I wonder if Web 2.0 founders know what a kilowatt-hour costs.
Oh, that's right. Web 2.0 doesn't run on energy, it runs on love.
dave
· 1 year ago
Hey Ted, not that you don't already know this but you're a dick.
Ted Dziuba
· 1 year ago
The inefficiency of parsing XML documents vs. a more parse-friendly wire protocol means that millions of CPU cycles are wasted in XML-RPC message exchanges.
Dave, you have created something that has likely contributed significantly to global warming, thanks to all the wasted energy.
I hope you are happy.
Jim H
· 1 year ago
Anybody remember that reporter who asked Bush in 2000 who the leader of Pakistan was, and Bush didn't know? The press came down on that guy: it was unfair, this kind of pop quiz. It didn't mean anything. Actually, looking at the last 8 years, it meant a hell of a lot.
Hiller asked Bush to name the leaders of Chechnya, Taiwan, India and Pakistan. Bush was only able to give a partial response to the query on the leader of Taiwan, referring to Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui simply as "Lee." He could not name the others.
"Can you name the general who is in charge of Pakistan?" Hiller asked, inquiring about Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf, who seized control of the country October 12.
"Wait, wait, is this 50 questions?" asked Bush.
george Girton
· 1 year ago
I'm glad to see the price of gas go up, although more gradually would have been better. A sad NPR story today during my morning commute about some NorthEasterners who are skimping on the mortgage to buy fuel oil for the winter. We know how this story will play out: not well.
Old gasoline prices are fascinating. I came across some sub-one-dollar prices from 20 years ago in some slides that I sent to a low-cost internet scanning service. The slides were sent to India and returned on DVDs.
I think Dave's efforts in tracking down the MP3 of the interview, taking snapshots of the gas prices and then comparing them to the gas prices on street view are much more interesting than the imaginary debate over whether Barack or John knows more about gas prices and what this means to future leadership. Why? It is proto-journalism at its best. Details of people's local lives, shared from afar. And it's such a pie in the face, really, to apologists for McCain, who are left arguing that "it creates an impression that he's oblivious to obvious facts of everyday life." You can argue your way around the block until your jaw gets tired, you still aren't going to convince anyone that John McCain has a clue.
By the way, Dick Dziuba fails to make the case that using a "more p arse friendly wire protocol" has any effect at all on the number of CPU cycles used. Packet contents can be compressed to pretty much the minimum amount before transmission and whether they are or not has nothing to do with past Dave's engineering decisions.
dave
· 1 year ago
George you nailed it. McCain is a good politician, Navy guy (I once worked for a Navy guy, it must really leave an impression), a pretty great guy to have in the Senate, but would be a disaster as President. Another guy who thinks it's all about style, and doesn't have to work too hard. And honesty? Not much there -- given how he's willing to attack Obama for being dishonest about campaign finance. Maybe there's a little bit of that in Obama, but come on man, admit to your own dishonesty. Using public financing to get the nomination and then ignoring the rules?
But none of this seems to be changing anyone's vote, btw. We're just comparing our own values here. So no point getting too heated about it. And Dick Dziuba is a dickhead. That's for sure. He works at it.
Ken Sheppardson
· 1 year ago
"A Republican thinks we're being too hard on old John."
Several Democrats think you are too.
dave
· 1 year ago
Oh come now.
Ken Sheppardson
· 1 year ago
Well, in the thread you reference on FriendFeed there was me, Kenneth LeFebvre ("I absolutely don't like McCain, either, so I'm not particularly looking for any reason to defend him"), and Kyle DeFacis ("Even though I am a Obama supporter, I hate it when the press twists individuals statements"). Another half dozen or so didn't state their political affiliation took but issue with the characterization of this as McCain not knowing the price of gas.
McCain was asked "When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?" and he answered "I don't remember".
His answer to the question immediately preceding that one was "I support a gas-tax holiday. And if you don’t think it’s important to some people, ask someone who owns a couple of trucks and is paying 24½ cents tax on every gallon of gas."
Do you honestly think McCain "doesn't know how much a gallon of gas costs"? Seriously?
