Robert Hafer - Comments

Scott Beale posted an entry on Laughing Squid

Monty Python: The Dead Parrot Sketch

Wednesday at 5:41 pm - Link

matthew john ernisse, Dan Liebke and Ken Morley liked this

Still funny after all these years - Robert Hafer

Mona N. posted a message on Twitter

“Banana pudding with Vanilla Wafers = WIN. OH yes.”

Wednesday at 7:13 pm - Link

Shawn aka ringking, Steven Perez, Dread Pirate PJ and 10 other people liked this

That's a girl after my own heart, and mouth. Even deli pudding eaten out of the box and tub in the store parking lot. - Robert Hafer

You used whole Vanilla Wafers? 'cuz that's the only way to go. :-) - Jason Huebel

I'm with Jason on this - MiɳiMagɘ (AlwaysMiniMage)

There isn't any OTHER way to make banana pudding. If I see banana pudding without wafers, I'm calling the police. - Bwana

Eric Rice posted a message

“In reading anti-Muslim comments out there, I can only offer one dark prediction: User-generated police states.... the more I read of people the more I believe that fascism and tyrannies are the desired outcomes against those who are considered enemies. Man, do these religions need better PR.”

November 28 at 9:54 pm - Link

Tyson Key, Elliott Ng, Morton Fox and 8 other people liked this

I'm not sure what you mean by "user generated police state". Surely the two things are opposites? Do you mean the people of one country, say the US, wanting a police state in another, say Pakistan? - jjprojects

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jj: the belief that 'oh we don't like/want facism' and yet, we might actually want it... maybe it's not user-generated per se, but if it comes from the bottom up, that's *different*... it's like privacy stuff. The more we post post post share share share, yeah, privacy is GONE and we made it happen. That's where I was going with that. - Eric Rice

Eric - expound on this ... jjproject is right.. this is a little confusing. Where would the police state exist? I am assuming where ever there are conflicting views? - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

I think he means online user-generated police states, correct me if I'm wrong. - Mohomed=genieyclo

No genie, but that's a good point, esp in light of the 'please stop twittering'... you can't and won't stop that without censoring the internet, at a country or corporate level. But anyway, the internet firewall is another thread. - Eric Rice

Ah I see what you mean, I think. It's about sharing popular opinion, and negative stuff feeding on itself, leading to a bad place. - jjprojects

Ah yes, the internet firewall. We are fighting the govt doing exactly that in Australia at the moment, and it's a labor govt too (equivalent to US democrats). They want to filter the web here #nocleanfeed - jjprojects

jj - this government is almost as conservative as the last, i think the last election was a lot of "new media hype" and the better of two evils... - Terry O'Fee

Ooooh that! not cool... do NOT want! - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Seems to me most of the Commonwealth Nations have a bad case of fascist leanings. This post reminds me of all the bull we keep hearing about the draconian, fascist steps the UK gov is taking these days. - Mohomed=genieyclo

This post reminded me of some of the disturbing comments that I read on Al Jazeera this morning ... http://english.aljazeera.net/y... - scott anderson

Reading "1984," I always assumed, that for the vast majority of people in Oceania, "Big Brother is watching YOU" was a *comforting* slogan. Big Brother watched over you, protected you, stood up for you when you were attacked. Everyone loved Big Brother. If you didn't, it just meant you were mentally ill and/or in need of "re-education." - Karim

I do wonder if we'll see more SF dealing with a balkanized US, a la Richard Morgan's Thirteen/Black Man. - Flitcraft

People end up with the Government they deserve - Robert Hafer

Hacker News posted an entry on Hack In The Box

Memories may be stored on your DNA

November 29 at 1:59 am - Link

Alain Edouard, Melanie Reed, endiaferon and 13 other people liked this

Too cool. - Mohomed=genieyclo

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J ! why not after all... - TiTi

This seems interesting. Shame it doesn't go into greater detail about it though. - Tyson Key

Mike McQuay's 1987 science-fiction novel "Memories" is based around this idea - a drug that can completely unlock your DNA-based memories, your parents' memories, and so on, enabling you to travel back in time to inhabit the mind and body of anyone you're descended from. - Paul Robertson

Isn't instinct memmories stored in DNA? - Robert Hafer

The kind of "storing in DNA" they're talking about is epigenetic modification, which means it's not heritable. Specific memories aren't stored in DNA in an heritable way, but it's possible that this contributes to instinct. - Mr. Gunn

Steve Rubel posted a message on Twitter

“BusinessWeek is using Ning to crowdsource ideas for Obama http://ping.fm/zaDnL”

November 29 at 4:51 am - Link

Laura Norvig, Mariela De Marchi, Aaron Draczynski and 11 other people liked this

There seem to be a whole list of sites doing similar things, including change.gov. I wonder how Obama & co will make sense of it all. - Andrew Wilson

