Multi Medium

Programming Note

I’m on vacation for the next week or so, so posting will probably be light.  But I’ve started processing photos again, so there will be some photoblogging.  Whoo!

Add comment August 17th, 2010 at 01:15pm Posted by Eli

Labor Is The New Gay

It’s not just gays and Florida businesses that get to enjoy the fruits of Obama’s Fierce Advocacy…

Dem leaders have no plans to create a new carve-out that would exempt labor organizations from a sweeping campaign finance disclosure bill, DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen told Hotline OnCall in an interview Tuesday evening.

Labor groups have voiced concerns over the DISCLOSE Act, a legislative response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision earlier this year that dramatically loosened campaign finance laws. The legislation would require corporations and labor groups that run political advertisements to disclose far more about their donors than they must currently.

One carve-out, announced on Monday after marathon negotiations between Van Hollen and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and the National Rifle Association, exempted a small number of large organizations from disclosure requirements. That deal has mollified the NRA, removing what would have been a significant roadblock to the legislation’s success, but it irritated progressive Dems in the House, which oppose the NRA.

Campaign finance advocates are not happy about the deal, but they still support the legislation. Labor leaders, which will not get a similar compromise, have yet to endorse the bill.

“We will be continuing to meet with our members,” Van Hollen said Tuesday. “We’re working to address everyone’s reasonable concerns, and I think we’re making progress.”

But, he said, other groups aren’t likely to get the same deal that the NRA — along with the Humane Society and the AARP — won.

“Looking at it, it would be a mistake to eliminate all [501(c)(4)] organizations from the conversation,” Van Hollen said. “That’s why we settled on a provision that said, for well-established C4 organizations that have dues-paying members that aren’t trying to hide from anybody — that would be the test.”

Asked directly whether that meant labor groups would not receive a carve-out compromise, Van Hollen said: “That is correct.”

Awesome.  How’s that hold-your-fire-on-the-healthcare-bill-in-exchange-for-EFCA strategy been working out for you guys?  It appears that our two-party system now offers us a choice between The Anti-Labor Party and… The Other Anti-Labor Party.

Add comment June 16th, 2010 at 11:42am Posted by Eli

Milestones

Apparently 41 is the age at which you officially become eligible to receive junk mail from cemeteries asking you to think about where you want to be buried.  (Is 40 too obvious?)

Go me!!!

Add comment June 15th, 2010 at 06:03pm Posted by Eli

Program Note

I will be on vacation for the next week, so posting may be sparse until next Tuesday.

Add comment May 31st, 2010 at 10:58am Posted by Eli

Programming Note

I will be traveling most of this week, so posting may be light-to-nonexistent.

Add comment May 2nd, 2010 at 10:47am Posted by Eli

Holy Crap!

Phrases I never thought I would write:

I have now been blogging for FIVE YEARS. Crikey.

Over that time, I have written 5538 posts, gotten 10,311 non-spam comments (and over 400,000 spam ones), and had close to 300,000 hits (yes, I have more spam comments than hits).  Go me.

2 comments February 18th, 2010 at 11:22am Posted by Eli

Program Note

Girlfriend is in town, so light posting for a while.

Perhaps there will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Media Blogging…

1 comment December 13th, 2009 at 02:08pm Posted by Eli

Yahhhrrr!!!

Avast, me hearties!  It be Talk Like A Pirate Day again!

And it be me little sister’s wedding day!  Yo ho ho and a bottle of punch!

1 comment September 19th, 2009 at 08:26am Posted by Eli

Light Posting

Sorry I haven’t been around much the last few days.  Still getting acclimated to my spiffy new phone… which I’ve already managed to brick once.  For a phone this cool, it really is amazing how many little annoyances there are, and stuff that almost works but not quite (it’d be nice if the browser would let me open more than 2 tabs at once, especially since I changed the maximum tabs setting), and menu options that should be there but aren’t (how about an option to specify a media library location in the TouchFlo MP3 player?).  Oh, and the virtual keyboard has no Ctrl key for cutting & pasting, and the stylus is at the bottom instead of the top.  WTF?

