Todd Hoff's picture

NFL Referees are Like Greek Gods - Destroying Mortal Lives

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

While watching the Pittsburgh vs Colts game I couldn't help but think the game had all the elements of a Greek Tragedy, with the referees playing the modern version of gods. The gods may dress better and get all the mortal chicks, but the power refs hold within a game are those of metaphorical life and death.

And the gods were whimsical this week. This week marks some of the worst NFL refereeing I can remember. You may think I simply can't remember because of too much beer consumption, but you would be mostly wrong.

Todd Hoff's picture

How do You Handle Manners in this New Pre-Modern World?

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

Technically we might be in the post post post modern period, but I think we are really in the pre-modern period. The next generation will see such changes in technology at all levels that it will be reconsidered as the new modern period. So that leaves us as the pre-modern period.

Our pre-modern world has so many new social situations brought on by technology that I am finding all the manners I learned in kindergarten aren't of much help anymore. How do you handle the following situations?

Todd Hoff's picture

Lynch Mobs are the Wisdom of Crowds Too

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

I sniffed the blogsphere and smelled a thought that might be friend or foe.

From http://bokardo.com/archives/the-one-crucial-idea-of-web-20/ :
If there is one idea that encapsulates what Web 2.0 is about, one idea
that wasn�t a factor before but is a factor now, it�s the idea of
leveraging the network to uncover the Wisdom of Crowds.

Before we get too hypnotized by our shiny google like toys, we should remember:
Lynch Mobs are the Wisdom of Crowds Too

Crowds are not wise. In following a crowd your are being lead. That is not the same as wisdom.

Todd Hoff's picture

Web2.0 is Ping Pong for the Id - It's Not Journalism

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

Dave Winer (http://www.scripting.com/2006/03/20.html#saveTheMerc) talks about Dan Gilmore's (http://bayosphere.com/node/1855) plan to save the San Jose Mercury News using Web2.0 style citizen journalism.

My post here is an example of why I don't think that will work. I have many thoughts on this subject that I would love to develop, unpack, and express well and wittily. But I won't.

I have to make ready for work so I simply don't have time.

Todd Hoff's picture

The Microsoft Dysfunction

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

Mini-Microsoft's "Vista and MS are really screwed up" thread at http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/03/vista-2007-fire-leadership-now.html is just fascinating.

Few of us who have worked in Dilbert's world can't find something to relate to in this post's rain storm of comments. This is my favorite class of comment though:

Just suck it up, make the best of it and stop pointing fingers and get your job done!
...
Stand up and fucking do something about the problems instead of being a part of the problem.

Todd Hoff's picture

Building a Wall on the Mexican Border is Just Stupid

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

The minuteman say they will build a fence across the US Mexico border even if the US government won't do it.

Not considering any political issues, a fence won't make a difference because all they have to do is build nice, safe, hard to find tunnels. Didn't any of these guys watch The Great Escape where prisoners of war built tunnels right under the Nazi's noses? How will you stop tunnel building across 1000s of miles of open border?

Todd Hoff's picture

We are All Xmen in Our Own Minds

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

If you had real wings and could fly majestically through the sky would you want a drug that would "cure" you? What if the simple touch of your hand would kill another person, would you want a drug that could cure you then? What if some people had scary powers that could cause great harm if abused, would you want them to be forcefully cured against their will?

This is the conflict at the heart of the latest Xmen movie. Similar themes are being explored in USA Network's 4400 series. And it's also an emerging issue at the heart of our ever growing understanding of how our minds work.

Todd Hoff's picture

Deal or No Deal is a poorman's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Sudoku is a Poorman's Crossword Puzzle

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:06

I noticed this relationship after playing the games for a while. Millionaire and crossword seem ornate where Deal or No Deal and Sudoku had been whittled down to the sparest combination of elements that are fun and appeal to a large audience.

And by "poorman" I don't mean to be snarky. I am horrible at all of the games, so no real or implied elitism is going on. Oh, and I would never make it to the final round in Jeopardy either. What I mean by "poorman" is the pure genius of the conceptual economy in the design of the new games.

Todd Hoff's picture

Batman and Voltaire: An Unexpected Dynamic Duo

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:05
"Everything can be taken from a man but the last of human freedoms, the right to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances--the right to choose one's own way."
--Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning


Todd Hoff's picture

Bounty is Better

Submitted by Todd Hoff on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:05

Our little border collie puppy offers me ample opportunity to test the absorbency claims of paper towel manufacturers. I have been a bounty buyer, but decided to try the costco paper towel brand to save a few pennies. They couldn't be that different could they?