Rob Spectre › Comments

SO? - Rob Spectre

"I don't believe that is an accurate representation of our age. I think were the foundations of this nation, this planet, and the increasingly global civilization that inhabits it were solid, surely we all would have come together when faced with the increasingly severe perils that were thrown our way this past ten years. It would be a great story to write, one of indefatigable perseverance and indomitable spirit. How the whole world came together when as we looked over the brink, and through a newfound unity pulled humanity forward to progress a common cause. The only problem is - for the reasons I will describe in the next couple weeks - that's just not what happened." - Rob Spectre

"This argument is a little silly. Yes, CO2 is required for photosynthesis and a number of other crucial processes that keep our biosphere in balance, but the key word there is *balance*. It cannot be credibly claimed that the sixty fold increase in CO2 in our atmosphere in the past forty years is harmless or natural (http://www.ferdinand-engelbeen.be/klimaat......). Suggesting that carbon emissions shouldn't be capped because CO2 is chemically critical to plants is like saying cyanide isn't poisonous because it is found in apple seeds. Suggesting government regulation of those emissions will result in a police state is like saying like killing the panhandler who shot up Times Square yesterday will result in every gun being confiscated in the United States. Dramatically reducing our carbon emissions is crucial to saving this planet and free enterprise has demonstrated for almost half a century that it has no interest in doing it. Industry depends on balance too." - Rob Spectre

"Indeed I did - grabbed some cider at a Starbucks on that street as a matter of fact." - Rob Spectre

WTF? - Rob Spectre

"Let's not forget the city of New Orleans would not even exist with the Army Corps of Engineers and many other instruments of state and federal government. The entire region was shaped by public, not private, resources." - Rob Spectre

"Thanks to Greg for catching some errors related to the proper ID of the list container!" - Rob Spectre

"Thanks to Greg for catching some errors related to the proper ID of the list container!" - Rob Spectre

"I still don't think we can qualify the war with Japan as "unnecessary." For the many things that one could say in our conduct of the war that followed, it remains irrefutable that they attacked first. One thing to consider with our troops in Japan - they are right next to one billion Chinese with a couple hundred generations of animosity. I think the small provisional force we maintain there is one of our few deployments that make strategic sense." - Rob Spectre

The victim was my boy's step-sister. Such bullshit. - Rob Spectre

"Oooh, good catch. Though it is correct in the first example, the last two examples of the list container did contain a typographical error making the control invisible on object focus. I have correct the examples to make sure only the scrolling label is visible when the ListItem is in focus. I also neglected to talk about the importance of an id attribute for your list container - I've add it to all the examples above with a little explanation when we first build it." - Rob Spectre

"Right on - got the complete file shown at the bottom and installed some improved syntax highlighting to make the code examples look a lot better." - Rob Spectre

"Hrm... That is definitely not right. I need to find better code highlighting. Will fix this afternoon." - Rob Spectre

"Thanks Joe. Trying to find a better code highlighter, but not having much luck. Next installment is a chunky one involving the list container and will be published Saturday morning." - Rob Spectre

"Bullshit it is. I poured three hours into my in-place 32-bit upgrade on my Lenovo X60 Tablet and didn't get past the compatibility screen. $200 and this patch doesn't even work." - Rob Spectre

This is what I've been trying to tell you people. - Rob Spectre

This is what I've been trying to tell you people. - Rob Spectre

"All in a day's work around here. Thanks for stopping by." - Rob Spectre

"I don't think the perspective is particularly dazzling and cannot at all see how it would be unexpected. To put the sentence another way, cops should expect the animosity of snot-nosed skatepunks just as snot-nosed skatepunks should expect to get harassed by the cops. Skaters are engaging willfully in a sport that has been declared illegal in this city. If they don't want to be abused by douchebag cops, they can choose to do something else. They can take up badminton or throw a frisbee in the park. For some, the bullshit hassles aren't worth it. They choose to comply with the law, buy a fixed axle bicycle and make spectacularly poor fashion, facial hair and personal hygiene choices. For others, the abuse from police is insufficient to deter them from doing what they enjoy. They choose to skate. Choosing to skate is signing up for grief; it is implicitly agreeing to suffer the abuse of folks like Officer Schwab. Of the set making that choice, there are some who choose not to eat..." - Rob Spectre

