Recovering from a crash

Over the years, there have been several times where I wished I could back data up to something that would never loose my data. But this dream is probably the dream of every engineer or programmer on the face of the earth. Of course, this dream is probably the biggest dream there is. Unfortunately, a recent database crash caused the dream to come back again.

In this day and age with free storage online and the availability of big hard drives cheap, the problem of hard disks failing is becoming more prevalent. Which leads to other failures.

Is this problem leading us into an era in which we truly are going to loose everything? If we were to suffer a magnetic pulse on a large scale around the world, such as that caused by an asteroid hitting the earth, it would be foolish to think that anything of our data would be left other than that which is in print format.

Should we even be thinking about the paperless office that people have been trying to create since the 1980's, rather foolishly and unsuccessfully in reality. But what is the flip side of that thinking. If we go back to using just paper, things slow down, and also we use more natural resources that are already strained beyond belief.

So what to do? In the short term, I would say that if it is important, back it up on two different mediums. Use online as well as offline resources. If it is really important, print it out. And if it is even more important that that (imperative to your life), put a physical and a media copy in a safe deposit box.

Luckily I dont have much that is in the final category but I keep thinking how many web sites would become my only copy of items I have created should I loose my hard drives.

My Coffee and I

I have always appreciated a good cup of coffee. While there are tons of places that supposedly specialize in making a good cup, I have found that most of the places are just barking in the wind. That has in turn made me take to buying the coffee and grinding it myself.

While most people are happy with the MJB or some other form of canned coffee from the store, I appreciate a bit more flavor in my coffee. Especially a bold or extra bold coffee. This is why I normally will turn to Seattle's Best, Tully's, or Starbucks for my beans or Peets when it can be come by. But they only do the trick half way.

The one coffee that I have enjoyed the most outside of Kauai is the coffee from the Gold Coast Coffee Company in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. For anyone who has visited the Big Island, this is a no brainer. The Coffee Samurai (http://www.countrysamurai.com/) is owned and operated by a third generation Japanese descendant and has by far the best coffee there is.

I don't normally endorse too many things but this place has coffee that will not only fill the air with an aroma that is absolutely distinct, the brewed coffee is a different flavor from anything you have ever had before.

If you are going to the Big Island anytime soon, be sure and pick some up or you can order online from their web site. It is definitely well worth the price.

The Apple ][ and my Life this week

This has been a weird week. I haven't had much time for almost anything and everyone keeps asking why. Well, when you look at what I have done this week in the world of Retro-computing, hopefully you will understand.

First, lets talk about Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange. (www.callapple.org) This has been my baby over the past 10 years and I am finally stepping aside and letting Mike Pfaiffer run with it. But in doing this, it meant that I had to re-do the web site, clean it up, and delete the items not needed on the server. I also had to write a standards document for the production of the magazine. While this might seems like an item that you would have on hand anyways, I hadn't updated any of the items in the document in many years.

Also the 30th anniversary issue of Call-A.P.P.L.E.. 30 Years. How did it get to this point in time. But that is the legacy that is the Apple II computer. It is now 30 years and still going although we now cover the Mac as well.

And speaking of the Apple ][ or Apple2 as it is known, the retro sites we have re-released this week include our Apple Archives site (www.applearchives.com), the Beagle Bros site (beagle.applearchives.com), and the Willamette Apple Connection site (wac.callapple.org). These three sites constitute a good portion of information available for the Apple ][ series computers. Also a ton of software and manuals to go with the packages.

So, if you still have a penchant for the Apple ][ computer and liked the IIgs laptop mentioned in my last post, check out these sites and re-live the 1980's like it is still here.

Apple II gs Laptop

Ben Heck's name has become synonymous with great computer hacks. Once again he has hacked a system which no one said could be done. This beautiful machine not only allows the spirit of the machine to come alive but is a one of a kind machine that Ben is auctioning off for charity.

http://benheck.com/04-14-2008/apple-iigs-original-hardware-laptop#more-366

Check it out.

A Mistake in position on the Olympics

Initially, my thinking about the Olympics was that we should go forth in non-protest, but as things have ratcheted up in the last few weeks with China cracking down on dissenters and on the Tibetans, I have become more and more soft on my stance. While I have never supported protests against the olympics, I am now for moving them all together from China. We could move them some place like Sydney or another city that already has infrastructure to support the games.

