"I'll give you a great example that's already obsolete. At the end of the primaries, both Hillary Clinton and John McCain endorsed a gas tax holiday for Americans this summer. Every economist, both liberal and conservative, said this would do nothing to help matters. And when Hillary Clinton was asked by the late Tim Russert, "Can you produce one economist to support the gas tax holiday?" she said, "Oh that's elite thinking." - Thomas Hawk
via Bookmarklet
“What makes you think humans are sentient and aware? There is no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves. They find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told – and become uncomfortable if exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food, but uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.' The reason is that beliefs guide behavior, which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we (human beings) have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformist. Any other view of our species is just self-congratulatory delusion!” Dr. Ian Malcolm, The Lost World, Michael Crichton - Dave Roth
look at how narrow a spectrum a political candidate has to walk within in order not to violate political correctness. - Gregory Lent
oh, just saw david roth ... lot of people think the same, it is all conditioning, predetermined ... advaita vedanta and mystics, not just skinnerites ... ego thinks it can do something.. hardly - Gregory Lent
Wow love the comments here! Looks like a few real people around! Avoid HiveThink! - Igor The Troll
"The Age of American Unreason" is a great book. Pick it up if you want to read more on this subject. - Michael Carter
Advice to those who want to defend intellectualism: Don't quote Dr. Ian Malcolm from The Lost World. If you're going to scratch that deep into literature for your debate points, you should at least go all the way back to Jurassic Park. - Rex Hammock
@Roberto Bonini -- I'm referring to the quote that is posted in this thread that quotes Dr. Ian Malcolm, a fictional character in the novel The Lost World, by Michale Crichton. I find it extremely ironic to quote Michael Crichton to defend intellectualism as his 2005 novel, State of Fear, was written as an indictment of the type of intellectual orthodoxy reflected in the interview this thread is discussing. - Rex Hammock
Ah right, Rex, I see it now.Its a great quote. - Roberto Bonini
I wonder if there's any chance of reversing the trend. If we elect McCain then I fear for the intellectual health of the US greatly... - Tad - the Meme Maker
All trends are reversible, it's just a question of how much work it will take or under what circumstances it will happen. - Wensleydale Scoble
How scary is it that we have to worry the Obama/Biden ticket is too smart? That was also Adlai Stevenson's problem- and Ike won. That worries me. - Abby Martin
Smart is a good thing, but to win in politics you have to be able to speak to middle america, which is difficult for a lot of smart politicians to do without sounding patronizing. I don't think that Obama will have problems there. It's also why Clinton one twice. - Wensleydale Scoble
You seriously think Obama's able to speak to the midwest without patronizing us? Guns and religion? I think that ship may have had already sailed. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Mark given that he is US Senator from a midwest state, I'm thinking the answer is: YES. Fortunately there are those who look beyond sound bites. - Ruth Ferguson
@Ruth - come on, it isn't like Obama is from Peoria, he's from Chicago. You'd think that'd be enough for he himself to be able to identify with most flyover denizens, but aside from the hope and change bits, most folks from the midwest just don't agree with his issue stances, not to mention his attitudes. The only folks that are looking past the soundbites where he habitually patronizes folks from the midwest are folks not from the midwest. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Where exactly are you getting this bit: "most folks from the midwest just don't agree with his issue stances, not to mention his attitudes"? Both my fundamentalist sisters from rural Indiana and my friends in suburban and urban Chicago are planning on voting for Obama, for completely different reasons. That's anecdotal, but also a counterexample. It has at least more substance than your generalization. Evidence, please. - Rick Powell
I'm incredibly offended at the assertion that everyone in the world who judges politics on less thna complete knowledge of the issues lives between the appalachians and the rockies - Richard Lawler
via twhirl
