TurboFool - Latest Comments

Re: Free Willy–wait, that’s not right…

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:44:27 -0000

Happy to, Luke. Thanks for the great piece and your other work which I'm looking through now.

Re: Free Willy–wait, that’s not right…

Luke — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:28:10 -0000

Hi,
This image is originally from my online comic: http://www.lukesurl.com/archiv... . I would be grateful if you could include a link back to the source with this post.
Cheers,
Luke

Re: Walking a fine line with Apple fans this week

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:19:13 -0000

Your background is valid and accurate, Wendy, and it IS a lot of the history. My point is merely that Windows began to focus on picking up that slack and has succeeded, overall, just in different ways.

And as a side note, my Mac-only clients see me and need me just as often as my PC-only clients. When you troubleshoot the machines regularly you notice pretty much all the same problems, just in slightly different ways. Where it gets interesting is which ones are easy on one OS and frustratingly difficult to solve on the other. And that goes in both directions.

Re: Walking a fine line with Apple fans this week

Wendy H — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:04:18 -0000

Here goes: How I became a mac user. Before the mid 1980s (were you even born yet then?) everyone I saw using computers had to know code. The IBM style room-size computer that was being used to record memberships at the nonprofit where I worked was new and groovy, and it was considered an exclusive and fancy privilege for the company to pay for training for the staff person who was going to operate it. (It wasn't me.)
Some of the other people on the staff who had been training on other IBM style PCs would talk to me about how to "back out" of an application, or using the escape key any time they made a mistake. It all seemed so esoteric and slightly over my head. That was the environment of PCs at the time. I also knew about the entire floor of the department store where my husband worked on computer hardware, and my brother was a burster; the store paid for programmer training for my brother, and he's still a systems analyst. He told me about flow charts.
But - when my cousin and another friend bought the little 1984 original Macintosh, and my cousin showed me how to use the mouse to draw pictures on the quick draw program -- and I didn't need to know any of that colon backslash code language to do it -- I was in love.
I went to work for a desktop publishing company, because I could type fast and accurately. Because of the Apple Macintosh, I could use a computer. It allowed ordinary people, not just the self confident elite who had either the money or luck to get training in code and other skills to become programmers, to use email, to work in then-blossoming fields such as desktop publishing, and later to use powerful publishing and art programs that would have been very inaccessible if every user had to learn the basics first, instead of a few keyboard commands and the relationship between the mouse and the cursor.
I had almost forgotten about the little 3 inch floppy disks. We had to use one application at a time. I entered text in MS Word - and the owner would do page layout in Adobe Pagemaker. Eventually he taught me how to do basic page layout; at that time we were still sending out for repro and doing a lot of paste up by hand -- now I think all of that is done with software.
I owe Apple a lot. I don't think I ever would have bothered to learn COBOL or even html - nor anything in between -- and I can't imagine my life now without email or the internet. Sure, you had to teach me Twitter, and I still am kind of a Luddite about some issues, but I don't have to be a mechanic to drive a car. And I think that's what Apple did differently early on that made it the darling of the generation that didn't grow up with computers, but who wanted to use them; Apple gave us the chance to do it effortlessly.
I've used some PCs (I agree, the mac is a Personal Computer, too) -- at work, and Windows makes it "almost like a mac," but what I noticed is that they seemed to need the repairman almost weekly. Maybe it was the users, I'll never know. I have the same sensation of "coming home" familiarity with my own laptop; I appreciate your perspective, and I do not look down on anyone for the computer they use. I look down on certain people for other reasons, usually because I'm taller :-)

Re: Walking a fine line with Apple fans this week

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:22:10 -0000

That's fair, and you were one of the Mac users who never bothered me. The moment I saw you running Chrome on your Mac I knew I had no beef with you. There are plenty of fair and reasonable reasons to like Macs, and I concede many of them. During the time I have spent with Macs I frequently find features or design elements here or there that I really appreciate, and wish were handled that well on Windows. I have no problem seeing why some people prefer them.

