Still waiting for a real 2016 presidential candidate...

...I am not holding my breath.

The loons are running the show and still there isn't enough entertainment value to generate a desire to follow very closely what is going on.

Really, can anyone tell me what is going on?

The democrats (or should we call them socialist for that is what they really are even if there is only one that will admit to the title) should be embarrassed no end to the list of candidates they have come up with.  I have said before and will say again that they are the very definition of hypocrisy by pretending to be in favor of the 'people' and they are the only ones looking our for our welfare, but when looking at the actions they espouse I question their real intentions as they continue to pass legislation that would restrict the power of the individual with this insane notion that the self appointed saviors of our stupid are better qualified to direct how you live your life than you ever could be.

On the other hand the republicans are all over themselves trying to be the voice of the party but the so called leaders of the party have a different idea of what that voice should be.  Sadly, they are unwilling to state what that voice should be, but they can sure enough tell you what it isn't supposed to be.  They just disagree with any little loony thing that might be said by the party candidates and disassociate themselves from the very people that are trying to create the counter arguments coming from the other side of the same coin.  When your main party candidates are publicly, verbally doubting their own parties leadership's actions and are posing the possibility of defecting, it makes you wonder what is wrong with this picture?

So here we are less than a year away from the election; we may have a few 'labeled' front runners but we don't have any real valid candidates as of this date.

Guess what?  You are the boss, you have a position to fill, you have some candidates that are applying for the job and they are giving you their resumes and answering the most major of questions "What would you do if given this job?".  So ask yourself, 'Is this the person I would select to fill this position, is this the best candidate, and do I judge this person to be qualified to fill this position in my best interest and can I trust them to do so for the next four years?'.  If the list of candidates (which is short when it eventually all boils down to just two) does not provide the dream employee you would take a chance of this magnitude on, then you should keep looking.  You re-list the job opening as often as required.  You keep looking for that someone that can actually fill the shoes properly, someone you can trust fully to represent your best interest, to take care of the business of the country well enough that you can turn your focus to running the business of you and yours.

This goes for all elected positions.  We should demand better.  We deserve better.  We need better.

And that is why I am waiting and hoping that a real worthwhile candidate that has yet to be declared, that will step forward and provide some hope.  I know the odds are thin, especially this late in the game and with the game rigged against us even if someone should stand up it will be very difficult to have the guys running the lights share the spotlight by pointing them in a different direction.  Still...

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

They are finally catching up

How long have I been talking about wanting a player that had a variable speed playback option?  A long, long time.  I have found a few since then and have been able to listen to audio-books and podcasts much faster covering more material and exploring new venues and I have been loving it.

I have been wanting the same thing for video and have found it on occasion with the windows media player but you had to download the file and even then it was hit and miss if it would work or not.  Sometimes the picture would work but the sound was gone, sometimes the sound would work but the video was stuttering.  And since it is hard to download a YouTube video there was little chance of having it work there.

But today I stumbled on a training video on a google site and the setting icon which is usually just used to set the resolution also had a place to adjust the speed of the playback.  I got so excited I just had to come over and share the news.

I don't know if this is for all YouTube videos or not but my fingers are crossed.  There are a lot of good videos out there with a lot of great knowledge to be had but there are a lot of times I wish the presenter could just speed it up a little and now maybe they can just for me.  I really can't wait to see if this trend is a reality for all or even just for some buy I am psyched to try it out.

Now I wonder if the same playback option will start to show up in other video places.

Whoever got this to work, high fives, mega kudos and just plain way to go.  THANKS.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

See anything funny this week?

So I didn't watch the 'debate' this week, other than a few of the sound bites and news clips that were floating around.  I admit it, my interest has waned already and sleep seemed like a better option.  Upon reflection I was right.

By the way, the reason I put debate in quotes is because there have been no debates as of yet.  Honestly, Fox and CNN hosted a get together for tea and biscuits without the tea and biscuits.

The Fox debate was more about directed softballs for the candidates to address their talking points or counter a criticism about individual items of each candidate but was only addressed by one maybe two candidates at best, so where is the debate.

CNN on the other hand was just trying to start fights between the candidates rather than picking an issue and allowing all the candidates to make their comments.  Entertaining maybe but useful, not so much.

Overall the sound bites reported on were weak.  The media is trying so hard to make something out of nothing.  They have to because it is still too early in the season for them to let the average Joe/Jane lose interest and therefore risk losing ratings.  In this day and age, short attention spans reign and they are going to have a tough job ahead of them.  (They are good at it, I mean, they have kept 'Two Broke Girls' on the air for more then three episodes and I still don't see how that happened.  Maybe I put too much faith in 'we the people'.)

Short Takes:
Lindsey Graham sit down and shut up.  You are not funny and you are part of the reason we are in this mess.  You have been in Congress since 1993 and your name is not associated with the best of legislation to come out of Washington.  Too bad Rick Perry beat you to being the first to step down from this years election so you will have to be an also ran there as well.

Carly Fiorina is a republican woman running for president.  Other than that I got nothing, kinda like the democrat front runner.  I am currently sitting next to a desktop HP computer that is on an extended downtime again (I've lost count how many this makes now).  It is an older box probably from your era.  I have had HP printer fun also.  I am not impressed with the way you ran HP and at your level you can't just blame it on the economy (no wait, that is what the last four presidents have done...maybe you are candidate worthy).  Sadly no one can figure out how to pronounce your name, including myself which cuts your chances in half.  (That may also be why I like Cream of Wheat.)

Jeb Bush had a large automatic following from day one, I can't figure out why.  He finally has a chance to express himself and convey his message.  Jeb Bush still has a large following.  I still can't figure out why.

And then there is Trump.  He has admitted he is an entertainer (or at least is trying to be).  I am sorry but I can't take him seriously as a presidential contender as there is very little substance behind the facade.  What I do find amusing is that the media and others still think they can shame him into making changes in what he says or does.  He is the Donald and he is shameless.  (Did you not see him on the celebrity roast on comedy central, I couldn't watch all of it because it was so shameless and this is not a plug to seek it out.  I just have more important things to do with my time like sort my finger nail clippings.)  The guilt trip big enough to overcome his ego will never come from external forces.  Sorry political correctness police, you will have to look elsewhere.

I like the fact that the others are sticking it out a little longer.  The fact is with a field this large the longer they stay the better chance of actually getting to make a point and some of them might actually have a point to be made.  Will anyone be around to care when that time finally comes?  More than a few have candidates have stuck it out just to be given a chance to speak at the party convention only to have no one watch them and no one remember what they said.  Only the last one standing will get any real attention whether they deserve it or not.  That is they way we play.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.