Month: November 2008


posting from a blackberry storm


This is difficult. Full review later

Edit 2: As you can see I had some typing difficulty from the Storm. So… Verizon’s latest iPhone weapon (following the LG Dare and LG Voyager ). Looking at the feature list, it seems like a sweet smartphone. I think that RIM had the right idea behind it, but they didn’t come through. First of all, there is no wifi. The browser does not have flash. The scrolling is really annoying and it doesn’t support multi touch zooming, like the iPod touch/ iPhone. In general, scrolling and zooming was very clunky. The keyboard is impossible to use. I liked where they were going with the clicking touchscreen where you actually have to push the keys, but it really doesn’t work well at all. It took me a good 10 minutes to be able to log into this blog and post the one line of text you see on top. Oh, and did I mention lag lag lag? When you rotate the phone, it takes a good 2-3 seconds to realize that and change the display angle. Starting apps is also laggy and it’s really difficult to navigate your way around the phone. The potential was there, and on paper, it looks sick. Actually, the whole phone looks good – it just doesn’t function well. Not worth it. Sorry.


Thoughts on Election Day


Before you call me an anarchist, by all means, go out and vote for the candidate (national, local or whatever) whose viewpoints you support. It is a freedom and privilege in this country that many do not have, and if you agree with someone, by all means support them. This does not mean you should be going around criticizing those choosing not to participate in the election, or telling people they must vote. First of all, support someone you agree with completely. Even if this candidate is third party and has no chance at winning at all, you need to go with your beliefs. Which brings me to my next points: the way voting works in America is completely broken:

  1. What kind of country do we live in where the majority of citizens vote for one person, yet he loses the election? That’s right, welcome to the Electoral College. It makes tons of sense to vote for a group of people who then pick the candidate they want to see in the White House. Any reason for a middleman in 2008? This may have made sense in 1800 when people had to ride a horse 150 miles to go vote, but in today’s day and age, it is completely useless. Fix it.
  2. Political parties are useless. There is a monopoly in this country, and there needs to be a revolution to overthrow it. Democrats and Republicans have lost their ways. The Constitution and much advice from our founding fathers (cough, no alliances) has been ignored and replaced with corporate interest. That’s right, in case you haven’t realized, Democrats and Republicans may have different views on such issues as abortion and taxation, but in reality these are only things on the surface. Major lobbyists and huge corporations will always get what they want because every politician is a bitch and can’t stand up to them.
  3. Why is there no standardized voting system? Everything should be the same across all states. But no… In Florida, we have punch ballots. New York has 1960s lever voting machines. Connecticut now has a fill-in the bubble form. Other states have gone electronic and have exploitable systems, or bad touch screens that need calibration. Why can’t we find something that works, and implement it across all states. This is America and it’s 2008. Not 1930. You think we’d be a little more advanced.

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Voting will do nothing for you, America. Whether you vote McCain or Obama, the elite will get their way. Enjoy your election, no matter what happens, only time will tell.