NJ and You?

It’s hard working/living in New Jersey.  The cost of living is high, and the real estate market is tough.  Jobs are sparse and social and environmental costs are taxing.  But, there’s fantastic access to New York City (and to a lesser extent, Philadelphia…because I like NYC better), but, overall, as the nation’s economy gets better, not much has improved in the Garden State.

Which is funny, if you think about it.  Because, when our current governor was campaigning and then his first few months in office, he criticized the previous administrations for screwing over Joe NJ.  This State was in a state of disrepair and he was going to fix it.  Over the course of the next 6 years, the governor waged war on all branches of social service: teachers, police unions, emergency personnel, etc., by reducing line-items in the State budget as well as pension contributions.  He killed a number of large projects which would have received Federal funding/support.  He’s backed “Big-Dig-esque” projects such as the American Dream megamall in the meadowlands (see: $675 million in tax-exempt bonds, see: one $390 million dollar grant of taxpayer’s money), while trapping residents in the state by singlehandedly killing the Access to the Region’s Core commuter rail tunnel project.  He is deeply in the pockets of “Big Business,” the latest of which trimmed a $8.9 billion restoration/compensation figure needed to clean up Exxon messes, to a much more modest “get-off-the-hook” figure of $225 million settlement. 

So, I am wondering, out loud, what’s gotten better?  I get it that a nation/worldwide economy downturn isn’t this governor’s fault…but the recovery is tied to how funds are spent throughout the state.  Natural disasters aside, the Love Gov hasn’t improved living conditions to the majority of the state (even those entitled to it due to the same natural disasters).  Property taxes are as high as they ever were.  State Employee benefit contributions have gone up by an order of magnitude, without any improvement in services or facilities, and the State is the largest employer in the…well, State.  What’s gotten better?  Seriously.  Leave comments either here or on FaceBook because I’m at a loss. 

Crowdfunded

I like Tech.  I think that’s not news to anyone paying attention.  So, with that, I tend to read articles that pertain to advances.  Right now I’m paying attention to how painful the Windows 10 upgrade is.  I’ve got it downloaded and am waiting for the “all clear” before I unleash Microsoft’s latest unholy operating system.

In trolling for news, I’ve come across some cool and stupid Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns I thought of posting here.  These crowdfunding sites are meant to allow the little guy to have the big opportunity.  If it’s a good idea, people will help you along your way by funding your project to get your product out to the masses.  Examples of this working include the original Pebble smart-watch (meeting 10,266% of its goal), and the digitization of Reading Rainbow (540% of its goal, but with over 105,000 supporters).  So there are definitely good ideas out there.  Here’s a mix of the good, bad and ugly. 

The Good Idea:

There are a bunch of smart watches that are flooding the market right now, including Apple’s own.  Sure, it’s cool, but not everyone wears a watch.  Also, I would imagine that all of those alerts and buzzes can get very distracting, not to mention the visuals that go along with it.  Enter the OURA Ring.  Yeah, it’s Bluetooth, but it’s got some cool features.  One is that it can monitor your activity during the day, your heartbeat, body temperature, etc., and then also monitor your sleep patterns.  It’ll then let you know when you’ve done enough physical activity to encourage good sleeping situations.  Due to my snoring, I’d guess that I don’t sleep as well as others and this might answer a bunch of questions about that.  Nicest is that the ring comes in very gender neutral colors/shapes that dudes and dudettes would be interested in using.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oura/oura-ring-improve-sleep-perform-better

The Bad Idea:

Walk Wing is an over-the-shoe clip-on which has a set of recessed roller-blade wheels so that you can immediately convert your shoes into roller skates.  The Frankenstein-esque prostheses for your feet come in both white and black and have a lever on the heel which drops the wheels into place so that you can roll to your destination…provided that you have a contiguous flat surface to roll on.  They’ve got to be annoying to wear because the purchase of the attachments includes a backpack to store them in for when you’re not using them…which means you want to take them off ASAP.  The backpack has only enough room for the Walk Wing skates and a tablet computer, and then you’re forced to cart the backpack wherever you’re going.  At that point, if you’re looking for this kind of experience, just buy a pair of rollerblades or equivalent, throw them into a backpack you already own, and presto…same effect, and I just saved you $200 on show attachments which make you walk like the undead.  Now, if only there were a pair of Bluetooth neck plugs that went with them…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/walk-wing-an-exciting-new-way-to-move-around#/story

