Hamm On Wry

Look, I failed it the first time, and let’s be fair, it’s not, but it’s more like life than you know. Watch the video, let me know how you do. (via Slog)

After twittering for a while about the apparent attempt by Hillary to make Florida and Michigan delegates count towards her campaign after the Democrats had stripped both states of having any voice at all because they caucused/primaried too soon, I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth.

At least, I hope that’s what that taste is. I won’t be happy to find out it was something I ate.

Anywho, the gist of the gig is, as my mom pointed, nothing new. If Hillary, who acted as if both states mattered (and they do, lest we not forget what Florida did with their various chad), wants to change the rules now so that the states actually have a voice, it’s because she won them.

How unfair to Obama is this? Well, I’m of two minds on this. One agrees with the Esteemed Red Sweater, in that changing the rules mid-race is a lot like Madam Mim becoming a purple dragon, as she had explicitely stated that there should be no mythological mumbo-jumbo like ‘pink dragons’. Hillary didn’t complain that taking away their voice in the first place was a bad idea, but it was, and still is, but she shouldn’t be able to change it.

Although, I think it incredibly stupid that Florida and Michigan are, either one, silenced because of a date change. I make no claims about the primary season, and in-party politics being nice or fair. They aren’t, nor will they ever be. Hell, the full-on election isn’t fair, either. But, when you take two states out, one of which is so big as to be a golden ticket for the actual candidates, you make several mistakes for your party.

If I were in Florida and my voice wasn’t heard for the candidate, I’d be pissed and vote for the other party. Just to prove how important my state is, really. And if you don’t think the birds on that peninsula won’t do just that, you’re high. Worse, add another fairly large state to the mix, especially one that is shackled by union employment like no other, and, at least for the Dem’s, it’s a bad thing all around.

Those states should have their voice. And Hillary, while not speaking out against the party leadership for their foolish ways at the beginning, did treat the states like they mattered. She really didn’t even win Michigan, but she did win Florida. She treated them like their vote, their voice, will make a difference in the actual election. And now, when she needs their voice to make it to the actual election, she’s using her own to call to them.

Late? Yep. Right or Wrong? Both. It’s not pretty. It’s covered in flaming bits of poisonous bullshit. It’s politics as usual, tho, even if you don’t want to believe it.

FINALLY someone in the Senate is worried about the destruction of tapes, and is going to bring hearings to find out about why they were destroyed and what they contained. I hear that, and think “Fuck! Finally!” and then, I realize there is a problem.

You see, they aren’t talking about the CIA Torture Tapes. Nope. Can’t investigate those. Nothing to see there. Move along. Move. Along.

No, the tapes they are talking about are the tapes that the Patriots, supposedly, allegedly, made of their competition the day prior to a Super Bowl appearance. And who is the fuckwit in charge of investigating this life-threatening, freedom-destroying and wholly-non-illegal (yes, it’s against NFL rules, but those aren’t fucking laws, asshat) event? Why, Senator Arlen Spector.

Fuck him. Get him the fuck out of the Senate right this very minute. This is beyond stupid, beyond unconscionable, beyond ridiculous.

Well, it’s 2008 and I’m now 35. I realize that this isn’t a huge shock for anyone who knows me, but those two events aren’t concurrent, just close enough to make me a bit of a goober for the weeks following Xmas. (I’m really enjoying the “Keep X in Xtians” movement, so go with it).

Macworld is coming up shortly, and that makes up for the insanity that is the family-holiday-time. I’m really looking forward to the show that Jobs is going to put on, not because I expect something great like the iPhone, but because he’s got a massive challenge in front of him and I’m curious to see how he pulls it out. I’ve been to one Macworld, and that was 2005, arguably the least spectacular Keynote since Jobs returned to Apple. Yeah, that would be the one where the “One More Thing…” moment was filled with, you remember it, the iPod Shuffle. Really. But that wasn’t because things were terrible for Apple, nor were iPods dull or the OS a failure. In fact, Apple was firing on all cylinders, same as now, but there wasn’t much new to talk about because everything was moving forward towards things that Apple was still working out.

Because after that bit they did that minor switch to Intel, then added the iPhone, and all that Jazz. So nothing to see in January 2005, but big things coming.

This year promises big things - namely smacking the fuck out of the 10 Million iPhone Sales Goal. If they hit 1 Million in just over a month, and then they added in the 3 major EU countries and have still got 11 months to go, well, it’s a given that they will meet the goal. Leopard is off to a great start, and it’s features only get better as more and more macs upgrade to it. The SDK for the iPhone was announced last year, and will be out in February. Which is odd timing, as moving it to January would put it at Macworld, which isn’t focused on developers, but would’ve been a great announcement; or pushing it back to June for WWDC, the developers’ conference, which would just make sense. Ah well, they chose February to release it, and it will most likely get a mention at the keynote. Of course, releasing the iPhone SDK in February just means that the iPhone will grab headlines again in February when there is really no other reason to talk about it. It’s a gimme.

Oh, and Apple released the information on the new Mac Pro’s last week. So that’s out in the open, too. And the rumor mills have been grinding on overtime, with barely anything to sustain them. But we all *know* that we’re getting something new in the laptop range, if only because nothing was said about them. Featherweight miniscule laptop with bleeding-edge technology? Totally expected for this keynote.

Hell, they are expecting a slate/tablet formfactor, too, although some people think it’s a full computer, others that it’s just a mobile multi-touch screen with wireless connectivity to the base computer. Me? I don’t know what to think. But if we’re going out on a limb, let’s at least bring the crazy.

I’m thinking that we have all new iPods to go with the show. Why? Well, something that’s in the air is the iTunes Wi-Fi store, and having it on the entire line of screened iPods just makes sense. Does this mean that the shuffle changes? Nope. Then why do I suspect that the rest of the line up will change? Because it’s a wild dream. But they killed the iPod Mini when it was the best selling item in the line-up, and if they were to switch to all OS X-based iPods, they’d clean up the disparity in the games along with allowing the iPod’s to all buy through the iTunes Wi-Fi Store. And having more access means having more purchases. I know this because I’m constantly buying “That Song” when I have Wi-Fi and my Touch with me. It’s a sick compulsion, yes, and good business, too.

I’m not sure what else there could be, tho. And that’s half the fun. I’m sure I’m wrong on my one prediction. I’m sure everyone is wrong in some way, and that’s fine. I’m more excited for this year’s show because of what’s already been said and done by Apple, but that doesn’t mean I think this show is guaranteed to be a smash hit. It could suck balls. I’m only pretty sure that we won’t see John Mayer again, which is the only thing that really matters, right? Right.