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Jim Milles › Comments
C Street on the Skidz - http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archive...
""the Family", might not be a religious fellowship at all so much as a covert 12 Step Group for Republican Hound Dogs"
- Jim Milles
Gadzooks! - http://pandagon.net/index...
Palin "cut a ridiculous enough figure as a prominent Republican that the media finally felt comfortable treating her the same way they would a Democrat."
- Jim Milles
Hullabaloo - http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009...
"Hullabaloo:" California is "an actual real life demonstration of the Republican "Starve The Beast" strategy " http://bit.ly/3Ehbi
- Jim Milles
Sobering post on "Orcinus": Eight episodes of right-wing extremist violence in four and a half months. http://bit.ly/HGmId
- Jim Milles
Adventures in Misdirected Anger - http://www.anonymousliberal.com/2009...
It sucks to feel powerless, but when the reason you feel powerless is because the majority of people in the country no longer share your views, that's just called democracy.
- Jim Milles
America's "Lost Decade" - http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidia...
Astonishing summary of how we got here.
- Jim Milles
It's kind of hard to believe that the economy is in the dumps when just about everywhere I go, stores are busy. Banana Republic in Bridgeport was a complete zoo yesterday. Places we went to eat for lunch and dinner were busy. Crate and Barrel is always busy. Macy's is busy.
Nia, BEX, polymath22 and 26 other people liked this
About the only place that wasn't busy was Bed, Bath and Beyond, but we were there at 7:30pm on a Saturday night.
- Alex Scoble
Window Shopping ;)
- Nicholas James
Exactly. Like I commented on this blog entry that I guess the guy said Obama co-wrote. People are just to blame for their money woes and need to stop playing victims in all of this
- Shevonne
They weren't window shopping at Banana Republic. We had to wait 15 minutes in line to buy stuff. Complete zoo. And you can't window shop at a restaurant. Also in other anecdotal evidence, the Bay Area economy isn't even bad enough to get vendors to make deals on items that are priced significantly less on Amazon.
- Alex Scoble
Of course this is all based on observation in two cities (San Jose and Portland) that haven't been affected as much by the downturn. I hear that things are noticeably worse in Las Vegas, for instance. I'm not saying that we aren't in a downturn, just that it's hard to believe based on what I'm seeing in my personal experiences.
- Alex Scoble
Things feel a little more reserved over the hill in Portland, Alex. I know my taxi business is down which means less restaurant business, fewer waitstaff, fewer bartender shifts, and more hanging around the neighborhood for a lot of my past customers.
- Christopher Harley
Not here. The saks in BH was completely desolate and MAC laid off all the store employees there.
- Patricia
The malls in Buffalo are empty.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
I observed the same at Best Buy right before and after Christmas. People were buying things in bulk. I saw one lady buying 4 PS3s. 4! These are machines that cost $400, and I wasn't able to see if she was buying bundles.
- Mike Nayyar
How many heads go in is irrelevant, it's how many bags come out that counts.
- Geoff Schultz
I went to a mall yesterday in central Orlando around noon, and it was a ghost town. Completely dead.
- Jen (SquirrelGirl)
I guess it depends in what area you are in. Here in Fairfax, people are all over the malls. I went to Springfield Mall (lower-middle class), and the malls were empty. But I think it's also due to the gang activity going on. Hmmmm
- Shevonne
I see "closing soon" signs everywhere. The successful and popular stores will remain so, but check out the second place competition, I bet those stores are empty.
- Rob Haas
I have been seeing more "I can't believe it's a recession" comments & indicators, than recession indicators. Maybe that's Silicon Valley, tho.
- anna sauce
It'll affect markets in sequence. I would expect it to eventually hit the SV. Way, way too many sites are ad supported. Those that don't have enough $$ in the bank will more than likely shut down.
- Patricia
Welcome to the West Coast, Alex, where shopping is therapy. Around here in ABQ, things aren't quite as pronounced as, say, Michigan, but you can still see signs of the recession if you wander away from the malls.
- Steven Perez
I hear that it's not very busy on any car sales lot.
