Category: Funny

A Terrifying Prospect

I’ve been meaning to comment on this for some time…

Paul Graham, relentlessly self-promoting Lisp hacker and Internet startup gazillionaire, wrote an essay in which he suggests that it’s a bad idea to try to eliminate massive economic inequality, because the existing system encourages innovation: for example, Mr. Graham started his company “ViaWeb,” now known as “Yahoo Store,” in order to gain financial security. If you try to eliminate inequality, you end up taxing rich people, and making poor people more financially secure. This would eliminate all the motivation for people like him to create startups and achieve financial security.

All I could think when I read this is “I for one shudder, I shudder, to imagine a world without Yahoo Store. All the economic inequality in the world is worth it because it gave us Yahoo Store.”

Which I guess was his point.

(Mind you, there’s a lot of good stuff in the essay, I just found the “threat of a world without Yahoo Store” argument against economic equality pretty comical.)

Baby Boomer Jerk vs. Generation Y Jerks

Penny Arcade! today recounts the encounter between “Gabe” of Penny Arcade and Harlan Ellison, who was apparently annoyed to find that he shared guest of honor status with Gabe and Tycho.

Tycho:

He’s a ridiculous man, a little goblin who pokes his head out of dark holes and scowls at all the Earth. There is no room in my life for that kind of person.

From Tycho summarizing the incident:

Let’s be clear here. We’re talking about a person that a couple total assholes find rude.

There’s not that much to the exchange of hostilities, but if you’re curious, follow the link to read it.

Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’

Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’ | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source — the Onion’s most disturbingly prescient article ever, now available again since the Onion opened their archives.

“You better believe we’re going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration,” said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. “Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?”…

“Finally, the horrific misrule of the Democrats has been brought to a close,” House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told reporters. “Under Bush, we can all look forward to military aggression, deregulation of dangerous, greedy industries, and the defunding of vital domestic social-service programs upon which millions depend. Mercifully, we can now say goodbye to the awful nightmare that was Clinton’s America.”