Day: June 14, 2010

My Connectile Dysfunction

Daily Agitator

I have joked about the connectivity of my electronic stuff for sometime now…it seems that I have a major problem with connection…..I have made many jokes….but that was a coping mechanism…..there is NOTHING funny about the problem….at least not to me….

It all began with me wanting to move into the 21st century and get a Blackberry….that way I could stay connected even when out and about….yes, it is important to me….I am a news and political junkie, so knowing who was doing who is preferable…..

I got my phone in the mail and set about activating it….that was 3 weeks ago and ….you guess it!….I am still NOT activated….I call the techno geeks for some assistance and they go about issuing ticket numbers and having me wait for 24 hours before activation…..3 weeks later I am still waiting for the goddamn activation.  I am over the 24 hour phone tag!

I have given them a choice…..new phone or money returned and I am waiting for that to materialize…(update to follow)…..

My next trip along the connectile dysfunction was my wireless router crap out and had to get a new one……NOTHING is ever simple!  My defunct router was a simple box that connected to the cable modem and away we went….lots of connectivity……

I spent most of a day trying to find a simple router that would just get me connected wirelessly….HA HA HA HA HA!……in the 21st century NOTHING is that easy!  After scouring the area I was left with about 10 different routers, none were a simple fix, that I had to program my PC to do everything but give me a blowjob….but if you just want to be connected you are shit out of luck!  Now they are for the gamers, and the photo freaks and the youtubers, etc…..NOTHING IS SIMPLE!

Btw READ the instruction first….believe me it makes all the difference in the world……

The good news is I am connected wirelessly and can feed on the political stuff until I am full….but I cannot leave the house……I still DO NOT have a goddamn phone…..!!!!!!!!!

Have a nice day, my ass!

Does Regulation Really Work?

Inkwell Institute

Federal Budget/Deficit Series

There is a big debate in Washington and among the radical Left and Right on whether financial regulation will work or not…..and a question that deserves an answer….something we will not get from the pundits and their minions…..

This, of course, is just my opinion….but I think it is a pretty good answer, but then I am biased…..

It is obvious that left to their own devices corporations will NOT do the right thing or control and regulate themselves…..look at Wall Street…..look at the oil spill….look at the health industry….look at….oh well you get my point I believe…..

I know…I know there are those that do not like the direction that our government size is going….and I agree, somewhat, to what is being said….but  (there is always a but)…..something has got to be done…..if not then these types of disasters will continue on a rapidly expanding pace…..

Paul Krugman made some intersting points in his blog on regulations…..

Well, here’s the thing: regulation demonstrably does work where tort law doesn’t. Consider the environmental issue: in reality, the perpetrators of oil spills never pay most of the cost; but in reality, environmental regulation has led to much cleaner air and water. (Look up the history of Los Angeles smog or the fate of Lake Erie if you don’t believe me.)

So why does regulation work? If polluters can buy off the system ex post, after a disaster, why don’t they manage to totally corrupt regulation ex ante? There’s a lot to say about that, and I’m sure there’s a literature I haven’t read. But one thing we tend to forget in this age of Reagan is the importance and virtues of a dedicated bureaucracy: when you have professional government agencies with a job to do, and treat them with respect, that job often gets done.

While Krugman is speaking mostly of the oil spill and regulation….it can be said that federal regulation does work for the areas that I have mentioned above……

While I agree with Krugman on the main point, I also see where regulation can be compromised by the influx of massive amounts of cash to the regulators from the businesses being regulated.

There is the conundrum of regulation……Greed can neutralize much….