Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

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"I'm not the guy."

-- Sen. Joe Biden, quoted by ABC News, to reporters camped outside his home.

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Do you know what the real difference is between a Mac and a PC? It’s not just the OS. A platform always stands or falls on third-party development. The difference is that Mac software tends to be well designed, and Windows software tends to suck. The question, then, is why don’t all the Mac develo(author unknown)

This is beyond redonk, People. Alert viewer Matthew McCurtisons found this one. Introducing a product you don't need with a ridiculous name! Total overload.

I'm ordering two faster than you can say 'shoulder strap ap ap ap ap ap'

The latest Pew Survey on News Consumption, which is conducted every other year, was released yesterday, and is chock full of interesting tidbits and results. Most notably, there was a great section of the report on news-consumer knowledge and sophistication.

About half of Americans (53%) can correctly identify the Democrats as the party that has a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In February 2007, shortly after the Democrats gained control of the House after a dozen years of GOP rule, many more people (76%) knew the Democrats held the majority.

The public is less familiar with the secretary of state (Condoleezza Rice) and the prime minister of Great Britain (Gordon Brown). About four-in-ten (42%) can name Rice as the current secretary of state. The public’s ability to identify Rice has not changed much over recent years: In April 2006 and December 2004, shortly before she was sworn in, 43% could correctly identify her.

The prime minister of Great Britain is not well known among the public. Just more than a quarter (28%) can correctly identify Gordon Brown as the leader of Great Britain.

Overall, 18% of the public is able to correctly answer all three political knowledge questions, while a third (33%) do not know the answer to any of the questions.

I’ll admit, I’m torn about how humiliating this is to the nation overall. For the typical American not to know Gordon Brown strikes me as only mildly distressing — Brown has only been Prime Minister for about a year, and most of the public was probably more familiar with Tony Blair.

But one-in-three Americans got all of the questions wrong. For all the talk about the Democratic Congress, barely half the country knows there’s a Democratic majority.

Maybe my perspective is skewed because I just finished reading Rick Shenkman’s “Just How Stupid Are We?” but at a certain point, the political world is going to have to come to grips with the fact that a striking percentage of the electorate has no idea what’s going on.

As for the other results from the Pew survey, it was also interesting to note which news consumers did better than others.

From the report:

Regular readers of magazines such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine stand out for their political knowledge; almost half (48%) can correctly identify Rice, Brown and the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives. NPR listeners rank closely behind, with 44% of regular listeners registering a high knowledge score. More than four-in-ten regular Hardball (43%) and Hannity & Colmes (42%) viewers also score relatively high for political knowledge.

In general, well-educated news audiences have high levels of political knowledge; for instance, 54% of regular readers of publications such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Harper’s Magazine are college graduates, as are 54% of regular NPR listeners. However, a greater proportion of regular readers of business magazines are college graduates (60%), but just 36% answered all three political knowledge questions correctly.

Just a third of regular Rush Limbaugh listeners are college graduates, but this audience scored as well on political knowledge as did regular business magazine readers. Similarly, only about three-in-ten (31%) regular Hannity & Colmes listeners are college graduates, but a relatively large proportion (42%) answered all three questions correctly.

Some highly knowledgeable and attentive news audiences - such as The New Yorker’s, Limbaugh’s, Hannity & Colmes’ or Hardball’s - are older than average. However, age is not always a correlate of political knowledge: the CBS Evening News has one of the oldest audiences of the news outlets included on the survey; 63% of the regular viewers of this program are 50 or older. But just 10% of regular CBS News viewers correctly answered the three questions.

The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are notable for having relatively well-informed audiences that are younger than the national average: 34% of regular Colbert viewers answered the three political knowledge questions correctly, as did 30% of regular Daily Show viewers. Less than a quarter of either audience is older than 50 (22% Colbert, 23% Daily Show), compared with 41% of the general public.

Now, I found this particularly interesting because four years ago, Fox News viewers were the most confused about current events, especially when it came to subjects such as weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and Saddam Hussein “working closely” with al Qaeda. Viewers of “The Daily Show” were among the best informed at the time.

So, have things changed? I kind of doubt it — these Pew questions were easier and covered non-controversial subjects. My hunch is, had Pew asked more about subjects relating to Republican talking points, those Fox News viewers would have done considerably worse.

Call it a hunch.

