The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Spunky Local Website Gets New Server, Apologizes http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/spunky-local-website-gets-new-server-apologizes http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/spunky-local-website-gets-new-server-apologizes#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:05 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/spunky-local-website-gets-new-server-apologizes Over the next 24 hours, our totally horrific and terrible load time exhibited over the last week should markedly improve! We done bought ourselves a new ad server, so the old ad server is being phased out and will stop dragging our sites down with it. Technology is really annoying. Our apologies to people who've wanted to visit and have been frustrated in the act.

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]]> Over the next 24 hours, our totally horrific and terrible load time exhibited over the last week should markedly improve! We done bought ourselves a new ad server, so the old ad server is being phased out and will stop dragging our sites down with it. Technology is really annoying. Our apologies to people who've wanted to visit and have been frustrated in the act.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/spunky-local-website-gets-new-server-apologizes/feed 10 Today's a Good Day to Delete Your Gchat archives http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/todays-a-good-day-to-delete-your-gchat-archives http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/todays-a-good-day-to-delete-your-gchat-archives#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:50:43 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/todays-a-good-day-to-delete-your-gchat-archives "There was his claim that he hated high school, and there were three files on his computer, written in July and early September, whose contents are unknown but whose file names are Gah.docx, sorry.docx, and Why is everything so painful.docx."
—It's hard to come away from today's Tyler Clementi story in the New Yorker and think that his webcam-spying roommate should go to jail for ten or more years. But mostly it will make you want to permanently delete all your IM archives. You really, really do not want the dumb, sarcastic garbage you say to your friends showing up in court.

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]]> "There was his claim that he hated high school, and there were three files on his computer, written in July and early September, whose contents are unknown but whose file names are Gah.docx, sorry.docx, and Why is everything so painful.docx."
—It's hard to come away from today's Tyler Clementi story in the New Yorker and think that his webcam-spying roommate should go to jail for ten or more years. But mostly it will make you want to permanently delete all your IM archives. You really, really do not want the dumb, sarcastic garbage you say to your friends showing up in court.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/todays-a-good-day-to-delete-your-gchat-archives/feed 1 'Times' Poll: Should or Should We Not Print Lies? http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/times-poll-should-or-should-we-not-print-lies http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/times-poll-should-or-should-we-not-print-lies#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:40 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/times-poll-should-or-should-we-not-print-lies Everyone is pretty aghast and/or in stitches over today's weird and kinda embarrassing escapade by the New York Times public editor, Arthur Brisbane: "I’m looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge 'facts' that are asserted by newsmakers they write about." Not just when; whether! A list of people currently making fun of this runs from editors of city papers to New Yorker correspondents to totally random unemployed people to... well, the Times staffers are all sitting on their hands right now. GOSH, HOW THAT MUST BURN.

How does this argument even go, anyway? PRO: Sure! Let the record reflect whatever people say, that way we have a record of it. CON: No, definitely not! The newspaper should report all lies unchallenged!

(Also, oh yes, let's have readers—aka BLOG COMMENTERS—provide the "input" on these issues. Er, no offense, some of my best friends are blog commenters.) Anyway, haven't seen Twitter make so much fun of one person since, hmm... a SuperBowl half-time show, or maybe that time that ESPN became the LeBron network? Hey, only 18 months till Arthur Brisbane's term is up.

Previously: Man Attacks 'Times' Success on Behalf of Its Readers.

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]]> Everyone is pretty aghast and/or in stitches over today's weird and kinda embarrassing escapade by the New York Times public editor, Arthur Brisbane: "I’m looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge 'facts' that are asserted by newsmakers they write about." Not just when; whether! A list of people currently making fun of this runs from editors of city papers to New Yorker correspondents to totally random unemployed people to... well, the Times staffers are all sitting on their hands right now. GOSH, HOW THAT MUST BURN.

How does this argument even go, anyway? PRO: Sure! Let the record reflect whatever people say, that way we have a record of it. CON: No, definitely not! The newspaper should report all lies unchallenged!

(Also, oh yes, let's have readers—aka BLOG COMMENTERS—provide the "input" on these issues. Er, no offense, some of my best friends are blog commenters.) Anyway, haven't seen Twitter make so much fun of one person since, hmm... a SuperBowl half-time show, or maybe that time that ESPN became the LeBron network? Hey, only 18 months till Arthur Brisbane's term is up.

Previously: Man Attacks 'Times' Success on Behalf of Its Readers.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/times-poll-should-or-should-we-not-print-lies/feed 20 A Short Story from the County Board Meeting in Arlington, VA http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/a-short-story-from-the-county-board-meeting-in-arlington-va http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/a-short-story-from-the-county-board-meeting-in-arlington-va#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:30:01 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/a-short-story-from-the-county-board-meeting-in-arlington-va

Two kids are testifying about why this Arlington shelter is a bad idea — cursing, 2nd hand smoke. Their parents should be horse whipped.

