random thoughts about nothing

[cardfan]

So how dumb is this country? Another election year. Another year in which people PASSIONATELY talk politics as if either party gives a crap about them. This is an amazing thing. Surely everyone has that relative or friend that is so liberal or conservative that you just avoid talking about anything political (or anything else really..lol).

Is it me or does Obama get it? I'm conservative or at least usually vote that way. Yet, Obama is appealing. Check out how he strives to make his website interactive or at least makes you feel active in his campaign. His lead over McCain in the social websites is huge. As such, McCain doesn't even seem to try to connect.

Do I really want my daughter in public schools? I'm in Hardin but went through JCPS. I hear more about JCPS of course in the paper and such. What's the deal with magnet elementary schools? I DON'T GET IT. . Teach the freaking basics. These are k-5 kids. Magnets??

On the hardin school end, my nephew scored an amazingly pathetic 16 on the ACT but made A's and B's his last two years. If he needs help, he calls and can't look up the problem himself. He needed help even burning a music cd recently nevermind office apps or email. At UK, this corrected itself as he's having to retake classes that he flunked. You know, without studying or caring much way back when (before the KERA mess thankfully), i got a 28 on the ACT. When i hear the average KY ACT score is like 20..it just makes you wonder.. I'm not trying to brag here, but damn..

That kinda leads into wondering if all people are just stupid til proven otherwise. Successful companies as of late (think Apple) cater to 6 yr olds. Make it pretty. Make it simple.

It's crazy how bad the economy is. I'm bombarded by how bad it is everyday from the CJ and the like. Funny thing is, i'm still doing much better and continue to. Gas prices really help out this "sky is falling" fear talk. Plus its an election year.

You know, people who've never seen Vista... hate it. It's an interesting thing now how much power the web has on hyping or bashing a product or company. The sooner MS can rename that thing and bring out a cosmetic update the better. They'll probably want to banish the word Vista. Hey, it's all in the marketing. Even worse i guess are those who say "hey man, don't get Vista it sucks." But when asked why, they don't really know..lol Then you want to ask what they made on the ACT

Do any of you feel bad going to Best Buy or similar and seeing someone clueless get ripped on something say a camera or gps? They're browsing them, you can hear the clueless salesman going on, and eventually they get sucked in. You almost want to go to them and beg them to go online or even to samsclub or costco..lol I'm basically there to see the stuff i might want to go online to get

My parents switched to AT&T and didn't tell me. And here i was using my wife's sprint phone to benefit from the sprint to sprint free minutes.

I love furniture salesmen. "And that bedroom set is 4,900 but you should act fast as we're at the end of our sales event" (like i care, the sales event started when i walked in..lol) I then say, i'll give you 3500 for it right now..cash. He flashes his eyes, "but i told you how much it was we can't go any lower" That's when you say bye bye. Got it for 4000.

[HarveyGlass]

lol Good stuff.

I agree that people seem to be getting "dumbed down", and I believe that it's intentional. I don't think it's so much that people are stupid or anything, it's really more ignorance than anything.
One of the biggest contributors, IMO, is that there is zero social importance on learning. Grades, test scores, popularity, sports, proms, college, high-paying jobs, family...You can have it all without ever knowing a damn thing.
I think most knowledge is accumulated by a.) wanting to know about things, and b.) world experience.
Most people are going to do what they have to to move from point A to point B, trying to rack up as many things in that list as possible, without ever really desiring knowledge, simply because it's not needed to get by. Life is hard enough without sticking your nose into every interesting situation that presents itself, and it seems like most Americans are willing to kill their time working and watching tv. You don't learn much doing either.

[Red Alert]

Vista sucks because it doesnt really bring anything to the table over XP. There are too many versions and it cost way too much. Its slower. XP can run as fast on 1/4 of the ram.

Vista is a failure. Microsoft is already working on the next windows. Last I heard its going to be called Windows 7. Start looking for it in a couple years.

[cardfan]

I could write a book about what vista brings to the table that xp doesn't such as better quad core support, directx, speech recognition, security, reliability, shadow copy, better 64bit support, instant search in any window, etc, etc.

However, if you simply use a computer to play a few games or browse the internet, i can understand your position. But it sounds to me you've bought into the ignorant rants as well. Of course MS is developing a new update...this isn't anything new.

Still, what's your alternative? Mac's OS? LOL It's much more limited and really isn't relevant unless you don't have many needs. Linux has promise but still too time consuming. XP just doesn't support the newer technologies coming out and to be honest, is a pain to return to after using Vista.

[Red Alert]

Yeah, thats why the government and corporations are falling over themselves to get it. Not. All the IT guys I've talked to wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. I guess all those magazine articles I've read must be wrong as well. PC World ranked it the biggest tech dissapointment of 2007. There was a five year gap between XP and vista. You can expect to see the next version much sooner than that. Sometime in 2009 last I heard. Yep, next year.

[CardinalJunky]

Nice random thoughts!!!! I'll give it a try.....

