The Bob

The Money is Moving in Circles

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:16:12 -0500

I was listening to TWIT this morning, when I heard Jerry Pournelle make a statement that basically summarizes the essence of what went wrong on Wall Street and the challenges we face moving forward. If Capitalizism is all about money then we are truly in trouble.

This is basically what Jerry said:

The smart people of the world are no longer using their knowledge to improve the human condition. Now they spend their days trying to figure out how to more efficiently move money in circles while skimming some off the top as it slides through their hands.

Here is a taste of what he means: Geeks trump alpha males as algos dominate Wall St

If you have never heard of Jerry Pournelle, then shame on you. Here is a link to his books: Jerry Pournelle

Here is his website: http://www.jerrypournelle.com/

click here to hear him on TWIT.

Xbox Live moderators getting serious about Modern Warfare 2's Javelin glitch

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:49:00 -0500

Xbox Live moderators getting serious about Modern Warfare 2's Javelin glitch:

“Oh, you think it’s funny, making your virtual soldier explode with the force of a small supernova every time he gets killed? Yeah, we suppose it is.”

Large Hadron Collider grinds to a halt... again -- Engadget

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:18:26 -0500

Large Hadron Collider grinds to a halt... again -- Engadget:

“In an increasingly unsurprising turn of events, the Large Hadron Collider suffered a major power failure this morning, knocking the machine and its website out of service.”

These girls are HOT!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:24:03 -0500

These girls are HOT!

juliasegal: Click to enlarge Rob Sheridan’s “Presents Opening...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:16:06 -0500

juliasegal:

Click to enlarge Rob Sheridan’s “Presents Opening Children”.

This just goes to show you, that there is an alternate universe for everything.

Hello Kitty!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:08:00 -0500

Hello Kitty!

Across U.S., Food Stamp Use Soars and Stigma Fades

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:44:00 -0500

Across U.S., Food Stamp Use Soars and Stigma Fades :

Full Article

We are at a dark crossroads in relation to our economy. We need fundamental changes to the business structure of the market, but we also must prevent alienating the people within our workforce who are unable/unwilling to develop new skill-sets.

The problem is, the government is erasing a decade worth of legislation that promoted learning new skill-sets as a way to return to the work force. Instead the dole is on a comeback. During the economic boon, legislatures passed a multitude of bills that limited the growth of the dole and helped people get back to work. The generational welfare families were finding ways to stop this cycle of madness. Now the dire condition of the economy, coupled with short-sighted thinking is threatening to wipe out these improvements.

People shouldn’t suffer, but our government should help promote a return to the work-force, not a never ending ration of free money. We need jobs and the skills to perform them, not free hand-outs.

fuckyeahalbuquerque: Thanksgiving is the one day each year day...

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:21:13 -0500

fuckyeahalbuquerque:

Thanksgiving is the one day each year day families get together … .and remind themselves why they only get together once a year.

Yummy!

The Year that Christmas Never Stopped

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:07:28 -0500

How long is Christmas? Black Friday used to signal the beginning of the Holiday shopping season, and Celebrating the New Year brought the holidays to a close. Those ideas seem to be antiquated now. The commercialization of the holiday season is transforming a month long season of enjoyment into a year long dash for the cheapest gift.

Now it’s never a wrong time to blare Christmas music over the loud speaker while shoppers push and bump there way over to the last pair of cheap Chinese made gloves.

What happened to the season of family, friends, giving, and caring?

Well, at least we still have football on Thanksgiving and day long reruns of A Christmas Story on Christmas.

NASA's finding water has us over the moon - CharlotteObserver.com

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:17:00 -0500

NASA's finding water has us over the moon - CharlotteObserver.com:

Wow, an even headed, witty opinion piece from my local paper. Who would’ve thought?

What a great motto!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:24:57 -0500

What a great motto!

Photo

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:18:25 -0500

teejayhanton: soupsoup: generic1: Tonight was the worst of...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:57:23 -0500

teejayhanton:

soupsoup:

generic1:

Tonight was the worst of all possible outcomes.

In New York, the wingnuts lost, teaching the conservative activists a valuable lesson about electoral math. It’s a lesson I didn’t want them to learn.

In Virginia & New Jersey … a loss is a loss is a loss. I don’t care what the cross-tabs didn’t indicate about Obama. Perception is reality in politics. It’ll energize the base and the media narrative will suck, suck, suck right at the height of healthcare reform.

In Maine, that’s the very definition of a bad beat. The bible-thumpers pulled this one out real nice. Mainers were angry at top-down governance from the legislature. And now it’ll scare off other state legislatures from taking civil rights into their own hands. It was the only one that really mattered tonight.

Fuck.

Jersey had nothing to do with Obama.

People don’t realize how fed up those on the left were with Corzine and the corruption up and down the political offices. This was a referendum on letting people get away with murder on Corzine’s watch. It didn’t matter if he had a better economic plan than Christie or not, people were fed up.

This was a very personal, regional thing. It was going to be anybody but Corzine, not matter who the alternative was. Not even Obama could have saved him.

And the Republican win here in VA isn’t exactly surprising … VA only went “blue” for Obama. It’s a “red” state otherwise. Voter apathy and the Democrats putting out terrible candidates also hurt. I honestly don’t know what the Dems were thinking with Deeds … he’s a putz.

Personally, I’m sick and tired of the left vs. the right. Why does everything have to have only two sides? We need to tear down BOTH parties and create a multi-party system. Our current system is tearing us apart. Emotions run too high. The majority of the country lies somewhere BETWEEN the two parties, but we only hear from the extremes. Ridiculous.

I second this assertion. We need to stop thinking in black and white, when most of us fall in the middle. Our two party political system needs a make over. Stratification is not good for our culture, economy, or personal wellbeing. Let’s come together in the middle, I’ll meet you have way.

Command & Conquer for the iPhone is finally here. Guess...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:31:26 -0500

Command & Conquer for the iPhone is finally here. Guess I’ll see everyone in a couple of weeks.

zsommand: 9GAG.com

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:31:09 -0500

zsommand:

9GAG.com

Yup, Brizzly. I’m in, and Twitter is becoming useful...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:08:05 -0400

Yup, Brizzly. I’m in, and Twitter is becoming useful again.

leo: ‘The Golden Age of Video’ by Ricardo Autobahn (via...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:42:39 -0400

leo:

‘The Golden Age of Video’ by Ricardo Autobahn (via spraynetdotcodotuk)

The features just keep coming. Eventually the phone companies...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:52:44 -0400

The features just keep coming. Eventually the phone companies are going to get really pissed off, but until then I will enjoy the freedom!

Rockslide closes I-40 near Tennessee - CharlotteObserver.com

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:49:24 -0400

Rockslide closes I-40 near Tennessee - CharlotteObserver.com:

“Interstate 40 in western North Carolina could be closed for months after a rockslide buried the interstate under a mountain of rubble early Sunday morning.”

Jack Canfield: Raise Children, Not Flowers!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:37:18 -0400

Jack Canfield: Raise Children, Not Flowers!:

“Each one of us is enduring more stress as we face a recession and a deep financial shakeup that has no end in sight. During times like these it’s essential for us parents to remember what our priorities are. Our kids!”

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-canfield/raise-children-not-flower_b_268607.html