By the way, you know you'd be up in arms if Obama's answer to a question were distorted as much as you're distorting McCain's.
[Sorry, but I was trying to answer the question in your reply. Something about which ones. I don't remember the exact wording as you've edited the reply.]
dave
· 1 year ago
Since you asked, I'll tell you what I think. I think he was asked what a gallon of gas costs and he didn't know the answer. I understand this is not your interpretation, and accept that. I don't want to debate this point,.
TO your last statement, that's insulting and not true. If Obama had been asked such a question and gave such a lame answer, I would not be "up in arms" -- I"d be surprised and disapponted, and would consider the possibility that he isn't who I think he is. In fact if anything I've been up in arms the other way. Read my blog for an idea.
What you did in that last paragraph is exactly what you said you don't like to be done to the candidates, btw. Twisting things around so you've got me on the defensive for something I didn't say. Not cool.
Ken Sheppardson
· 1 year ago
"I think he was asked what a gallon of gas costs and he didn't know the answer."
Cool. I won't debate it either. I'd just encourage everybody to go back and read the original interview and come to their own conclusions and drawn their own interpretations.
[Edit: RE being "up in arms", I apologize. I did go back and look and see that you did, in fact, react the other way around from what I'd expect on at least one occasion when Obama had a quote interpretation dust-up, specifically your post "Is my candidate too elite?" http://tinyurl.com/4yflsr in response to the "clinging" quote some months back.]
[BTW, just checked the email from Disqus of your original reply. I was answering your question "Like who?"]
Jeremy
· 1 year ago
No question, a presidential candidate should know the price of gas when it's a front page story.
Also, while the rising price of oil products is a shock to consumer everywhere, perhaps Americans might take a little solace in the realization that they are still paying less for gas than residents in any other country in the western world: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/06/29/we...
It's about what you're accustomed to budgeting on gas. Also, the necessity of commutes and the availability of alternate modes of transportation. Unfortunately car culture has shaped daily life across North America, and we're in for some major adjustments.
Ross Mayfield
· 1 year ago
When my phone had a camera I had a habit of taking gas pump pics. I was shocked at $2.60 in May 05 when we had the local refinery issues http://www.flickr.com/photos/ross/tags/gas/
Brent Logan
· 1 year ago
I was going to make a detailed comment how McCain didn't answer the question you think he did and address the ambiguities, but it's not really worth it. Does anyone ever change their minds over what we put in our blogs? I think we're all just putting up the part that validates our preconceived opinions and ignoring the rest.
Sorry for wasting your time...
markmeyer
· 1 year ago
People always complain about the price of gas--at least they have since it rose to over a buck a gallon when I was a kid--but this is the first time I've noticed people actually changing their behavior. I have no statistics to back this up, just personal observation, but I see more people choosing to take the bus, buy more efficient cars, and even dust off the bike. To me this suggests that gas is not ridiculously expensive, but finally at the price it should be at. It is a harmful commodity in so many ways that the price should make people think twice before buying it in bulk. Maybe now we will start designing cities with pedestrians in mind (I live in a town where sidewalks are not given) and start taking public transit seriously. Maybe we will finally develop the political will to find alternative energy too. Or maybe I'm just naive--who knows.
jimconnolly
· 1 year ago
In the UK, we are amazed how CHEAP gas is in the USA.
Ya know, here in England it's over $12 a gallon!
Jim Connolly The Tech News Blog
Edd Dumbill
· 1 year ago
Jim, true. But American cars are significantly less efficient than in the UK. A better comparison might be in terms of $ per mile. The last time my American friend filled up their fuel tank it came to about the same price as it costs me in the UK to fill mine.
DaveD
· 1 year ago
Dave, I think you're being just a bit too... black and white here. Two thoughts:
(1) I honestly don't care if *any* candidate knows "the price of gas". It's much more important that the candidate knows that it's at an all-time high, that it is likely going even higher, and that it is damaging the economy in many ways.
(2) Do you have any direct quotes where Obama shows that he knows the price of gas? Until you do, I'd be careful.
