Arizona Monsoon 2016 Highlights

So let's take a break from the activism for a bit and explore one of the other reasons for this blog's existence. 

I've said it before.  I'm a frustrated storm chaser.  I'm fascinated by weather and storms and if I could afford it I'd have one of those home weather stations just so I could check barometric pressure and wind speed every 5 minutes.

Alas, I'm just an enthusiast with a smartphone and an old 1 Megapixel camera that eats batteries like a 5 year old eats fruit loops.

Below are some of my favorite examples of this year's Arizona Monsoon season.  I actually got lucky in  a few videos and caught some dramatic shots but truth be told this year's monsoon was more about wind than rain.  In fact the meteorologists are saying we're actually down 2 inches this year having not broken 5 inches in total.  

Some places got much more than that but those were isolated cases.  In one storm event a part of the valley received 3 inches of rain in an hour.  That doesn't sound like much if you're from the Midwest or deep South but here it translates into freeways underwater and cars floating around.

Of course I can't let this post end without mentioning that you can enjoy most of these videos Ad Free thanks to TWIT's abuse of YouTube's copyright system.  The very same one that Leo's brain-dead zombie henchmen led by the #DarkTrollWitch  have used to demonetize the entire channel till November....

Leo's on a boat for this year's vacation.  I hope he doesn't get too seasick but Karma being what it is....

Anyway...

Try to enjoy these snippets of time from this year's Arizona Monsoon storms brought you courtesy of my crappy cameras and poor videography.  

You might see something that surprises you!

Peace..

The Evolution's been redacted or at least TWIT has

It's the chat room's fault...

Of course! It's all those horrible weirdos with no lives who caused all the trouble with Leo's photo album...

It's June 3rd and the TWIT chat links on twit.tv still work.  

In a not so stunning half-hearted reversal it appears the chat room survives although it's not as central as it used to be to the daily going's on at TWIT. 

Apparently the May 27th announcement of their demise was premature.  In the intervening week there's been some softening of the position that's allowed the chat room to continue.  Whether or not the show you're watching is live,  however, is a big secret. 

In the early chatter between Laporte and Steve Gibson during the Security Now broadcast stream (6/2/2015), Laporte discussed how the chat rooms would be maintained but it was up to the hosts as to whether or not they wanted them visible.  Showering pity on his chat moderators, Leo relayed a tearful tale of how one of his chat mods had quit due to the incredible pressure they were under from all those "weirdos."

He went on to explain that while he actually "owned" the chat room, it really belonged to the moderators and that faced with its demise they protested. 

So what have we learned...

1. The picture of somebody's junk was all the chat room's fault

2. Actually, everything is the chat room's fault...

3. Dictatorial chat mods on a power trip have feelings too

4. The chat room isn't central to TWIT programming anymore

5. Laporte is still delusional

6. TWIT brilliantly exemplifies the fallacy of the Straw Man 

In the weeks that follow you can expect more of the same as TWIT deemphasizes the interactive nature of its programming that it once championed.  You can also expect to see a more filtered version of Laporte even going so far as to cancel live events like the 24 hours of TWIT New Years broadcast.

Honestly, I could care less about the TWIT's chat room and haven't bothered with it for the better part of a year.  It was just far too tiring to frame every comment in a way that wouldn't run afoul of a code of conduct that could get the Pope banned.

Ok, it's a privately owned service and TWIT can run it any way they please.  That's understood.  We all know that free speech takes a back seat to corporate interest in the good old USA.  We have the freedom to censor anything we find unpleasant if it's under our control.  Whether or not it's freely offered to the public is of no consequence.

Perhaps all these changes at TWIT are a good thing although they're probably too late to save the network.  TWIT and Laporte in general could have perpetrated the myth of being "family friendly" if only we hadn't seen so much of that... raw sausage.

Laporte could have been lewd, dictatorial and creepy all he wanted and none of us would have been the wiser. 

But that didn't happen.  We saw the stark contrast between the man and the image and we didn't like it. 

The proverbial cat's out of the bag.  Maybe if TWIT survived another 10 years all of those unpleasant memories would fade.

Thing is, the Internet is forever and try as you might it doesn't forget.

"The evil that men do lives after them"...etc...etc.. (The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2)

TWIT: The scandal behind the "Evolution"

The "Evolution" of TWIT Wankergate

I don't like to report rumors or present editorial opinion as fact.  If it's from the horses mouth I'll always give you a source.

So this latest wrinkle has me perplexed.  By now the TWIT UN-faithful have born witness to what promises to be the most lewd episode from Daddy Laporte yet.

That being, of course, the now infamous picture of someone's male genitalia showing up in Leo's Iphoto Album during Sunday's (5/24) Tech Guy radio broadcast.

