ginandtacos.com - shut up and drink the gin

BURNING MY LUDDITE CARD

I am no longer the least technologically-advanced person in my age cohort: I got an mp3 player. It makes me feel an awfully lot like my dad to think that my only complaints thus far are that:

A. The buttons are too goddamn small for my Andre the Giant hands

B. I wish it was bigger to reduce my odds of losing it

Truly I am a 47 year-old man from Cicero in a younger man's body. And now for the shameless product plug: it's a Samsung T9. Holy crap does it rock. The screen is amazing, a lobotomy patient could figure out how to use the interface software, and the sound is home stereo-quality. I think I agree with CNet - why? Cause fuck Apple, that's why.

I WONDER IF DICK CHENEY OPPOSES THIS TOO

So they're banging the drum pretty loudly here in Indiana to have the day after the Super Bowl declared a holiday. The national media have picked up on the story as well and are calling for a federal holiday.

For the Super Bowl.

ESPN is currently running a front-page poll that has about 57% "yes" votes for creating a Super Bowl holiday, which means that among both the national media and the general public the idea of honoring the day after a football game with a federal holiday enjoys about as much support (if not more, depending on location) as Martin Luther King Day.

Oh well, we already know how the White House feels about designating more federal holidays. Unless.....no, I'm sure they don't have a problem with MLK. Their objections are certainly general in nature and apply to all holidays equally.

YOU TOO CAN COCKBLOCK GIRLS GONE WILD

We here at ginandtacos.com are already on record with how we feel about Mr. Joe Francis and his golden egg: "Girls Gone Wild" videos. If you missed it or have forgotten, maybe you can refresh your memory about this gentleman via this LA Times story.

This upcoming weekend (I believe 1/26/07 was the planned date) the GGW caravan was scheduled to come to Bloomington for an evening of liquoring up freshmen, "paying" them in t-shirts, and making a million bucks off of it. As you can imagine, this did not sit particularly well with much of the campus (conversely, we imagine it sat VERY well with a portion of it).

Attentive activists (including but not limited to the one I'm marrying, the reasons for which will soon become clear) have gotten the GGW show canceled. How? Not by calmly explaining to the owner of the scheduled venue (Jake's Nightclub - the Bloomington Kam's) that inebriated people can't make sound judgment about signing waivers or that the whole affair is exploitative.

No, that wasn't it. Here's what works, and please take note of this for when GGW shows up on your campus. Tell the bar owner that you will acquire a copy of the Girls Gone Wild video made at his or her establishment, and you will attend the next city council meeting at which his liquor license is to be renewed and show said video to the council.

Basically, threaten him or her. Then watch how quickly they pull the plug. Viva the all-American cockblock!

More Definition than reality.

Not that long ago, Erik upgraded the apartment in Champaign to high-definition television-viewing equipment (a Circuit City open box special, no less). Since then, a lot of high definition television viewing has been going on. One thing that has been noted is how disturbing shows and/or movies with poor production values look in HD (I believe it was first noted with the bad makeup and lighting in Beauty Shop). So it was only a matter of time until this story arrived via the nytimes:

Pornography has long helped drive the adoption of new technology, from the printing press to the videocassette. Now pornographic movie studios are staying ahead of the curve by releasing high-definition DVDs.

They have discovered that the technology is sometimes not so sexy. The high-definition format is accentuating imperfections in the actors — from a little extra cellulite on a leg to wrinkles around the eyes.

...“The biggest problem is razor burn,” said Stormy Daniels, an actress, writer and director.

Ms. Daniels is also a skeptic. “I’m not 100 percent sure why anyone would want to see their porn in HD,” she said.

...Jesse Jane, one of the industry’s biggest stars, plans to go under the knife next month to deal with one side effect of high-definition. The images are so clear that Ms. Jane’s breast implants, from an operation six years ago, can be seen bulging oddly on screen.

“I’m having my breasts redone because of HD,” she said.

The stretch marks on Ms. Jane from seven years ago when she gave birth to her son are also more apparent. But she deals with those blemishes in a simpler way: by liberal use of tanning spray.

A couple things to note.

(i) Porn actors look strangely awful on grainy VHS tapes. I can't even begin to imagine what they'll look like in high definition.

(ii) Have you ever been to LA? Have you ever noticed how all the women there look vaguely like transsexuals? Like the makeup and hair is so overdone it is almost like they are men doing an over-the-top impersonation of a woman? That's kind of how people look in high definition at times.

