MichaelCanfield.Net

Last night's dinner

2008-05-12T16:36:00.001-07:00

The stuff on the tomato slices is ground flax seed.

Question of the day: Did you REALLY mean to order 96 bananas???

2008-05-11T07:28:00.001-07:00

Yes, and 8lbs of oranges! Thank you AmazonFresh!

Wesley Snipes

2008-04-26T11:30:00.001-07:00

Taking away a human being's liberty for 3 years in a case like this just seems draconian to me. Snipes did act foolishly when he chose to align himself with the anti-tax loonies and trust their advice, but did he attempt to HIDE his earnings to defraud the government. No. In fact he has appeared contrite in court and has made restitution and paid a great deal of fines. I'm not saying he should get off free, but seriously, isn't a length of time reporting to a probation officer (I wouldn't want to have to do it) and a lifetime ahead of constant tax scrutiny a valid punishment? The judge has decided that depriving the guy of his freedom and income is just the thing needed. This will also cost the State any taxes they could have collected on income Snipes would have made otherwise in those three years as well as the cost it will incur in keeping him incarcerated. Bad deal all around.

Uploader with a message

2008-04-05T00:31:00.001-07:00

Tags:
science fiction, starbuck obama, bsg

I'm probably moving ...

2008-04-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

this blog to WordPress, which I didn't realize is also mostly free. It has some advantages over Blogger, like stats, the ability to break a post up with a jump, and most importantly the ability to migrate posts from old blogs such as this one and my old Typepad blog so I can resurrect my old posts in one pace, and save $40 by not renewing my annual Typepad membership for nostalgia's sake. I'll be posting simultaneously here and on Wordpress for a couple weeks just to make sure there's nothing on WordPress I can't work with. The last step will be redirecting my personal domain there. In the meantime check out my beta. Yeeeaaahhh, maybe not!

A sudden bigger project

2008-03-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

*sigh* Once you start drawing yourself reference maps -- you're probably moving out of short-story lengths.

Stuff I hate (part 2 of a series)

2008-03-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Awards.

A for instance: After Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, and more, Scorcese gets a directing Oscar(TM) for a tedious and ridiculous self-parody "The Departed" with featured an embarrassing performance by Jackie "The Joker" Nicholson, denouement of bullets-to-the-head that is executed (excuse the pun) seemingly without the slightest awareness of its own absurdity.

So that two things I hate. Awards (because they are often for something else -- which will be the case if Chabon wins the Hugo this year) and "The Departed."

Stuff I hate (part 1 of a series)

2008-03-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Finding I left kleenex in a pocket after doing laundry.

"Napoleon ... with dragons!"

"The American Revolution ... with dragons!"

"Apollo 13 ... with dragons!"

"The Holocaust ... with warlocks!"

"The Cold War ... with aliens!"

I hate video blogs

2008-03-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

And most audio posts too. Example: Slate V. I keep seeing rss headlines for Slate articles I think I'd like to read but turn out to be videos. I don't want to load a video, or put my headphones on just to see something I may or may not be interested in. You can scan video or audio the way you scan text. I think Seth Godin blogged some time ago about this being the reason vBlogs and podcasts will not supplant text. But vblogs are popping up everywhere, and that's annoying.

Quote for this season

2008-03-18T22:51:00.001-07:00

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." - Thomas Jefferson

Why I am still for Obama

2008-03-08T11:45:00.001-08:00

Yes, yes he has all those horrible qualities like charisma, optimism, and hasn't spent the last twenty years in Georgetown, but ...

I like Obama because he spent time overseas in school as a kid, has a varied and multi-cultural background, and might be able to stand on the world stage with other world leaders and not be so arrogant. He's the anti-Bush. I really think a President can only set a tone (or invade stuff).
No matter who is the next President there won't be any universal health care and we will be Iraq for another decade.
But the longer this goes on, the more Clinton makes me sick.

Any other the three front runners would be better than Bush because they are all competent. McCain is the hardest to read, because he has reversed himself this year on almost everything he has ever stood for, in order the get the Republican nomination. So the hope with him, is that he is really just I liar and isn't really planning on serving W.'s third term. One thing about him that is consistent is his world view -- namely that war is the natural state on humankind. Maybe that comes from his background from a family of officer-class military elites, maybe it is even true, but it's a little too Julius Caesar for me.