The Ugly Idea:

You know those times when you used to talk on the phone to your loved ones to let them know you’re thinking about them?  Those days are long gone.  Enter the Lovlit Candle.  This electric candle, not terribly different in lighting than those found on restaurant tables looking to inspire ambiance without burning the place down, is a WiFi enabled candle that communicates with others its paired to, over the internet.  When you hold your candle, it’ll slowly light both yours and the others in the group.  What?  Yeah, you’ve got to connect all of the subordinate candles via WiFi in the other homes so that they’re all connected and light at the same time.  Why?  I don’t know.  But, you can also use the app from your smart phone or tablet to light them remotely to show the people in your group that you’re thinking of them.  That’s it.  It does nothing else.  People, just pick up the damn phone.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lovlit/lovlit-candle-a-new-way-to-connect-with-the-ones-y?ref=category

Honorable Mention Idea:

Will someone help this kid (who isn’t likely a kid) buy his “mom” a new pair of Monster nTune Headphones?  He broke her last pair.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-mothers-birth-day-gift#/story

The Daily Scare

Last week brought an end to an era of news reporting in this country.  While Jon Stewart fervently maintained that his job was primarily entertainment, the vast majority of people my age would regularly get their news (and opinions) from the analytical work he and his team unearthed.  News to no one, politics is a dirty business, and The Daily Show routinely showed how dirty it was by demonstrating the hypocrisy of political process.  While criticisms were made on both sides of the isle, the show’s “leftist” leanings provided a counterbalance to the unscientific and unethical “crusades” made by the far right.

The beauty about the Daily Show was the fact that they did the paying attention for us.  They synthesized about 18hrs of news media into a half hour show, thereby allowing us to pay less (or little to no) attention to the stupid shit people say in the news and in our government.  It was so easy to tune in, get frustrated, and then have a visceral reaction which sometimes led to increased political action…or at least awareness.  Who’s going to watch Fox News all day to catch them calling out President Obama for holding a latte while saluting even though President Bush, during his term, had a Scottish terrier under arm while trying to “respect our servicemen while disembarking?”  Who is going to point out the fact that politicians routinely talk out of one side of their mouth while voting in the complete opposite direction?  Who’s going to cover Trump?

Luckily, the Daily Show spawned three “spin-off” shows who will hopefully carry the torch.  Stephen Colbert will be taking the helm of Late Night, and I’m sure, while Comedy Central owns that pseudo-right-wing persona, will continue with his observations about how broken politics is in this country.  John Oliver is already killing it HBO by covering big social issues, one at a time.  Evidence of that comes via the multitude of shares on FaceBook about his rants.  And, while less popular, Larry Wilmore is carrying the torch on Comedy Central, and will continue to do so after Trevor Noah, with his own views on daily news.  While Wilmore doesn’t have the bombastic personality of his predecessor, he certainly has the wit and the “machine” behind the facts.  And, then there’s the aforementioned Trevor Noah, who will, hopefully, continue in Stewart’s established format, and continue to bring us the day’s political Cliff Notes.

Will it be the same?  No.  Should we continue watching anyway, yes.  The adage of “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention” still holds true.  Stories about increased violence about blacks in this country need to be told.  The woman who was raped at Virginia Wesleyan and is suing the University for its inaction (and/or indifference), now has to defend herself against their request for a list of all her past and present romantic interests to establish her credibility.  What?  Wait, what?  Or, what about the “traditional marriage” Tea Party Michigan state Representative who tried to spread a hoax that he had sex with a man to hide the fact that he cheated on his wife…with another Tea Party state Rep?!?  Who will bring this important (ha!) news to the forefront so that the veil of lies that hides the hypocritical bull shit will be occasionally lifted?  And, I ask this question because we need to know what’s going on.  We need to keep paying attention, and therefore, keep being angry.  Because, when we are complacent in our ignorance, we lose…and Trump wins.  What’s scarier than that?