- Chrimmus Tad
anna and Alex: go to Las Vegas. Then you will see the recession indicators big time. That place is severely hurting.
- Robert Scoble
It's only starting. The ports are at a standstill and new orders are non existent. In the Rust Belt, the plants have been shuttering for years and this was the worst Xmas for retail since the early 80's.
- Phil Boiarski
I was at an outlet mall yesterday and couldn't find a parking space for 20 minutes. I had the same kind of 'what recession' questions.
- Andrew Leyden
many people can't stop their river of "life standards" and the shopping fever...here in italy you can see people crying about the downturn and at the same time the same people buying the new "have to have it" iphone 3g!
- Simone Lovati
The only places I've seen busy are low to mid price 'splurges' like restaurants, etc. Electronics stores, car dealerships, furniture stores have mostly been going downhill. There have been multiple jewelry stores and 'luxury' genres (like my dad's cigar store) closing lately.
- FFing Enigma (aka Tina)
I think the same thing all the time - it's very hard to see any visible signs of a recession. There's no noticeable decline in traffic, crowds, or assholes any time I go out.
- Eric P
the people really need to stop chucking things on their credit cards. it's their own faults...
- Terry O'Fee
I'm in a suburb of Dallas, and Friday night we went out for my husband's birthday. Reason to splurge, right? We went to a trendy location in town and got a table instantly. The place wasn't even approaching full the entire time we were there. I do notice that locally-owned eateries are generally doing okay. People tend to skip the chains and support the local economy.
- Julie Barrett
Just because people are there doesn't mean they are buying stuff. Its hard to break habits and going to social places like the mall is something people do.
- Uncle CW™
not always. look at the checkouts. somebody'd still spending...
- Terry O'Fee
jason...all houses are overpriced anyway.
- Rob Sellen :o)
Thanks, Jason, for calling me an idiot. :) And people were standing in line for 15 minutes to buy stuff at Banana Republic...Today there was a huge mob at Safeway right at 3pm. Guess everyone was making the last minute dash for Superbowl stuff.
- Alex Scoble
not where I live...seattle
- Ryan
On NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me yesterday, they joked about names for the current economic crisis. One they came up with was The Clinical Depression and one of the guests remarked that the economy needs some Prozac or something...too true.
- Alex Scoble
Couldn't agree more... I was at a mall for some weekend groceries. We circled around the parking area 2-3 times before we gave up and came back home.
- Bindu Reddy
"...and going to social places like the mall is something people do." This, more than any other comment in this thread, made me sad. Only in America. Seriously. What have we come to as a nation where we rely upon frigging shopping malls for human contact and friendship? Not the library, not a family-owned cafe, not a park, but a shopping mall. No, I will not get off my high horse.
- Adam Lasnik
Things in Indianapolis are totally depressed. During our outing last weekend, bf & I saw at least 2 places with earlier closing times posted. People mill around the malls, but I don't think they're buying much. I'm personally at the point where I'm gonna have to get excited about an $8 used PS2 game and leave it at that when I'm feeling discretionary...
- Kamilah Gill
question for everyone: if you had a superpower, what would it be?
Andrew, Steven Perez, Susan Beebe and 14 other people liked this
I would like to be able to freeze time. (though my real super power is finding chairs in crowded restaurants)
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
The ability to take other people's powers is cool.
- Todd Hoff
Flight. Sorry, but that's just awesome. I'm in awe when I'm in a plane and it takes off. To do that on my own is just cool as hell.
- Derrick
TELEPORTING!! Either that or being able to communicate with fish.
- Ebm
todd, that would only be good if Derrick and Ebm were around with their flying and teleporting. invisibility always fascinated me as well.
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
The power of looking good in spandex.
- Morton Fox
Parking
- Mistletoe Glen
what if it was something completely mundane... like the ability to reseal a package of potato chips or the ability to open a letter with your finger without messing up the envelope. would you still wear a costume?
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
@Derrick...I had a dream once that I was flying. But I'm afraid of heights...so maybe it was more of a nightmare...anywho, cool pick and if I had Todd's I'd probably leave yours alone :)
- Ebm
Morton Fox, looks like you already have your costume picked out.
