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Josh Babetski › Likes
Zappos is unlike any company I have ever been to. Here is @zappos_mayor
giving us a tour - http://ourdoings.com/roberts...
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Garin Kilpatrick, Mike Elliott, Bill Romanos and 17 other people liked this
This company is crazy and we have only been here 15 minutes. This is Jerry Tidmor who is the mayor of "monkey row."
- Robert Scoble
like it already!!!
- Jaap Willem
Zappos has such great service.
- JoEllen
We like their style! Looking forward to hearing/seeing more about Zappos
- Rick Bucich
Cool. Looking forward to the feedback! I have this feeling that there is lots to learn from them..
- Peter du Toit (S.Africa)
Zappos core values [ http://about.zappos.com/our-uni... ]
- Arvind
Zappos on wikipedia [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... ]. I see Zappos offers new hires $2000 if they want to quit after finishing a week's training.
- Arvind
Ben & Jerry's launches Facebook Connect! Sweet! Literally. Chubby Hubby FTW. What is your favorite flavor? http://www.benjerry.com/flavors...
Daniel Rowley, Sarah Perez, Josh Babetski and 3 other people liked this
Cherry Garcia FTW
- Daniel Ha
Is California setup for a brain drain? - http://scobleizer.com/2009...
Susan Beebe, Thomas Power, fbrunel and 20 other people liked this
Doubtful - I just moved here from Australia - and it seems like a LOT of people do that from around the world. And I have a brain :)
- Chris Saad
I doubt it ... I'm considering moving there shortly and I'm sure that will make all the difference to the state as a whole ;)
- Nick O'Neill
Chris: you moved here before the economy tanked, though, and before California laid off a bunch of teachers. You also don't have a family and aren't yet raising one. If you did, Texas Governor's offer would be much more attractive.
- Robert Scoble
Nick: there are a few bright spots in our economy. Facebook is one of them. I totally understand why you'd move here since you're in the Facebook eco system and want to study it. But there are thousands of others who are laid off here.
- Robert Scoble
I do not think in the short term but the ridiculous % of your income that you have to spend in housing will probably push more people to move somewhere else.
- Eduardo
Texas education isn't much better, frankly because the education is so lousy in CA and Texas it drags us all down as they control what text books are printed. Look North if you want good education for your kids
- Clarence Westberg
This is interesting. A decade ago when I was in India, there the talk was all about brain drain to US, now the talk is all about reverse brain drain from US to India, brain drain from Calif to other states. Though I have to agree for parents with Kids and living in bad school districts, California is a harsh place.
- Kiran Patchigolla
Robert: I think you are right in that there are bright spots but that's the case everywhere you look. Here in DC I know people that are getting laid off even though the city will fare better than probably anywhere else in the country.At any given moment you can look for negative signs and positive signs. Right now in time it's extremely easy to find negative anywhere you look. I also don't know the finite details of California's political landscape and the state's crime issues.
- Nick O'Neill
I pulled my daughter form the Calif. Public school. She now attends online. (suprisingly, this IS still part of the public school system) http://www.k12.com/
- Rob Michael (Atmos Trio)
I doubt it. Being in California for more than 8 years, I haven't seen a single person among coworkers, who has graduated in California (correction: my boss graduated in LA about 10 years ago and then moved back to Hong Kong). All IT people I knew were from India, China, Russia or other states.
- Pavel Senko
The people that are laid off will become a much bigger issue months from now though as their unemployment dries up and they're still looking for jobs which is a tad bit frightening.
- Nick O'Neill
Pavel: yeah, but workers who came here from overseas are moving back in droves once their H1B Visas end due to layoffs. I wonder if they'll be back.
- Robert Scoble
Entrepreneurship is California's durable economic engine, fed by local academic machines and the continuous flow of top minds from around the world...that and the lure of riches. Ebb and flow...The best remain while the weaker flee...or their H1B runs out. Makes room for another cycle...
- Ronald Goedendorp
It's about quality of life. I moved to Kansas from Silicon Valley and I did it to be around family, buy a house, and have a slower pace. Within this slower pace I've found more time to cultivate my brain. Robert you wrote a great article and it brought back memories of 2001 when I was out of work and looking in the Valley. I say head to Texas, I've heard good things about their economy!! Plus with FF you can be everywhere :))
- Anne Haynes
I'm a little rusty on Texas tech startups. Who are the big ones?
- James C Kim
@James I'm not sure about the "big ones", but there is some info for you. http://www.texasstartupblog.com/
- Anne Haynes
I actually wanted to live in California all my life, bought the house, and now realize I probably won't stay there. Very expensive to live in California, and the advantages seem to be going away If the education system sucks, trust me the best and brightest won't stay there. They don't live in AZ for exactly that reason. But Texas has some big problems, too.
- Francine Hardaway
Over the years, there have been waves of people leaving California, but the area still has done well to reinvigorate itself during this time. The network effect has remained strong attracting investment and talent. However, as the practicalities of technology and business change over the coming years, who knows if this past trend will continue. I say go to where the other people are that you want to be around.
