Tech News and Rambling from a Surly Little Bastard…
I’m at a bit of a loss as to what title I should have put on my business cards at work (yes, at the job I want to leave). It seems that no matter what title I come up with, I feel I’m selling myself short in some area or another.
You guys have a vague idea some of the things I do at work… If not, check my about page for a huge list of crap. Any suggestions?
A golf cart is one of two vehicles you should be allowed to drive drunk. The thing goes three feet a minute. If you hit somebody with one, they pretty much deserved it for having the reflexes of a tuna sandwich.
It was a quote from somewhere. No idea its origin… Apparently via Waking Ideas
Inspired by the show Numb3rs and a couple of random semi-related Jyte claims.
Over on Reddit, I found this story, titled New Microsoft Ad Features Girl’s Orgasm.
Now before we get into this, please, go watch the video (pick the first guy on the left, that’s the dad). Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere, I’ll be here when you’re done.
Taps foot semi-impatiently…
Ok, done? That’s great…
So this girl’s “orgasm” is one quick gasp as the father imagines the worst possible things that could happen to his (hot) daughter while she’s out on a date with this loser, spurning him to change the curfew they’d just finished negotiating. The question being posed is, is it appropriate for Microsoft to use the image of teenage sex (in conjunction with the stereotype of the loser boyfriend, no less) to help sell their Suspicious “Male”-detection module of the new Hotmail service?
Personally, I don’t think there’s anything scandalous about this ad. I find it creative and a fresh perspective from a company (Microsoft) long known for being the stereotypical hard-core straight-laced business user (much like ‘PC’ in the Apple Mac vs. PC ads). I think the real question here is much broader: How Prudish is American Society?
Ever seen the movie Eurotrip? Hey, it had Michelle Trachtenberg in it, I couldn’t not watch… Well, in one scene, they’re hitchhiking along and she decides she’ll get a ride… by taking off her shirt.
No one stops.
The point is, this straight-laced American highschooler thought taking her shirt off would get any number of creepy guys to pull over and give them all rides. Unfortunately, they find out that in Europe, seeing a chick with her shirt off isn’t a new thing. Their example was an orange juice ad with lesbians in it, which certainly hammered home the point to me (perverts!). Elsewhere in the movie, the head mistress at a brothel claims that America was founded by prudes, which seems to be an accurate claim given the rest of the evidence we see throughout.
So I ask you again: Why is this ad groundbreaking? Are we that delusional to think that our children aren’t finding out about sex elsewhere, and that a 2-second gasp in an advertisement from the 800lb gorilla of software is going to turn them all into hormone-crazy sex heathens?
Let’s grow up, America. Stop blaming the advertising for turning your children into sex-starved homicidal maniacs and start taking a little extra responsibility for raising a child that’s broken, alright?
Hiding the truth from our society as a whole doesn’t make it go away. Pretending sex doesn’t happen doesn’t mean your children aren’t having it. This isn’t a nightmare, where it will go away if we just ignore it long enough, this is real life… It’s here to stay.
How Scoble Really Reads 622 RSS Feeds Each Morning
Over on Digg, I saw the story How Scoble Reads 622 RSS Feeds Each Morning.
Now, without even reading the actual story, I can tell you (cynically, sure) exactly how he does it. Are you ready for this? Alright then… Here’s the answer:
How Scoble Really Reads 622 RSS Feeds Each Morning:
He doesn’t have a real job.
Now go find me someone with a real 8-5 job that actually expects them to get real work done and produce real results or they really get fired and who still has time to read 622 RSS feeds each morning and I’ll be impressed.