But while I agree that that bias WAS there against you guys, and I can't argue against your experience that it's still there, in the world I live, it seems to be the Mac users that have taken over in looking down upon the rest of us. They're the educated elite, and we're the unwashed masses who need to open our eyes, stop being "sheeple" and convert. Macs are now cool, the marketing that they're "simply better" is just accepted, and the belief is rampant that everyone else just needs to catch up. But I assume the physical culture one's in heavily influences this, too.

Re: Walking a fine line with Apple fans this week

ashley — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:45:40 -0000

I agree mostly. But you have to remember these are people who've had to justify their use of macs for years when it wasn't cool, when most of the world thought macs were lame. The bias may not be as strong now, but even now I have to deal with my dad just not understanding why anyone would own one of those goofy liberal hippie machines. Hell, I dont like being accused of fanboying (not by you) because I like my computer and it was the best tool for the job. I don't like how much software I can't use because companies still refuse to make mac versions. I don't like how I'm automatically branded as not tech savvy or told of course I like macs, I'm a girl. Or that appreciating the design makes me stupid or a hipster. And yes a lot of this from people who would never even try a mac. There are plenty of Apple haters out there, because people will find any reason to make it us versus them.

Re: Why I Don’t Call Myself Agnostic

Anna Bishop — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:05:23 -0000

Great article! I think it's fair, and very logical. With one very small, but important flaw... there IS A falsifiable detail in the story of the tackliot. There are not billions of people testifying to feeling his presence in their lives, every single day,

Now this is not evidence if its existence, granted, but to those are feeling the "presence" no other evidence is needed. And there are fabulous scientific contributions to the explanation of what exactly people are feeling that they describe as "God." There's right temporal lobe disorder, stimulation of areas of the brain that mimic the "Third Man Factor" (a book with the same name describes this phenomenon at length), there are drugs that bring on mystical experiences, i.e., visions, etc... so yes, science can bring doubt because there are explanations to the physical sensations that pass for "God's presence."

Where it gets weird though, and again, this is not proof to a non-believer, (in fact, some believers don't even believe these things - see Cathechism of the Catholic Church) is when these phenomena occur with no prodding, no prior religiousity in the subject, no religious knowledge, no desire for them, no drugs, no disorders, no stress, no death (for the sake of near death experience arguments), etc.

The spontaneity of mystical/religious experiences and the information that comes with them (see gnosis) is what keeps belief going. Why? Because the experience is so incredibly overwhelming, and it deals with something so completely *other* and powerful that it can't be ignored or denied.

Documentation of these experiences exists from time immemorial, but if someone has never experienced it, it is just ignored or written off as a hallucination and left at that. Where what *should* be happening, is study of the phenomenon. Thankfully, there are scientists finally on this bandwagon (see Neurotheology).

If there were millions of people (and there really are this many having sensations and visions of what they claim to be God) every year actually *seeing* or feeling the presence of the tackliot, well, you can imagine the difficulty in excising it from the population.

The experience/perception/sensation of "God" is self-reinforcing. It is more pleasurable than any man-made drug, idea, sexual experience, anything. Logic cannot *even begin* to compare to the feeling of it. And yet there are people that pause to find scientific explanations for it. Keep in mind though, that being and staying skeptical in the face of such an experience is *not* proof that God goes *not* exist...there is free will...or so the story goes. Absence of proof, is not proof of absence.

But it is absolutely reasonable, and understandable, that those that have never felt a single sensation argue against a "God," or tackliot.

As an aside, my speech of "God" here, does not refer to any particular god. It speaks of a God that may have a completely different make-up and purpose (if any at all) than purported via the Bible, or any other holy book. Individual facts within the Bible or Qur'an are verifiable, and able to be scientifically disproven, once that occurs they should be discarded.

But the instinct to believe in something greater than ourselves is never going to go away so long as people get random firings of neurons that reinforce a supernatural presence. Most people just aren't strong enough to resist it.

