Sell Drayton! Sell!!!
Conservative Blogger BigJolly is Picking up the Kuffner judicial questionnaire gauntlet on the Republican side. He's also authoring issues pieces for the various candidates. Here are his posts for Texas House District 149 and Jack O'Connor. As with Charles Kuffner's interviews I won't be linking to each and every one of them, but now you know they're out there. (Kudos to both bloggers for taking the time to provide this public service. Certainly, in local races especially, coverage such as this is lacking)
Whew!...I don't know about you but seeing "Heights" and "fire" in the same headline is getting old.
When "Chron Eye" gets outsourced the results just don't lend themselves to the same level of mockery. (Damn budget cutbacks)
Harris County Commissioner's Court delays (again) on joining the regional storm agency. Of course, delaying, for them, is a viable option since they are pretty much locked in the position for as long as they wish.
Charles Kuffner suggests creating more precincts to reduce County Commissioner power, or "toughening ethics laws" and redrawing government from a regional perspective. ("One Government" to rule them all?) Sound familiar?
Speaking of Charles Kuffner, he's not high on a potential Perry Presidential push. Neither am I FWIW, for many of the same reasons and some additional.
Ask and ye shall receive? Dwight Silverman talks Windows7. He's not totally repulsed, provided he can run it on his MacBook that is. (The tips in there are useful, and basic)
Let's see, a builders' organization hires a consultant to speak at their annual conference and, miraculously he predicts better times are just on the horizon. Didn't see that one coming.
Fresh off the abortion fight, religious leaders are now preparing an immigration push.
The future of TV: Don't sneeze while watching or you'll change the channel during that critical 4th down play.
For all of the talk of "constrained energy supply" and warnings that we're going to have to pack into our cities like sardines to make future living work, there's never much discussion in new-urbanist circles about new energy finds and new technologies. If there were, possibly their arguments would have more credibility. (Of course, if there were, their arguments would fall apart as well. So there's that.)
Political wonks rejoice. The important question of Houston City Council Committees has been sorted.
On the heels of criticism from almost every honest observer that the Obama administration has lacked on the transparency front, a group of left-leaning "watchdog" groups score Obama an "A". (The only excuse I can come up with for them is that they're grading on a steep curve.)
Amid projections of a lackluster, election year congressional year the Democratic leadership is vowing to push our wheezing Congress to spend the income of future generations like never before. Republicans meanwhile are left sharpening old saws as they wait for the projected collapse of the party in power. (They say in politics that the corruption never changes, it just springs from different sources. The same should be said for the level of incompetence as well. Democracy is not shelf stable, as we're slowly finding out.)
Remember this: A horse is a horse is a horse. Unless that horse is a donkey. (In which case it's a money-tree for pet projects that must be fertilized at all costs) And now you know everything you need to know about the Harry Reid affair.
Slampo takes a look at a (seemingly) innocuous comment by Gubernatorial candidate Bill White on Facebook about the Yates/Lee fiasco and highlights one of the problems with our Country while he's at it. (Hint: "I have seen the enemy, and he is us." - Pogo Possum)
Finally...
This is why we can't have anything fun in America. (Avatar Derangement Syndrome is very real, and it's spreading across party lines.)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Two questions missed.
ChronBlog business columnist Loren Steffy (oft-criticized by local business attorney Tom Kirkendall) brings up the topic of bonuses and charity at Wall Street financial firms and, as is his wont, fails to ask the proper questions.
For those of you wondering, these are the proper questions:
I had similar question problems with Steffy's Anti-Citibank B(C)S argument. It's not that Citi was acting in an eeevil manner, but that they had a binding contract that could have been severed had they been allowed to go down the traditional bankruptcy path. Instead those in power chose this public-private Frankenstein's monster of a bailout that left all the old agreements in place, and avoiding any real economic consequences from them.