(iii) The green color of the grass for football in HD is how I imagine Heaven will be like if it exists. HD is most effective in sporting events.

(iv) For the porn actors above, the simulacra has become more real than the simulation. Their reality needs to start running to keep up with their simulation of their reality. (you should laugh there, it's actually a really funny joke).

(v) Kind of like went I first put on glasses or first did certain substances, watching things in HD feels like it is exercising a part of my brain I didn't know existed. That some previously dormant cluster of nerves in my optic chiasm are suddenly very active watching Boston Legal in HD does not worry me one bit.

Incompetent or Dismantler?

Every since Reagan started filling his cabinet with people either too incompetent to do their jobs or who had agendas that ran counter to the actual purpose of the agency, it makes for a fun game to play "Cabinet Member: Incompetent or Dismantler?" Most of the cabinet members these days are jokes, but is it because they are bad at their jobs or because they are purposely trying to dismantle the framework of the Government? Brownie? Incompetent. Elaine Chao? Dismantler.

Keeping this game framework in mind, Alberto Gonzales qualifies for the bonus round of "Incompetent or Evil?" Is he actually this incompetent when it comes to the Constitution, or is he actively working to dismantle the Bill of Rights? I didn't believe this story when I first heard about it; Here is the video to confirm it:

GONZALES: I will go back and look at it. The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There is a prohibition against taking it away. But it’s never been the case, and I’m not a Supreme —

SPECTER: Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. The constitution says you can’t take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?

GONZALES: I meant by that comment, the Constitution doesn’t say, “Every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right to habeas.” It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except by —

SPECTER: You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General.

JUST LIKE ANY LARGE U.S. CITY

Remember, the violence in Baghdad really isn't any worse than in any major American city. Why, just yesterday I think I saw something in the news about a couple car bombs going off in...um...Charlotte, I think. There are multiple IED attacks every day in Indianapolis as well.

Seattle residents search among charred corpses for relatives

Oh, and 25 more US troops died this weekend too. In some major U.S. city, I think, but I didn't really read the article. Maybe it was in Iraq.

Yeah...

You know that's permanent, right?

What's the worst tattoo you've ever seen? Sometimes I see the things people tattoo onto themselves and I'm simply blown away by their complete absence of taste. Or common sense. Or shame. Or.....anything.

In my long life of seeing tattoos, a couple stand out, and I wish I had photographic accompaniment:

1. A dotted line around the neck with the phrase "CUT HERE". Nothing says "I don't plan to live long enough for this tattoo to become an albatross" quite like neck tats.

2. A butterfly and a Sister Hazel logo. WHO IN THE FUCK GETS A SISTER HAZEL TATTOO?? What, were they out of Candlebox tattoos? Was the Hootie and the Blowfish one too mainstream? Band tattoos are universally a bad idea. That is a rule.

3. "Stretch out and wait" tattooed in massive letters around a young man's torso. Caveat: this tattoo would be perfectly acceptable except that the wearer was a straight man. Nothing says "More gay sex, please!" like tattooed Smiths lyrics. Therefore this person made a significant tactical error.

4. Chestpieces: all. Nothing bothers me more than perfectly cromulent titties ruined by awful chestpieces. And since all chestpieces are awful, they inherently ruin titties. Doves, nautical stars, flaming skulls, or whatever ridiculous Sailor Jerry crap you found on Livejournal should not be emblazoned on your cans. Trust me. Just trust me.

This site provides some inspiration, but I'm sure you don't need it. You've seen appalling tattoos. Share them with us.

SWEET MERCIFUL JESUS

Ever since Mike saw fit to post a picture of me wearing silver pants and a shady beard, I have been waiting to return the favor somehow. Knowing Mike I didn't figure that it would take long for the right opportunity to arise. I was correct.

Now, I feel compelled as a responsible citizen to warn you about the following image before I present it. Many readers, notably children or those with spastic colons, may find this image disturbing. I know I did. So before clicking through, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you prepared to see, in wholly unambiguous terms, the outline of Mike's package under a thin layer of spandex? Bear in mind that said package has been described with adjectives like "elephantine" and "life-affirming."

2. Are you prepared to see what is perhaps nature's fullest expression of the Polack Hirsuteness Ratio (3 follicles of body hair per follice of head hair)?

3. Do you believe that some phenomena are inherently beyond explanation, or are you an ardent rational choice adherent who insists on trying to make sense of a world that rarely cooperates with your efforts?