- Loren Heiny
If you're interested in Green Tech there's no way you'd move to Texas.
- Beau Giles
Loren: I'm finding that the people I want to be around are very disperse now, not concentrated into any area the way they used to be. One of the smartest database architects lives in Barcelona. One of the smartest developers on Wordpress lives in Cork, Ireland. The best supply chain manager, Shenzhen, China. Tons of interesting geeks/enterpreneurs are in Tel Aviv, Israel, etc etc etc.
- Robert Scoble
Beau: I'm interested in all tech, but saw a ton of green tech in Israel. I'm not leaving California, though. Too attached to this place.
- Robert Scoble
I'm a tech worker. I love Austin. I came here in 1989 for school and pretty much stayed. That being said, I wouldn't live in any other city in the state and our education system is a nightmare. The State Board of Ed. is lead by a creationist dentist who wants to do away with science and supplant it with religion/philosophy. PZ Myers has more with links to the TFN http://bit.ly/2mibpU
- Tim Trentham
Austin is a cool town, if only it would move closer to the water...
- Bill Pennington
from twhirl
There will soon be an "everything" drain in CA if the state economy continues on its current path. Unless, by some wild quirk of fate, a bunch of hard core fiscal conservatives get elected to State offices, I don't see that turning around soon.
- Robert Hafer
Greg: first off, you gotta go there sometime other than July or August and you need to see all the cool startups in San Antonio, like I did last year. The 8088 chip and wifi were invented in San Antonio. So, unless those rednecks are also engineers that proves you wrong.
- Robert Scoble
I want to make a silly joke related to the title, but stopped myself early :-)
- Richard A.
I don't think California will have a "brain drain," as there will always be people who will want to move here for other reasons—the culture, creativity, opportunities, liberal politics, beautiful scenery, green values and tech, etc. (I'm partial to northern CA as opposed to southern CA.) However, various niches of the tech industry are certainly growing in other parts of the U.S. and the world, so it may not be as centered in SV as it once was, although SV will probably remain in the vanguard. My two cents.
- Cathryn Hrudicka
California’s got a lot going for it- weather, demographic and geographic diversity, within the state- global cities within megapolitans: San Francisco in NorCal, and Los Angeles in the Southland, long history of engagement with the emerging superpower, China. Opportunities in the turmoil
- Da
"For the fourth year in a row, more residents left the Golden State than moved here from other states" http://www.latimes.com/news...
- RAPatton
Re: A New Approach To Facebook - http://www.avc.com/a_vc...
Josh Babetski liked this
"Let me know how it goes. I am curious. And I will do the same. My brother in law started with facebook and now also uses twitter and he told me yesterday that FB is for friends and twitter is for business Interesting way to think about it"
- Fred Wilson
Thinking about taking a similar approach lately; good to know I'm not the only one.
- Josh Babetski
Goodbye Google | stopdesign (Douglas Bowman) - http://stopdesign.com/archive...
Mike Chelen, Nimaa, Kyle Weller and 108 other people liked this
"When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem. Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your favor? Ok, launch it. Data shows negative effects? Back to the drawing board. And that data eventually becomes a crutch for every decision, paralyzing the company and preventing it from making any daring design decisions. Yes, it’s true that a team at Google couldn’t decide between two blues, so they’re testing 41 shades between each blue to see which one performs better. I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can’t operate in an environment like that. I’ve grown tired of debating such miniscule design decisions. There are more exciting design problems in this world to tackle."
- Paul Buchheit
from Bookmarklet
Also, I was the first "real" engineer at Google ;) (not really, of course)
- Paul Buchheit
Has the decision making process been proven or is it simply an unquestioned assumption?
- Todd Hoff
Wow, interesting read - that would suck, no wonder he left.
- Susan Beebe
It sounds like a challenging environment for a designer, and it doesn't sound like it suited him, but don't those little details get magnified into significant effects when you are at Google's scale? Having said that, I don't love many of their designs anymore so perhaps there is something wrong.
- Robin Barooah
Would it be trollish for me to say that FriendFeed seems to have this design-skeptical culture as well? Thanks for the link, btw.
- Ethan Herdrick
great insight, enjoyed his website, IMO: Google's consistency across products increases usability over Yahoo, MSN....though ASK and Mahalo are very engaging now
- shayne catrett
I've always found that grouping designers, usability people and coder together is sort of like playing rock paper scissors.
- Dean Clark
Huge loss. I can feel his pain.
- Andrew Smith
Not sure where the _debate_ comes from if they have the data and the culture of following it. Just put 3,4,5 pixel versions out and look for the one that works best. Strange.
- xekc
I understand the frustration, but am also fascinated by the minute details analyzed by google.
- RicardoSilva
Chris: There were several interaction and UI designers at Google prior to Doug's arrival, but he was the first person hired specifically to be a 'Visual Designer', with a focus on visual layout and style rather than the broader job of visual and interaction design. Lots of visual design was done before Doug's arrival, and continues to be done by the interaction designers, but Doug was...