— Michael Neibauer (@NeibsWBJ) December 14, 2011

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Two kids are testifying about why this Arlington shelter is a bad idea — cursing, 2nd hand smoke. Their parents should be horse whipped.

— Michael Neibauer (@NeibsWBJ) December 14, 2011

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/a-short-story-from-the-county-board-meeting-in-arlington-va/feed 16 Why Is the EPA Putting Poison in America's Water? http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/why-is-the-epa-putting-poison-in-peoples-wells http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/why-is-the-epa-putting-poison-in-peoples-wells#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:00:15 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/why-is-the-epa-putting-poison-in-peoples-wells According to Senator James Inhofe, the EPA, at Barack Obama's bidding, has finally released a draft report on some wells in Wyoming that is obviously full of lies. For one thing, he stingingly calls the draft report "a draft." Oooh, burn! It's hard to believe the EPA has the chutzpah to disguise what is a clearly labeled draft report as a draft! It's also "political science," and, according to the local fracking companies, the EPA introduced chemicals into the local water that are the same chemicals that fracking utilizes. Do you see how sneaky the EPA is? They figure out what's in the secret fracking cocktail, and then spread that stuff around and make U.S. citizens drink it. It's the perfect plan. Anyway, there's no motivation for the fracking companies to lie or to play political science, as we know, so I guess we just have to dismantle those crooks at the EPA.

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]]> According to Senator James Inhofe, the EPA, at Barack Obama's bidding, has finally released a draft report on some wells in Wyoming that is obviously full of lies. For one thing, he stingingly calls the draft report "a draft." Oooh, burn! It's hard to believe the EPA has the chutzpah to disguise what is a clearly labeled draft report as a draft! It's also "political science," and, according to the local fracking companies, the EPA introduced chemicals into the local water that are the same chemicals that fracking utilizes. Do you see how sneaky the EPA is? They figure out what's in the secret fracking cocktail, and then spread that stuff around and make U.S. citizens drink it. It's the perfect plan. Anyway, there's no motivation for the fracking companies to lie or to play political science, as we know, so I guess we just have to dismantle those crooks at the EPA.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/why-is-the-epa-putting-poison-in-peoples-wells/feed 7 Michigan Children Learn The True Meaning Of Gay http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/michigan-children-learn-the-true-meaning-of-gay http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/michigan-children-learn-the-true-meaning-of-gay#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:40:55 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/michigan-children-learn-the-true-meaning-of-gay
It's a Christmas miracle! Or, you know, a holiday miracle. It's some kind of miracle, anyhow. I mean, I guess.

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It's a Christmas miracle! Or, you know, a holiday miracle. It's some kind of miracle, anyhow. I mean, I guess.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/michigan-children-learn-the-true-meaning-of-gay/feed 11 CEO Says CEO Thing http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/ceo-says-ceo-thing http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/ceo-says-ceo-thing#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:20:56 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/ceo-says-ceo-thing Let's play compare and contrast!

Mark Zuckerberg: "Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission established agreements with Google and Twitter that are helping to shape new privacy standards for our industry. Today, the FTC announced a similar agreement with Facebook."

The government: "The social networking service Facebook has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public. The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives up to its promises in the future."

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]]> Let's play compare and contrast!

Mark Zuckerberg: "Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission established agreements with Google and Twitter that are helping to shape new privacy standards for our industry. Today, the FTC announced a similar agreement with Facebook."

The government: "The social networking service Facebook has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public. The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives up to its promises in the future."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/ceo-says-ceo-thing/feed 8 All Your Radiohead Tickets Are Belong to Machines!!11! http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/all-your-radiohead-tickets-are-belong-to-machines11 http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/all-your-radiohead-tickets-are-belong-to-machines11#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:30:21 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/all-your-radiohead-tickets-are-belong-to-machines11

Anonymous should really make Ticketmaster their next target. #radioheadMon Sep 26 14:21:52 via webMichael Neff
heyneff


Everyone in the Radiohead demographic hates Ticketmaster so much right now. MACHINES SAY: SCALPING IS GOOD BUSINESS.

