Disqus - Latest Comments for Harold

Re: Obama's bone-headedness, day 2 (Scripting News)

Harold — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:11:59 -0000

Day or two after the election, I got into an argument with two African-Americans on a bus as we were stalled in traffic near UCLA. (This was during the anti-Prop 8 rallies near the Mormon temple in Westwood, very near to UCLA.) We'd been stuck on the bus over an hour. This one black (un)gentleman-child kept getting up and walk the length of the bus, loudly and exclaiming his dislike of homosexuals. "Faggots" this and "faggots" that; real ugly stuff. Real hostile manner, too.

I found myself simmering with anger. I was somewhat surprised by my anger, but I let it take hold. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. I turned to the woman sitting nearest to me and said in a voice loud enough for the man-child to hear, "Well, Prop 8 probably won't go through anyway, as this morning both the cities of L.A. and San Francisco filed a lawsuit against its constitutionality." This got the man-child's attention, and he responded by trying to assert black civil rights as meaningful, disregarding gays' civil rights.

Here's how I responded. I regret having said this. I really do. In fact, I want to apologize to all blacks for this statement: "Well, I hope Obama doesn't think the way you do." Something like that. I proudly voted for Obama--even though I suspected some measure of corruption in his rise to the top of the Democratic Party. Still, I don't want to be on, as they say, "the wrong side of history". I wanted to have voted for the first black president. I wanted to believe in change (and I mean that without a hint of irony). I also felt some small connection to Obama: he had attended a private college a few blocks away from where I lived at the time.

I don't regret having voted for Obama, but I'm questioning his choice of Warren. I doubt he intended animosity toward gays with that selection, but I think he made a mistake there. It's as simple as that: a mistake, albeit a significant one. He could right this by distancing himself from Warren, right now. I don't think that's asking too much, especially considering that a large number of gays helped to put him into office.

(Epilogue: I do regret having said what I said on the bus. But what I said was nowhere as bad, in my opinion, as the derogatory remarks the man-child was saying about homosexuals. And as I sat there on the bus, I had to then deal with this man and his lady-friend (who decided to jump into the argument), both yelling at me and calling me a racist and getting in my face, physically. (The man kept running up to my seat and feigning to punch me, glancing at the bus driver to see if he was watching...I was sure he was eventually going to hit me.)

Then the police arrived. I don't know who contacted them. Probably the bus driver. She walked onto the bus and asked the driver who was causing the problems. Both, the driver told her, though the one in the UCLA shirt is one who really needs to go. (The one in the UCLA shirt was the man-child.) Before the situation changed anymore, I volunteered to get off the bus. I told her the officer it was both of us--that we were both arguing.)

Re: When not talking about Twitter, what do you do in life?

Harold — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:21:07 -0000

Well, it's about time you asked! (By the way, most of my Twitter posts answer this very question. I try to keep to Twitter's question, "What are you doing?")

Over the past year I've been taking at least one online course through a local community college each semester, currently enrolled in a Visual Basic study. At the same time I'm attempting, yet again, to learn other languages (such as Ruby), through self-study. After learning at least the fundamentals of these languages, I might pick one to focus more deeply on.

I'm going to be looking for work soon.

I read *alot*, and not just online (though I do read alot online). Currently reading a Camus novel, "The Fall", but my tastes vary. (I just finished reading a few sci-fi novels, including two by Carl Sagan's son Nick and one by Phil K. Dick and one by Gibson.) I read alot of magazines, too, such as Game Developer (even though I don't know how to develop & am not much of a gamer).

I try to get my exercise by talking long walks; I haven't gone to the gym in years.

I just quit smoking (again).

I've been seeing a psychiatrist for a few years, but she's moving her practice and I'm not sure I'll be seeing another shrink regularly anymore. I'm not crazy, just depressed sometimes. Most of the time, maybe.

I *love* music, and I *love* good stories. Put them together & BAM! I'm in heaven (at least until a good-looking woman distracts me)! It bugs me that women distract me so much; I would like to get more done, but I do love them so...

I want to be content, not necessarily rich.

I used to hike, but now I walk. I often walk from my home to Santa Monica, a couple of hours away.

I think about my mom all the time, and I'm unhappy that she lives in a nursing home.

I sometimes wish I "got my shit together" when I was younger.

For a few years I've been thinking about getting a bike.

I eat too much.

I think I'm (mostly) healthy, but my stomach is a bit flabby.

I spend too much time concerned with my neighbors, who I wish I could avoid more often but can't because I live in a house in which several 20to30-somethings share. (It was once a fraternity.) I live in a nice neighborhood, though -- safe and where a great deal of all movie premieres take place. Lots of intelligent students in my neighborhood, and lots of dopes in my house.

Sometimes I have panic attacks, but I haven't had one in a long time.

I love theme parks. Wish I could go to them more often.

Re: FCC rejects Google Microsoft whitespace devices

Harold — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:04:30 -0000

If the Philips device worked, why do you suppose the FCC rejected the technology? It seems the broadcasters are most worried about the technology being permitted...

Re: Obama Banned from Facebook?

Harold — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:14:28 -0000

Perhaps the administration should use some Facebook-like implementation, something they can maintain themselves rather than relying on another corporation. (Is FB incorporated?) Nothing made by Diebold, of course. Maybe something open source.

Re: Obama Banned from Facebook?

Harold — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:31:34 -0000

Hah! Yeah, that'll do nicely for a domain name.