(3) But most importantly - let's focus on solutions. Or at least what each candidate is proposing for solutions. Really Dave, if you simply stick to that point you'll convince more people that Obama *is* the better candidate.
fdsa
· 1 year ago
Or when was the last time BHO pumped his gas? Or paid for his own gas?
Maybe it was way back when he held a real job. Did he ever hold a real job?
Navel lint. It's all blue navel lint.
Donald Brown
· 1 year ago
Sorry, Dave, I think that it's an unfair cheap shot.
If he was making comments that suggested he didn't think there was a problem with the price of gas. But he's made it clear he's aware of the continually raising prices, he knows that it's hurting people, and he has made proposals to deal with it (which you may or may not agree with...but if he didn't think it was an issue, he wouldn't be talking about it so much).
And yeah, "When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?" is NOT the same as "What is the price of gas?" Usually, the first part of a question is primary, and so the focus of the question is "when was the last time you pumped your own gas". Well, as nice as it would be to think of candidates waiting in lines and pumping gas like the rest of us...not going to happen. There are enough nuts out there that no security team would consider it, and even baring that, the candidate would probably be mobbed by people wanting to talk to him or her (supporters and opponents).
And even if he had just been asked point blank what the price of a gallon of gas was, and had said he didn't know...the assumption that it means he's clueless about the rapid rise in gas prices or ignorant of the bad effects being caused by it simply doesn't stand against the rest of his campaign.
I support Obama. I hope his mind isn't on the last time he pumped his own gas or exactly how much it was. I hope he's thinking more about "prices are too high, what can we do to lower them".
dave
· 1 year ago
Sorry, I don't think so, but I think it says something about our values and what we're looking for in a president.
I like to tell stories to explain...
WHen I was just out of college, I got a job in NY in sales. I was 1/2 of a sales team, we sold computer time to economic research people, of whom there are a lot in NY. THe banking industry employs thousands. I was the technical half of the team, but I had to know how to sell a cusotmer, so I got a week of training from a consultant, along with a dozen other new recruits. It wasn't a college education, it was just a week, but I remember almost everything I learned there, and the things they taught me I still do today.
One thing the drilled into you is that you have to be watching every aspect of the industry you're in. Become a sponge for news and information. Read all the time.
And I did. What did I read about? Computers, timesharing, economics, research industry, everything. I started reading the financial pages of the NY Times, never had before. I asked my clients what publications they read and started reading them.
There's a point to this. If you want the business, if you want to close the sale, the prospect has to identify with you, and a way to do that is to go out of your way to understand them.
In the context of this discussion, today's price of gas is just the start of what I would expect the president to be IMMERSED in, not just peripherally aware of. Gas prices are rising is nothing. It's a problem for people, is just the beginning. He should have a big display screen in the Straight Talk Express with Bloomberg data scrolling by for him to absorb when his mind is drifting. I want a president who wants this job because they want to be the best president we've ever had, and to be that in 2008, you have to be on top of a lot of piles of data.
One more thing, I didn't trust HRC, wouldn'[t vote for her, but I was very impressed when they asked who the new president of Russia was and she knew the answer. I knew there was a new president coming, but didn't know his name. Of course she shoudl know it, and if she didn't I would have been surprised, but when the question was asked and she knew it (she stumbled over the pronunciation as if she had been reading his name, but it wasn't being talked about). Then I knew something about HRC, she totally wanted to be president, in her gut, she thought like a president thought. I wished they had asked Obama a similar question, pretty sure he would have been able to answer it.
One more story. In 1987, my company had signed a letter of intent to be bought by Microsoft. In the process I had several meetings with Bill Gates. At the first meeting he asked dozens of questions about my company. At the second meeting he told me things about my company I didn't know. That;'s how he got where he got. Mastery of information. Not by coming up with cute nicknames for his subordinates like our current disaster of a president.
Sandy Atkinson
· 1 year ago
One minor point to add here. Oil has been going up over the last few years, but not nearly as much as the US dollar has been dropping. Since oil is priced in US dollars, the effect has been much more played up than if it was priced in Euros. So I don't think this one statistic is really the "super number".