Totaldrama.net was on the scene and has provided photographic and video evidence of this latest debauchery by the TWIT front man.  Evidence that I prefer not to reproduce on this blog simply because I don't want to keep seeing it every time I go looking for an image for one of my articles.

Let's leave the elephant in the room for now and ignore the question of why a picture of somebody's junk is mixed into the family photo album.  I really don't care whose it is, it should never have been there especially on a device that could find it's way onto a live broadcast.

Nonetheless, there it was in all its sad glory.  Which apparently was the catalyst for everything that's transpired since.

Some are reporting that the coming changes to TWIT have since been cancelled.  As of this writing, however, I still see no official indication of that from any TWIT at TWIT.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Till then, here's a screenshot of the announcement posted on the Inside TWIT blog on the 27th.  Click on it to see a readable version.

Until TWIT indicates otherwise, it will have to serve as their official position.

http://twit.tv/2015/05/27/evolution-twit-live

The DE-Evolution of TWIT

4 Days....

You Have 4 days (assuming you care) to enjoy the last few hours of the TWIT you knew.  Starting June 1st TWIT is changing the rules.

"...we have recently decided to make a few changes that are going to affect our live audience.

Part of this is the TWiT chat room, which offers direct access to our hosts and guests. Our volunteer moderators have always been diligent [AKA draconian...] in keeping the chat on topic and not letting a few troublemakers [non-fanboys] derail the discussion. But it's gotten to where moderating the chat and people's frustrations with that have become a distraction..." insideTWIT 5/27/15

You heard that right.  Gone will be the live chat room and with it a shakeup of the schedule (again) that will preclude the goings on behind the curtain that faithful viewers have come to expect. 

"This level of behind-the-scenes access also has another serious downside: Not everyone wants to spend their working hours under a microscope." inside TWIT 5/27/15

Uh, if you don't like people watching you then why are you working in a broadcast medium?

I've said before that the turning tide against TWIT likely came about because we saw too much of the sausage being made.  A privilege that showed us the stark contrast between who we thought we knew and who they really were.  The episodes of  sometimes callous and often creepy behavior were there for all to see free of any video editor's sanitizing.  Episodes of which Laporte frequently played a starring role.    

That can have an effect over time...

Most of us came to the network with a longing for what we'd lost when TechTV left the airwaves.  We missed the warm and friendly Laporte and co. solving all our techie woes.  It was with a gentle hand and a kind word that TechTV could console our geeky insecurities with the affirmation of, "It's not your fault!"

It was the first time that anyone bothered to embrace the geeks.  That guy on your TV actually knew what he was talking about without relying on the teleprompter for the answers.  He was one of us...

But perhaps that was just the naiveté  of someone who believed that anything they saw in a heavily scripted TV show could reflect the reality of its hosts.  It was a TV network after all albeit a small one.

It's a rare celebrity whose personality matches their public persona.  Sadly, that truth was evidenced by simply watching TWIT the past few years.  Many fans went from disillusionment to outright hatred of Laporte when the family friendly teddy bear of tech appeared to be anything but.

"The term "troll" gets thrown around a lot. We get it: it's the Internet, and trolls, snarkiness, and differing opinions come with the territory. But it seriously crosses a line when it becomes targeted harassment, cyberstalking...

" inside TWIT 5/27/15

Increasingly anyone with a modicum of intelligence would soon realize that despite claims to the contrary, TWIT was becoming less about the fans and more about the product.  A product based on a facade with Laporte plastered on it like Orville Redenbacher on a box of microwave popcorn.

Speaking of popcorn.  We've born witness to a network whose advertising used to be dominated by the likes of Ting and IFIXit now pushing mattresses and mail order gourmet whose only claim to tech is a website.

If the technology marketplace doesn't believe in what TWIT's doing why should anyone else?  Where are the Lenovo, HP, Apple and Microsoft ads?  You'd think the de facto "President of the Internet" would have tech companies beating down his door to buy advertising.

But Laporte claims there's a higher standard at play.  Apparently one that values shaving kits and granola bars over tech.

Perhaps the best evidence of the impending doom of TWIT comes with an ever increasing paranoia...

" As some of you may know, we received a bomb threat a few weeks ago--and this isn't the first, second, or even third instance of the sort that we've had to deal with. 

We've also had people show up at our house, we've received threatening phone calls and emails, had our comings and goings tracked, been doxxed, and had our personal information distributed. This isn't limited to our hosts: our guests, mods, staff, families, and sponsors have also been the targets of these threats and abuse."

and...

" ...there are threats of violence--especially when your children are in the crosshairs. "Trolling" you can ignore, "stalking" is a different matter.