@Rick (and Ruth): I'm getting at the fact that he and Biden have both not only expressed anti-gun views (for one topical example) but actively insulted folks who like guns. Folks in rurual midwest like guns - they just do. It has no bearing on whether they're smart or not, but Obama and Biden both seem to think it reflects on their level of intelligence. That's insulting to me. Folks from a big city like Chicago (tho it's technically midwestern) don't identify with gun-toting midwesterners. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
The problem with Obama and Biden is not that they are too smart (they aren't as smart as you think) but that they think everyone else is dumb. Big difference. - Soulhuntre
Mark, again, your comments are filled with generalizations, which could be taken as condescension, but I won't. The two aforementioned sisters are both from rural Indiana. Neither of them, nor their husbands, have ever owned a gun. My brother in law collects Corvettes. Does that count? My mother was from Kentucky, her father was Pentecostal preacher. No guns. And she was a Democrat. My father was a Reagan Democrat and then came to regret it. No guns either. - Rick Powell
The family my sister married into, all the boys were cops. Outside of the job, none of my cousins owned guns. Gun-totin' Midwesterners, I never met one. - Rick Powell
If I knew my mother at all, she would have been inspired by Obama, just as I am, by the fact that he's black - her Christian affinities were with the black churches in Indianapolis - and because he's a Christian and because he's a Democrat. What I'm really saying is: You don't know the Midwest. - Rick Powell
@soulhuntre: Which is more condescending, advocating a gas-tax break, or concluding that it was pandering and refusing to back it? I believe Obama's paraphrased words were "The American people are smarter than that." Sorry, I don't see or feel the condescension. You've talked about "class envy" in some of your comments. Perhaps you're suffering from another kind of envy. - Rick Powell
@Rick Powell - you're certainly welcome to choose quotes that individually support your view here, as I could for mine. The issue is one of overall tone. You're welcome to disagree with that evaluation - but as it is a subjective one you can't "prove" it, and neither can I. Obamas sliding numbers do however show that there is a real, and growing, problem with his message. The idea that people who don't support Obama are racist, dumb or hate smart people is what will lose him this election if anything does. - Soulhuntre
wow! and they say this is a country divided! read this thread. black/white. smart/dumb. city/rural. appalachians/rockies. religious/agnostic. gun-toters/pacifists. great-taste/less-filling. how many more ways can we find to set up us vs. them arguments? what ever happened to looking for "common ground?" jeez. if this is how this presidential race is going to be, then in the end, i think we'll get the leaders we deserve, and they'll be just as divided as we apparently are. - .LAG
To be honest I think the US is pretty together. I mean, while we have differences among groups it's not like we are in the middle of a civil war with opposing groups slaughtering each other. Political discourse will be contentious. We have a lot of common ground. We want to proper. We want to be safe and have our children safe. There are lots of differences on HOW, but other than on the fringe we really don't demonize each other. - Soulhuntre
i hope you're right @soulhuntre. i think this presidential race will bring a lot of a that contentiousness to the forefront in the next 70+ days. let's see how it plays out...warts and all. - .LAG
Soulhuntre: I completely agree with your sentiments regarding cultural division. Our whole problem as a country is that we're so damned well-off that we spend an incredible amount of time arguing over the 10% of things that we don't have in common and very little celebrating the tons of ideals and goals that we share. - Roger Benningfield
I wish Obama and Biden 'WERE' a hell of a lot smarter. Their tax plan is pathetic and will chase off business. It is no different then anything we have seen before from a labor party in this country. It is not progressive. It is regressive. I see little incentives for companies to be beneficial to a community. Big business will be taxed regardless of what they give back to our neighborhood and to local jobs. I'm very saddened by our chances with Obama's leadership. Eating the rich makes the rich RUN - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ
ooh that brings up a good point. i suppose you would have to explain what is going on and hope for the best. does the iphone have bluetooth support? - Justin
@jschnees Yes on bluetooth. As for Steve's question, Dunno. But what I do is keep one ear clear. I use only the bud with the mic - Michael Hussein Markman
In California, you have to have one ear without the headphone in it. So when I see the five-oh, I pull out the earphone without the mic. - Michael Carter
I wouldn't say no probs. What about waste disposal, and the facilities required for storing it, not to mention the danger involved with storing radioactive isotopes underground. - Mo Kargas
nuclear has tougher regulations then other energies, it's just when something bad happens...it's really bad. - clarke thomas
Dumping coal for Nuke power can give us the time we need to develop the technology to safely deal with nuclear waste and mature solar energy production. We need to quit dumping carbon into the atmosphere! - Tad - the Meme Maker
also...what about Chernobl? [/sort of sarcasm] - Sean McGee
@Tad, agreed, but there needs to be an immense investment in infrastructure - Mo Kargas
In addition to disposal, what about all the pollution from drillling, mining, and enrichment of uranium? - Clinton Schell
I've read up some on the newer generations of reactors from GE and some of the pebble bed reactor technologies as well. I really like the fact most safety systems are passive, so if things get out of wack, it causes the reactor to shut down due to its design. We've got to do something for energy, there is no free lunch, so nuclear waste will have to be dealt with. It is a great supplement to solar and other renewable energies until we figure out fusion. - Dean Clark
Another issue with nuclear power is water. A lot of water is used in the process. - Michael Carter
Sean - Chernobyl was a horribly designed reactor that wasn't properly maintained. I believe I've read somewhere that most modern designs can not fail spectacularly like that. - Tad - the Meme Maker
Mokargas - the investment needed is just a tiny fraction of what the US is spending to fight an irrelevant war in Iraq... - Tad - the Meme Maker
Nuclear is preposterously expensive. Never mind the safety issues. - Chris Baskind
Sorry, I should elaborate. T. Boone Pickens thinks the midwest could be the Saudi Arabia of wind, and that if we supplanted our natural gas usage with wind, we could use natural gas as a domestic transportation fuel. So, what do you think? - Jason Wehmhoener
Jason: regarding that video you posted, there was an article in National Geographic regarding oil / petroleum in Russia and how they are planning to build underground tunnels to transport it. Toss in South American countries (Chili and Venezuela for example) into the equation, it terries me when the U.S. is being bypassed in talks. We're all economically interconnected and at this point, it wouldn't be smart for the U.S. to consider other options.. - Mona N.
It's not used around the world. Australia is nuclear free except for one small reactor used for research and to make medicine. Polls show that 95% of people here don't want nuclear power either. It's the one thing nearly everyone agrees on. - Duncan Riley
Jason - I like the Pickens plan. It looks like it may be the easiest thing to do in the quickest amount of time to help come up with better alternatives. I'd love to see some serious leadership from Obama concerning this along with massive government investment in ramping up solar research. - Tad - the Meme Maker
Robert: you grew up same era I did... things like 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl and "China Syndrome" were used to scare us out of Nuclear Power and to continue consuming from the oil & coal companies. We are children of the media generation. Unless our children are raised w/o that prejudice, it will be perpetuated. - Lucretia Pruitt
I think energy diversification is the key. Look at what happens when you rely so heavily on one source of energy. - David
What's funny/sad is that the antinuclear crowd is helping to keep our older reactors online by stopping any advancement in building better, modern, safer reactors. - Jason Shultz
@Duncan Riley Yeah I don't really want reactors here unless *maybe* they get a lot cleaner and safer. That said I don't want other nations dumping waste where I live either, so overall I'm not enjoying a nuclear prospect for Australia. - Mo Kargas
I lived on a Nuclear Submarine for years and trust the technology - brant
I'm more excited to see the progress of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (Intel, Google, MIT, Microsoft, etc) http://www.californiagreensolu... - Mona N.