Well fisrt they cull the 95 percent of messages that are 'Obama Sucks' or 'Obama Rules' ;) - Robert Hafer

I have been reading quite a few of the comments and very few seem to commentary on Obama - most on topic (if occasionally misinformed) - Andrew Wilson

Kevin Rose dugg a story on Digg

Mumbai under attack [PICS]

November 28 at 3:54 pm - Link

Tyson Key, vijay, Alberto Lopez and 5 other people liked this

devastating images... - Benton

wow... just ... wow... - Chris Heath

India attacks Somali pirates, terrorist attack Mumbai - Robert Hafer

@Robert I hope you're not suggesting they have anything to do with each other, because they don't. - Mohomed=genieyclo

Robert Hafer shared an item on Google Reader

Prosecuting Captured Somali Pirates Poses Challenges

November 26 at 12:14 pm - Link

We could hold the at Gitmo; oh wait... - Robert Hafer

Robert Hafer shared an item on Google Reader

U.N. Urged to Take Action Against Killer Asteroids

November 26 at 11:37 am - Link

with the UN in charge, we are all dead - Robert Hafer

Kol Tregaskes posted a message

“Have you met anyone famous? If so, who, where, how and what happened?”

November 24 at 11:43 am - Link

Duncan Riley, imran, Randy Ksar and 8 other people liked this

I've met up with a few national bands after shows and hung out a bit. I've also met face to face with Jeff Gordon (NASCAR driver) when I was 11 or 12 at a race. - Mathew Ballard

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I saw one of the cast from The BIll shopping in Ikea many years ago but apart from that no-one else. I think my parents Russ Abbot at a golf event a long time ago. - Kol Tregaskes

Joe Montana and his family -Vail,CO. Also Formula Car racer A.J. Foyt in Alberquerque when I was a kid (lived next block over from my grandparent's house) - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

I live in L.A., so there are too many to name. - Monique

I studied philosophy with Ian Hacking (famous among philosophers). Otherwise...well, does internet fame count? :p - Neal "thePuck" Jansons

Ben Folds after his concert, and Jackie Earl Haley (Watchmen) in my office building (his production studio is on the floor above me) - Haggis (Sean)

Janet Reno in 1998: she spoke at my college and a friend and I waited at the rear exit with the Secret Service folks. Jacob Dylan 2000: same friend and pretty much the same circumstances, minus the Secret Service. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

Just met Brandon from the band Rise Against yesterday when I interviewed him, also have met Gary Numan, and spoke to other bands via phone too! - Les Zaldor

Mr. T and Tommy Lee Jones - Outsanity

@Les /jealous you met Gary Numan! - Neal "thePuck" Jansons

Sat next to Audrey Hepburn at a hearing for UNICEF, met Sandra Day O'Connor at the Supreme Court, ran into (literally) Lady Thatcher in Arizona, Kirk Herbstreit used to go to the same grocery store and a bunch of celebs in L.A. because they are everywhere - RAPatton

India Arie used to practice in my basement. Anthony David is a friend of the fam. Met Hulk Hogan in an airport once. Made drinks for "Rudy Huxtable," Johnny Gill, and Babyface when I worked at Starbucks. - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★

I had classes with Jamal Mashburn(NBA player) and Travis Ford(OK St. basketball coach) in college. I met Anson Williams at a telethon and have met several authors at book signing events. - Alan Simpson

I met Scoble at CES last year in the Bloghaus. Does that count? ;) - Kevin C. Tofel

Met George HW Bush, Dick Cheney (before he was VP), and Ice-T... and, no, they weren't all hanging out together... haha - Shawn Duffy via twhirl

Saw some of the American Idol crew at a local sushi place a year or so ago when they were taping in Charleston. Oh, and I have met Scoble. :) - Jared Smith

Rang up David Byrne at a music store (his credit card did in fact say David Byrne) - and Steve Jobs, I asked him to autograph my iBook which he declined - Jason Kaneshiro

I met Gov. Howard Dean during my senior year of high school, which was right around the time he got uber popular in early 2004. It was pretty cool. - Jamelle

Kevin: no. :-) - Robert Scoble

I met @timoreilly once. Does that count? - Stephen Pierzchala

I met the band InMe once... Spilt my drink down the drummers legs and talked to the lead singer as though I didn't know him (which hurt his ego a little) - alphaxion

Martha Stewart served me lunch at Googleplex ;-) John and Elizabeth Edwards are neighbors - we bump into each other in the store. I met Scoble.... ;-) - Bora Zivkovic

@Neal Yeah, very nice guy too - I met him when my friend mike did an interview with him, we went to his tour bus and did the interview there, very cool stuff! - Les Zaldor

