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Cee Bee posted a message
“iphone or blackberry storm? help me decide good people of friendfeed!”
16 hours ago - Link
3.2 megapixel camera, video capture, professional-quality smart phone VS lots of funky (and sometimes functional) apps, great ui & product growth potential - Cee Bee
36 more comments
Which carrier do you have? Personally, the iPhone was *never* an option for me because AT&T sucks donkey balls. I have no respect for Verizon as a company, but they win out in terms of service. - Eric P
Crackberry! - sofarsoshawn
We have iPhones and AT&T here. Love the phones, never had a problem with AT&T. - Rochelle
that's another good point eric. i'm on verizon and have no complaints over the three years i've been with them at all. at&t's network is subpar compared to verizon - Cee Bee
I've had an iPhone since launch day of the V1 - it's a great product and AT&T's network gets better every week. I've never used a storm so I can't really comment on it, but personally I'd rather have a v2 product than a v1 product. - Sparky
also wifi VS lack of wifi (blackberry) & lack of cut and paste VS cut and paste abilities (blackberry) - Cee Bee
Blackberry has no wifi? That alone would be a deal killer for me. - Rochelle
I'm torn too, and just to add to the conflict, have you thought about getting the G1? - Juan Pablo González
i've toyed around with the iphone plenty and find it really engaging. on the other hand, this new blackberry storm has a lot of great features including better resolution, ability to switch memory cards and an apps store launching in march of 2009 - Cee Bee
juan pablo -- i've thought about the g1 as well as the htc touch pro/fuze but don't seem them quite up to par with the blackberry storm or iphone. the g1 (android) has tons going for it though and i expect the second generation to be really great - Cee Bee
rochelle -- the wifi is a big factor in certain settings for sure, but verizon's network is super fast for blackberry. still can't figure out why they left that out of the storm though - Cee Bee
iPhone FTW. - Roberto Bonini
What about price? how much do you have to pay to get the storm? - Juan Pablo González
they're both $199 (8GB iphone vs storm after $50 rebate). that's not really a factor though. i'd pay a bit more for a phone that satisfies as many functions and capacities as possible. - Cee Bee
Iphone! - orionstarr
well, i must say, you guys have me leaning towards the iphone for sure. any additional opinions/comments are welcomed! - Cee Bee
Can't remember, are the issues with the battery fixed in the 3G iPhone? that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but just throwing it out there - Juan Pablo González
Juan, what was the battery issue? I've never had battery problems with mine. - Rochelle
Not lasting at all... I think it was the 3G that just drained it? a friend here has the first gen, asked him on sunday what he still thinks of his phone, and he says that he's thinking about getting a "real" phone. - Juan Pablo González
I think they are. It depends on how you use the iPhone as well. Depending on my day, battery life differs due to how often I use it ( music, wi-fi, calls, 3G, apps). - Roberto Bonini
Ahh. Well, like Roberto said, if you're using it non-stop for battery sucking things like music, etc. then it will obviously last not as long as if it's just idle. But it's never been so much of an issue for me that I get frustrated with it. - Rochelle
Verizon has the more reliable network in the tri-state area but them forcing Blackberry to remove wi-fi from the Storm was a crap move. iPhone has been working pretty well for me. - saeba
no there is definitely wifi with the Storm/Bold and even some of the curves, the problem is though when I had an iphone I could never use it as they promote it. For example when I tried to listen to music and talk on it, it would ALWAYS crash. The blackberry has less bells and whistles, but it still has all the necessities and more. But beware it's ugly. However the storm is supposed to be something different...? - sofarsoshawn
the new powerslider case from incase doubles the battery life. it comes out nov. 28th: http://goincase.com/products/d... -- the bad thing is the price ($100) - Cee Bee
sofarshawn -- there's no wifi with the storm. the bold, yes - Cee Bee
another positive about the storm is the ability to run and keep open multiple apps/functions at once - Cee Bee
Cee Bee: A mobile phone is not the desktop. Practically speaking, running one application at a time is not a problem. Lestways, iIve never had that problem. - Roberto Bonini
"a mobile phone is not the desktop" -- what do you mean by that? - Cee Bee
He means it's not essential for a mobile phone to be running more than one app at a time. Although I would like it on the iPhone so that the IM programs would work properly. - saeba
i disagree. it's not essential, but i'd like to have the option of listening to music while i check the internet, text message someone or mess around with some other application - Cee Bee
Heh, well you don't have to worry about that. That works just fine on the iPhone. iPhone can multitask, Apple just hasn't made that feature available to third party developers yet. - saeba
I have an iPod Touch and love it, so I would be inclined to go with the iPhone. - RAPatton