@Tad - You are right that Nothing like Chernobyl could happen here. That plant had no sheild against radiation or meltdown. None. The worst problem we have had here was 3 Mile Island, where no one died or got sick. We have much much much better facilities than the Russians did or do. Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island are boogie men that scare us away from a really amazing and cheap and clean power source. - Andrew Burd
How can we ensure that nuclear energy is not used to make nuclear weapons? Isn't the cost of nuclear power plants extremely high? - Jason Wehmhoener
uhhh... doesn't the US has the most nuclear weapons world wide?? - Mona N.
there are no problems NOW, but what about in 10 years, 50 years. All that radioactive waste has to go somewhere, and it will eventually come back to haunt us. - Jimmy Little
@Jason, I don't think you can 'ensure' it. Especially as said weapons already exist, and the nature of international politics means there will always be countries which will seek weapons either as a deterrant or bargaining chip. - Mo Kargas
@Jason Wehmhoener - Nuclear power is cheaper than all other forms of power generation. It is also cleaner. - Andrew Burd
Most countries secretly CYA.. If nuclear resources can be used effectively and efficiently, then I'm all for it. Especially for teh U.S. since most people don't care at all about our environment. Maybe tossing in "nuclear" would give energy efficiency a 'cool' ring so people aren't so close minded... - Mona N.
What about three mile island? You might want to check out a book by Jay M. Gould called "The Enemy Within" in which he attempts to map some of the health effects linked to our current nuclear dependence (energy and weapons testing) including increased cancer rates, increased radiation induced immune deficiency and low birthweights. This is for people just living in some proximity to nuclear power plants. I know this isn't what we really want to hear right now but waste isn't the only problem with nuclear. - Rafael Robayna
From that article "Several independent studies have also been conducted. Estimates are that the average dose to about 2 million people in the area was only about 1 millirem. To put this into context, exposure from a full set of chest x-rays is about 6 millirem. Compared to the natural radioactive background dose of about 100-125 millirem per year for the area, the collective dose to the community from the accident was very small. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem - Andrew Burd
I also want to point out that there are currently French plants that recycle waste in such a way as to get energy out of it twice. Now this technology isn't very fresh but it does exist in infant form. Imagine where it will be 50 or 100 years from now? Think about how far nuclear technology has come in the past 50 years. To think about the waste in terms of thousands of years is crazy when considering the energy potential in the waste and the growth rate of this science. - Andrew Burd
With other, much simpler, alternatives rapidly approaching viability, why would you want to deal with the headache that comes along with nuclear fission processes? - Not Not Geoff Schultz
Geoff - Which alternatives are approaching viability? Wind is great but most of the US doesn't have enough clear spots to put turbines. It is all private land or parks. This is the same problem that Solar has. We can't cover our parks in these machines. And solar in particular is not a very efficient source of power. Most of the potential energy is lost before conversion. So Nuclear makes a lot of sense. I say this as a fan of the technology though I'm thinking about buying some stock tomorrow. - Andrew Burd
It's cost prohibitive right now and storage/disposal is a major nut that just hasn't been cracked. Not legitimately, at least. - Preston Koerner
Well as demonstrated by the UK here recently a shortage of land can be overcome by using an abundant amount of open ocean area. Other technologies to consider are geothermal, tidal, solar(every rooftop is available area for panels) and a much sexier version of nuclear energy fusion. Fusion being my number one reservation regarding fission(build a bunch of billion dollar plants who will be rendered obsolete in every way to fusion in the next 50 years). - Not Not Geoff Schultz
Geoff - Are you talking about those smaller Nuclear reactors that they claim can't have meltdowns? I have only seen those referenced once by a friend who is a nuclear engineer. If that is what you are talking about, I would love to read more about them if you know of an article. - Andrew Burd
@Andrew before you go any buy any more stock you might want to take another look at that document you linked for me. The area around three mile island was/is primarily rural farmland. Where did they find 2 million people to sample in 1979? Also, according to that document, 1 millirem is almost a normal daily dose of background radiation. This makes 1 millirem sound like an intentionally diluted number. - Rafael Robayna
I remember reading a story about a Toshiba branded home style Fusion reactor. Pretty sure that is more than a few decades off, hehe. However France has won the bid to build a nuclear fusion reactor expected to be completed in 50 years or something http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci... - Not Not Geoff Schultz
You may have also noticed a lot of renewed interest in going to the Moon, that is partly because its surface has collected large amounts of Helium 3. He3 is the easiest known material for nuclear fusion but is pretty rare on Earth. (just an interesting side note) - Not Not Geoff Schultz
“when you click on a post headline in FF - read the post - return to FF only to find the item has disappeared - do you go looking for it so you can like it or comment on it? or do you just carry on?”
