Disqus - Latest Comments for oliverchua

Re: 70+ Beautiful & Stunning Photographs of City Skylines Around the World

oliverchua — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:36:23 -0000

Love the pics, but where's Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas?

Re: Suicide “Etiquette”

oliverchua — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:28:14 -0000

Of course the public has a right to information. I'm not arguing that. (How about my "right" to know your name?) I'm not arguing against the freedom of the press or for the classifying of information. If a reader really wants to find out their names, the information can be obtained through public records.

For example, when Kobe Bryant was accused of rape, the press withheld the name of the accuser. Of course it was under court order, but it was still public record. I remember it well because Tom Leykis (who is not a member of the press) revealed her name on his radio show.

No, the media is not in the business of "protecting suicidal teenagers." As a business they are in the business of maximizing profits. Unless the person committing suicide is a famous person, naming names does not increase profits one bit.

What I'm arguing against is giving those with suicidal tendencies an incentive to grab their "15 minutes of fame."

I would argue that, as a member of society, the media has a duty to take discretion in protecting society. After all, reporters omit facts all the time. The name isn't pertinent unless, like I mentioned earlier, the person was somehow already famous. If a media outlet can take steps to protect the society at large, they should do it.

Here's what Peter Y. Sussman of the Ethics Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists said regarding naming names:

"We have an obligation to minimize harm, balanced against the need to seek truth and report it... Just because authorities release details in formal court documents does not mean that we are obligated to print them all. Whether we admit it or not, we are always omitting details..."

Re: Suicide “Etiquette”

oliverchua — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:08:05 -0000

Oops... "all the time"

Re: Suicide “Etiquette”

oliverchua — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:04:37 -0000

Of course the public has a right to information. I'm not arguing that. (How about my "right" to know your name?) I'm not arguing against the freedom of the press or for the classifying of information. If a reader really wants to find out their names, the information can be obtained through public records.

For example, when Kobe Bryant was accused of rape, the press withheld the name of the accuser. Of course it was under court order, but it was still public record. I remember it well because Tom Leykis (who is not a member of the press) revealed her name on his radio show.

No, the media is not in the business of "protecting suicidal teenagers." As a business they are in the business of maximizing profits. Unless the person committing suicide is a famous person, naming names does not increase profits one bit.

What I'm arguing against is giving those with suicidal tendencies an incentive to grab their "15 minutes of fame."

I would argue that, as a member of society, the media has a duty to take discretion in protecting society. After all, reporters omit facts all the name. The name isn't pertinent unless, like I mentioned earlier, the person was somehow already famous. If a media outlet can take steps to protect the society at large, they should do it.

Here's what Peter Y. Sussman of the Ethics Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists said regarding naming names:

"We have an obligation to minimize harm, balanced against the need to seek truth and report it... Just because authorities release details in formal court documents does not mean that we are obligated to print them all. Whether we admit it or not, we are always omitting details..."

Re: Joe Republican

oliverchua — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:01:41 -0000

Ah, management is always quick to scapegoat the unions whenever something goes wrong.

While I don't always agree with everything the unions do, I rather like my decent living wage on a 40-hour work week with weekends off! The small business I work for may not have a union but the examples set by the unions have helped us all. While my employer isn't required to provide us healthcare they realize that a healthy employee is a productive employee.

If we had universal healthcare, a large part of the auto industry's costs would disappear.

It's quite sad that unions have been continually demonized over the last few decades. Membership has been declining and so have wages for the average (non-union) worker. We now make, on average, $2000/year less than when Bush took office (while some CEOs make 500 times their lowest paid worker).

I would posit to you that the domestic auto industry's problems stem more from bad management decisions than from giving their workers an honest living.

For decades the Big Three have been giving us cars that we didn't want while putting all their weight into trucks.

Ford bet everything on the Explorer, Expedition and Excursion, and let their top-selling Taurus go (by not keeping it fresh). It took them years to update the Focus in the US, too. (Europe had a new generation Focus years before America.) Now they're putting all their hopes on the Mustang, but how many Mustangs do we need?

Dodge axed the "cute" Neon and gave us the "WTF?" Caliber. I hardly see Calibers around but everyone knew the Neon. They wanted to compete with Hummer but look at Hummer now! (Have they been sold yet?)

Pontiac is starting to get that people want good-looking cars but they need to let go of their horrendous front ends!