Re: Why I hate Android

Mangraa — Thu, 12 May 2011 04:16:22 -0000

... Hmm... Personally, I love the Android OS, but I'm not one who really cares that much about audio/video on it (mainly I don't care about video; audio I use in spades). So yes, I agree that improvements probably could be made in that area, I guess. I'm not the one to ask though, since I don't really use anything but one audio source at a time for the most part. I detest "voice assisted" GPS, and that's about the only conflict I can think of that I've ever experienced.
Which is odd, because I don't believe I have the same issues that you do. My music files and BeyondPod playbacks all _pause_ on things like incoming calls, and my GPS talks over the currently playing media; it doesn't interrupt it at all. Same with notifications- they play over the media file, they don't interrupt it. 2.2/2.3, both stock (rooted) and Cyanogen 7 (which I'm avoiding talking about exclusively since it isn't stock, but I don't really see why anyone WOULDN'T run Cyanogen)

I hate the iPhone for a lot of reasons, mainly that its popularity only validates my observation that people are retarded and buy whatever is trendy over whatever is functionally better. But another reason is that the iPhone is the smart phone for everyone, especially dumb people. And kids. the iPhone was built like a toy, and while it does games well and all that stuff, I don't care about that. I want my phone to actually _do_ stuff I want it to do that it _can_ do...which is to say, I care about actual apps and productivity and internet-based non-entertainment applications. And especially now, Android-based hardware has almost caught up with the iPhone in terms of gaming and stuff. If I wanted to do all that gaming and video stuff I could, but it's nice having the option, as opposed to the iPhone's North Korean-like restrictions on everything.

The bluetooth issue, however, IS one of my biggest gripes as well. It's something which is so annoying and affects SO many people, it's not like they missed it. There's ways to sort of work around it, but that shouldn't be necessary.

I'm still perplexed by what seems to be a constant occurrence of interrupted audio with your phone, though. I rarely get that, but it seems like it's plaguing your device for some reason. Quite odd, but I don't know what else one might have going at the same time beyond 1 media file, intermittent GPS speech (which is fucking irritating so mute the shit) and intermittent notification sounds (again, most of mine are off, since I can just look at the screen and do so often).

Re: Mr. Deity and the Matter

Ian — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:21:05 -0000

Great performance, as always. Nice to finally have you back on!

Re: Creativity, distraction, and impatience

Adrienne — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:39:51 -0000

In a way you are in fact dodging something that is admittedly excruciating at times. I've tried it a few times and ultimately resigned myself to analyzing and speculating on creative things rather than trying to take part in the creation itself.

The way I see it, you can write your own melody or improvise on one that already exists. Either way you're contributing something unique and valuable.

Besides, someone has to provide commentary on said creativity, n'est-ce pas?

Re: How open is your mind?

tbrown92030 — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:47:59 -0000

Some very good points.

I would liken the individual that is always willing to keep opening the box to one that never learns. The process of "closing one's mind" to the increasingly improbable is, perhaps, nothing more than the process of learning.

For those "fully open minded" people being really close minded; it's so true. The specific thing they are close minded about is that it is possible to prune back the forest of possibilities as information becomes available. That is, not all things are equally probable and the refusal to see that is simply being close minded about that.

It is frustrating to debate with these people as they insist they are the ones with open minds and that we are the ones that need to "think outside the box" in order to see the "higher truth!"

Re: Dishonest, ignorant, or does it matter?

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:42:29 -0000

Fascinating. Would you like to expand upon that thought-provoking comment, possibly with a reason for your viewpoint, or merely let it stand in its current vacuous form?

Re: Dishonest, ignorant, or does it matter?

whatever — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:39:17 -0000

wow you are really an idiot.

Re: Regen Traynor Paranormal Challenge – Results

karen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:29:53 -0000

thanks for a fun play by play of the day. good writing! i had to miss it, and you helped me "be there".
regards,
karen, wife of brian hart, the webcaster of the event.

Re: Regen Traynor Paranormal Challenge – Results

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:29:27 -0000

Thanks for commenting and your interest. I also spent quite some time envious of the people who got to work with these groups. Honestly, I had no realization that some of these people were mere miles from me, doing the very work I read about and listened to on podcasts and watched on television. As well, I felt the typical trepidation many people feel about getting involved in something new with established players. The actual people in the group immediately shattered any concerns I had about this. It truly is a deeply welcoming crowd.

As for your involvement, I did a cursory Google search and saw an Arizona Skeptics group on Facebook, as well as some others. It might be worth your time to seek them out and take the plunge. The reality of this field is that every individual member is important regardless of where they are or who they're working with. The IIG was quite diverse, and made up of people I would never have assumed were skeptics, or never assumed were the type to get up and make a difference. And yet they were intricately involved in doing just that. So find a way if you can. You'll feel darn good about it in the end, I assure you.

