Disqus - Latest Comments for merubin75

Re: Exit Interview With Jim Bridenstine

Michael E. Rubin — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 16:21:06 -0000

Congratulations, Keith. That’s quite a coup on your part. I look forward to reading it.

Re: PolitcoBoeing Now Has Their Own Space Newsletter Thing

Michael E. Rubin — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 14:09:52 -0000

Better late than never. It's a very big tent.

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Scripting News: 10/30/07

Michael E. Rubin — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 09:46:32 -0000

"There behind a glass is a real blade of grass, be careful as you pass.
Move along! Move along!"

Keep on digging, Dave.

Re: Patientory Reveals Healthcare Portal for Blockchain-based Medical Record System

Michael E. Rubin — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 12:00:51 -0000

In case anyone is interested, we wrote a point-for-point response to the reddit scam warning. https://medium.com/@patient...

Please feel free to contact us directly at info@patientory.com. We'd be delighted to answer any questions, concerns, comments, or kudos.

At your service,
Michael E. Rubin, for Patientory

Re: Patientory Reveals Healthcare Portal for Blockchain-based Medical Record System

Michael E. Rubin — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:58:20 -0000

Here is an alternative link for downloading the white paper: http://bit.ly/whitepaperpat...

At your service,
Michael E. Rubin for Patientory

Re: WIKILEAKS BOMBSHELL: Hillary Advisors Admit She “HATES EVERYDAY AMERICANS”

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 13:32:45 -0000

Folks, please use some common sense. She didn't say she hates everyday Americans. It was that she didn't care for the language when used as a campaign slogan.

This has been thoroughly debunked and disproven. I know facts are inconvenient, but do you have to deny reality?

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Facebook Pages App to Page Admins: Create a Call to Action

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 10:41:42 -0000

It's a nice addition, but I still wish Facebook would invest more time and resources into making the Pages app more stable. Bringing features into parity with what you can do on the desktop would also be nice.

Re: Facebook Walls Are Not An Open Invitation For You to Attack

Michael E. Rubin — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 10:01:01 -0000

Hear Hear. Well said.

Re: How to Target Your Most Loyal Website Visitors With Facebook Ads

Michael E. Rubin — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:23:07 -0000

Brilliant idea. I just wish there was a way to filter out people with an email address from a specific domain. We do a ton of testing on our website, so a great deal of the visitors are people from our own company.

Anyone have thoughts on how to do that?

Re: Baseball got ugly last night

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 14:02:12 -0000

Oyyyy. Sorry about that. I accidentally broke a cardinal rule of mine and replied to a tangential idea -- that the Mets were threatening retaliation -- and not the content of your post. I goofed, and I offer my apologies, Dave.

FWIW, I hope the Mets and the Cubs win their respective series. I would love to see a Mets-Cubs matchup for the NL pennant.

Re: Baseball got ugly last night

Michael E. Rubin — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:33:04 -0000

This is one of those "unwritten rules" of baseball I find maddening. You want to protect your guy and "retaliate"? Do it on the field by winning the game.

Disclosure: I'm a die-hard Cubs fan and I would feel the same way if a Cub pitcher was threatening to hit a Cardinal in "retaliation."

Re: Why do smart people say such stupid things?

Michael E. Rubin — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:02:55 -0000

In my experience, the answer to your question -- Why do smart people say such stupid things? -- is simple. They have nobody around to tell them what they don't want to hear. People in these rarefied circles are often surrounded by sycophants and yes-people unwilling or unable to say "no."

This leads to an inflated sense of self and ego. With no check on either, it's safe to say that you lose touch with reality after a while.

Re: It's the powerlessness, dummy!

Michael E. Rubin — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 00:49:30 -0000

The problem with the "old fogies" remark is that she and other journalists like her think it's cute and harmless. She was equally dismissive of those living in the Midwest, snidely referring to all of it as "flyover country." (disclosure: I'm an ex-Midwesterner).

Bottom line: words matter.

Re: Groupon Posted This Product on Facebook, and Replied to Everyone Who Made a Sex Joke

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 12:00:47 -0000

Groupon answered every single comment. Wow! Welcome to 2015, Groupon. So glad you could join the rest of us who have been answering every comment since 2012.

Re: Who drives you?

Michael E. Rubin — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 15:32:41 -0000

The whole upload-your-brain thing is one big cop-out. Instead of doing the hard work of putting talent, time, and energy into helping make *this* world a better place, Silicon Valley says, "Don't bother with all that. Just upload your brain into technotopia and you'll live forever stress-free."

As my bubbe would say while shaking her head, "Oy vayzmir, you kids."

Re: How to get smaller

Michael E. Rubin — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 19:38:16 -0000

"The "Singularity" is just a nerd boy fantasy..." This. Absolutely this.

I think waiting around for the Singularity is not only a nerd boy fantasy, it's the ultimate cop-out. Instead of doing the hard work necessary for survival, the thinking goes, we will upload ourselves into a gestalt. No more having to pay taxes, no more having to function as a human being, no more giving a damn. Why should you worry about all that "messy" stuff people care about when you'll be an immortal god in the Matrix?

I really hope the Singularity continues to be "just fifteen years away" for the rest of time. That's way, the rest of us can focus instead on solving real problems and working together with one another to do it.

Re: Should machines think like humans?

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:26:06 -0000

You're right, Dave, about so much action being based on emotion. We can analyze a situation all we like, but even a logical, rational decision ultimately comes down to how we feel about it.