In the short-term, this financial bailout might have saved the financial sector, but it did it no favors by removing the consequences from their decisions. In lieu of financial punishment people such as Steffy are left with some misguided sense of moral outrage, which is far less exacting and far more likely to lead to punishments that don't fit the crime. (Assuming there was a crime committed in the first place. An idea with which I, excepting certain obvious cases where fraud was involved, disagree)
For those of you wondering, these are the proper questions:
1. Are people who accept contractually agreed-upon bonuses "greedy"?The reason these questions are important is also two-fold:
2. Is forced giving really "charity"?
1. In our rush to cast "blame" for the recent bubble-pop, Americans have bought into the ideal that the ground-level investors and traders were "greedy". What this has done is create a ready-made set of financial bad-guys directly out of central casting. What it hasn't done is allowed us to fully examine the mistakes that got us here, or to punish companies (through bankruptcy and other market mechanisms) that instituted a foolish, although not necessarily evil, bonus structure.
2. As more and more companies look to charities as tax-havens, the obvious downside is that there is a movement afoot to strip away the tax benefits from charitable contributions. While its true that, to a certain extent, some of the groups (Progressives) who wish to see this happen also would be quite happy to see private charity give-way to (other)taxpayer funded largess, not all of it is. And many poor and needy will suffer if these donations (whatever their motivation) go away.
I had similar question problems with Steffy's Anti-Citibank B(C)S argument. It's not that Citi was acting in an eeevil manner, but that they had a binding contract that could have been severed had they been allowed to go down the traditional bankruptcy path. Instead those in power chose this public-private Frankenstein's monster of a bailout that left all the old agreements in place, and avoiding any real economic consequences from them.
In the short-term, this financial bailout might have saved the financial sector, but it did it no favors by removing the consequences from their decisions. In lieu of financial punishment people such as Steffy are left with some misguided sense of moral outrage, which is far less exacting and far more likely to lead to punishments that don't fit the crime. (Assuming there was a crime committed in the first place. An idea with which I, excepting certain obvious cases where fraud was involved, disagree)
The experiment is failing
Part one of an occasional series taking a look at how ChronBlog's reader-generated content model is panning out.
Tech should be the leader
Were I going to craft an expansion plan for The Almanac, the first thing that I would look to add would be an additional blogger to handle tech. Why? Because, for one, I find tech terribly interesting and, two, because tech folks typically love to talk about tech, and talk, and type and talk etc. etc.
When ChronBlog rolled out their Chron.commons reader-generated content concept the three sections I figured would thrive were politics, sports and technology. It seems I was right on politics; Chron.commons is teeming with political blogs. Mostly from the left, or "the center" (which are typically Democrats or Republicans in disguise) but with a few Right-leaning blogs scattered in for good measure. I was also correct in my assumption that sports related reader blogs would blow-up. What I didn't figure was that the content created by the sports bloggers would be consistently superior to that generated by the paid staff. When it comes to sport news over at ChronBlog, skip the hired help and read the volunteers.
Which leads us to technology whom I thought would be a huge content driver given the unique proclivities of the tech community. Whether one is an Apple fanboy or a Microsoft Fanboy (yes, they are out there) or just a lover of all things tech there's typically a different take to be had on almost every new release or issue. Given the fact that, ChronBlog Tech Writer and Chron.com Grand poobah Dwight Silverman is an unabashed Apple Fanboy, the newspaper was in desperate need of some counterbalance, and non-negative reporting on something other than the latest minor software tweak for a program that allows Microsoft products to run on one's Apple. (ChronBlog's tech strategy being to appeal to 1/10,000th of the subscriber base I'm guessing)
The verdict?
Wrong. Dead wrong. As a matter of fact, there are currently only three reader generated blogs currently active on ChronBlog, with several sitting idle for over a year. Given the constantly evolving state of technology, this has left a big hole in ChronBlog's technology coverage.
What has this meant?
Well, for me at least, it's meant that I don't spend much time worrying about what ChronBlog is reporting on tech any longer. I haven't visited the Chron's tech section link, near the top of this post, in a while, I rarely check the Techblog, hell, and I don't even follow Dwight Silverman on Twitter any longer.
