There's a Street Fighter 4 machine near work. I went and played.During one best of 5 contest, I won a match, then lost one, then won one, then lost one, then lost the tie breaker. On a hunch, I asked my challenger if he was letting me win. I was losing big, but also winning big, and something smelled fishy."Are you letting me win, or am I getting lucky?""Hm?""Are you letting me win, or am I getting lucky?""I-"I realized he probably didn't speak English and dropped it.The next match began and I think he understood what I was asking. He said, haltingly."I, uh, am letting, uh, you win, yes."I knew it.
Things I like about vox:
Integration with 3rd party sites when posting is really great.
The community is great.
The concept of the neighborhood is great.
I really like the people that started it, and where they've gone with it.
I love the idea of the vox question of the day.
I love how it makes blogging less about the technology and more about actually connecting you to others.
What I'm not digging:
Vox is the one site I don't own. I've been making websites since 1995, blogging since 1998, and I tried to do it alone wherever I could. I wrote my own CMS, I started my own team blog that I was really proud of, I design every last pixel of my sites (a recent notable exception being those neat famfamfam silk icons that the entire internet uses because they're just so perfect), and on and on.
And it's sort of bugged me that this site wasn't my own. I find myself not writing as openly and as proudly as I used to on my own domains, which is nothing against vox, it's my own deal. For whatever reason, I've been daydreaming about bringing it in-house again.
I'll miss everything about vox except this nagging feeling that it's time for me to go.
I don't care that Obama is black, I'm just excited that the country is behind him. Seen those approval ratings?
I'm about to watch The Wrestler. Hear it's good.
I didn't spend much time on the web this weekend and it's been a great weekend. This is not a coincidence.
Spring is coming.
Guys. Guys. Can I- Guys, hang on a sec. Can I just-
Every- everyone settle down. Guys. Listen, I-
I understand-
Please, can I just say-
Guys-
Can I just say one thing? Please, settle down.
I have two things to say, if you'll let me.
1. Relax.
2. Get used to it.
3. It was the right call.
First, it's not the end of the world. Relax. Lieberman said mean things and yet still holds power in the Senate. Fine. We agree.
Second, get used to it. Obama is keeping his word and trying to be a unifying voice, and kicking Lieberman just doesn't square with how he operates. Obama is not going to be left enough for you, he's not going to be aggressive enough for you, but get used to it. He didn't get elected to be the left's version of Dick Cheney. He has a mandate to rise above this nonsense and bring people together. If the netroots wants to freak out on the far left, that's fine. But Obama is working for the middle, not the left.
Third, this is actually a great strategy, politically. But that's not why he did it. He did it because it shows strong character. A dash of "keep your enemies closer" on a base of "turn the other cheek".
Relax. Get used to it. It was the right call.
The applications in the AppStore are continuing to impress me. The apps we've all used over time are getting better. New apps are appearing constantly, and there are some pretty amazing ones coming out.
I'm still puzzled by the people who complained about the "CrapStore". Everyone knows launch titles aren't as good as things that come afterwards, and it made it worse that Apple was so secretive with their SDK for so long.
And it has to be said -- the "delicious generation" sure loves talking big and incorporating young flashy designers, but where are their solid, shipping, important apps? I haven't found them yet.
Look, everyone loves starting a new project, filling a sketchbook with ideas, prototyping out some fun new features. But anyone that's shipped software has experienced the lack of enthusiasm that comes in the long slog before actually shipping. Your project can turn from muse to burden, your cool features have been scaled back for v1, and you're struggling to stem the neverending tide of bugs.
This is the point at which a real developer puts his head down and fixes the bugs. This is the point where the "delicious generation" gives a talk about hype, twitters all day, explains why their app is going to take over the world, and then ... nothing.
The delicious generation doesn't know how to ship an app on a schedule. And when the world-changing app finally does ship, it's lickably pretty, buggy, well-hyped, and typically a failure.
So I'm happy with the quality of applications in the AppStore. Every day brings new stuff, and each release is showcasing higher quality and better ideas. Just don't look to the delicious generation to lead the charge. They're too busy marketing themselves as the saviors of software to actually roll up their sleeves and get dirty in the real work of crafting software.
Obama went to the White House and strongly encouraged Bush to act on the big 3 automakers and a stimulus package for the middle class.
Obama is heard to be keenly interested in closing Gitmo.
There are also plenty of other things that don't require legislation to pass through, like allowing stem cell research and lifting the global gag rule. SCHIP is also back, and some environmental regulations.
The right continues to tear itself apart, and Sarah Palin is interviewing more than ever.
Obama has a lot of low-hanging fruit waiting for him. I wrote a longer post, but then it got eaten, so I'll just leave this post here.
Every news story is about how he has a massive challenge waiting for him on January 20th. I'm glad this is being reported everywhere, because it's true and Obama is going to need some wiggle room. Things will get worse before they get better, and it's important people know this.
The BBC interviewed some people in a NC hair salon and everyone seemed to understand the difficulties that Obama will face. One person even pointed out that it's going to take two terms to really work things out. Interesting point.
Obama had a press conference that was remarkable only by its lack of drama. He's cool, he's businesslike, he can crack a joke or two from the podium. I like the style. I find it extremely presidential.
Iraq has already made noises that they're feeling more confident about their political process now that we have a president picked out. There seems to have been an immediate uptick in global respect, which is what many expected.
The human side of Obama is starting to come out a little more. Everyone seems very interested in the new puppy that the Obama family is about to adopt. It's not significant news in any serious way, but I think people are craving details about what our next president is like when he's not giving a speech. The dog conversation is going to fit in nicely.
The right is imploding. I'm not just saying that as a liberal cheerleader, I think it's clear fact. There's a lot of soul searching about whether the party should move further right or try to reclaim the center. There's a right answer and a wrong answer here (and I'm speaking purely strategically considering demographic trends, not from my own opinion) so we'll see what they do. All signs currently point to making the wrong decision.
The stock market was pummeled this week. Bad news continues, including signs that the auto industry may need to be bailed out.
Obama's team has already posted http://www.change.gov . That was fast. Impressive job.
Some thoughts.
Emanuel will probably be tapped to be Chief of Staff. I trust this choice, though it will be controversial.
I don't have strong opinions about the the cabinet yet.
I feel like I know Obama personally. I'm sad to call it "branding" or "marketing", but whatever it is, he made me feel like I could storm Washington and make change if I fought for it. So I did. He did. We did. And here we are. I'm positively giddy. And this skill is going to help him enact his agenda.
People are already arguing that Obama is too cautious. I don't expect a liberal administration, I expect a competent one. Caution assists competence.
I feel a little sorry for Obama, not just for the enormous burden he's taking on, but just that he's not going to be human anymore, at least not for 4 or 8 years. He's turned into an icon. He's going to the president. And I hear it's lonely.
But if you trust that he just wants to help the country he loves, which I do, he couldn't be in a better position right now. I just hope a) he survives b) he is allowed to be human.
Ok, so the black guy won. And that's huge, but I think that's been covered enough.
The one with integrity won. The one who treated us like adults, with real speeches that talked about real issues, he won. The one who built an online grassroots following won. The levelheaded, cautious one won. Nice guys don't finish last. In fact, Obama's character was part of the reason he did win. It helped that McCain completely melted down and lost his honor.
The better man won. And I'm thrilled.
If this man told me to volunteer, I would. If this man told me I needed to pay higher energy costs, I would. He's a true leader. We're lucky to have him. He is not perfect, I will not always agree with him, and there will be missteps. But I trust him to do his best. And that's worth something.