Don't get me wrong. Oil prices have spiked. Just that the US dollar has dropped a fair bit over the Bush Administration which makes this much more exaggerated. When Bush took office Euro was at 1.06 to the dollar. Now it is .633. The US is going to start having to translate currencies just like the rest of the world does. Balance of trade does have an impact over the long run.
"The price of a gallon of gas in America stands at more than four dollars. Yesterday, a barrel of oil cost about 134 dollarsm" said McCain. "And various oil ministers and investment firms have confidently informed us that soon we can expect to pay 200 dollars for every barrel, and as much as seven dollars for every gallon of gas."
dave
· 1 year ago
According to that article that quote came from a speech. I've seen McC give speeches. My guess is he wasn't paying attention while he read the words off the teleprompter. That's even sadder. He can't be bothered to understand the things his speech writers write for him.
Michael Markman (Mickeleh)
· 1 year ago
I love to jump all over McCain gaffes. But this wasn't one. The question wasn't clean. It was a two parter: a) when did you last pump your own gas? b) what did it cost?" If he can't remember the answer to part a how can he possibly answer part b?
There's so much solid legit stuff to hit McCain with, we shouldn't be dipping into the pile of manufactured gotchas.
Joshua_Whalen
· 1 year ago
Well, I have two tickets to go see the Taliban perform at the Beacon here in NYC next week. Anyone want to join me? ;-P
Remember that moment when Curious George mistook the taliban for a rock band in 2000? Why am I not the least bit suprised by grandpa's cluelessness on gas prices? Those aren't the things republican neo-royalists concern themselves with, those things are for the common people and the greybeards.
Meanwhile, Obama is losing me so fast. I read your "I'm not an ATM" piece. Here's my addendum:
The Obama campaign sent me this:
<pre>Dear Friend --
Tonight is the crucial financial reporting deadline for June.
Right now is the time to step up and own a piece of this campaign. I need your help to take on John McCain, the Republican National Committee, and the shady so-called 527 groups that are dedicated to attacking this campaign using millions of dollars in unregulated contributions.
Please support this movement by making a donation of $25 by Midnight tonight:
Together we are setting a new standard for how presidential campaigns will be organized and funded.
For the first time in a generation, a presidential campaign is putting staff in every single state for the general election. Our staff and the Obama Organizing Fellows are getting to work right now to build on grassroots energy in all 50 states.
And -- unlike John McCain -- we're going to do it without contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs that have held too much power for far too long in this country.
By putting our organizational and financial future in your hands, it's clear who will be responsible for our success and who we will be accountable to in the White House: the people.
But in order to match the resources of our opponents, we're going to have to do more and get more people involved than ever before. Your donation of $25 right now will help make that happen:
I'm counting on you to take the lead and build this campaign.
The stakes couldn't be higher, and every American who hopes for something better from their government is counting on us.
Thank you,
Barack </pre>
I responded:
<pre>Your change in position, vis-a-vis telecom immunity in FISA has led me to re-evaluate my support for your campaign. Please re-evaluate your position before asking me for money again.
Joshua Whalen </pre>
They replied: <pre>Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting Senator Barack Obama and Obama for America.
Barack is gratified by the overwhelming response to his candidacy, and we appreciate hearing from you. Please note, though, that we are now replying only to emails sent through our webform. You may resend your message through the webform here:
We have also created the Answer Center, an easy-to-search database of questions and answers that lets you find information on a wide range of subjects from volunteering to policy positions. Try it out here:
The webform and other technologies help improve our ability to communicate with you and efficiently read and respond to the thousands of messages we receive every week. Please note that you can use it to cut and paste large messages and links to other websites.
Thank you for using the webform, it helps us improve the process of communicating with you.
Sincerely,
Obama for America </pre>
It would appear that neither candidate has a monpoly on cluelessness.
Maybe I should just move to Europe.
Bob W.