Live in LA and freelance write for a magazine so I met a famous person just last week which reminds me...I need to plug my upcoming article. ;) - Derrick

Played basketball with Jerry Rice at the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood Shores CA. I didn't even recognize him until my wife pointed it out. - Tom Wentworth

I live in LA too, there are too many too count. I've certainly had my share of stupid celebrity moments, some interesting encounters and friendships forged. - Anika Malone

Sorry, Robert. I tried. ;) In all seriousness, I did meet Faith Hill before she was big. She opened for a Reba concert I was at. Nobody had heard of Faith Hill at that time... she sang 3 songs and offered autographs after the show. Got an autograph AND a hug. Take THAT Tim McGraw! :) - Kevin C. Tofel

I ran into Mike Bibby at a strip club in Vegas. He rolled in with a huge posse, and I talked to him for a bit at the bar. I also lived in LA too so it was common to see celebs. - Rodfather

interviewed mark linn baker from "perfect strangers" (the one with cousin balky) when i was 9. met dikembe mutumbo when he was a hawk at a night club. ditto juwan howard when he was a bullet, but in D.C. met joi (ex lucy pearl) at a concert. met michael knight from project runway at an atlanta magazine party. does that count? met busta rhymes too outside of the ritz in D.C. during howard u.'s homecoming. met the dude that played mr. roper at a restaurant in baltimore. ... - tiffany

I met the rapper "Game" while I was working out in my local gym. He was very cool and friendly, and it was a great experience. - Jeremy Campbell via twhirl

A couple not worth mentioning. Still mad at myself for ignoring the phone call that would have lead me to meeting Michelle Obama - Amber aka SDA

Met Nelson Mandela when he was still president. Never forget that moment. He's a special guy. - Roberto Bonini

also met author pearl cleage. she was so so nice. also have had a few sightings: charles barkley, one of the dudes from das efx, flavor flav and i'm sure i'm forgetting someone. - tiffany

Used to be a label rep for Sam Goody, met many recording artists; Weird Al and Pee Wee Herman were cool, Andy Williams and Barry Williams (no relation) were both dicks. - Jack Carlson

My favorite encounter was playing a softball scrimmage game against a team with Al Pacino at 2nd base. He was all into it. So funny. - Rodfather

Met Billy Joel in a cafe in Paris. Super nice guy. Also sat in the original KITT car at a car show as a kid. ;) - Jeremy Schultz via twhirl

I played footsie with Tina Youthers in the dining hall on the set of a sitcom when she was 16 and I was 14. - Kevin Fox

had a run in with James Brown on a flight from Zurich to Geneva. He was sitting in couch 10-15 rows behind me with his posse. Asked for his autograph multiple times but kept on saying later and that he was busy. what an ass. - Randy Ksar via twhirl

I used to work at a talent agency so all the time. They are way less interesting than you'd think. - Wesley Barrow

Jerry West, Lenox Lewis, Angie Stone, Deshea Townsend (Pittsburgh Steelers corner back), Ken Hamlin (Dallas Cowboys). Met them all back in '07 when I was Valet/Bellman at the Westin in Memphis. Jerry West enjoys the company of prostitutes. Lenox Lewis was nice. Immediately upon checking in he asked me where he could get a good cigar, a haircut and some decent BBQ. - Daryl aka Lil Trumpet Boy

I worked in politics for a while and met a lot of somewhat famous people during the '08 campaign. - Nation Hahn

Angie Stone was really nice and down to earth. Most folks don't really talk to the support staff but she was cool. She talked to me like a regular person. Like we'd known each other for a long time. She was a great tipper too. Ken Hamlin was a complete ass and horrible tipper to boot. Deshae Townsend was the complete opposite of Hamlin. Humble, kind and down-to-earth. - Daryl aka Lil Trumpet Boy

Worked with Robert Preston, I was an extra, very nice man; recently had dinner with Hal Holbrook; met Jim Neibors at the old Chase Park Plaza; had breakfast with Kevin Costner long before he was famous; went to collage with Dave Ramsey; Georgia Fromtier was a regular customer; does Walter Jennings count? - Robert Hafer

As a freshman at MIT I held an elevator door open for a professor and grad student who were moving some equipment. The prof said to his grad student, "We should reward this nice young man" and he gave me a postcard with a photo of a boy popping a balloon. I thought it a little strange, but just smiled and thanked him. Turns out it was Doc Edgerton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H... - Bruce Lewis via fftogo

Met Jimmy Carter on a regular flight, years ago, london-doha route. What a Great Humble Man. He came out from first class, with secret service guy went thru whole economy section, chit-chatting, photos, lot of smiles, happy end to 6 hours flight. After plane landed, first it went to royal terminal, where Mr. Carter left plane. - imran

All the famous people I've met were either in Twin Peaks or Star Trek, so I'm not sure anyone would even know who I'm talking about. :) I'm nerdcore. - Amanda H.

