damaging-your-brand/

devilinthedetails — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:12:06 -0000

As someone hwo uses social|median everyday, I have to admit that I haven't paid all that much attention to Jason's use of twitter for political expression (maybe I don't pay as much attention to my twitter stream as some). However, what I have noticed is that the political discussion that occurs on social|median is far more measured and friendly than the discussion on most other sites. As a professional, I tend to avoid politics in the workplace, however, as a political wonk I enjoy it's discussion, as long as the discussion is productive (or at least civil). Thus far (and I was an alpha tester for S|M) I have thoroughly enjoyed S|M's community, especially when it comes to politics.

Re: 2008/10/07/politics-damaging-your-brand/

devilinthedetails — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:01:53 -0000

I think what Jason was trying to say is that CNN is trying to be in the middle, whether or not they are pulling it off is a different matter. Personally, I appreciate Jason's honesty and I appreciate his participation in the community. Jason, unlike many other social media founders, has become a part of the community and uses his commentary to foment discussion, which is sort of the point of a social news community. I appreciate that he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, nor to bring his personality and viewpoint to work with him, as opposed to checking it at the door. Jason does not claim to be bias free, and I think the social|median community is better off knowing up front where the person running the company stands, as well as that he is willing to consider alternate viewpoints.

Re: Developing Dan Patterson

devilinthedetails — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:30:13 -0000

lazier

Re: Mobile Updates for 2007-11-16

devilinthedetails — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:47:20 -0000

Well, in terms of the Yankees, I think that they should have kept Joe Torre. At the same time, I think that resigning A-Rod is a positive for the Yankees. Look at it this way, they will now have arguably the best player in the history of baseball (when he retires) for the rest of his career (or at least the remaining prime of his career).

A-Rod fell victim to Scott Boras more than anything (which is why he left Boras out of the loop when he contacted the Yankees directly). Boras is the bane of the sports world.

In terms of firing Torre, in my opinion it was a stupid move (I know they didn't officially fire him, but to give a hall of fame manager a one year incentive laden contract is a slap in the face, so they might as well have fired him.) This is not the first stupid move Steinbrenner has made, although hiring Joe Girardi was a good move.

Re: Why Plurk Is Better Than Twitter

devilinthedetails — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:26:57 -0000

Re: What Does Facebook Actually DO for Me

devilinthedetails — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:46:18 -0000

I initially signed up for facebook to get group messages from a friend of mine. And while I will say that the constant app. messages (lil' green patches, pokes, superpokes, etc...) can be annoying, they're no more annoying than junk email.

I don't use it too often, but it's a decent way to keep track of what people you know are up to. Think of it as a daily class reunion, where your class is made up of everyone you know and not just someone you went to school with.

I use twitter hourly, linkedin daily, and facebook whenever I get an email from them. It's all about finding the role that Facebook will play in your routine. To me it's not high priority, but still worth having.

Re: Dad-o-Matic- Week One

devilinthedetails — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:12:12 -0000

I'm really enjoying the posts thus far, great idea, great contributors, great posts.

Re: Gay Adoptions

devilinthedetails — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:28:52 -0000

Gay marriage and gay adoption shouldn't even be issues at this point. As a heterosexual male, married with two kids, I don't see how gay men or women getting married can in any way harm the sanctity of my relationship to my wife. I certainly don't see how parenting has anything to do with sexuality and to be honest, I think that most of my gay friends would make much better parents than most of my straight friends.

Social conservatives need to come to the realization that they do not get to hold serve on morality and ethical behavior in our society. Nor should religious admonishments of homosexuality have anything to do with the laws that govern our country.

Re: Gay Adoptions

devilinthedetails — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:47:41 -0000

The most important thing a child needs is to know that they are loved. Bad parents are bad parents (gay or straight), it makes no difference. In my experience, most people do not adopt children because they want to be bad parents.

The debate here should not be about sexuality, it should be based on whether or not the individuals are going to be good, loving, caring parents. Sexuality makes as much difference as to the quality of parenting skills as religious or political views.

The problem with the debate is that, not unlike most other controversial subjects, it has been co-opted by the religious side of the conservative aisle, the side that tells us that Gay marriage will destroy the sanctity of the institution, or that Harry Potter is teaching our children witchcraft.

While I do not know any gay couples who have adopted, and know that several of them would make very good parents, I also know several that would not make good parents. So, they're a lot like my straight friends.