· 1 year ago
Hmmm. To think that this whole thread is based on a complete distortion of fact.
dave
· 1 year ago
I always hated it when people say Pot. Kettle. Black. or whatever, but it fits here -- the idea of a Republican complaining about distortions of fact is so funny you could have a whole year of Daily Shows just dedicated to the absurdity. You guys *love* Distortions Of Fact. Just ask John McCain about how he fathered a black child! That was a good one. Hahaha. You could change the name of the Republican Party to the Distortion of Fact Party. Then all would be right with the world! :-)
Bob W.
· 1 year ago
I'm no Republican. I am not a fan of John McCain. I am an Obama supporter.
That said, I listened very carefully to the audio clip and it is an undeniable fact that what McCain said in no way indicates that he does not know the current price of a gallon of gas, which is the whole premise of this thread.
That you continue to deny this is a sign of (1) dishonesty, (2) hubris, or (3) detachment from reality. There may be a more palatable explanation, but I honestly can't think of it.
charlesfrith
· 1 year ago
The cost of gas has never been fully appreciated by citizens of the U.S. It's expensive now and will only get more expensive. I'm personally celebrating when it hits 200 dollars a barrel. When thinking about reengineering the economy it will never happen while addicted to a century of inexpensive but finite fuel.
I always love how this view of the world sends my U.S. friends into a frenzy. But I said it after 911 and I say it now.
Andrew
· 1 year ago
A good way to combat these high prices is to try and show Big Oil that each American can make difference. If everyone decides together to boycott one company, Exxon Mobil, the entire industry will listen.
I’m part of a campaign to boycott Exxon Mobil, the current leader in profits during this energy crisis. It is hosted on The Point, a new social action website. Check it out here www.thepoint.com/campaigns/send-a-message-to-th...
Hopefully, we can all do something about this terrible injustice
computer08
· 1 year ago
why buy a hybrid Current 40-50 MPG Production Cars are available - GM
Vauxhall 50.4mpg US Opel - General Motors Company Fiat 34.4 city 51.40 hwy combined 43.5 mpg US Renault 37.2 city 57.60 hwy combined 47.90 mpg US Citroen city 51.40 68.90 hwy combined 61.40 mpg
Ford Focus ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi Urban Fuel 50.4 mpg Extra Urban 78.3 mpg Combined 65.6 mpg - Range 765 miles - Available in UK
The new Opel mini-monocab bears balanced proportions, soft curves and a distinctive side graphic. Its passengers still sit high and upright, but the roofline has been dynamically lowered and blends into a smooth arc toward the rear. This helps create the Agila's aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.32 - a relatively low figure for a vehicle of this size.
http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/ Vauxhall Corsa The 1.0 is suitably miserly, giving 50.4 mpg and emitting a low-tax 134g/km of carbon dioxide; the 1.2 and 1.4, thanks to Vauxhall/Opel's new Twinport fuel intake technology, deliver 48.7mpg/139 g/km and 47.9mpg/142g/km respectively. The diesels? 61.4mpg/124 g/km from both the 75bhp and 90bhp 1.3 CDT, and 58.8mpg/130 g/km from the 1.7 CDTi.
From Advertisement > All you need to do now is tell us if you have a part exchange vehicle, any GM Card Rebate points or if you want finance from GMAC (UK) plc.. All we need to confirm your order is a fully refundable £20 administration fee. £7595.00 = $15.133.00 US -- 07/02/2008
All Comments
Oh, that's right. Web 2.0 doesn't run on energy, it runs on love.
Dave, you have created something that has likely contributed significantly to global warming, thanks to all the wasted energy.
I hope you are happy.
Old gasoline prices are fascinating. I came across some sub-one-dollar prices from 20 years ago in some slides that I sent to a low-cost internet scanning service. The slides were sent to India and returned on DVDs.
I think Dave's efforts in tracking down the MP3 of the interview, taking snapshots of the gas prices and then comparing them to the gas prices on street view are much more interesting than the imaginary debate over whether Barack or John knows more about gas prices and what this means to future leadership. Why? It is proto-journalism at its best. Details of people's local lives, shared from afar. And it's such a pie in the face, really, to apologists for McCain, who are left arguing that "it creates an impression that he's oblivious to obvious facts of everyday life." You can argue your way around the block until your jaw gets tired, you still aren't going to convince anyone that John McCain has a clue.