How does Jim Keyes still have the job as CEO? Netflix is kicking his company’s ass and he thinks Netflix is the company that’s doing it wrong:

Equally bewildering to Mr. Keyes is the emphasis on catalog size. Why would anyone want to watch anything other than new releases, he wonders.

“I don’t care how many movies are available to me. As my personal taste as a customer, I want to watch the new stuff so whether we have 10,000 movies or 200 movies doesn’t matter if I don’t want to see any of the movies that we have … our assortment is heavily weighted toward newer releases and mainstream staple titles.”

 ★ 

Shared by kebernet
WTF?

Wall Street Journal:
AC/DC to Sell New Album Only Through Wal-Mart  —  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said rock band AC/DC will sell its new album exclusively at namesake and Sam's Club locations in the U.S.  —  The move — which makes the veteran rockers the latest artist to sell a new album only through Wal-Mart …

WTF?

While the Democratic veepstakes is being driven largely by a search for qualities like Strength, Experience, and other ways to say Penishood, Republicans this year will be looking for candidates with a kind of energy or vitality, what the French call a certain having-a-pulseness. Once again we ask: who has what it takes? Who can check if the president's still breathing at a state dinner whileThe Medium Lobster

After Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada announced that Stephen Colbert is still running for president in the Marvel Universe, we decided to follow up by contacting a reporter in that universe for updates on his campaign:

Doom with a View?
Ken Ellis, DB Staff Reporter

As America is suddenly gripped in the midst of another war -- one that could decide the fate of all mankind -- the U.S. government just can't seem to stop arguing over how to defend its people from shape-shifting aliens that are capable of assuming human guise at any time. Over the past week, emergency proposals to allocate funding toward battling the Skrull invasion have accomplished little more than littering Congress agendas, as House of Representatives and Senate members bicker over the best course of action.

Those who are currently fighting for a future inside the Oval Office, however, have been far more proactive. On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert vocally chastised members of Congress, claiming that the alien threat should be rallying America's leaders, not splitting them apart even further. Furthermore, Colbert urged that emergency war funding be approved immediately, and that the country's resources -- including its strategic petroleum reserves -- be tapped as required to help combat the invaders.

"Mr. Colbert firmly believes that at this point in time, our government is only hurting the very people it has sworn to protect," said Colbert's campaign strategist David Seperson. "The resources to defend our nation from these monsters must be made available to us; that's what they're there for."

Seperson added that Colbert has placed phone calls to several other world leaders who have reportedly been affected by the Skrull invasion, including King T'Challa of Wakanda and the recently incarcerated Victor Von Doom, self-imposed monarch of Latveria. "He has yet to receive word back from either ruler," he confirmed, "but considering the circumstances, that's certainly understandable."

Contacting T'Challa could certainly be construed as "understandable." But Dr. Doom -- a jailed despot who time and again has battled the Fantastic Four and was recently brought to justice by the Avengers for his crimes against humanity?

"True, Latveria is a Third World nation that's been ruled by a mad tyrant in most people's eyes," Seperson explained. "However, that nation's advancements in technology are second to none. And with Mr. Fantastic unavailable these days, Mr. Colbert thinks we need all the scientific know-how we can gather if Earth is going to survive this crisis."

For a special Colbert easter egg, check out Captain America #41, on sale now.

This week's images are from Secret Invasion #13.

Previous Colbert easter eggs:

Ms. Marvel #29, X-Factor #33, Eternals #2, Punisher War Journal #21, She-Hulk #30 X-Factor #32, Amazing Spider-Man #562 Secret Invasion #3, Ms. Marvel #27 and She-Hulk #29, Incredible Hercules #117, X-Men: Legacy #211, Young X-Men #2, Amazing Spider-Man #556, She Hulk #28, Incredible Hercules #116, Amazing Spider-Man #556, Secret Invasion #1

More »

Send me to da laydee wif mai complementz

u iz da ladeez man.

picture: dunno source, via our lolcat builder. lol caption: LisaN

» Recaption This

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I normally don't post links, but this one is just huge. From the article:

An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen - touted as the clean, green fuel of the future - cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.

If this could be made to work on an industrial scale it would totally revolutionize our use of energy, and at the same time significantly reduce the reasons for war that oil now provides. Which, probably, is the number one reason it won't see the light of day. But let's hope it will.

Rickard Öberg

I normally don't post links, but this one is just huge. From the article:

An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen - touted as the clean, green fuel of the future - cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.