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
I'd want 3 - invisibility, transportability, and ability to resist bullets and other deadly objects.
- Ontario Emperor
from fftogo
ESP and mind control. Wait, I already have that one.
- Martha
Martha is awesome (= confirmed ability).
- Ebm
How about to the ability to summon a pizza whenever you wanted?
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
@Patrick, um...don't we already have that one? I'll raise you up to being able to point in a cook book and have the food magically appear :)
- Ebm
To bestow super powers on those who are more deserving than I.
- Akiva Moskovitz
SELECTIVE X-ray vision.....
- Live4Emma (L4S)
So you plan on keeping them Akiva? :-)
- Todd Hoff
I can reach things on the top shelf and can open virtually any jar, bottle, or can. Plus, I can pick the slowest possible line in any retail establishment.
- ha3rvey (Ho)^3
Totally forgot, but I can put out fires with my feet.
- ha3rvey (Ho)^3
Invent a weekend-stretcher! :P
- rampantheart
What do you think Scoble's would be? Raise a social network from the ground?
- WiseYoda (aka Patrick)
Eyes that function liked an HD camera and hair the could transmit the signal via wifi to any desired social network.
- Todd Hoff
Time travel, just 'cos I want to see the future (well and the past too). :-)
- Kol Tregaskes
I would like to be able to deflect attention. So I could roam around, fully visible, and still not be noticed.
- Vijayendra (V-Mo) Mohanty
to live as pure energy.. just so I could give annoying people a shock ;)
- alphaxion
I already have one; don't you? :)
- Great Scott!
Mine would be sarcasm. Yeah, right.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
Time Manipulation would be awesome. Hello? Oh hi Mom. *speed time* Good to talk with you for two hours again, love you, bye.
- Carmen - Happy 2010!
Either super-speed like the Flash or teleportation. Or maybe a ring like the Green Lantern's.
- josh neff, geek at large
I would love either at will full esp, or at will invisibility. I'd love to see what people really think of me while I'm 'not' around, and to see who is actually honest. Predicting the future would be great too. Not too far ahead just a few months or a year (short sale stocks, anyone?).
- InPerpetualMotion(Gina k)
World Peace achieved in a day - lasts for eternity (includes eradication of all diseases, famine, wars, natural disasters, sickness pain and death.... love and equality for everyone, i.e. heaven for everybody!
- Susan Beebe
Localized suspension and distortion of laws of physics.
- Steven Perez
Gotta go with Telekinesis
- Andrew
Jason: I often fantasize about being immortal like that! Being an optimist, I really believe humans will overcome difficulties & go on long into the future, & I want to see what happens!
- josh neff, geek at large
@julien everything is better with bacon.
Except chocolate. I know from bitter experience.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
Question for people with kids: at what age do you think they can type enough to look up stuff in a library catalog?
I'd say pretty young (6ish?), but if the catalog doesn't have auto spell checking, that estimate would go up at least to 10 or so.
- Webgoddess
Yeah. I'm trying not to make the suckiness of the catalog a factor here. Grown ups frequently can't use it successfully. But I have to write up a "here's what you should be able to do in the library" by grade.
- laura x
laura - I can check with my mom. She's a K-5 librarian
- ~Courtney F.
I'd say between 6-8. My kid could have searched a word or two at 6, and now 8, he could search several phrases (and maybe even do "and" boolean). Then again, he has been computer savvy since about 1.5.
- Joe
Thanks, folks. I see the kids for maybe 20 minutes a week at the moment, so it's hard for me to get a handle on what they can and can't do--and it's hard for me to judge from my own experience, since using the card catalog did not involve typing.
- laura x
Kids use library catalogs?
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
also laura, check the state education standards for your state....there may be something there that would help you
- ~Courtney F.
The littlest ones don't, at least not yet, but I've been teaching the catalog to 4th grade and up for the past year or so. No one has ever really taught library skills here, so I'm starting from zero.
- laura x
my mom's response - Middle of second grade- age 7 or 8
- ~Courtney F.
