You cannot add new accounts though due to [Twitter’s new API restrictions](http://www.marco.org/2012/08/16/twitter-api-changes)[^fn1].
[^fn1]: As [The Beard](http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/08/31/tweetbot-for-mac-beta/) says “Amazing that these developers are still trying to improve their apps and Twitter can’t release an update for their piece of s\#$t app.”
Mark your calendars:
* December 14, 2012 – *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*
* December 13, 2013 – *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*
* July 18, 2014 – *The Hobbit: There and Back Again*
> There’s an element of “be careful what you wish for” when I think about Dragon Age 2. It does – or tries to do-so many of the things I’ve wanted RPGs to do with their narratives for a long time, like telling a smaller story in both geography and scope, developing tragedy, and focusing on party members’ stories. Yet the problems with doing those things become apparent as well, especially as the locations become tired and the narrative becomes fractured. Unbalanced narratives can fall down. It’s easy to see why Dragon Age 2 became such a divisive game, but love it or hate it, I’m happy that a big-budget role-playing game was so willing to experiment with narrative form, and I hope its successes and failures are learned from.
I was one of those who did not enjoy the structure of Dragon Age 2. In fact, I stopped playing all together. I hope Bioware can bring back some of the “epicness” of the original Dragon Age in their next installment[^fn].
[^fn]: Also, I hope they bring Morrigan back.
> Of the almost 17,500 people to play in Major League baseball, Adam Greenberg is the only player to have his career end on the very first pitch. In fact, according to Major League rules, Adam’s debut only counts as a plate appearance, not an official at bat.
> Our goal…to get Adam Greenberg the official at bat he deserves.
I am rooting for the Cubs to give him his at bat.
> The NCAA has told University of North Carolina officials that the university apparently did not break NCAA rules in the scandal surrounding the school’s Afro and African-American Studies Department, according to a statement released by the school Friday.
Though the “scandal” was framed as a football issue, I was worried it might leak over into the basketball program. Therefore, this is good news for people who are Carolina basketball fans[^me].
[^me]: Like the one I am currently engaged to.
I would not mind this, *if* the Red Sox made it clear to Torii Hunter that he would end up with limited playing time and be expected to serve as a mentor to some of the younger Red Sox outfielders.
> Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech was a tour de force, and a clear success. One measure of that success is the intensity and emptiness of the attacks coming his way. The irony is that these attacks — intended to damage Ryan by undermining his credibility — are more likely to be seen by the electorate for what they really are: desperate and dishonest tactics from those willing to say and do anything to hang on to power.
We are moving to a place where people’s political leanings will determine their news sources. I am fine with more and more people being exposed to how slanted certain media outlets can be when reporting on conservatives. It will allow people to have clear choices when choosing their news outlets.
So it begins[^fn].
[^fn]: HBO has made it clear this is not the model they intend to use in the US. That is unsurprising. I would not be surprised, however, if that is a decision they revisit every five years or so.
I want one.
An excellent write-up from Avik Roy[^fn1] on Paul Ryan’s speech and its factual accuracy
[^fn1]: Excellent unless you want a biased, left-leaning version. For that, you will have to go one of the numerous other “fact checkers” that have provided that.
One thing that he did not cover: *Yojimbo does not sync.* I need my “everything bucket” to sync across all of my computers and to be available on my iPad and iPhone. Yojimbo has no such functionality[^fn1].
[^fn1]: Yojimbo used to sync via MobileMe, however, MobileMe has been discontinued by Apple. Of course, even when MobileMe did exist, I could never get Yojimbo to sync properly with it. Yojimbo has never had stand-alone, native, iPad and/or iPhone application.
The Pac-12 network [released a new iPad app](http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pac-12-now/id550252401?mt=8) that looks really impressive. I am hoping that it will prove to be a good way to catch up on some of the USC and Oregon games that we do not get on the east coast[^fn1].
[^fn1]: You do need to log in with your cable account to get access to certain video streams. I am sure that will be problematic for some folks.
David Halter[^fn1] has released a new Applescript application / bookmarklet combo that makes it extremely simple to open your current Safari tab in Chrome[^fn2]. I have played with various methods to try to solve this problem, and Mr. Halter’s is the best solution I have come across[^fn3].
[^fn1]: Probably most famous for [nvAlt](http://brettterpstra.com/nvalt-2-2-public-beta/)
[^fn2]: I find it impossible to clearly and simply explain this concept. I keep writing “open the open Safari tab in Chrome,” reading it, and thinking “there has to be a better way.” I still have not found that better way.