I never open a link in FF without opening it as a second window. But, if I made a mistake and couldn't find it, I'd just use search to comment or like it. - Robert Scoble
Opening in current window means the back button should always keep the post on screen. - Andrew Smith
The recommended strategy I think (assuming you open links in new windows) is to open a comment box -- to avoid refresh. I often forget though in the heat of the moment - Brian Sullivan
You can come back and *try* to search for a lost post, but it seems FF indexing is too slow so recent items are not available for searching. - Yuval Atzmon
You can't step in the same FriendFeed twice. - Karim
I allways open links in a new tab. And if the FriendFeed page was refreshed, I try to find the item... during, say, 30 seconds max (which is too much ;-)) - Thierry R. Andriamirado
I often open the link to the entry then open the link, means I can refresh the comments easily - Glenn Slaven
A reddit style top frame could be handy - Glenn Slaven
I open the "Link to this entry" in a second tab. - Hutch Carpenter
I open it in a new tab so I can keep FF open. I want to comment on both if possible. - Ben Parr
*All* links always in a new tab, not just on FF.. - Atul Karmarkar
FF links should open in a new window (at least on iPhone) to make it easier to comment - it could be a preference in a user's profile - Francesco Bertocci
I installed the Greasmonkey script called 'FriendFeed Read Later' http://ffapps.com/readlater/ it ads "Later" to the list if buttons after a post. Click Later and a new tab forms at the top of FriendFeed labeled 'Read Later'. That way I can always find the post even the next day. - Jeff P. Henderson
Good lord, was that comment spam?!? - Glenn Slaven
Always come back and find it to like / comment - almost always forget the search feature is there - Patrick Jordan
I wish there was a setting where I could tell FF to open a new window when I clicked on a link. This would be really helpful when viewing FF with an iPhone. - Michael Carter
Same as Scoble...open in new tab to read. If it's gone when I get back, I hunt for it or if I am lucky, I would have "liked" it for easy retrieval. - JA Castillo
I don't have a problem finding the post after clicking through, when I click back the browser brings me back to where I was in the page - right where I clicked the link. - John Duff
I search for it, forget what I was searching for, get attracted to a new item and its comments, leave a comment, then click the big 'friendfeed' logo at the top to see what's new. - jeneane troopergate
I gave this feedback 2 months back to FriendFeed. Hopefully they will implement a way to read the feed within friendfeed or make a "what you clicked" floating section somewhere so that I can like/hide etc. - Sumit Chachra
I've gotten in the habit of clicking comment to freeze ff, then middle clicking on the link. - Phil Glockner
new tab as often as possible, just that my tabbar can go crazy sometimes - Dobromir Hadzhiev
There is option in FriendFeed, to always open links in new tab. I use it. - Емил Генов
S., What do you want it to push to that it doesn't do now? - Vince Green
I hope Gmail steps up and delivers what MobileMe is currently offering. Along with email, it pushes contacts, and the calendar. - Michael Carter
IMAP is a pull technology like POP3. You can set your iPhone to pull messages at a certain interval. But that is different than push. There is a proposal out there for P-IMAP which would be a push version of IMAP. - Michael Carter
gmail already has push...read up on imap idle... - Rob
IMAP IDLE feature makes it quasi-push. True push assumes your mobile can go deep sleep, no sockets open, but on mail arrival to your mailserver, your mobile network makes special paging, wakes up terminal and it gets mail -- this is what Crackberry does with special support from operators. If this is too much techno/expensive/over-needs - go configure your mobile for IMAP IDLE - silpol
Gmail does not yet function completely as push since there is no support for actually having messages *pushed* to the phone. The IMAP server has to be queried and then mail _pulled_ from it, rather than having that new mail *pushed* to the device automagically. Methinks Michael Carter said it best. - Scott Jarkoff
if I'm not mistaken, I think google lacks the IDLE functionality that allows push to work. - Gregory Cohen
