Month: July 2012

The best way to get a multi-format book e-reader?

One of Ace’s open-bloggers has a post up on the e-book wars: specifically, reconciling the .epub vs. .azw format (NOOK vs. Kindle).  The way it works out for me is that I generally use my iPad* for reading both formats (as well as PDFs), and save the Kindle for when I want to read outside (because e-ink just simply works better, in a way that computer pixels can’t currently match). I think that this more or less covers all the bases.  Although I think that Amazon is missing a bet by not making their Kindles more accessible to competitors’ content: but I freely admit that this could very well be a distinctly ignorant opinion on my part…

Moe Lane

*Note that the link to the above is to the first generation iPad, which is being priced down to the point where one that’s used is going to be perfectly serviceable as an e-reader.  16 GB, 3G capacity, $260 and eligible for Amazon Prime.  Not top of the line, but if all you want is a ebook and pdf reader with a web browser attached, well…

PS: BTW, if it isn’t obvious or anything: I’m an Amazon Affiliate for Maryland.  Just disclosing that.

I have not many opinions on the #paterno situation…

…aside from Pedophilia is evil; so is covering it up; and I don’t watch college football anyway.  But one pop-culture thought about this picture:

…and that it’s likely that this statue will be in the background of any number of super-villain lairs, particularly if the villain in question happens to be the sort who steals things.  It’s the outstretched arm, pointing: makes it visually arresting, or whatever the term is.

#rsrh Fiscal irresponsibility over at OfA? *Perish* the thought.

Still, I can’t help but feel that the Return on Investment on this one wasn’t all that:

According to disclosure forms with the Federal Election Commission, President Obama’s reelection team appears to have paid $92,751.50 to rent the Ohio State University’s Jerome Schottenstein Center, the site of the campaign’s much touted kick-off even in May.

Via Instapundit.  The problem for Team Obama, of course, is that they paid ninety-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty one dollars (and fifty cents: gotta wonder what that one was for) for a 20,000 seat stadium that they managed to only get 14,000 to fill.  For Obama’s kickoff event. Which was held in a college town.  And, admittedly, which I had already mocked at the time; still, I hadn’t realized quite how much money the Obama campaign had wasted on that event.

That’s probably it, with one important caveat:.  I hope nobody got fired over this.

No, really.  I hope nobody got fired.

Moe Lane

A future prediction of the War on Some Drugs.

Some time on Monday, this article (“The secret life of the moonshiner”) is going to land on some BATFE desk in the Seattle Field Division, complete with a terse DC wants to know why is this happening. And with that a chain of events will ensue that will result in fines, lawsuits, websites going down, licenses being revoked/suspended, and very possibly an arrest or two.  If we’re all very, very unlucky? Somebody will get shot.

All because some dumbsh*t journalist wrote an article (note, by the way, that said dumbsh*t journalist will be the only one who will not be hurt by the above scenario).  Which leads to an observation:

If you want to keep a secret, start by KEEP YOUR F*CKING MOUTH SHUT.

It amazes me how many people don’t get this.

Moe Lane

(Sorry: don’t remember where I got the link from.)

The intersection of these two essays would be interesting.

Batman and Evil, Ben Domenech.

The Man Who Shot Joseph Curwin, Ken Hite.

Postulate: If HP Lovecraft had lived and gotten a job with DC he would have been one Hell of a writer of Batman comics*.

Discuss.

Moe Lane

*Admittedly, I’m kind of stealing at least the skeleton of that postulate from Ken.  Hopefully, he won’t mind.

The June Presidential fundraising situation.

On July 20th USA Today reported how the two Presidential campaigns are doing in the fundraising wars.  The results were sufficiently interesting that I thought that it might be worthwhile to break them down: below is a chart of how the Democrats (Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee, and the Obama Victory Fund) matched up against the Republicans (Romney for President, the Republican National Commitee, and Romney Victory, Inc.).

Raised Spent CoH
OfA 45.91 58.09 97.54
DNC 20.55 12.71 37.49
OVF 36.16 31.73 8.98
Combined 102.62 102.53 144.01
RfP 33.04 27.54 22.51
RNC 39.83 11.23 89.43
RV Inc* 46.78 27.53 57.75
Combined* 119.65 66.30 169.69

Continue reading The June Presidential fundraising situation.

Mitt Romney’s Bow, NH speech.

Rejecting politics for prayers for the slain.

Via DaTechGuy, the right note from Mitt Romney.  Romney’s remarks in Bow, NH, July 20, 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D6VmlpEhhSQ#!

(Transcript here)

DaTechGuy reported that Romney, Senator Kelly Ayotte, and the priest brought in to offer a prayer for the Colorado dead then formed a line to greet each person who had come to what was originally supposed to be a campaign event.  Which was appropriate.

Moe Lane (crosspost) Continue reading Mitt Romney’s Bow, NH speech.

I postulate that one goal of the Aurora murderer…

…was to retroactively deny the point of this clip from The Dark Knight (a movie that may have obsessed the person):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4GAQtGtd_0&feature=fvwrel

I, for one, have no particular intention to indulge the fellow.  Scan him for a tumor and check him for schizophrenia.  If deemed sane, try him for murder; if convicted, well, Colorado has a death penalty.  Even if he doesn’t get the needle, well, he’ll have plenty of time to contemplate his sins. Half a century, if his health holds out.

And in five years? Utter obscurity.  To paraphrase Herodotus: I know his name, but I will not repeat it.

Moe Lane