Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - March 11
Back in 2020, Darius Foroux wrote and article titled
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How to stop caring about what people think & do |
It is well reasoned and thoughtful. And it reminds us to be good to ourselves. And as a short summary: remove yourself from the noise, have a mission for yourself, and keep good company.
This story starts with an introduction to author Carl Hiassen. Carl lives in Miami, and writes some short stories about the reality of things that happen here. And longer (at least partially fictional) stories loosely based on real events. The stories are weird and wonderful, taking place in the state of Florida. We didn't get the "Florida Man" name for nothing! Anyway, one of the stories he wrote was "Bad Monkey" which Apple TV made into a mini series starring Vince Vaughn. It takes place in the Keys and Miami and is fun. But the cool part is that its not only set here, it was actually filmed here. If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it. It is bizarre and pretty funny. The series was based on the book, and ended in much the same way as its source. That's that. But... Apple found it to be such a success that they are ordering a season 2. Except that its not based on a specific work, Hiassen will only "consult" on the general theme, and it will be filmed in Hollywood, but be set in the keys again. It all raises many questions, but the biggest one has to do with why it won't be filmed in Florida. Its because the state doesn't have any sort of tax incentive to produce movies here, and very often shows are set here but filmed in California. Its weird. |
This is a weird dispute between Sony Pictures and CBS on how the TV show Jeopardy is distributed. And the fact that it airs on other networks in parts of the country just complicates it further. |
This tweet from an Amazon co-founder says it all   |
Disney had a means of providing something to guests needing special assistance. Back before you had all the technology, guests who couldn't wait in line could get a pass book from guest relations that would allow them to visit attractions and be given a return time to avoid the wait. As the technology advanced, they still had the book but you had to do a little pre-planning and couldn't just walk into guest relations and ask for it. Then, the abuse started. People who didn't need it were using it to "skip the lines" and worse, local tour operators were directing their clients (for a fee) in how to game the system. Disney changed the system to one that more closely aligned with the technology; you could pre-register and then go through a sort of screening process (Disney was always very mindful about not asking specific questions about disabilities, but wanted to know if waiting in line posed a problem, and wanted to see the person who would be using it). The guest would then be able to book some lightning lane attractions for their visit that would mostly avoid lines. Only…. These tour operators are not all good people. And they found more loopholes to exploit, thus giving their guests a means (once again) to cheat the system. Disney responded yet again, this time by threatening these operators. But, social media spread the "how to" far and wide. So Disney had to change course and revisit the program. They further restricted who could use it and how many attractions it could be used on, etc. Which caused some people to cry foul. Right or wrong they are saying Disney is discriminating against them. And are suing in California (such a suit would go nowhere in Florida, and would face resistance on the national level). I suspect the endgame will be that Disney makes another change. But what that will look like is anyone's guess. To me, a solution where one person waits in line and the guest with the disability catches up at the end may be the simplest one. Though I do see that using some technology may be helpful - perhaps you wait in a virtual queue, but it has to be nearby the attraction and the wait time is as though you stood in line and then you join the queue at the end. It eliminates more of the system abuse and levels it for everyone. You can still purchase the lightning lane if you choose. But this is a free option that changes the paradigm. |
Over the last week, we had some space news of note. SpaceX tried (and failed again!) to launch starship. The result was similar to the last launch in that they lost control of the upper stage and it pitched uncontrollably and they had to destroy it. In this case, the view of the craft and its problem were visible from the east coast of Florida (in spite of the launch from the Texas coastline, it flew eastward). The reason for the visual was the time of day (sunlight was reflecting at the right angle), the altitude, and the typical trail from the rockets themselves as it pitched. It was another learning experience for the company, because failure is always an option. Though I do feel for the engineers who still have to figure this out. Bigger, though, is that it caused problems for airports up and down Florida's coast and triggered a response from the FAA - which undoubtedly will prove "complicated" since Musk dictates what the FAA does and also owns SpaceX (conflict of interest anyone?)  Next up was Intelligent Machines second attempt at a lunar landing. They launched a few weeks ago, and everything seemed to be going well. Then when it came time for landing, they had some unexpected thrust from an engine; it landed, but like their last launch, it fell over, and couldn't be saved.  And finally, we had the other lunar lander that was launched as part of the ride share with Intuitive Machines. Blue Ghost, from Firefly aerospace, landed successfully and thus becomes the first *successful* moon landing for the US since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago,  In their case, I would argue space was hard - but achievable. We are learning a lot as they work through their mission objectives. |
World War II ended 80 years ago, and yet we continue to find explosives and bombs in various locales. But here is a case where a half ton unexploded bomb was found in a fairly populated area. They've brought in people to dispose of it, but given its size, location, and age, it is a delicate operation that may take some time to handle properly. Its amazing just how much destruction was wrought during that war, and for that matter the Great War that happened 20 years before that. |
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