Many politicians from my political days. Bush, Sr. Cheney, Gingrich, and a bunch of other Congressman. Bunch of NFL guys when I was a kid working as a 'ballboy' on the sidelines, including Mike Ditka, the 'Fridge', and most of the St. Louis Cardinals. Some movie stars over the years, including Jackie Chan and Lt. Uhura. And by far, the most important celebrity of all-- Robert Scoble. - Andrew Leyden

People I've actually had conversation with include Penn Jillette, Lewis Black, Malcolm Gladwell, and Tom Kenny. And I've met Scoble as well. - Paul Rodriguez

There must be a Therom of celeb distribution in here somewhere. Sounds like grant money - Robert Hafer

Yes, and I never bothered to get a photo any of the times. Prime Minister of Australia, UK Opposition Leader, Australian Treasurer (he was drunk), and some other high ranking political types (State Premiers and Oppositions leaders etc). On the tech side, be it somewhat briefly: Kevin Rose, Mark Zuckerberg and some others. Actors: Geoffry Rush shops at our local supermarket and I once shared a lift with Kylie Minogue. Sports people: most of the Australian cricket team circa 2001, and a couple of Socerroos. - Duncan Riley

Well, I saw Little Richard in his underwear. In his trailer. It was a weird evening. - Chris Baskind

Standing in line at a Nirvana show and Eddie Vedder walks by and said "hey" to me. No one else recognized him. A girl standing next to me in line asked who he was so I told her. She ran up to him and he got mobbed. I felt a little bad about that. Also crossed paths with Sally Field, Greg Brady, Marvin Hagler, Kirk Hammett, Carlos Santana (accidentally stole his hot dog bun at backstage event), Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Jenner, Christy Turlington, Ken Stabler, Patrick Ewing, and Joe DiMaggio. - scott anderson

Robert Hafer shared an item on Google Reader

New study shows it pays to shop around online

November 24 at 12:27 pm - Link

I'm going to apply for agrant to study if turning off light bulbs saves electricity - Robert Hafer

Veronica posted a message on Twitter

“Definitely a space-heater kind of morning. How's your Monday going so far?”

November 24 at 12:06 pm - Link

Lindsey and ɐ ɯıʞ sıɹɥɔ liked this

Totally agree. It feels like one of those mornings where you just wear PJ's all day - Jason via IM

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I wish I could! Have to shoot Tekzilla today though. Otherwise it'd be jammies all the way! - Veronica

Is there a rule that you can't do Tekzilla in PJs? - Robert Hafer

Hmm... maybe you could have a "slumber party" episode of Tekzilla... :) - Jason Wong

that would be funny - Veronica

My Monday sucks, but thanks for asking :) - Socom

Been 15-20 degrees in the morning in Montreal outer 'burbs for a couple of weeks. No snow yet, though. - Krash Coarse

Wintry weather in SFO = mid-50s with fog. [VERY TINY VIOLIN PLAYING SAD SONG...] - Stephen Pierzchala

It's cold in the office!! - Veronica

Moving along just fine for a Monday. (Probably because there's only 2 days left. =) - David Cook

i can't feel my face - fijidaddy

Robert Scoble posted a message on Twitter

“Big day today. Interviews with execs at San Jose Mercury News and Facebook. Old and new media. Anything I should ask?”

November 24 at 1:31 am - Link

AJ Kohn, Eric @ CS Techcast, Sarah Perez and 9 other people liked this

Ask them why the Facebook Pages is so hidden under Advertising at the bottom; that feature should be way more prominent!! More business people might get the power of Facebook. - Mari Smith

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Old media question: Their print distribution network includes a lot of small businesses like newsagents and corner shops. With their business going more and more online what do they think the future of these small businesses will be? - Sofia Gkiousou

Why can't I use the name I gave myself for my details when trying to sign up to facebook? One of my inalienable rights is the right to alias, I *will not* give them my real name. - alphaxion

alphaxion: I'm actually happy they force people to use their real names. I think that's one of the things that separates them from other services. I like dealing with real people who use real names. - Robert Scoble

robert: but more people know me as alphaxion than my real name - even my girlfriends parents know me as alphaxion. For all intents and purposes that is my identity (my real name if you will) and people are far more likely to find me with that than with my "real name". People can supply their real name if they wish, and I do supply it when dealing with actual jobs, but when it comes to my online presence, it's this name or none. - alphaxion

When FB came along I fond I finally got to know the names of people I had been talking to elsewhere for years, I liked that. FB is an inward facing site so it suits the more personal persona. - Dave Pook

I'm sure you will, but please be sure to press facebook about why I can't export phone numbers. "Privacy" is a B.S. answer. - Mason Lee

