Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, but first I need more coffee.

Month: September 2016

Gettysburg

So this past summer I visited Gettysburg for the second time. It was a more in depth visit this time. The takeaway was that it was the turning point of the Civil War and it could have gone either way. It wasn't until the third day and Pickett's Charge was stopped and the Union won. It was the high watermark of the Confederacy and from then on it was a matter of grinding them down.

Last night was the first presidental debate between the two main candidates. It wasn't a decisive win for HIllary Clinton, but she did what she needed to do and got in one very good hit. There are two debates to go. They may not decide the outcome of the election. However, what she did told me she has the skills to land several more hits including the knockout blow. Now, we cannot understimate Herr Drumpf, he of tiny hands, expensive hair weave, and spray-on tan, but he can be defeated and the consequences of not doing could easily play out at best what happened in Italy with Berlusconni, or slighly worse in the Phillipines with Duterte, or even worse what has happened in Russia with Putin.

Now, you have to ask yourself why do I think Clinton is a better candidate? I'll let John Oliver explain. He does not gloss over her defects. All I'm going to say is that Oliver deserves an Emmy for best use of raisins as a metaphor.


Gettysburg-Debate connection: The battle of Gettysburg lasted 3 days; there are 3 debates. The consequences of that battle lives with us to this very day and the consequences of this election could equally last as long. I await Drumpf's Charge.

The Long and Winding Road

I've been a science fiction fan since almost as long as I can remember. Star Trek was my gateway to science fiction. I read a lot of comic books as a child and eventually started reading science fiction in the 5th or 6th grade. I picked up a used copy of Beyond Tomorrow in a dime store. It was edited by Damon Knight.

iPhone 7

So the biggest suprise about the iPhone 7 announcement is that it includes an adapter for your analog headphones. I must say Apple does a great job of creating gadget envy. I want to see how it does in the field after a people have started using it for a few weeks before I decide. I had decided to get an IPhone 6s prior to the event release today, but now I'm dithering.

When they brought out Sia to do a few songs and they showed the dystopian music video on the screen all I could think of is why didn't they give her a huge hammer?

The purpose of removing the audio jack is leverage. It means if you want a device like a SquareUp card reader, you'll have to pay Apple's Lightning connector lighting fee. Or they may simply refuse. And it may not pass through audio from other services. It remains to be seen how it's going to work and how much of a backlash there is going to be.

The other big surprise was I'd never heard of Sia before seeing the Apple Event today. I do not feel deprived.

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