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- Kevin Fox
"I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case."... Been there, still cringe at the thought. Nightmarish.
- dario
Yikes. Those endless philosophic discussions...I could only hang in for a little bit and keep a straight face. Fun to come up with the stories, but once I realized people took it seriously, it just got creepy. Guess I knew it going in, but had to check it out. But, RE Google: I've always appreciated the simple, utilitarian approach that appeared to be focused on function as a central design feature. Thematic consistency across products would be nice, too.
- ɐ ɯıʞ sıɹɥɔ
I read somewhere that he's gone to Twitter. Given that FF already has a great UX/Visual designer from Google, I guess Twitter was the next logical choice.
- no name
Interesting juxtaposition of the above article with this http://friendfeed.com/e...
- Shakeel Mahate
If the 3,4 or 5 pixel line discussion is for a line on the Google home page. I would think it is justified. Small changes make a significant change to traffic/revenue. Also, data and experiments are the most reliable thing to go by if there are many different valid subjective views on a particular topic
- Bindu Reddy
Agreed, Bindu. And from an artist's perspective, 3 or 5 pixels can make a real difference. Though I can understand that it's frustrating when the decision is someone else's and their rationale is from another perspective. But doesn't that go with the territory of design? At least Google has a process, not just going by moods.
- Rebecca Lasley
There are so many projects at Google with really loose and creative design methodologies. Many of them would have been happy to have him on-board. I don't think Doug is being honest with us or himself when claiming that this was his only reason for moving to Twitter.
- no name
Similar, but more lucid: http://adamhowell.org/2009...
- j1m
I've been reading Donald Norman's "Emotional Design", and in it, he notes that where his previous book championed exhaustive usability testing and essentially design-by-committee (and he still stands by that), that is best for what he calls 'behavioral design'. By contrast, both 'visceral design' and 'reflective design' need something more in the line of a single designer with a vision. ... Also, thanks for that link, j1m.
- Andrew C (✓)
I love these Google "inside baseball' discussions on friendfeed.
- Zaki Manian
Obviously, there are crucial systems where every cycle counts, and very important pages where every shade of blue counts. What I'm saying is that engineering usually gets the autonomy to balance what needs to be measured and what just needs to get done. UI designers are always second-guessed, leading to frustration. Plus, UI design has a much higher emotional component, so everyone, managers included, think they understand it just because they feel strongly about it. And people revolt on Facebook.
- Joey Liaw
Not everybody is Apple ! which excel on technology and Design Both.
- KARR 4.0
Apple = Design Dictatorship, Google = Design Democracy, MySpace = Design Anarchy?
- Lasse Johnsen
Apple is a dictatorship because, as far as i know, the one who always has the final word on design is Steve. Google is a democracy because they seem to base most of of their design decisions on user testing, so indirectly the users are choosing the design in a sort of democratic way.
- Lasse Johnsen
Interesting input Chris, so its not as radical as i thought :)
- Lasse Johnsen
My teams run these kinds of experiments (link color, etc.) and with all respect to Doug, data is just a description of reality. He implies data is a "crutch" used by people who "can't make decisions." No, data describes the effects of your decisions. The constraints of reality make good designers great.
- Daniel Dulitz
This is sort of like watching McCoy argue with Spock. :-) If you guys are not familiar with Gerd Gigerenzer, I highly recommend the book "Gut Feelings." (http://www.amazon.com/Gut-Fee...) Malcolm Gladwell used some of Gigerenzer's research in the book "Blink." The gist of his research shows that two core beliefs held by our culture, and by...
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- Karim
Experts often make "gut decisions." The outfielder catching a pop fly does not solve a set of differential equations describing the trajectory of the ball. (Unless he works at Google?) The outfielder doesn't think much about it all. His brain *unconsciously* runs a simple heuristic (described in Gigerenzer's book) that allows him to be where the ball is going to land. If you asked the...
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- Karim
Data is a crutch in that if you're NOT an expert, you need to justify the decision; you have no idea which color to use. Depending on where you are on the autism scale (like Spock, or a lot of programmers), you might not be able to imagine what color OTHER people would like, so you depend on data even more. You end up making things that look like Android and saying "but it tested well...
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- Karim
The problem with experts is that 99% of them aren't any good. This is such a strange argument though that I don't know where to begin -- it's all straw-men. For one, I'm pretty sure there's no data showing that the Android interface is anything other than confusing :)
- Paul Buchheit
Maybe the Android interface is a result of trying to minimize the risk of being sued by Apple. :)
- Ray Cromwell
I hope I wasn't implying that there is something magical about the word "expert" -- experts can over-rely on data, too. Gigerenzer made that point by describing a contest in which the performance of stock portfolios picked by "experts" using massive amounts of data and complex criteria woefully underperformed a portfolio picked by a random hundred pedestrians in Berlin. The point is not...
