So I’ve put out two “not really breaking, but sorta” breaking news e-mails in the last hour.
One is to watch, via KTVZ.COM, MSNBC’s coverage of the fascinating discussions going on at the Democratic Party Rules Committee of how to solve the Michigan and Florida primary messes.
The other I’m watching is the space shuttle Discovery astronauts suit up and later blast off for the International Space Station, courtesy of NASA-TV.
We’re really only “pass-throughs” for both networks – one we’re a part of (NBC), the other we taxpayers all pay for. It’s like our links page – sure, it’s just linking to other folks’ stuff, but the goal is for folks to say, “I don’t know how to get there – but I know where to go to get there!”
Now if only my hard drive would stop thrashing. (Darn that Norton 360 v.2 upgrade.) It does it about half the time now, and while it doesn’t slow my PC to unacceptable levels, it is a drag on the system.
That, and today’s dual space/politics live streams, remind me of a fun conversation I had with visiting brother-in-law Don last night, always a great time. I thought about some paralells between government and technology.
Both try to solve problems. Both do – some of the time. But both drive us nuts, and don’t live up to the grand dreams they espouse. Neither can save the world. Both could doom the world. Both mean well, but (and boy do I know THAT feeling.) And it’s hard not to think, in both broad categories, that the less they do, the less trouble they cause.
I’m a defender of both against the critics, but especially government, because for some reason, we believe government – a collection of fallible, imperfect human beings – should get things right all (or more) of the time, when the truth is, you multiply a person’s flaws by the hundreds or thousands involved in such enterprises, and it’s amazing they get anything of value done at ALL.
So what do you think?
Leave it to Barney 