The reason for all of this is disinterest, and it shows where ChronBlog is missing the boat on retaining current readers. My tech reading is now exclusively online, from websites such as Gizmodo and ARS Technica. When it comes to covering the big events and, more importantly, providing Houstonians with information regarding all things tech, ChronBlog just isn't providing compelling content. Take the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as an example. There were a host of products with real, practical applications that generated a lot of buzz, also Lenovo dazzled with their new IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook. Also scoring high reviews were the boxee box and a host of other products some with practical applications and some that were totally impractical, but fun. (Who needs a clear plasma TV screen after all?)
ChronBlog's coverage? some linkpost mentions, a negatively-slanted article on 3D-TV (sourced from Digital Trends) and the annual Microsoft sucks post. Despite the fact that Ballmer introduced an HP tablet which should be at least as, if not more, exciting than the rumored Apple tablet. (More exciting because of the built-in software compatibility advantage that the HP is going to have.)
To be fair, I don't expect Mr. Silverman to provide good coverage of CES, an HP tablet, the Boxee box or any of the slew of smart phones that were introduced at the convention. Mr. Silverman is an Apple fanboy, he computes on a MacBook, an iPhone and is entertained by an iPod. His tech experience is 180 degrees removed from mine. (By means of comparison, I compute on a Dell XPS laptop (or a Lenovo ThinkPad at work), communicate on a Samsung Epix. I do have an iPod Nano, but for most mp3 work I use a SanDisk Sansa.) When he's writing, I'm NOT his target audience. That's the reason I don't find myself following him on Twitter, or paying much attention to his other work. For me, and I'm willing to guess several others, that's a HUGE departure from what it used to be. My hope was, at the time, that the reader blogs would supplement what was rapidly becoming a press-shop for Apple with some balanced coverage, sadly, due to either inattention or a deliberate attempt to craft content, that content hasn't appeared. During the most recent CES I moseyed over to ChronBlog to see what they were reporting, it was then that I realized the entire section is dying a slow death.
That's too bad. Because, for many Houstonians, their one link to new technology is whatever the MSM is currently writing about. What they're seeing from ChronBlog is a world of overpriced Apple products that many cannot afford, with little comprehensive coverage of the items most people are going to buy.
Speaking of CES, one of the more buzzed products at the show was Hearst's Skiff eReader. Hearst Corporation is putting a lot of hope in this little machine to revive the publishing industry. What they have failed to understand from the beginning is that you need quality content that people can apply to their everyday lives in order to be truly compelling. All of the glitzy, expensive, eReaders in the world are not going to change that fact.
Tech should be the leader
Were I going to craft an expansion plan for The Almanac, the first thing that I would look to add would be an additional blogger to handle tech. Why? Because, for one, I find tech terribly interesting and, two, because tech folks typically love to talk about tech, and talk, and type and talk etc. etc.
When ChronBlog rolled out their Chron.commons reader-generated content concept the three sections I figured would thrive were politics, sports and technology. It seems I was right on politics; Chron.commons is teeming with political blogs. Mostly from the left, or "the center" (which are typically Democrats or Republicans in disguise) but with a few Right-leaning blogs scattered in for good measure. I was also correct in my assumption that sports related reader blogs would blow-up. What I didn't figure was that the content created by the sports bloggers would be consistently superior to that generated by the paid staff. When it comes to sport news over at ChronBlog, skip the hired help and read the volunteers.
Which leads us to technology whom I thought would be a huge content driver given the unique proclivities of the tech community. Whether one is an Apple fanboy or a Microsoft Fanboy (yes, they are out there) or just a lover of all things tech there's typically a different take to be had on almost every new release or issue. Given the fact that, ChronBlog Tech Writer and Chron.com Grand poobah Dwight Silverman is an unabashed Apple Fanboy, the newspaper was in desperate need of some counterbalance, and non-negative reporting on something other than the latest minor software tweak for a program that allows Microsoft products to run on one's Apple. (ChronBlog's tech strategy being to appeal to 1/10,000th of the subscriber base I'm guessing)
The verdict?
Wrong. Dead wrong. As a matter of fact, there are currently only three reader generated blogs currently active on ChronBlog, with several sitting idle for over a year. Given the constantly evolving state of technology, this has left a big hole in ChronBlog's technology coverage.
