Rant: "...but Democrats inherited this mess!"

I keep hearing Leftists complain that the Democrats inherited this economic mess.

The Democrat-dominated Congress inherited the situation in 2007, and continued the domination of Congress for 4 years – the first 2 under a compliant Republican[1] president, and next 2 under a sympathetic Democrat. During that short time, and in contrast to promises to end deficit spending (by whatever means), the debt increased nearly 60%[2]. AFAIK, no substantive spending cuts have been passed by either chamber during this period. To the contrary, the only recurring & earnest deficit-reduction suggestion is “end the Bush tax cuts for the rich”; eliminating the deficit thru tax increase would require a 100% rate on all income over $200,000.
 
At some point the steaming bag on the desk is the current occupant’s responsibility.
Especially when a second one appears during the occupancy.
 
1 – issued 12 vetos, half of which were resolved or overridden, the rest were not significant economic differences.
2 – that’s a 60% increase in 4 years over what debt had accumulated in more than 2 centuries.

Movie: Just Go With It

Better yet, don't.
The two things this romantic comedy lacks are, in large part, romance and comedy.

Enough is injected to attract the genre label and provide cuts for a convincing trailer. The remaining runtime is devoted to setting up embarrassing situations, earned or not, and attempting to laugh at the subjects thereof; for most movies I tend to wander off for the few awkward minutes this occurs, but by starting there and never letting up I'd have been rude to the audience and to my $5 expended for the iTunes rental.

Its hard to sympathize with the romantic leanings of a lecherous protagonist, a doctor whose patients would be wise to walk out upon his bedside manner. That the frumpy babe wants his hand may work out fine and special for her, but there are other romances for us to enjoy on screen. That the hot babe is hot guarantees she will not end this with the marital devotion her kind & patient heart deserves.

The remaining theatrical attributes worth considering evaluate in kind. The cinematography is perfunctory: correct, but not special. Music prolific, but borrowed. Acting, gratuitous. Cast, wasted despite laudable efforts by Jennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker.

It is, to wit, an Adam Sandler film.

Movie: Tron:Legacy

A sequel embracing the true spirit of sequels:

• bigger budget (by 10x: $170M vs. $17M)
• better technology (by 10,000x: Moore's Law)
• more hero (by 3x: not just one Jeff Bridges but three of 'em)
• highlights redux bigger (disc battles, lightcycle races, honkin' big wierd machines)
• awesome music (Walter Carlos, meet Daft Punk)
• more overall spectacle (imparting "yeah, that's what I remember, but cooler!")
• and...and...oh, what was that last thing...oh, right - plot (I guess that mangled heap in the corner is a plot).

For geeks remembering Atari 800s and PC-selling Charlie Chaplin, a must-see return to a historical milestone.
For anyone else, a high-tech fireworks show - no real meaning, but still really fun to watch.

Rant: "That's where I want to be"

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Hurricane Pass, Tetons, Wyoming.
One of my fondest late-childhood memories was hiking there.
 

Quote: Why Doesn't Microsoft Understand Tablets

Awesome quote from http://www.quora.com/Microsoft/Why-doesnt-Microsoft-understand-tablets


So, in this dream, er, nightmare I have, I walk into Steve Ballmer’s Microsoft office back in 2006 and say:
“Hi Steve, I gotta talk to you about our tablet strategy.”
“Sure, Scoble, what you thinking about?”
“Well, it sucks. It just isn’t working. Customers aren’t delighted. The market isn’t afire. Our employees are even bored with it.”
“So, what should we do?” he asks.
“We should ship a device that doesn’t run Office. Indeed, doesn’t run any Microsoft application. Doesn’t do multitasking. Doesn’t run Flash. Doesn’t have a camera. Can’t print. Can’t use a Microsoft Mouse or Keyboard, either. Oh, and just to be really revolutionary, we can’t put any of our normal packaging or stickers on the device or around it. Finally, we can’t sell it at Best Buy, but we have to build a new series of stores to distribute it in.”
“What the f*** are you smoking, Scoble? Get the f*** out of here before I call security. That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard. Ever.”
Then I wake up and realize, no, I’m not Steve Jobs.

Link: Borepatch: I am TJIC

The center of reporting & pontificating on the TJIC incident is at Borepatch: I am TJIC

Rant: I am TJIC

Tis unwise for a government to oppress those who fear being oppressed by their government and opine it unwise.