We take all of this very seriously. Being a target is scary and emotionally trying in a way that I wouldn't wish on anyone--and even more so when your friends and family are put at risk. We ask that you please respect any safeguards we must put in place as a result. Ultimately, we do believe this will result in a better TWiT experience for all.

" inside TWIT 5/27/15

We've moved from the delusional to the ridiculous.  TWIT has gone from the "CNN of tech" to the Fox News of tech.  

As though somehow criticism is equivalent to some Clear and Present Danger.  Sure, bomb threats happen and so does cyberbullying but everyone knows that if you put yourself out there it comes with the territory. 

I mean c'mon now, has Leo never looked at the comments on any of TWIT's YouTube videos?  Is a down vote now cause for a restraining order?

Or is Laporte finally circling the wagons in a desperate attempt to recapture the glory of his Tech TV days using this "abuse" as an excuse to shield TWIT from criticism.

In the end, we see TWIT moving toward the same "video on demand" model as other podcast providers meaning it's rapidly losing its niche.  

Ask all the former hosts of Revision 3 how well that model worked out for them.

There are far better sources for tech news (Have you seen Elgan?) and tech lifestyle programming out there.  TWIT has simply lost too much talent to survive on its content alone.

When the end finally comes for the podcasting network, shed no tears for TWIT. 

Leo's no Ben Kenobi and these are definitely not the droids you were looking for...

TWIT: The last straw

I Hate TWIT...

Over the past 3 years I've had my criticisms of Leo Laporte and his TWIT podcasting network but in every case I hoped to offer constructive criticism without passing final judgment. 

I've said more than once, "I don't hate TWIT" because I really didn't want to take sides even if my observations appeared otherwise.

Sadly, that ended today.  My catalyst for judgement came after watching the latest Triangulation episode with Leo Laporte and his guest, Personal Capital ( and Paypal) founder Bill Harris.

Bill Harris is in a word (or more accurately a phrase) the typical Silicon Valley "Suit."  Which is just like your normal everyday "suit" but with the added facet of living in the delusional reality that is any business based in the Silicon Valley.

His resume includes not only his current gig, Personal Capital, but also Intuit, Paypal and even a stint with Earthlink among others.

Personal Capital is an online wealth management service that advertises on TWIT.  As such there's been plenty of ad copy over the last year praising its merits to varying degrees.  Of course it's not of much use to anyone who has a net worth less than 7 figures but who cares, right? 

But really, I could care less about Bill Harris, it's TWIT that's the problem.

The Cliff Notes version is this. 

This week's episode of Triangulation would make for a great "Meet the CEO" employee indoctrination video for Harris' Personal Capital.  In it Laporte fawned, gushed and feigned interest in a man who had as much in common with TWIT viewers as Justin Bieber's hair stylist.

It was for lack of a better word, disgusting. 

The whole interview revolved around tales of Harris and his millionaire buddies like Elon Musk flying around the country "effecting change" from their Lear Jets with regular calls to "Madison Avenue" to create the buzz on their latest antics.

So who is Bill Harris to the average guy watching TWIT?  Absolutely nobody.  Like I said, he's just another suit who happened to use his Harvard education at the right place at the right time.  Just another perpetrator of the Silicon Valley serial startup.  

In short he's not like you and you'll never have anything in common with him.  It's doubtful he ever had to live on ramen noodles or worry about paying off his student loans.   

However, If you're still interested, here's a link to his bio on Bloomberg for those of you with posters of Warren Buffett above your bed.

The dime-store summary of Bill Harris' career includes such winners as: Earthlink an early national  ISP,  Paypal, the de facto Internet payment service and TurboTax, the most recognizable name in tax preparation software.  

What do all these companies have in common? great marketing for so-so products...

Earthlink was among the earliest national dial-up ISP's and was also one of the first communication services to lock customers into multi-year commitments without any guarantee of service. If you think data caps are bad try being forced to pay for a service you can't even use...  

Then there's Paypal which was a good idea at the beginning but has earned the nickname "PayPay."  A label earned by the service (and its parent company Ebay) for high percentage fees and a tendency to tie up bank accounts on a whim.  

Then there's Intuit's TurboTax, which regularly makes headlines for screwing users out of tax refunds due to flaky formula calculations.  Lest we forget security holes that have left many a taxpayer on the hook with the IRS through no fault of their own.

That's the thing.  These companies were all good ideas at the start but have had troubled histories since.  However, I'm not suggesting that Bill Harris was directly involved with anything scandalous concerning them.  To the contrary, he's a "big picture guy" who gets out just before the lawsuits start coming in.  

Which means he's about creating wealth not social change.  If he happens to do the world a good turn in the process it's likely by accident.  He is a businessman, marketer and salesman.  Nothing more.

