“The Looxcie is not a high-definition camera. It records at a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels at 15″ frames a second. But it has a special button that makes it ideal for taking video of unexpected moments. When the camera is running in continuous-capture mode, and the wearer suddenly sees a goal scored at a hockey game, for instance, a quick push of the button will tell the camera to automatically save a clip of the preceding 30 seconds. The camera weighs about an ounce and stores up to five hours of video.”
Author Archives: Steve Mays
Scott Adams: Eliminating Political Parties
“Now imagine what would happen to campaign funding if political parties didn’t exist. In our current system, a union can give a million dollars to the Democratic Party and it doesn’t seem too wrong because the party represents about half of the voters in the country. But if political parties didn’t exist, unions or corporate interests would have to donate to individuals. And a large donation to an individual campaign would either be illegal or it would look so much like a bribe that it would be counter-productive.
I think political parties made sense in pre-Internet times. It was a good way to organize and to produce candidates who had a legitimate chance of getting elected. Now it’s easy to imagine the Internet being a better platform for electing the right people. The problem is that there’s no way to get to a different type of system from here. The major parties are too entrenched to give up power, and belonging to organizations is a fundamental freedom.”
Changing Education Paradigms
A couple of things. I don’t think I would have listened to this presentation (10 min?) without the animation. Because of the animation, I listened much more closely. Focused. Much better than watching the speaker at a podium or –god forbid– Powerpoint slides.
Secondly, I am really grateful my nephews and niece were home schooled. Well done Blane and Tonya. If you have children in school –or plan to– you should watch this.
Thanks to Rebecca Landwehr
Does my vote really matter?
All my life I have been told that it does. The candidates have told me that. The news anchors told me that. My civics teacher told me that. And like many such givens, I beleived it must be true.
But this thoughtful post by David Cain has made me reconsider. I’m just pulling a graf to keep this short so if you give a shit one way or the other you really should read his entire post:
“Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of not voting because they feel like they would then be forfeiting the only power they have over who governs. But your vote contains no power. It is a virtually inert token of your participation, which does carry some sentimental value to some people. But it has no election-swinging ability. There are plenty of actions that can make a difference but casting your vote isn’t one of them.”
For some bizarre reason, Mr. Cain’s post caused me to flash on the carnival midway. One of the “games” involved trying to toss a wooden hoop around a small fishbowl that contained a goldfish. The bowl was just two feet away and you could almost lean over and drop the hoop on the bowl. But not quite. The carney guy understood something that I didn’t. Even if I got the goldfish, he wins.
Mr. Cain also argues that if the election is really important to you, you’ll do more than vote. You’ll knock on doors and work your ass off in other ways. I can find no flaw in that logic.
Before you dismiss the idea that your vote doesn’t really make a difference, read the post.