that's what i think the issue was. thanks saeba. man that lack of cut and paste thing really irritates me. surely they can do a software/firmware update to address that - Cee Bee
Yeah unfortunately they definitely like taking their sweet time with the whole cut & paste thing. - saeba
iPhone. Of course. I have missed copy and paste maybe 2 or 3 times total over 2/12 years of iPhone use. - Steve Isaacs
Storm! - Marcos Vicente
As far as wi-fi, how often are you around a wi-fi hotspot where that would be handy? For me I know the answer is not much - at work, home, friends, and coffee places I always have my laptop with me, so that point is moot. The advantage of a smartphone, to me, is functional, ubiquitous (non-wifi) internet access. For that, the network matters more than the phone, and I come back to the kitten-drowning, baby-eating evil that is AT&T. - Eric P
i agree on that wifi point, eric. it's an extra, but it shouldn't be a make or break especially since wifi is better suited toward other hardware - Cee Bee
FriendFeed
Toby Graham posted a message
“What's your favourite movie death scene?”
18 hours ago - Link
I like the guy getting propellered in Indiana Jones - Toby Graham
29 more comments
When Uncas gets killed by Magwa, and then Chingachook takes on Magwa for killing his son. - RAPatton
When Bambie's mother gets killed. Never a dry eye in the house. - Shevonne Polastre
Slim Pickens riding bomb in Dr. Strangelove - Brian Sullivan
scarface ending. c'mon. also, the ending in ran with the flurry of arrows - Cee Bee
When Blade sliced that dude's head off and snatched his shades out of the air - ♫ Rahsheen™
No question, Roy Batty in Bladerunner. "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die." - Robert Haas
Amilyn (Paul Reubens) in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. - James Williams (willia4)
Keanu Reeves in Devil's Advocate gets me every time - jlt
The first one that came to my head was Kevin Spacey in L.A. Confidential. - AJ Kohn
Opening scene of Good Fellas. "What's that knocking noise?" Also, Full Metal Jacket: bathroom scene, "Private, what is your major malfunction?" - Chris White
Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. - Steven Perez
American Gangsta, when Denzel shot dude in the head in front of everybody (ok, so I have more than one) - ♫ Rahsheen™
Ghost Dog: When the head don was rapping to Public Enemy in his bathroom and he noticed the laser gun sight in the sink. - Anika Malone
Spock. Star trek 2 - Jason Kaneshiro
death of emily rose in exorcism of emily rose - webosapien (Burcu Tüzün)
i thought Ben Stiller's take the piss one from Tropic Thunder was brilliant :) - Zee from WeDoCreative
Saving Private Ryan when the one young american soldier gets pinned down and slowly stabbed by a german soldier while he tells him to shhhhh like everything is going to be fine. All thw while the poor kid is like not believing it's hapenning saying "wait, whoa let's talk about this". Heavy. - Josh Haley via fftogo
Not a death per se, but the explosion of the Death Star at the end of Star Wars Episode IV was (and is) an emotional moment for me, specially thanks to John Williams' score in that incredible moment - Jorge Escobar
G.I. Joe: The Movie has the greatest non-death scene ever: Duke takes one of Serpentor's snakes straight in the heart. The scene clearly depicts Duke dying as he says his final words to his brother Falcon; however, at the last second (due to the negative response to Optimus Prime's death in the Transformers movie), they recut the audio to say that Duke went into a coma. He comes out of it, too. - Jared Smith
Wow some seriously awesome faves there. Here's another of mine...Henry Fonda in Once Upon A Time In The West - Toby Graham
Optimus Prime in the original 1986 Transformers movie. - Eric P
Favourite because it shocks and stuns me every time, even though I know it's coming. Serenity. Wash. 'Nuff said? - Slippy Lane
Slippy Lane: I hate that one so much... or should I say, I hate that they killed him off. - Bill Jackson
I know, Bill, me too, but isn't it the one death scene that sticks in your mind above all others? I could make Zesty burst into tears just by saying "I am a leaf on the wind" - Slippy Lane
This is going to sound cheesy, but I really enjoyed the mass death in Ghost Ship, with all the people cut in half (well, various proportions) by the wires. In a similar vein, the lasers in Resident Evil were quite fun. - Bill Jackson
I hate that they killed him off too - RAPatton
Anyone seen the "Cube" movies? Plenty of good death scenes in there. Not memorable because there are no real stars in them, but when i hear "death scenes" I always think of the guy that gets "cubed" by the wires. - David Bisset
Chinatown - even though you kinda see it coming, it is still brutal. - Jennifer Dittrich
Roy Batty in the rain with Deckard looking on - Morgan Haley
Some of those old Peckinpah Spaghetti Westerns were pretty amazing! - Robyn Hawk
I have to go with Josh on this... Adam Goldberg's character in Saving Private Ryan getting the knife to the chest. When I think about that movie, I always think about that scene. - Neil Bernhart
FriendFeed
Kol Tregaskes posted a message
“If you could meet any famous or important person (past or present), who would it be and why?”