GM made the worst decision of all, IMHO. If they had continued with the EV1, their upcoming Volt would be generations ahead right now. Instead, it took the foresight of Toyota (with the Prius) and Honda (with the Insight) to move the industry ahead.

It's funny because the Japanese did this before when their subcompacts went against the gas-guzzling "land yachts" from the Big Three.

The management needs to get in touch with what the consumers need and not get stuck in fads, like self-aggrandizing SUVs and Tonka trucks or (as much as I like 'em) get caught up in horsepower wars. (Do we really need a Cobalt SS?)

The cost of domestic cars and trucks tend to be less than their overseas counterparts so I don't think price is a real issue. Management just needs to give us cars and trucks that the public wants!

BTW, there's no need to hide behind a fake email address. I'm always happy to have an honest discussion.

Re: louisgray.com: Twitterank Can Have My Password, No Questions Asked

oliverchua — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:12:07 -0000

Another downside to Twitter not supporting OAuth is that if and when you do decide to change your password (or username), you have to remember every other place that has it and update them all!

Re: Vote Because You Love Your Country or Because You Love Krispy Kreme Donuts

oliverchua — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:32:53 -0000

Not as exciting as FREE, but San Diego's own Pat & Oscar's is offering 20% off, too!

http://www.breadstick.com/email/vote2.gif

Re: 7 Gotta Read Geek Blogs

nrek — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:26:45 -0000

Oliver - Awesome! Thanks for the tip!

About Drudge, I always figured, it's good to see the world from all sides of the fence. At least then you can make up your own mind. Drudge isn't as biased as the Unfair and Unbalanced Fox News, but they do indeed have their moments.

Re: 7 Gotta Read Geek Blogs

oliverchua — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:54:52 -0000

I already read 7, 6 and 1. I'll have to check out the rest, but doesn't 5 skew hard right?

Enrique, I would suggest setting the Competitive Ad Filter in your AdSense account.

NO ON PROP 8!

Re: ‘Down’ Jones Industrial Average

oliverchua — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:25:12 -0000

Correction: The peak was exactly one year ago (10/9/2007) at 14164.53.

Here's my simplified take on the Dow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oliverchua/2928548...

Re: “No Kids! No Kids!” — How NOT to Greet Your Guests

oliverchua — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:23:24 -0000

So much for them being "sovereign" nations! :) I didn't realize that Valley View doesn't have a hotel. Thanks for the info!

Re: Why Dennis Kucinich should be impeached

Karoli — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:31:34 -0000

When Dubya is swaggering all over talking about how history will prove him right, how he will be vindicated in 20 years, I think it's absolutely necessary to put this on the record clearly and without question. HIstory should be clear that this man lied to us, cost thousands of lives based on nothing more than smoke and mirrors, and that he conspired to do it.

Because the White House has a long record of not saving emails or other documentary evidence, the Congressional record may well be the only thing to survive this lunatic's madness.

What I'd say is that Nancy Pelosi should be censured for taking impeachment off the table. Her lack of courage in this regard is one of the primary reasons I lost all faith in her. 2006 was the time to be doing this, not 2008.

Re: Why Dennis Kucinich should be impeached

Joffi — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:27:52 -0000

Thanks, Oliver, I was feeling lonely.
The congressional record point is a huge one in the grand scheme of history.

Re: Why Dennis Kucinich should be impeached

oliverchua — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:15:23 -0000

Even if Rep. Kucinich's actions don't result in Bush's removal, I still believe it necessary that it be added to the congressional record that some people had the decency to defend the Constitution from the abuses of the executive branch of government. Do you really want future presidents, whether Republican or Democrat, to have even more power? Without this check, future politicians will believe that the people will gladly grant the executive whatever powers he/she wants until we eventually get a new Hitler.

Yeah, I just invoked Godwin's Law. :)

BTW, the Republicans who impeached Clinton looked like "time-wasting idiots" but for some reason ended up controlling both the executive and legislative branches for the next six years.

Re: louisgray.com: All Dogs Go To Heaven. For Molly, It Took 18+ Years.

oliverchua — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:56:21 -0000

Louis, so sorry for your loss.

I still cry when I think about when we had to put one of our dogs to sleep almost five years ago now. Einstein was over 15 years old and had a bunch of problems, like Molly. I still remember the day we put him to sleep like it was yesterday. The pain of his passing is still the same.

Our remaining dog, Kala, turns 10 this month, too, and she's already starting to show her age. It's so hard because we love them so much! You and your wife, and Molly, are in our prayers!!