Archive: February 2006
Tech For Geniuses and Dummies
I put myself in the "dummy" category when it comes to computer tech and Internet issues. But mostly on the strength of Brian Krebs's easy-to-read Security Fix blog, I'm taking time to stay as up-to-date as possible. My new philosophy is, "if Krebs says to do it, do it." His readers don't always agree, and comments can shed light on tech security issues, most recently the pros and cons of using a browser add-on designed to make searching safer. Steve doubts that free software add-ons really help abate the dangers to computer systems that Web surfing can entail. He sees the problem as a man power issue instead. "...the reality is that there is a greater demand for software engineers than there are people with the right aptitude to fill those vacancies. It is little wonder there are so many software problems."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 28, 2006; 3:09 PM ET | Comments (3)
Lampooning the Ex-Prez
Joel Achenbach takes aim at mild-mannered Jimmy Carter, offering a litany of Carter's Renaissance man pasttimes and capping it with the zinger that, "...That sound in your basement: It's Jimmy Carter fixing your plumbing!" Funny stuff, as usual. So with Achenbach's nearly flawless writing, does that mean we get to start making fun of him, too? Jes' kidding, Joel. Anyway, his readers pile on. "Unfortunately, Carter was as much of an obsessive multi-tasker when he was in office as he is now," writes RD Padouk. "He would launch so many dizzyingly complex initiatives that he was unable to effectively implement any of them. After four years of this, the country became so confused and disoriented that they ended up electing Reagan."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 27, 2006; 2:45 PM ET | Comments (1)
More Port Fallout
I try to mix it up in here from day to day, but frankly the port uproar is too hot to ignore. Whether the issue is the disclosure that President Bush was out of the loop in the decision making process or how foreign investment issues interface with the port fracas to raise fresh trade concerns, washingtonpost.com readers debate the implications in our forums, in Emily Messner's The Debate blog and in Dana Priest's Live Online show on National Security, among other post.com venues. Here's a smattering of takes. From Priest's queue, Peaks Island, Maine asks, "What exactly are the port vulnerabilities exacerbated by foreign ownership?" to which Dana Priest gave an equally compelling answer. She writes, "...the argument is that Dubai Ports World, the owner, would be able to relocate hundreds of employees to the United States to work on the port. Top managers sympathetic to Al Qaeda could...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 23, 2006; 6:29 PM ET | Email a Comment
Port Deal Debated
This morning's Post article on President Bush's threat to veto any attempts to ban a deal the administration struck allowing a company from the United Arab Emirates to manage several U.S. ports brought swift response from post.com readers. "Are we so incompetant as a nation that we can't manage our own infrastructure anymore?" asks Pmarvel. Ettadems smells corporate collusion, alleging that the deal reeks of payback, though she thinks the media wont make an effort to suss out the cat's cradle of business relationships that she thinks are so obvious in this case....
By Lindsay Howerton | February 22, 2006; 1:03 PM ET | Comments (1)
Traffic Woes
A report last week on the Washington metropolitan area's almost constant gridlock has readers sharing gripes and woes, frustrations and...the occasional ray of hope. cktirumalai writes, "...Could be a blessing in disguise if people switch to public transport in larger numbers, though it would be better if we did so freely." There's no reason to fund studies on D.C. traffic, complains Bendix10, adding, "...It is quite obvious to anyone who has to drive that it is a mess."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 21, 2006; 1:20 PM ET | Comments (1)
Shooting Match
Aw, the poor Veep. Imagine being in his shoes right now. But there's little sympathy from post.com readers over Dick Cheney's hunting, er, mishap. On a personal note the whole thing has made me contemplate a career change. Turns out I want to be a comedy writer. Has there ever been a more fertile comedic moment? Well, not from Mr. Whittington's perspective perhaps, but you gotta admit...anyway fans, here's the readers' takes. Talk about the ultimate in unsympathetic and insensitive, Corvette1975 writes, "I just think it's a shame that Cheney was the shooter and not the shootee...."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 15, 2006; 2:00 PM ET | Email a Comment
Cartoon Controvery Comments
Since my last report on reader responses to the Danish cartoon controvery discussions have mushroomed across washingtonpost.com. Here's a small, small sampling of what's been written. Commenting on a Post columnist Eugene Robinson's "Prophetic Provocation," Maddog unabashedly relishes the power of editorial cartooning. "The Prophet cartoon of the turban bomb was hillarious. Just like the one I saw of Jesus Christ driving an Abrams tank firing the cannon at Iraqi civilians. It was called 'The Sermon from the Tank.'" But mhr5 rips apart Robinson's column, attacking it over seeming contradictions and for Robinson's advice on how to abate tensions. Mhr5 says, "These are ignorant and uneducated people overcome by a fanaticism which Robinson and his soft-headed liberal friends would excoriate if done by Christians. Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his nineteen suicide bombers who showed us their love for multiculturalism on September 11, 2001. ...We all know what their jihad meant...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 9, 2006; 1:00 PM ET | Comments (67)
This Brand is Your Brand
Whenever I'm feeling down, I take great comfort in turning to Achenblog for just the kind of laughs that, like Coca-Cola, add life. Such was the Excedrin strength of his blog titled Super Bowl Ad Nauseum. Read it, weep, reach for the Kleenex, then read the readers takes. BC has seen it all before. "If you've ever heard a Washington NFL Franchise radio broadcast, it's not too far from this (Rough Draft) in terms of sponsor plugs. When you've got sponsors for individual plays, you're really maximizing the revenue stream...Hmm, won't those Washington NFL radio broadcasts be on the WaPo radio network?" Hey, that's cheeky!...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 7, 2006; 2:06 PM ET | Email a Comment
More Dreamland, Ma
In response to concerned parents, Fairfax County is among several localities nationwide looking at shifting high school opening hours a bit later after some studies showed that teens need more sleep in the morning hours to function most effectively. Here's what washingtonpost.com readers had to say about the idea. "I have to sympathize with the students on this one," writes LL314, adding, " 7:30 is too early."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 6, 2006; 1:36 PM ET | Comments (1)
Sparks Fly Over Danish Cartoon
World Opinion Roundup blogger Jefferson Morley's report on the controvery over a Danish cartoon spawned plenty of responses from readers. The complex issue has been viewed by many in the Muslim world as an insulting swipe at Islam. An apology from the Danish newspaper publishing the cartoon has done little to quell the mood. Karim writes, "To claim that Mohammed with a bomb (and lit fuse) shaped face is not an insult is an insult to our intelligence. I, however, think that the reaction was overblown. Boycotting Danish products over the incident seems misplaced and unfair to me."...
By Lindsay Howerton | February 2, 2006; 2:06 PM ET | Comments (12)