Monday at 4:41 pm - Link
Mine's a bit boring but I'm a huge fan or the Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, I'd love to see him do his show, he sounds bonkers. :-D - Kol Tregaskes
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e.e. cummings. (forgot the why part) fave poet/author. His style still amazes me. - Katie
FDR- personal hero and perhaps a good person to ask for advice in the current climate. (Or Christian Bale for unspeakable carnal reasons ;) ) - Abby Martin
Ron Paul or George Galloway - ♣genieyclo♣
Joseph Campbell - he changed my life. - TStowers
Obama - I'd like to help his team lead the country into a better direction - Susan Beebe
Jesus. Martin Luther King. Ghandi. In that order. - Patricia
Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruíz, to punch them each in the gut. - Josh Haley
Any more? And why would you want to meet them? - Kol Tregaskes
The Bible character Paul to understand things he wrote, Dr. ML King Jr to understand his bravery, and Barack Obama because he's president would I like to meet. - Valley
Hmm... Jesus, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Muhammad, Gandhi... for an arm wrestling match, obviously - Shawn Duffy via twhirl
Grace Slick..she's my idol (as cheezy as that sounds) She's amazing, almost had a chance to meet her but if fell through at the last minute. - Sheryl
Chuck Berry, because I'd like to jam with the man who started it all. - tehKenny
The first homo sapien. I've always wondered what it would be like to have our brain yet know so little in such a dangerously new world. - todd
Usually I say John Lennon, but after watching a special on Nicola Tesla and Albert Einstein last night, probably either one of those. - Haggis (Sean)
Toni Morrison, although I'd be crazy intimidated. - Derrick
Todd, like that one. :-) - Kol Tregaskes
Teddy Roosevelt - Morgan
I'm with you TStowers - Joseph Campbell. I'd have a ton of questions for him. - Squirrel Girl
Pretty much any of the founding fathers, though I've a particular affinity for Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The reason - they're too mythologized in the history books and popular culture. I'd love to meet the real men and find out what made them tick. - Eric P
FriendFeed
Derrick posted a link
Day Without A Gay, December 10, 2008
Day Without A Gay, December 10, 2008
Monday at 8:48 am - via Bookmarklet - Link
Gay people and our allies are compassionate, sensitive, caring, mobilized, and programmed for success. A day without gays would be tragic because it would be a day without love. On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service! - Derrick via Bookmarklet
43 more comments
Or, you could just call it quits cuz I don't know many jobs that's gonna go for that...lol - ♫ Rahsheen™
I like this idea. :) - Thankful Molly
This could very easily turn into A Gay without a Job. I'd be careful doing this... though I do like the idea of taking a day off to donate to some other worthy effort. - abacab
bad idea IMHO - David Ward
Looking at the graphic, at first I thought it was some conservative group saying that gays should be removed from the workplace. Given that this was my first reaction, this doesn't sound like a well thought out idea. I realize it's NOT a conservative group, but how many other people might think the same thing. Sorry, but this is made of fail. It's not a good idea. - Jason Huebel
Also, if you call in "gay", doesn't that have implications that homosexuality is a "sickness"? I don't think this will further your cause. I think it will only annoy your employer. You won't be fired because you're gay, you'll be fired because you skipped work when you weren't sick. That's very unprofessional. - Jason Huebel
As motivated as people are to bring recognition to this issue, the lack of political acumen is astonishing... - Mark VandenBerg
As a future boss, I'm all for supporting my employees. However, if they did this, I'd likely be counseling them. Just saying. Now, if they wanted to schedule a day off to do some volunteer work or work it into their regular work schedule, I'd definitely be all for that. - Jill, Superhero Librarian
Don't get me wrong, I'm sympathetic. I just think this is a terrible idea. - Jason Huebel
Jason: True, but if "they" think it's a sickness, we might as well use it as an excuse every once in a while. - tehKenny
I think there are probably better ways to do this. And, I am not sure it is employers that we want to affect here. Prop 8 and marriage equality is not about the workplace. Seems like we are missing something. - Jean Ann Van Krevelen via twhirl
@tehKenny, that's a terrible reason to do this. Take the day off out of spite? Add fuel to their argument? Bad. - Jason Huebel