Clinton just depresses me, because she is really invested in the 50/50 blue/red divide. She enjoys perpetual political war. She courts it. In '92 the thinking in congress was that they were going to have to give something in terms of health care reform to the Clintons. Maybe not everything they wanted but something. However, she walled herself and her team off completely, came up with a giant plan in secret, presented it in a take-it-or-leave it manner and accomplished the near impossible in allowing a Democratically-controlled congress to reject it. As President I don't believe she will work with people. She will work against them. Why? Because she would rather fail and be self-satisfied in her superiority, then get something achievable. If nothing gets done in her administration she will always have the Republicans and the media, or sexism to blame. I see it every day in the way she campaigns. Temperament-wise she is closest to W. than anyone else who has run this cycle: "I am right. My side has all the good ideas. If you aren't with us, you're against us." It scarcely matters what the issue is, or who the opponent is: could be Obama, or Kenneth Starr, or MSNBC, or whoever. It doesn't matter to Clinton, an enemy is an enemy.

I don't want to sit through four more years of that.

I think getting a new guy in there, one who hasn't been entrenched in Washington power for close to 20 years is the best chance of shaking things up. The worst thing for our decaying republic is to continue the concentration of power into the few. A McCain or a Clinton presidency won't do much to reverse the Bush years of steady-slide into soft fascism, because it keeps the same people in power that have been in power, and those Bush power plays against the constitution won't be given up easily because power is difficult to give up. But if you get a new group, there is a chance at least. Maybe. The alternatives are either rewarding the party that has destroyed the economy by borrowing billions from China to prosecute an unnecessary war for fun and (by openly embracing torture and trashing habeas corpus) given aid and comfort to radical Islam. Or to put the spouse of a popular former leader into power like a banana republic would.

Technorati Tags:
Politics

Gary Hart's Take

2008-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

via Huffpo:

It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not provide ammunition to the opposition party that can be used to destroy your party's nominee. This is a hyper-truth where the presidential contest is concerned.

By saying that only she and John McCain are qualified to lead the country, particularly in times of crisis, Hillary Clinton has broken that rule, severely damaged the Democratic candidate who may well be the party's nominee, and, perhaps most ominously, revealed the unlimited lengths to which she will go to achieve power. She has essentially said that the Democratic party deserves to lose unless it nominates her.

Does this year feel longer to you?

2008-03-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

With leap day successfully passed though, we are now back on schedule.

Fred Rogers is the man!

2008-02-27T18:18:00.001-08:00

From Larry Lessig's Free Culture:

[A] court in California had held that the VCR could be banned because it was a copyright-infringing technology: It enabled consumers to copy films without the permission of the copyright owner. No doubt there were uses of the technology that were legal: Fred Rogers, aka "Mr. Rogers," for example, had testified in that case that he wanted people to feel free to tape /Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood/.

"Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the "Neighborhood" at hours when some children cannot use it. I think that it's a real service to families to be able to record such programs and show them at appropriate times. I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the "Neighborhood" off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the "Neighborhood" because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been "You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions." Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important." [23]

23. /Sony Corporation of America/ v. /Universal City Studios, Inc.,/ 464 U.S. 417, 455 fn. 27 (1984). Rogers never changed his view about the VCR. See James Lardner, /Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the VCR/ (New York: W. W. Norton, 1987), 270-71.

Again I'm wrong about Clinton

2008-02-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

A few posts down I mentioned I thought she showed class. I naively believed her conciliatory rhetoric opening the last debate, and stupidly believed she intended to go out with a little class. Clintonistas, you almost fooled me again!

Vote Fraud in NYC

2008-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Mayor Bloomberg thinks so:

New York Post:

February 19, 2008 -- Mayor Bloomberg charged yesterday that "fraud" was behind the unofficial results in the New York Democratic presidential primary that produced zero votes for Barack Obama in some districts.

"If you want to call it significant undercounting, I guess that's a euphemism for fraud," said the mayor.
Unofficial tallies on election night gave Obama no votes in 78 out of more than 6,000 election districts.

I can't figure out why McCain wants to be president.

2008-02-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

Why? Just because?

I know he doesn't want to swiftly withdraw troops from Iraq. I know he doesn't want to do anything about health care. I know he doesn't have any great interest in economic issues.

I think he would maybe attempt to ban torture, and would not be a cruel on immigration issues as any of the Republican candidates he's already defeated, but none of them are running now, and either Democrat will be better on torture and immigration than McCain.

I'm sure he's for tax cuts. I'm sure he's for reminding "us" daily that the world is a dangerous place, and that he will work to "keep us safe" possibly by applying as much muscle around the world as we have left in the arsenal.

This seems like a delusional campaign. He's running is if there is a yearning among the electorate of four more years of the same.

