Dude! Joe's Jottings, Mostly Junk

But this does not excuse the ending. It suffers, not just under my standards but under Ron Moore’s. He promised a show that was was true to real science, character driven and not overwhelmed by SF clichés like time travel, technobabble, aliens and godlike powers. He promised a show connected to our world. Instead he delivered a show whose ending pivoted on bad (and even dangerous) science, with all events due to something that’s either a god or godlike alien, all precisely following prophecies made ages ago, reducing the characters to puppets. And in the end, it had no connection to our world.

This would be no more than “yet another SF TV show that made mistakes” if the show hadn’t started so well, and gotten many, including myself to declare it was on track to be the best SF show on the air, possibly of all time. Aside from disappointing fans, the show abandoned its chance to be more than a TV show. It could have been, like a few special great works of SF from the past, something that affected the world’s perceptions and dialog about key technological issues like A.I., robotics and the technology of war.

Extreme economic problems require extreme solutions, and Wells Fargo Bank has come up with a good one. They have decided to sue themselves. Wells Fargo holds the first and second mortgages on a condominium that is going into foreclosure. As holder of the first, they are suing all other lien holders, including the holder of the second, which is Wells Fargo. It gets better. The company has hired a lawyer to defend itself against its own lawsuit. The defense lawyer even filed this answer to the complaint, "Defendant admits that it is the owner and holder of a mortgage encumbering the subject real property. All other allegations of the complaint are denied."

Microsoft makes most of its money from two products, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. Nearly everything else it makes loses money, sometimes deliberately. Google makes most of its money from selling Internet ads next to search results. Nearly everything else it does loses money, too.

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, but, once again, a major part of the stimulus should have been to make up state budget shortfalls, which stemmed from the economic recession. Not only is it good economic policy (what's the point of the federal government putting people to work, only to have state governments fire other people), but those state budget cuts reduce services:

Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, may be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said yesterday.

Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoo would lay off most of its 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said.

Starting September 10th, Tokyo DisneySEA will have "Mysterious Masquerade," its first park-wide Halloween event. The typical things you would expect to see on Halloween will be there from pumpkins, eerie music, dusty old cobwebs with flickering candles, all of which will be layered in details. The Masquerade will be a special twenty-plus minute show featuring Mickey and Minnie going to a costumed dance party at which it's revealed that all the other guest are ghost. Another smaller show called "Masquerade Dance" will feature various Disney characters and a special Halloween themed fireworks celebration called "Night High Halloween" will delight guest throughout the park. The event will run till November 3rd.

According to your girlfriend, your request for some "alone time" this afternoon sounds fantastic, and she'd love nothing more than to do that with you. "We could go to the farmers market, or even just read in the park together," your girlfriend said. "Or we could go on a long walk by ourselves. This is great—we haven't had any alone time in months." Sources close to your girlfriend said she has already contacted two other couples she knows, to see if they're free to do a small alone-time thing around 8 p.m.

Granted, picking on Fox News is like taunting the slow kid--it's cheap and makes you feel bad about yourself. On the other hand, this, reported by Alex Koppelman, just cries out for comment:

Kilmeade and two colleagues were discussing a study that, based on research done in Finland and Sweden, showed people who stay married are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's. Kilmeade questioned the results, though, saying, "We are -- we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and other ..."

At this point, his co-host tried to -- in that jokey morning show way -- tell Kilmeade he needed to shut up, and quick, for his own sake. But he didn't get the message, adding, "See, the problem is the Swedes have pure genes. Because they marry other Swedes .... Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society."

Maybe Kilmeade just needs some....lebensraum?

NPR Ombudsman Alicia Shepard is a morally degenerate torture apologist. I'm glad Greenwald routinely calls out the media for its effect on the discussion surrounding torture, but I think he rarely touches on the larger issue: the moral degenerates who defend the torture of another human being not only walk freely among us, they are able to retain positions of authority and governance.

We need to not only call out the effects of moral degeneracy, we need to castigate the degenerates.

I remember a few years back when Saving Private Ryan came out, lots of people got really weepy and insecure (not to mention narcissistic) because they would never get to be a 'Greatest Generation.' Well, there's an entire cohort of people (which spans age groups) who have engaged in one of the great ethical failures of our time. And to avoid this failure, all they had to do was not defend torture. Never mind decry it, just stumble over a very low ethical bar and not defend torture.