On the plus side, the display and the YouTube application are really, really nice.  And the sound’s pretty good too.

Hopefully I’ll be done messing around with it tomorrow, but then I’ll be traveling for my little sister’s wedding this weekend.  So posting will probably continue to be light until next week.

1 comment September 16th, 2009 at 11:14pm Posted by Eli

Programming NNote

Probably light posting for the next few days, as I will be at Netroots Nation.  Will try to post pictures on a close to real-time basis, but I make no promises…

Add comment August 13th, 2009 at 12:24pm Posted by Eli

Word Of The Day

Treage, n. The process of selecting which e-mails to open and which e-mails to delete from a Palm mobile device.

More recent variants: Preage, Centroage.

Add comment July 21st, 2009 at 03:27pm Posted by Eli

Vacation

Light blogging for the next week or so, as I will be in Southern California for a family get-together, complete with talent show (I might sing some Tom Lehrer).

But hey, AirTran supposedly has wifi now, so maybe I’ll blog something from the plane!

3 comments July 14th, 2009 at 01:10pm Posted by Eli

Happy Fourth Of July!

Enjoy your teabagging!

(From Superpoop)

Add comment July 4th, 2009 at 02:58pm Posted by Eli

I Am Now The New 30

Happy birthday to me.

(h/t WT)

5 comments June 7th, 2009 at 11:40am Posted by Eli

A Narrow Escape

(From Superpoop)

Add comment May 26th, 2009 at 11:09am Posted by Eli

Welcome To The Internets!

And, y’know, some blogs.  (I prefer to believe that this refers to the internets as a whole, rather than contemplate the possible existence of lolpenises)

(From Superpoop)

Add comment May 3rd, 2009 at 12:04pm Posted by Eli

Maybe It’s Because I’m A New-Yorker-In-Exile…

…But this just inexplicably cracked me right up.

Poor train.

(From Superpoop)

Add comment April 26th, 2009 at 11:34am Posted by Eli

Multi Medium Milestone

It’s kind of pitiful compared to, well, pretty much every other blog out there, but at 5:34:17 PM, Multi Medium received its 200,000th visitor.  It was someone in El Cajon, CA, who got here by way of this Stumbleupon link which has been giving me mad crazy traffic for the last two weeks.

So, go me, and thanks, Stumbleupon!

4 comments April 3rd, 2009 at 05:41pm Posted by Eli

Program Note

I will be in Philly for the next three days on a really weird schedule, so posting may be erratic.

Fog Week will continue, however.

Add comment March 31st, 2009 at 09:18pm Posted by Eli

…And There Was Much Rejoicing.

The dream may soon become a reality: Odor-free underwear.

You heard me.

2 comments March 25th, 2009 at 08:15pm Posted by Eli

Merry St. Patrick’s Day!

*sniff* Gets me every time.

Add comment March 17th, 2009 at 08:08am Posted by Eli

Why Manners Matter

Interesting piece in today’s NYT Science Times about the importance of manners as part of the overall maturation/socialization process:

It’s always popular — and easy — to bewail the deterioration of manners…. Sure, certain social rubrics have broken down or blurred, and sure, electronic communication seems to have given adults as well as children new ways to be rude. But the age-old parental job remains.

And that job is to start with a being who has no thought for the feelings of others, no code of behavior beyond its own needs and comforts — and, guided by love and duty, to do your best to transform that being into what your grandmother… might call a mensch. To use a term that has fallen out of favor, your assignment is to “civilize” the object of your affections.

My favorite child-rearing book is “Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children,” by Judith Martin, who takes the view that manners are at the heart of the whole parental enterprise. I called her to ask why.