By the way, Dick Dziuba fails to make the case that using a "more p arse friendly wire protocol" has any effect at all on the number of CPU cycles used. Packet contents can be compressed to pretty much the minimum amount before transmission and whether they are or not has nothing to do with past Dave's engineering decisions.
But none of this seems to be changing anyone's vote, btw. We're just comparing our own values here. So no point getting too heated about it. And Dick Dziuba is a dickhead. That's for sure. He works at it.
Several Democrats think you are too.
McCain was asked "When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?" and he answered "I don't remember".
His answer to the question immediately preceding that one was "I support a gas-tax holiday. And if you don’t think it’s important to some people, ask someone who owns a couple of trucks and is paying 24½ cents tax on every gallon of gas."
Do you honestly think McCain "doesn't know how much a gallon of gas costs"? Seriously?
By the way, you know you'd be up in arms if Obama's answer to a question were distorted as much as you're distorting McCain's.
[Sorry, but I was trying to answer the question in your reply. Something about which ones. I don't remember the exact wording as you've edited the reply.]
TO your last statement, that's insulting and not true. If Obama had been asked such a question and gave such a lame answer, I would not be "up in arms" -- I"d be surprised and disapponted, and would consider the possibility that he isn't who I think he is. In fact if anything I've been up in arms the other way. Read my blog for an idea.
What you did in that last paragraph is exactly what you said you don't like to be done to the candidates, btw. Twisting things around so you've got me on the defensive for something I didn't say. Not cool.
Cool. I won't debate it either. I'd just encourage everybody to go back and read the original interview and come to their own conclusions and drawn their own interpretations.
Here's the full transcript: http://tinyurl.com/6s8dra
[Edit: RE being "up in arms", I apologize. I did go back and look and see that you did, in fact, react the other way around from what I'd expect on at least one occasion when Obama had a quote interpretation dust-up, specifically your post "Is my candidate too elite?" http://tinyurl.com/4yflsr in response to the "clinging" quote some months back.]
[BTW, just checked the email from Disqus of your original reply. I was answering your question "Like who?"]
Also, while the rising price of oil products is a shock to consumer everywhere, perhaps Americans might take a little solace in the realization that they are still paying less for gas than residents in any other country in the western world: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/06/29/we...
The chief reason: taxes
It's about what you're accustomed to budgeting on gas. Also, the necessity of commutes and the availability of alternate modes of transportation. Unfortunately car culture has shaped daily life across North America, and we're in for some major adjustments.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ross/tags/gas/
Sorry for wasting your time...
Ya know, here in England it's over $12 a gallon!
Jim Connolly
The Tech News Blog
(1) I honestly don't care if *any* candidate knows "the price of gas". It's much more important that the candidate knows that it's at an all-time high, that it is likely going even higher, and that it is damaging the economy in many ways.
(2) Do you have any direct quotes where Obama shows that he knows the price of gas? Until you do, I'd be careful.
(3) But most importantly - let's focus on solutions. Or at least what each candidate is proposing for solutions. Really Dave, if you simply stick to that point you'll convince more people that Obama *is* the better candidate.
Maybe it was way back when he held a real job. Did he ever hold a real job?
Navel lint. It's all blue navel lint.
If he was making comments that suggested he didn't think there was a problem with the price of gas. But he's made it clear he's aware of the continually raising prices, he knows that it's hurting people, and he has made proposals to deal with it (which you may or may not agree with...but if he didn't think it was an issue, he wouldn't be talking about it so much).
And yeah, "When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?" is NOT the same as "What is the price of gas?" Usually, the first part of a question is primary, and so the focus of the question is "when was the last time you pumped your own gas". Well, as nice as it would be to think of candidates waiting in lines and pumping gas like the rest of us...not going to happen. There are enough nuts out there that no security team would consider it, and even baring that, the candidate would probably be mobbed by people wanting to talk to him or her (supporters and opponents).
