Davison online
The life and times of the world’s
most self-deluded online superstar
News & Commentary
Thank you, Your Majesty
http://college.usatoday.com/2016/10/03/university-of-michigan-pronouns/I support the desire of people to be called what they want, which is why names exist. As long as your chosen name is inoffensive, I may think you weird, but I’m going to use it. I am not at all on board with an individual’s interpretation of personal pronouns. I am open to the...
Imploding
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/18/solarcity-teslas-solar-boondoggle.aspx I hate to say it because I love their cars, but I dont think Tesla is going to survive. You take the nonsensical SolarCity acquisition and add Tesla’s problems scaling Model 3 production and I don’t see how the company gets out alive. It’s a bummer.
Cultural appropriation problems
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-09-03/didgeridoos-a-dont-for-girls-expert/498040?pfmredir=sm But the general manager of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association, Dr Mark Rose, says the publishers have committed a major faux pas by including a didgeridoo lesson for girls.Dr Rose says the didgeridoo is a man's instrument and touching it could make...
The Matrix has you
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopiaI deleted the Facebook app from my iPhone and my iPad. Life improved. I had more time, since I wasn’t checking Facebook all the time. Now I look in on it maybe once a week. Facebook’s not the only culprit of course, just the biggest. The question of how to...
United Way not the way?
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2017/10/14/united-ways-suspends-grant-program-nonprofits-mid-willamette-valley/757509001/Salaries and related expenses in its current budget are $412,070 out of more than $1.15 million in total expenses. According to its 2015-16 Annual Report, United Way spends 14 percent of its budget...
And now the cover up
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/10/12/facebook-takes-down-data-and-thousands-of-posts-obscuring-reach-of-russian-disinformation/In the court of public opinion, Facebook is going to be judged very harshly. It’s one thing to make a mistake. It’s quite another to disown it and try to cover it up.
The identity politics disaster
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/09/how-modern-addiction-identity-politics-has-fractured-left There is a good reason that liberals focus extra attention on minorities, since they are the most likely to be disenfranchised. But the only way in a democracy to assist them meaningfully – and not just make empty gestures of recognition and...
The Russian attack on America
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/magazine/how-fake-news-turned-a-small-town-upside-down.html
Cold War hits home
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/22/russians-tried-hack-oregon-election-systems-2016/695229001/
Web browsing done right
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/apple-does-right-users-wrong-advertisersSo far web browsing is my favorite thing in iOS 11. I’ve turned on Reader View for every page that supports it and browsing is fast and ad-free. Tack on the built-in tracking blocker and it’s an excellent experience. To turn on Automatic Reader View go to Safari and tap and...
Essays
Online Love, Online Hate
Don't hate me for trying to be the best friend I can be. Hate me for other, more substantive reasons like my failure to floss daily. Rules for email engagement. Ignore these at your peril. If I've told you to read this, there's a reason, and you're it. An Open Letter to Some of My Friends I like you. Okay, well, I'll admit it: I love you. Not in the same head-over-heels way I do my wife, the Pittsburgh Steelers or Macintosh computers (and not necessarily in that order!...
How Few Thoughts a Brain Holds 2
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, my brain returns to fan the flames of discontent while leaping off the bridge of rational thought and into the black night of a thousand mixed metaphors. Extra vitrol, no charge. Regarding the current NATO attacks on Kosovo, President Clinton talking "moral imperatives" is like Bill Cosby's Fat Albert advocating a diet plan for the marathon runners: There's simply no credibility. Is Clinton the worst foreign policy...
Freedom to be Stupid
My take on Hate Crime Laws and why they're bad idea numero uno. Saying what I think and thinking what I say have never been more dangerous. Or incomprehensible. Introduction One of the organizing principles of every civilized society is that each individual has an inalienable right to believe the most ludicrous nonsense there is. I'm not kidding. It's been codified numerous ways, the most famous probably being the First Amendment's freedom of religion and speech clauses and...
How Few Thoughts a Brain Holds
Random bits of news heartily deserving of extreme vitrolic commentary receive same for price of regular vitrol. My egg nog overdose comes early this year. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Y2K glitch in your PC. Dr. K gets his 60 Minutes of fame. At least he still does house calls. Opinion polls show this is a big plus. The most amazing thing about the current impeachment frenzy taking place in the nation's capital are those commentators (including, ahem, Vice President...