Such a move would not only be a wake-up call for the Chinese government but even the mere threat of such a move would hopefully get them moving in the right direction. And if it didnt, we could always set a deadline for them to do it and at the same time have another city prepare for the games.

One may wonder what it is that made me change my stance. In the world of free journalism, there are few of us who are as well known as Wu Lihong. A ecologist who has spear headed China's AIDS campaign and their anti-corruption campaigns is now in Jail for three years for speaking his mind on the Olympics.

While there are many of us who have spoken our minds on it, few if any of us have served time for our thoughts. But now, Wu's wife is having to figure out how to survive in a country where the government doesn't care what happens to a person's family. With 2 Billion people, who can blame them much on this but as one who cares about people, this type of attitude is not only unacceptable but is completely abhorrent.

Which brings me to Tibet. Just because the Chinese government claims something as their own, it does not make it so. I say to the Chinese government: Get a grip dudes! Let the Tibetan people live in peace and quit jailing people for speaking their mind. The deaths of nearly 200 people for protesting something that is frowned upon in all free countries is unacceptable.

NO MORE OLYMPICS FOR CHINA!!!!

The last of the Big Three Sci Fi Writers Dies

In the Science Fiction writing world, there are three writers who wrote books that almost transcended everything. Frank Herbert with his ecological themes, Isaac Asimov with his Generational Government and population themes and last but definitely not least, Arthur C. Clarke with his Scientific themes. Herbert died in 1986, Asimov in April 1996.

Everyone always thought of Clarke as the best of the three because of his scientific knowledge which seemed to go into his stories in a manner which could be easily implemented and believed. But whether you think any one of the three were the best, all of them are now gone and the world is a lessor place because of it.

For this writer and reader, these three writers were a main stay of my library with first editions of each in it. Of course, having read many books outside the main stream by these authors, I can tell you without hesitation that not everything they wrote was great. But the overall package was far greater than the average writer could ever hope to achieve. With careers spanning more then 50 years each, Herbert, Asimov, and Clarke had a style which is lost on today's writers.

In the stories written by the big three, you could always count on the fact that the stories they had written would paint not only a unique world or universe, but also that their characters would be rich, deep and well rounded. No shallow characters for these writers.

And now here we are 22 years after Herbert died and now all three are gone. Lost are the new stories that they would have written. And at 90 years old, Clarke was the longest lived of the three. But you can say that he gave us all of those years in 2001, 2010, 2061, and finally 3001.

For the science fiction world, I guess the challenge now will be to find the next big three that will affect the next generation of readers.

Are terorists targeting the Olympics?

China has announced that it has broken up a terrorist group that was targeting the olympics. The group known as ETIM, while as small as a couple of dozen members, has been all but wiped out by the raid which killed two and left 15 in custody.

While the Chinese are playing up this incident, many are a bit hesitant to agree that it was really terrorism. But based on the history of the Olympics and the fact that is has been a target with the Munich and Atlanta incidents, we have to take this threat seriously.

Unfortunately, the Olympics are the highest profile event there is with more than 150 countries participating in the event. Terrorists see this as a chance to make their impact upon the world, spreading fear. It has not worked out very well in the past but with the damage that 9/11 caused, it is bound to be similar in impact if they are successful.

I for one applaud the amount of effort the Chinese are putting into stopping these idiots. It is high time that the terrorists were stopped and that events like this were respected for the good that they bring to the people of the world.

New Olympic Facilities in Beijing...and Censorship

The 2008 summer Olympic Games are upon us. Almost. And befitting of the timing, this week, the Chinese government gave tours of the new olympic housing facilities to the media. While spartan by normal standards, I am sure that compared to the normal chinese home that these temporary housing units for the athletes are better than many of those used by every day Chinese.

Running water is the hot item and definitely a must have when you are living in a dormitory type situation and competing on the highest level there is for athletics. But that brings us to the one item which the Chinese are not being so open about.

Internet access and transmissions apparently will be available but will be subject to the same stringent safeguards as the official government line says. What this means is that those athletes who plan on blogging their experiences will find that their words are being scrutinized by people who agenda it is to prevent any dissension among its people.

Free speech which is enjoyed in many countries is not enjoyed by the most populous nation on the earth and will not be enjoyed by any of the athletes coming to beijing this summer. Those who have politically tuned blogs will particularly need to be wary of the censors and would more likely be better off doing a daily journal and posting those to the blog once they leave China.