If you are comfortable with your answers, click here. Neither ginandtacos.com nor its parent corporation Nordyne Defense Dynamics accept any responsibility for this image and/or the reader's decision to view it. By reading this entry and choosing to click on this link the reader is giving informed consent to see a man in a speedo.

Hey, hey, King Lear, how many knights did you kill today?

I just returned from three weeks in Washington DC. If you are there, or you are nearby, I recommend checking out the Shakespeare in Washington 6-month festival. The program includes just about everything you could imagine, from traditional plays to movies to Skinhead Hamlet (will Hamlet be straight-edge?). The thing that takes the cake for me is this staged reading, which, if I read it correctly, will be a blending of LBJ and King Lear.

King Lyndon Lear and His Year of Crisis: A Staged Reading
SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY Jun. 4

Aging and willing to divest himself of his office and holdings, King Lyndon is beset by bad health, madness, and wars. Believing himself to be a great caretaker of his family of constituents and colleagues, he watches as those same constituents rise up against his policies and compel him to fight against mighty protests at home while he perpetuates an even larger war on foreign soil. Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium, 8th and G Sts., NW, Washington, DC. (202) 275-0570.

I can't find any additional details on this, and it may be quite bad. But if the Duke of Cornwall looks like Robert McNamara, or if Lear says something akin to "We are not about to send British boys halfway across the globe to fight in France" I will be so happy I'll explode. Take a good look at this man; he clearly wants his daughters to overstate their affection.

"Let me say at once, for the benefit of the wicked, fearful South, that Martin Luther King wil never rouse a rabble"

Poor National Review.   It has to deal with getting written off as hacks by the older generation of conservatives:

Buckley once quipped, after Garry Wills, Joan Didion, and John Leonard had decamped, that he hadn't realized that he was "running a finishing school for young apostates."...

("[60s NR writer Jeffrey] Hart is clearly uneasy about the rise of the younger generation, which, under the editorship of Richard Lowry, has been generally enthusiastic about the Bush administration. "Perhaps surprisingly, none of these now prominent figures at the magazine had been known for books or even important articles on politics or political thought," he sniffs. "Where they stood on the spectrum of conservative thought--traditionalist, individualist, libertarian, skeptical, Straussian, Burkean, Voegelinian--was completely unknown."),

I don't know what they are talking about with not being intellectual enough.  Check that second quote against Jonah Goldberg's FAQ about himself: "You’ll note that the second I became quasi-famous for the French-bashing stuff, I all but stopped the French-bashing. Similarly, I cut wayyyy back on quoting The Simpsons once that became sort of my official shtick. "   It's kind of like Maxim, but the only product to sell is knee-jerk fratboy libertarianism.

But let's take a peek at what all those brilliant minds were doing back in the day.  Let's take a quick moment on Martin Luther King's birthday to go back and see what those important contributors of political thought at the National Review have told us over the years about the Civil Rights movement - the highbrow equivalent of fire hoses and attack dogs (hat tip to Brad Delong).

William F. Buckley, from the February 22, 1956 issue:

On February 6, Miss Autherine J. Lucy went to class at the University of Alabama, which admitted her by the order of a federal court. When she left the building she was assaulted by a mob.... It was the culmination of a weekend of demonstrations against the admission of a Negro.... [T]he nation cannot get away with feigning surprie at the fact that there was a demonstration by students, nor even that the demonstration became ugly and uncontrolled. For in defiance of constitutional practice, with a total disregard of custom and tradition, the Supreme Court a year ago illegalized a whole set of deeply-rooted folkways and mores.... The incident involving Miss Lucy is only one of many such incidents whose occurrence we had better get used to if we intend to enforce the Supreme Court's decision at bayonet point... the consequences of exacting of a whole region of our country compliance with a law that in the opinion of Southerners unsettles the basis of their society. The Supreme Court elected to tamper with organic growth. It must, under the circumstances, accept the fatherhood of social deformity.

Now to L. Brent Bozell, from the June 4, 1963 issue:

The... governor of Alabama, acting for his state, filed a suit in the United States Supreme Court that asked... whether the educated citizens of the Kennedy Administration are concerned with discharging this special responsibility [to uphold the law] or merely with gassing about it.... [D]id the President act within his authority in sending federal troops to Alabama in the wake of the Birmingham riots?.... Alabama's principal contention... is that the Act of Congress under which the President dispatched the troops is unconstitutional... that the 14th amendment... is "null and void"... that the President's actions did not comply with [the act's] conditions....