Re: 2008/07/08/google-lively/

Harold — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:08:42 -0000

Was there even a hint of this published online prior to today? This seems to have come out of the blue...

Re: 2008/05/27/borders/

Harold — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:58 -0000

Cool (I guess). Buy most of my books used at either a Goodwill or an Out of the Closet thriftstore or through half.com or Amazon used, but when I buy a book new I buy it at Borders (most of the time). Good discounts here and there.

Re: #OnOurFeet

Harold — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:45:05 -0000

If we can incorporate this into some type of database, in order to measure our progress...nah, that's too much work, let's just tweet #OnOurFeet

Re: Kermit Covers Nine Inch Nails

Harold — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:11:51 -0000

Hilarious. Frightening. Good Kermit impression, Chris -- was that you?

Re: Jeff Pulver Launches PrimeTimeRewind

Harold — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:53:24 -0000

My girlfriend is really into some of the shows displayed on your cube above, and she really doesn't have much desire for user-generated content (though she's getting into one series, Threadbangers). This is probably good for her. Thanks for the notification, Chris!

Re: CC Chapman Interviews Me at SXSW

Harold — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:23:24 -0000

Fun. What was the best part of SXSW? (Certainly not the WiFi, it seems...)

Re: Raising a Quick 500 for Cancer

Harold — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:53:49 -0000

Both of you have good points.

Re: What I Did This Morning Instead of Blog

Harold — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:03:05 -0000

I simply want to know what you use to manage your schedule, Chris. What calendaring software or life management software you use -- do you carry around a pencil & notepad as well?

Re: Gary Short boogles at my ego

Harold — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 14:18:17 -0000

What do you mean, "even Dave Winer"? Heck, you know that Uncle Dave's more likely to tell it like it is than just about anyone else around here - especially since he's your friend. Just be authentic and everything else will fall into place. Love you, man.

Re: Time lists its 50 coolest Web sites

Harold — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:46:58 -0000

I don't usually boast about my lists, but I've got this thing I call SLABTO!, which stands for "Some Links Are Better Than Others". It's kind of hidden right now, as I don't provide a provide link to it on my blog, but I'm sure you'll find it if you're looking for a decent list of (what I think are) "cool" sites (though some links are better than others)...

Re: Will Apple sue PodTech.net? (My employer)

Harold — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:33:08 -0000

People (like me) have been using audiocast and videocast for a *long* time; this isn't nothing new. Still, we could use some Big Namess (like Scoble's) to push the terms.

Re: WALL-E Easter Eggs

Harold — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:48:38 -0000

Dude, I totally keep thinking that, too! (In fact, that's how I found your post -- I was searching to see if there was any info.online indicating this.)

Re: Its Like Holding a Waterbed Over Your Head…

Harold — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:50:44 -0000

Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous to try to enforce this policy. I've been hearing a lot about this, but I'm not clear on why it's been introduced in the first place: Is it really to keep from diluting the brand? I thought it also may have had something to do with cheating (such as a player haplessly providing information during a game that gets to the coaching staff on the opposite team).

Re: Why the Keyword Meta Tag Doesn’t Matter… And I Can Prove It!

Harold — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:51:38 -0000

Really really helpful post, Rigsby. I have a concern, and perhaps you know the answer: I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time going back to old Blogger posts and entering Labels (Blogger's version of tags), since they introduced the feature about a year or two ago and all of my pre-2007 posts didn't have these labels. My thinking has been, Google owns Blogger, and since Blogger has introduced this Labels feature perhaps Google utilizes the labels in their search engine. In fact, I could swear that I read something somewhere stating exactly that. Do you happen to know? (I know that meta tags are quite different from the tags features of blog systems, but I'm still wondering.)

Re: Why the Keyword Meta Tag Doesn’t Matter… And I Can Prove It!

Harold — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:56:24 -0000

Oh and by the way, what does this post have to do with racehorses? XD

Re: WordCamp Birmingham – The First of Several

Harold — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:36:23 -0000

Well, in my mind I've been pronouncing Akismet correctly, but that doesn't mean I have any idea what it is...hadn't know Mullenweg was associated with that product/project, either. A few years ago I had the opportunity to "meet" Matt at a little vlogging event in L.A. (Pixelodeon). 2005 or 2006, IIRC. I haven't been to any meetups or anything since then; maybe it's time I start doing so (starting tomorrow). I guess you do learn a few things at the events, though I feel they're much more about networking than learning. I guess it depends on how you like to learn: I usually have difficulty concentrating in lectures or panels; I've always been good at researching info. on my own.

Still: The events I have attended have had their rewards. The first Podcast Expo (back when it was simply called Podcast Expo) and a Linux event I attended in L.A. introduced me to people I hadn't expected to meet, a few who I still kinda keep in contact with. (Kinda. They pop up on my radar, anyway, and I tend to pay more attention to their projects now that I "know" them.) Swag is also sometimes collected at these events; I still wear the Juice tee one of the developers of the software personally issue to me from the trunk of his car. (The first podcast receiver, iPodder, was renamed Juice as podcasting became more popular.)

Re: Is Twitter Down?

Harold — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:48:14 -0000

Ha, I just found that too. I'll bet you searched for a term/phrase such as 'twitter down', right? That's how I discovered it. Did you click the link? Hilarious.

Re: Is Twitter Down?

Harold — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:09:04 -0000

It is funny! I thought so, anyway...

Re: Is Twitter Down?

Harold — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:45:16 -0000

Theo?