At one point I strongly considered Obama. Then I researched him, and frankly, I just don't have that much in common with his policy outline. He's a great speaker and seems to have the ability to inspire, but he hasn't been in a real leadership position yet, so that's a coin toss. With more experience and a notion of working across party lines, he may make a fine president. At this point, McCain, between the two, is more prepared for the job at hand. If McCain picks Lieberman, I'll be on board. Otherwise, I'm thinking of not voting on the presidential race at all.

I hate when I'm having an "off day" and everyone has to ask "Is everything OK?" about 10 times. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, sue me. If I look unhappy I probably am. Leave me alone and I'll come around.

I find myself more and more liking 70's music. Really love the soul and the cotton candy AM hits. Probably listening to the new Al Green CD has taken my mind back a bit. I highly recommend Green's new one, by the way.

I am ready for The Office to come back with new episodes.

I spend way too much time on the internet. I never feel any sense of accomplishment when I'm done with a 2 hour stretch. I should just go wash the car or cut the grass. At least I can see something getting done. But, I'm way too lazy for that. Freddy

[cardfaninpittsburgh]

are you ok?

[Empire Lindy]

Originally Posted by CardinalJunky

I spend way too much time on the internet. I never feel any sense of accomplishment when I'm done with a 2 hour stretch. I should just go wash the car or cut the grass. At least I can see something getting done. But, I'm way too lazy for that. Freddy

Can I steal that as my quote? LOL!

Here are some random thoughts for me...

* When did doctors collectively decide they didn't give a crap about their patients? I've lived in Louisville for 5 years now and have yet to find a doctor that I like. It's no wonder people die from entirely preventable causes... they don't want to waste 2 hours sitting in an empty exam room and have a 3 minute conversation before getting a $30 prescription "just to see if it might work".

* I, too, NEED the Office to return to TV. I also need Heroes to not suck this season, South Park to be hilarious, and many other shows to give my wife a reason not to watch Big Brother and I Love Money.

* How have cola companies figured out how to make a diet root beer taste like real root beer, then botch other products that "taste just like the real thing". You're not fooling anyone, Coke & Sprite Zero. Spend some time with Diet Barq's and GET IT RIGHT.

* If the cost of food is so prohibitively expensive, how come I can't find a parking spot at my neighborhood Kroger from 8PM Friday night until 7AM Monday morning? Are there people just hanging out around produce sneaking a meal when no one is looking? While I'm at it, is self-scan checkout technology regressing? If I hear that stupid voice tell me to check the bagging area and remove the last item, I swear I'm punching the nearest issue of whatever magazine Brangelina is on. The middle aged woman who doesn't know how to MAN the self scan watch tower is next.

* Also while I'm at it, did Coca Cola and Pepsi just discover their products are made of pure sweet crude? How on Earth does a case of soda go from $2.99 six months ago to nearly five bucks today?

[HarveyGlass]

I refuse to go through those damn self-checkout machines. If they want me to do it all myself they can pay me whatever they were paying the poor guy who got laid off because of them.

[cardfan]

Originally Posted by Red Alert

Yeah, thats why the government and corporations are falling over themselves to get it. Not. All the IT guys I've talked to wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. I guess all those magazine articles I've read must be wrong as well. PC World ranked it the biggest tech dissapointment of 2007. There was a five year gap between XP and vista. You can expect to see the next version much sooner than that. Sometime in 2009 last I heard. Yep, next year.

Marketing and execution. MS fails at it in the OS end. I think they've learned a bit of a lesson though. Incidentally, apple is getting smacked around with its iphone 3g...not good for their image for sure..although i'm happy with the iphone 3g.

BTW..as someone who maintained the IT at an accounting firm (don't ever volunteer to do that!! I learned my lesson too)...I wouldn't want to update either. For me in my end user role though, i love vista. Back to updating though..you can have the best ideas for changing something or updating or whatever, but at the end of the day you still got various people (who loathe change) in the company that you have to train, retrain, answer questions, and basically have productivity go in the toilet. It's a pain in the a$$. In the end, the benefits do have to outweigh the costs.

Sorry, no more from me on that. I'm sticking to random thoughts.

my doctor mailed me a letter and said he'll provide 30 more days of medical care but i need to find a new doctor. Just because i rescheduled a few times and missed an appointment (he's in etown, i work in louisville). Last i checked, i'm the one who has to pay if i miss it. What's his problem? Solid insurance too, always pay in full when i go.

In the ear buds sound much much better than the iphone's ear buds.

stargate sg1 has movies out on dvd/blu ray. How'd i miss that?

New show i like. Burn Notice. Watched em all.

the number one song on itunes was by david archuletta (or something like that..the annoying teenager from american idol i think) I about want to throw up when looking at "top 20" downloads. Not to mention the reviews posted on itunes regarding anything. People under 18 shouldn't be allowed to post reviews..

Still waiting for hot chicks to come up to me and be mesmerized by my iphone. Not sure what i'm doing wrong here...