It is really irritating me that Kerry keeps calling himself "Comeback Kerry." Well come back to reality Kerry. It doesn't work like that; just ask George Costanza about it.

I say that we all band together and call him "T-Bone Kerry."

It is a little known fact that there are, at any given time, only about 47 blog entries with actual content. The rest of the whole blogsphere is just people who point at people who point at people who point at people who point at people who point at entries.

Early today I made reference to an entry* (derived from a computer term). This is the geek in me (I admit). Few people probably caught it. Oh well. I must first entertain myself.

Today's blogsphere is basically a bunch of entry******* s.

Maybe I will add the byline to my log:

"Writing while other people are just pointing"

The other day on the local talk-radio show there was a story of a woman who was contesting her deployment to Iraq. She claimed that she was unable to go because of a) her recent marriage and b) her young child (It should be noted that the child was 2-years old at the time of her enlistment in the National Guard). The discussion slowly morphed into one about women in combat. At this point the woman expressed reservations about serving on the front lines.

This got me to thinking – is there a glass floor? Much has been made about the glass ceiling. However, I rarely hear about a “glass floor.” As I drove back from my morning coffee run, I paid particular attention to the world around me. I watched the street pavers. I watched the garbage men. The most undesirable and taxing jobs were being done by the men. Men are expected to fight in the military. Men handle the sewage. Any job that is dangerous, physically strenuous, and without social status is expected to be done by men.

On the other hand, if society adds status to a job, physical strength and danger no longer become barriers. There are women firefighters. There are women police officers. Is the lack of a glass floor contributing to the glass ceiling? Do men see this inequity and push back?

Just some things to think about…

I think that I've been called a troll.

If this was, in part, directed towards me, I think that it is an unfair characterization of what I do. I can't speak for the others out there, but I'm not your typical Slashdot/"Microsoft is the root of all evil” kind of guy. Yes, I give Scoble some grief, but I do so hoping to affect change.

There are very few public people who have the power to say "We got this wrong" and have people listen without first putting on their armor. Scoble is one of those people. I would like to see him use that power to help bring about better products.

Why do I comment? Why do I write? The answer is simple -- I want better products.

Besides, I think that Scoble's log has been great lately. There is meat there. I am sick of logs that are filled with article*s (or even worse article*******). Give me some meat.

Well… Scoble just got a SPOT watch and despite my previous warning he insists on giving the damn thing praise. I suppose the below can be considered an open letter to Scoble.

You are certainly blowing the "usefulness" out of proportion.

I'll give you $1 if you can answer yes to 2 of the below questions:

1) Have you ever looked at the weather and done anything with it (that you wouldn't have actually ended up doing from your computer anyway)?

2) Have you ever "acted" on the stock quotes?

3) If you read 1200 feeds per day, do you actually find new information that you “need”?

Truth be told, you have just switched to an ugly watch that gives you three more ways to waste your time. Your three examples are redundant information. I’m all for information, but the people over at SPOT completely missed the point.

For SPOT to be at all useful, they need to deliver what I would term “actionable information.” Give me something that I can use! They need to insert SPOT into the decision-making process.

Examples:

1) Subway routes and delays.
2) Ski slope run/lift information.
3) Movie times (and how full the theater is).

Each of the above items affects a large group of people (isn’t personalized data) and could be used to make decisions. *That* is the real power behind SPOT. To pretend that SPOT as we know it is a good product is ludicrous.

As the “3-day premiere” of American Idol 3 chugs along, I can’t help but think that we have created a nation with too much self-esteem.

In attempt to foster a “can do” attitude in our children we have discounted the concept of accurate. No longer is having the right answer the end all and be all. We have replaced such absolutes with a sliding scale on which failure does not appear.

One need only look at the shift to a fuzzier math in order to see about what I’m talking.

I’m sure that it started harmlessly enough; “let’s make the kids show their work.” “If they show their work we can see where the mistake was and we can try to prevent it in the future.” This, of course, led to “that was just a simple addition mistake. S/he shouldn’t be penalized too much for that.” This, in turn, led to “… but does s/he understand the concept?” This was only a hop away from “Was s/he able to verbalize his/her thinking?”