If this could be made to work on an industrial scale it would totally revolutionize our use of energy, and at the same time significantly reduce the reasons for war that oil now provides. Which, probably, is the number one reason it won't see the light of day. But let's hope it will.

Rickard Öberg

After months of hard work, I am pleased to see our latest Android SDK publicly available. There are tons of new stuff for you to play with!

Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation as a silver member. This move reflects the growing strength and influence of Canonical within the Linux ecosystem.

Read More...

segphault@arstechnica.com (Ryan Paul)

Don’t say you haven’t been warned.  We’ve been talking about it for nearly a year now and now we find Dragon*Con almost upon us.  For those of you living under a rock, Dragon*Con is one of the largest fantasy and sci-fi conventions in the country.  It’s held in my own hometown of Atlanta, Georgia and this year, as if it could be made more awesome, it features an entire track dedicated to Skepticism.  Randi! Phil Plait! PZ Myers! Michael Shermer! The list goes on and on! Since there will be skeptics and Skepchicks around, of course, there are lots of opportunities to come by and say hello.   Here’s the rundown of events the next couple of weeks:

Skepchicks in Florida - THIS SATURDAY, August 23, Carr2d2 and I will be hosting Skepchicks in the Pub in Destin, Florida - details of where and when will be posted here as soon as we have them.

Pre-Dragon*Con Skepchicks in the Pub - Thursday, August 28 - Carr2d2, A and I will be there, amongst the rest of the gang of Atlanta and visiting Skeptics who may be coming in earlier. Facebook has the details here.  At least one robot will be present!

And, of course, Skeptrack itself - check the site and Facebook for details.  We will all be there - come say hello!

ETA:  I forgot there is another Atlanta Skeptics event coming up the same weekend we’re in Destin.  So if you’re unfortunate enough not be in Florida, go say hello to the folks at Secular Gwinnett on Saturday, August 23rd, 7 pm at Summit’s Wayside Tavern in Snellville, GA.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned.  We’ve been talking about it for nearly a year now and now we find Dragon*Con almost upon us.  For those of you living under a rock, Dragon*Con is one of the largest fantasy and sci-fi conventions in the country.  It’s held in my own hometown of Atlanta, Georgia and this year, as if it could be made more awesome, it features an entire track dedicated to Skepticism.  Randi! Phil Plait! PZ Myers! Michael Shermer! The list goes on and on! Since there will be skeptics and Skepchicks around, of course, there are lots of opportunities to come by and say hello.   Here’s the rundown of events the next couple of weeks:

Skepchicks in Florida - THIS SATURDAY, August 23, Carr2d2 and I will be hosting Skepchicks in the Pub in Destin, Florida - details of where and when will be posted here as soon as we have them.

Pre-Dragon*Con Skepchicks in the Pub - Thursday, August 28 - Carr2d2, A and I will be there, amongst the rest of the gang of Atlanta and visiting Skeptics who may be coming in earlier. Facebook has the details here.  At least one robot will be present!

And, of course, Skeptrack itself - check the site and Facebook for details.  We will all be there - come say hello!

ETA:  I forgot there is another Atlanta Skeptics event coming up the same weekend we’re in Destin.  So if you’re unfortunate enough not be in Florida, go say hello to the folks at Secular Gwinnett on Saturday, August 23rd, 7 pm at Summit’s Wayside Tavern in Snellville, GA.

While I do think it functions well as a wedge issue for Republicans, as it neatly combines our society's general love of moral tuttuting with its specific disapproval of independent female sexuality, support for the pro-choice position consistently remains high. A few scolds can always be peeled off with things like "Congressman Smith thinks it's okay for a woman to have an abortion if she doesn't like the baby's hair color." But, basically, it's a pro-choice country even if some people need to have it explained to them that "choice" means choice for thee and for me.

noreply@blogger.com (Atrios)

What all this demonstrates for the umpteenth time is that the RIAA and MPAA still show themselves to be in possession of quite the tin ear.(author unknown)

I’m packing for the move in a week, dealing with boxes of papers in the storage room that haven’t been opened since the last move, a pretty good hint they need to at least be considered for the dump.