What has this meant?
Well, for me at least, it's meant that I don't spend much time worrying about what ChronBlog is reporting on tech any longer. I haven't visited the Chron's tech section link, near the top of this post, in a while, I rarely check the Techblog, hell, and I don't even follow Dwight Silverman on Twitter any longer.
The reason for all of this is disinterest, and it shows where ChronBlog is missing the boat on retaining current readers. My tech reading is now exclusively online, from websites such as Gizmodo and ARS Technica. When it comes to covering the big events and, more importantly, providing Houstonians with information regarding all things tech, ChronBlog just isn't providing compelling content. Take the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as an example. There were a host of products with real, practical applications that generated a lot of buzz, also Lenovo dazzled with their new IdeaPad U1 hybrid notebook. Also scoring high reviews were the boxee box and a host of other products some with practical applications and some that were totally impractical, but fun. (Who needs a clear plasma TV screen after all?)
ChronBlog's coverage? some linkpost mentions, a negatively-slanted article on 3D-TV (sourced from Digital Trends) and the annual Microsoft sucks post. Despite the fact that Ballmer introduced an HP tablet which should be at least as, if not more, exciting than the rumored Apple tablet. (More exciting because of the built-in software compatibility advantage that the HP is going to have.)
To be fair, I don't expect Mr. Silverman to provide good coverage of CES, an HP tablet, the Boxee box or any of the slew of smart phones that were introduced at the convention. Mr. Silverman is an Apple fanboy, he computes on a MacBook, an iPhone and is entertained by an iPod. His tech experience is 180 degrees removed from mine. (By means of comparison, I compute on a Dell XPS laptop (or a Lenovo ThinkPad at work), communicate on a Samsung Epix. I do have an iPod Nano, but for most mp3 work I use a SanDisk Sansa.) When he's writing, I'm NOT his target audience. That's the reason I don't find myself following him on Twitter, or paying much attention to his other work. For me, and I'm willing to guess several others, that's a HUGE departure from what it used to be. My hope was, at the time, that the reader blogs would supplement what was rapidly becoming a press-shop for Apple with some balanced coverage, sadly, due to either inattention or a deliberate attempt to craft content, that content hasn't appeared. During the most recent CES I moseyed over to ChronBlog to see what they were reporting, it was then that I realized the entire section is dying a slow death.
That's too bad. Because, for many Houstonians, their one link to new technology is whatever the MSM is currently writing about. What they're seeing from ChronBlog is a world of overpriced Apple products that many cannot afford, with little comprehensive coverage of the items most people are going to buy.
Speaking of CES, one of the more buzzed products at the show was Hearst's Skiff eReader. Hearst Corporation is putting a lot of hope in this little machine to revive the publishing industry. What they have failed to understand from the beginning is that you need quality content that people can apply to their everyday lives in order to be truly compelling. All of the glitzy, expensive, eReaders in the world are not going to change that fact.
The Noise Machine (01/11/10)
Hey...wait...what?
Baby it's going to be (less) cold outside.....
I'm calling it now: A segment of the economy that produces no real, tangible goods or services, whose life expectancy is limited to current technology and for which there is already a glut of product in the market. That's right, the App market. It's the next bubble, albeit a small bubble due to economies of scale. Of course there are those who want to try and leverage that bubble to fuel Houston's new post-oil economy. Good luck with that.
The difference between Harry Reid and Trent Lott: (According to a ChronBlog.common blogger)Reid's a Democrat. That's all, nothing to see here. Hey, at least he admitted it. (of course, he didn't realize he admitted it but whatcha gon' do?)
Could this be the year Sheila Jackson-Lee goes down in defeat? Those mythical "some" seem to think so. (Who those "some" are we leave up to you because, aside from the required quote from Democrat Richard Murray, the article is a little sketchy on actually naming names of those who are foretelling her imminent defeat.)
HISD is considering whether or not to fire poor-performing teachers. Of course, Gayle Fallon is against this. (Losing teachers is bad for union business after all) Welcome to Houston Superintendent Grier. **A fun game is to read the comments on this story. Obviously they are primarily being made by teachers....teachers who hate the students they are teaching.**
Iiiiit's tax time!