I guess another way to frame it is, "Do you like the iPhone? What about this problem here that I have two address books. iPhone and facebook. Does that make any sense from a user perspective?" - Mason Lee

Big day today? You act like you just woke up. I'm just going to bed. - Jesse Stay

Jesse: I still have to get some sleep. But the day starts at midnight on my clock. :-) - Robert Scoble

heh - I'm still awake too. Going to bed now, for real this time. ;-) - Jesse Stay via twhirl

SJMN - How about asking them how much longer they think they'll be in business? - Kevin

Facebook - when will we get access to sync our address book data?? - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Is SJMN still around? Site used to crash my browser, so don't read them anymore. - JimmyJet

Ask the SJMN if they feel any newspaper in the country is doing it 'right' when it comes to the web, and whether they may start to mimic some of those successes? - Andrew Leyden

Please ask them what about Facebook Connect, they are very wired about Are they running late? Many developers complain. What's up. Thx Robert. - Christian

If they have a job .... just in case :) - Charlie Anzman

Ask them to define "news" - Ken Sheppardson

For Facebook: Why the SEO change? And will Live Search become the main revenue driver given poor ad results and recent comments by P&G? I just blogged about this actually: http://www.blindfiveyearold.co... - AJ Kohn

Ask them when they plan to implement an Online Media Manager or a Social Media Manager? - Amani

Find out which is losing advertising $$ faster. - Robert Hafer

If FB is going to get more aggressive for ad revenues like MySpace has done. - Jeremy Campbell via twhirl

I would suggest asking why they changed a perfectly usable UI layout. If it was to just do "Web 2.0", then they lost sight of what "Web 2.0" is. - Robert Miller

Robert Scoble shared an item on Google Reader

It’s not 2.0bama. It’s You.0

November 23 at 1:12 pm - Link

Dana Franks, rogersdc (Chris), George Smith and 3 other people liked this

Until the Obama-gasism wears off, he can post knock-knock jokes and some people will call the greatest thing ever. - Robert Hafer

Some great distinctions here. - Helen Hoefele

Like I have been telling my co-workers. The change that is sweeping the nation has nothing to do with Obama. He is only the figure head. And he represents the change in psyche and ideology of America. - Bob Blunk

Jeff posted a message on Twitter

“6 things Obama could learn from @garyvee http://tinyurl.com/55wafo”

November 23 at 12:43 pm - Link

Robert Scoble liked this

Obama is still in campaign mode, those ideas only fit governing mode - Robert Hafer

Robert Scoble posted a message on Twitter

“Interesting the responses I'm getting to the car industry thing. Not a single one says "bail them out."”

November 22 at 12:51 pm - Link

Michael J. Cohen (mjc), kamla bhatt, tinu and 11 other people liked this

Actually I may be for a bail out. See I live in a city that has two ford plants (Louisville, KY). And if Ford goes under and those two plants close that would be the biggest hit on this areas economy since Philip Morris and a couple other companies closed back in the 70s. Personally I don't want to see this happen as it will make things much much harder for me then they already are. - Mathew Ballard

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I'm not as educated about Chapter 11 as I would like to be, but would the plants actually close if they filed for bankruptcy or would they be able to continue to operate like the Airline Industries that have claimed it? - David Cook

I personally don't know either. But, its been a big topic of news around here for the past couple of weeks. - Mathew Ballard

all things considered, i'm for a bail out with reservation. i generally agree with Tom Friedman: "I am as terrified as anyone of the domino effect on industry and workers if G.M. were to collapse. But if we are going to use taxpayer money to rescue Detroit, then it should be done along the lines proposed in The Wall Street Journal on Monday by Paul Ingrassia, a former Detroit bureau chief for that paper." http://bit.ly/xxgd - ~C4Chaos

The board of GM has indicated that they would be open to going the bankruptcy route. This is a departure from what their CEO has been saying. - scott anderson

Chapter 11 doesn't mean any instant changes in operation. Reorganization would follow, plants may close or not according to court approved plan. - Robert Hafer

I believe under Chapter 11, the big 3 can renogiate various contracts such as the generous labor contracts the big 3 made with the UAW. The auto companies can continue normal operations just as Circuit City can keep its stores open under Chapter 11. I think it's up to the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case to determine what obligations a given company can reneg on. The purpose of Chapter 11 is to give a company breathing room to get back on its feet. Perhaps someone who knows the law well can comment. - Edmundo

The problem with going the bankruptcy way is that people will even further curtail their purchases of American cars because they won't know if their warranties will be worth anything. And, who wants to buy a bankrupt brand? I don't. - Robert Scoble

Bailouts should now be in Econ 101, instead of Adam Smith. - imran

Robert: Would you be more inclined to buy a car from a car company whose executives are asking the federal government for help? - Edmundo