Look at it this way: in "2001," HAL was able to play chess with Dave Bowman and beat him. When confronted with a crisis (safeguard the mission OR reveal his secret), he had a breakdown and killed most of the crew. Both were based on a series of decisions ("If I move the rook, then I will take the pawn" and "If I tell Dave what I know what's waiting for us at Jupiter, then I will jeopardize the mission"), and because he was programmed to understand emotions, he committed a violent, emotional act.

Our computers will understand and express emotion at some point. I personally think that's a given. Whether or not they will comprehend morality is a different issue entirely (and a truly fascinating one at that).

Re: You can finally edit your Instagram comments and location from within the app

Michael E. Rubin — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 03:53:50 -0000

Very welcome changes indeed. But still no API, which means app developers can't incorporate it into publishing systems.

Re: Remembering Mookie

Michael E. Rubin — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 17:31:31 -0000

That's probably because all three teams have long histories and philosophies.

I've said for years that if I wasn't already a Cubs fan, I would've been a die-hard Red Sox fan. While I will always bleed Cubbie blue, I have a very soft spot in my heart for the Sawx. :)

As for the Mets ... I love reading your stories about growing up with them in the 60's. I grew up in the 80's, so there was a decent rivalry between the two teams by then. However, when the leagues were split and the Central divisions were formed, it took away the rivalry and the competitive intensity that rose every time the two teams faced off. Nowadays, the Cubs' big rivalry is with the Cardinals. Do the Mets have a natural rival anymore?

Re: Remembering Mookie

Michael E. Rubin — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 16:41:46 -0000

I was 11 years old and I still remember that game as one of the thrilling I've ever watched. My parents actually let me stay up late on a school night to watch it to the end and my father was watching it with me. We were (and still are) both die-hard Cubs fans, so I was rooting heavily for Boston. Not only was one of my favorite chants deliciously anti-Met ("Hail Mary and full of Grace, keep the Mets in second place!"), but ex-Cub star Billy Buckner was on the Red Sox. Before Ryne Sandberg, he had been my favorite Cub.

I vividly remember them showing the Boston clubhouse every few seconds and talking about how they were getting it ready for the champagne celebration. Then the Mets just kept coming and coming. I remember not quite believing it when I saw Ray Knight round third and score for the game winner. My Dad and I were both hollering and whooping it up because we knew were watching something special. God bless Mookie, indeed. :)

The sad thing is that with the exception of that play, "Billy Buck's" career was outstanding. He was one of the best hitters of the early 1980's, and an all-around good guy. Now his career is remembered for one stupid play.

Re: 20-year milestone coming soon

Michael E. Rubin — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 14:51:20 -0000

First of all, Dave, mazel tov on the milestone. Keep digging.

I'm not a developer. I'm a marketing guy managing Social Media for a BigCo. I've always enjoyed your writing because even if it was about something arcane and technical, I dug your philosophy.

This is the post that hooked me and kept me coming back. "Accept and Respect." You were talking about Microsoft, but this idea really rocked my 21-year old self back in 1996. Even back then, everyone in techland was talking Company A "going to war" against Company B or who had the Biggest Cojones in the Universe. *yawn* You struck a different chord. You offered a different way where everyone could succeed. It was the opposite of this zero-sum race to the bottom that I was reading about. It was thrilling, and it was a challenge to up my game.

Throughout the years, I've used the idea of "Accept and Respect" many times. Even in brainstorms, I've used it as a way of helping shepherd a group toward a goal. I often get rolled eyes at first, but people still follow the path even if they think it's "hippiecrap" (as one person once called it to my face). That's because it works. And it works because I believe we're actually wired to cooperate and collaborate with one another -- and not the opposite.

http://scripting.com/davene...

Anyway, that's my favorite. Thanks again, Dave. Namaste, brother.

Re: Yesterday's march and the Roosevelts

Michael E. Rubin — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 17:36:41 -0000

I've been watching and loving The Roosevelts, too. Two immediate takeaways:

1. If TR hadn't made the commitment not to run again after a second term, he would've been the first Roosevelt elected to office four times.

2. As a consequence of that reelection, we would've entered World War I much sooner.

Re: Harry and David food truck hits Denver on Sept. 19

Michael E. Rubin — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:46:51 -0000

Greetings, everyone!

Thank you for the warm welcome to Denver. We're excited to be here.

To find where the Epicurean Express is at any given moment, we recommend you check us out on either Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #LovelandDelight.

Come enjoy some of our favorite Harry & David recipes made on-site by our own Chef Tim.

At your service,
Michael E. Rubin
Social Media Marketing Specialist for Harry & David

Re: Internet piracy isn't killing Hollywood - The Week

Michael E. Rubin — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:52:27 -0000

Another factor is the experience of going to the theater is proving massively overrated. Think of everything you get to enjoy when you decide to go to the movies: expensive tickets that cost almost as much as an entree at a restaurant, expensive concessions, teenage staffers who look at you with loathing if they cam when be bothered, people texting, people talking during the movie, a half-hour of trailers ... And in many theaters, a screen and sound quality that seems poorer than my (not exactly high-end) TV at home.

None of this even takes the quality of the movie into question.

Re: How do you post links to Twitter?

Michael E. Rubin — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 22:11:14 -0000

When I'm on an Android smartphone, so I click the Share... menu option inside Chrome.

If I'm on a desktop, I will usually copy/paste from the browser. Like the others, I think the "icon candy" is meaningless.