If you've read "Bias" by Bernard Goldberg, today's anecdotal story of food-stamp recipients being "just like you" is expected. But is it the truth?
ChronBlog makes the point, Slampo makes the counter-point. (Slampo 1, ChronBlog 0)
It seems Nevada voters will do what Congress won't. Maybe.
Federal prosecutor wanted, apply...well...somewhere...please?? One thing that didn't change with the election of Obama was partisan fighting over Federal appointees. The more things change. Of course, it's all the fault of the other party.
The latest in the long line of opposition techniques that are suddenly unconstitutional. At this pace, disagreeing with the majority party is going to be anti-American. (Oh...wait)
Behold the inherent stupidity of legalism. In America, we have laws which forgo the need for common sense.
Media does matter, but only media whose values with which you agree apparently.
And finally....
Today's moment of mind-numbing idiocy courtesy of scrap-heap writer (and carbon belching home-owner) Thomas Friedman. (Read and enjoy.)
Baby it's going to be (less) cold outside.....
I'm calling it now: A segment of the economy that produces no real, tangible goods or services, whose life expectancy is limited to current technology and for which there is already a glut of product in the market. That's right, the App market. It's the next bubble, albeit a small bubble due to economies of scale. Of course there are those who want to try and leverage that bubble to fuel Houston's new post-oil economy. Good luck with that.
The difference between Harry Reid and Trent Lott: (According to a ChronBlog.common blogger)Reid's a Democrat. That's all, nothing to see here. Hey, at least he admitted it. (of course, he didn't realize he admitted it but whatcha gon' do?)
Could this be the year Sheila Jackson-Lee goes down in defeat? Those mythical "some" seem to think so. (Who those "some" are we leave up to you because, aside from the required quote from Democrat Richard Murray, the article is a little sketchy on actually naming names of those who are foretelling her imminent defeat.)
HISD is considering whether or not to fire poor-performing teachers. Of course, Gayle Fallon is against this. (Losing teachers is bad for union business after all) Welcome to Houston Superintendent Grier. **A fun game is to read the comments on this story. Obviously they are primarily being made by teachers....teachers who hate the students they are teaching.**
Iiiiit's tax time!
If you've read "Bias" by Bernard Goldberg, today's anecdotal story of food-stamp recipients being "just like you" is expected. But is it the truth?
ChronBlog makes the point, Slampo makes the counter-point. (Slampo 1, ChronBlog 0)
It seems Nevada voters will do what Congress won't. Maybe.
Federal prosecutor wanted, apply...well...somewhere...please?? One thing that didn't change with the election of Obama was partisan fighting over Federal appointees. The more things change. Of course, it's all the fault of the other party.
The latest in the long line of opposition techniques that are suddenly unconstitutional. At this pace, disagreeing with the majority party is going to be anti-American. (Oh...wait)
Behold the inherent stupidity of legalism. In America, we have laws which forgo the need for common sense.
Media does matter, but only media whose values with which you agree apparently.
And finally....
Today's moment of mind-numbing idiocy courtesy of scrap-heap writer (and carbon belching home-owner) Thomas Friedman. (Read and enjoy.)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Noise Machine (01/10/10)
The silly season.....
It could be that the main problem in society today is that our thinkers aren't all that smart. (No one group caused the recession, substituting your agenda/biases for root-cause analysis is a sign that basic reasoning skills are lacking.)
There are a few things that need to be said about today's ChronBlog Caucasian Think Tank editorial
Avatar derangement syndrome is spreading. Trying to read too much into a movie that most like for no other reasons than that the pictures are pretty is sad.
Another progress report on HISD's efforts to fix under-performing schools. It's not pretty right now, but that doesn't mean that continuing to try is advisable.
Galveston gets a post-Ike boost.
It could be that the main problem in society today is that our thinkers aren't all that smart. (No one group caused the recession, substituting your agenda/biases for root-cause analysis is a sign that basic reasoning skills are lacking.)
