Pitchforks? That's so 16th century, dude.

Professor Death notes the strong interest in mob violence among the taxpayer class. I'm amazed he hasn't made the connection to stories like this and this to say nothing of this item. Congress better hope the angry mobs only show up with pitchforks and torches, because if the economy goes completely in the tank, there's going to be some folks out for blood.

Pitchforks? That's so 16th century, dude.

Professor Death notes the strong interest in mob violence among the taxpayer class. I'm amazed he hasn't made the connection to stories like this and this to say nothing of this item. Congress better hope the angry mobs only show up with pitchforks and torches, because if the economy goes completely in the tank, there's going to be some folks out for blood.

On the other hand, good news from the engineers & scientists.

Better All the Time, compiled by Phil Bowermaster. (Instapundit)

Related: You and your smartphone may be helping save the global economy. The stimulus, not so much. (Instapundit)

On the other hand, good news from the engineers & scientists.

Better All the Time, compiled by Phil Bowermaster. (Instapundit)

Related: You and your smartphone may be helping save the global economy. The stimulus, not so much. (Instapundit)

eBooks, the Kindle, and smartphones

haikujaguar slipped me this link to an article about Peanut Press and the early market failure of e-books. This came up in the context of her conversion to the Kindle, which surprised her...anyway, it got me to thinking about something Cobb brought up a while back regarding the ultimate integration of phones, PDAs, watches and bling. Well, we're 75% of the way there, maybe 100% if you're one of those people who bought a Blackberry/Treo/iPhone more because it was expected of you by the social circles you move in than because you actually needed such a device.


But I digress. I'm still carrying around a couple of Katanas and a Palm TX, and it occurs to me that it might make more sense to upgrade and consolidate to a Centro. It would hold more music than the TX can accommodate in its SD chip, its software would do everything the TX does now and then some, and the interface would be easier to learn than the Katana's - which, truthfully, I don't use for anything aside from phone calls. It comes in the festive color of my tribe, and apparently Palm and Sprint are unloading them for $49 after rebates. Going to have to think about it, and look into hard cases.

eBooks, the Kindle, and smartphones

haikujaguar slipped me this link to an article about Peanut Press and the early market failure of e-books. This came up in the context of her conversion to the Kindle, which surprised her...anyway, it got me to thinking about something Cobb brought up a while back regarding the ultimate integration of phones, PDAs, watches and bling. Well, we're 75% of the way there, maybe 100% if you're one of those people who bought a Blackberry/Treo/iPhone more because it was expected of you by the social circles you move in than because you actually needed such a device.


But I digress. I'm still carrying around a couple of Katanas and a Palm TX, and it occurs to me that it might make more sense to upgrade and consolidate to a Centro. It would hold more music than the TX can accommodate in its SD chip, its software would do everything the TX does now and then some, and the interface would be easier to learn than the Katana's - which, truthfully, I don't use for anything aside from phone calls. It comes in the festive color of my tribe, and apparently Palm and Sprint are unloading them for $49 after rebates. Going to have to think about it, and look into hard cases.

Katsucon Day 1, and the rest of Friday too

Got off work around 1500, went home to take care of some business, and wound up getting to Katsucon around 1630, well in advance of the Utena panel that started at 1700. Good panel; a lot of intelligent discussion of color symbolism and male/female roles in the context of Utena. I think the panelists are making a mistake in addressing the series from a solely Western cultural context, since anime isn't the product of a solely Western culture, but hey, it's their panel and it was 90% interesting.

After the panel, onsenmark went upstairs to grab his smokes and then we headed over to Marino's for foodz, which we ate while discussing anime, Inferno, and the need for a convention that was more oriented toward mature discussion of anime and getting otaku better acquainted with traditional SF & fantasy. As opposed to the current crop of conventions, which are really aimed more at teenagers...not that there's anything wrong with that, but you ought to be able to have a space for the older fans to do workshops and SERIOUS BUSINESS panels. This convention idea can stand to gestate for a couple more years, though; I don't know enough local fans aside from my old friends (who are either broke-ass fans like me or busy with RL stuff) and I'm not ready to end my sabbatical from convention staffing yet.

I dropped Mark off at the hotel after dinner and headed home, because one of the panels I want to see tomorrow is scheduled for 1000 and there's no damn way I can get up early enough on Saturday, do laundry and get to the hotel in time. Therefore, laundry is being done tonight and I'll get a decent night's sleep before plunging back into the mix.

Katsucon Day 1, and the rest of Friday too

Got off work around 1500, went home to take care of some business, and wound up getting to Katsucon around 1630, well in advance of the Utena panel that started at 1700. Good panel; a lot of intelligent discussion of color symbolism and male/female roles in the context of Utena. I think the panelists are making a mistake in addressing the series from a solely Western cultural context, since anime isn't the product of a solely Western culture, but hey, it's their panel and it was 90% interesting.

After the panel, onsenmark went upstairs to grab his smokes and then we headed over to Marino's for foodz, which we ate while discussing anime, Inferno, and the need for a convention that was more oriented toward mature discussion of anime and getting otaku better acquainted with traditional SF & fantasy. As opposed to the current crop of conventions, which are really aimed more at teenagers...not that there's anything wrong with that, but you ought to be able to have a space for the older fans to do workshops and SERIOUS BUSINESS panels. This convention idea can stand to gestate for a couple more years, though; I don't know enough local fans aside from my old friends (who are either broke-ass fans like me or busy with RL stuff) and I'm not ready to end my sabbatical from convention staffing yet.

I dropped Mark off at the hotel after dinner and headed home, because one of the panels I want to see tomorrow is scheduled for 1000 and there's no damn way I can get up early enough on Saturday, do laundry and get to the hotel in time. Therefore, laundry is being done tonight and I'll get a decent night's sleep before plunging back into the mix.