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- Karim
There are day traders who rely on intuition and they end up losing big too. A better example might be Poker. :)
- Ray Cromwell
Yeah, strange argument. Data is but a small influence on any but the most well-used interfaces; it's an optimization method, not an imagination method. I guess the real point is that Doug didn't feel that his imagination was valued or useful at Google, and that's sad. @Karim, the point of data is that it describes what other people like in ways that no intuition can determine, expert or no. It's like perspective in art. Good designers use the data they have or can easily get.
- Daniel Dulitz
Daniel, I don't think it's a question of "using the data" so much as whether the data has *primacy.* With technocrats, the data always has primacy -- even if the data is wrong, misleading, applicable to novice users but not expert users, inaccurate, imprecise, incomplete, or statistically insignificant. And I'm not sure how Douglas was supposed to feel "valued or useful at Google" by...
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- Karim
I just wanted to point out that Android was designed by these people: http://www.tat.se/site... Notice that they're designers not engineers.
- Adewale Oshineye
TAT came out of the Scandinavian "demo" scene. While it can be argued that demos involve at least as much as engineering (coding) as they do design, or that demo skills don't translate into interactive design skills, the point is not to criticize TAT. The point is to criticize the use of *data* (qualitative research) as the sole criterion on design decisions. Ignoring a chief designer's...
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- Karim
Karim, Doug never said _he_ was testing 41 shades of blue. I think primacy is a great way to look at it, and Doug's post takes aim at data's supporting role. Also, where did the "novices vs. expert" meme come from? Experts don't like it when their gut feelings end up being testable? The question is which gut feelings to test and which not to.
- Daniel Dulitz
Daniel, I didn't mean to imply that Douglas was upset because *he* was the one who had to do the testing. The "novices vs. expert" thing was my way of describing expertly mastered skills, or automaticity. When you are really good at something, you can do it quickly, with a low error rate, and without *thinking* about it. When you are learning to drive a car, you burn a lot of CPU...
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- Karim
I agree that "the question is which gut feelings to test and which not to." Douglas' complaint made it sound as if *too many* gut feelings were being tested ("each decision," "every decision"), and I can see how that could suck the fun out of things.
- Karim
I had a lot more to say than would fit in this comment box: http://fury.com/2009...
- Kevin Fox
there is an interesting example in the case of recently announced picasa face recognition http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/2009... in comparing google's computational method for photo metdata with something like facebook where shared user entered data is the primary source
- Mike Chelen
Lock Picking (THIS IS INSANE!!) - http://www.metacafe.com/watch...
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Paul Grav, James, netrider11 and 52 other people liked this
that's just cool man!
- frank barry
Now what am I going to do with all those bic pens?
- Troy Forster
from twhirl
So that's why lock-picking tools are illegal.
- wrecks
This guy picks 7 locks in just under 2 minutes!
- Joe Bland
Heheh, and after picking the locks he's faced with a very large hound looking him straight in the eyes and a terrier jumping for his b$lls... Somehow I think the locks are the least of his worries.
- Henk de Kruyff
from twhirl
Lock picking tools are illegal?? What about crowbars and bolt cutters?
- Paul Grav
All burglary tools are illegal. If they think you are carrying crowbars and bolt cutters to break in somewhere, they can arrest you. Of course, there are legitimate purposes for those tools, too. Lock picks are just for picking locks, so you better have a really good reason for carrying them if caught (e.g., you are a locksmith).
- Brian Hawthorne
I always wanted a set of those tools when I was a kid watching private eyes breaking into bad guys' houses. :)
- Steve Lowe
Carrying bolt cutters is a little more obvious than these few tools. He should throw in a third minute showing the liquid nitrogen trick and the bic-pen bike lock trick.
- Indio Apache
from twhirl
Wow, this makes picking a lock look far too easy... He even picked a combination lock?!?!?!
- JR
Just confirms... locks are for honest people. :-(
- TranceMist
this is really pretty appalling to watch. i assume standard dial combo locks are harder to pick. as for the tools, meh. making them illegal is hardly sufficient to protecting users w/ these types of locks.
- MikeAmundsen
Why aren't guns illegal then? It's absurd that lock-picking tools are illegal. Mere possession shouldn't prove you're ready to break the law.
- thepete
The combination lock was the easiest. Under one second. The last one required three tools and was a little more fiddly than the rest, which were all done in a couple seconds. Scary. In other words, you can't really put your trust in locks. Makes you wonder what kind of locks you _can_ trust, if any.
- Rick Cogley
@Rick: first lock was a keyed 'door'-style lock, not a combination lock.
- MikeAmundsen
Yahoo Answers user caught in Facebook dilemma: http://i43.tinypic.com/2m7td15...
Harry Mahardhika, Eric, Josh Babetski and Bertrand Doux liked this
Rumor: Apple Home Server Will Share Music, Movies and Photos - http://gizmodo.com/5120123...
Josh Babetski liked this
Live Twittering and the 140-character news cycle - http://www.socialmediatoday.com/smc...
