Ipod 3.0 software update

The iPod3.0 touch software update doesn't look that compelling for the iPod touch first generation. Here's what they advertise as new:

• cut and paste - want
• landscape keyboard - kind of want
• spotlight search - meh
• buy media on your ipod touch from itunes - do not want
• stereo bluetooth - could not use (2nd generation only)
• head to head games - could not use (2nd generation only)
• shake to shuffle - do not want
• parental controls - do not want
• new languages - do not want
• automatic wifi hotspot login - do not want
• push notifications - probably won't use
• itunes store account creations - do not want

My question is whether I will have to pay the $9.95 just to keep up-to-date with security updates and bug fixes for the older version of the iPod touch operating system.

Damn the Torpedoes

Warning: spoilers!

Recipe of the Star Trek movie: (1) One part damn the moral dilemma, full action ahead! (2) Two parts damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! (literally) (3) Three parts damn the bridge procedure, I'm going on the away team! (4) Most. powerful. mining ship. evar. (5) Seasoned to taste with a pinch of red matter. (may substitute deus ex machina juice if required) Smooth over plot holes with a frosting of computer graphics. Served as a non-stop space action movie with a Star Trek logo pasted on top.

The tasting: I liked it for the action part, I quite liked the acting and character interactions, but as a Trekkie film, it wasn't really there for me.

Pick a Side, Any Side

Does it matter what we believe, as long as we believe something? That's what a television news commentator would urge us to do:

Believe in something! Even if it's wrong! Believe in it!

-- Glenn Beck, Mar 2009

The video is in this Comedy Central clip, around time 3:10:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
IndigNation! Populist Uprising '09 - The Enragening
comedycentral.com

OK, you might argue, this is just a typical opinion entertainer on one of the several "news" networks, trying to fill up on of the 24 hours the network is on the air, every day. Let's even excuse the fact that Beck seems to believe all of what he is saying, down to the teary-eyed professions of love for his country and the little guy (see video above). Is there something to what he says?

As it turns out, perhaps. A recent survey by Anthony Leiserowitz asked television viewers which of several "news" shows they watched before the general election in 2008, and about their general beliefs. Of those who watched the specific shows of interest, they broke down approximately evenly between left-leaning (such as Olberman, Colbert and Stewart), and right-leaning shows (such as O'Reilly, Hannity and Limbaugh).

What fascinated me was this question,

We should always be willing to fight for our country, whether our country is right or wrong.

A whopping 70% of those who watch right-leaning shows agree with this statement. Which means if our country is wrong, no matter how egregiously wrong, 70% of these viewers would still support military action? The left-leaning shows are really not much better, with 30-40% of viewers responding that they agree with the statement. Of the respondants that didn't watch any of the specific shows, about half agreed that we should be willing to fight no matter what.

Note that the question was not about whether we should "support the troups," although that phrase has it's own moral ambiguities. No, the question was whether we should support our country, in military action, even when that action is something we know to be wrong. I wonder if the right-leaning watchers still agree with this statement, now that a Democrat holds the presidency.

I'm a little taken aback by this philosophy. It basically says that a large number of citizens place country above morality. Or rather, that our nation creates its own morality by virtue of its existence. These respondants are willing to hold and support beliefs that they know to be wrong, simply because the name of their country is attached to it. I guess I would prefer it to go the other way: that our country earns the respect of the righteous by actually doing the right thing in the first place.

Der Party Starter

One of the Superbowl commercials that I really laughed at...

Just how much is a teenager worth these days?

Sadly, we now know the answer:

"Martinez had arranged through a third party to have his [14 year old] daughter marry the older teenager, identified by authorities as Margarito de Jesus Galindo, of Gonzales, California. In exchange, Galindo was to pay Martinez $16,000 and provide him with 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat, Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told CNN.

Apparently it's a common practice in the Oaxaca province where the people involved were from, but it's also a little chilling to know the negotiations revolved around a few cases of gatorade.

Merry Mitchella Repens!

Merry Christmas! I found this on the forest floor today. My best identification is Partridge berry (Mitchella Repens). It's supposed to be edible, but not tasty, so I didn't try it, but it did remind me of the season.

When Good Democracy Goes Silly

Voting is such a joke. Well, it must have seemed that way, for some people as they made their way to the Minnesota polls. I've watched a little of the Minnesota Canvas Review Board webcast at theuptake.org, and in the space of a few minutes some crazy ballots came up, reflecting our dear Minnesotans' sense of humor. The first one thought it would be fun to change the name of candidate Franken, to Frankenstein, but I bet they didn't expect their mischief to appear on state-wide TV! [ Especially since they spelled it wrong. ] The Coleman campaign advocate was brazen enough to suppose that the voter was voting for someone else named Frankenstin, and definitely not candidate Franken! The second ballot voted legitimately for Senate, but on lower level offices, our voter clearly subscribes to Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. All hail to His Noodly Appendage! I'm glad for my Minnesota brethrens' senses of humor, but perhaps the voting booth is not the place to express it. Update: Here's one more. I for one welcome our new Lizard People overlords.