BlackBerry has had full push Gmail (and Google hosted mail) for a couple of years now. I generally see the message on my device before it shows up in Outlook or my web browser. It also has full push for Yahoo and Hotmail/Windows Live, and it's all included in your basic BlackBerry service. It's not via POP or IMAP, either, they have some kind of deal with RIM, but I'm not sure how it works on a technical level... It doesn't do calendar, tasks, or contacts though, which would be nice. - David
I have to disagree with you on this Hawk. I think everyone deserves some degree of privacy. I have to give Hyatt some credit for protecting the privacy of their guests. Otherwise the paparazzi can just run free. And I think paparazzi suck. - Scott Wamsley
Is this chain-wide? We have been to the Embarcadero Hyatt to shoot many times, and they have always been cool. Their security people have even talked to us while we were up on the 12th floor (I think it was 12) shooting the ferry building at night, and they didn't care. - Jeremy Brooks
i've taken tons of photos in hotel lobbies - makes no sense why they'd ban them (didn't sound like a paparazzi related issue the way you explained it) sounds like you just ran into a hard-ass security guard thomas... - mike "glemak" dunn
@Scott, but he wasn't taking photos of people, and he was in a public place. - Jeff P. Henderson
Mike, he said it was hotel policy. I've shot plenty in the SF Hyatt. - Thomas Hawk
I think that he was just jealous of your wife. - Kreg Steppe
Boycott because of their photo policy? Seems a tad extreme. I'm all for photographer's rights, but the last time I checked, this is within their rights as it is private property. - Matthew Davidson
via twhirl
I had a similar experience recently. I was shooting the open architecture of the vaulted (4 story) ceiling in the lobby of a hotel. The security guard scenario ensued. I actually laughed and said, "taking a picture of the ceiling is a security risk?" Stone faced he replied "Yes." After a few more back and forths, I just shook my head and moved on. It wasn't that good of a picture anyway. - Jeremy Hall
Kind of odd that they have the Pro Photo Summit going on and this happens :) I don't know the area, but I am assuming this is nearby, and they might be aware that there would be a ton of photographers in the area. - Tim Hoeck
Matthew and while it is in their rights to prohibit photography, it's in my rights to no longer stay at Hyatt Hotels. - Thomas Hawk
@Jeff, ... I think its borderline public/ private place. I think to some degree, you are paying for some privacy. But I wasn't there, so I don't know the details. - Scott Wamsley
It might be worth investigating whether this is a Hyatt policy, or a Bellevue Hyatt policy. - Dave Roth
@Jeremy: I always try to get a shot of the guard when this happens to me. It pisses them off to no end.... - Jeremy Brooks
You're paying for privacy in the hotel *room*. In the hotel lobby, it's according to their discretion. - Morton Fox
While they are technically well within their rights to limit photography, given that is a private business, it seems ridiculous that they would choose to do so. I think if you asked most businesses that have no photography policies why the policy is in place, they wouldn't be able to give you a very compelling answer. - Brandon Wood
It's my hope that by raising awareness about stupid no photography policies that business would see that having these policies in place hurts business and take steps to make the world a more free place for photographers. - Thomas Hawk
@Scott, You are correct, even though it is a publicly accessible place, technically it is private property, so the do have a right to limit photography. What is unfortunate is that if TH had been using a point and shoot to take a picture of a group of people in the lobby the security would probably not have given it it a second thought. The guard did say it was OK to shoot if MrsTH was in the photo. I do not see the logic in this policy. Was it the big camera that prompted this? - Jeff P. Henderson
My biggest disagreement is with places that enforce (or spontaneously invent) policy differently based on what kind of camera you have. I have literally 10 times as much trouble walking around with a DSLR than I do with a point-and-shoot. For most purposes that a vendor or police officer would want to inhibit photography (privacy, security) it doesn't matter whether my camera has a detachable lens or not. Instead I'm discriminated against because they feel that someone with a good quality camera is more 'serious' about it. As if anyone wanting to violate privacy or surveil security would get the biggest most obvious camera they could find when there are pocket-sized alternatives with 10MP and plenty of zoom. - Kevin Fox