Josh Babetski liked this
"Go ahead and love or hate real-time reporting, but deal with it. The 140-character news cycle is a fact of life."
- Kathleen Anderson
from Bookmarklet
Denver Plane Crash, Twittered - http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/2008...
Isha (Marysia), TheHenry, Marilín Gonzalo and Josh Babetski liked this
"The first reports hit Twitter 30 minutes or so before they hit the news stations. Unfortunately, the initial reports were inaccurate, stating that a 737 (correct) had crashed (incorrect, technically) in Denver. When I hear the word crash, I think “airplane fell out of the sky”. In this case, the plane had gone off the runway on takeoff. A serious situation, but a little bit more manageable than falling out of the sky. Share photos on twitter with TwitpicOnce that was sorted out and a mainstream source came along, reports began to spread across the Twitter stream about tweets coming from passengers, which led to the discovery of Mike Wilson (@2drinksbehind) My hat’s off to Mike for this tweet: You have your wits scared out of you, drag your butt out of a flaming ball of wreckage and you can’t even get a vodka-tonic. Boo"
- Kathleen Anderson
from Bookmarklet
Just used the Facebook iPhoto plugin to upload some photos. Very, very handy.
Josh Babetski liked this
If Obama wins I am leaving the country in the morning.
Jesper Kjær Hansen, vijay, Amanda and 20 other people liked this
Why? I thought you were supporting Obama.
- Veetrag
Are you implying that a McCain win will ground the airline system? THREAT LEVELS: HIGH!
- Daniel J. Pritchett
which country?
- Zee.
And if he doesn't, will you leave as well? :-)
- Phil Windley
Very confused Scoble? Leaving because you feel confident, worried, unsafe?
- ryangraves
And if he doesn't you're cancelling a trip in frustration? =)
- Brandon Paddock
the same!! Why???
- obolonskyi
I think you can start looking for a ticket from now. But, I'm not there, so I may not be right, who could say?
- Markingegno - Donato
very funny. already ticketed I assume.
- Josh Haley
We are leaving for China in the morning.
- Robert Scoble
And if he doesn't win you're gonna cancel your trip?!?
- Andy Sternberg
where to?
- Jim Goldstein
But you'll be back in a day or two. :-)
- SeanMc74
you tricked me! :)
- Zee.
reason being...?
- Caleb Cherry
OK. You're going on an overseas trip anyway, and you're predicting the result
- Ian May
he's messing about - he's assuming Obama will win and is leaving the country because he has to anyway
- Zee.
we are leaving if McCain wins too. I am voting for Obama. Just having some fun with everyone!
- Robert Scoble
a lot of people said that about Sarkozy's election last year in France... And there're still here ;)
- Simon Robic
He's of course going to sit down at a table with Chinese communists. So it begins (j/k :)
- Christopher Galtenberg
good one
- Nikola Filipovic
Jenius! :D hahah...
- Markingegno - Donato
If Obama wins I'll have a delicious breakfast tomorrow!
- Phil Glockner
A self-fulfilling prophecy with a dash of wish-fulfillment.
- Andrés David Aparicio
:)
- Alensa
I was also thinking of taking a short vacation to Ensenada -- to celebrate!
- Wilma Stoneflint
I don't get it. Are you going out of town?
- Tucker W.
why??? this is interesting, i thought u supported Obama!
- Junal Rahman
read up Junal
- Zee.
Junal we have a trip to China that starts tomorrow. It has been planned for months.
- Robert Scoble
ha! Good one! Let's hope!
- Craig McCreath
haha, I still don't think everyone understands the play on words of your post :) Have a great time in China!
- Justin Levy
I love it!!!
- Aisha Boyd
Guess it's time for the Candians to pull out the couch for Scoble!! I think you should give it a chance before fleeing the country the day after election.
- Les Zaldor
the real question is: if McCain wins, will you be allowed to get back to the US again? :)
- dario
Ok, this was actually kinda clever. I like. :)
- Rah-PM 2012
If McCain wins, I'm leaving the country! In the MORNING, TOO!!! :-) Go McCain! Down with Rev Wright's puppet
- Rocky Barbanica
Hey Rocky, Happy Rev Wright Puppet Day
- Christopher Galtenberg
I think you made that post to get people to come to see what you meant, great job!
- Avil Beckford
Say hi to shel.
- Oldengrey (Jay)
On the other hand, if Obama wins we can then blame him for all of our problems, since he believes the government should control us.
- Paul Dizmang
deep, Paul. exactly what I heard him say... uh, never
- Christopher Galtenberg
Dork! Careful, they might through you in a state run start up over there ;)
- jamesdkirk
sailing to international waters then turning right around, nice.
- adolfo foronda
you wont make your flight. Incendiary items are not allowed.
- Sean Oliver
Leaving not a problem...try getting back in :)
- John Nogrady
is this how scoble creates traffic... makes an arbitrary statement without cause or reason... then he reads all of these comments and feels better about his day? I really don't get it.