The statute... a law the Reconstruction Congress enacted in 1871.... [T]he President can send in troops... only when... there must be some "domestic violence" or "insurrection," and let us agree that condition was met b the Negro rioters.... [T]he domestic violence must be the cause... [of] a denial of equal protection... [or] obstruction of federal laws. Now: how in Heaven's name--granted they created a certain amount of havoc--can the Negro riots be said to have caused either of those consequences? Finally, assuming it is a violence-inspired enail of equal protection... the local authorities must have shown themselves either unable or unwilling to deal with the situation. Yet the authorities in Birmingham [police chief "Bull" Connor and Governor George Wallace] apparently did have the matter under control before Kennedy pushed the button....

[T]he legality of the 14th amendment.... The argument that it was improperly ratified is historically irrefragable....

It is undoubtedly too much to hope that Alabama will win her case: the President's cavalier action is not likely to raise many eyebrows on a Court that handed down those sit-in decisions. But... Alabama's lawyers can help but the public straight on who is and who isn't concerned these das with working otu the nation's terrible racial problem within the framework of law.

And for my favorite, let's roll it back to Mr William Buckley to take us home. From 1959:

The soberly-dressed "clerky" little man... seemed oddly unsuited to his unmentioned but implicit role of propagandist.... Let me say at once, for the benefit of the wicked, fearful South, that Martin Luther King wil never rouse a rabble; in fact, I doubt very much if he could keep a rabble awake... past its bedtime... lecture... delivered with all the force and fervor of the five-year-old who nightly recites: "Our Father, Who art in New Haven, Harold be Thy name."...

The history of Negro freedom in the United States... according to Dr. King, is actually a history of Supreme Court decisions... in each of these decisions "the Supreme Court gave validity to the prevailing mores of the times." (That's how they decide, you see? They look up the prevailing mores--probably in the Sunday New York Times.)...

In the future, [according to King] the reactionary white south will try.... Nevertheless, victory is inevitable for the Good Guys.... The Negro must... expect suffering and sacrifice, which he must resist without sacrifice, for this kind of resistance will leqve the violent segregationist "glutted with his own barbarity. Forced to stand before the world and his God splattered with the blood and reeking with the stench of his Negro brother, he will call an end to his self-defeating massacre." (I don't think [King had] really examined that one, do you?)...

In the words of an editorial from next morning's Yale Daily News, "a bearded white listener rose, then a whole row, and then a standing ovation." Did you ever see a standing ovation rise? It's most interesting! Anyway, I rose and applauded heartily. I was applauding Dr. King for not saying "the trusth shall make you free," because actually it took the Supreme Court, in this case, didn't it?...

[A] discussion period for undergraduates followed the lecture.... Here was no trace of the sing-song "culluh'd preachuh" chant, the incongruously gaudy phrases.... Martin Luther King... relies almost entirely on force of one kind or another to accomplish integration.... [I]t seems curiously inconsistent to hear him, time after time, suggest power, or force--the force of labor, of legislation, of federal strength--as the solution....

BE THE FIRST KID ON YOUR BLOCK WITH A DEPRESSED PLATELET COUNT!

File this one under "No, really."

In 1950, the Gilbert Toy Company (who would later make millions with the ubiquitous and hilariously-named Erector Sets) sold something called the "Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab." If you're assuming that this was a cheap plastic chemistry set or toy "scientist" kit that attempted to capitalize on the novelty, popularity, and mystery of atomic energy in the 50s, you are mistaken.

For $49.99 (about $300 in today's dollar, or approximately the same as a Wii) little Billy and his friends could learn about Our Friend the Atom without much room for error. You see, the "toy" contained multiple samples of different types of radioactive uranium. The "fun" came from using the Geiger counter, electroscope, and spinthariscope to observe "real radioactive decay!" and perform other experiments.

For some reason, Big Government intruded on the free-market rights of the Gilbert Company, ordering the toys recalled and pulled from the market (typical New Deal-era liberals - hopefully the HUAC got most of them). Apparently little kids like to put things in their mouths, and allegedly (according to hysterical left-wing Nanny State types) radioactive uranium isn't safe to ingest. That, combined with the facts that $300 is a pretty expensive toy and most kids don't understand nuclear physics, doomed the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab to failure. But if you held on to yours, they go for about $8000 on eBay today - probably to a combination of al-Qaeda operatives and rare toy enthusiasts.