I don't know how I feel about this issue to be honest. Do I think something should be done? Yes. Do I think this is the best option? Not exactly, but I also don't have any suggestions. That being said, I know my bosses would be perfectly fine if I elected to call in sick and volunteer with some LGBT non-profits. - Derrick
Calling in gay wouldn't work for me. I work in a high-testosterone environment and, to be honest, I'm not out to my colleagues. I would get back the next day to find all my big manly metalworking tools painted pink with fluffy bows on them. Hmmm, actually...... - Slippy Lane
if you identify yourself by your sexuality, you are an idiot - Gregory Lent
@Gregory Isn't your view of yourself a conglomeration of all that you believe you are? - Mark VandenBerg
*silently inserts a "solely" for Gregory, between "yourself" and "by" * - Ladybug Heather
And if you think that people who identify themselves by their sexuality are idiots, you're a troll. - Eric P
@Eric Well, as a pencil-chewer, I must agree. It's obvious that I should take one, socially-defined characteristic of myself and make it the cornerstone of my ideals, thoughts, and agendas. Pencil-chewers unite! (The previous was an example of sarcastic irony. I would never use a pencil. Hard copy...pfft.) - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
@Ladybug, that's how I prefer to read it. Ones sexuality is only a small part of their whole personality. Does a gay person only want to be identified by that personality trait? Does being gay really say anything specific about you? Do you love any differently? I would argue that identifying yourself by sexual orientation is a disservice to yourself and acts as a catalyst for those who oppose your life choices. - Jason Huebel
thanks heather ... :-) - Gregory Lent
Re: identity, as a person of color, whether or not I choose to go all out and identify as an African-American seems to not matter so much as other will almost instantly make that distinction for me; similarly I think some people who might feel ordinary and mundane about their place in the world might also clamor to their gay identity because its something that sets them apart. Not saying this is good or bad, rather it just is. - Derrick
+5 Derrick Well written! - Mark VandenBerg
I understand that, Derrick, and in fact that is one of the key notions in Young's Justice and the Politics of Difference (awesome book in political philosophy, continental in subjects but analytic in style, highly recommended: http://press.princeton.edu/tit...), that the forced embodiment of difference makes things like "color-blindedness" and other such strategies a subtle form of racism...only people who look like me can be color-blind and pretend like that solves anything, because I am white. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
I was more defending Greg's indictment of the notion of the definition of one's own identity merely as a function of an arbitrary, socially driven characteristic. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
@Heather: Do you know anyone who defines themselves *soley* by one trait or another? I don't. I suppose if one wants to attack such a mythical strawman, you can... but otherwise it looks like an attack on those for whom being gay does form a part of their identity. - Eric P
It is clearly a complex and complicated issue, and I don't even pretend to really know myself as a well-adjusted gay man. To be gay, to stand up in this society, with all the BS, all the hatred, all the Bible-thumping, all the sneers, jests, prison rape jokes, swishy florists stereotypes...in the face of ALL of that, to say: I am gay, is a bold, brazen, and brave thing to do. - Derrick
@Neal: If you've ever been ostracized, attacked, discriminated against, denied equal protection under the law because you're a pencil chewer, you might have a point. Should you feel the need to seek out other pencil chewers to form a community around the shared experiences of dealing with a society that's hostile the very experience of such... then you might have a remotely comparable analogy. - Eric P
this looks sooooo GAY ;o) - sofarsoshawn
+10 sofarsoshawn :-) - Slippy Lane
I would also like to propose an equal and equivalent movement for geeks. As a geek, I have suffered more discrimination than I have for my sexual preferences. Without gays, there is less love, but without geeks, the gay dating sites wouldn't exist either. Call in Geeky tomorrow! :-D - Slippy Lane