Re: Regen Traynor Paranormal Challenge – Results

Maria — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:32:18 -0000

Thanks for this summary. I missed the live video feed, but I guess I didn't miss much of interest. I'll likely follow the link you provided to check out a few minutes of the drunk telepaths show.

I also enjoyed your discussion of the IIG and the Skeptic "celebs." It's great to have an insider's view! I'm envious of your involvement and wish you the best of luck assisting the group in the future.

Thanks again for sharing this.

Re: Mr. Deity and… me!

EthicalVegan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:47:56 -0000

From your actual earth mother...

No WONDER you never call!!!!!

DAMN proud... damn, damn proud. Praise ----- !?

Re: My winning email on 1 vs 100 on Xbox Live

vw — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:01:59 -0000

congrats good story! sorry bout being laid off though

Re: My Internet Reel – The Later Years

Mr. Deity — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:43:28 -0000

Dude,
You Rock!

Re: Mr. Deity returns!

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:52:22 -0000

Actually, I'm no longer there. My full-time day job bought me out of the that one not too long after we met, so my weekends are no longer tied to roaming the aisles of a mega-retail store, hocking my wares on unsuspecting victims. Thankfully my work no longer has me commuting to LA every day, so I get to stay local. If you're still in the area, perhaps we could meet for lunch one day. Email me at turbofool{@}turbofool.com if you have any free time available.

btw, was that your legitimate Twitter account I located today?

Re: Mr. Deity returns!

Mr. Deity — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:43:45 -0000

Thanks for the post! Do you still work at Best Buy? Amy and I were hoping to run into you. B

Re: Sharing a moment of tolerance

Nullsession — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:32:40 -0000

Good article. I've found the same thing. Even when I wore my "no angels no demons" t-shirt a couple places on the way to a movie, everyone was very nice and polite. (I'm not sure if it's because they were afraid of my t-shirt, thought it was somehow related to the Tom Hanks movie, or because the t-shirt was pink and they thought I was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Seriously, the color looked more pastel online when I ordered it!)

I suppose I try to set an example and be a bit "out" about my atheism. To me, learning, science and skepticism rank higher than talking about religion or trolling for arguments on Twitter. ;-)

Re: Something doesn’t sound right

Jarrett Lennon Kaufman — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:45:30 -0000

It reminds me of the "that's just how I was raised" argument, like that recent beauty pageant runner-up. It's another excuse, and people seem to let one another off the hook over it. Racism, bigotry, absurd religious beliefs. "That's what I was raised to believe." Oh, okay, well as long as you were raised that way, you're off the hook.

We're not robots. We're not pre-programmed. We are what we are from experiences and learning. And we can continue to experience and learn and change and improve. We can reject bullshit and move past it. I was raised certain ways, with certain concepts in place in my world, and as I grew up I began to recognize which ones didn't make sense and move past them. Everyone's capable of this. But some people are too damn lazy to try. And that's what I see when I see people talking about tradition and their upbringing as excuses. Laziness.

Re: Something doesn’t sound right

Yvette — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:41:28 -0000

I agree 100%, that's about all that can be said. The tradition excuse has been the most harmful threat against civil rights.

Re: In Santa Clarita We No Longer Trust

Nullsession — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:39:18 -0000

I am pretty shocked. My stereotype of California is shattered. It's like we live in some upside down world where Iowa has gay marriage and California has been invaded by morality police.

In reality, I think it could be two things. First, it could be people afraid that their "way of life" is threatened. We've seen that with the "OMG teh Mexicans R coming!" before. People want to maintain the status quo, no matter how illogical and unrealistic that may be. Since they can't DO much to make people "be like them and think like them" - they do what they have the power to do, pass silly laws that add their superhero to the city shield/logo/slogan/song.

Second, it could be that they think, now stick with me, that money is "trusted" because it says "In God We Trust" on it, and they are trying to market the city as wholesome and trustworthy.

But, whether they mean it or not, it's just another form of discrimination that I hope we eventually overcome!

Nice post!