A more interesting way would be to post to the blog and then when they get home, post the real materials. It will be particularly interesting to find out what the government feels is worthy of their time and efforts. Any one care to take this one on?

The Olympics as a Political Tool

In 1980, my father and a friend of mine were both Olympic hopefuls who were ready to compete for honor and glory for their countries in the biggest and grandest of the athletic stages.

My father was an archer of some renown and had worked for 4 years of his life to become one of the best in the world. I can remember tournaments where the weather was freezing temperatures and sleet and snow and rain and all he did was shoot.

On the same lines, my friend was one of the best discus and shot putters in the world at the time. He had worked all of his young life towards the goal of the olympic games. It was supposed to be his crowning achievement.

Then, some fat assed politicians in Washington D.C. started screaming up and down about politics and decided that we shouldn't support the Russian olympics. All because they were a communist country and didn't agree with our idea of politics and democracy. Then Jimmy Carter decided the US would not be attending the olympic games. All because of politics. We have had olympic games in the middle of the most obnoxious of political situations but the athletes disassociated themselves from it for the most part.

Everyone seems to forget that it is the athletes who are important here, not the b.s. politicians. It is the crowning glory for those athletes who have dedicated their years, blood and sweat to the goal of being crowned olympic champion.

Now the same fat asses in D.C. are at it again. A campaign to get people to turn off the TV because of Burma is under way (http://uscampaignforburma.org/8808-beijing-olympics-campaign). What these people seem to forget once again is that the Olympic Games is not a political game or a political stage. It is an athletic competition. Of course, these are the same folks who would show up and protest at a children's soccer game or baseball game.

In 1980, when Carter cancelled the Olympics for the US team, my father turned pro. He never watched another minute of olympic sports and he voted for Reagan. Why? Well, he said he was fed up with the Olympics being used for everyones political agenda. He was an athlete and now here I am 27 years later looking at the way people play politics with athletes, and nothing has changed.

As for my friend who was the discus thrower, he competed for a few more years before health issues over took his life. As for 1984, he was retired a year or so by then. But neither were interested in their sports on the amateur level due to the politicians.

I remember all these events like they happened yesterday. They had a profound effect on my life and the way I believe. It also led me to believing that you compete where ever you are and you accept those of other faith's countries, religions and you compete in the name of SPORT!

Thus I say to you who would support groups like that one mentioned above; Leave us athletes out of your agenda's. It s really not cool and while we support many of your causes on a personal level, don't make our sports part of those causes as they are not related. We are athletes first and last and friends and fellow competitors, no matter what country we compete for. Just because we are from that country, it does not make us part of the government of the particular country.

Post Script: Don't misunderstand me here, or even bother questioning my patriotism as I am as red-white-and-blue as they come. Since my family has a 400 year history in the US, I am not inclined to listen to nay-sayers. But I am also not a politician and sure as hell don't want a politician telling me who and where, or against whom I can or cannot compete. As an athlete I want to compete against the best, whoever or wherever they are. That is the creed of most athletes I know.

Microsoft getting slammed left and right

Over the past couple of weeks, Microsoft has gotten slammed from both sides of the water on a variety of topics. But is it all warranted?

Over the years, many people have come to hate those up in Redmond, including most of the Apple world. Anytime there is a problem in the online world, it seems that everyone starts pointing at Microsoft or Bill Gates. Well, Bill gates is gone supposedly now and Microsoft is trying to play nice with the open source world that they have long stepped on with every turn of the hat.

Now the European Union has stepped on them with the largest judgement against any company ever. The EU courts has fined Microsoft 889 million for dragging their feet on changes that were mandated by the same court in 2004. Developers in Europe have long suffered at the hands of Microsoft and now the high fees MS charged the developers is coming back to haunt them again.

Also California courts decided this week that a class action suit against Microsoft could proceed. The case which contend thats the Vista Ready label on machines was misleading. Many of the machines so labeled could run no better than the Vista Basic version of the operating system. Since Microsoft dictates what constitutes Vista Ready, they are now a target.

Now with these high profile cases happening, many of the good things that Microsoft does on a daily basis get over looked. And it is no wonder since the cases are extreme and unfortunately warranted, it will take a while before the good things get looked at again.

