Iran and the United States managed to swap prisoners and make some positive steps in the nuclear deal while taking a step back with sanctions on a nuclear test. Listening to the news this morning, they were talking about the “relationship” the these two have at the moment. My thoughts were, “This is no relationship. This…
The overuse of “This is your last chance” annoys me. Last means there are no other chances beyond it. If I do not act now, then I have to accept the penalty for the rest of eternity that I could have taken the offer but failed to do so. However, when someone is trying to…
Earlier there was some kind of emergency alert pushed out to mobile phones by the state. The current and prior phones are capable of getting presidential and imminent threat emergencies plus Amber alerts. I never know what they are about because in the freak out about Why In The HELLÂ IS MY PHONE DOING THIS?!?!?! the…
I realize I live in the great echo chamber. Most people I know live in the United States. Therefore, the political talk I hear is of the US. Because of friends in England, I hear some of the politics there. Other countries election issues come from news sources like the BBC or NPR. The ever…
Legislative gridlock creates problems because events that logically should be avoided hit the precipice before a deal is worked out to prevent a catastrophe. The media portrays the cause of this state of affairs as due to partisanship or incompetence, which while either may be true, what makes me more nervous are politicians claiming a mandate. Winning an election…
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is really the story of why and how IEX was created. Humans made bad decisions. So, to protect people from other people, we moved the operation of the stock market to being run by computers. The natural consequence…
Had a conversation with a restaurant manager when he said he hates computers. His life has gone from 90% working with food to maybe 60%. Naturally he did not get into this kind of work to spend so much time dealing with computers. At first I thought the issue was empowerment. A few decades ago,…
An advertisement for a Porsche plug-in hybrid really fails. First, Porsche was old and lame by high school. Lotus, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and so many other car companies come ahead. Second, I do not have a job where an ostentatious car helps me. Third, I cannot keep my mobile phone properly charged. A plug-in hybrid is not the…
As an information technology professional, when a web site has performance problems, I sigh, gnash my teeth, and gripe just like everyone else. However, twenty minutes later I realize I have been there and feel bad for those having to deal with the mess. Also, should I feel hurt that I am not among the…