Robert, that's because those baffoons have been milking us dry for years. That industry is corrupt, broken trust with the people and clearly can't manage themselves or their products correctly. No more. I will not reward poor performance, plus repeated opportunities for improvement have been ignored - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Susan: well, it'll be the few remaining American workers who bear the brunt of our tough love. I gotta admit, I can see your point too and I'm fighting internally with myself about this stuff. It is just that I'm depressed after coming home from China and seeing that we really won't be able to compete in a world market anymore unless we totally do a moon shot. We probably won't get another chance at this, either. - Robert Scoble

I'm not in favor of the idea of the bailout, but my grandmother lived around a lot of ex-employees of Ford and GM. I would hate for those people to lose big chunks of their pension or health benefits when they are 80. It's just too personal and human for me to be completely against the companies getting help. - Occasional Headbanger

@Robert Scoble: the U.S. is still in the best position to compete and *lead* in the world market if we could get our acts together. if only we could be "China for a Day" :) http://bit.ly/lfg4 - ~C4Chaos

Do you think Detroit is the best place to locate mission control for this moon shot? - scott anderson

Robert: It is truly depressing to see America sink into such morass and decay in terms of producing quality products that appeal to many. We've lost touch with consumers, produce crap at high prices and have no clue about how to compete on a global scale anymore. These companies never re-tooled for the global economy. Instead, they just kept churning out the same products and never adjusted for the competition - lame, lame, lame. Worse yet, we'll be saddled with millions of unemployed and poor retirees - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

cont'd: which will result in a rapid growth of the already fabulous "rust" belt here in the middle atlantic states where the car industry is most concentrated = very depressing. - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

I would love to see a phenomenal turn around of the American auto industry, but that would require a gigantic effort driven by a new team of Execs who are capable of executing a transformation of this crippled industry - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Scott: well, we haven't seen much love for the American car come out of these places for years. The execs flying around in planes is just the icing on the cake. There's lots of love around California for the American car, though. Neil Young lives just a few miles away from me. Tesla will be running a plant here. So, Silicon Valley seems like a good place, plus it's close to Chinese supply lines. - Robert Scoble

Consumers/buyers are partly to blame. - imran

http://www.sfgov.org/site/mayo... - scott anderson

It's not impossible, lots of American Cos. compete well int the global market. Cat is a good example, US automakers have feared inovation after the Edsel, a complete overhaul of leadership thinking is needed - Robert Hafer

There is a great pressure from Southern states that have "right to work" laws and foreign car plants to allow the American industry, which includes a now, non-unionized supply chain, to finish the job on the unions and kill the big three. The question is, does America want organized labor or not? People forget how far we have come from the days when men died for the 40 hr. week. Just like people forgot what happened the last time we had unregulated speculation. - Phil Boiarski

I think the social media community should support the loans to the American car industry. Here’s why, the Dell story was a big problem about customer support and product innovation, and perception. The problem was solved in part through structural changes and the rapid use of social media. I think the American car industry’s problems are bigger than Dell’s. but that social media can help to get the industry where they need to be with supporting customers. What if the social media community encouraged the use of social media for customer support and product innovation even more than the car companies have done in the past. I know this might seem to be a little off topic, but, can you imagine the effect of another success with the use of social media to change how the American car industry changes to produce the sort of products that customer want. I’d challenge the community to give suggestions and advice to the industry on what the industry can do to listen to customers and make the sort of structural chan - John Cass

Robert, I've struggled with this too because after research I supported the 700B bailout for the financial industry, however to your point about the moonshot - propping up the big three with tax dollars is only going to "keep a sick patient alive longer," it isn't going to force the required change in the way the US auto industry operates. - Bill Sanders

I'm am tired of these bailouts, and to even suggest a gas tax is ridiculous. We are finally seeing gas prices drop, and finally getting a break. Higher taxes never solve problems. The auto industry has been broken and corrupt for years, giving them $25 billion or whatever it is now, won't do anything. - Spencer

I'm for the bailouts to keep the masses from turning over the cart of the American psyche at a fragile time. Give them mega terms that the financial services industry should have received though. - Roney Smith

I am all for Chapter 11 if it lets them break the Unions. The unions are as corrupt as the corporations they were designed to help the worker against - John Head via twhirl

It amazes me that some people want to see unions broken - yet probably didn't blink when a $300,000 a year iBanker received a bailout. I wish Obama were sworn in in hopes of protecting the American worker a little bit better. - Nation Hahn

The Way Forward : Fire Mulally - imran

It's not really that I don't want to see them bailed out. It's that we tend to apply our logic for who gets help in this country in a way that sometimes seems arbitrary at best, and at worst, reciprocal back scratching. WIth people, we have this self-reliance code. We expect even the people who have bare feet to bootstrap, and say, screw their kids too. But when it comes to companies getting welfare, it's A-OK. Why can't it be both? Or neither? That's what upsets me. - tinu

Unions would never have come into existence if it were not for gross exploitation of some workers by some employers. Of course, there have been many cases where union leaders have acted as badly as the employers they were meant to be protecting against. Power always brings corruption. - Ian May

Tim O'Reilly posted a message on Twitter

“Retweeting @mdavid: attach /extremely/ enviro-friendly req's to bail out. e.g. "You want 25Gigs? 100% Hydrogen by 2015. Fail? We own you."”