And even if he had just been asked point blank what the price of a gallon of gas was, and had said he didn't know...the assumption that it means he's clueless about the rapid rise in gas prices or ignorant of the bad effects being caused by it simply doesn't stand against the rest of his campaign.
I support Obama. I hope his mind isn't on the last time he pumped his own gas or exactly how much it was. I hope he's thinking more about "prices are too high, what can we do to lower them".
I like to tell stories to explain...
WHen I was just out of college, I got a job in NY in sales. I was 1/2 of a sales team, we sold computer time to economic research people, of whom there are a lot in NY. THe banking industry employs thousands. I was the technical half of the team, but I had to know how to sell a cusotmer, so I got a week of training from a consultant, along with a dozen other new recruits. It wasn't a college education, it was just a week, but I remember almost everything I learned there, and the things they taught me I still do today.
One thing the drilled into you is that you have to be watching every aspect of the industry you're in. Become a sponge for news and information. Read all the time.
And I did. What did I read about? Computers, timesharing, economics, research industry, everything. I started reading the financial pages of the NY Times, never had before. I asked my clients what publications they read and started reading them.
There's a point to this. If you want the business, if you want to close the sale, the prospect has to identify with you, and a way to do that is to go out of your way to understand them.
In the context of this discussion, today's price of gas is just the start of what I would expect the president to be IMMERSED in, not just peripherally aware of. Gas prices are rising is nothing. It's a problem for people, is just the beginning. He should have a big display screen in the Straight Talk Express with Bloomberg data scrolling by for him to absorb when his mind is drifting. I want a president who wants this job because they want to be the best president we've ever had, and to be that in 2008, you have to be on top of a lot of piles of data.
One more thing, I didn't trust HRC, wouldn'[t vote for her, but I was very impressed when they asked who the new president of Russia was and she knew the answer. I knew there was a new president coming, but didn't know his name. Of course she shoudl know it, and if she didn't I would have been surprised, but when the question was asked and she knew it (she stumbled over the pronunciation as if she had been reading his name, but it wasn't being talked about). Then I knew something about HRC, she totally wanted to be president, in her gut, she thought like a president thought. I wished they had asked Obama a similar question, pretty sure he would have been able to answer it.
One more story. In 1987, my company had signed a letter of intent to be bought by Microsoft. In the process I had several meetings with Bill Gates. At the first meeting he asked dozens of questions about my company. At the second meeting he told me things about my company I didn't know. That;'s how he got where he got. Mastery of information. Not by coming up with cute nicknames for his subordinates like our current disaster of a president.
Don't get me wrong. Oil prices have spiked. Just that the US dollar has dropped a fair bit over the Bush Administration which makes this much more exaggerated. When Bush took office Euro was at 1.06 to the dollar. Now it is .633. The US is going to start having to translate currencies just like the rest of the world does. Balance of trade does have an impact over the long run.
"The price of a gallon of gas in America stands at more than four dollars. Yesterday, a barrel of oil cost about 134 dollarsm" said McCain. "And various oil ministers and investment firms have confidently informed us that soon we can expect to pay 200 dollars for every barrel, and as much as seven dollars for every gallon of gas."
There's so much solid legit stuff to hit McCain with, we shouldn't be dipping into the pile of manufactured gotchas.
Remember that moment when Curious George mistook the taliban for a rock band in 2000? Why am I not the least bit suprised by grandpa's cluelessness on gas prices? Those aren't the things republican neo-royalists concern themselves with, those things are for the common people and the greybeards.
Meanwhile, Obama is losing me so fast. I read your "I'm not an ATM" piece. Here's my addendum:
The Obama campaign sent me this:
<pre>Dear Friend --
Tonight is the crucial financial reporting deadline for June.
Right now is the time to step up and own a piece of this campaign. I need your help to take on John McCain, the Republican National Committee, and the shady so-called 527 groups that are dedicated to attacking this campaign using millions of dollars in unregulated contributions.
