One final down, all the t-shirts from the sale distributed to the other students (or will be, anyway, out of my hands at the moment), all the checks deposited for the sale. Think I'm almost to the end of this semester.
I'm moving this political post to the top because of its importance. The FCC is now open to public comments regarding the new rules sweeping away Net Neutrality. If you've ever signed a petition, or circulated an email about this subject, now is the time to actually be heard. For a primer on why this is important, here is an article discussing it. And another interview about why this is important.
Oh look, the novel is dead. Again. What a giant burrito of self-agrandisment bullshit. Look, mate, you're off your fucking rocker, you are. Seriously, your perception of reality is based in teenaged dreams of avarice and glory. You might want to listen to Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" one more time and seriously grok what they're telling you. Art, in all it's forms, has always been low. Because, and here's the thing, it's entertainment. It's what people did after knocking down the mammoth and frying up some elephantine t-bones while making spear points for the next hunt. The people prefer Punch and Judy over McBeth. Bread and Circuses, mate, Bread and Circuses. And for the love of all that is holy, can we stop whipping the desiccated corpse of Marshall McLuhan? We are already past his paradigm, have been since the late 60s. Get over yourself. While you type pretty words, you ain't all that and a bucket of posies. Welcome to what art has always been, a working class aspiration. For every master of the form, there are legions of journeymen and armies of talented apprentices. Keep laboring on. (Grokked from Dr. Doyle)
Paul Roth makes a video regarding VidCon and harassment policies and codes of conduct. Yes, this. Look, we would all love to live in a world where such things aren't necessary, but we don't live in such a world. You need these policies, and the enforcement mechanism (and willingness to use it) if you're hosting an event. I know people who go to VidCon, I know people in that video. Even if I'm not going it's important to me. So, VidCon, your stakeholders in this matter include way more people than your attending members. Also, please note, all other convention organizers, if you don't have these policies in place, please get with the 1990's and write one. Also, make a pledge to enforce it, especially if it's uncomfortable (because of situation or people involved). It's important. (Grokked from Annalee)
And speaking of conventions, if you're an SF/F themed event and you're looking for a guest of honor, Jim Hines has some "not the usual suspects" recommendations.
Symantec throws in the towel when it comes to detecting computer malware. Yea, it's a target rich environment and they kinda fell behind in how one needs to do these things. (Grokked from John)
Look, whatever party you belong to, don't be a dick, okay?
Jim Wright with his ninth installation of Bang Bang Crazy. I love the people who say "moar guns." They're so cute. Jim gives a pretty good scenario about an active shooter on base and MPs responding to a scene where everybody is holding. I've got a better one. You are that highly-trained soldier waiting in line to process. You're kinda bored, wondering what's for lunch when you finally get through the line. You look down to make sure all your forms are filled out and in order when you hear the first shot. Being highly trained you realize the sound you heard couldn't have been anything else but a firearm discharging (because, you know, there aren't lots of things that make loud banging noises). So you drop your kit and draw while going heads up. In your vision you identify 3 people with drawn side arms (this is out of the approximately 50 people around you who have drawn their weapons as well). One of them aims and discharges dropping another soldier whom you hadn't visually processed yet. Is that soldier the shooter or is the soldier they shot the actual shooter (even worse, what if that soldier made a mistake and shot the wrong person). Everyone is now zoning in on the person you saw fire their weapon (because this is a perfect scenario and everybody can determine the direction and distance of the shot). Someone fires and the person you saw shooting falls. Did this new person shot the shooter, did they make a mistake, or is this other person the original shooter taking out another target? Also, since you're in an enclosed space your head hurts and your ears are ringing. See the problem. It's a chain reaction. By the time the MPs arrive there's going to be a lot of bodies on the ground and the rest of the people standing will be in a Mexican Standoff.
More people are expected to die constructing Qatar's 2022 World Cup stadium than those who died on 9/11. Just in case you don't think the world need a human rights movement. (Grokked from John)
Robert (Freakin') Reich on the four biggest right-wing lies about inequality. Yes, this. No, seriously, if tax cuts created jobs we would be swimming in them after the Bush Tax Cuts. If a rising tide raises all boats we'd all be floating instead of half of us drowning. If hard work was the criteria for better pay, CEOs would be making less than their line workers and the person flipping your burgers would be driving a new Benz (your nurse would be living in the gated communities of the world). When people talk about the coming revolution, here is where it will come from (not some idiot Patriot group). (Grokked from Steven Gould via Wil Wheaton)
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