- Caleb Cherry
funny, I'm planning on leaving if Obama loses!
- Luis Valdes
really? I srsly thought you were pro-Obama, technology, pro-Net Neutrality, and civil rights. In any case, I respect your choice, just honor it.
- Joe Manna
@Caleb, it's a soc-web experiment demonstrating how people don't bother to read comments
- Christopher Galtenberg
Who cares?
- Karin
You could take a slow boat to China.
- Donna Boley
Someone is going to the reeducation camps...
- Ben Jackson
from twhirl
Robrolled!
- Chris Charabaruk
Just in case you were serious :) I sympathize...this election is a loser no matter who wins.
- Chris Rossini
It is funny how many thought this was an anti-Obama post. It is not. Also Rocky bet me $100 that McCain will win. I will collect that in the morning too. I love taking money from Republicans! :-)
- Robert Scoble
enjoy your time in China!
- Nancy Babyak
That's because you're traveling to China in the morning
- Jesse Stay
what you're not saying is if you'll come back from China if McCain wins!
- Jorge Escobar
Interesting to see who follows you closely enough to know about the China trip and who doesn't. Clever post Robert! :) Enjoy the trip... looking forward to hearing about it.
- Lucretia Pruitt
If McCain wins, were closing the border here in Canada.
- Gene Moreau
At least getting back into the country will be a breeze! Obama will remove all border restrictions! :)
- Ben
I think the house is not doing a very good job educating constituents about the rationale & logistics behind this new plan
Roney Smith, Mol, FF Music Lover, Eric Ortega and 24 other people liked this
I think they're doing a great job. A lot of so called smart people made stupid bets and now I'm supposed to make my grandkids pay for it. I think NOT! Suffering now will teach us to make wiser choices.
- Eric Lewis
I doubt every Congress man and woman has read the 100+ pages document. Many of them probably voted the same way as the people who sit next to them. It will be a miracle if we can get the bailout plan to pass.
- Harry Chen
Agree! Understand that they are pressed, but the comms around the dealings have left a lot to be desired.
- Josh Dilworth
FWIW, there is only one bill in which you can basically prove Congressman have read--the Intelligence funding bill. The reason? It's classified and Members have to sign in to read it. How many do? About 14 or so (believe it or not). I worked for Congress a few years back and always found that depressing.
- Andrew Leyden
What's the incentive to educate anyone when they KNOW the sheep will continue to vote them in and always vote Dem or Rep?
- Live4Emma (L4S)
Eric: the problem is your grandkids will pay for this anyway. What happens if you lose your job? Or your kids lose their jobs?
- Robert Scoble
@Robert: that's why we should stop having kids. :-)
- Harry Chen
@Robert: I don't have a "job". If I lose my source of income I adapt. Nobody bailed me out when I lost my house. Sure my grandchildren already own a piece of the national debt. But I will not vote $1 more on them.
- Eric Lewis
@Tadeu: I'm all for you avoiding pain, but don't pain my grandkids to do it. I agree with you on wars, but personal pain has taught me many lessons.
- Eric Lewis
Eric: but when everyone else is out of a job they get unemployment insurance. So, you just voted your kids more debt there too (and far more than $700 billion, especially if this goes on a long time).
- Robert Scoble
Robert: So I should steal from my grandkids to avoid others stealing more? You're making my head spin. I can only control me. I won't steal.
- Eric Lewis
Eric: here's the problem. Our entire economic system is based on credit now. You do realize that, right? How did I buy my car? Credit. How did the businesses I have worked for get money to hire people, buy realestate, etc, Credit. How did I get my house? Credit. So, if the credit system goes into meltdown (it's very close) then they stop loaning money to EVERYONE, not just "flakes." So, who built the Saturn car I bought on Credit? What happens to their jobs if we can't buy more cars?
- Robert Scoble
Eric: If the plan is put together wisely and executed well, taxpayers may actually earn money on this deal. No one is talking about giving away $700B. This is a loan. Worst case scenario is probably that we lose half of that. Most realistic scenario? We probably lose $100-200B.
- J. McConnell
If the economy melts down, then tons of people, even those who had good credit, get hurt. What happens then? We all go on unemployment. Your grandkids are going to pay a LOT MORE than $700 billion if that happens because when the economy melts down the jobless will be a lot longer and deeper. You have a chance to head that off now, but you are deciding to watch the entire economy burn, baby, burn. That is NOT prudent.
- Robert Scoble
@Robert: I don't understand paying off/guaranteeing the bad debts of bankers as being MY problem. I made some bad financial choices in my day and no one bailed me out. You take your chances, you pay the piper.
- Eric Lewis
Eric: you don't fund other people and other parts of the economy. These banks do. That's the error in your thinking.
- Robert Scoble
Robert: You're right, I don't. But they lost $1 Trillion. Who made the larger mistake in thinking? If I have a vote, I'm not rewarding that.