@Eric I think you are missing the point of my remarks. I do not disagree with any of that, I disagree with you calling Greg a troll because of his point, which has nothing to do with yours. And, for the record, as a pagan, bisexual intellectual who grew up in southern Texas, where reading a book will get you beat up as easily as being gay, from experience I know about the worst thing you can do for your own self-esteem is agree to the labels others give you. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
i don't see color or sex preference, it is just people .... does that mean i am fucked up? should i go back to the way it used to be? would that make you happier? people who identify themselves as a race or a gender or a sexual preference are racist, sexist, and stupid ... and perpetuating discrimination, instead of unity ... get over it, please ... we need your unlimitedness - Gregory Lent
Gregory, you may not see those things, but other people do and act on what they see. When you don't see the things, you're unable to help make the world safe against those who do see them. - Deborah Fitchett
@Neal: He didn't make a point, he hurled an insult at a group of people - that makes him a troll as surely as if he was sitting under a bridge snatching billy goats. Secondly, I disagree with the second point - taking ownership of labels and forging a group identity has proven to be a very effective way of dealing with slurs. You can't stop being gay, but you can make "gay" into something positive rather than a slur. - Eric P
eric, try making gay into simply nothing at all ... isn't it that being gay doesn't matter, and shouldn't matter? so, don't make it matter ... - Gregory Lent
Gregory, I appreciate your sentiments and contributions to this thread, I just wish it were that easy to get people to see things from your perspective. Being gay *does* matter. Me being African-American *does* matter. It's just not a matter of turning that aspect of ourselves off and getting beyond it. Even for the enlightened that don't let that affect how we are perceived. - Derrick
@Gregory There is an issue, like I mentioned earlier, of such color and gender blindedness being itself an example of white, male, straight, etc privilege. No one who lives under those labels has the luxury of such blindedness, and some have argued, like Young in the work I cited earlier, that it is itself a form of avoidance of the issue of difference; rather than accept difference (and the problems is causes), it ignores and homogenizes it. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
@Eric I think there are both advantages and disadvantages to identity politics, and that the jury is still out as to whether the overall effects of such identifications help or harm in the long run. The whole notion is too new to have any real longitudinal data. One might argue that the civil rights movement is an example of identity politics, but if we are honest we must acknowledge that many of the driving forces of the civil rights movement were themselves members of privileged groups. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
@Eric I think one of the biggest issues I have with identity politics is its natural tendency towards polarization. There is an us and a them, and the them is wrong and the us is right. Interestingly, if you replace the nouns in much identity politics rhetoric, all of the logic stays the same, which means the White Nationalist can use the same arguments as any other identity politics group to justify their positions. Such isomorphisms trouble me; moral status should not be a function of what side you are on - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
Just wanted to chime in one last time and say that I really appreciate the mature, thoughtful discussion that's happened here. I've been refreshing this post throughout the day and found it very interesting. - Jason Huebel
@Jason I generally get that kind of discussion here...one reason I like it here. - Neal "thePuck" Jansons
protest the darkness, or bring a light ... only one works .... and in this case, the light is you/me ... are we going to curse the darkness? or be the light, that lives differently .. this is the only choice ... our world is as we are ... - Gregory Lent
the principle is the same for happiness, you have to find it in you, or for love, if you want love, give it ... or for social change, first we have to change ourselves ... that within us which wants to "do" something to change "the world" is ego ... and is different from "being something" and thereby changing everything - Gregory Lent
neal, the principles i espouse come from a "brown" culture, don't know if that would undermine the premise of justice and the politics of experience - Gregory Lent
Google Reader
Hutch Carpenter shared an item on Google Reader
The End Of Google's Pasta-On-The-Wall Product Development?