The press is geared to presenting both sides of an issue, which often implies the two sides are equal. The race in November is not really going to be that close. It's glaringly obvious McCain and the Republicans are hold very weak cards.

Russell Davis

2008-02-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

is running for president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and his platform is here. In addition to his writing resume, he seems to bring a great deal of publishing, business and non-profit experience to the table. I especially like his statements about the need to enhance SFWA's reputation in the publishing industry.
[via Scalzi via Buckell.] [Err ... I'm mean via Nebula-nominee Buckell! Congrats Toby!]

Send your policy ideas and concerns to Obama

2008-02-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

B.O.'s site has a webform for this purpose:

[snip]

MyPolicy: What Do You Think?

The best, most comprehensive plan for change in our country will include your ideas and your feedback. America needs a president with a mandate from the people, and everyone deserves a voice in shaping our next president's agenda.

Take a moment to share your ideas. Over the coming months the best ideas will be featured and incorporated into the campaign's policy proposals. Be as broad or specific as you want.

Clinton is class.

2008-02-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

I thought Senator Clinton's decent character and wisdom shown through in tonight's debate in one particular moment, when she said that it was "a privilege" to appear on stage with Barack Obama. She went on to saw, that "we will be okay." She meant her family and supporters and Obamas. But it also means we will all be okay.

Obama is close to 1 Million individual donors.

2008-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is an unprecident number of donors. If you want Obama to be your next president would you consider giving a small amount. Even $5.00? It's easy and will make you feel good.

Here's part of an email pitch sent around by the Obama campaign (bolding, mine):

We've crunched all the numbers and discovered that we are within striking distance of something historic: one million people donating to this campaign.

Think about that ... nearly one million people taking ownership of this movement, five dollars or twenty-five dollars at a time.

We're already more than 900,000 strong, including over half-a-million donating so far this year. This unprecedented foundation of support has built a campaign that has shaken the status quo and proven that ordinary people can compete in a political process too often dominated by special interests.

Unlike Senator Clinton or Senator McCain, we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Our campaign is responsible to no one but the people.

One million donors would be a remarkable feat -- something that's never been done before in a presidential primary and something no one ever thought would be possible for us. And your generosity made it possible.

But it's going to take an incredible organizing effort to bring in 100,000 new donors before March 4th.

Be a part of this historic effort. Make a donation as part of our matching program, and you will bring in a first-time donor by doubling the impact of their contribution. You can even choose to exchange notes and let them know why you are part of this movement.

I don't care ...

2008-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

if John McCain had sex in 2000 with someone other than Cindy.

But I do care about this [WSJ]:

For years, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has railed against lobbyists and the influence of "special interests" in Washington, touting on his campaign Web site his fight against "the 'revolving door' by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the special interests they have aided."
But when McCain huddled with his closest advisers at his rustic Arizona cabin last weekend to map out his presidential campaign, virtually every one was part of the Washington lobbying culture he has long decried. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm whose clients have included Verizon and SBC Telecommunications. His chief political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., is chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses, BKSH and Associates, which has represented AT&T, Alcoa, JPMorgan and U.S. Airways.

Letterman is funny.

2008-02-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Joke from the other night's show:

"Fidel Castro is stepping down, and announced he will be succeeded by his idiot son Fidel W. Castro."

Clinton: No thank yous!

2008-02-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Another Clinton loss (another blowout in fact, this one in all-white, majority female voters Wisconsin) and another speech from Clinton in which she did not congratulate the winner. She did not even acknowledge the contest in Wisconsin, let alone thank her own voters there.

She's very much like George W. Bush. Doesn't admit mistakes, doesn't acknowledge failure, creates own reality. Bush today said he didn't think the war had anything to do with the bad economy. Well, it's what we expect from him, he is stupid and no one expects him to get smart at this late hour. But Hillary is not stupid. So what is her excuse?

Gorging on 35 Dishes, Daily

2008-02-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

Does Sullivan manage to post 15 - 35 times a day in part because he doesn't allow comments? I wonder. The other Atlantic.com bloggers take comments, and Yglesias post nearly as often, and takes comments to boot. One of the Atlantic bloggers (I can't find the post now) did mention that he or she mostly has to ignore comments to avoid the time sinkhole. And Sullivan's post are usually one hit: i.e. one idea, one snip, and one link max, with the occasional longer post. I find it very addictive. I probably check Sullivan more often than I check my own political blogs labeled RSS feed. So do many others, as Sullivan is on the Technorati 100. In fact, almost all the blogs I read daily are in the Technorati 100 -- which attests to how mainstream my web time-wasting is!