"I don't think the perspective is particularly dazzling and cannot at all see how it would be unexpected. To put the sentence another way, cops should expect the animosity of snot-nosed skatepunks just as snot-nosed skatepunks should expect to get harassed by the cops. Skaters are engaging willfully in a sport that has been declared illegal in this city. If they don't want to be abused by douchebag cops, they can choose to do something else. They can take up badminton or throw a frisbee in the park. For some, the bullshit hassles aren't worth it. They choose to comply with the law, buy a fixed axle bicycle and make spectacularly poor fashion, facial hair and personal hygiene choices. For others, the abuse from police is insufficient to deter them from doing what they enjoy. They choose to skate. Choosing to skate is signing up for grief; it is implicitly agreeing to suffer the abuse of folks like Officer Schwab. Of the set making that choice, there are some who choose not to eat..." - Rob Spectre

"I'm not sure the timbre or the substance of that article suggests anyone was noble or righteous. I don't think any more than you do that the video was heroic, but it - and the growing volume of videos like it - is telling the story of the long standing animosity between punkass skaters and purile cops that up until now has been more anecdote than documented fact. I don't think my language glamorized the disrespectful behavior of those kids. But, as punkass as it was, when weighing their sins objectively I don't think any one could credibly defend threatening to break an arm over it. And before we air too much dirty laundry about the responsibilities of automobile registration on the Internet, maybe we can talk to your wife about the time she had to pick you up from the impound lot. ;)" - Rob Spectre

"I don't follow - where was I trying to excuse mouthing off to cops?" - Rob Spectre

Lord I love Rhodey. - Rob Spectre

Lord I love Rhodey. - Rob Spectre

WTF?! - Rob Spectre

"The religious groups that funded the DOMA efforts in California are not *solely* responsible, but they *are* primarily responsible. Regardless of what system of government or political environment in which the Catholic Church, the Mormons and the evangelical right would have been operating in, $40 million is a lot of goddamn money. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...) They were not merely *involved* in the effort; they were its principal financiers. They bought the signs and pamphlets. They rented the buses and bought the donuts. They bought the airtime and produced those despicable commercials. The level of investment the religious groups who participated in Prop 8's passage made them senior partners in that enterprise. Were the same political system left to consider that question without their financial involvement, I think few doubt what the outcome would have been. I do think California government is as broken as you say, though obviously for reasons more empirical than yours...." - Rob Spectre

"The religious groups that funded the DOMA efforts in California are not *solely* responsible, but they *are* primarily responsible. Regardless of what system of government or political environment in which the Catholic Church, the Mormons and the evangelical right would have been operating in, $40 million is a lot of goddamn money. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...) They were not... more... - Rob Spectre

"hrm - I think I have it around here somewhere. Shoot me an email at rob.spectre@gmail.com." - Rob Spectre

Holy old school. - Rob Spectre

Hahahaha... This is brilliant. - Rob Spectre

"Thanks Raul - glad you're enjoying the apps. Looking at PrisonPlanet.tv now... Doesn't look like the content is freely available." - Rob Spectre

"Perhaps the worst casualty of the last World War was the hope that the first would be the war to end all wars. From the perspective of history, the phrase "World War III" was coined quite nearly before World War II was over. Where the planet was relieved when the treaties ended the first global conflict, the negtiations at the end of the second almost guaranteed another such conflict within a century's time. I don't think WW2 holds quite the idolatry you claim, but it definitely marked when fighting overseas became a thing that Americans did; a popular perception that was very much not a part of our earlier history." - Rob Spectre

"Astutely observed - all of the Republican criticism so far has been either hypocritical or the cause of some weird disease that limits long term memory to six months. Their hysteria is not real opposition which is something our legislative system desperately needs. The longer Republicans keep up the histrionics, the worse off we all are, deprived of a reasoned and effective counter-balance." - Rob Spectre