Monday at 11:22 am - Link
"The idea that Google develops new products like the rest of us determine if pasta is ready to eat -- by throwing a load of them against the wall and seeing what sticks -- was always more Google PR-created myth than reality. (Pssst, "20% time" is bogus, too)." - Hutch Carpenter
It's kind of a shame, I miss the old Google. I remember back around 2004-2005 they seemed to be launching new products or major features every week. Most of them were crap, but it was at least fun to play with, and some turned out to be useful. These days, it's slowed to a crawl. I mean seriously - Zoho launched Google Gears enabled offline apps light years before Google itself did, and Google still hasn't enabled offline Gmail. - Eric P
Twitter
Jason Calacanis posted a message on Twitter
FriendFeed
Anna Haro posted a link
Hold the Dressing --My night at an all-nude New York dinner party
Hold the Dressing --My night at an all-nude New York dinner party
Sunday at 5:30 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link
"If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini and don't take it off until you're 34." This is Nora Ephron, reminding us that now—right now—is the peak naked moment of our lives, the highest point on a steep slope of sagging. I remembered this rule when my email dinged with a dinner invitation. The invite contained details about the host (a friend of a friend), the cuisine (Indian) and the attire (none). A nude dinner party." - Anna Haro via Bookmarklet
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"I was petrified. I am an enthusiast of other naked activities—skinny dipping, showers, sex. But unlike dinner, those all start with ‘s.’ This seems important. Also, they all involve doing something. A lengthy swimming career taught me that many people are attractive naked not because of their bodies’ particulars, but because of the way those bodies move. It’s why the prettiest people are not always the most sought after. Movement is important. When stationary, my lower body looks like a bean bag chair." - Anna Haro
hilarious - Lindsey
I hope no one spilled hot food on their lap. Ouch. - Rochelle
I went to one of these last year. I was the youngest person there by a good 10+ years. There's nothing by way of eye candy. It takes a certain maturity about the human body to be around ugly naked people and not freak out about your own nudity (which the author seems to lack). Interesting experience I guess - if it was more commonplace I'd do it again, but naked dining isn't really worth going out of your way for. There's no compelling raison d'etre for the nudity as there is with a nude beach or resort. - Eric P
I drop enough food on my shirt, I'd hate to think how embarrassing that would be naked - Lindsey
I've gone past year 34. - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)
I spill food all the time. I would probably drop the soup and burn my balls off. Not for me. - Kamath ॐ
hahaha @Lindsey and Kamath - Anna Haro
>> You can read who people are at a glance. I imagined the heavily makeup’ed fashionistas of my Upper East Side neighborhood melting down under these conditions, their coiffed facades broken, their personalities unable to function in the harsh light of reality. There’s something very real about naked dinner. - Russellreno
this started in the spring/late winter of this year from what i recall. a friend of mine got word through a few people who are somehow involved with this. i'll stick to the ala carte - Cee Bee
I think I'd rather keep my food & nudity combo to my bedroom thanks. - Abby Martin
We might not have as much anorexia if nudity were more common. Ultra-skinny can often look good with good fashion sense, but looks not so hot naked IMO. Having just spent 5 weeks at a nude hot springs, many people mention that it takes awhile to get used to real naked bodies (e.g. 80-95% do not look super-hot, and you'd rather them clothed), but then after awhile the variety of body types starts seeming more beautiful. - Mitchell Tsai
Now (this was not my opinion 10 yrs ago & my brother disagrees with me), I feel 95% of people I see at the Hot Springs look better naked than clothed (and this includes people 80 lbs overweight). It's the rare person with exceptional aesthetic taste who looks better with clothes. Sometimes theatrical or creative outfits are nice to see, but I still prefer naked. And it's really nice to see the rare women/men who look really hot! - Mitchell Tsai
I'm really not the kind of jerk who goes around correcting spelling any more, but Mitchell's comment makes for an interesting evil misinterpretation. "80-95% [of naked bodies] do not look super-hot, and you'd rather them closed," you know, as opposed to opened, really is kind of fun. Get it? Sorry, Mitchell! - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)
hum :-? - D/\\/IIID
I've updated my original comment for (what I hope is) clarification - MiɳiMagɘ (Sexy Scimitar)
