danalwyn

The existence of DashCon reminds me that, no matter how the internet ages, a part of it never really grows up. The unending cycle of idea -> poorly executed disaster -> complete internet overreaction -> attempting to bring everything back under control has happened now so many times that the various causes people will attempt to ride the blowback for is almost completely predictable. By now the rational people involved are probably deploying for damage control - on both sides of the argument - but it's probably going to have to burn itself out.

I'd grumble about the internet needing to grow up, but it's not like they've done it yet, and I really don't see it happening anytime soon.

Was the World Cup this big of a deal in the US last time around? I know that I'm geographically in a place surging with immigrants, many of whom have brought a love for the game along with them. I also know that I work in a very international environment where there is a lot of contact with other countries. But it seems that even for that the spread of World Cup fever, where the Cup is basically on display in every store and restaurant and talked about on the street, is a bit extreme.

Is this mostly near me, or has this just been a really big event even in the US?

Transcript of the practice run for the press conference in commemoration of Thailand's twelfth coup.

Three Generals sit at a table in front of the cameras in pressed green uniforms. Respectively they are LEFT, RIGHT, and CENTER

( Same old, same old )

As befits the actual nature of the situation, it's now been several weeks and there's been no sign of war in Ukraine. In fact, things have gotten a little calmer, with the Russians deciding to withdraw a battalion of the 15th Motor Rifle brigade back to its home base.

The BBC article and every analyst in the world will tell you that this doesn't mean much. The Russians have about 40,000 troops surrounding Ukraine, and the withdrawal of the 500 or so troops in a motor rifle battalion isn't going to seriously affect the balance of combat power. It could just be that this was a group that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and hence got roped into standing guard while only half-ready for war. It could be just a standard bureaucratic shuffle given significance only by coincidence.

But it adds strength to the narrative - the threat of war is over. At least in Ukraine the standoff is getting less and less tense. Despite a lot of posturing, Crimea was an easy sell, and a place Russia already controlled. The early idea of a Russian army marching lengthwise across Ukraine, laying waste to the countryside and returning the country to Soviet rule, just hasn't been panning out. Nobody seems to want WWIII today. Of course the pundits will spin it all sorts of different ways, US strength, European weakness, Russian weakness, whatever, but the truth is probably closer to inertia. It takes a lot of effort to rock the boat in this day and age - and the Russians don't seem to want to expend that effort. Neither does anyone else. Easier to pretend it never happened.

Don't worry though, I'm sure the Koreans or the Nigerians will soon provide a new place for those who missed out on their war to be all worried about.

( Apparently I'm in a Really, Really weird mood )

Sigh. I don't even know what I was trying to say, but I said it, and the world is probably poorer for the experience. It doesn't deserve me being grumpy at it tonight. I'll try and make it a better world ... tomorrow. I just hope it doesn't curse me in turn by making the Ukraine interesting again.

Every once in a while I buy used books online. It's practical, especially if you're looking to buy books that aren't very common. It's usually a good experience.

Except that one book I just bought arrived on time, intact, but with a very large "Not for Sale" sticker on the front. The previous legal owner, you see, had decided to participate in one of those programs where you leave a book lying around and get people to borrow it, read it, and then leave it somewhere else. It's a neat idea.

Except for that I've already paid money for it, because somewhere a bookseller got ahold of it. No doubt eventually I'll read through it and set it down somewhere as the previous owner intended, eventually, but the fact that I paid for it makes me grumpy. Why do I have to pay for something I'm required to set free? Grump, grump, grump, etc., etc. The universe is unfair, blah, blah, First World Problems.

In the meantime I have a book to read.

Given that the Midwest is currently being besieged by blizzard weather, I really shouldn't be complaining, but if you see any snow, could you send it this way?

From here, the California Snowpack report:

Number of Stations Reporting 106
Average snow water equivalent 1.9"
Percent of April 1 Average 7%
Percent of normal for this date 13%

So that's it, and that's where California gets its water from. We have about 7% of what we normally get in a year in the Sierra snowpack, which is where our water comes from. The wet season is halfway over. So it's going to be a very ugly year here. It seems really bad to have all the water end up on the midwest while we're about to get dried out of existence, but the weather is out to get us this year.

There are some good things about Amazon. One of them is the reviews. Especially the reviews that are clearly there for comedic effect. Over the years Amazon has created quite a list of things they offer for sale that have been reviewed by far more people than have probably actually bought the product, which is why you get ridiculous products with thousands of reviews.

But don't take my word for it. Have a look at a handful of the most enthusiastically reviewed products on Amazon:

( Examples )

So what interesting products have you found?

Also, in things that make me grumpy, here I am being grumpy.

Surfing over to Amazon today, one can't help but notice that they have a number of Black Friday specials. And, because Amazon knows how to create a browsable web site, they've split those deals up by category. Some of which, honestly, I'm not too fond of:

( Because Amazon Hates Us... )

For those of you not paying attention to tech news this week, fabled internet and computer software veteran Winamp if finally bowing out of the stage. Once the MP3 and desktop music player of choice, Winamp aged over the years, overtaken by competition and destroyed by management (as described in this Ars Technica piece), what was once the world's best and most recognizable music player is now less than a month from going the way of the dodo. Owner and operator AOL has decided at last to pull the plug.

Yes, much to the surprise of most who remember Winamp, AOL is actually still around (I drive by their Silicon Valley office occasionally). The owner of the Huffington Post Media Group, AOL has somewhat rebranded itself into a media company, one that makes actual money (somehow), partially by selling off the remaining products and patents they accumulated during their years of actual relevancy. But one storied internet giant has decided not to postpone the demise of another, and so Winamp exits, stage left.

Well, eventually. Should you be overcome by nostalgia you still have until December 20th to download the last build.