10 Thoughts for November 6, 2014

1. Football: I think it's weird that there are rumblings in SF about getting rid of Jim Harbaugh.  I guess memories are short, but for nearly a decade the 49ers were irrelevant, and the moment he stepped in, he boosted their fortunes by changing their attitude.  I hate the guy (as any Seahawks+Trojans fan would), but I can't argue against his ability to coach -- not after seeing what he did for Stanford and now the 49ers.  Oh those fickle fans down in the Bay Area.
2. Why?: Apparently frostbite is acceptable for the tips of your fingers, otherwise I can't figure out why there are such things as winter gloves without finger tips.
3. Alcohol: 10 Barrel Brewing out of Bend, Oregon, sold out.  They are currently renovating the Pearl District space that Mellow Mushroom abandoned, earlier this year.  It's too bad, because Portlanders love to support microbrewers, but now that 10 Barrel has sold out to a national brand, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that people will simply prefer to go across the street to Rogue Ales, or three blocks to Deschutes.
4. Politics: I had seen an excerpt of Ted Cruz speaking with CBS News, and he practically celebrated the GOP takeover as his win, benefiting Ted Cruz, all because of what Ted Cruz did.  Apparently the world of politics revolved around Ted Cruz and the rest of us were clueless.
5. Politics: Antecedent to Alison Grimes' loss, I have a suggestion when asked if you voted for an unpopular president, in a rhetorical attempt to refute your independence:  "Yes, I voted for him -- it's not like he was a Republican.  Look, he might be of the same party as me, but his office is a separate branch than the one that I'm aspiring to join, and once in office I have a different duty to Americans than the White House...you know, unlike what happened between 2001 and 2006."
6. Politics: Ezra Klein says that Obama is facing his Kobayashi Maru.  True, and to fix the game, I believe you have to deliver a message of attack that can therefore be reinforced throughout the next two years, to build anger over GOP.  In other words, the game isn't how you deal with the GOP, but the battle to reinforce a negative message on the GOP so that you win, regardless of what you do.  I suggest: GOP's war against Science and Common Sense.  It can't be that hard, considering the actions the GOP took in 1994 that led to...the reelection of Bill Clinton.
7. IKEA: Dude, IKEA Portland has $8 turkey dinners!  And in the bistro, they've got apple pie froyo!  Imma become a regular this month at IKEA, as soon as I get rid of my cough.  Once again, IKEA Portland is better than your IKEA.
8. Internet: I'm starting to get the hang of using Wix to build my website.  Way back at my previous employer -- a decade ago, now -- I'd rebuilt the company's website, by hand, in Adobe Flash.  All custom Actionscript -- that was a lot longer and harder to do.  One of these days, maybe I'll resurrect that website.  Right now, my only complaint is, OMG I've got so many words to fill in, for descriptions, etc., and the image app is a little buggy for some reason, but it works well enough.  I'm split on whether or not to pay for ad-free, right now.  We'll see.
9. Economics: I understand why Americans believe that their children will be worse off than they are, but to blame Democrats is an example of a reinforced logical fallacy.  This trend did not start under Democrats; regardless of how the economic recovery went, wage stagnation and job security were issues that predated President Obama.  It began under President Reagan when he slashed the top marginal tax rate while flipping the switch on globalized free trade.  Globalized free trade, by any economic textbook, is the most efficient means to lower prices, but it comes at a cost of structural unemployment.  Democrats and some Republicans have tried in the past to address structural unemployment by providing educational subsidies via grants, cheaper loans and tax breaks.  But Republicans have also gone to war against re-education of Americans by attempting to slash the federal grant program, and during the debt ceiling fight, were partially successful.
10. Space: Do you have Chromecast, or the ability to cast a tab and video?  NASA's running an experiment (to test camera durability), called High Definition Earth Viewing.  If you've got the free bandwidth to do so, you can cast the always-live streaming HD video from the ISS, which switches between three different cameras.  Better yet, if you have tons of free bandwidth, you might also consider streaming SOMA.FM's ... wait for it ... Space Station music channel at the same time!  It's a total trip, and you can get your geek on! :D