“Every infant is born adorable but selfish and the center of the universe,” she replied. It’s a parent’s job to teach that “there are other people, and other people have feelings.”

(…)

[O]ne of the long-term consequences of being a rude child is being a rude adult…. There are bullies on the playground and bullies in the workplace; it can be quite disconcerting to encounter a mature adult with 20 or so years of education under his belt who still sees the world only in terms of his own wants, needs and emotions: I want that so give it to me; I am angry so I need to hit; I am wounded so I must howl.

I like Miss Manners’ approach because it lets a parent respect a child’s intellectual and emotional privacy: I’m not telling you to like your teacher; I’m telling you to treat her with courtesy. I’m not telling you that you can’t hate Tommy; I’m telling you that you can’t hit Tommy. Your feelings are your own private business; your behavior is public.

But that first big counterintuitive lesson — that there are other people out there whose feelings must be considered — affects a child’s most basic moral development. For a child, as for an adult, manners represent a strategy for getting along in life, but also a successful intellectual engagement with the business of being human.

In other words, the acquisition of manners is a proxy for empathy, for the recognition that we are not the center of the universe and that other people actually do matter.  Or, in Freudian terms, it’s like the development of the superego to rein in the id’s base and selfish impulses.  What’s truly frightening is to read that description of unmannered adult bullies and to see how well it fits the people who are running the country right now – the Bush administration and the Republican party literally care nothing for consequences or the well-being of the country, only their own desires and grudges.

For all his disappointing kiss-right-kick-left tendencies, at least Obama has some manners, which will be a welcome and refreshing change.

Add comment January 13th, 2009 at 07:14am Posted by Eli

Bog Person, Iceman, Mummy, Or Fossil?

If you had the option of becoming a bog person, an iceman, a mummy, or a fossil after your death, which would you choose?

Sure, bog people, icemen and mummies are all much cooler and better-preserved than fossils, but I don’t think they have the same eternal staying power.

Which is why, if given the choice, I would choose fossilization. Millions of years from now, the sentient cockroaches that rule the earth might someday unearth my bones and arrange them in a threatening pose in one of their museums, possibly holding a shoe and bearing a label like “Fearsome 21st-Century Predator” or “Ruthless Mass Murderer.”

Generally speaking, I don’t much care what happens to my body after I’m done with it, but the idea that it might someday scare the children of a distant and unimaginable future kinda tickles me.

5 comments December 31st, 2008 at 08:29pm Posted by Eli

Wanker Of The Day

John McCain:

John McCain is leading the way, saying it is “unacceptable that we would leave the American taxpayer with a tab of tens of billions of dollars while failing to receive any serious concessions from the industry.”

I guess that kind of blank check is only acceptable when the tab is hundreds of billions.

Add comment December 19th, 2008 at 09:19pm Posted by Eli

Vacation!

I will be on vacation for roughly the next week, so posting will be light.  I’ll try to keep up with the regular weekly features and the photoblogging, at least.

Add comment December 4th, 2008 at 09:04am Posted by Eli

What I’m Thankful For

o That America finally and decisively rejected the Republican politics of hate and fear to put an intelligent (albeit not progressive) Democrat back in the White House after eight years of corruption, incompetence, and outright malevolence.  (Parenthetical Note: Anyone who describes Obama as The Most Liberal Senator Evar automatically and permanently forfeits their right to be taken seriously.  This is not subject to appeal.)

o That our intelligent (albeit not progressive) Democratic president will have a Democratic Congress to work with for the first time in fourteen years.

o My totally awesome girlfriend who loves cheesy horror and action movies.  Also ninjas, pirates, robots, monkeys, Vikings, and Omar Sharif.

o The Giants won the Superbowl!

o The Giants and Jets are both Superbowl contenders, which is not only awesome in itself, but also means they’re on TV a lot more often.

o That technology keeps getting smaller, cheaper, and more powerful every year.  My cellphone is roughly twice as powerful as my first PC, by almost any measure.

o The opportunity to frontpage regularly at Firedoglake, where I can be read by more than 20 people.

o My excellent and intelligent readers here and at FDL.

o My camera.

o This commercial:

Yes, it still cracks me right up.

