Wax Cathartic

Welcome to Wax Cathartic, the /dev/null for the random thoughts of web developer and entrepreneur Nickolas Means. Don't expect anything serious here - for that, visit my company's site.

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Obama '08

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    Fri Feb 15
    Barack Obama | The Blueprint for Change
    Next time you hear a Hillary supporter claim that Obama is all rhetoric and no plan for action, point them to this, Barack’s 62 page Blueprint for Change.  It’s far more detailed than any of the plans Hillary has announced.
    Thu Feb 14

    Steal My Bandwidth!

    I’ve got a Dreamhost account with plenty of bandwidth to waste, so if you want to put an Obama logo up somewhere, feel free to use the one on my server!

     http://nmeans.org/images/obamastandardicon.jpg

    Obama’s Lead in Delegates Shifts Focus of Campaign - New York Times
    Great summary of the current state of the race for the Democratic nomination.  I hope superdelegates do the right thing and go with the popular vote!
    Mon Feb 11
    “ The point is that this mess is our fault. We let in the serpents and liars, we exchanged shining ideals for a handful of nails and some two-by-fours, and we did it by resorting to the simplest, deepest-seated and readiest method we possess as human beings for trying to make sense of the world: through our fear. America has become a phobocracy.
    — Michael Chabon - Obama vs. the Phobocracy
    Wed Feb 6
    I’m just not sure what the proper reaction to this is.  It’s depressing, for starters.
    I’m just not sure what the proper reaction to this is.  It’s depressing, for starters.
    Mon Feb 4
    “ Imagine a circus act in which two enormous, clumsy, awkward elephants that don’t really like each other are supposed to mate while riding on skateboards.
    — Fake Steve on the proposed Microsoft/Yahoo! merger.
    Wed Jan 23
    Sunday - My New Virtual Assistant(s)

    Just signed up today, and I’m very impressed so far. Had them call Warranty Corp. of America, one of my least favorite places to call, and check on the status of my warranty claim for my busted TV. Two hours later, I get the following back:

    “Hi Nickolas,

    Per your request I contacted Warranty Corporation of America at 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX, spoke to XXXXX and updated that you wish to receive a check for the warranty claim of your Samsung TV. She made a note of this and said that it normally takes 3 to 4 weeks for the check to arrive. They will contact you on your cell phone with the status tomorrow.”

    It’s normally a 10-15 minute wait just to get a human on the phone with the warranty people, and it usually results in my being very frustrated by the end of the conversation.  If Sunday saves me 2 or 3 calls like that a month, it will be well worth it! 

    “ It’s odd that the first woman with a shot at becoming president is so openly dependent on her husband to drag her over the finish line.
    — Maureen Dowd, in the New York Times, on Billary’s double-team of Obama.
    I want to change the world, to do great things.  I truly do.  But most of the time I feel too mired in minutiae to do anything meaningful. 
    Fri Jan 4
    Obama's victory speech - (37signals)

    I’ve got to agree with Jason Fried on this one - Obama is an amazingly gifted orator.  How nice it would be to have a president again who could actually deliver a speech with some conviction!  

    He doesn’t say a whole lot about his policies here, but this speech is more about rallying emotion for New Hampshire on Tuesday.  There’s plenty of time between now and then to get into the minutiae of his policies.  And, as far as rallying emotion goes, this was top notch.