Done!
Man, for those of you that don't run a website with tens of thousands of pages I will tell you right now when you change the design in any way it is sort of a big deal. Well, I just uploaded the new design on RopeofSilicon.com, but the design wasn't the problem this time around. There was far more behind-the-scenes work going on and hoping that worked properly was the biggest concern. Luckily, I think I nailed it and people shouldn't experience any issues. This is one of those "Thank God" moments. Thank God!
However, if anyone out there is thinking about starting their own website I have one MAJOR piece of advice: Use the tools the Internet has to offer!
The online world is changing and the only way to survive is to adapt, adjust and embrace. This doesn't mean you should run out and start a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and whatever else kind of account there is to create. However, it's not a bad idea. I have both a Twitter and Facebook account, but both of them were basically created out of a need to know what was going on and to learn how things work. After all, you can't really work in the online environment without knowing what the hell is going on. If you own a website and are asking, "What's Twitter?" you aren't going to survive for too long if you are just starting out. Ya gotsta know what the kids are doing these days. LMAO... ROFL...
So here I sit, finally done and ready to relax. I just finished playing a little "Call of Duty: World at War" and am now ready to end the night watching WALL-E again - this time with the couch commentary, which actually is a bit annoying (it's playing in the background). I think this is one of the first times I've ever listened to a commentary and it actually feels as if you want to "shush" these people. It has that "people talking in the theater" kind of vibe to it. Hardly entertaining.
Anyway, for those of you that visit RopeofSilicon regularly, I hope you like the design. For those of you that don't... well... okay....
Blame it on the Ambien Joe
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough is such a pain to listen to and now he has just said "fuck you" on live television and the explanation that follows the incident and Joe saying, "Did I say the word," is just priceless.
Yes, you idiot, you did say the word and unless you are admitting to being a 100% moron you already knew that. Considering this is the same network that somehow continues to employ Keith Olbermann it comes as very little surprise. By the way, Olbermann is a loon and he has now dragged Rachel Maddow into his camp of far, far, far left wing crazies making her damn near unwatchable.
Check out the video after the jump, I am sure the FCC will have a few words for Joe and MSNBC and it will include a rather large dollar figure. Unless MSNBC is considered cable and allowed to do this... are they?
Don’t Try to Redefine Marriage
I was watching Anderson Cooper last night and they got to talking about Proposition 8 and he had on one fella for it and a woman who was against it. Unfortunately the video is not online so I don't remember either of their names or what exactly the conversation entailed, but I can tell you it is so weird for me to be so frustrated and annoyed by the prejudice on display by passing a law that takes rights away from people and not even be one of the people being discriminated against.
You don't have to be gay to realize Proposition 8 is horseshit. It is just one more way of segregating and calling someone different and telling them what they can't do as a result of that difference. Racism may be a larger issue simply due to the fact that it effects more people in any given example, but just because the majority of the people in the world aren't gay doesn't mean they don't have the right to get married. I mean, what a stupid thing to worry about.
The guy Cooper had on kept hammering home how allowing gay marriage is simply a problem because it "redefines the meaning of the word marriage as it is written in the Constitution". Ha, you mean to tell me these folks are fighting because Websters would be upset they would have to redefine marriage? What a stupid argument and an unforgiveable way of spinning the real reason, which is you hate gays. I wonder what we would be arguing if the Constitution didn't read like this:
Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
... but instead read like this ...
Marriage in the United States consists of the union of two consenting people. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
My guess is people would be arguing wildly to try and have the wording changed. Dummies.
Sarah Palin Receives a Prank Phone Call
I guess since these are Canadian jokers this isn't so bad, but I bet if this had been an American comedy duo there would be some serious hell to pay since Sarah Palin ends up staying on the line for seven minutes with Canadian prankers known as The "Masked Avengers", Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
She finally figures out it is a prank when the conversation ends with them saying, "If one voice can change the world for Obama, one Viagra can change the world for McCain."
I am not sure, is this out of bounds?
Inviting Some Open Conversation to the Table
There is a little behind the scenes feud going on and I would like to bring it out into the open, but in a more mature way.
First off, in an earlier post I made a comment about a gentleman that found this blog after a Google search in my Schwarzenegger article and it was an out of bounds comment and I have since deleted it. The gentleman I made it about then said some derogatory things about me in the comments and I didn't approve them and he also wrote an article on his blog that is equally defamatory. Sort of a tit for tat kind of thing and it makes sense since rudeness is typically met with rudeness and I was rude and therefore apologize. I won't link to his site just yet because I am not sure if he would like to reciprocate or not, that is up to him.
However, I would like to invite him to the table and get him back into the discussion because I think it is the best way to clear the air and perhaps figure out our differences. The man in question is as passionate about McCain as I am for Obama and so I would like to put some items on the table and see if he would be interested in discussing them without name-calling or assumptions.
The arguments against Obama include socialism, raising taxes and inexperience.
Here are a couple of counter arguments of my own to get things started:
McCain has gone on record with Larry King saying he doesn't think Obama is a socialist. When it comes to taxes Obama's plan involves plenty of things we can discuss but I would say his hopes to end the war and begin a more targeted search for Osama bin Laden as well as tax cuts for those making less than $250k explain taxes as well as begin the discussion on foreign policy.
As for inexperience, I really think that is a shaky argument considering neither Obama or McCain is technically experienced when it comes to being president and both are going to be learning on the job.
I will say this, if someone asked me for one quick reason why they shouldn't vote for McCain and should vote for Obama I would say the reason is simple, "Sarah Palin." I think the choice of Sarah Palin showed extremely poor judgment on McCain's part as well as his desire to win via politics rather than message.
I think that should be enough to get us started and I hope he will join the discussion and hopefully we can keep it mature. And again, I apologize for my earlier comments.
Higher Taxes or Government Cutbacks… Which One You Want?
Back on October 16 I did a feature on RopeofSilicon called "Casting the 2008 Presidential Election" and in it I cast the above bulldog for Lou Dobbs. I did this because the man is a raging loon and how no one has called him out for being one is baffling to me.
Does anyone watch his show? Only idiots and amazingly rich people can agree with him right? Because idiots are dumb and rich people have time to complain about everything, which is Dobbs' M.O.
His latest poll was the greatest when it asked "Would you prefer higher taxes or government cutbacks?" Prefer? What would I prefer? Where is choice "C" offering me a Ferrari and Megan Fox on the weekends?
Surprisingly enough 17% actually voted for "Higher Taxes" which tells me 17% are in on the joke that is Lou Dobbs.