Imagine...

This is my first attempt, ever, at writing lyrics to a song.  Sing to the tune of John Lennon's Imagine:

Imagine there's Nobama
It's easy if you try
No healthcare taxes
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living in freedom

Imagine Nobamacare
It isn't hard to do
No looming death panels
And doctors too
Imagine all the people living life in health

You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the trillions in debt will be done

Imagine no Democrats
I wonder if you can
No progressives any more
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the unions closing up their shops

You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be a lot more fun

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Fail...

I suspect this started as a joke.  Steven Olson applied for a patent on a method for swinging on a swing.  The patent appears to be quite narrow, covering only swings suspended from horizontal tree limbs, and swinging from side-to-side, “Tarzan style”.  I'd imagine that Mr. Olson had no expectation that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office would actually approve and issue his patent.  But they did!

I think we need some reforms in the USPTO...

This Is How You Do It, Folks...

If you own and iPhone (as I do), and you upgraded to IOS6 (as I did), you've probably already had first hand experience with the massive screw-up otherwise known as “Apple Maps”.  My own first experience matches that of many other people: just to try it out, I set it up to give me directions on how to get to work.  Within a mile it was trying to send me down a 20 mile long four-wheel drive only dirt road – one that I know has several locked gates across it.  Virtually everyone who's tried to use the app reports similarly hideous results.  The geek media's talking heads have been howling for days.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, responded yesterday with a letter to Apple's customers.  Here's the lead:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

No weasel words, no finger-pointing – just a straight-up and direct apology, along with a commitment to fix it.  Go read the whole thing if you'd like to see how a real class act deals with their mistake.

Kudos, Mr. Cook.  I wish we saw our leaders (business, political, or of any other flavor) exhibit more of exactly this willingness to take responsibility. I'll survive with Google Maps.  When Apple comes out with an upgrade for Apple Maps, I'll try it again.

Skewed Polling...

Charlie Martin has a great post on how polls get so badly skewed – especially as election day draws near.  Anyone who believes that the polls are an effort to measure the facts is in for a rude surprise.  The real purpose of the polls is to discourage people from voting – specifically, conservative people.  And it works so well the liberal media keeps it coming, year after year...