I guess I will stick my neck out here. Hyatt's no photography policy makes me want to stay there more. It is not reasonable for Hyatt to ask their security guards to determine if each photographer is taking pictures of the architecture in a lobby or if they are snapping photos of people inside. I appreciate that they defaulted to privacy in this case. - Michael Carter
Michael, bear in mind that when I was asked to stop taking photos I was very clearly taking photographs of bamboo. Something pretty harmless from a privacy standpoint. - Thomas Hawk
I just did a quick search on flickr using "hyatt bellevue washington" and came up with more than a few photos of the interior lobby/bar area (granted, not tons). I also checked their website to see if I could find their policy on photography and couldn't find anything. What is most frustrating about this to me is that if there is a policy in place, it should be posted so that you can choose to stay or not. It should not be left to the discretion of hotel staff on a case by case basis. - carlotta fancypants
Thomas, if you haven't already you should open a FF room to collect all of the conversations you have re: no photography policies. I see them pop up fairly often, but it would be great to see all of them in one location. Might also be easier to display how big of an issue this really is. - Robert DeBord
I definitely see your point Thomas and respect your decision to spend your money elsewhere. I am just saying that it is not practical for Hyatt's security guards to keep their eye on every photographer to make sure they keep their focus away from people. Hyatt needed a practical policy that would be easy for their guards to implement. I have seen the paparazzi acting like they were taking pictures of the scenery until the star they were stalking walked by. - Michael Carter
Michael, I would be *very* surprised if Hyatt's security guards hassle people with small point-and-shoot cameras taking picturs of the lobby. If this is the case, then I would disagree with you and say that if they can differentiate by camera size they can differentiate by behavior as well. Most importantly, a clear and consistant policy is what's missing here, and what I would expect of an establishment such as the Hyatt. It's not like they hide their smoking policy and come pounding on your door if you light up in your room. The policy is clear, consistent, and comprehensible. That's what I would expect of a photo policy. I'm sure Thomas would have booked elsewhere if Hyatt had been more transparent. - Kevin Fox
I think in this case, because you were on private property, they were within their rights. Your crime was getting caught. ;) - Chris Luckhardt
Kevin's right, their "no photography" policy should be clearer and in this case as is frequently the case the big DSLR gets targeted while the camera phones and cell phones do not. I did also specifically tell the security guard that I was just shooting bamboo. He still told me I was not allowed to shoot it. - Thomas Hawk
the hotel Roosevelt here in hollywood has the same policy. What are they so worried about? - sean percival
He seemed sincerely apologetic for having to do his job. He was closer in proximity to me & though I was shooting, he gave me a pass & went straight for Thomas for the reprimand. Hmmmm? - Mrsth
They are well within their rights to ban photography. TH is clearly within his rights to choose not to patronize them. If I choose to eat only organic meat, it doesn't mean that McDonalds has to make me an organic Big Mac. - David Thomas
Wow, how could anyone survive those long ads ... although this one's definitely better than McDonald's ;-) - Horst Gutmann
@HG--I don't mean to sound like a dinosaur, I'm only 29, but times were different back then, really. "Progress" on several levels, especially in the last 10 years, has given us a society where we are constantly stimulated, and in turn, sprinkled a little ADD fairy dust on us all. - Anna Haro
I love how they try to tie in their brand with patriotism. The little red white and blue top hat at the end. I was trying to find commercials from when I was a kid last night. The one that I really want to find that I've never found is the "Me and Sparklett's water making friends" one. I did find a bunch of old Cal Worthington and his dog spot commercials as well. - Thomas Hawk
