Back and Forth

Stop Laughing at Me!

Justin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:46:15 +0000

Do you ever picture Bill Gates laughing when you have to go back and “fix” and otherwise perfectly semantically built layout to make it work in Internet Explorer?

I realized tonight that I do, and that it’s one specific scene that comes to mind, this one:

I’m not entirely sure what Steve has to do with anything, but certainly there’s some evil he’s perpetrated recently that was worth a chuckle.

The Best BBQ Ever Produced by Mortal Man

Justin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:12:02 +0000

The other day some friends from work and I tried out a relatively new BBQ restaurant on our lunch hour. And when I say restaurant I mean “trailer of awesomeness.” Yes, Franklin Barbecue, like a great deal of Austin’s culinary culture, is a food cart in a parking lot and this cart delivers.

Well, they don’t actually deliver, and get there early because the food sells out in hours.

Read the full review from Ray Pierce at Eats BBQ here

I Am Overwhelmed

Justin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:00:23 +0000

…with laundry.

The Power of the Internet

Justin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:24:56 +0000

Whether it’s organizing Westboro Baptist Church counter protests or the constant harassment of Justin Bieber, it’s becoming evident that the internet sub-culture is having a growing impact on the world.

Today we learned the company that owns Reddit, Conde Nast, has taken a stance against profiting on ads placed by groups that support California’s Prop. 19. As a backlash, Reddit readers are submitting images, text and stories in mass promoting the new bill and subsequently voting to increase their popularity (and as a result, visibility). I can only imagine how much more pro-marijuana imagery and content there is now than if they had let the ads run; though, now the press is free.

The internet generation is growing up, and it’s only a matter of time before we are in a position to use this unity and intelligence as a force for positive change (oh, and the occasional prank).

Quality Is Fleeting

Justin — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:02:28 +0000

…mediocrity is forever.

Terror Babies and the Failings of Using Intelligence to Argue Against Emotion

Justin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:23:27 +0000

I have a new respect for Anderson Cooper after his conversation with Texas State Representatives Debbie Riddle and Rafael Anchia about the new ridiculous conservative talking point “Terror Babies” (I’m not sure who actually branded this or why every debate needs to have a horribly conceived title these days).

During the debate both Anderson and Rafael very coolly and effectively broke down her arguments and exposed the complete lack of evidence supporting this new ‘tactic’. He also, apparently, had a conversation with Rep. Louie Gohmert on the same subject which didn’t not go nearly as smoothly.

Learning to effectively deal with this type of situation (and person) is one of my most pressing goals currently and the video shows just how difficult it can be. When the person you are debating against is speaking purely from emotion no amount of logic will break down their fervor.

There’s more going on here, though, and I am starting to believe this is part of the strength of the ignorant. Once the pieces of an emotional argument are broken down and their flaws exposed, the person delivering the argument breaks down to the simplest root notion they are trying to convey. This is then repeated ad nauseum forcing the other party to either play along with their opponent and be contrary over and over and over again or step out of the discussion.

Both are losing situations, in the former anyone listening starts to lose sight of which of the debaters is the crazy one and in the latter you are basically just throwing in the towel, or losing.

You can see this in the video toward the end. And you can even see the moral dilemma in Anderson’s face, “Should I continue arguing or allow him rave on?” To be fair, anyone with any sense should see Gohmert for the uninformed buffoon that he is. But, I’m certain he’s taken similar positions in the past which hasn’t stopped him from being re-elected.

So, how do you handle this type of situation?