Twitters for 2010-12-03

  • @amendlocke To give you a white–and only white–Xmas, meaning 3more weeks of snow! #
  • @flannelenigma @tyduffy what about F1 and Lingerie Football League? #
  • Qatar? Is there actually enough land to build 8-10 stadiums without vertically stacking them? #fifaisajoke #
  • @AndrewMueller Windex is an old Greek trick, good for everything #moviestereotypes #
  • Glam Platform team dinner #ftw (@ Barracuda Japanese Restaurant) http://4sq.com/dbp9M9 #
  • Listening to live version of great Simon & Garfunkle train song, America, on CalTrain home. Followup is American Pie, sweet tunage! #

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Of Fantasists and a Nation

Once upon a time there was a nation whose people struggled together for a common good. Not always in harmony, not always in the same direction, and sometimes they got drunk on the champagne of their own success and crashed back to Earth.

Over time the peaks and valleys got higher. The people of the nation were proud of their successes and held themselves up as a light to the future, against the darkness.

One time they reached up to dizzying heights, claiming to have broken through to entirely new lands but like the emperor of children’s tales this was only self-delusion and soon crashed back. Much to the amusement of those outside the glittering circle.

A few years of recovery, aided by unexpected distractions, and the fever seemed broken. It was only in remission, though, and some denizens appeared to us as driven to madness building castles in the air. Then throwing up towers even higher into the stratosphere and bulwarks and aeries atop them.

Crash! Bang! All fell down, not just the fantasists and their sycophants but the good people who labored in the fields and offices of the Real were laid low.

The architects of the dashed dreamscapes were not willing to suffer the consequences and sent forth armies of false fronts and mouthpieces to twist the minds of the masses. We are too mighty to be wrong, we are the true engineers of Right. Serve us, you must, because only then will you be secure and happy, was their message.

At first the citizens of this once brilliant land were hur and angry and skeptical. Sweep them out, bring them low; teach them we are not rugs beneath their feet!

But with relentless and persistent drumming the Architects of the Unreal sent their scree out every wire and avenue. And this time the crash had been so hard, and the people barely restored from the previous disaster that their defenses were too easily breached.

Give them whatever they want, the whisper on the streets turned into a roar on the highways. Other voices were shouted or beaten down.

And the Fantasists got the power they craved. And some of us wondered if the pain could ever end.

Twitters for 2010-12-02

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Twitters for 2010-11-28

  • I just unlocked the "Barista" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/fdpukX #
  • @Scobleizer My concern would be casting a wide enough net. For a lot, U are sufficient; for non-tech not sure my own coverage good enough. #
  • ROFL! But Chris, eet's bee-yoo-tiful! RT @chriseppstein http://beta.compass-style.org/ is all marketinged out. #
  • @johnolilly Top 4 BCS finish guarantees a BCS bowl invite #sports filter #
  • Hey @kmartino am I remembering correctly that you're a Python wiz? I can haz help with uno tricky funkshun? #
  • ZOMG Lane Kiffin is such a great coach! Or, actually not. Should be doing so much better with this talented squad #usc #

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Twitters for 2010-11-27

  • @eladmeidar What are you willing to do for $5??? #
  • Working on Dojo event app–Python is not my friend 🙂 (@ Hacker Dojo) http://4sq.com/2KHDXO #
  • Python, we haz met and I haz done a small amount of conquering #booya #
  • @erniemiller Can you wait? TBS will show A Christmas Story for 24 hours straight next month. #
  • Alice's Restaurant | This is MetaFilter at its most brilliant http://bit.ly/eJEB5V #lovethissong #

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My 2010 Thanks List

  • So many good years with my own Special One
  • Sydney Roo! for giving us nachus
  • Mom, Dad, Joanne, Larry, Jakey and all the Rentzes for all the love and generousity
  • Evan, who almost always knows the answer
  • Joel and Rodrigo, for Glam
  • Fred, Cynthia and the crew for Kachingle–still see great things for you guys!
  • Tim, Brian, Ari, Gordon, Brian and the Dojo, kept me sane for most of this year
  • My online pals, Garret, Karl, Rob, Rogers and the SpoFites
  • Charlie Stross, Peter Hamilton, David Webber and the folks at Analog for some great science fiction reading
  • Stevie G, Fernando, Pepe, Dirk and the rest of the Reds, you’ll never walk alone
  • The Rails community for software that is fun to program, easy to get into and has a gem for nearly everything

LFC after 10 games–a muscleman is needed

We’re 10 games into the Roy Hodgeson era and the calls for his head seem to be subsiding a bit after the Chelsea and West Ham wins. Paul Tomkins suggests that with the NESV takeover three possible scenarios exist:

1. Use the ownership change as a chance to clear house, but only if a serious long term successor is appointed. Someone like Frank Rijkard or Guus Hiddink, not a return of Kenny Dalgleish

2. Fire Roy but only appoint a short-term successor, such as Dalgleish, and wait for the Summer to put in a name boss.

3. Leave Roy with the understanding that he at least either qualifies for Europe or wins the FA Cup. Without a result he leaves.

For me only the first of these is reasonable and the time for a housecleaning’s about over. Any new man would need to have, say, the December run of games in charge to make decent appraisal of the changes needed in the January transfer window.

With the recent good form I don’t see John Henry pulling the trigger. Small chance if that changes at Tottenham and the game or two after.

Given that Hodgson will at least see out the season what can we do?

First, stop the lone striker 4-5-1 or the tré fashionable 4-2-3-1; Fernando Torres is much better with a second striker or even Gerrard just off him. David N’Gog is beginning to show promise but Ryan Babel sadly has had enough time and needs replacing.

If we do bring in a forward I’d prefer to see a player with power rather than speed or slick. Drogba or Bent rather than Berbatov or Anelka, for comparison.

Many of the transfer rumors I’ve read focus on midfielders. Frankly I don’t understand them, especially once Gerrard and Joe Cole return we’ll have decent depth. Don’t forget Babel was originally purchased to play up front and even if we sell him and Jovanetic both the emergence of Jay Spearing and the return of Fabio Aurellio are sufficient.

What we need is the player Andrey Voronin and Craig Bellamy were supposed to be. Physical and able to hold off defenders in ways that make space for Torres, Gerrard, Kuyt and others.

Twitters for 2010-11-18

  • @MikeG1 This is causing me unbearable sadness… Though I imagine our folks felt the same about, say, Keith Cassidy 😉 #
  • Mr Bernanke: $600B to create 700k jobs = $857k–K!–per job, that's your value for money? http://yhoo.it/cVrLHa #banksters #
  • @Fahrni I'd like to decide who gives me "love pats"–wouldn't you? /cc @SteveYears #
  • @SoccerByIves sorry Ives, no barf from this Quakes/#LFC fan, roles off the tongue for me. #
  • Just another day
    Corral a few more dollars
    Get me home to you
    #haiku #missmyTS1 #

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