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Alden

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May 21 Alden commented on The Real Scandal Is That Apple Wasn't Cheating.

This is a rather unseemly post. I mean, wouldn't it be terrible of Slog readers got the wrong idea about Apple! (that was sarcasm)

I don't think anybody would suggest Apple is particularly bad. Its evidence that Apple is just another corporation - not particularly benign.

May 21 Alden commented on The Geography Hate.

Set the filter to Homophobic and you'll see a great big red dot on Hood River Oregon. That's got to be a single demented individual who spends long, feverish nights ranting about the gays on Facebook. I mean, unless you're going to suggest there is some anomalous tendency just in that one town.

I wonder how many individuals are underneath each red pixel in the other parts.

Mar 12 Alden commented on Mississippi Could Pass an Anti-Bloomberg Bill Barring the Government from Informing the Public About the Health Risks of Junk Food.

Why not ban, though?

If the state can compel seatbelts and motorcycle helmets, why can't it ban unhealthful foods? I'm not being rhetorical or ironic here - its a serious question. It seems like your "I don't think we should ban junk food is kind of pro forma - an inoculation against the usual suspect types.

The thing is that its not like people don't know that this stuff is bad for them. Yet they do it anyhow and probably for entirely rational reasons - low cost, convenience etc. So the only way to actually solve the problem is going to be the heavy hand of the state imposing some regulation. Otherwise we're just going to be griping about it till the end of time.

Feb 23 Alden commented on Gun Nuts Hate Facts, and Research That Might Prove Facts.

@6 Incorrect. They are indifferent to these kinds of data.

The basic stance of the "Gun Nut" (your term, not mine) is a Freedom Isn't Free sort of thing. Like "too bad about all those dead kids in Connecticut but 2nd Amendment, yo". Of course they can't say it so frankly because they know how barbaric it sounds. So you get a thick smoke screen of non sequitor.

You could spend the rest of your life on message boards trying to get gun nuts to answer the question "just how many dead kids per year would you tolerate before considering strict gun control laws" and you will never get a straight answer. Because one thing (societal costs) has nothing to do with the other (aesthetic preferences.)

Feb 19 Alden commented on A Theory of White Native Americans.

Thanks for the Borges link. That guy's prose is always pure pleasure to read.

Feb 18 Alden commented on What Do You Think of the Destiny Preview?.

Some of those Bungie guys look old enough to remember Richard Garriot making similar promises when Ultima Online was still under development.

Feb 18 Alden commented on Here Come the Meatspace Google Stores, Maybe.

Apple stores are configured just like computer stores were back in the ye olde days of computers. Like, say, Ballard Compter on Market back in the 80s and 90s (the Matador occupies that space today). Then companies like Dell and Circuit City put those boutique type computer stores out of business and Apple has brought the configuration back to life.

They function more like a car dealership and less like a bookstore. So that's what they resemble. I don't think the product per se has much of anything to do with their relative success. I use PCs and it would never even occur to me to go to a Microsoft store. I can order everything I need online and I don't have any questions.

Feb 17 Alden commented on A Rising Tide of Income Inequality Sinks All Boats.

Golly, Phoebe in Wallingford, that would be like totally ironic and a really awesome burn in a world where correlation and causation were the same thing.