MinuetMage: There was a fun dance piece I saw about 10 years ago from UCLA's Dance MFA program. Two women started out - one with clothes, one nude. As the clothed person, took off each piece of clothing, she revealed some word written underneath. As the nude person, added clothing, each one had a word. Both ways, we the audience learned a lot about each person. Brilliantly creative statement about how clothing/nudity can both be used to hide/reveal about a person. - Mitchell Tsai
I think I could handle this. Drawing and painting nudes on a regular basis at art school has removed the shock. I could run around naked if everyone around me was cool with it, i.e. at a nude beach or something like this place. - Kamilah Gill
Google Reader
Robert Scoble shared an item on Google Reader
Whiteboard presentation: T. Boone Pickens on reducing America's dependency on foreign oil
Sunday at 9:54 am - Link
This is the same guy that originated the Swift Boat Veterans issue with Kerry - Jesse Stay
35 more comments
Last time i checked, natural gas was a fossil fuel. I hope any plan to widely use it for transportation fuel includes plug-in hybrids. Wouldn't it make more sense though to build electric vehicles that will be desirable worldwide? - Chris White
Jesse: so what does that have to do with his plan? Chris: the Pickens Plan recommends CNG to replace diesel fuel for commercial vehicles, as plug-in hybrid motors/engines do not have enough power to drive heavy vehicles. The plan calls for plug-in hybrid technology for passenger vehicles. The benefit of using natural gas over oil is that we have a lot more natural gas in America than oil, and it's supposedly cheaper. - Mark Trapp
Mark, will the plug-in hybrids be natural gas, or gasoline based? BTW, I think unfortunately for Pickens, the fall of oil prices will lessen the argument that natural gas is cheaper. - Chris White
Natural Gas, until other alternatives can be developed. The idea, as I understand it, is to first solve the dependency issue, which gives us time to solve the sustainability issue. Natural gas, according to Pickens, would be far quicker to implement than waiting for other solutions. In terms of benefits versus oil, he also argues that natural gas is cleaner, but I don't know how much I really buy that. - Mark Trapp
trying to figure out why the kerry issue matters here. lets get off foriegn oil and do better at other alternative fuels - Jonathan Jesse
Nuclear is the only real answer. - Gus
Gus: too bad you can't stick a nuclear reactor in a car. - Mark Trapp
"you can't stick a nuclear reactor in a car" -- what about a truck or locomotive? - Brian Sullivan
The 'Pickens Plan' advocates switching *all* transportation over to CNG, and glosses over the fact that it requires writing off the existing gas powered electricity plants. It also is implicitly *preserving* existing CNG (and to an extent they can be converted, gasoline) distribution infrastructure, eg. filling stations, depots, etc). Note that TBP has investments in gas infrastructure. He's basically asking for a windfall via a federal government mandate, and sticking taxpayers with the write-off. - Michael R. Bernstein
Gus, I agree nuclear is the long term answer (for our lifetimes), but it will take years to build the plants we need to power 85% of our needs like France has. Too bad the crazy Sierra Club / so-called Green Party aren't as smart as the French. - Chris White
Brian: how? Subs can do it because they're next to a continuous body of water. Land transportation doesn't have that luxury. - Mark Trapp
Mark - that's a car i'd be excited to drive. - Robert Hafer
if you change over to solar/nuclear/wind electricity, then you free up CNG for trucks...? - thomasrdotorg
(cont.) Much better to switch to flex-fuel plug-in hybrids where possible, invest in rail infrastructure, and *add* electrical capacity via wind and solar to displace fossil fuels, instead of this musical chairs plan that leaves TBP with windfall profits. - Michael R. Bernstein
The nuclear is for the backend. The cars are powered by electricity. Sorry for the confusion. - Chris White
You could get a Mr Fusion in your car. I saw that in a documentary called "Back To The something or other" - thomasrdotorg
Mark -- just asking -- so it is likely not possible? - Brian Sullivan
Brian: not using the nuclear reactor technology we've come up with. Nuclear reactors work by heating up water into steam, which then powers a turbine, which in turn generates electricity. You'd need to come up with a replacement for the turbine, which starts to get into science fiction. - Mark Trapp
Architecturally, the smart thing to do is put all the alternative fuels (including natural gas and nuclear) on the backend, and enhance the grid to support powering all vehicles with electric. If we need to continue using fossil fuels for trucking, that's a fine short term solution. That way we can change the type of fuel we use on the backend without changing the vehicles themselves. - Chris White
NASA uses something called a SNAP generator. It uses thermionic couples to convert nuclear heat to electricity. The tree-huggers protest when the get shot into space. - Robert Hafer
