Go to the experts

Alright, a Japanese businessman has to auction houses compete for the rights to sell a $20 million art collection by playing
rock paper scissors. That's pretty funny, but what is interesting is the different approaches. Christies asked a couple of kids what they would do, Southeby's said, it's a game of chance, we'll just hope for the best. I'm sorry to admit I would have a Southeby's attitude, but Christies was right; the kids said go with scissors, they went with scissors and they won. It reminds me of a Mark Twain story in which someone is arrested for running a poker game, because games of chance are illegal. He sets up a poker game between professionals and amateurs (or something) and the professionals win every time, proving it is a game of skill. As is, it turns out, rock paper scissors.

The food pyramid in a capitalist society

The government has come out with a new food pyramid for us all to ignore. Apparently the idea is that different people need different pyramids according to weight, age and amount of excerside. I haven't seen my pyramid because when I put in my stats at mypyramid.gov the site just spins its wheel.

But I don't care about the pyramid. What interests me is, apparently at some point the design indicated foods like fruits and vegetables hould be eaten "daily" and foods like pastries should be eaten occasionally. And that is now gone. Nabisco doesn't want the government telling people they shouldn't eat cookies every day.

Would this have happened if Kerry were president? Hard to say. But it can be said that this was certain to happen with Bush as president. The government is dropping almost all pretence of actually trying to do what's right for people. Even in little things like this.

All things to all people

I just saw a commercial for the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie that I found fascinating because it in no way suggests that the movie is, as is likely, a comedy. Instead, it basically is an advertisement for Star Wars, a big adventure with special effects and things blowing up. I went to the movie's website to see if the same trailer exists there, and while it doesn't, trailer number 1 is pretty similar. On the other hand, trailer #3 is a good attempt at a trailer that evokes at least some of the classic HGTTG humor, and trailer #2 is a sort of standard comedy movie trailer (to some extent the trailer that is being made fun of in Trailer #3).

The studio is trying to make different markets think this is different sorts of movies. Somebody is bound to be hurt.

a comment on comments

I recently discovered that the comments on this site don't work. Now admittedly it is possible, even probably, that no one has ever commented on one of my scarce posts nor ever will, but it's always good to give people options. So I'm making this post specifically so I can add a comment to it.

wishes do come true

I was just recently saying that I would be able to hold my own in conversation if the subject was video games, and yesterday I was at a party full of twenty-somethings and wound up talking with a bunch of guys who were very serious about their games. That wasn't all we talked about, but it kept coming back to that. So I guess the alternative to becomming literate and well informed is to just hang out with a younger crowd.

you would think a company devoted to mail delivery would be able to deliver mail

God I hate the post office. Here's why.

I posted this at my3cents, a site devoted to letting consumers blow off steam. Those who enjoy my infuriated rants can also read about my experiences with AT&T.

Nothing to read here, so go there

I was at my friend Francis' birthday party, and Francis's friend Daniel told
me I never update my blog. I knew that, of course, but I didn't realize
anyone else did, except Francis, who had mentioned he checks it every few
months. It is strange to think anyone knows my blog exists; even most of
the people I told when I started it have forgotten by now.

But then, some people are true blog afficienados. Me, not so much. I used
to read Utopia with Cheese (which I don't need to link to because it's
listed on the right) but it's moribund, and I read Francis' blog Heaneyland
(also linked to on the right) sometimes, although since I read it on my
Pocket PC using Avant Go and turn off images and links because of space
limitations I can't make sense of it all.

But other people read tons of blogs, as I discovered at Francis' party,
where his frighteningly smart and clever friends all seem to be familiar
with certain blogs, certain magazines, certain books. It's like one of
those Woody Allen movies where a whole roomful of people have read Nietze.
Alas, unless the conversation turns to television or old movies (as when I
valiantly defended the underated Bob Hope; go watch Paleface before you
dismiss me, dammit!) I don't have much to contribute. Unfortunately video
games haven't quite reached that critical mass to be a major area of
conversation at parties (unless I start going to keggers), so unless I start
reading books and magazines and blogs and the like (which seems highly
improbable) I'm afraid I will always be more like the slightly out-of-place
hooker at the Woody Allen gathering.

Anyway, it turns out everyone is familiar with the blog BoingBoing, and Francis has created a parody of it called BoringBoring. The parody is quite amusing, but I can't for the life of me figure out why BoingBoing is so
popular, because skimming through it I can't say I was particularly
enthused. So this whole long post was just to plug his parody. I could
also plug his book, the Holy Tango of Poetry, but as a professional critic I can't plug anything I haven't received a free copy of. But if you read, which I don't, go ahead and buy a copy.