The fruits of Star Wars

No, I am not talking about that 1977 movie that is the favorite of every one I knew as a junior high school student back then. It is the big budget extravaganza, paid for by all of us American tax payers during the Reagan years. You remember, first called Star Wars, then the Missile Defense Shield and these days, a budget breaker.

Oh but wait, we can salvage part of it by taking chancy pot shots as a derelict satellite. For a mere 60 million dollars, we get to shoot one missile at one satellite. All of course because the fuel on board is toxic and we dont know where its going to land. Thats right folks, we still cant predict where it will land.

That then leads us to the real story, NSA Decides technology on board is risk to National Security. Thats right, the satellite we are talking about is the most advanced, and top secret satellite that the military has ever launched. We surely dont want that landing in the Chinese back yard intact.

(yeah, right! Who are we kidding. By the time the thing went through the atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour, it would be more useful to a scrap dealer than a technology stealing scientist).

Oh and wait, there is a show stopper. We have the shuttle Atlantis at the international space station and cant risk losing another shuttle. So we better land it first. (DUH!....You think?)

I wonder who writes this stuff for the guys in the press room at NASA these days. it is funnier than Space Balls. And yet, we are paying for this folks. Do they honestly believe that the fuel will not ignite in 60 miles of 25,000 MPH burn out? Get real. Let it drop, quite trying to one up the Chinese, and let the Atronauts at the ISS do their jobs and come home. Number one, quit wasting or tax payer dollars NASA and get on to Mars and the real science.

Are we there yet?

Over the past several days, I have watched endless hours on CNN of people crunching numbers on the US primary elections. While, I don't mind all of the information overload from a statistical knowledge point, it seems to me that a good bit of news is getting severely left out on a daily basis that has just as much bearing on the world as these elections.

Each day, the idea of who is winning seems to change. I can remember just a couple months back when Fred Thompson was the leading man and he wasn't even in the race. Then he started to run and then faltered in spite of announcing his candidacy on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. All the popularity of that show didn't help him one bit and now he is gone.

Then there was another half dozen candidates that dropped out of the races including Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, probably three of the more popular people in the race and then came our Mormon friend, Mitt Romney, whose faith second campaign didn't deal him any better hand. But did you know that in spite of what the national news would have you believe, there actually are still 7 candidates on the trail for the white house.

On the Democratic side, there is Mike Gravel and on the republican side, we have Ron Paul and also Alan Keyes. But like any popularity contest, these minor candidates dont get the money, the coverage or the votes and eventually their names will be dropped from the hat like yesterday's news.

So we are left with A Freshman Senator, a former First Lady and current Senator, A Preacher and former governor, and of course, John McCain. Well, I guess I just let the cat out of the bag who I am endorsing for president. But does it really matter who I endorse? I see the news making waves about who other people are endorsing but then again, they have money machines that I just don't have as a blogger and web master.

And of course, there is the wow factor. When Florida's governor and California's Governor stood up there and announced their picks, everyone tuned in. Hopefully, no one from the main stream media will give my endorsement much more than a passing glance. If not, then we are in a real hurt for news. Which brings me back to where I started before this road trip got a bit long.

The news being reported is not necessarily the news. it is what the people at CNN and the money folks want you to see. It is not that there are blizzards in India, monsoons in Madagascar, problems with Marines raping local girls in Okinawa, or even the storms hitting the US. These stories all seem to magically disappear anytime that there is the least bit of politics involved in a story that runs counter to what the news outlets want to show. I am sure Oprah supporting Obama is important, but then so is the fact that tornados destroyed towns in the US and our young men and women are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am glad we do place such importance in our choice of leaders in America. But I will be glad when we are there and we start putting the other stories that are important back where they belong.

Iran tests rocket. West reacts.

Iran tested a rocket today, causing severe concerns among western allied countries. While Iran has said that this type of rocket will be used to launch their first home grown satellite Omid (Hope), The US government has sad that the same technology could be used to build long range ballistic missiles and Nuclear capable missiles.

While this is not the first time that Iran has tried to join the big 5 in the space race, it is the first time that they have built up the ballyhoo to go with the launch. Unfortunately for them, their claims of peaceful science surrounding the launch are being met with sever skepticism due to their involvement in the Iraq war. Also Iranian president Ahmadinejad's public displays of hatred for western countries is not helping their cause.

