Archive for 'Rants' Category

No Support For Tumblr

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Remember when I said I was going to start using Tumblr? I take it back. I screwed up while trying to configure multiple tumblogs, and deleted the only admin account. I have emailed Tumblr’s Marc LaFountain twice in the past two weeks, and I even tried to Get Satisfaction, all to no […]

China Rising, Rent-Seeking Version « The Baseline Scenario

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

China Rising, Rent-Seeking Version « The Baseline Scenario.

The sector has devoted great resources to tilting all playing fields in its direction. Consumers are taken advantage of; consumer protection is vehemently opposed. And great risks are taken, with the downside handed off to the government (and the consumers again, as taxpayers).

I hereby propose that […]

American Remakes Rant? (Let the Right One In)

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, June 30, 2009

At GeekTyrant.com, MRBLACK posted about the American remake of Let The Right One In, and he’s being a bit of an ass about it. Let The Right One In was one of the best movies of 2008, and it received as much support in the US as you can reasonably expect from a subtitled Swedish […]

Fuming at AT&T

By etrigan - Last updated: Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I’m trying to be understanding about the whole thing, but every time I look more into it, the madder I become. Sure, AT&T has to be concerned about their bottom line, but I’ve been doing the math and if my bottom line is improved by kicking them to the curb then they really need […]

Live Music Complaint From Live Music Task Force Member

By etrigan - Last updated: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Props to the Austin American Statesman for putting the audio from the 911 call that shut down Shady Grove on their website (Austin360). The audio even includes the caller giving his name. I can empathize with Mr. Trainer since the music does seem pretty loud, but when you live just across the street, […]

Death Knell of the Live Music Capital of the World

By etrigan - Last updated: Friday, June 12, 2009

Many Austinites have been stewing over sound ordinances, and it looks like things are coming to a full boil. The initial laws, in 1994, were written with a reasonable intent to keep noise pollution to a minimum. They were eventually tweaked to include specific rules about decibel levels, and recent changes went so far […]

B-Side Ripped Me Off

By etrigan - Last updated: Monday, May 18, 2009

Ok, maybe that’s putting it a little harsh. My festival scheduler may not be that original, but I did sit down with a couple guys from BSide.com a couple months ago, then today received this survey “about” Austin Film Festival which lists at least 3 of my festival scheduler ideas.

I don’t hold it against […]

The Best Vegas Has To Offer

By etrigan - Last updated: Friday, May 15, 2009

I’m gearing up for a weekend in Vegas, googling and planning, coming up with ideas. I came upon a readers poll of the 2009 Best of Vegas from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You can probably guess the punchline to this question, but you’ll be flummoxed at the follow-up.

According to the readers of the […]

Mistake in “Juno”

By etrigan - Last updated: Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I hate to be that guy — no, I don’t — but, after seeing Juno over a dozen times, I feel I must draw attention to a “glaring” set of errors in the script and hence the movie, all in one phrase. I’ve repeated this quote several times with an admitted ignorance to the […]

Google To Sell Out YouTube?

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

If you are only watching YouTube to replace your AFV addiction then it’s time to stop being a luddite. There is a wealth of user-generated content that represents either the future of entertainment, or the future generation of entertainers … depending on how YouTube evolves. With the recent announcement that YouTube will change […]

Building Ships on Earth

By etrigan - Last updated: Wednesday, April 8, 2009

There are a few science-minded folks who read on the Backporch. I would like hear your thoughts on a weighty matter that will grow very important over the coming month. Please, give me your considered opinion. Think of the physics, the economics, and the political ramifications; then let me know where you […]

OBT before 40

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, March 3, 2009

This is another cross-post from Facebook. I have to find a way to pick/choose Notes that I want to also hit this blog so that I don’t have to do this double-work.

I begin to realize that I have never completed anything big in my life, mainly due to my lack of focus — too […]

what he said

By etrigan - Last updated: Friday, December 12, 2008

Please, re-blog this.

thegurglingcod:

I never entirely bought into the idea of blog years, but I’m not sure what else explains the nostalgia I feel for the pre-Tumblr era. At the risk of sounding as if I am pining for some discursive never-never land, like I was some Frankfurt School refugee who wound up beached on a […]

Why/What I Voted Today

By etrigan - Last updated: Tuesday, November 4, 2008

No, I did not early vote and I don’t feel bad about that (particularly since I was 1 of 3 voters at my polling place.) Also, I have been vacillating on Proposition 2 and since I believe that their is a inverse correlation between the geographic size/impact of a vote and the power/performance of […]

I Miss You Already, Summer

By etrigan - Last updated: Monday, October 27, 2008

No, I don’t think this is your typical seasonal emotional downturn, remembering all those start-of-school fall sessions that indicated a significant shift in my circle of friends — originally due to the natural regrouping of cliques, then eventually due to the dispersal of close collegiate friends to schools across the nation. No, I miss […]