Even though I’m something of a hippie liberal, I’ve generally avoided Apple products. There was always something Wizard of Oz about their chic, and this year appears to be the year for people to finally look en masse at the man behind the curtain. Consider: In October of last year, iPhone had 4% of the market share…
Author: Clio
Why I think the depot needs to go
Few topics related to urban blight will get Detroiters more worked up, both pro and con, than that of the train depot. Once upon a time, it was one of the most beautiful structures in the Midwest, in the country, perhaps in the world. Now, it is a vacant, hulking, rotting, half-looted massive beast of…
On the survival of bookstores
Borders recently went out of business. In the wake of their demise, I saw one op/ed that argued that, for bricks and mortar bookstores (such as Barnes and Noble) to survive, they need to find a way to demonstrate the value they add in making real suggestions. I am in Detroit, close to Ann Arbor,…
On “Nym Wars”
Introduction Google Plus recently sparked off another discussion on the use of pseudonyms on the Internet, this round being dubbed “Nym Wars”. Google’s position is that pseudonyms are unwelcome on their new social network system; Facebook, Google’s obvious most direct competitor, has the same official policy, but is not generally very aggressive about enforcing it….
“Yeah, I know that.”
This morning, I was directed to an online vocabulary test that claimed to be able to estimate one’s vocabulary. I did take the test, but I also spotted several problems with it: It’s self-selecting. That means that people who value high vocabularies are more likely to take it, and are more likely to pass it…
Teaching standards and Hollywood
Yesterday, we watched Valentine’s Day (2010). Besides being disappointed that David Boreanaz was nowhere to be found, I found it to be passably entertaining but too crowded with characters for my tastes. One of the characters is an elementary school teacher, played by Jennifer Garner. One of the scenes involved the “history” of Valentine’s Day….
The ethics of symbiosis
I was thinking about greed again today. That seems to be a common topic of conversation these days, as the TEA Party and other self-styled libertarians embrace the Randian mantra of the glory of unrepentant greed. I am not a fan of unrepentant greed. On the other extreme of the scale, though, is utterly selfless…
Computer bullies
This post is commentary on “Nerds, We Have to Talk,” in which the author muses about why computer programmers are often so mean to each other. There are a few reasons which come to mind. First, I have a computer programmer friend who has commented that programming seems particularly suited for neuroatypicality. To be a…
“If men could get pregnant…”
It seems like two reliable ways to start a fight on the Internet, even if you honestly don’t mean to, is to suggest that the Second Amendment could use some tweaking in the presence of strong supporters of gun ownership, and to question any significant element of pro-choice rhetoric in the presence of feminists. Sure,…
On the death of bin Laden
Here are some apparent facts: A human being is dead. The US Government killed Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden is incapable of personally causing any more harm. A human being who was directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people has been punished for his deeds. People in the United…