In the classic TWIT context his experience has no more in common with viewers than the average Wall Street CEO.  Meaning it's irrelevant information to the TWIT viewership

Ok, so my hatred for Bill Harris' resume aside, the point is this...

It's one thing to pander to advertisers, it's another to be their lap dog.  We've seen this behavior before but for me the final straw came before the start of the episode.

In the pre-show, Harris happened to notice that someone in the chatroom said something about "vomiting" which brought swift response from Laporte directing his studio flunkies to shut down the "chat" on set.  

That was followed up with threats of banning chat users and a statement from Laporte to Harris that effectively disparaged the value of the chatroom on TWIT. 

So in effect, Triangulation became Bi-angulation.

On more than one occasion Laporte has called the chatroom the third side of the "triangle" since the departure of co-host Tom Merritt.  

That makes its removal a violation of a sacred TWIT tenet and creates a void  that even Laporte's sizable ego can't fill.

Look, I get it, you don't want to piss off an advertiser especially if they may be a potential buyer for your failing enterprise.

However, passing off a corporate propaganda video as content is inexcusable.  Regardless of how interesting the life of Bill Harris may have been, the information is of little value when the interviewer has a vested interest. 

Meaning there's a bias in place that invalidates objectivity.  In the case of this episode of Triangulation, Laporte turned TWIT into a Bill Harris infomercial.  Perhaps Leo's really that enamored with the guy but it's far more likely he's protecting advertising revenue. 

Coincidentally, pulling the ads from TWIT was a joke Harris made repeatedly before, during and after the so-called "interview."

That's not friendly, that's Freudian suggestion my friends.

Because of this final and blatant violation of principle there can be no redemption for TWIT.  A line has been crossed and I'm off the fence now.

As the Shark Tank's Mr. Wonderful (Kevin O'Leary) often says,

"You're dead to me...  "

The episode has been provided below, judge for yourself.  Maybe you'll be inspired to go out and buy a new suit.

TWIT: Why the Totaldrama's of the world ever existed...

It's fairly obvious at this point that TWIT has lost a lot of fan base.  With popular hosts exiting and shady personal dramas playing out in front of all those Canon G10's in the studio, it's been a wild 4 years.  The net result is a network short on talent and long on expenses.

Even Laporte's "The Tech Guy" radio show hasn't escaped the black cloud that hangs over the network.  Just in the past 6 months for example, the show has virtually disappeared from the Phoenix area. 

Dropped entirely from  station 1480 AM KPHX, the only area frequency the show is still heard is the relative backwater 1000 watt 1230AM KFYI.  A station better known for its "B-list" conservative talk-radio programming.  That may not seem like a big deal until you realize that the Phoenix market ranks 13 (of 272) in the most recent Nielsen Market rankings.

I've often said that perhaps the problem with TWIT is that we see too much of the sausage being made.  From poorly timed sexting messages exposing an illicit affair to the brutal dressing down of a fan favorite host, TWIT's transparency has had a large role in dismantling a facade that Laporte has spent a career nurturing.

Blame him, blame his so-called "CEO," blame whomever you want but the simple fact of the matter is that Laporte is blatantly fallible and unapologetically so.

So when the banner of wholesome, family friendly content is hoisted nobody is buying it anymore. 

Meaning TWIT's days are numbered.  Nobody likes to see the seedy underbelly of their heroes especially advertisers.

Which leads us to Totaldrama.org or more recently Totaldrama.eu...

It is (soon to be was) a site devoted exclusively to badgering the TWIT network and more specifically Laporte himself. 

Irreverent isn't an adequate enough adjective to describe the vitriol slung at TWIT by the site.  It chronicles every misstep, every crude remark and every gaff.

It fed a disgruntled fan base looking for an outlet but soon that outlet will be no more.  While entertaining, the site could never be accused of having much in the way of journalistic integrity.  Most recent posts were trending toward outright rants and insults based on little more than unsubstantiated personal opinion.

While it's true that controversy is far more popular than more thoughtful content on the web, it's not a sustainable business model.  Especially when the target of your attacks has a shrinking audience.

The failure of totaldrama.eu shouldn't be looked upon as a vindication of TWIT's current course, however.  TWIT's not gaining any fans and the shows continue to fall in the podcast rankings.  The simple truth is that it's far more likely that the failure of totaldrama.eu has far more to do with an apathy toward TWIT.

In short we just don't care anymore...

TWIT Webcam fun

I'm a webcam noob so I find the oddities of video recording amusing.  An example..

This was taken with my webcam at the base of my Plasma TV during the TWIT live podcast on Sunday April 8, 2012.  Guests were Patrick Norton, Rafe Needleman and IYAZ Akhtar with Leo Laporte the host.

All in good fun..

Enjoy