At the end of the day we have created a culture where the details aren’t stressed and the concepts aren’t learned but the children certainly do feel good about themselves. Don’t they?

It is with that bravado that contestants face the likes of Simon. “What do you mean ‘This slider has failure on it’?” These “singers” come to the stage with the talent of de-barked beagles who are just learning to howl again and they expect praise?

That’s the problem with this country; people need to judge more. Judgmental needs to be a good word not one reserved for those who have the gall to be “mean.”

An embarrassing number of seconds passed as I stood there waiting at the grocery-store entrance. Like Cap. Kirk I had all but expected the door to slide open as it sensed my presence. Imagine my surprise when the door stood fast. Blatantly disregarding the social order, the door refused to open. I waved my arms to let it (and its sensors) know that I was serious. Wearing its best poker face, the door stared me down. It turns out the door wasn't bluffing; it was one of those old-fashion doors. You know the kind, the ones you push open.

Feeling a little sheepish, I pushed the door open and continued with the shopping. I vowed not to wait there in front of that door again. No longer would I look stupid. Well..that was my big mistake. I really should have vowed to remember that the door wasn't automatic.

Holding true to my self-promise I didn't wait for the door. I didn't wait at 8 feet. I didn't wait at 6 feet. At 4,3,2,1, SMACK! "Dammit. This door isn't automatic."

I'm off to take a nap.

There is something wrong with the world when a food company can proudly place a label on their product that claims “zero grams of trans-fats” but that same product can’t claim to have “no trans-fats.” While I understand why they are allowed to do this, I still can’t help but think that there is something wrong with this.

Every once and again I like to look at the logs for this site. It gives me a better feeling for "the readers." If I disregard the thousands upon thousands of visitors who come looking for the posterior of a certain singer/actress* and those in search of a certain hotel heiress and her little tape**, I can get a half-decent view into the world.

The conclusion that I have come to is that no matter how deep I get, the posts that draw the traffic are those that deal with the celebrities and looks.

My three biggest draws* are:

1) Kobe's Accuser
2) The Simple Life
3) Mystic Tans

The one thing that I can't tell, however, is what the "repeat" readers are like. Very few readers leave comments. Yet I can tell from entry pages that there are quite a few of you. I even get mail from people. Oh well -- I seem to be rambling.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the reason I was posting. The logs led me to this old post. It made me laugh (I know; I'm not supposed to laugh at my own jokes. ;) ).

*I was getting so many hits that I configured my weblog-analysis tool to disregard everything having to do with that one entry.

** No, I didn't post it. I just referenced it in a post.

As I watched Friday evening’s coverage of the Sony Open, I couldn’t help but realize that I was rooting for Michelle Wie. I’m sure that I wasn’t alone. TV ratings certainly bear that out. What struck me though was that I wasn’t just watching; I was rooting. With every putt I was mentally attempting to will the ball into the hole. This 14-year-old girl was playing with the men, and she was hanging in there.

This got me to thinking – why was I rooting for Wie while with Anika I could have cared less?

The answer is that Wie didn’t stress just being there. From moment one it was all about making the cut. Truth be told Anika didn’t really do anything. She was granted an exemption and she played. Furthermore, she was happy to have just played. Wie was different. There was something in her attitude that said, “The accomplishment is making the cut. The accomplishment is in earning a place to play.”

Ultimately she came up 1 shot short, but that didn’t matter to me. She knew the accomplishment for which she should have been striving and she went for it. For that she earned my respect.

One of these days someone will need to explain the term “you’re only cheating yourself.”

I have no problem with the phrase itself. However, I can’t come to terms with the sanctimonious tone that inevitably accompanies the saying. Perhaps it’s the paradoxical nature of saying both “You’re cheating and that’s wrong” and “You’re only cheating yourself. If you’re going to cheat someone make sure it’s someone else.”

The way I look at it I’m the only one that I should be allowed to cheat. It’s a zero sum game that way. As such, I suggest that we drop the holier-than-thou tone and add “It’s OK.” This would give us a nice pleasant “It’s OK. You’re only cheating yourself.”