November 22 at 12:41 pm - Link

Susan Beebe (Santa Claus), Jared Smith and MikeAmundsen liked this

I totally agree and ask for that in my missive to save US auto industry on my blog. - Robert Scoble

yep. *invest* the money in a new car line. - MikeAmundsen

If I were CEO I think I'd pick ch. 11 to at least have a chance to survive - Robert Hafer

Why Hydrogen? - Chris White

Jemm posted a link

Bookstore Sorting Fail

November 22 at 12:51 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Nia, Patrik Johansson, Susan Beebe (Santa Claus) and 11 other people liked this

haha - Anna Haro

Makes perfect sense to me - Robert Hafer

slashdot posted an entry on Slashdot

Police Cars To Transmit Real-Time Video

November 22 at 9:18 am - Link

MikeAmundsen, Andrew Trinh and Robert Scoble liked this

Lawsuit waiting to happen - Robert Hafer

Stupid Blogger (aka Tina) posted a message

“Good grief! Apparently I've been sleeping more poorly this week than I thought: I woke up at noon!”

November 22 at 10:51 am - Link

Pete Delucchi, Steve Craft, Valley and 20 other people liked this

actually there's 9 minutes left until noon... - Mohomed=genieyclo

19 more comments

Not on the east coast, it's almost one now... I waited to type this until I'd had enough coffee to be coherent. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

I'm saving up my sleep time for the long weekend coming up. Weds - Monday ... all zzzzzzzz's. - Amani

I just dip my fingers in the coffee and let them type whatever they want... - Mark VandenBerg

Coffee first FTW!!!! - ɐ ɯıʞ sıɹɥɔ

Between work and my daughter feeling ill, I've not been sleeping very well at all. I got up with her 4-5 times last night alone, and this morning just came downstairs and crashed out on the couch until just before noon myself. - ChangeForge | Ken Stewart

it's the weekend you owe it to yourself. it just snowballs so by the end of the week your body just gives in. i had a great night's sleep myself. - Cee Bee

Lucky. I woke up at 9 and been trying to go back to sleep... :( - Mona N.

Coffee always FTW!! Mark, if I did that I might fry the lappy. Ken, I hope your daughter starts feeling better. For both of you! - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

I slept in pretty late too... love it! (i think i was fighting a cold yesterday) - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

When I sleep in this late I usually wake up with my arms up over my head for some reason (classic superman pose). This means that I'll be rather stiff for the rest of the day =/ Boo! - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

you might be fighting something off - anna

@susan, know what you mean, I am either early viral or mid-trojan at the moment...eyes are feeling feverish :( - jlt

love weekends - sofarsoshawn

Good grief! What kind of a person sleeps until noon? Hey. wait a sec... - Mark Wilson

Don't hate yourself in the morning; sleep till noon. - Robert Hafer

11 for me. - David Cook

Nah, I don't hate myself. Just frustrated to be stiff and have a slight headache from sleeping 11 hours. TOO FAR!!! - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

I might try and put in Sloth hours for a while, they seem to have their scedules pretty worked out. But alas yok as they say in Turkeyland, I'll try and crap in the same place though, at least you know where it is. - Jason

I love sleeping in on weekends! I didn't today but I took a nap later which I hardly ever do. Ah, I feel great now though. - Carmen

me too. yay sleep! - Josh Haley

Yeah, I tend to make up for sleep while driving. Ouch. o_o - Valley

Robert Scoble posted a message on Twitter

“@jas88 the problem with language is that one word can mean two things. "Fan" for instance, in Xbox, means a thing that spins around & cools.”

November 22 at 12:04 pm - Link

Susan Beebe (Santa Claus) and MikeAmundsen liked this

Sankrit was once considered for voice recognition because it's unambigous. But then you'd have to learn Sankrit - Robert Hafer

Yeah, I've heard similar things about Sanskrit. - possible248

Louis Gray posted a message

“How's Your Portfolio Doing? Mine Is a Complete Disaster.”