- Eric Lewis
Eric: the thing is, that's not what you're deciding now. Now you are deciding whether the entire economy burns because you want to punish those responsible. There are other people involved here. Get off of the punishment, it won't help you protect your grandchildren.
- Robert Scoble
Robert: I'm for punishment?! I'm sorry, from where I sit, loaning money to a losing gambler, because his kids might starve, is not protection I can believe in. I need a better explanation than that.
- Eric Lewis
Eric: you are thinking wrong. This isn't a person. It's a series of institutions that loan money to normal people like you and me. If they stop loaning money, WE HURT and the PEOPLE WHO BUILD STUFF FOR US HURT not them. You need to think about the whole economy, not just the jerks who got us here. The one who lit the fire isn't the one who is going to get burned. Put out the fire. Argue about punishment later.
- Robert Scoble
FYI, both D's and R's who voted No are from districts that are "in play." When they had to make a tough call that might hurt politically, they chose the safest path for reelection, not for the country.
- Andrew Feinberg
@Eric Lewis: Here is a great explanation of why this bill was important and was more than just bailing out a bunch of greedy bankers who made poor decisions: http://www.frontlinethoughts.com/article...
- J. McConnell
Curtis: we don't know if it'll work. It's like putting water on a fire. You know it will help and you continue putting water onto the fire until it's out. Andrew: exactly. They are willing to burn down the country so they can get reelected.
- Robert Scoble
Andrew: do you have a map that shows that? I want to put that on the top of my blog.
- Robert Scoble
Robert: You sure sound panicked. I am not. There will always be people with money who want to make more, by loaning to those with sure plans. I will not throw good money after bad.
- Eric Lewis
@Robert: I understand you believe credit will stop, but that's an opinion, not a fact. I'm hearing otherwise. Tightening yes, stoppage no. There are many who believe our grandkids will be *better* off if we ensure proper and last resort bailout is enacted. That both corporations and individuals should be held responsible. In many ways, America as a whole is responsible for not being more vigilant. I'm not the enemy, we simply have differing views on what is best and even brainy economists differ.
- AJ Kohn
I've posted that link to my feed so we can discuss it, if anyone's interested. http://friendfeed.com/e...
- J. McConnell
Suspending MTM accounting = instant fail. Why would they undermine the entire program by sewing seeds of doubt?? Anyone who is *pro-transparency* should be pretty stoked right now.
- Will DeLuca
AJ: well, nothing ever "stops" totally. True. I should use "major slowdown." But, either way, you are deciding to make the slowdown deeper and longer by not putting water on the fire. That's fine, but I wish we would put water on the fire instead of saying "burn baby, burn."
- Robert Scoble
Robert: There are also those who think the market will self-correct. Yes, it will be painful, but it will correct. I'm not sure about that, but like you, I don't know all the facts.
- Jim McCusker
Heck Pelosi couldn't even explain it to her own party members Nick 40% of the Dems didn't vote in favor of it. If she had done a proper Whip check in advance of the bill coming to the floor she would have known that and dealt with it.
- Thomas Vincent
Mark: my minor is in economics and I went to the World Economic Forum this year. Hey, if Palin is qualified to be President because she "lives close to Russia" then I'm qualified to be FriendFeed's economist! :-)
- Robert Scoble
'new plan' ... nothing about that reaching the UK news
- PaulJohnson
Great NYT article: An interesting historical perspective about the disaster that has befallen Wall Street. http://tinyurl.com/3vzxc9. Sheds some informed light on how we got here. (By noted biographer Ron Chernow).
- JP Adams
The government just screwed the country. A lot of people are going to lose their well earned money because they (the government) can't help out. I'll have to say bye bye to the money I invested, which is what I basically life off of, since I can't find a job at the moment. Thanks so much.
- Mol, FF Music Lover
@Robert: I like that terminology far better because I think it's more realistic and doesn't feed into reptilian panic button response that actually helps create runs. I'm interested though, it will certainly make the slowdown deeper - that's pretty clear IMO - but I actually believe that means it will be shorter, not longer. [cont]
- AJ Kohn
[cont] A slower correction is like having spyware on your computer. It just gets slower and slower and people give up on the computer in frustration. A short deep correction is like a reboot, you start over but still have faith in the computer.
- AJ Kohn
politicians are only being as transparent as is necessary to ensure your vote in a month...there is too much at stake right now for any real bipartisanship to really happen
- George Lee
from twhirl
I'm embarrassed to be have been oblivious to this entire conversation
- Nick O'Neill
House rejects $700-bln Wall St bailout bill - http://digg.com/world_n...
Josh Babetski liked this
"yep, everyone needs to take a breath"
- Justin Thorp
New Dollar bill - http://www.flickr.com/photos...
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Benedikt Koehler, Bertrand Doux, Noe Ruiz and 13 other people liked this
Louis Gray Tops Robert Scoble in Web Presence - http://staynalive.com/article...
Ken Stewart | ChangeForge, Duncan Riley, Dobromir Hadzhiev and 19 other people liked this
It's Louis Gray's internet - we're just using it.
