Drama, Faux activism and YouTube

Ah Drama...

As if just living life didn't offer up enough trials and tribulations it seems there are those bent on manufacturing more.

Some, like the tarnished remnants of TWIT are a bona fide drama factory.  Others just blatant opportunists.  

If drama were gold it'd be as common as sand on the beach.

We all know someone who seems to be terminally "in distress."  Invariably they'll drag everyone around them into their drama like a black hole.

YouTube has become the perfect outlet for all that dramatic energy.  Puffed up egos bolstered by clueless fans who've got nothing better to do than lament their own failings and swell a channel's subscriber numbers.  

Drama feeds drama which is why YouTube comments are the way they are.

Adam the Woo

But this isn't an indictment against YouTube as a whole. 

There are some gems out there like Adam the Woo or Louis Rossmann.  They invite you into their lives and in the process teach us something about ourselves.  They're  not chasing fame or pouring over analytics like some corporate accountant at tax time.   It's about sharing experiences instead of inventing them.

But they're few and far between rendered all but invisible by the incessant droning from the drama queens.  

Those self absorbed attention whores who will do anything to get more views.  Ruining reputations, exposing private information of a rival even criminal acts, all are fair game.  Nothing is off-limits.

Then comes the second string.  The reactionaries who pounce on the chance to expose or should I say exploit tragedy.   Their drug of choice a piece of that nefarious stardom.  A successful leap on the bandwagon is the path to joining their YouTube icons or so they hope.

To that end they become the self-appointed standard bearers of all that's decent and right (at least on YouTube)  Pop culture judge, jury and executioner of the irrelevant.

The beast is fed and the collective bar is lowered.

Damn!

These people take themselves way too seriously.  YouTube just lets it happen because it means more views which translate to more advertiser impressions.  It keeps the pump primed and the money rolling in.

It's the same formula as reality TV actually.  Throw a bunch of mediocre drama queens together and watch the bloodbath.

Isn't there already enough of this kind of crap in the world?  

Apparently not.  Check out the video below...

Circular Logic

Circular logic is the premise that something is true solely because it can be proven by no other means than it's own context.  

It's as if you built a road in the form of a huge circle that both began and ended at the same point.

It exists for no other reason than to exist and leads nowhere but it's own beginning.

Religion will call this "Blind Faith" That the simple fact that the belief exists is proof of its relevancy with no other evidence.

Perhaps the term itself "circular logic" is a joke of sorts.

Consider the lowly circle, a perfectly round construct with both beginning and end.  It's own Alpha and Omega.

Have you noticed how circles look very much like the number Zero which most mathematicians will tell you isn't actually a number.  They give it no higher reverence than a placeholder to emphasize the lack of value attributed to the numbers that come after it. 

Why?

Because it has no real value or as some would say, the value of "null."  Contributing nothing, meaning nothing.  This sad little permutation of a circle is literally worth nothing.

Even Binary math holds zero in low esteem.  It's been given the meaning of  "low"  or  "off."  A state of being characterized by an interruption to the natural flow.  

In a stream of Binary numbers it's an indication that a particular set of values is unwanted and without  consequence in such a state.

Being without value, however, can be useful for control.  We can't have all those "1's" running about unhindered now can we?

So much like Zero we can attribute similar value to circular logic.

A method of control without any intrinsic value or purpose.

Apropos.

Judicial Watch: A cheap shot at First Responders

Petty, Shallow, Political. 

That's the motto that should be plastered on the front of Judicialwatch.org's website.

Lest you think it's an impartial activist organization focused on judicial fairness I offer the following "Headlines"

"District of Corruption"

"Obama IRS Scandal"

"CDC Official Calls Obama Worst President, Amateur, Marxist After Influx of Illegal Alien Minors"

And most recently...

"Probe Ends Free Labor Union Ads on City Vehicles"

I don't care who you voted for in the last election, that last one is a bridge too far...

The attack on the offending "Ad" in question shocked even the normally blood red populace of planet Arizona.  This may be the land of gubernatorial finger wagging at Presidents but when you go after Firefighters for a sticker on their truck that says...