Back in the 1990's everyone knew Iran was working towards satellite launching capabilities as it was widely reported in the media and they had fairly open reporting on the launches. However with this new government, the country has once again gone back to the style that was prevalent during the tenure of Khomeini. I guess the idea of hating America is fashionable again so everyone is jumping on board as quick as they can.

Only time will tell if they are truly developing this technology for peaceful purposes, however, one would not want to see countries suddenly bombed with nukes just because some despot like Ahmanainejad decides he doesnt like ssomething that was said by a government of another country.

Steve Jobs looses $354 Million since Mac World

Acording to a reports in Forbes (http://tinyurl.com/338ukj), Steve jobs has lost a total of $354 million between his holdings in Apple and Disney. While his salary at Apple is just a single dollar, it is well known that his benefits over the years have been very high market range, including a 90 million dollar jet, shares in the company and other CEO type goodies.

While I dont think anyone is going to cry yet, it is kind of funny to see someone such as Steve Jobs lose more money in a single day than the average company makes in a year in total sales.

Real Space Flight Anyone?

Virgin Galactic has unveiled the latest space ship that will carry passengers to sub-orbital flight. Could it lead further? Richard Branson sure seems to think so in this video

Yahoo Publisher Network...Holier than thou???

Last month, Google had it's latest round of rehashing the Adsense network. So we started to look at other options. One option that recently opened up was Yahoo's service. So we applied. The response we got back was not one that we expected.

Dear William,

Thank you for applying for the Yahoo! Publisher Network beta program. We have reviewed your request and we regret to inform you that you were not accepted into the program. As the program is currently in beta, we are accepting a very limited number of new publishers. We will keep your contact information on file and let you know when we launch to the general public, or if we are able to invite you to join the beta before then. To maximize your chances for approval in the future, please make sure:
You have a valid U.S. Social Security or Tax ID number, and web site content that is predominately in English and targeted at a U.S. user base.
Your site provides a good user experience. Please see our complete list of guidelines for a positive user experience here.
Your site does not contain problematic content. Please see our guidelines for displaying our ad results here.
Thanks again for your interest. We look forward to welcoming you into our program when it is open to the public.

Sincerely,

The Yahoo! Publisher Network Team

Now I dont know about you, but if this were my staff putting out letters to customers, I would highly recommend that they dont call the potential customers stupid. But that apparently is foreign to what Yahoo is doing. They not only seem to imply that either we are foreigners (we are all Americans in the company), that we produce web sites that are problematic, or that our web sites do not give the users anything.

Well, being the hot head that I can be when insulted, I immediately fired off a letter back to their corporate staff. I am hoping that I am not alone in this but it seems to me that shooting down the exact people that Yahoo is trying to get as customers is definitely not the best tactic. It appears that they are headed the same route as their failed Auctions site with this one.

The Macworld Expo Keynote

One notable item this year from the Macworld Expo keynote was the Internet. The Internet, you might ask? Yes, the Internet. Or in other words how the Internet and a dozen major web sites around the globe were brought to their knee.

Large operations such as Engadget, Macworld, Twitter and a host of others were all useless. I was only able to get a reliable fix from CNET, and I dont even like them but they were they only thing I could get onto.

But now that is is over, you can watch one of the following versions of the keynote. The long one or the short one

For users desiring the long one:

The Macworld 2008 Keynote Speech

For those who dont want to take all day to find out what went on, you can check out this one.

The Macworld 2008 Keynote Speech in 90 seconds!


While the goodies they produced are quite nice, there really was sort of a dead ending to the whole keynote. I was waiting, as were many other people, for the "One more thing" speech that they were going to bring out the real meat of the keynote. But then, that never happened so we were stuck here holding nothing but the Air.

Are we there yet?

It sounds like something your kids might say to you when you are driving the 2000 miles to grandmas house. But this is no trip to Grandmas. After 50 years of the Space Race, we have no men on the moon permanently, no moon base, no mars exploration and certainly no 18 month trip to Jupiter as depicted in the books and movies 2001 and 2010.

It almost makes you want to ask NASA the proverbial question, "Are we there yet?" But of course, now they are pushing plans back due to internal issue and conflicts of interest in plans. To the outside viewer, it looks like a three ring circus. To the media, it is more fodder for the anti-NASA people who want the government agency shut down. And to the space advocate, it is just an absolute disaster.