There are a few things that need to be said about today's ChronBlog Caucasian Think Tank editorial
1. Hooking something that's working up to something that's not working brings everything down to the level of the item that's not working so well.
2. It's no coincidence that those who support a bad idea are leaning on one another for support rather than applying critical thought to the issue.
3. In LOTR, the creator of the One ring tried to control, and ultimately destroy, the makers of the other rings and the rest of humanity.
4. ChronBlog's not a meaningful opinion-maker on rail issues for obvious reasons.
5. Many of the other fellow-travelers have financial interests at stake here as well.
6. The idea of public transit should still be to increase travel options, Metro's plan is to reduce travel options.
Avatar derangement syndrome is spreading. Trying to read too much into a movie that most like for no other reasons than that the pictures are pretty is sad.
Another progress report on HISD's efforts to fix under-performing schools. It's not pretty right now, but that doesn't mean that continuing to try is advisable.
Galveston gets a post-Ike boost.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The Noise Machine (01/09/10)
Special weekend bonus edition.....
Out! Out! Damned Charlatan! (Unfortunately nullifying (for now) the local contest that had the highest humor potential.) A bigger story is why the hell the HCDP couldn't find a candidate who could fog a mirror to challenge Eversole.
A few new developments do not a trend make, but it's a good touchy-feely for a home industry that's been kicked in the teeth.
"If all passengers will remain in their seats we'll take off as soon as we are fully-stocked with lemon-soaked paper napkins." (See, HHGTTG the book if you don't understand that reference.) Eventually this economy is going to turn around dammit, we swear.
When the EPA speaks, Texas politicians start issuing soundbytes, even the politicians who swear up and down that they're not career politicians (Despite being Mayor of a big City for the last 6 years which, last I checked, is a political position.)
Hell at that rate......
Hey, we get ours....That's enough to make most politicians and news agencies happy. (Just overlook the actual effectiveness of the program, or how many JOBS it's going to create. We get ours.)
It's College Football Saturday at the ChronBlog Caucasian Think-Tank? As if shoddy football analysis from the ChronBlog sports columnists wasn't enough?
This just in: Some people take things Waaay to seriously. (Look, if you really think people are watching Avatar for the ecological and "anti-corporate" messages instead of the brilliant special effect then you need to put down the progressive pipe and slowly back away. Take some time off or something. The Man will still be here when you get back.)
Speaking of taking things way to seriously. (If you think nullification is a serious political option then you might benefit from the same time off as those Avatar people.)
Finally....
We're all going to DIE!!!!!...oh, wait...nevermind. (Sorry about that)
Out! Out! Damned Charlatan! (Unfortunately nullifying (for now) the local contest that had the highest humor potential.) A bigger story is why the hell the HCDP couldn't find a candidate who could fog a mirror to challenge Eversole.
A few new developments do not a trend make, but it's a good touchy-feely for a home industry that's been kicked in the teeth.
"If all passengers will remain in their seats we'll take off as soon as we are fully-stocked with lemon-soaked paper napkins." (See, HHGTTG the book if you don't understand that reference.) Eventually this economy is going to turn around dammit, we swear.
When the EPA speaks, Texas politicians start issuing soundbytes, even the politicians who swear up and down that they're not career politicians (Despite being Mayor of a big City for the last 6 years which, last I checked, is a political position.)
Hell at that rate......
Hey, we get ours....That's enough to make most politicians and news agencies happy. (Just overlook the actual effectiveness of the program, or how many JOBS it's going to create. We get ours.)
It's College Football Saturday at the ChronBlog Caucasian Think-Tank? As if shoddy football analysis from the ChronBlog sports columnists wasn't enough?
This just in: Some people take things Waaay to seriously. (Look, if you really think people are watching Avatar for the ecological and "anti-corporate" messages instead of the brilliant special effect then you need to put down the progressive pipe and slowly back away. Take some time off or something. The Man will still be here when you get back.)
Speaking of taking things way to seriously. (If you think nullification is a serious political option then you might benefit from the same time off as those Avatar people.)
Finally....
We're all going to DIE!!!!!...oh, wait...nevermind. (Sorry about that)
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