A number of folks have sent me links to articles that purport to prove that Climate Change is a myth, right up there with the Loch Ness Monster, The Easter Bunny and the "fair and balanced" policies of Fox News. I've kind of given up reading these because, first of all, they never seem to "prove" anything other than that someone who argues for the existence of Global Warming is fudging the truth about something. There is, let's remember, such a thing as a faulty argument in service of a valid premise. Also, and more important: It really doesn't matter much if I get convinced that Global Warming is bogus. I'm more interested in seeing if any of the contra-arguments convince the scientific community. And so far, I don't see that happening. (Note: A couple of Republicans with chemistry sets do not equal the scientific community.)
One other thing I should have mentioned in what I wrote here the other day. A lot of the plans being recommended to combat Global Warming strike me as good things to do even if Global Warming turns out to not be the threat some say it is. Renewable energy? Less gas consumption? A cleaner atmosphere? Are those bad ideas?
Now, I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh, right. This is Recommended Reading, so I'm recommending the reading of this column by Paul Krugman. He's optimistic about the Copenhagen conference, though not that Obama's foes will ever possibly see that.
I'm still playing with my new toy, figuring out what it can and can't do, installing and uninstalling apps. I'm experimenting with Reqall, which allows you to dictate short memos and "to do" items which it will then transcribe and make available to you in several forms. I got but have not used ParkingPal, which is a timer for when you put coins in a parking meter and need a warning of when they'll run out. I also got FStream, which enables you to listen to web-based radio programs, including our non-paying sponsor, Shokus Internet Radio, and I'm playing with RedLaser, which Marv Wolfman told me about. With RedLaser, you use the iPhone camera to grab an image of the Universal Price Code on some product and the program then searches online sources and tells you where to get the thing cheaper.
Mostly though, I've downloaded some news apps and a few games, and I've spent some time figuring out how to make the iPhone e-mail work for me. I have a complicated set-up here with multiple addresses that go to a couple of different servers and then get filtered and forwarded around until I receive them in a way that suits me. Unlike my Blackberry, the iPhone would not let me put a different "from" and "reply to" address on an outgoing e-mail and my system requires that. I'd tell you how I finally solved it but it wouldn't apply to you since you don't have the Rube Goldberg style system I invented for myself. Just know that if you have something of the sort, and if you don't want people to write back to the direct address of the device via which you wrote to them, you may have to employ a little ingenuity.
Still haven't tried loading the thing with music yet. Also still haven't gotten the guy over yet to install the new car kit so I can put in a dashboard mount and charge while I drive. One thing that is a bit annoying is the short battery life. My old Blackberry could go for days on a full charge. Then again, it did a lot less so I did a lot less with it. My iPhone seems to be good for around 6-8 hours.
That's where I am with it at the moment. Still happy with my purchase. Still aware how much there is to learn. And I'm starting to wish I had smaller fingers more suited to the iPhone keyboard. Maybe they have an app that can reduce the size of your hands.
Peter Beinart offers up an interesting explanation of Obama's Afghanistan intentions. By "interesting," I don't mean it's exactly right. But if you're trying to grasp what the goal and objective is, it might be a good place to start. I still don't understand exactly what the mission of in Iraq ever was except to do some things that would enable us to convincingly say, "We won!"
Here's another excerpt from Bruce Kimmel's musical revue, "What If?" And I don't know what it was that poor Sweeney Todd did to merit all this abuse. I mean, he just killed a lot of people and helped Angela Lansbury turn them into meat pies, right?
Many Korean-speaking readers of this site — I didn't know I had so many — have written to inform me that the sign in the previous posting should more properly be translated as "Oysters may cause allergies in people with certain physical conditions." Hey, we all know that. What's news to me is that the Oyster consequently in constitution which is the possibility of getting up and allergies. That's something to sing about.
Carolyn and I were in a Korean supermarket here in Los Angeles last evening and she called my attention to this sign in their seafood department. I agree with every word of it. The Oyster consequently in constitution which is the possibility of getting up and allergies. Who among us could dispute that?
In Vegas and other gambling venues, they speak of "whales" — customers who come in and wager huge sums of cash at the gaming tables. Casinos have been known to do extraordinary things in terms of gifts and personal services to keep such players coming back...especially if they're the kind of whales who consistently lose.
This article details some of what the Harrah's organization did for a gent named Terrance Watanabe, who managed to lose a shocking $5 million dollars at their casinos. That's an awful lot of money, right?
Well, I left off the end of that sentence. He lost $5 million dollars a day. His total losings came to more than $127 million.
And when I hear a total like that, I always think something like the following: At some point, this man had lost $10 million...and he kept on playing because he thought, "My luck has got to change soon." And then at $20 million, he thought, "My luck has got to change soon." And then at $30 million...
Mr. Wantanabe has paid nearly $112 million but he's refusing to pay the last $14.7, insisting the casino got him drunk and kept him that way, and also that they reneged on a promise to forgive some of his losses. He's being threatened with up to 28 years in prison and is being represented by lawyer Pierce O'Donnell. I presume this is the same Pierce O'Donnell who won the famous Art Buchwald lawsuit against Paramount Pictures and who more recently has won some major victories on behalf of victims of Hurricane Katrina. I think I'm gonna follow this case.
December 7, 2009