Shameful.

An Informed Consumer

Today at 9:33am

They have ads on television now where the last half of the commercial is devoted to the announcer talking really fast while he or she explains everything that could possibly go wrong with the product. It’s called a disclaimer and they do it to avoid legal action later. I think it’s a good idea, but I’d like to see it on marriage vows. ‘I now pronounce you man and wife’ (Read this next part really fast) ‘Some common side effects include disagreements, hurtful comments, unacceptable tone, bankruptcy, and children. The success of this marriage is the sole responsibility of the participants and there is no warranty, either expressed or implied, by any friends, neighbors, or relatives. Before entering into this agreement, it is suggested you consult with a member of the clergy or a bartender. Prolonged use could lead to old age, if you’re lucky. Void where prohibited. You may kiss the bride.

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Are you excited for a new Men in Black movie? Did you dig the first two? Which project are you looking forward to the most: Ghostbusters 3, Men in Black 3, Spider-Man 4 or Where Have All The Original Ideas Gone?

my difficulty is this: i have been bullied, even threatened, made the subject of undue influence, lied to, and generally had my interests ignored, where not actually trodden on. common decency, fairness & distributive justice are not notions of much consequence in my professional life. the only reason, it seems, that my rights are being taken more seriously nowadays is, that i have put my creative life on hold to deal with infringements & unpaid income; where necessary, through litigation. that is, to be paid for my work as a musician, i have essentially stopped being a musician.

The other day, I was at T-1 Rebuild. T-1 Rebuild is the newest, largest Target store in the region. It is the location of T-1, the very first Target, and recently, it was leveled and replaced with an entirely new Target. It is the biggest and bestest Target ever. There is a coffee shop in that Target (a commercial variety, I can't remember if it is a Starbucks or what). I have noticed that that Target's coffee shop is totally quiet. Try it. If you live near T-1 Rebuild, to over there and get an espresso drink that involves steamed milk. You will barely hear them make it. Sit down and have your drink while someone else orders a drink. The barista will clean out the machines and NOT bang shit on other shit while doing so.

Somewhere up the line, at Target Central, it was determined that the coffee shop in Target would be quiet. So the memo went down the line.

To: Manger of Coffee Shop in Target
Re: Noise

Don't be noisy.

The Management

And that was all it took. The coffee shop has quiet equipment which is somewhat noise-shielded form the public area. The baristas are instructed to not bang shit on other shit. There is very little noise and no annoyance.

Ditto the coffee shop at the book store nearest here. We were over there the other day getting a baby naming book, and I went over to check it out. I pretended to browse through the magazines as I watched people order coffee drinks.

The machines were relatively quit, and relativity noise shielded, and the barista was not banging shit on other shit at all.

It can be done, people. A coffee shop does not have to be a shop of horrors when it comes to loud noise. I know that one off the counter arguments to what I am saying is that the quiet coffee shops to which I refer have automatic espresso machines, and thus don't make the banging and grinding noise. I do not care. This is not important to me. I am an archaeologist. I know all about banging shit on shit. It can be done loudly, it can be done with reckless abandon. The procedure can be adjusted so metal is banged on a sound absorbing substance so it is only half as loud. You don't have to bang shit when you are adjusting the muffins. Muffin adjusting can be done in virtual silence, as a matter of fact.

Virginia's major roadways will become a less hospitable place in two weeks when the cash-strapped state closes 18 rest stops, including those in Dale City and Ladysmith.

The closings will leave the long stretch of I-95 between Richmond and Washington without a public toilet for northbound drivers. This is a portion of highway that can be measured in miles -- 105.99 miles, to be precise -- but cognoscenti of traffic mayhem generally prefer to use a watch. On a bad day it can take hours of crawling, and as of July 21 northbound drivers will not have a rest stop to, well, rest in, or whatever else they may need to do.

"We looked at the distance between our rest stops and found we had them as close as 29 miles," said Jeffrey Caldwell, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. "We decided we'd shoot for about 120 miles, or about two hours, between rest stops."

This will save the state agency $9 million against its $2.6 billion revenue shortfall.

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who played a key role in the demise of the

A legendary Burger King employee, known across the land for the heroic and selfless deed of randomly inserting a single onion ring among the french fries of unsuspecting customers, is believed to have recently resurfaced in this sleepy Illinois town, sources reported Monday.