2. June, 2002 - dogs - freedom - customer (dis)service
- Well, the weather yesterday wasn't as bad as promised. Only got to 87, rather than hitting 90 as they'd predicted. And while 3 degrees doesn't sound like a lot, it made a big difference in how it felt. I stopped by Greyfest to see some dogs and find out about adopting an ex-racing-dog. Not sure if I'm going to actually get one or not, but it was nice to meet a bunch of new dogs and sniff some butts. The characterization of greyhounds as
40mph couch-potatoes
seemed accurate, but given the heat, I can understand most of them being pretty lazy. Heck, when I got home, I ended up taking a huge nap myself.
- U.S. Backs District Gun Law In Court. Apparently the justice department's still waffling more than a little. But Glenn had a fine quote:
Apparently Ashcroft's view of the right to arms is like the beer in a beer commercial: you can pour it, show it brilliantly illuminated, talk about how good it is -- in fact, do absolutely anything except actually drink it.
(See D.C. Handgun Ban Challenged in Court for the back-story). If the NRA were serious about protecting gun-rights, they'd be all over this. Are they? It sure doesn't look like it. Then again, neither the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, nor the Gun Owners of America seem to have picked up on it, either. [instapundit]
- A few tips on how the experts spot a terrorist: An Israeli security expert says:
The United States does not have a security system, it has a system for bothering people. The difference between the Israeli and American systems is that we are looking for the terrorist, while the Americans look for the weapons.
And yeah, airport security, even before the terrorism of last September, was mostly an exercise in harassing people. [instapundit]
- Bike culture meets cop culture in a Critical Massacre - from August, 2001. According to Brian, this month's ride went pretty well. If the MPD follow their usual three-month cycle, it'll be the ride at the end of June that will be the next time there will be headlines about them beating up bicyclists.
- I also met Jodi last night. She's the gal who's covered in the story: Customer turns owner to rescue Rendezview Video (from September 2000). Last July, the dream was over: Rendezview Video to close after repeated robberies (the date on the Daily article is wrong for some reason). She wasn't very happy about her treatment at the hands of the MPD. No real surprise there -- it's a shitty thing that happened to her.
I will never do business with Expedia again
says Cory. What took you so long?
thinks I. Cory vs. Expedia? It gets worse. (The anchors don't seem to be working right for me, so you might have to page down a bit) [boing boing]- Whose side is TiVo on? by Doc. I don't really expect TiVo to be looking out for my best interests. Then again, as David Coursey points out in TiVo: Why I hate the company--but love the product, it's a cool enough product that it's worth putting up with some of the hassles. If they ever become too much, I can always just unplug the phoneline from the TiVo and program it the hard way. But a lot of people seem to be confused by the fact that businesses are out to make money. That's the nature of most corporations. I may not like it, but I've come to accept it. I see two possible solutions. One is to not buy things from businesses who behave badly. The other would be to quit treating corporations as people. The latter is the more revolutionary idea. [doc]
Copyright 2008, Dave Polaschek.
Last updated on Sun, 02 Jun 2002 02:39:02.