Dear Apple

Dear Apple,

How many screws should have to be removed in order to replace a hard drive in my MacBook Pro?

Love,

Me

---

Dear Me,

All of them!

Love,

Apple

Twitter

According to some study, 40% of Twitter messages are pointless babble:

Forty percent of the messages on Twitter are "pointless babble" along the lines of "I am eating a sandwich now," according to a study conducted by a US market research firm.

Just 40%? Amazing.

Healthcare "Reform"

The problem, our fearless leaders tell us, is that tens of millions of Americans don't have access to healthcare. What the real problem is is that a much smaller number (maybe 12 million) cannot get health insurance because of pre-existing conditions or lack of funds.

The solution, our fearless leaders tell us, is to place a tax on people who are very likely carrying their own health insurance to pay for health insurance for those who don't want to pay for their own health insurance.

In other words, punish the responsible and reward the irresponsible.

Thank you, fearless leaders.

Drinking Vodka to Cure a Hangover

Says VP Joe Biden:

Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’ The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.

That's like an alcoholic drinking vodka in the morning to cure a hangover. Sure, it works, for a little while, until the alcoholic's liver gives out...

Judgement

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is being questioned today by the Senate. There are a few questions I think should be asked in regards to statements she's made in the past. Said Sotomayor:

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.

Hopefully one of the senators will ask some of the following:

Are people of Latin descent genetically superior to caucasians, or is it simple cultural superiority?

Are females inherently better than males at assessing fact and law to render legal decisions?

Would you consider it racist or bigoted if someone said that caucasian males would render better decisions than Latina women for any reason at all?

Do you think that Latina women (or any non-caucasian) make better firefighters than caucasian males?

You may answer my questions via email or the comments. Thank you.

The Census

"Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's so worried that information from next year's national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household."

Kind of like what the Constitution calls for?

Amazing - a member of Congress who gets it. Unpossible!

Safari 4

I likes it.

Warmonger Sr., time to get Mom a Mac.

I (heart) Capitalism

For the first time in my Internet life I used Woot. Yeah yeah, 5 years behind the times, so sue me.

After signing up, I get an email explaining Woot's terms, and brilliant terms they are. One of the many reasons I (heart) Capitalism:

If you receive your item and it doesn't work, contact the manufacturer first. They made the junk. Let them deal with it. If they turn out to be total tools, contact service@woot.com and we'll grudgingly provide some further assistance.

If you receive your item and decide you don't like it, take it to eBay or pawn it off on one of your so-called friends. We don't want it, either.

And a special warning for Shirt.woot orders:

Check the size chart, check the size chart, check the size chart. It's at the bottom of the product description for each sale. If you order the wrong size, we won't take it back - your only option is to gain or lose weight so it fits, possibly including painful, costly cosmetic surgery.

In other words: caveat emptor - the way it is supposed to be.

Memorial Day

I didn't know him, and I only know of him because he's the brother of a friend of a friend. But he died for me and my freedom, and you and your freedom. There aren't many men left that would make that sacrifice, and we're lucky that he lived and died for us.

To Staff Sargent Michel R. Hullender and all the men like him that made the greatest sacrifice on this Memorial Day: thank you.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. - General George Patton

Success and Failure

The Daughter graduated 8th grade today. It's amazing how she's grown. And terrifying. Her progress is a great success.

She goes to a government school, and as far as government schools go I think it's pretty good. There was one obvious failure that even the people in charge don't seem to think is a problem - of all the awards for academic achievement, the winners were at least 2/3 girls. Of all the kids that got honors (90% or better average throughout the whole year, I think) out of the 25 or 30 winners I only counted 5 boys.

The two boys that stood out most each got a special honor: the first won an award for the "most improved" in the school's remedial education track; the second won an award for being the most withdrawn and distant student who also improved.

There were a few notable exceptions, two kids won an award for having an A average from first grade all the way through the end of eighth - one a boy and one a girl. And when it came to the best attendance record, boys and girls were split roughly equally.

There is likely a relationship between academic success at the middle school level and college admissions being heavily skewed towards females. Things are so bad in some colleges that some schools are now discriminating against women to favor men in admissions.

Perhaps this one-size-fits-all government educational system we've built doesn't really fit enough sizes. And perhaps one of the sizes the government is not worried about fitting is anything male.