November 21 at 12:24 am - Link

Nikpay, Atul Arora, Anthony Citrano and 17 other people liked this

From eTrade after today's trading (if you can call it that). - Louis Gray

32 more comments

I have stopped looking. I try to work out instead. - Edwin Khodabakchian

My idea of working out consists of baby lifts and the Wii Fit. But the only thing losing weight is my wallet. - Louis Gray

That looks my kids' 529s. Misery loves company. Or whatever. - Rick Turoczy

The mega millions lottery has a $86M jackpot currently, looks like a worthwhile investment to me. - Nigel Stolting

its all about the ultra shorts right now, keep in mind they are also etfs also - sam via twhirl

Mine's all invested in entrepreneurial activities - nothing but up to go here :-) - Jesse Stay

Ugh, it makes me sick to look at my 401k. It's a good time to buy though. I doubled-up my contribution from 5% to 10%. - GeekLad

GeekLad, you only know if it's a good time to buy a year later. Right now it's just gambling, and the Dow can easily go down another 1500. - Chris White

Take comfort that you're not alone. ... - Jason Kaneshiro

looks like houses weren't the only things artificially inflated. DJIA is back to where it was before W was in office & worse some. - Enrique Gutierrez

Enrique, now watch as real estate values adjust to similar levels. Exercise for everyone, ask your real estate agents if prices ever go down. - Chris White

Mine is looking like my life expectancy graph - Floyd Davenport

Oh, it'd be great if real estate adjusted to where it was in the late 90s. I could go buy that $125K house in Freehold. - Morton Fox

I'm not looooo-kiiiinngg - Lah, lah, lah <hands over eyes> ;-) - ChangeForge | Ken Stewart

[Chris White] I didn't bother messing with real estate during the boom/fail - but - mid-next year? I might flirt with the notion - Enrique Gutierrez via twhirl

think long-term... - .LAG

LAG, long term I want a better house than I can afford right now. I think that time may be coming. - Chris White

@chris... if people are looking at their current portfolio value, or current home value and comparing it to just a few months ago, all they're going to do is get scared and pissed off. - .LAG

LAG, what about all the people who didn't buy that expensive house because they thought their real estate agent was lying? Don't they have a say also? I've been warning people about bay area real estate since 2004 and the stock market since 2006. I've had financial advisors tell me I should be more leveraged and that I was in danger of losing purchasing power. - Chris White

So did you pick your stocks for that portfolio, or did you diversify outside the US? - Ernie Oporto

@chris... i was one of those people who DIDN'T buy that expensive house... like two years ago. it wasn't that i thought the real estate or mortgage brokers were lying to me... it was this: i looked at what i was potentially getting for the offered prices, and i'd say: "you gotta be goddamn kidding me...this house is not worth THAT!" i live in the Bay Area. i think a lot of people got bamboozled...and were greedy and foolish. now, we're all going to have to pay. so nut up, and tighten your belt. - .LAG

Louis, I think we must be holding the same stocks. http://img.skitch.com/20081122... - Mike Doeff

@Mike, we just might. I'm amazed that the 401k mutual funds are doing even worse than I am! According to Mint.com, if I lost the average amount that I've been losing over the last two weeks, my total value will hit $0 in two months. - Louis Gray

Looks a lot like mine - Mike Hussein Cohen

Some good companies are getting close to their cash value. Non- financials my be a good buy. - Robert Hafer

Robert, which companies are those? - Chris White

I attended a talk by Mary Hunt on Thursday night. Her advice: if you're not about to retire, don't look at your 401k balance right now. - Ontario Emperor via fftogo

we are on the same boat... well cruise ship, the Titanic was not a boat http://cli.gs/MyPortfolio - Julio F ~ @SocialJulio

First,quiet contemplation. - Igor Poltavskiy

mine is doing really awesome, sorry to say. :-/ also +1 @LAG - Anthony Citrano

I'm afraid to look at my 401k. - Mike Reynolds

Whoa that looks absolutely terrible. *hug* - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

just to clarify: my short term money (say this year and last) has done phenomenally well. my longer-term money, however - such as old-age dough - has been whacked, although not severely. - Anthony Citrano

puta mierda - Ferran

Cyndy posted a message on Twitter

“Officially declares that @monaaa has lost all geek points and may be heading into a negative balance. Doesn't know Dr. Horrible OR The Guild”

November 21 at 7:02 pm - Link

Nick Boucart, edythe, Stupid Blogger (aka Tina) and 8 other people liked this

Racist. - Mona N.

24 more comments

TOLD YOU you're the one who's judgmental! - Mona N.

Now I'm definitely not adding you on Facebook - Jason Carreira

It's been SIX MINUTES. On a FRIDAY. All the real nerds are either watching Sci-Fi or Rachel Maddow. - Cyndy

I"ve heard of Doctor Horrible, but not The Guild, or Rachel Maddow - Ian May

Ian gets geek points. See, Mona? - Cyndy

What about Buffy? - Mark Trapp

Mona says real geeks don't watch TV. One has to assume she's not a Whedon fan if she missed Dr. Horrible. -