Now if I could only get my hands on the included comic "How Dagwood Split the Atom" and kid's book "Prospecting for Uranium!" I think I'd die a happy man.

WWWWWHATTHEFUCK

We all know Ed loves the eBay. Today's No Politics Friday entry shows us why.

Seriously. What the fuck? Start with a 1997 Chrysler Voyager minivan (making this a Housewife Friendly conversion project), grab a hacksaw, locate some blue velour, and end up with this (be sure to click the link for interior photos as well):

Get low

As if the pictures aren't ridiculous enough, the description puts it over the top.

runs decent, shifts fine, puffs some smoke at start up, rides like a buckboard. switch on dash to raise and lower rear suspension....No windshield, no wipers, no rear seats, no cupholders, no warranty and no, I wouldn't recommend driving it home

Congratulations Mr. Seller. I have never before seen a car listing that stated "no windshield." That's really quite special. Now please explain how you developed enough gall (or sheer ignorance) to not only start the bidding at $1,000 but also to have a higher reserve price. I'm thinking you might want to start this one at a buck and take whatever you can get.

THIS HAS TO BE CLINTON'S FAULT

Remember kids, global warming is a myth invented by liberals. It's also Bill Clinton's fault.

Wait - it can't be anyone's fault if it doesn't exist! Which it doesn't.

It's so hard being a Young Republican at moments like these. I'm torn between my two greatest loves: oil industry-sponsored pseudoscience and vilifying popular Democratic ex-presidents.

Labor economics.

If you are at all interested in the current state of labor economics research (and really, who isn't?), you should read this interesting interview with Berkeley economist David Card, where he gives a high-level overview of his research since the early 90s. He is a brilliant academic, and he has contributed some ground-breaking work to a large number of the important issues of the past 20 years.

You may have heard the name from the New York Times magazine article about economists' views on immigration (where he lead the "not such a big deal" camp; check out his research), and his name shows up in popular debates about the growing inequality. Some of the interview is a bit technical, but the parts on immigration, returns to education, minimum wage and skill-biased technical change are all worth a minute (or several) of your workday time. Excerpt:

[Card] For example, what does it mean for a firm to have a vacancy? If a firm can readily go to the market and buy a worker, there's no such thing as a vacancy, or at least not a persistent vacancy. During the early 1990s, when Alan and I were working on minimum wages, it was our perception that many low-wage employers had had vacancies for months on end. Actually many fast-food restaurants had policies that said, “Bring in a friend, get him to work for us for a week or two and we'll pay you a $100 bonus.” These policies raised the question to us: Why not just increase the wage?

From the perspective of a search paradigm, these policies make sense, but they also mean that each employer has a tiny bit of monopoly power over his or her workforce. As a result, if you raise the minimum wage a little—not a huge amount, but a little—you won't necessarily cause a big employment reduction. In some cases you could get an employment increase...

THE BREADTH OF OPTIONS IS JUST STUNNING

Looks like Our President really IS taking seriously the idea of considering new options in Iraq. Just to show us all that he is not surrounded by yes-men, the administration is fiercely debating a broad range of options in Iraq.

On the one hand, some advisors are advocating sending 20,000 more troops all at once. Others argue that the 20,000 additional troops should be sent incrementally.

It's good to know that every option is on the table.

Movies of 2006 for shut-ins.

The No-Politics Friday (tm) continues into 2007 while looking back on 2006. Starting a little over a year ago, I moved above a second-run dollar theater whose manager was also my landlord. So for a period I saw nothing but bad second-runs movies while getting free popcorn. Halfway through I moved to Champaign, Il, where my access to quality cinema was practically nonexistent (though I do thank the local art theater for trying its best). However, my roommate just got a television that could only be described as bitchin (and, god bless us everyone, it was an open-box special at Circuit City), which makes it a perfect time to catch up on movies via DVD.

So, as I've seen virtually no good new movies this past year, and am in a perfect position technologically and emotionally to watch a lot of high-definition dvds in my living room, the question goes to you: What were the best movies of 2006? Please answer in the comments, my netflix queue is hungry and wants to be fed.

Now of course I lied; I have seen some good movies in 2006 and would like to share them with you.

Half-Nelson

I'm glad to see Ryan Gosling break big as an actor, something I've been waiting for since he first made waves in the excellent "The Believer" (1999). Watching several talented actors face the brutality of inner-city poverty, addiction and the drug trade makes for a rough movie-going experience. The emotional impact is overwhelming; days later you may still be torn between whether to think "[Gosling is] charismatic, multifaceted, and sincere, and we can’t really dismiss him without dismissing some part of ourselves" or "[Half-Nelson is part of] a series of new, grotesquely condescending movies..trumpet whites’ hidden resentment about blacks’ troubling, irremediable social status...hipster masochism."

