Print is Dead, Long Live Print

Sitting in my bathroom is the proof that print is a slow, lumbering, archaic, dead media. This proof comes in the form of the November 2005 edition of Macworld. In this edition, there is short article on the "new" iTunes 5 (iTunes 6 was released about 2 weeks ago). There is also an article on the iPod Nano. The ending paragraph of this article expounds on how the Nano shows that "naysayers who believe Apple should release a video iPod that there is still a lot of life left in music." Guess what else Apples announced about 2 weeks ago. The Video iPod.

So, here is the latest version of a technology magazine, and through no fault of their own, two of their stories are completely out of date before the edition is even close to being pulled from the newsstands.

On the other hand, the fact that this magazine is sitting in my bathroom is also the proof that print media is not going to die. After all, the information may be a bit old, but to this date, no one has really come up with a more convenient way for people to read the news while doing their "daily downloads".

We're Back!

Light House
Originally uploaded by stuffle.

We are back from our little weekend excursion to Fond du Lac, WI. The weather was beutiful, and we had a great time. All of our picutres from the trip have been uploaded to flikr.

Friday Night:

After checking in to the hotel, we went downtown. Our first stop was Main Exchange. It was happy hour, which there means that when you order a drink, you actually get two. After a few drinks, we went upstairs to eat. Very good food.

After dinner, we went to Irish's Bar. After a few Guinness's (which they have on tap), we went back to the hotel.

Saturday:

First we went shopping at the Kristmas Kringle Shoppe. After that we went downtown for a while, and then took a drive all the way around Lake Winnebago. We had dinner at Friar Tuck's, and then went back to the hotel and hung out in the bar watching the NASCAR race and the ALCS game.

Sunday:

We took the long way home, including a stop in Port Washington. The fall colors where beutiful. It was a great day for a drive through the country.

Up in Fond du Lac for the Weekend

IMG_0156
Originally uploaded by stuffle.

Lisa (my wife) works as a housekeeper for Holiday Inn. One of her benefits is a free one night stay in some other Holiday Inn. We picked the one in Fond du Lac, WI (it was the best of the certificates that were left).

My dad and I own a '92 Camaro (he bought it, but both of our name are on the title). We brought that up this weekend. It is quite a sweet ride!!

Tonight, we checked in and then went downtown for dinner and drinks and a couple of very nice bars. More on that later. Like an idiot, I forgot the cable for my camera, so i can't upload any pictures until we get back. Oh well.

Make More Sense than Most Lefties...

As posted on News of the Weird. This guy is obviously nuts, but he make more sense than the idiots who try to blame Bush for everything...

In September, nine-year veteran weathercaster Scott Stevens of KPVI-TV in Pocatello, Idaho, resigned to pursue his obsession of proving that the massiveness of Hurricane Katrina must have been caused by a Russian-made electromagnetic generator employed by the Japanese Yakuza in retaliation for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The "patterns and odd geometric shapes" in the sky are "unmistakable" evidence, according to his Web site, that "our weather has been stolen from us." Station manager Bill Fouch said that Stevens was great at forecasting local conditions and that he was sorry to lose him.

Your Own Personal Jesus

Eugene posted a stereotypical cartoon aimed at conservative Christians. Eugene says the cartoon "speaks depth." In reality, almost all stereotypes are based in fact but show a rather myopic, oversimplified understanding the target group. In this case, the target group is conservative Christians.

Let's look at just a few of the oversimplifications involved with this cartoon:

• Most conservative Christians believe we are saved through Christ, not condemned to hell through Christ. Jesus calls us to forgive, not to condemn. While we certainly disagree with those who support abortion, we also pray for them. We don't pray for God to reserve a special place in hell for the pro-lifers. Rather, using the words of Jesus on the cross as our example, we pray for them to be forgiven, and for them to see the light and change their ways. Basically, we condemn the sin, but pray for the sinner. After all, as fallen creatures, we are all wretched sinners.


• Conservative Christians champion more than just one cause. You cannot get much more "conservative" than Breakpoint. However, a quick look at the issues and research page shows that conservative Christians are interested in far more issues than just abortion.


• Not all conservatives are Christian. Thus, for many Republicans, there is no Jesus, let alone one who is condemning rather than saving.


• Not all conservatives consider abortion the most important issue in the world. I even know of some who are pro-choice.


• Not all Christians who are against abortion are conservative. Thus, the so-called "Republican Jesus" could just as easily be applied to these non-Republicans, if it wasn't for the first bullet point above.

So, while the cartoon that Eugene showed may be funny, and it may highlight the failings of some conservative Christians, it is certainly does not "speak depth" about conservative Christians. Rather, it "speaks depth" of the shallow, myopic view that some people choose to take of conservative Christians.

Good Weekend in Sports

First, and most importantly, the Yankees are still alive. After a season where I am surprised to even see them in the play-offs, it is nice to see them fighting to the bitter end.

Second, the Green Bay Packers finally got a win. Of course, they had to beat up homeless hurricane victims to get it, but at least they got the win.

Finally, congratulations to Houston for finally, after 18 innings, getting rid of those darn Braves.

Oh well...

Well, I really do not like the White Sox (or anything having to do with Chicago, for that matter). Therefore, even though as a Yankee fan I am obliged to hate the Red Sox, I was really pulling for them to take out the White Sox. Alas, the one time I actually want to see the Red Sox win, they let me down. Oh well...

On the plus side, seeing all the depressed Red Sox fans that ESPN was panning after the game was absolutely sweet!!

Now let's go Yankees!!

Random Items of Interest

Been busy lately, and haven't had anything to comment on. However, here are some links to interesting things others have had to say.

• Eddie has a nice article on the need to eliminate Medicaid. He also raises some good points on the despicable practice that some people partake in of making themselves look poor so Medicaid will flip the bill when they get older. Look people, this is one of those things you should be saving for. This is part of why you have a life savings. Use it for that rather than being a burden on the taxpayers...


• Race is still an issue. It is interesting (and wrong) how certain minorities can get away with stuff that white folks like me would (rightly) be heavily criticized for doing. The Exile
  has written up a great example of that. Be sure to read the comments. There is a lefty in there named "Harold" who thinks he is being clever. Very funny.


• And finally, ending on the lighter side of life, bob has a funny article that explains what to take to an anti-war protest. Mostly items to help fend off those dirty stinking hippies.

Well, that's it for now. Maybe next week I will actually read the news or something and come up with my own thoughts.

Finally, a Useful Invention...

The first line of this article says it all.

Fans of non-stop drinking may soon be able to cut down on time wasted ordering refills

All I can say is it is about freakin' time someone invented something that is actually useful!

Watertown HS Homecoming

Ashley & Leah HC 2005
Originally uploaded by stuffle.

Well, it is homecoming weekend here in Watertown. Friday night was the football game. The Parent Music Club runs the concession stand, and I volunteered to work. Holy crap! It was very busy, a great night for sales. We made a ton of popcorn ahead of time, but still couldn't keep up. We also ran out of several types of soda even though we had all of the coolers full at the start of the night.

Our lovely daughter, Ashley (the one of the left in the picture), plays percussion in the marching band. This year she plays the quads. She was in the half time show, but I was too busy working concessions to see any of it. My wife said it was good, though.

Saturday night was the dance. Ashley went to the dance with her boyfriend, Manny (who didn't make it up to the house for pictures), and her friend, Leah. Ashley is not really into all this "school spirit" junk (though she does enjoy playing in the marching band). She did seem to enjoy the dance, though.