Solitaire and crossword puzzles would be so much more fun that way.

Those coming to TheEvilEmpire.com to hear rants on the evils of Microsoft have oft been disappointed. I am a huge Microsoft fan.

Surprisingly, this has very little to do with the wonderful benefit package bestowed onto me as the spouse of Microserf (can you say no co-payments?). I just love their products. (More accurately, I love the third or fourth revisions of their products.) I love the attitude and I love the idea that they have a bunch of smart people there. It means that I can stroll into the ProClub and talk about DirectX while doing squats. How cool is that?

Scoble apparently has the same love of Microsoft. However, his love is currently causing me to doubt his credibility. A respected community member with the apparent ability to "call it like it is", Robert came to Microsoft and started to put a human face on the company, and it was a face that largely represented the people with whom I've interacted. He's a good guy. He's smart. He's tied into the community. It was a nice change of pace. People were willing to listen to him. They started to see Microsoft as it actually was. They started to see people (warts and all).

However, slowly but surely I've seen him change. I can only surmise that he has been beaten down by the seemingly-endless barrage of Microsoft criticism. I've seen it happen to many people. There is only so long that one can stand next to thousands of nice, smart people and listen to the world tell you that you and your colleagues are evil. The result 9 times out of 10 is to get defensive. "We are not evil." "Our products are not only not bad, they're good." These responses get quicker and quicker. In an anticipatory fashion the responses start to outpace the criticisms. Suddenly you're saying things like:

"Spot watches don't suck." (paraphrased of course)
"Look at all the music players we have." (again liberties have been taken)

Here's a hint -- if you're linking to an article that boasts "The Best PDA-watch so far.", you're putting lipstick on a pig. I want to see Microsoft succeed, and I don't think that anyone is helped when people pretend that these products are decent. It's fine to say that Microsoft has "500+ Cool Devices." However if 500+ of them feel like cheap devices that are a nanosecond away from disintegrating, it isn't worth squat.

I want Scoble to say, "Apple kicked our ASS with the iPod." Then I want Microsoft to respond with a great product. They've given the world the chance to make one. Perhaps it's time to take matters into their own hands.

As for "Spot"… I have no problem with Robert saying something like, "It's a technology that will develop" or "Give us time." But when you're saying "No one has sent the free product back in disgust", you're really saying "Does this shade work for my coloring?"

It turns out that (at this point in time) the rumors of a WMA-enabled HPod are false.

I'm a little surprised that this hasn't been given a little more coverage. One of the things that has stopped me from getting an iPod is the lack of WMA support. Heck, ITunes doesn't even recognize WMA files.

The questions then become:

a) How will ITunes handle the WMA files? and
b) How will WMP handle the iPod?

If anyone has the answers to these questions let me know.

I continue to be disappointed with the state of the mp3 world. Sure, if you're a Mac user, the iPod is a wonderful little gadget. Heck it's even pretty good for Windows users. The problem is that I hate the iTunes application. If you're going to "port" your application to another operating system, have some respect for the paradigms of that OS. I want my maximize button. Apple's weak 'restore' button doesn't cut it for me. Even more problematic is the iPod's size. It's just too big to exercise with.

I waited with anticipation for Apple to point that wonderful industrial design for which they are famous towards the mini market. Did they deliver? uh. No. All that anticipation and the result is a smaller iPod. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, it is called a mini-iPod. But still, the genius behind the iPod was that form followed function. I just don't feel that the mini follows suit. I want someone to design an MP3 player for the athletic type. The mini-iPod just doesn't look like it's going to be it. Not to mention that it costs about the same as an iPod (within $50).

Don't get me wrong. It's not like the Windows world is doing a much better job there. Rio, iRiver, Creative, etc. all put out products that just feel cheap. Is it just too much to ask for a well-designed exercise MP3 player that doesn't feel like it will break at any moment?

I seem to be just ranting at this point. I'm going to go now.

I was feeling bad about the previous entry. At least Americans don't seem to be alone. It turns out Britons are just as stupid as we are. I guess we were just fooled by the accent.