Very emotional song there. It really pumps me up to gorge myself with systematically processed animal flesh. - Wes Hoogenboom
I see you grew up in SoCal Thomas. The songs from those two commercials are permanently etched into my brain. For those of you from NoCal, Sparkletts = Alhambra Water. Same song, different name. - Michael Carter
yep SoCal. I grew up in the mountains outside of L.A. We could only barely get channel 4 KNBC TV where I lived. Would love to find that Sparklett's water song. - Thomas Hawk
I agree with this. With an RSS reader, I don't care how often a blogger blogs. It would be different if I had to visit each blog individually. - Michael Carter
I agree 100%. Quality over quantity any day. Some of the high-volume blogs like Gizmodo and Lifehacker actually stress me out because they publish so darn often lol - Daniel Smith
Thanks Michael. Riding the Digg-wave for the first time is an interesting thing indeed. I guess I should have made my blog a tech blog instead ;) - Daniel Smith
Can't ...seem... to get over... that 99 point, but I guess a watched pot won't boil, right? ;) - Daniel Smith
Oh but Wonder Pets is better than The Wiggles. - Michael Carter
We're big on Word World at our house right now. - Ryan Kuder
My youngest is 10 years old and I still have the music of the shows they watched years ago stuck in my head. "Can we build it? Yes we can!" - Judi Sohn
Judi: I just started watching Sponge Bob again too. I thought I was done with that particular show (I also have a 14-year-old and Patrick loved Sponge Bob). Sigh. - Robert Scoble
Ahhh! brain-washing! my kids are only gonna watch the classics if I can help it - Looney tunes, Chuck Jones, Hanna Barbara - klecu
Watch the Backyardigans. I find it more than watchable, and I now know bunches of new songs. :) Super Why on PBS is good for toddlers. - Sean Brady
Working at home, by 4 year old watched Nick Jr and PBS every day. Now that it's summer, my 7 year old is home and it's more Boomerang and Cartoon Network. - Jason Shultz
via twhirl
My son loves that show - and it actually has some great original music in it. There was a neat NYT piece about these kids shows that are employing some fantastic composers to create music for these shows that is surprisingly sophisticated yet still melodic. Another one of his favorites is Super Readers - David Sifry
via twhirl
Backyardigans is fun- love the way they explore different musical genres. Anybody Canadian forced to watch Toopy & Binoo? That gets on my last nerve... - Abby Martin
I am so happy my kids never liked Caillou. it has to be one of the more annoying shows on pbs. - Rob Diana
i have been at home with my kid for 3 years and there has been little on telly for the time that she is allowed to watch it that actually bothers me. it is a a joy to be able to take care of her and help her learn and grow. - Nailed Jello
My son loves Super Why, so we record episodes for him to watch whenever he gets the urge to watch Wonder Pets. - Joe Ferris
via NoiseRiver
God, Super-why/wonder pets/ni ho kai lan (whatever) are ALL staples. What's the one with the flying spaceship, again? - BISQ
via twhirl
I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Doodlebops" . That is a show that makes me cringe. - Candace Holly
Oh, DOODLEBOPS! So Creepy. If you're going there...might just as well go to "Hi-5". - BISQ
via twhirl
They're not too big and They're not too tough....sorry. We're on a Super WHy kick here too. God Save you all. - Erin Kotecki Vest
wonder pets, wonder pets, we're on our way... /sigh. Yeah, having a three year old is interesting. Wonder Pets is okay. Doodlebops aren't allowed, neither is Caillou. - Daniel M. Clark
via twhirl
No. Just say no to the Doodlebops. My daughter loves music and she won't watch them.... - Abby Martin
be careful Robert they et their elders n the end of the movie :) - Fred Grott
Hey what about Webkins? Louis is gonna have fun! - Susan Beebe
This is like true confessions time: I...um, I actually quite like Wonder Pets. I'm neither a dogster or a icanhaz... person -- not a pet person at all, so maybe this show is my stand-in. - Micah Wittman
Haha! Wonder Pets ... even worse is Dora. When things go wrong now, I find myself saying "Oh man!" in the voice of Swiper the Fox! "Swiper, no swiping!" - Clay Newton
