Office of the Vice President fun

So, I've been watching this unfold for the past couple of days... an Executive Order exists that states that all entities within the Executive Branch of government must submit to inspections covering what classified material they're keeping, and how they're safeguarding that information. Generally speaking, sounds like a good idea, right?

Well, Mr. Cheney has decided that, since the Vice President also acts as President of the Senate, his office isn't part of the Executive Branch. Now, as my recollection of governmental life goes, belonging to more than one group doesn't mean that you get to ignore the rules of either... rather, you have to do your best to meet the strictures of both, incompatible and sometimes contradictory though they may be. Since the entities involved are all Executive Branch-controlled, however, I couldn't see what anybody could or would do about it.

Until now... this is a thing of beauty, or as close as ever happens in a bureaucratic government like ours. Since the argument being pressed is that the office of the Vice President isn't part of the Executive Branch, it has no business being funded as part of the Executive Branch... and moves are underway to cut that funding. Story's here, for any as care to look... I can only hope some change actually comes from this, one way or the other.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars

If you've never been exposed to either of the items listed in the title, well... you should really hunt them down. If you have, however, here's a combo shot for ya...

And now, the flip side...

Cooler heads, legal advice, whatever... Dave's posted a mea culpa. Worthy of mention in and of itself, but... now I get an education in one downside of third-party hosting of blogs & forums. In the span of roughly 7 hours from my last post, somebody or somebodies made 3 comments on it... which have all since been deleted. I know, if I were the one building/hosting this blog, that I would at least want to know who left comments, even if they thought better of it afterwards... but that's not the design choice this company made. It's a maddening little itch that I can do nothing to scratch.

Oh well, water under the bridge, not my problem originally anyways, etc., etc... and see what breaking your lurking cover gets you? Nothing but trouble... :)

Whoops... just found a means to find out the who, on the comments, without too much hassle. Ahh... much better, that itch getting scratched... :)

Lurking is your Friend

Funny thing about the Internet... it gives people the capacity, but not necessarily the ability, to act as a better, idealized version of themselves in "real life". Similarly, companies can put forth, with minimal effort, a professional persona that highlights their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses... that is, up to the point where they decide to run their own blogs and/or forums.

Case in point, that old navy buddy of mine I mentioned last post (his name's Dave, by the way)... he loves a decades-old tabletop strategy game called Star Fleet Battles, or SFB for short. Apparently, he had a question about handling all the assorted paper bits such a game entails in the modern-day electronic world, and posted it on the company's forums. One thing leads to another, and now he's of the mindset to never deal with the game or the company ever again... because of the behavior of one of the designers of the game on the thread he started.

Now, in all honesty, I didn't see the drama unfold. I liked SFB well enough back in the 80s and 90s, but it's a time-consuming game in a fast-paced world. As such, I don't monitor their message boards or any such. But, on the one hand, I have Dave, who has his weaknesses, but vindictiveness and bile generally aren't among them... and on the other hand, there's the designer in question, who deleted posts and threads, rather than simply locking them out like many companies would (Blizzard Entertainment, of World of Warcraft fame, comes to mind), and looks to have pursued the fight to the comments area of Dave's blog (I can't swear to that, but the posts certainly have that flavor to them). Based on that, I'm quite likely to take Dave's point of view of the events as they occurred, because he's not acting like a nutcase with things to hide.

Lessons to be learned from this: If your company has the need to deal with a forum to please its consumer base, get some professionals to manage it for you. Better on top of that would be to have a third party run the actual forum for you, so you are neither tempted to do irrational things in a fit of pique nor capable of being credibly blamed of doing just so when you haven't.

As for me, I'll do like I always do... if I'm on any message boards, I'll ask the other users for answers if I need them, otherwise I'll lurk in the shadows and watch the flamefests unfold from there.

Feast or Famine

Right now, an old Navy buddy of mine is beating himself up for verbally exploding on his family after a confluence of aggravations. I understand, in a way... he's a passionate sort to begin with, and the sharpest needles are those held by those that know you best. It gives me pause, though, because that's a big part of what's kept me from pursuing intimacy with most people... while the good times and laughs are worthwhile, the worries and annoyances and conflicts often outweigh the positives. I've become content with a more 'neutral' lifestyle, and find dealing with most people actually drains me these days... luckily, I do still have a few connections that get me out of the house every so often, otherwise I'd be downright hermitile, instead of merely reclusive.

Feast or famine, an excess of passion or a dearth... this definitely has the look of one of those "golden mean" things... guess I'll just have to take a look, see if I can find a path even further from the tepid comfort of numbness I embraced, then escaped, so long ago.

Movie o' the day: Shrek the Third

Right, first the ultra-quick overview: it's mildly entertaining, but nowhere near the level of funny of the first two. Matinee, Garland, or Netflix fare.

That said... it's not a bad film, it's just not great. In broad strokes, the story: Prince Charming has sunk to the level of doing dinner theater, and lays all the blame at Shrek's feet. The frog king croaks, and, to keep from having to take over the job of king himself, Shrek sets out with sidekicks to get the one other person in line for the job (funny how it's Shrek calling the shots, not Fiona... you know, the heir and all). Literally while the boat is pulling away from the docks, Fiona lets drop that she's pregnant, leaving Shrek to wrestle with his perceived inadequacies. While Shrek's away, Prince Charming stages a coup with the help of all the other villains... he captures Fiona and the other ladies, and thereby is able to capture Shrek when he returns. Shrek is set up for execution in a grand play put on by the Prince based on his old dinner-theater schtick, but the ladies and sidekicks have escaped, meaning to put an end to the madness... but are tripped up by the villains. Enter the new king to put forth a "We're our own worst enemies/can't we all just get along?" soliloquy, everybody gives up except the prince, who's taken out by his own props.

So, a formulaic script, and damn few "good" gags (although I have to admit, Snow White summoning the woodland creatures with her singing, then unleashing them on the enemy was decent). Still, it did get a few chuckles out of me, which is all you can hope for out of most summer movies.