President Bartlet will see you now Senator

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I never got hooked on West Wing but I must have been the only one not watching this popular TV show about fictional U. S. President Jed Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen). NYT columnist Maureen Dowd asked WW creator Aaron Sorkin to imagine a meeting between President Bartlet and Senator Barack Obama. As you know, I’m fond of such fictional conversations, so I share a nugget or two from this one:

OBAMA The problem is we can’t appear angry. Bush called us the angry left. Did you see anyone in Denver who was angry?

BARTLET Well … let me think. …We went to war against the wrong country, Osama bin Laden just celebrated his seventh anniversary of not being caught either dead or alive, my family’s less safe than it was eight years ago, we’ve lost trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, thousands of lives and we lost an entire city due to bad weather. So, you know … I’m a little angry.

OBAMA What would you do?

BARTLET GET ANGRIER! … Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

“Fooled, and used, and a lot of people died.”

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Bush and Paulson say the proposed bailout plan is the only way to save our economy. The only way. Okay, Dave Winer is willing to support the plan on the following conditions:

“Bush and Cheney must resign immediately. No immunity, no pardons. Nancy Pelosi will become President, promising not to run for re-election on November 4. Her term will be one of the shortest in US history, just long enough to enact the provisions of the bill being proposed by the Republican administration. If it really is the best thing for the country and not a trick, then the Republicans, being impressed by the seriousness of it, would have to insist that Bush step aside and let the Democrats execute the plan. The entire Bush cabinet stays in office through January 20, but reports, of course to Pelosi. And that includes Paulson. It’s pretty simple. If they won’t do it, we know they’re bluffing.”

For What It’s Worth

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There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
–Buffalo Springfield

When was the last time you really changed someone’s mind? I’m talking about something you did or said that resulted in another person changing a deeply held belief or opinion.

Folks, it does… not… happen. Or so rarely it’s the same as never (see Meteor Destroys Cincinnati).

And if you do hear the words, “I’ve been thinking about what you said and you’re right,” it’s far more likely the person saying those words is trying to patch up some rift based on a heated discussion.

Our beliefs are the results of years of programming. They make up who we (think we) are. We don’t throw these out the window because of something a friend said over a beer.

Few of us honestly challenge our own ideas and beliefs. Most of us read books and web sites, and watch cable channels that reinforce and support the things we already believe.

What the fuck are you talking about smays.com?

I’m talking about the futility and pointlessness of discussing (polite arguments) things like religion and politics, which –it now occurs to me– involve one group of people telling another group of people what they must do or should believe. Where was I?

ArmwrestlingwithscienceSounds like you’re saying we should only take part in discussions with people who share our views?

I think I’m challenging you to be honest with yourself about your motivation. The next time you find yourself in a “debate” about religion or the economy or who puts whose willie where… stop for a second and ask yourself why you care what the other person believes.

Intellectual curiosity? If that were the case, the discussion would be over as soon as opinions were exchanged.

The answer, I believe, is that if they are RIGHT… then you must be WRONG. And that just won’t do. [Cartoon by B. Kliban]

[Bell rings]

I’ll see you all tomorrow. Read chapters 8, 9 and 10. Don’t forget, book reports are due by Friday.

Sharing music

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We were listening to some new tunes on Roger’s iPod as we drove back to Jeff City from Columbia. Like most new cars, his has an input jack for the iPod (or whatever). So it was easy for me to pull out my nano [insert joke here], plug in and play one of my tunes.

As we listened, it occurred to me this simple act couldn’t happen in a pre-iPod world, at least not easily. Yeah, I guess I could have had a pocket-full of cassettes or CD’s, but Roger and I had thousands of songs between us and we thought nothing of switching from his iPod to mine.

Cb011960My old pal RP was an avid collector of 45 rpm records. He had big cardboard boxes jammed with “singles.” The best we could do back then was stack 20 or so on a fat little spindle that would drop the next 45 down to the turntable. Shuffle? Sure, like a deck of cards.

I seem to recall RP telling me he had copied all of his 45’s to CD. Don’t know if he’s made the final leap to an iPod.

It’s hard to imagine what’s next but even hard to imagine there won’t be a “next.”

Herman Miller Aeron chair

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Hermanmiller
I’ve done something rash. Another impulse purchase. No, not an Apple product this time. That comes next week (or whenever) when the new MacBooks arrive. I popped for a Herman Miller Aeron chair. Here’s the back-story.

Barb has been having some repetitive stress pain from a really shitty ergonomic combination of chair and desk. It got me to thinking about how much time we spend in an office chair in front of a computer. Six, eight hours a day? So I pulled the trigger. Stay tuned.

Best Headline of the Day

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“You’d be miserable too if you’d married that guy you banged twice in high school.”

The honor goes to Laurie at 23/6 (Some of the News, Most of the Time). It tops a little poll: What advice would you give Levi and Bristol? Options include:

  • You can see Russia from the Palin home. Run to it.
  • What’s the problem? Ignoring each other is how me and the missus have lasted this long.
  • Cancel the wedding and give the baby up for adoption to a childless pro-lifer, like Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh.

You can see the results if you take the poll at 23/6. I just love silly shit like this.

More US mobile phone than Americans 13+

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The following stats were featured in a marketing piece I received today. And I’m guessing the numbers are even higher in other developed countries.

  • Tin_can_string85% of Americans have a cell phone (there are actually more US mobile phones than Americans age 13 and older) Source: CTIA Wireless Association
  • 66% of cell phones in America are equipped with a camera Source: comScore
  • 40% of Americans with cell phones send/receive text messages (80% among 13-24 year olds; 63% among 18-27year olds) Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project
  • 24% of Americans with cell phones send/receive photo or video messages (up 60% in the past year) Source: M:Metrics

And it will just get easier and easier to share those photos and videos. I’m not feeling particularly left out because I probably shoot-and-share more video than the average bear. But I can’t deny my mobilness much longer. Holding out for video iPhone.

Blogging: “A basic right of being in the media business”

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The always-plugged-in Amy Gahran insists your blog is “Media Career Insurance” for journalists.

“Because in a professional environment where staying findable equals sustained opportunity and flexibility, search engines are a key arbiter of your career. The more findable and linkable you are, the more search engines will reward you. … And search engines really, really love blogs.”

“Having your own blog is media career insurance. It will serve as your “home base” where you establish your personal reputation, track record, abilities, interests, and aspirations.”

Ms. Gahran offer some tips for starting a blog. Read her post where she explains each:

  1. Get a good domain name.
  2. Map your domain to your site, so every page on your site bears your domain.
  3. Stick with your domain.
  4. Don’t work for anyone who won’t let you keep blogging.
  5. Join the conversation, and link back to yourself
  6. Keep your blog going even if you also blog elsewhere

I particularly liked: “Consider blogging a basic right of being in the media business.”

Most of the journalists I know and work with do not have a personal blog. I think most of them would insist they don’t have time to blog. A few don’t think it’s “appropriate” for a journalist to blog.

Classic nano back

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NanorecorderMy chubby nano worked fine (insert joke here) and I’ve been quite happy with it. But I always preferred the original nano design and was happy see Apple return to it. This one just fits the hand better.

I won’t rehash the features. If you care you’ve already read about and seen them. One of my favorites, however, is the improved “memo” recording. Just the simple addition of a little level indicator (see arrow) makes a big difference if you want to record something.

I made this recording with a little gizmo from Griffin called the iTalk. It’s a little hot because I wasn’t sure how close to hold the mic. I’ll do something a little longer and post that, along with something from the Marantz PMD620 so we can do an A-B comparison.