Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

1. GAS PRICES

I hear people bitching about gas prices, but they are fucking clueless about why they are high. Naturally, being stupid, they call for price controls and looting of oil companies. Pure economic illiteracy.

Gas prices are high for a variety of reasons. The first and most basic is the tax governments put on it. The second is Fed created inflation. The third is political instability in the Middle East. All of these things are government creations. Yet, the oil companies get the blame. This is why this country is fucked. The average man and woman in the street is a goddamn shit-for-brains retarded fucking fool.

2. DESIREE DAVILA



This chick runs her guts out at the Boston Marathon, vies for the win, and ends up in the most spectacular second place finish since Beardsley lost to Salazar. Davila is now the blue collar runner of the year for this. She was unknown and part of the Hansons-Brooks team that is the epitome of blue collar. With Brian Sell out of the picture, Davila has become the darling of the true blue runners. This babe has heart.

3. SOAP OPERAS

ABC cancels two of its long running soap operas, and fans are devastated. The solution is cable TV. As for me, I hate soap operas. I prefer something more culturally sophisticated like professional wrestling.

4. SPORTS

I am now virtually sports free these days. Other than reading up on the Boston Marathon results, I have stopped following sports like football, NASCAR, baseball, basketball, etc. I don't miss those things a damn bit. I hear stories from time to time on NPR about franchises in financial trouble, Barry Bonds getting convicted, or labor stoppage, and I wonder why they waste time on those stories. I have just gotten used to not having a "safe" subject to talk with people about and just run with politics even if it pisses people off. Fuck 'em. I've got lots of friends. I can afford some enemies.

5. APPLE FAN BOYS

People are puzzled about the iPad. Samsung, Motorola, and others are trying to come up with competing products, but no one wants them. Analysts don't know what to make of it. Is it a fad? Is it the iPod? Is it just Apple fan mania? I can tell you what it is.

The biggest competitor to the iPad is the Kindle, and the Kindle is winning. The Kindle is cheap. The Kindle has super long battery life. The Kindle is easy on your eyes. People say it is an apples-to-oranges comparison, but I don't think so. Here's why.

Laptops are horrible for reading especially when they scorch your legs. The iPad is simply a laptop without the scorching. But as a laptop, it sucks. It also sucks as a phone, music player, game machine, or whatnot. I have an iPod touch which I use. My most widely used app? The Kindle app. I have spent more on Kindle books than I paid for the iPod. The problem is that it hurts my eyes. I want a Kindle. I need a Kindle.

The iPad sells to Apple's faithful, but that's it. It is not a game changer. No one really wants one or needs one. What the market wanted and needed was a good way to read e-books. Jobs knew this but wanted a multipurpose device that did shit other than books. But there is now true need there.

Amazon has captured the reader market with the Kindle. That thing is a winner. Jobs will not capture the reader market with the iPad. I predict it will fail in the long term. In the short term, it is a neat toy to amaze your friends. But it is a shitty tool.

6. MADONNA AND LADY GAGA



I grew up with Madonna, and I admit that I like the songs she did. I also liked some of the outrageous things she did, but they were elegant and refined compared to Lady Gaga today. Gaga is Madonna as Maximalist. Why do I care?

I find maximalist expressions to be grotesque. Very rarely do I see a good thing get better from adding more shit to it. This is what Gaga does. She took Madonna's reinvention thing and now reinvents herself daily going to ever greater extents of absurdity and outlandishness. At some point, the poor girl is just going to exhaust herself. But she definitely has talent. I give her that.

7. CAMERAS AND COPS

Cops don't like cameras. Amazing. What do they have to fear? What do they have to hide? What are they doing they don't want us to see? And how are they able to break the law, beat people, incarcerate them, destroy evidence, and then drop the "charges" without anything being done to them?

The bottom line is that cops are crooks with badges. They don't mind putting you on camera and invading your privacy. Yet, they don't like having their "privacy" invaded. Cops are the scum of humanity, and we give them guns and power. Fucking amazing. At least drug dealers leave me the fuck alone.

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