{"id":16435,"date":"2009-12-16T17:01:46","date_gmt":"2009-12-17T00:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/12\/16\/unblogged-bits-for-wednesday-16-december-2009.html"},"modified":"2009-12-16T17:01:46","modified_gmt":"2009-12-17T00:01:46","slug":"unblogged-bits-for-wednesday-16-december-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/12\/16\/unblogged-bits-for-wednesday-16-december-2009.html","title":{"rendered":"Unblogged Bits for Wednesday, 16 December 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries &#8230;. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.penny-arcade.com\/2009\/12\/16\/selective-reading\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:%20pa-mainsite%20(Penny%20Arcade)\">Penny Arcade &#8211; A Selective Reading<\/a> &#8211; Libraries would never be allowed to be created now.  At the time, they were first private collections; the idea of a lending library where anyone could come and read and borrow books was fine with authors and publishers in an era when popular ownership of books (besides a Bible) was a rare thing, and so libraries represented much of the book-selling market.  But today, with digital copies easy to make, the idea of being able to temporarily lend the copy of the book that you (ostensibly) bought to someone else to read is considered a demand for piracy and a desire to see publishers (and, as an afterthought, authors) reduced to penury.  We may think that the model of material world books is the model that should extend into virtual books; publishers most definitely do not.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.au.org\/2009\/12\/16\/faithbased-victory-florida-court-greenlights-case-challenging-religion-subsidies\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AUblog+%28The+Wall+of+Separation%29\">Faith-Based Victory: Florida Court Greenlights Case Challenging Religion Subsidies | The Wall of Separation<\/a> &#8211; Please don&#8217;t use my tax dollars to fund your religious instruction.  Thanks.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/2009\/12\/16\/sanders-coburn-obstruction\/\">Republicans Obstruct Health Care Debate By Demanding 2.5 Hour Reading Of  Sanders\u2019 Single-Payer Amendment<\/a> &#8211; And they&#8217;re proud of it.  Bastards.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/TPMmuckraker\/~3\/6vXNynmGIeI\/pure_intimidation_arpaio_deputies_question_judges.php\">&#8216;Pure Intimidation&#8217;: Arpaio Deputies Question Judges&#8217; Assistants In Their Homes<\/a> &#8211; Ah, nothing like your own little Arizona fiefdom &#8230;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/reason\/HitandRun\/~3\/jFDZQ6q19to\/have-you-committed-your-three\">Have You Committed Your Three Felonies Today?: Jacob Sullum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.mediamatters.org\/~r\/MediaMattersForAmerica-CountyFair\/~3\/iEbCoJ-MKCE\/200912160016\">Eric Boehlert: Wow, did ABC News actually try to put Obama&#8217;s approval  numbers in historical context?<\/a> &#8211; Our liberal media at work &#8230;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/TPMmuckraker\/~3\/dT61NE7cYrE\/creepy_az_gop_chief_charged_with_stalking.php\">&#8216;Creepy&#8217; AZ GOP Chief Charged With Stalking: Zachary Roth<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/2009\/12\/16\/bernanke-time-main\/\">Time\u2019s Person of the Year seen as putting Wall Street before Main Street.<\/a> &#8211; One must always note that &#8220;PotY&#8221; isn&#8217;t about virtue, wisdom, or popularity.  It&#8217;s about (or is supposed to be about) being the most influential &#8220;newsmaker.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/engineeringandcareering.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/how-to-measure-quality-of-code.html\">Dan Abel: how to measure the quality of code<\/a> &#8211; Ha!<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/OfficialGmailBlog\/~3\/-dV9G4lg9HM\/one-button-to-merge-all-duplicate.html\">One button to merge all duplicate contacts<\/a> &#8211; Tried this out yesterday.  Works pretty well.  Duplicate contacts are the bane of electronic address books.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/obsidianwings.blogs.com\/obsidian_wings\/2009\/12\/the-argument-for-manned-nuclear-bombers.html\">The Argument for Manned Nuclear Bombers<\/a> &#8211; I don&#8217;t think we probably need all the manned bombers we have, but we certainly need some in the nuclear arena.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/neurotopia\/2009\/12\/homeopathy_the_basics.php?utm_source=combinedfeed&amp;utm_medium=rss\">Homeopathy: the basics : Neurotopia<\/a> &#8211; Homeopathy is bunkum.  That is, as a faith healing exercise, it&#8217;s as fine as any other.  As science and medicine, it&#8217;s bulllshit.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/2009\/12\/16\/hooters-health-care\/\">Chamber of Commerce using Hooters gift certificates to fight health care reform.: Alex Seitz-Wald<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/2009\/12\/16\/lieberman-wont-rule-out\/\">Lieberman says he won\u2019t rule out running as a Republican in 2012.<\/a> &#8211; Would <b>someone<\/b> please kick this jerk&#8217;s butt out of the Democratic caucus?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/TPMmuckraker\/~3\/GleNArNfVTU\/jailed_ex-state_rep_ted_alvin_klaudt_threatens_new.php\">Jailed Ex-State Rep Tries To Copyright Own Name, Wants $500K Per Use<\/a> &#8211; A perv <b>and<\/b> a crook!  And &#8230; Republican.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/TPMmuckraker\/~3\/6176I9dYZ1M\/chamber_of_commerce_campaign_fight_health-care_ref.php\">Chamber of Commerce Campaign: Fight Health-Care Reform &#8212; And Win A Trip To Hooters!: Zachary Roth<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rightwingwatch.org\/content\/next-raymond-raines\">The Next Raymond Raines?