Recent Comments

1. about 4 hours ago on Doonesbury

   I agree with you on most points but smartphones were never intended to make people smarter. They do just what they’re intended to do. Reduce the need for people to use their own innate intelligence. To make life easier.

   But that’s been the trend for centuries as technology has advanced. People used to know how to hunt/grow their own food and build their own shelter. And repair their own things.

   Now, in developed countries, most have to buy food in a store. Get a building permit to do even relatively simple work on your own house. And fix your own possesions? Not if the corporations have anything to say about it.

   Technology has been both blessing and curse, sometimes in ways not immediately obvious. Sometimes done for our benefit. Sometimes not. But mostly with indifference, as long as the creators/owners of the tech get something out of it. The last, more so as time passes.

   Of course, these are broad generalizations. People can’t be so readily categorized. My point being that these latest generations are following trends that have been going on for a good long while before they were born.

2. about 7 hours ago on Brewster Rockit

   I had read that the major reason for the creation of the transporter was the cost of showing the shuttle flights and landings early in the series. Particularly building the shuttle versions.

   The “cool” factor was a bonus. As well as allowing the ever irrascible Dr. McCoy to complain about getting his molecules scrambled.

   I don’t recall the episode time being mentioned as a justification but that certainly seems plausible.

3. 28 days ago on Herb and Jamaal

   I agree. That’s something that bothers me about Disney pulling Song of the South from circulation. Yes, much of it was racist. But so were many movies of the times, not to mention before and after.

   But James Baskett didn’t deserve to have his performance cancelled, when he was just working within the system that existed at the time (the case for many actors and not just Black). Also, as I recall it, his character was portrayed as a wise, decent, caring person. Who looked even better by comparison to the white adults in the story. I also thought his performance was excellent.

   A shame the movie is unavailable to most modern audiences with the standard disclaimer. At least, in my opinion.

4. about 1 month ago on Herb and Jamaal

   I believe I’ve heard that (thanks for passing it along, regardless). Much credit to Sinatra for doing the right thing. But while Sinatra gave him the opportunity, it was Davis’ talent as a singer, comedian and actor that made him a seccess. Ane that’s why I appreciate him. However he got his start.

5. about 1 month ago on Herb and Jamaal

   While I understand that Jesse Jackson is saying (as I’m interpreting it) that what we do and can do is built on those that came before, to say that Michael Jackson can’t be appreciated on his own seems demeaning to him. He had great talent. As did Sammy Davis Jr. (not a sports fan or a generally a follower of NY politics). What he was able to accomplish in terms of recognition would have been influenced by what Davis achieved, but his abilities didn’t depend on that.

6. 3 months ago on Barney & Clyde

   A local bargain-price market chain did that. The type of place that didn’t have baskets, to get customers to use a cart so they’d buy more (they would encourage people to use boxes for smaller purchases and even provided easy access to their empties for free).

   But people would just leave the cart and the quarter deposit wherever when they were done. Even for a business that catered to a lower income, many weren’t going to return the cart to the front of the store (no corrals) for 25 cents, after dropping $100 on groceries.

   Eventually, the deposit system went away, they put in a few corrals and they started having an employee collect the carts.

   Not nearly as many scattered carts in the lot now, because most people do the courteous thing if they’re treated with consideration. Not a general comment on human behavior, just an observation in this instance.

7. 4 months ago on Barney & Clyde

   Commercial grade food mixers are standard items in labs that test cement, mortar and grout. A 5 quart mixer currently runs about $4400 for one brand. Not indestructible, but can last decades even with regular use.

8. 4 months ago on Betty

   I didn’t mean to imply that she was competing. I don’t know how what I wrote indicates competition. You’re the one who talked about her “winning”.

   I know she has been written as a character who understands her son. She has clearly been shown having (justifiable, IMO) concern about how much time he spends on-line. But the Internet can be more than a time-waster.

   Which is why I wrote she should be guiding him to gain more insight than can typically be found in a text book. Not just letting him wander. Instead she sent him back to the book. I’m not a fan of memorizing facts rather than learning to understand them

   I got your point. I didn’t need it explained. I simply disagree. We just have different perspectives.

9. 4 months ago on Betty

   I’m not so sure. The text book probably has only a brief (and likely at least somewhat slanted) overview of the subject. Used correctly, the Web can provide a wealth of information with differing perspectives and detail. Leading to a better understanding of the event and the consequences.

   It can be a rabbit hole (as noted by @bhscolleen below), but as a parent, it’s her job (and Bub’s) to teach him how to navigate it with descernment. Yes, I know that even adults don’t always do a good job of that.

   Just reading the book will satisfy the school’s requirements. But how much does it really help him learn?

10. 4 months ago on Frazz

    Wouldn’t having everything include having a place to put all of it? Not that I disagree with the sentiment.