My wife and I got my mother a Tivo DVR this Christmas. It was a calculated risk. My mother is in her 80's and doesn't like learning to use new stuff. On the other hand, she has a VCR which she manages to use, but she gets confused about the whole tune-the-TV v.s. tune-the-VCR issue, and sometimes she uses the wrong remote or gets some part of the system (TV, VCR, remote) into a … [Read more...] about A Taste of Future Shock
Archives for December 2008
The President Who Stole Christmas?
George Bush is such a tool: WASHINGTON - The pardons President George W. Bush granted this week couldn't have been better Christmas gifts if Santa himself had delivered them. But a Brooklyn, N.Y., man, Isaac Robert Toussie, received the legal equivalent of a lump of coal. Toussie, convicted of making to the Housing and Urban Development Department and of mail fraud, was among … [Read more...] about The President Who Stole Christmas?
Spreading the Love
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer Murray Newman used to be an Assistant District Attorney at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center until today. He backed the wrong horse in the last election and was the victim of a political firing by incoming District Attorney Pat Lykos. Newman had been told today would be his last day, but yesterday he posted a satirical version of The … [Read more...] about Spreading the Love
The Congress That Stole Christmas
Well, not quite, but this isn't good. After last year's problems with lead paint in children's toys, Congress passed new laws to regulate the industry. Without changes to strict new safety rules...mom-and-pop toy makers and retailers could be forced to conduct testing and labeling they can't afford, even if they use materials as benign as unfinished wood, organic cotton and … [Read more...] about The Congress That Stole Christmas
When It’s Time to Collect…
I'm not as upset as some people about Chrysler taking out an ad in the Wall Street Journal to thank us for the money. Sure, they're thanking us by spending $100,000 of our own money, but really, that's a drop in the bucket. Besides, they'll pay it all back, in theory. On the other hand, Mark Cuban has a great idea how to get our money back if they give us trouble: I could … [Read more...] about When It’s Time to Collect…