xkcd: You should be a Fan

This morning’s xkcd is a classic.  But do you know who draws xkcd?

Mount Awesome

Thinking of taking the kids to South Dakota to see … you know, Mount Awesome.

Thanks Armanitarium for your contribution to the planet.  This guy (or girl) has some pretty awesome posts, including this incredible video from his posting Twin Sons of Tatooine taught me everything I know

Don’t forget to finish a reading of his blog with his post on the trailer with the latest from the mind of M. Knight Shymalan, sure to be a blockbuster epic.

http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1940892&fullscreen=1

Annoying to make a point or Let it ride? Urgently need Moogaz Input

Regular readers might remember the crusade I took against street graffiti left behind from construction projects and the subsequent Portland Press Herald article.  Now I need Moogazers help to make a decision.

With the July passage of Portland’s new anti-graffiti ordinance, citizens are encouraged to report graffiti within 24-48 hours.  Violators can be fined or ordered community service. The very clear stated goal was to clean up the blight caused by graffiti which has been proven to lead to increases in other crimes. 

The Portland Police Department has now set up a website where you can report the graffiti.  http://police.portlandmaine.gov/graffitireport.asp In the page, they state, “If the graffiti is on your property, it’s your responsibility to clean it up. Property owners not cooperating in keeping their property graffiti-free will be referred to the Department of Code Enforcement and may be subjected to penalties and fines.”

But isn’t the City the property owner of the sidewalks and pavement?  Aren’t they responsible for cleaning up markings that are in some cases 2-3 years old (see pictures)?  Markings that are not just on old pavement, but also sidewalks, curbs, and cobblestones?  I think it’s funny that on the page they lecture parents on how to teach their kids responsibility when they’re taking none of their own:

Teach community pride

Parents, teachers, and community leaders should help discourage graffiti. The greater the stake a teen has in his or her community, the less likely he or she will vandalize it

So what to do?  Do I fill out this form for all the graffiti I see?  Or let it ride?  Would you fill it out?  Please vote below and comment.

 

What do do?
	Fill out the form once just to make a point.
	Fill out the form for each occurrence.
	Get a local Old Port business owner to fill out the form, but don't do it myself.
	Move on with life
pollcode.com free polls

 

Editorial Cartoons

This one is fabulous.  There are more here.

From Boston comes the Flying Car

Admit it, you thought the Jetson’s aerocar was pretty cool.  But you never thought you’d see it in your lifetime.  Now from the same MIT grad students that brought us Car Talk comes a Federally-approved car that can fly.

Terrafugia recently got National Highway Traffic Safety Administration exemptions for their Transition vehicle, a car that can fly around as easily as it can fit in the garage.  The protoype’s already been flying around, but you’ll need to plunk down a $10K deposit to line up for the 2012 production model.  This article gives some more details on the NHTSA approval.

This isn’t the first time this has been tried. In fact the flying car has been a dream almost since the Wright Brothers flew their first airplane.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadable_aircraft

 

The company is Massachusetts based (Woburn) and funded so prepare yourself for flying cars, coming soon to New England.

Risk meets Foursquare meets NYC

Need a reason to Foursquare?  Use this latest nerd mashup to conquer lands in NYC by checking in at Foursquare places.  First declare your allegiance and then let your armies march across Gotham. 

Read the full article here at Mashable http://mashable.com/2011/06/29/world-of-fourcraft/

And watch the battle unfold here  http://worldoffourcraft.com/

 

 

Followup: The most interesting part of this app is how it was created.  It won People’s Choice Awards in Hackday, a two day event where the group works together to compete against other groups and output the app.  The list of characters that went into development reads like an IT staff.  The whole thing is amazing … to see what 7 people can do in two days with a bunch of open platforms: Foursquare, Google Maps, etc.

The Google Test

Tim Pawlenty wants to apply the Google test to the Federal government, saying “if you can find a good or service on the Internet, then the federal government probably doesn’t need to be doing it.”  He wants to kill the Postal Service, Amtrak, and federal home-mortgage agencies.  I say while we’re at it kill national parks, regulatory agencies, health insurance, and schools.  Then let’s kill libraries, sidewalks, and help for the poor.   Kill unemployment insurance and financial aid to college.

When we’re done, we’ll be super competitive.    Growth will be incredibly high and businesses will be humming as we will have fought the “unrelenting trench battle against the overregulation that’s suffocating America’s entrepreneurial spirit. (Pawlenty)”  Life will be wonderful once again.

Don’t have the $30 entrance fee to the national park?  Sorry, maybe you can go next year.

Can’t afford the $30,000 for a private school?  Come on, pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Shy of the $10 you’ll need for the internet café because the libraries closed?  Maybe you can ask a friend.

Recently unemployed with 3 kids to feed?  Sucks to be them.  Maybe a church will help.

Can’t afford the lawyer to fight the chemicals in your drinking water from fracking? Walmart sells bottled water.

Don’t have the 20% down payment for a house? Renting is nice.

Yes, government costs money to run.  But the alternative is a place where, like Washington state and its state parks, only the rich can afford anything. 

The cycle of destroying our very social fabric is upon us and my small example is Mackworth Island.  Seems simple enough.  Budget in Portland is in trouble so you suspend payments to the park.  With suspended payments and the need for maintenance on the island, fees are charged.  What once was a nice island for hiking near the ocean with my girls is now a luxury at $3/person and we haven’t returned since.  And you could make a case that I could afford it.  But what about lower income people in Portland?  Mackworth Island might as well be Disney World.  In Tim Pawlenty’s world, we make everything pay per service.  Everything.

For Tim Pawlenty, the Google test represents the awesomeness of limited government.  But for most people, applying the Google test just leads to an empty search bar.