People are people, regardless of their sexuality, straight or gay there are people who are meant to be parents, and people who aren't.

Re: Halloween Costumes for Kids

devilinthedetails — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:20:31 -0000

My oldest has been a pirate, Batman, A Jedi, a "boy bug" (that was his grandmother's idea), a ghost and will be going as Anakin Skywalker (pre-Vader) this year.

Fortunately, he has maintained solid interests in legos, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc... And while he has seen Batman Begins, I will not let him watch Dark Knight (or Temple of Doom either). But more importantly, I think the issue isn't the costume, it's what the costume means to the kid.

Halloween basically makes me really happy that I have two little boys, because the costumes they make for girls would never, ever be allowed out the door of my home.

Re: I Want Benedryl Back

devilinthedetails — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:29:16 -0000

Most of these laws (including the one here in Iowa) are for products containing pseudoephedrine (a decongestant) which is generally used as the active ingredient in meth. I find it odd that benadryl, which is an antihistamine and not a decongestant and is not (as far as I know) used to make meth, would be sold behind the counter only.

One thing you could do is to pick up Tylenol PM, which has diphenhydramine in it as a sleep aid. Although depending on the age of your daughter, you may not want to do that, too much acetaminophen can be bad for anyone, especially kids.

Just a thought.

Re: Gay Adoptions

devilinthedetails — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:26:42 -0000

The problem with this issue is that our society is too comfortable, meaning that anything that pushes them to experience something outside of their "traditional" values is immediately seen through the lens of fear. I'm certainly included in this group, we all are, it's how we're raised.

I have many gay friends (mostly men) and to be honest, (speaking as a straight man) seeing two men kiss makes me feel weird, not wrong, just weird. But you know what, seeing a 65 year old man kiss a 25 year old woman makes me feel weird too.

Sexuality, whether it is our own or someone else's, is something that we all have to deal with in our own ways, but more importantly we need to find a way to prove to ourselves that people are just people, regardless of who they love, and treat them with the respect they deserve as people, not as homosexuals or heterosexuals, liberal or conservative, believer or non-believer. Good people are good people, regardless of belief or persuasion.

Re: A Quick Tip for Expecting Daddies

devilinthedetails — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:58:22 -0000

While I agree that you do spend a lot more time at home once you have kids (I have two, 8 and 16 months), I have to disagree that putting your entire life on hold is a requirement.

First off, new parents need to make sure to spend time away from each other, trust me, you will almost definitely get on each others nerves, especially after long nights and little sleep.

My number one tip would be to make sure that you develop a balance. Make tradeoffs. If you have poker night (although I would suggest keeping it to a couple of hours at most) make sure she has a couple of hours to do something with her friends.

The movies thing is a good idea though, although you may just want to get Netflix and expand your movie viewing horizons.

Re: He Didn’t Have to Be

devilinthedetails — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:13:59 -0000

Thank you for this post, as it is rare that those of us who have ventured down this path are reassured of our decision.

My wife was 4 months pregnant when we started dating, and I think damn near every friend I had told me that I was insane (even though they agreed that she was a great girl). My parents thought I was insane (although thankfully their opinion has done a 180 in the last eight years).

Grant turned 8 in September and I am thankful every day that I didn't listen to my parents or my friends.

Re: Is 18 the New 8?

devilinthedetails — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:11:35 -0000

Ann,

I am the cook in my house. I make one meal a night, if there are vegetables involved (which most of the time there are) my 7 year old is told to try them. If he doesn't like them, I do not force him to eat them, I remember that he doesn't like them and do not serve them as often. For instance, he doesn't like asparagus (big surprise) so if I want asparagus, I'll make some snow peas (which he does like) as well. I can't imagine why I would want to go to all the extra effort of hiding vegetables in food.

Additionally, I am honestly quite frightened by the loss of freedom that my son's generation is experiencing. I live in the same general area where I grew up and the activity that was present when I was a child has disappeared completely. Gone is the sandlot baseball, pickup basketball and kids running around playing outside.

I guarantee you that I had a lot more freedom at 16 than my 7 year old will have, my fear is that it will be not because of me, but because of increased restrictions. When I was 16 I had my own car, a job and a curfew. My parents were not constantly checking up on me because they trusted me (and I'm only 27 so it wasn't that long ago.) Has it gotten so bad that we can't trust our kids to make their own decisions and learn from the consequences?