<\/a> &#8211; &#8220;Help! Help! I&#8217;m being oppressed!&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rightwingwatch.org\/content\/religious-right-threatens-cpac-boycott-over-gay-groups-sponsorship\">Religious Right Threatens CPAC Boycott Over Gay Group&#8217;s Sponsorship<\/a> &#8211; And the Right continues its Purity Crusade &#8212; and demonstrates that religious orthodoxy trumps economic orthodoxy.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.abcnews.com\/politicalpunch\/2009\/12\/white-house-says-comments-from-gop-leader-boehner-are-crazy.html\">White House Says Comments from GOP Leader Boehner Are Crazy &#8211; Political Punch<\/a> &#8211; I wouldn&#8217;t call them crazy.  I would call them manipulative, fear-mongering, and contrary to American interests.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.toplessrobot.com\/2009\/12\/the_10_worst_90s_comic_character_revamps.php\">The 10 Worst &#8217;90s Comic Character Revamps<\/a> &#8211; Yup.  These were all pretty uniformly awful &#8212; and awful in their grunge \/ jacket \/ shoulder-pad \/ stubble \/ ponytail \/ straps-and-pockets glory.  Seeing them gathered here together reminds me of just how desperate Marvel and DC were to keep up with Image, and how lame their attempts were (esp. given Image&#8217;s eventual creative implosion).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries &#8230;. Penny Arcade &#8211; A Selective Reading &#8211; Libraries would never be allowed to be created now. At the time, they were first private collections; the idea of a lending library where anyone could come and read and borrow books &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/12\/16\/unblogged-bits-for-wednesday-16-december-2009.html\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Unblogged Bits for Wednesday, 16 December 2009&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-potpourri"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":160293,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2023\/12\/25\/111644721497722146.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":0},"title":"Florida&#8217;s school book bans go beyond sex, gender, and race","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 25-Dec-23 5:41pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida's race to get rid of Evil Sex Books has swept up a number of Jewish authors","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~Toots&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~Toots","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/toot"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27957,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/21\/book-pricing-models-and-price-fixing.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":1},"title":"Book pricing models and price fixing","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 21-May-12 3:26pm","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting breakdown of the different book\/ebook pricing models and what they mean for writers, readers, and publishers. Embedded Link Pricing Books and Ebooks | The Passive Voice From Joe Konrath: Some authors still seem to be confused about Agency pricing, what it means, and how does it compare to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38548,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/08\/22\/book-series-that-live-too-long.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":2},"title":"Book series that live too long","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 22-Aug-13 9:49pm","format":false,"excerpt":"What SF\/Fantasy book series were carried by their authors (or authors' partners \/ heirs \/ publishers) far longer than artistic merit, creativity, or human decency should have allowed?There are some obvious answers: Herbert & Son's Dune, Hamilton's\u00a0_Anita Blake_ books. \u00a0Some arguable cases: Butcher's\u00a0_Dresden Files,_ Weber's Honor Harrington books, or perhaps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6565,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/08\/18\/bodice_ripping.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":3},"title":"Bodice-ripping","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 18-Aug-04 6:34am","format":false,"excerpt":"The romance book biz ain't what it used to be. Explosive growth in the market for women's fiction, particularly in newer genres like chick lit and women's thrillers, has been...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-books"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27361,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/12\/all-those-books-for-sale-from-the-50s-the-1850s-that-is.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":4},"title":"All those books for sale from the 50s &#8230; the 1850s, that is","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 12-Apr-12 4:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Some fascinating data on books for sale on Amazon.com, broken out by decade. Are there really more popular books that people want to read from the 1850s than the 1950s? It seems unlikely. What seems more likely is that books from the 1850s are in public domain, so people can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41229,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/27\/the-agony-of-the-book-series.html","url_meta":{"origin":16435,"position":5},"title":"The Agony of the Book Series","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 27-Feb-14 7:52am","format":false,"excerpt":"Book series are so ubiquitous that we almost assume that any new book coming out will be the first in a series, rather than a one-off. There are good reasons for that (and some bad ones), but sooner or later, even if (maybe especially if) you come to a series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}