"Our Family Helping Your Family"

You're just being asinine...

For no other reason than a tiny IAFF logo ( International Association of Fire Fighters) that appears above the motto, Judicial Watch has accused Phoenix Fire Fighters of giving free advertising to the Firefighter's union on the taxpayers dime.

Judicial Watch apparently has a problem with Teachers, Cops, and now Firefighters.  That is if there happens to be a union that supports them.  Well at least that's the takeaway of this latest PR campaign against stickers on fire trucks. 

BTW, most if not all professional Fire Fighters belong to the union.  Calling this sticker "advertising" is like calling a postage stamp "advertising" for the postal workers union.  

How many times have we seen commercials about the pride America takes in those who choose a career in public service?  Should we consider them union advertising too?

Perhaps they'll go after Arizona license plates next.  They do say "Grand Canyon State" which blatantly advertises a popular tourist destination.  One that feeds all those "Private" resorts and hotels.  Imagine all those taxpayer dollars going to promote a big hole in the ground...oh the injustice!

The one thing you have to understand is that the Firefighter's union is not the Teamsters.  For the most part they can't go on strike.  

Really now, it's one thing for Safeway to miss a load of Fruit Loops, quite another when your house is burning down.

Bottom Line: It's about an organization that ensures that people who put their lives on the line every day have everything they need to do it safely and competently. 

That's the mission Period...

So just what the hell is wrong with you Judicial Watch?  Would you prefer we return to the 18th century where all emergency response was done by good intentions and the bucket brigade?  Would you rather have law and order enforced by lynch mobs or policing agencies that are bound to protect individual rights?

What's the end game?  Or perhaps the better question is, How does a 501 C3 non-profit get away with political activism? 

Look up the rules and the IRS spells it out...

"It may not be an Action Organization i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."

All I see on their site is a politically charged collection of "Actions" most of which are aimed at a sitting president.

It's like giving the National Enquirer tax exempt status.

That their actions are based on a political agenda is one thing but to use their status to attack first responders is pure cold blood. 

Shame on you and shame on anyone who believes in your so-called cause.

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

A Touch of Madness Over Windows 8

Article first published as A Touch of Madness Over Windows 8 on Technorati.

A touch of madness over Windows 8

Change never comes without cost and it's usually exacted by chipping away at our comfort zone.   Like some tortured victim of Stockholm syndrome we'll  irrationally rise up against any threat to our routines.

So the coming release of Windows 8 might as well be a new red scare to many tech industry bigwigs and pundits. 

It began  with a dire prediction about the fallout of Windows 8 from game industry mogul Gabe Newell of Valve:" I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I thinkwe’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market."

It continued with rumblings from industry pundits over changes to the way we'll be interacting with the Windows 8 interface.  From removal of the startbutton to optimizations for touch sensitive devices that irritatedindustry press it seems  those "in the know" are of mixedopinion at best.

It doesn't matter.

Think of all the convoluted keyboard shortcuts and permutations of pointing devices and it becomes obvious that we've hated our interaction with computers for years.  If the experience was ideal we wouldn't be trying to minimize it with ergonomic gimmickry.

Chances are pretty good that most of you have a Smartphone, tablet or both and you've become accustomed to getting your stuff with a tap or a swipe.   For many it's preferable.  So is it any surprise that Microsoft thinks you want to do the same on your desktop? 

If Microsoft is guilty of anything, it's of being a bit early to the party.  If touch interfaces weren't popular Apple would never have bothered with the IPAD and Microsoft wouldn't be getting into tablets in a big way with Windows RT and Surface. 

The way you work with your PC today will be very different from how you use it just 10 years from now.  That may sound like futurist prophesying but consumer preferences eventually permeate the workplace.

 Consumers have voted for touch with their wallets, just take a look at IPAD sales for proof.  They will come to expect it in all their digital interactions even if it involves a little pain at first.

That means touch on your desktop is in your future and you'll learn to like it, even if you don't know it yet.