Probably 7 or 8--it depends on the kid and how much they are allowed to be around a computer at home. Most of the kids can handle computers much younger than that but their spelling skills may not be up for it.
- Abigail
Thanks!
- laura x
Laura, I think it's more difficult to conceptualize "look it up here, get the call number, take that to the proper stacks area" than is the actual "typing." My Mr. 6 could probably type a title in a box, but he wouldn't understand what he got back or what to do with it.
- s t e v e
Steve's got a good point. I'm pretty sure my mom does plenty of work with them on what the catalog tells them and that kind of thing. That's the age she said they could use the catalog on their own. Plus, the one she uses is a little simpler, i think (i hope!)
- ~Courtney F.
Exactly -- I have a 6 year old who can type "garfield" into Google, but he gets results there that he can just click on. He'd be fine typing it into the library catalog, he'd rthen probably know he could click on the titles that resulted, but then what? A whole screen of info ending J COMIC GARFIELD does him no good, and I'm going to say it'll probably be a couple more years at least.
- Rachel Singer Gordon
Oh yeah, believe me, the whole actually being able to make sense of the catalog is a whole separate subject, and I don't think we're actually going to attempt that till 4th grade or so. I'm just trying to get a sense of some practical motor skill stuff.
- laura x
Earlier on, I'm trying to get them to think about things like titles and authors and fiction and nonfiction and some other basic conceptual stuff.
- laura x
Watching House. I love House.
Akiva Moskovitz, Ladybug Heather, FFing Enigma (aka Tina) and Susan Beebe liked this
I am too. :)
- Imitation lris
Me too.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
I like my house too...if you are watching it that means you should GET OFF MY LAWN!
- Alex Scoble
20 Unusual Churches (Part I) - http://villageofjoy.com/20-unus...
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Mahdi Ebrahimi, Jason, John Mercer and 16 other people liked this
i would love to see one of these authentic norwegian stave churches. they're so epic. hopefully one day before the black metal bands burn them all down
- Cee Bee
cool, you mean this one? -- http://friendfeed.com/e...
- Cee Bee
I've seen the Reykjavik church. Replicates the basalt columns common aorund Iceland. Beautiful, really.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
I've seen the Reykjavik church. Replicates the basalt columns common aorund Iceland. Beautiful, really.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
that looks like an amazing structure jim (it's the fourth image up above by the way)
- Cee Bee
Bistro Europa (4)/5) - http://www.yelp.com/biz...
"I seriously love this place. It's tiny and cozy (although I'll admit, it can be a bit drafty by the door during Buffalo's six-month winters), the German/Polish food is good, and the Polish beer is…"
- Jim Milles
Cafe Aroma (4)/5) - http://www.yelp.com/biz...
"We stop here once a week or so for breakfast (bagels, scones, and muffins) on the way to work. The scones are the best in Buffalo (at least since the old Solid Grounds) and the coffee is excellent.…"
- Jim Milles
Blogging grows up | Oh, grow up | The Economist - http://www.economist.com/busines...
"Blogging has entered the mainstream, which—as with every new medium in history—looks to its pioneers suspiciously like death."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
pandagon.net - VOTE - http://pandagon.net/index...
"Ideologically, I think it’s also time for us to realize that we were never a center-right nation. We simply had a much stronger conservative machine than a liberal one, which necessarily pushed our policy and politics to the right in a manner that was largely obscured by the process itself. Obama’s a special candidate, but the trick of his success has been simply doing virtually everything intelligently and correctly. The story of his campaign is transformation, but it’s transformation through aggressive and forceful competence."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
New Page 1 - http://www.danpinello.com/MiLR...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
Lance Mannion: How Katie Couric saved America - http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_m...
"The amazing and funny thing, or the stunning and dismaying thing if you're an intelligent Republican partisan, is that Couric wasn't asking her hard questions. All Couric did to destroy Sarah Palin was actually listen to her and then ask questions about what she heard. There were no gotcha moments. The whole interview turned into one long gotcha because Sarah Palin was not prepared to have to actually think about what she was saying. She'd have survived on her supposed wit and phony folksy charm if Couric hadn't surprised her by asking follow-ups."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
The Mahablog » End of an Empire - http://www.mahablog.com/2008...