Please support this movement by making a donation of $25 by Midnight tonight:
https://donate.barackobama.com/deadlinejune
Together we are setting a new standard for how presidential campaigns will be organized and funded.
For the first time in a generation, a presidential campaign is putting staff in every single state for the general election. Our staff and the Obama Organizing Fellows are getting to work right now to build on grassroots energy in all 50 states.
And -- unlike John McCain -- we're going to do it without contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs that have held too much power for far too long in this country.
By putting our organizational and financial future in your hands, it's clear who will be responsible for our success and who we will be accountable to in the White House: the people.
But in order to match the resources of our opponents, we're going to have to do more and get more people involved than ever before. Your donation of $25 right now will help make that happen:
https://donate.barackobama.com/deadlinejune
I'm counting on you to take the lead and build this campaign.
The stakes couldn't be higher, and every American who hopes for something better from their government is counting on us.
Thank you,
Barack </pre>
I responded:
<pre>Your change in position, vis-a-vis telecom immunity in FISA has led me to re-evaluate my support for your campaign. Please re-evaluate your position before asking me for money again.
Joshua Whalen
</pre>
They replied:
<pre>Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting Senator Barack Obama and Obama for America.
Barack is gratified by the overwhelming response to his candidacy, and we appreciate hearing from you. Please note, though, that we are now replying only to emails sent through our webform. You may resend your message through the webform here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/contact/
We also encourage you to submit your policy ideas through the My Policy feature of our website, here:
www.BarackObama.com/issues
We have also created the Answer Center, an easy-to-search database of questions and answers that lets you find information on a wide range of subjects from volunteering to policy positions. Try it out here:
http://answercenter.barackobama.com
The webform and other technologies help improve our ability to communicate with you and efficiently read and respond to the thousands of messages we receive every week. Please note that you can use it to cut and paste large messages and links to other websites.
Thank you for using the webform, it helps us improve the process of communicating with you.
Sincerely,
Obama for America
</pre>
It would appear that neither candidate has a monpoly on cluelessness.
Maybe I should just move to Europe.
That said, I listened very carefully to the audio clip and it is an undeniable fact that what McCain said in no way indicates that he does not know the current price of a gallon of gas, which is the whole premise of this thread.
That you continue to deny this is a sign of (1) dishonesty, (2) hubris, or (3) detachment from reality. There may be a more palatable explanation, but I honestly can't think of it.
I always love how this view of the world sends my U.S. friends into a frenzy. But I said it after 911 and I say it now.
I’m part of a campaign to boycott Exxon Mobil, the current leader in profits during this energy crisis. It is hosted on The Point, a new social action website. Check it out here www.thepoint.com/campaigns/send-a-message-to-th...
Hopefully, we can all do something about this terrible injustice
Vauxhall 50.4mpg US
Opel - General Motors Company
Fiat 34.4 city 51.40 hwy combined 43.5 mpg US
Renault 37.2 city 57.60 hwy combined 47.90 mpg US
Citroen city 51.40 68.90 hwy combined 61.40 mpg
Ford Focus ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi Urban Fuel 50.4 mpg Extra Urban 78.3 mpg Combined 65.6 mpg - Range 765 miles - Available in UK
http://www.opel-europe.com/agila2008/
www.opel.com is operated by General Motors Europe
The new Opel mini-monocab bears balanced proportions, soft curves and a distinctive side graphic. Its passengers still sit high and upright, but the roofline has been dynamically lowered and blends into a smooth arc toward the rear. This helps create the Agila's aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.32 - a relatively low figure for a vehicle of this size.
http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/
Vauxhall Corsa The 1.0 is suitably miserly, giving 50.4 mpg and emitting a low-tax 134g/km of carbon dioxide; the 1.2 and 1.4, thanks to Vauxhall/Opel's new Twinport fuel intake technology, deliver 48.7mpg/139 g/km and 47.9mpg/142g/km respectively.
The diesels? 61.4mpg/124 g/km from both the 75bhp and 90bhp 1.3 CDT, and 58.8mpg/130 g/km from the 1.7 CDTi.
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£7595.00 = $15.133.00 US -- 07/02/2008