The scene at the Jobs house this week:
Steve (played by a 6 year old boy): Hmm.. the reception on my iPhone 4 sucks. So let’s just cover it up with a software update.
Consumers Report (played by Mommy): Steve, your iPhone 4 isn’t receiving properly. And I caught you trying to cover it up. That will be a time out.
S: But MOM! RIM isn’t receiving well, and Motorolla isn’t receiving well.
C: That may be so, Steve, but we are talking about you and not your friends.
S: But Mom!
C: Don’t but mom me. First you caused a problem for a vast number of consumers, and then you tried to cover it up. The least you can do is apologize, and try to make up for it.
S: Ok, here’s this phone condom. That will certainly make up for the waste of hundreds of dollars per consumer.
C: Steve! Go sit in the naughty chair. You may stand up and go play with the other children when you apologize and really mean it.
Interestingly, when polled unscientifically by the Wall St. Journal, parents in Steve’s community are equally divided over whether he behaved well. What kind of parents are those who accept such behavior?
Yes, we’ve heard this sort of tune before. It all sounds so promising, and then one by one all the future miracle cures against AIDS seem to evaporate, sometimes even before phase one human trials.
But here’s a new approach that might actually fly. An African American man was found to have a natural resistance to HIV. This in itself was amazing, but now scientists seem to know why. Here’s a great article from Medscape that discusses two new antibodies that might both prevent and cure AIDS in the future.
Even so it’s early days. Let’s all hope “this time for sure”, as Bullwinkle might say!
Ringo at 70 (NYT)
Ringo Starr asks for his birthday today, according to this article in the New York Times, that everyone at noon their time put their fingers up and put our fingers up and say, “Peace and love.” Sure! why not? It’s in twenty minutes for me, and we certainly could use more.
The article is really quite funny, and represents a light style that Starr is famous for. Happy birthday Ringo Starr!
I’ve complained about Facebook before, reduced my participation, and now, I am ending it. Facebook has become what can only be described as an attractive nuisance. One of my friends clearly had their account broken into. The last time this happened it was possible for me to report the matter to Facebook, and they shut the account down in a matter of minutes. This time, they not only would not do so, but there is no longer a way to report an account break-in. The only way to send FaceBook a message is to close one’s account, and so I have done so. Done. Fini. For my friends’ and your sake.
CNN reports that a Virgin Airlines flight diverted to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut sat on the tarmac for four hours, without so much as offering water. The excuse used is that the airport is not equipped with a suitable customs facility (Bradley has exactly one connection outside the United States – Toronto), but once again we see an inability to manage risks. What was the risk to passengers versus the risk to others by letting them sit in the terminal until appropriate customs people had arrived?
But our story doesn’t end there. As you may recall, airlines may now be fined for such behavior, but there’s a catch: the rule applies to domestic flights. A Virgin spokesman said that because they are a UK-flagged carrier they are not subject to U.S. laws. If that is indeed the correct logic, and that you’d receive the protection with a US carrier, then Virgin is encouraging you not to fly their airline. Go figure.
