Big Box, Obama and iPad Blues
Three things I wanted to rant about tonight, in order to write it down somewhere...
The Daily Astorian confirmed the article written in the Coast River Business Journal about at least 4 new big boxes coming to Warrenton in the near future. This is insane. There are whole blocks of real estate in Astoria empty, and several shops I'm sure are almost ready to go. The retail centers in Warrenton are growing in exactly the same pattern I see everywhere, and besides the obvious environmental destruction, I don't see the business situation in Astoria worsening, or in Seaside or Cannon Beach either, for that matter. I have never stepped foot in either the Home Depot or Costco in Warrenton, nor will I ever. I've been to Fred Meyer about 5 times in the 5 years I've lived here. I may not ever be in there again. I've stopped going to the animal shelter because of the housing development nearby, and actually avoid the whole area as much as possible. I'm hoping to start a movement to boycott all the big boxes, and redirect shoppers to their local shops, especially in Astoria. The threat of Walmart has mobilized some people, but surprisingly few are opposed to other big boxes, and sprawl in general. Is there no place immune from this cancer?
On Obama, I'm really upset that our major policies have not changed a whole lot from the evil W. Offshore drilling? Check. War in Iraq and Afganistan? Check. Rubber-stamp Israeli policy? Check. Immigration? Check. Coal mining? Check. Medical care (despite the reform package)? Check. Financial policies? Check. Military budget immune from scrutiny? Check. Nuclear power? Check. Unfair tax policy? Check. The list goes on and on. The Obama administration, and the man himself, needs to live up to the hope of those that elected him (not me; I voted Green). I realize that in some areas, other branches of government have thwarted Obama's efforts, but he has the bully pulpit, and needs to use it. Meanwhile, his right-wing opponents have branded him and the Democrats as socialists, and considered that a bad thing. He needs to fight back and use his executive authority to scale back our military adventures, drastically cut the military budget, tax the rich and redistribute the money to the poor, rebuild infrastructure in a completely new way, curb corporate power, teach our kids to think, encourage us to do good for all, realign our foreign policy, and so many other things that people expected him to. He's not so unlike Bush, and that's scary.
Finally, I'm a little disappointed in my iPad so far. Though the hardware is fine, I was expecting to use my iPad mostly for replacing the myriad books, magazines, web sites, papers and other written material I've accumulated with this one tiny, hand-held device. No such luck so far. The iBooks Bookstore mostly sells new books. What I want is to replace what I have in the house with electronic copies and give away or sell the paper ones. I want to have electronic subscriptions to vastly improved magazines and newspapers, at reduced prices, using the iTunes/app model of small price tags for all items that sell to a vastly expanded audience. And I want to be able to read articles stored on the web on the Pad. This last item is possible using Instapaper, a great app that allows you to download an article onto your Pad with a button in the toolbar of the browser, for off-line reading. I know I'm impatient. These promised things will come. Oh, I also want handwriting input and configurable virtual keyboards. One thing I don't want is 3G. Or 4G. Or any G. The whole idea is to use the iPad like a real pad -- scribble on it, write notes, read, even play games, all locally. No connection needed. Leave the connection for phones, and big, clunky computers.
One final comment. It's raining pretty good outside, and people around here are complaining. But it's warm, and the warm rain makes it feel a little like Hawaii, and I love it. The plants are thriving, as are the wildlife. We have to learn to live with weather. Here's what I say: Rain is good, more rain is better, flooding is best. How I long for a jubilee! Let's just stop for a while and take a deep breath.
The Daily Astorian confirmed the article written in the Coast River Business Journal about at least 4 new big boxes coming to Warrenton in the near future. This is insane. There are whole blocks of real estate in Astoria empty, and several shops I'm sure are almost ready to go. The retail centers in Warrenton are growing in exactly the same pattern I see everywhere, and besides the obvious environmental destruction, I don't see the business situation in Astoria worsening, or in Seaside or Cannon Beach either, for that matter. I have never stepped foot in either the Home Depot or Costco in Warrenton, nor will I ever. I've been to Fred Meyer about 5 times in the 5 years I've lived here. I may not ever be in there again. I've stopped going to the animal shelter because of the housing development nearby, and actually avoid the whole area as much as possible. I'm hoping to start a movement to boycott all the big boxes, and redirect shoppers to their local shops, especially in Astoria. The threat of Walmart has mobilized some people, but surprisingly few are opposed to other big boxes, and sprawl in general. Is there no place immune from this cancer?
On Obama, I'm really upset that our major policies have not changed a whole lot from the evil W. Offshore drilling? Check. War in Iraq and Afganistan? Check. Rubber-stamp Israeli policy? Check. Immigration? Check. Coal mining? Check. Medical care (despite the reform package)? Check. Financial policies? Check. Military budget immune from scrutiny? Check. Nuclear power? Check. Unfair tax policy? Check. The list goes on and on. The Obama administration, and the man himself, needs to live up to the hope of those that elected him (not me; I voted Green). I realize that in some areas, other branches of government have thwarted Obama's efforts, but he has the bully pulpit, and needs to use it. Meanwhile, his right-wing opponents have branded him and the Democrats as socialists, and considered that a bad thing. He needs to fight back and use his executive authority to scale back our military adventures, drastically cut the military budget, tax the rich and redistribute the money to the poor, rebuild infrastructure in a completely new way, curb corporate power, teach our kids to think, encourage us to do good for all, realign our foreign policy, and so many other things that people expected him to. He's not so unlike Bush, and that's scary.
Finally, I'm a little disappointed in my iPad so far. Though the hardware is fine, I was expecting to use my iPad mostly for replacing the myriad books, magazines, web sites, papers and other written material I've accumulated with this one tiny, hand-held device. No such luck so far. The iBooks Bookstore mostly sells new books. What I want is to replace what I have in the house with electronic copies and give away or sell the paper ones. I want to have electronic subscriptions to vastly improved magazines and newspapers, at reduced prices, using the iTunes/app model of small price tags for all items that sell to a vastly expanded audience. And I want to be able to read articles stored on the web on the Pad. This last item is possible using Instapaper, a great app that allows you to download an article onto your Pad with a button in the toolbar of the browser, for off-line reading. I know I'm impatient. These promised things will come. Oh, I also want handwriting input and configurable virtual keyboards. One thing I don't want is 3G. Or 4G. Or any G. The whole idea is to use the iPad like a real pad -- scribble on it, write notes, read, even play games, all locally. No connection needed. Leave the connection for phones, and big, clunky computers.
One final comment. It's raining pretty good outside, and people around here are complaining. But it's warm, and the warm rain makes it feel a little like Hawaii, and I love it. The plants are thriving, as are the wildlife. We have to learn to live with weather. Here's what I say: Rain is good, more rain is better, flooding is best. How I long for a jubilee! Let's just stop for a while and take a deep breath.
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