Archive for July 17th, 2012

Banana republicans watch: July 17, 2012.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Today’s tale is brought to you by the town of San Fernando, where voters are trying to recall three of the city council members.

Fiscal irresponsibility? Criminal acts? Election fraud? No. The oldest motivation in the world.

Councilman Mario Hernandez, who has already resigned (but is still up for recall), was carrying on an affair with Councilwoman Maribel de la Torre. For some reason, he decided back in November to announce this. At a council meeting. In public. With his wife sitting in the front row.

Since then, the relationship has deteriorated, to the point where police were called on June 28th; both parties have restraining orders against each other. Hernandez has asked the DA to drop the domestic violence charges against de la Torre: as you might know from watching “COPS”, or living in California, this decision isn’t up to the alleged victim, and the DAs office states they will pursue charges if the evidence warrants.

More:

If prosecutors refuse to dismiss the case, Hernandez has agreed to testify that police officers persuaded him to pursue the report and get a restraining order.

Former councilman Hernandez may want to be very careful about that. I believe California still has laws against perjury.

Anyway, that’s two down. Number three on the recall parade is the Mayor, Brenda Esqueda, who is accused of having an affair with a sergeant on the police force.

In a memo last year, a police commander claimed he was prevented from placing the sergeant on leave by Esqueda and Hernandez. She told reporters this week, “We might be elected officials, but we still are human beings.”

I’ll have to try the “still are human beings” excuse sometime and see how it works out.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

For Lawrence.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

A 6-foot-long, 25 pound “Nile monitor lizard” is on the loose in a small town near Colorado Springs.

Sheriff Mike Ensminger said that the lizard has not been reported to have bitten anyone, but that it could become aggressive, and those with pets and children should be cautious.

Carry your damn guns, people.

(What gun for lizard?)

Posted in Clippings, Lizards, Reptiles | 2 Comments »

A thought on application development.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

As noted previously, I bow to no man in my admiration for John Moltz. It makes me very happy that he’s lined up a lucrative sponsorship deal for Very Nice Website.

But.

This week’s sponsor is a list-making application called “Ita”.

You can drag items to rearrange them, tap to mark items completed, and add multiple items quickly, all from the main list view. If you make lists, you’ll love how fast Ita makes it to collect and complete your stuff.

Well, that’s neat, but pretty much what I’d expect from a list-making application on the iPhone, as opposed to, say, a physical piece of paper. Indeed, I’d be willing to say this is the minimal level of function I’d expect from a list-making application.

Ita is beautiful, taking inspiration from high quality paper notebooks and classic typography.

Well, I’m kind of a type geek, and I think applications should look good…

And as you use lists, they’ll show signs of wear, just like a piece of paper.

Why? For Ghu’s sake, why? Isn’t the whole point of this application that it is superior to a paper list? Then why try to emulate the look and feel and wear of paper? What’s the point?

I’ll admit I haven’t used Ita; I don’t have an iPhone or iPad. I’d try the app if becomes available on Android. But I think the question is legitimate. Why are the developers trying to emulate some of the worst aspects of the thing they intend to replace, rather than…oh, I don’t know, maybe putting efforts into improving the app, or developing something new and cool?

Posted in Apple, Geek | Comments Closed

Obit watch: July 17, 2012.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Some of these have been noted on FARK or elsewhere, but I want to round them up here for completeness:

Stephen R. Covey.

Kitty Wells, noted country singer. (“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”) (A/V Club.)

John Lord, keyboard player for Deep Purple.

I also wanted to say a few words about Donald J. Sobol. (NYT. WP. A/V Club. Patrick @ Balko.) I got a great deal of enjoyment out of Mr. Sobol’s work when I was young, and I am saddened by his death (though 87 is a good run).

As regular readers know, I generally do not solicit donations here. But I would like to note that in lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to the New York Public Library to support services for kids. You can donate here, if you’d like.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Music, Obits | Comments Closed