Originally, we were supposed to have a huge space station in orbit. We have lifted little more than a 3 bedroom apartment. Problems with parts and software keep the shuttles grounded. Losing a shuttle or two also does not help matters. It keeps everyone going in circles. What happened to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo era "Can Do" type attitude that everyone in the programs had.

In spite of the failures, we still got things up there and managed to go all the way to the moon and back. Today, I doubt we could get a box car halfway down a hill with the way the program is run. Its just that bad. Space is no longer the sought after materials for the school children. In the 1960's and 1970's, if you asked a kid what they wanted to be when they grew up, a good percentage would say Astronaut. Now we cant even get kids interested in the sciences so the percentage of qualified applicants has waned to a point of near disaster.

If nothing is done with NASA to kick them in the seat of the pant, we could lose out on the technological advantage that has driven America for the last 100 years. The Japanese and the Chinese are now the ones pursuing the moon and doing very well with it I might add. We need to get the "Go fever" back and take the chances. Take the risks and get the people there and back.

Whoever becomes the next vice president will have a hard job of putting some pride back in the program at NASA and if he or she cant get the President on board, it will be an absolute that NASA will no longer exist as we know it within 10 years.

The Human Side of Sports Hoopla

Over the past several years, many who have watched the game for professional football have come to either hate or love Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys. They have written about him in the media, announced things about him in the news programs and even had long discussions on programs that banter about the sports items of the day. The one thing no one had said about the man was that he was human. Until Now.

Today, after the Dallas Cowboys lost their game to the New York Giants, a blubbering and sniffling Terrell Owens defended not only his quarterback, Tony Romo, but also mentioned the word team in almost the same sentence. While this would not be news with anyone else just about, it is note worthy because Terrell has been criticized for not being a team player.

His whole battle with the Philadelphia Eagles players and management as well as his antics when he was in San Francisco made him the dorr mat for every sports talk show host in America. Everyone loved to hate him and blamed all of the problems the teams were having on him.

Today he had 4 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, yet was unable to show everyone that he was the man and the reason they were winning. And as he said in the post game interviews, "we lost as a team." I almost dare anyone to say something bad about him tomorrow as they will be barking up a tree which will have very few branches of followers after the display by T.O. today.

I think T.O. showed what it is about the sport that all who play and watch it love. There is the good times when you win as a team and everyone looks like they could be on the level of God himself, and then there are the times where you lose and look for answers. Today, I think the answers weren't what mattered. It was the fact that a man who has been accused of being one of the most selfish men on the planet showed not only humility, compassion, and a sense of team but also that he showed us that he isnt superman and might actually be classified as human.

Our Fascination with the Celebrities

Over the past five years, I have had to endure absolutely pointless news broadcasts concerning the lives of celebrities. CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and especially FOX all are guilty of broadcasting these pointless stories of the fall from grace of people like OJ Simpson and Britney Spears.

Things like Dar fur and Iraq, Lebanon, Burma, and Afghanistan have all taken a back seat to this stories that serve no purpose other than to further help destroy a life that needs no help in being destroyed in the first place. Just look particularly at the downfall of Britney.

Of course, the news companies believe tht their main audiences are bored house wives who have nothing better to do than watch this garbage. While the stories do gain some eyeballs, it does nothing for the average highly intellectual person who want to sit down and relax after a day of work and get a bit of news. Or maybe I am wxing nostalgic to the lost era of the 1950's to 1970's.

But we continue on. While I don't think celebrities deserve special treatment, you have to wonder where we draw the line. When does a situation become a Lady Di situation in which people are hurt, maimed or even killed. The over zealousness of the paparazzi is well known. And while this was only driven in the past by tabloid papers which most people didn't read, we are now forced to watch it as part of our evening news casts.

What would Walter Cronkite, Ed Bradley or Edwin Murrow have done? I dont think that for a minute that they would have even considered announcing anything like this. They would have laughed and said "find me a real story". CNN even fired announcer Aaron Brown, a well respected news caster for not being dramatic enough last year. Now his replacement, Anderson Cooper, does nothing but spend way too much time on these garbage stories. Their new statement is that they do "Distinctive Reporting" but the only thing distinctive is the self serving crap that these stations are putting out as "News".

And so I say to these big news companies. Get the garbage stories off the news and give us the real stories. Start focusing on the things that really matter and the stories that are worthy of our time.