[^fn3]: It is easy if you follow the installation instructions, particularly “Right-click (or control-click) on OtherBrowser to bring up the contextual menu and select “Open” to launch it once. All this does is get you past Mountain Lion’s gatekeeper”. I have a feeling that you might run into problems if you skip that step.
> There are two tiers of men with advanced prostate cancer in Ontario: Those who get access to a remarkable drug through private insurance, and those who get a death sentence.
> The grim news is often delivered at the London Regional Cancer Program to men whose shoulders sag and jaws drop when told Ontario’s Health Ministry has for 15 months refused to pay for a medication covered by every other Canadian province.
> “There’s shock, fury and dismay,” said oncologist Kylea Potvin. “Everyone thinks we have this wonderful universal health care system, but this is absolutely not the case. We’ve increasingly become a two-tier health care system where if you have money, you have access.”
This is exactly why I have always been against Obamacare and other attempts at socialized medicine. Imagine the class warfare when those who can not afford to get additional health insurance *on top* of their government provided insurance are handed down a death sentence. Furthermore, imagine having to go to the equivalent of a healthcare “DMV” to get approval to have a certain procedure or to have medicine paid for. I want everyone to have access to the medical care they need to survive, but socialized medicine is not the way to do it.
I still cannot believe this trade got made. [Over the Monster](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/8/29/3275699/the-incredible-improbability-of-the-red-sox-mega-deal) has the complete list of every thing that needed to happen for the trade to get done.
> If you want App.net to succeed, that is if you are morally or otherwise opposed to what Twitter is doing with its API, then why are you still actively or otherwise using Twitter?
Ben Brooks has gone “all in”[^fn1] on [App.net](http://alpha.app.net)[^fn2] and is urging people to follow his lead. I have tried to take the leap, but I have only managed to shift about 60-70% of my “tweetposts” to App.net. There are still too many people on Twitter that I want to interact with that are not on App.net.[^follow]
[^fn1]: Wait, the current buzz phrase is “double down” not “all in,” right? Maybe I should change that.
[^fn2]: As a side note, I think it is time that the App.net alpha, and possibly App.net itself, get a better name. [This week’s Talk Show](http://muleradio.net/thetalkshow/14/) convinced me.
[^follow]: Also, I admit that it is kind of a bummer to go from 450 followers on Twitter down to 4 on App.net.
Twitter is just trolling us now right? They are not serious with this are they?[^marco]
[^marco]: If you want to see how ridiculous this post is, just read [Marco Arment’s “business-speak only” version](https://dev.twitter.com/blog/twitter-certified-products). An example: “We’ve summarized the program’s verticals along with example functionality to indicate features that businesses and Twitter find interesting.” What a bunch gobbledygook.
Dr. B with a rundown.
Dr. Charles Krauthammer on how to handle the impossible situation that is Iran[^fn1]:
> “There are times when the best way to prevent war is to clearly communicate that it is possible,” he argues. Today, the threat of a U.S. attack is not taken seriously. Not by the region. Not by Iran. Not by the Israelis, who therefore increasingly feel forced to act before Israel’s more limited munitions — far less powerful and effective than those in the U.S. arsenal — can no longer penetrate Iran’s ever-hardening facilities.
Dr. Krauthammer then outlines three actions that should be taken:
1. Clear U.S. redlines.
2. Make it clear to Iran that it has no successful options
3. Give Iran a face-saving way out.
I agree with Dr. Krauthammer that “all options are bad.” The time for waiting idly by, however, is drawing to a close. As Dr. Krauthammer emphasizes, the worst action we can take at this point is to do nothing.
[^fn1]: Dr. Krauthammer’s plan is based on that of Anthony Cordesman, military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Condoleezza Rice:
> More than at any other time in history –the ability to mobilize the creativity and ambition of human beings forms the foundation of greatness. We have always done that better than any country in the world. People have come here from all over because they believed in our creed – of opportunity and limitless horizons. They have come from the world’s most impoverished nations to make five dollars not fifty cents– and they have come from the world’s advanced societies – as engineers and scientists — to help fuel the knowledge based revolution in the Silicon Valley of California; the research triangle of North Carolina; in Austin, Texas; along Route 128 in Massachusetts – and across our country.
Well said Secretary Rice. Well said.