- Shawn Farner
Louis Gray *is* the internet
- Jesse Stay
from twhirl
Hehe, Scoble hasn't liked this one, yet.
- Roberto Bonini
Roberto: I hadn't seen it yet. I am not +always+ on FriendFeed. Just most of the time. :-)
- Robert Scoble
I was going to say something wry about "quality over quantity", but I think I'll just let that one slide for now. ;)
- Nathaniel Payne
Nathaniel, regardless, they both have great quality in their ability to pay attention to who they follow. It's hard to compare the two on quality alone.
- Jesse Stay
from twhirl
My main comment is on that blog. LG and RS are both unique and complementary.
- David Petherick
from twhirl
I dig Louis Gray's "presence" - -but how about a new user icon!
- Steve Isaacs
My comments are that this is fun, but not true, and we all know it. Jesse is having a little fun, so that's great. I would be lost in Robert's shadow if we really tried to match up.
- Louis Gray
Louis is being too humble. The dude is trying out stuff that I won't get to for weeks. I look to him and his friends to tell me what's important. Louis was the first one to see the value of FriendFeed, for instance.
- Robert Scoble
Have you guys ever heard of e-peen? Put away your rulers please.
- Will Higgins™
I don't even care just someone keep sendign me interesting shit.
- Geoff Schultz {TF}
What Geoff said.
- Laura Norvig
Louis, prove it - you are every bit as strong an influencer as Scoble is. You're new to the scene, but your ability to understand and see new technologies and listen to those you follow is amazing.
- Jesse Stay
from twhirl
And yes, I was having a little fun, but I meant every bit of it ;-)
- Jesse Stay
from twhirl
I love 'em both! Louis is awesome at new tech and I thank him for getting me into FriendFeed!!!!! love it!
- Susan Beebe
Apple recalls millions of iPhone 3G power adapters - http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008...
Josh Babetski liked this
good find. never used mine, liked the gen1 adaptor better because it folded up.
- Josh Babetski
Obama Campaign Reveals Science Advisors - http://blog.wired.com/wiredsc...
Josh Babetski, Andrei M. Marinescu, AJ Kohn and 3 other people liked this
"Barack Obama has established a small but well-regarded inner circle of science advisors that includes a vocal critic of creationism, a Nobel laureate who has championed open-access research, and another laureate who used his prize money to defend academic freedom against the war on terror. Though their influence on the policies of a prospective Obama administration are unknown, they've played a prominent role in establishing his science platform to date. Obama announced his science platform earlier this month in response to questions posed by ScienceDebate2008, a nonpartisan political education group. In response to a Wired Science follow-up, the campaign identified five people who helped draft Obama's statement: Harold Varmus, a Nobel laureate and former head of the National Institutes of Health; Gilbert Ommen, a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Peter Agre, a Nobel laureate and ardent critic of the Bush administration; NASA researcher Donald Lamb; and Stanford U
- Bora Zivkovic
Comment on iTunes app store for the Spore game: "Will they offer a Creationist version that only has one level, already finished?"
Josh Babetski liked this
Line of the day so far. Obama is the broadband campaign. McCain is the dialup campaign.
Josh Babetski liked this
In a recent interviewthey asked McCain is he was Mac or PC. He is neither. I don't even think he made it to dialup.
- dougpollei
from twhirl
Andrew: New iPhone Comes Loaded with Photos of the Girl Who Made It (via Digg) - http://gizmodo.com/5039514...
Josh Babetski liked this
Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair has himself Waterboarded concludes it is torture - http://www.mahalo.com/Christo...
Shiva, Carlos Ayala, Tudor Bosman and 18 other people liked this
filed under "one brave mofo!" Maybe Bush should experience waterboarding so he can prove it is not torture?
- Jason Calacanis
from Bookmarklet
@Jason Calacanis - agreed, I'd love to see the press conference after he was waterboarded to see his composure. "It was no big deal, like a massage. I set an appointment for another one next week!"
- Damien Franco
Christopher Hitchens is one of my heroes. The guy is just spot on almost constantly.
- Akiva
Thats nothing compared to this advert of Waterboarding -> http://www.youtube.com/watch...
- AJ Batac :)
That's an excellent piece. It is also a strong reminder of the importance of good writers putting themselves out there and relaying the experience to the rest of us.
- Thomas Brox Røst
He didn't last long at all. I doubt anyone the military was doing this to would be so kindly set upon the board and have the directions for their torture explained to them so nicely either.
- Yolanda
Previous self-waterboarding experiment (and a great and engrossing read): http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...
- Tudor Bosman
Conservatives on WALL-E: 'Fascist, Fear-Mongering Nonsense' - http://thinkprogress.org/2008...
Josh Babetski, Jon Parise, Grant and Veronica liked this
New James Bond trailer is out! Quantum of Solace -- can't wait! http://www.mahalo.com/Quantum...
Ron Emrick, Connor P Jackson, Michael Garrison and 2 other people liked this
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