Our Brand is Crisis

The best feature about Iraq I saw in 2006 was about the 2002 Bolivian election. In this documentary, the dark twin of The War Room (1993), camera crews follow the consulting team of "Greenberg, Carville, Shrum" as they attempt to win the Bolivian election for their client with the aid of modern political consulting equipment.

I knew of the movie before I saw it, and I was surprised by how drawn I was to Jeremy Rosner, the consultant who forms the center story. There's no bad faith or shameless profiteering on his part; he believes that what he is doing will ultimately aid democracy in South America. It is not hard to see in Bolivia echoes of the current political fallout in Iraq - where exporting democracy seems to be a series of color-coordination, negative aids from crafted third-parties, chi-squared evaluation of a candidate's honesty appeal, focus-group vetted slogans and controlling the terms of the debate, and how none of these things seem to be a match for deep-seated grievances on poverty, joblessness and cultural differences. You can hear in Rosner's post-election interview what we are already hearing from the neocons who thought democracy would triumph by default in Iraq.

Dave Chappelle Block Party

In a year where everything seemed to be falling apart, and where many of the best movies involved the worst of times (see above), seeing great musicians playing a street concert, doing what they love, with everyone having a great time, is a perfect antidote. One of the best concert films I've seen - the dvd has full performances of many of the songs, and they can be worked into a full-length viewing of the movie. Highly recommended.

So that's me. Your suggestions?

The Google Employee's Dudley connection

Trading at 460; could this be Mr. Horton's 21st century backroom?

A New York Times style article about Google's expanding New York office and the Silicon Valley 'campus' culture:

You could be forgiven for not knowing that a satellite Google campus is growing in downtown Manhattan. There is no Google sign on the building, and it’s hard to catch a glimpse of a Googler, as employees call themselves, on the street because the company gives them every reason to stay within its candy-colored walls.

From lava lamps to abacuses to cork coffee tables, the offices may as well be a Montessori school conceived to cater to the needs of future science-project winners...Google has free food, and plenty of it, including a sushi bar and espresso stations. There are private phone booths for personal calls and showers and lockers for anyone running or biking to work.

The campuslike workspace is antithetical to the office culture of most New York businesses. It is a vision of a workplace utopia as conceived by rich, young, single engineers in Silicon Valley, transplanted to Manhattan...

All the free food has created a problem familiar to college freshmen. “Everyone gains 10 or 15 pounds when they start working here,” said James Tipon, a member of the sales team, who actively contributes to the four pounds of M&Ms consumed by New York Googlers daily.

Two quick notes. (1) I know it's not the mid-90s anymore, but I hope everyone has read their Microserfs (errors reprinted, 310-311):

At 21, you make this Faustian pact with yourself that your company is allowed to soak up 7 to 10 years of your life but then at 30 you have to abandon the company, or else there's something WRONG with you.

The tech system feeds on bright, asocial kids from dive backgrounds who had pro-education parents. We ARE in a new industry; there aren't really many older poe in it. We are on the vanguard of adoldescence pro...

But just think about the way high tech cultures puropose protract out the adolescence of their employees well into their late 20s, if not their early 30s,. I mean, all those NERF TOUYS and FREE BEVERAGES! And the way tech firms won't even call work "The office:, but instead, "the campus"

2) Do you remember all those social awareness episodes of 80s television shows where the kid's best friend would get molested? I think the classic one was when the bike shop owner Mr. Horton got the better of Dudley from Different Strokes. (why oh why isn't this episode on youtube?)

Remember how in all those episodes the guy would lure in the children with cool toys, neat electronics and lots of candy? Am I the only one who feels a creepy connection between that and the same lures for high-tech programmers? I've been in a few of the new-not-at-all-like-the-old office "campuses" and I've gotten the same vibe you get from seeing Mr. Horton's backroom. It's the sense of "Gee, thanks for all the free nerf stuff and M&Ms, but at what point are you going to try to take pictures of me in the bathtub?"

I don't know what it says about an industry and its employees when the incentives to hire and retain the best and the brightest are indistinguishable from the techniques used to lure in children and sexually assault them.

CNN WINS!

That is, they win the "Who can find the most unflattering picture of Betty Ford?" contest.