I wonder what charge time Americans would put up with? Could they stand 20 minutes? Would there be a different time of fueling station that provided something to do while waiting for a recharge? - Chris White
Robert: true, but RTGs/SNAP generators don't generate a whole lot of electricity. I think the most powerful one came out at 300 watts (most non-space based RTGs are in the low double digits), where electric cars currently require 10-50x more power. Considering the progression of the technology since the Apollo program, it's not likely to see consumer level usage before the ice caps melt and we all start putting our own Waterworld remakes on YouTube. - Mark Trapp
Chris: the sweet spot is the length of a commute. If one could get to and from work and do errands on one charge, it's not a big deal to plug it in at night. Longer trips? Yeah, good luck trying to solve that problem. - Mark Trapp
Mark - I agree, I also don't think we really want to mix Plutonium and road rage ;) - Robert Hafer
I don't think the 'charge overnight for one commute' model will fly. Most people own one car and use it for all purposes; commuting, family trips, hauling furniture etc. I think, from my extensive experience dealing with the masses, that 10 minutes has to be the goal for charge time. - Robert Hafer
ok, expressing my bias here. i am skeptical of this effort because i suspect TBP has a profit motive in mind. might not be true - anyone is free to straighten me out on that. see, what i want (hehehe) is an "open source" alternative. i want to see folks in on this who do not have a direct profit at stake. too idealistic? maybe. still want it, tho. - MikeAmundsen
@Mark: The solution to the longer trip problem is rail. A car needs to get you back and forth to work, back and forth to the supermarket, and back and forth to a train station. We need to re-envision cars not as primary transportation but as solving the "last mile" problem between your house and transportation hubs. - Eric P
Also FYI Speaker Namcy Pelosi has extensive investments Nat Gas (CLINE) - Robert Hafer
Eric: rail is part of the solution, but if you're looking at a total solution, you need to solve getting freight from rail to its destination. Yeah, you could build railroads into every population center, but then you start moving out of the realm of solutions we can put into place in the next couple of decades. Energy problems need to be solved using our existing transportation infrastructure first: otherwise it never gets started. - Mark Trapp
@Robert: has Pelosi taken a public stance on this project? is she pushing NG in other forms? - MikeAmundsen
Mike -Remember that it was the so-called Robber Barons that linked this country by rail. Profit is a powerful motive that can solve powerful porblems. No one is going to risk billions on a network of charging stations without the hope of big profits. - Robert Hafer
@Robert: yeah, i hear ya. i'm wondering if profit motive was behind the birth of the internet (thinking not). wondering aloud if this can happen w/ energy (proly not). that's all. adiditionally, i'm thinking folks w/ stakes in non-renewables have little motive for getting off non-renewables and that this has a negative effect on our progress in this area. wondering aloud how to solve that part of the problem. - MikeAmundsen
Mike I hear you, I think things like an electric car that people want, and can afford, to drive will make a difference. Forcing people into electris or hybrids with laws will just cause a push back. Promoting inovation is a good idea. Really radical, we could change the focus of our schools to the over-achivers instead of the under-achievers. - Robert Hafer
As far as I know, Pelosi has never commented on her Nat Gas posisition - Robert Hafer
@Robert: we grant $100s of millions in targeted credits to promote behavior in this country. some of the spending might need to be rethought. forcing folks into spending on police, fire, libraries, etc. has gone on for quite a while. spending on industry incentives, too including power, medicine, etc. IMO, the issue is not *whether* we spend to promote behavior, it is *what* behavior we promote. as for your comment about schools, i doubt mis-spent ed. $$ is why our fossil fuel imports when from 20% to 70%. - MikeAmundsen
Mike - There are lots of government programs that I don't particepate in because they are more trouble than they are worth. If you have to give people electric cars to make them drive them, that's not sustainable. I think our decline in science and technology over all is related to misspent ED $$. But, that's a 30 time frame problem. - Robert Hafer
@Mike Railroad infrastructure is easy to build in countries which have lots of space, like the U.S. The French, for example, take about five years from the decision to go ahead with a TGV line through to its opening. While that would obviously be a lot longer in a country like the U.S, with the political will you could build a pretty useful rail network taking many thousands of trucks off the road in less than two decades. - Ian Betteridge
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