The whole process of buying concert tickets online really sucks.Mon Sep 26 14:12:37 via Twitter for MacJeremy Zilar
jeremyzilar

Very irritated I didn't get Radiohead itckets. BIRTHDAY RUINED!!Mon Sep 26 14:26:11 via webJason Kottke
jkottke

If anyone actually got Radiohead tickets and for some reason has an extra, I would do very degrading things for it.Mon Sep 26 14:09:07 via Twitter for MacAdam Frucci
frucci

... this morning new yorkers are rediscovered their hatred of ticketmaster, disappointment & typing captcha under pressure. #radioheadMon Sep 26 14:21:39 via webnick ramsey
nick_ramsey

<rimshot> RT @ComfortablySmug: Tickets to the Radiohead concert, much like the band itself, have completely sold outMon Sep 26 14:21:53 via TweetDeckLee Distad
LeeDistad

NOW GLOATING BEGINS FOR FEW SUCCESSFUL HUMANS WHO GOT TICKETS!

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Anonymous should really make Ticketmaster their next target. #radioheadMon Sep 26 14:21:52 via webMichael Neff
heyneff


Everyone in the Radiohead demographic hates Ticketmaster so much right now. MACHINES SAY: SCALPING IS GOOD BUSINESS.

The whole process of buying concert tickets online really sucks.Mon Sep 26 14:12:37 via Twitter for MacJeremy Zilar
jeremyzilar

Very irritated I didn't get Radiohead itckets. BIRTHDAY RUINED!!Mon Sep 26 14:26:11 via webJason Kottke
jkottke

If anyone actually got Radiohead tickets and for some reason has an extra, I would do very degrading things for it.Mon Sep 26 14:09:07 via Twitter for MacAdam Frucci
frucci

... this morning new yorkers are rediscovered their hatred of ticketmaster, disappointment & typing captcha under pressure. #radioheadMon Sep 26 14:21:39 via webnick ramsey
nick_ramsey

<rimshot> RT @ComfortablySmug: Tickets to the Radiohead concert, much like the band itself, have completely sold outMon Sep 26 14:21:53 via TweetDeckLee Distad
LeeDistad

NOW GLOATING BEGINS FOR FEW SUCCESSFUL HUMANS WHO GOT TICKETS!

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/all-your-radiohead-tickets-are-belong-to-machines11/feed 35 Europe: So Fun to Blame! http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/europe-so-fun-to-blame http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/europe-so-fun-to-blame#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:00:12 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/europe-so-fun-to-blame THE EUROPEAN CONTAGION STRIKES! Thanks, everyone but Germany. (And so long, value of Swiss francs!) It's so nice to blame Europe for our "stock market woes" (which, you know, the standard caveats on that phrase, because, "higher DOW = better for everyone" is not a true thing).

Oh hey, in case you missed it: you should enjoy this tale of how America's banks are papering over their tasty robomortgages of the 00s. Legal in some cases/states! Not gonna fly in others. La la la, hey right, was there a recent housing market/bank crisis that nearly undid America? Sending employment numbers now-permanently into the land of terrible? I don't seem to recall any such thing either. HEY WHY IS EUROPE DOING THIS TO US? (Yeah, get ready for your big double dip, your delicious second scoop of America going to hell.)

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]]> THE EUROPEAN CONTAGION STRIKES! Thanks, everyone but Germany. (And so long, value of Swiss francs!) It's so nice to blame Europe for our "stock market woes" (which, you know, the standard caveats on that phrase, because, "higher DOW = better for everyone" is not a true thing).

Oh hey, in case you missed it: you should enjoy this tale of how America's banks are papering over their tasty robomortgages of the 00s. Legal in some cases/states! Not gonna fly in others. La la la, hey right, was there a recent housing market/bank crisis that nearly undid America? Sending employment numbers now-permanently into the land of terrible? I don't seem to recall any such thing either. HEY WHY IS EUROPE DOING THIS TO US? (Yeah, get ready for your big double dip, your delicious second scoop of America going to hell.)

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/europe-so-fun-to-blame/feed 7 Instant Message is Bad for Society http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/instant-message-is-bad-for-society http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/instant-message-is-bad-for-society#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:50:13 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/instant-message-is-bad-for-society • "Most gay person I’ve ever seen." —Dharun Ravi.

• "His (family) is sooo indian/ first gen americanish . . . just like . . . first son off to college . . . his rents defs owna dunkin (donuts)." —Tyler Clementi.

New docs in the Tyler Clementi Rutgers suicide case reveal that everyone sits around and gossips on IM about each other. (Some more literately than others.) Why can't an Indian dude and a white gay dude in a dorm room get along? Ugh.

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]]> • "Most gay person I’ve ever seen." —Dharun Ravi.

• "His (family) is sooo indian/ first gen americanish . . . just like . . . first son off to college . . . his rents defs owna dunkin (donuts)." —Tyler Clementi.

New docs in the Tyler Clementi Rutgers suicide case reveal that everyone sits around and gossips on IM about each other. (Some more literately than others.) Why can't an Indian dude and a white gay dude in a dorm room get along? Ugh.

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