Add comment November 27th, 2008 at 12:20pm Posted by Eli

My Useless Expensive Techno Gadget Idea

This it?

So I was thinking about Art Ledbedev’s Optimus Maximus keyboard, which uses programmable miniature OLED displays to make its keys instantly reconfigurable for any language or application, and it hit me:

Rubik’s Cube.

A programmable Rubik’s Cube with OLED squares, which could have infinite customizable options for colors, patterns, or even composite pictures spanning all nine squares on each side.  I reckon something like that would probably sell for about $500 – I have no idea what kind of market there would be for it, but I bet a lot of the geeks who played with Rubik’s Cubes 20 years ago can afford it.

Note: It would also be the first Rubik’s Cube with a “Reset” option.  Although a “Robot’s Cube” which could mechanically solve itself would be pretty cool, too.

2 comments November 20th, 2008 at 05:53pm Posted by Eli

Programming Note

Now that the election is over, I have decided to sort-of refocus my blog.  I’ll continue to write about politics as much as I usually would, but I’m also going to return to my original intent when I first started this blog, which was to serve as an outlet for weird and interesting items that I was e-mailing to people.  So there will be a lot more “Hey, this is weird/interesting, check it out” posts in addition to the political ones.

At least, that’s what I think will happen.  Who knows what the reality will actually be.

Add comment November 6th, 2008 at 07:23am Posted by Eli

Monday Media Blogging – MTV3K Edition

What 80s songs would be like if their lyrics exactly described their videos. It’s way funnier than it sounds, trust me.

Baaaand Montaaaaage…

Do you like my new sweater?

(h/t ::matthew)

Add comment October 20th, 2008 at 11:25am Posted by Eli

John McCain Doesn’t Use A Computer BECAUSE HE WAS A POW!!!

Did I mention that he was a POW?

As part of its effort to show the 72-year-old Republican Sen. John McCain as old and out of touch, the Democratic Party’s hip campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, which frequently says it honors the former POW’s military service to his country, Friday released a new ad.

As noted Friday by our blogging colleagues over at the Technology blog here, the ad says, among other things: “1982, John McCain goes to Washington. Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn’t.

“He admits he doesn’t know how to use a computer, can’t send an e-mail.”

(…)

Here’s a passage from a lengthy Boston Globe profile on McCain that was published the last time he ran for president. It was headlined “McCain character loyal to a fault.” It was written by Mary Leonard.

And it was printed more than eight years ago, on March 4, 2000.

It is available online, where Jonah Goldberg of The Corner blog at the National Review found it.

“McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain’s severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He’s an avid fan — Ted Williams is his hero — but he can’t raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.”

Oh, snap!  The Obama campaign really stepped in it this time!  Or did they…

Of course, this directly contradicts what McCain and his campaign manager have said. McCain told the New York Times in July:

I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.

Campaign manager Rick Davis said in June that McCain would grab Blackberrys from reporters and tool around on the internet:

He actually is, he always is grabbing people’s Blackberrys on the bus. In fact, no reporter’s Blackberry is safe from his prying eyes. He loves to tool around on the internet, he especially loves the videos that get produced that usually poke fun at him. I think that’s his most entertaining part of the internet.

And in a Politico interview, McCain said again that he uses a blackberry and plans to go online:

I use the Blackberry, but I don’t e-mail, I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done with my cell phone. I have the luxury of being in contact with them literally all the time.

Be sure to click through for lots of pictures of McCain using cellphones with no apparent difficulty.  Maybe the keys on a computer keyboard are just too damn large.

(h/t Ian Welsh)

Add comment September 13th, 2008 at 04:26pm Posted by Eli