Above is a betacam tape of one of my Headline News shows from 1997, looks like a day when I was producing a full live hour, with this half directed by Bruce Daniel (who still works there, and whose wife is a good friend of Kelly’s). I think I kept a couple of these tapes just in case I needed them for pursuing another producing job, though the rigid format of Headlines back in that day meant that one producer’s show really ought to look pretty much like anyone else’s, so there really wouldn’t have been much value showing anyone this tape, short of pointing to the back of my head in the control room on the show-opening Camera One zoom and saying “see, that’s me!”

One thing about the format is that different producers still had flexibility within the format to pick their packages (with the guidance of a supervising producer) and fill out their 13-minute news block however they saw fit. We had one associate producer (which is what I was) who, when he did live hours, tried to give the audience something different by using cold opens, or effecting through some VOs with a “in this half hour”, or stuff like that.

I rarely did that, but what I often tried to do was to get more new stories into the system by digging through the wires (especially state wires, features, business, and Reuters’ “odd” wire) and, if I didn’t have enough writers to take on extra work beyond the necessary updates, I’d just write it myself. There was a full-blown producer named Alicia who also did this. We thought it was good for the Headlines ecosystem as a whole, because the new stories could be duped into later shows, so there’d be more variety in the next 23.5 hours. But in retrospect, the downside of this approach is that were writing from the wires instead of writing to available video, and usually ended up only having a box right for our new read. So on the one hand, we had new content in a textual sense, but were we really creating new “television”? My older self argues against my younger self on this one: today, I think I would have used the time to look through the feeds and see if I could find some good unused video, even if the story wasn’t as good.

So, also in the boxes of vanity, I found this little embarrassment:

Yep, I tried to write a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine spec script. Not that I was alone. Trek was the only show that regularly accepted spec scripts from unagented writers. To wit:

As they point out, 99.9% of spec scripts are sent packing with a “thank you very much”, though a few writers were able to break through this way, and it’s to Paramount’s credit that they were so open to new writers, and to their fan base, in this way.

I didn’t submit this script, in fact, because I knew then that it was bad (and can’t bring myself to read it today). I had about two acts plotted out and started writing, which ended up pretty much how you’d expect: somewhere in the middle of Act IV, I was just throwing words on paper, not knowing what the fuck I was doing or where I was going. In fact, the only reason I don’t trash all remaining copies of this (for fear of my children finding it in my effects 30 or 40 years from now), is the fact that I also found some notes where I was radically re-breaking the story for a thoroughly overhauled second draft:

A rewrite might not have made it good, but it would certainly have made it better.

Before drifting into CNN, I think I ended up writing maybe four total spec scripts. Clearly not enough, and it was not something I did often enough for the process to get easier. Maybe you have to write 10 scripts before you write a good one, but if you don’t truly think the first 9 can be any good, how the heck do you turn them out?

I’ve felt this in an accelerated way with iPhone work since getting the SDK earlier this year. My first couple were tentative, confused, and sometimes appealed for Java analogies that weren’t there. Two things that helped were trying to do some ambitious work early on (my still-broken web radio client) rather than just “screwing around” with the SDK, but then getting into a groove of creating a number of projects and getting familiar with the process of creating an XCode project and being increasingly purposeful with where I wanted to take the code.

Writing an application and writing a screenplay have certain strange similarities. Aside from having to start with an empty “new document” window and needing to bring life to the void, there’s also a sensation that when things are set up right, they just run themselves. In code, those are methods, delegates, and program states. In writing, it’s character and situation (indeed, plot is sometimes defined as character plus situation… define both of them well enough and your story writes itself).

As for my spec scripts, they fell by the wayside while I worked at Headlines. I tried to write a Home Improvement spec to keep the Hollywood screenwriter dream alive, but aside from having some gags and a general premise, I could never get the feel for the straight sitcom. My two half-way decent specs are animation (a spec for Animaniacs which got a nice read from WB and a copy of a real script from the show, sort of a gentle “do it more like this”), and an off-the-wall sitcom pilot we did in grad school called Public Access, which was a finalist in a couple of competitions, but not a winner. It still has some of my favorite gags, the recurring show-within-a-shows like “Can You Fit A Hamster Through A Funnel?” and “Show Dyslexia The”.

Had I taken my chances in LA rather than playing it safe at CNN, I might have taken the next step beyond these scripts, but then again, I might also have crashed and burned and wasted even more time. Guess we’ll never know… short of finding a way to an alternate universe where things played out that way. Which, I think, is what my DS9 was about.