Carl T. Holscher is a compiler, writer, tinkerer, coder, designer, thinker living in Bethesda, MD.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Piracy is easy. Piracy is reliable. Piracy is fast.
Buying a movie is none of these things.
![This would be a movie lover’s dream. I would buy movies by the pile with a model like this. As it is I don’t buy movies. I never consider buying movies. The entire movie buying process is so hostile because the [MPAA hates us] and puts ridiculous delays on buying their products.
The MPAA is going to keep jamming terrible things down our throats until the people willing to put up with their measures is too far outnumbered by those who will pirate.
Piracy is easy.
Piracy is reliable.
Piracy is fast.
Buying a movie is none of these things.](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyn9j7H6DI1qa0uc2o1_500.jpg)
This would be a movie lover’s dream. I would buy movies by the pile with a model like this. As it is I don’t buy movies. I never consider buying movies. The entire movie buying process is so hostile because the [MPAA hates us] and puts ridiculous delays on buying their products.
The MPAA is going to keep jamming terrible things down our throats until the people willing to put up with their measures is too far outnumbered by those who will pirate.
Piracy is easy. Piracy is reliable. Piracy is fast.
Buying a movie is none of these things.
(Source: robsheridan)
Most inventors and engineers I’ve met are like me … they live in their heads. They’re almost like artists. In fact, the very best of them are artists. And artists work best alone …. I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone… Not on a committee. Not on a team.” — Steve Wozniak
Netflix Streaming’s Hidden Treasure
Ever since the launch of Netflix’s streaming movies I’ve heard complaints about the lack of new or good movies available for streaming. Sure, due to the movie studios reluctance to join the 21st Century the latest blockbusters are not available.
However, there is a huge untapped resource in Netflix. Documentaries!
Netflix’s hunger for content and the huge amount of documentaries being made and looking for an outlet are a perfect match.
I love watching documentaries. There is always something I can learn or a topic I’ve never thought about being explored in abundant detail.
Sure, documentaries may not be as interesting as watching idiots parade drunkenly on television, action movies with explosions and romantic comedies which are neither. However, there is a vast wealth of excellent documentaries available.
Here is a sample of the documentaries I’ve seen on Netflix streaming:
Dive!: Living Off America’s Waste - Every year 96 billion pounds of food is thrown away from our nation’s grocery stores. Much of this good and trashed before its expiration date. The documentary follows the path of Los Angeles-based dumpster divers who salvage a huge amount of food for their own use and to give to those in need.
Waiting for “Superman” - Children are falling through the cracks of our education system. There are many alternative schools popping up trying to educate those lost children. This is a heart-breaking look at parents trying to make the lives of their children better through education. Sometimes succeeding and sometimes falling short.
Maxed Out - Credit card debt is a toxic snowball slowly burying its victims. It’s easy to go down the road to credit card debt but takes many years and a lot of discipline to climb back out of debt. You owe it to yourself to watch this one.
Life In A Day Remember back in June, 2010 when a call went out for video from people across the world of their life on June 24th? This movie is the result of that call for video. 4,500 hours of video were edited down to make eye-opening film about how people across the world live.
Helvetica is a movie about a typeface and Objectified is all about industrial design and are required viewing for design geeks.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated shows how the MPAA chooses ratings for movies. Or more truthfully, how secretive the entire organization is and how cloaked they are about their decisions and who chooses what all movies are rated and how. A very eye-opening look at the decision makers for every movie that the MPAA rates.
Young@Heart is a chorus of elderly performers singing modern music. This film will restore your faith in humanity and leave you laughing. I got the opportunity to see a different group perform in DC and it was a great show.
Word Wars is all about Scrabble and those people who play it at a very high level.
Nerdcore Rising follows nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot and others and delves into the culture of nerdery, gamers, bloggers, and other nerdy topics.
This should be enough to get you started on your voyage. Go forth and find what interests you. I guarantee there is a great documentary about what you’re into and you might even learn something.
Be careful because once you start watching. Netflix will recommend more and more and you’ll have a list a mile long like I do.
I am saddened that Camino must die in the effort to save Firefox, a browser that has gotten just a bloated as the Netscape Suite it once replaced. By losing Camino we will not only see the end of a browser that once made the Mac great, but the end of development community focused solely on the advancement of a Macintosh only application.
Egg Freckles | The Life and Death of Camino A fitting tribute to a great browser for its time. I ran Camino exclusively when I got my MacBook in 2004. it was a speedy little browser that had what I wanted and lacked what I didn’t need.
I am sorry to see it go despite trading in for Chrome long ago. Firefox has become the bloated mess it replaced.
Chrome is less bloated feeling and when it begins to bloat as badly, I will jettison it too in search of something better.
Just stop it. Don’t ask me if you’re emailing too much, just thank me and stop sending me email. Don’t try and offer me something else. Just stop emailing me. Don’t ask me if I’m sure. Don’t ask me to select from your numerous alternatives. Don’t delay. Send me no more email. Just stop emailing me.
I let go of needy friends years ago. I don’t need needy companies pleading with me. I’ve made the effort to remove myself from any list or company I wasn’t reading or using. I stopped hitting delete and started hitting unsubscribe.
To those that didn’t take the hint (I’m looking at you Audible.) I hit SPAM.
(via Latino Rebels)
Because I am sick of commercials, ads, marketing, visual pollution, spam, tweet spam, telemarketers, doctors trying to sell you drugs (even when you don’t really need them) and every empty space being filled with a sign trying to sell me something.
I declare today, the “Joy of not being sold anything” day.
This is bliss.
Get it? GET IT?! This picture has destroyed my entire office.
Reesa on Pudding
Carl: SOS
Reesa: Oh no! Do you need a lifeboat?
Carl: Our ship is going down! It's sinking... SINKING!
Reesa: Is it sinking in pudding? Because that would be okay.
Carl: I wish it was sinking in pudding. I would be delighted if that were the case.
Reesa: Unless the pudding was still boiling!
Reesa: See, this is why I prefer instant.
Reesa: OMG, you’re LIVING the IT Crowd.
This was demoralizing.
Negotiations with the carriers:
Android handset makers: Here are our phones. How would you like us to change them so that you will sell them?
Microsoft: Here’s $200 million.
Please sell our phones. Apple: Here is our new phone. It comes in black or white. We will let you sell it.
Daring Fireball Linked List: U.S. Carriers Don’t Want Stock Android Phones
That’s about right.
Why I Hate Android
Why do I hate Android? It’s definitely one of the questions I get asked most often these days. And most of those that don’t ask probably assume it’s because I’m an iPhone guy. People see negative take after negative take about the operating system and label me as “unreasonable” or “biased” or worse.
I should probably explain.
Believe it or not, I actually don’t hate Android. That is to say, I don’t hate the concept of Android — in fact, at one point, I loved it. What I hate is what Android has become. And more specifically, what Google has done with Android.
MG Sigler hits the nail on the head. His well-written articles parallels my own thoughts as to why I fell out of love with Android. The promises were made then broken, repeatedly. I still have my original Motorola Droid sitting in a drawer. It served me very well.
Android is great ouf of the box, but never expect operating system updates once you buy it. Also, expect the manufacturer to stop supporting it a week later when the newer, shinier model of the same phone comes out.
Owning an Android phone is frustrating because every week your new phone is older and slower, being replaced with newer and better models.