"[W]ingnuts wrap themselves in the conceit that they are the mainstream and speak for the majority of Americans. If it ever dawns on them that they are, in fact, an unpopular minority faction, they are likely to become more dangerous."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
If I Ran the Zoo: McCain Vs. Earmarks - http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2008...
"Earmarks don't cause corruption. Republican ideology causes corruption. As I've said before, as I've been saying since 1994, when you put government in the hands of people who believe it has no useful purpose, those people are going to use it for just two things: to enrich themselves and their campaign contributors, and to increase their own power. Corruption flows inevitably from the anti-government delusions of the Republican party."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
Watching 30 Days of Night with @kristinalively.
how do you like it? I've wanted to see 30 Days of Night but wasn't sure about it
- practicehacker
from twhirl
We liked it. Not as gory as it could have been, but gory enough for a good horror flick. Likable characters and scary bad guys.
- Jim Milles
Ooh, want to see that. I just picked up Turistas, Ice Spiders, and something else I can't recall off the top of my head
- Archangel ωαřмaiden
Suffer the godbotherers - http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2008...
First she was Caribou Barbie, now Bible Spice.
- Jim Milles
"Fringe" is teh X-Files. Only without Scully adn Mulder.
Michael W. May and Yolanda liked this
that is a huge difference
- Mary Carmen
They replaced Mulder with Pacey. More age appropriate for me, I suppose. but the Scully replacement leaves much to be desired.
- Archangel ωαřмaiden
mulder and scully were both hot.....pacey...meh not so much
- Mary Carmen
I have strange taste in men, I've been told. Completely inappropriate and unhealthy. ;)
- Archangel ωαřмaiden
I sure miss Mulder and Scully. I loved the show when it was about the weird stuff. When they got into the alien crap... totally tanked.
- Yolanda
Not to mention the Cigarette Smoking Man.
- Jim Milles
from twhirl
The post is the other half of why I refuse to watch it; it looked like an X-files rehash just from the hype.
- Michael W. May
I imagine the head of massive dynamics is the cigarette smoking man
- JSNFLMNG
I don't have a tv. Am I missing an important cultural phenomenon, or is it safe to be oblivious.
- Katy S
the pacey guy is a sexist ass. i really can't watch shite like that.
- RudĩϐЯaЯïan
Hmmm...now I want to go back and watch early x-files....
- Abigail
so far i'm liking fringe though it is very x-files-esqe.
- Sidney
Hedgie - I have been rewatching early XF of late. ahhhhhh. I think I will wait for the DVD to watch Fringe. I have no patience for waiting for weekly episodes of anything anymore.
- Fiona Bradley
Lance Mannion: "Are you saved, Lance?" - http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_m...
"I wish someone could get it through the heads of values voting Catholics who've signed on with the Republicans that the only Christians the GOP cares about are the Right Wing fundamentalist kind who think Catholics are going to hell. Might help to point out which candidate for President is a believer and has the devout Catholic as his running mate and which one is a non-believer and has the former Assembly of God type as his and that having the Catholic as his running mate is one more reason the supposedly Religious Right doesn't like the believer and that his having the former Assembly of God type on his ticket is the main reason the supposedly Religious Right has finally jumped aboard the non-believer's bandwagon."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
Jonathan Freedland: The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for | Comment is free | The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment...
RudĩϐЯaЯïan liked this
"Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for."
- Jim Milles
from Bookmarklet
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing this, Jim.
- Romy Romano
NIGHTLIFE IN NETHERLANDS (AMSTERDAM) - Allo' Expat Netherlands - http://www.alloexpat.com/moving_...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
Amsterdam News: Cafe Life in Amsterdam - http://amsterdamnews.blogspot.com/2003...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
max bruinsma > texts > eye 26 > Mieke Gerritzen - http://www.xs4all.nl/~maxb...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
The Amsterdam Site - Netherlands Board of Tourism - http://www.holland.com/amsterd...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
LAUREN WALDSTEIN's Blog: ROTTERDAM - http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/blog...
Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmar...
- Jim Milles
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