Bill Richardson!
I just found a quiz online, created by the Washington Post (you should take it too) that summarizes the candidates' answers to various questions and asks how much you agree or disagree, then weights the results and tabulates them to tell you who you should vote for. The whole test is blind (they mix up the answers and don't show you which candidates they belong to), so as far as I can tell, this seems to me like the best way to pick a presidential candidate yet. Obviously there are problems with this method, but shit, seems about as scientific as picking a favorite person can be.
The test told me some interesting things, both about myself and the candidates. First of all, I hate it when dodgy or pander-y answers are given to these kinds of questions. Therefore, I only chose ones that gave a strong stance. As a result, I ended up picking ZERO of Obama's answers. That's right, zero. The candidate I thought I liked the most ended up scoring the lowest out of all five. Richardson was first, followed by Hillary, followed by Chris Dodd (??), then Edwards, then Obama.
I also discovered I really don't know jack shit about Richardson or Dodd, but based on this quiz, you better believe I'm going to do some research. Not that I really think either of them have a chance at winning, but what the hell. The Washington Post just earned Richardson one more vote than he would have otherwise.
I think this quiz should constitute voting, in and of itself. It's too easy to get caught up in stuff like the celebrity and "personality" of the candidates. Obviously these things bear no relation to the quality of a president (Bush sure is a charming fella, ain't he?). Instead of picking names, voters should be given a quiz like this. It seems like the best way for the real voice of people to emerge from all the political bullshit.
Now we just need to assign the quiz some sort of paper trail.
Showing posts with label brilliant ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brilliant ideas. Show all posts
12.06.2007
11.20.2007
because everybody likes more access to ads
Yesterday Mike told me they were making a Terminator TV series. "Weird," I said, "how'd you find that out?" "I saw a billboard yesterday, it was crazy." "Where's the billboard?" "Somewhere by the Apple Pan."
This got me to thinking. I would like to see this billboard. But the Apple Pan is all the way across town, and I know I'm not going to have time to make it out there any time soon. Plus, the idea of driving to the westside to gaze upon a billboard is laughably stupid.
But I still want to see it. And this hasn't been the only time I've heard of a cool billboard I'd like to see. Does anybody remember when they pulled the one for Captivity? I wanted to see that one too, but I didn't know where it was or how to find it.
This brings us to my brilliant idea of the day. There are thousands (millions, probably) of websites out there that serve very specific and obscure purposes. I think someone should start some sort of Los Angeles Billboard Wiki, where people post pictures and locations of billboards from all over town. It could even be linked to Google Maps, so people could map their way to hot billboard destinations. I have neither the time, energy, nor ability to undertake such a task, so I'm throwing this idea out on the open internet in hopes that someone will pick it up and run with it.
In other news, today will be my last post for a few days because I'm flying home for Thanksgiving with Amy (our first plane flight together). So I might as well wish you all a happy Thanksgiving now. Travel well, be well, and eat well.
This got me to thinking. I would like to see this billboard. But the Apple Pan is all the way across town, and I know I'm not going to have time to make it out there any time soon. Plus, the idea of driving to the westside to gaze upon a billboard is laughably stupid.
But I still want to see it. And this hasn't been the only time I've heard of a cool billboard I'd like to see. Does anybody remember when they pulled the one for Captivity? I wanted to see that one too, but I didn't know where it was or how to find it.
This brings us to my brilliant idea of the day. There are thousands (millions, probably) of websites out there that serve very specific and obscure purposes. I think someone should start some sort of Los Angeles Billboard Wiki, where people post pictures and locations of billboards from all over town. It could even be linked to Google Maps, so people could map their way to hot billboard destinations. I have neither the time, energy, nor ability to undertake such a task, so I'm throwing this idea out on the open internet in hopes that someone will pick it up and run with it.
In other news, today will be my last post for a few days because I'm flying home for Thanksgiving with Amy (our first plane flight together). So I might as well wish you all a happy Thanksgiving now. Travel well, be well, and eat well.
11.18.2007
two wheels are better than four
On Friday I participated in my least favorite Los Angeles activity: driving cross-town, west-to-east, at 4:30 pm.
For those who don't know, Los Angeles rush hour is a fascinating phenomenon, especially on Friday. Said rush hour lasts from about 3:30 until 8:30, completely clogging a number of freeways, but especially the 10 East, from Santa Monica all the way to east of downtown. I'm talking a bumper-to-bumper, don't-break-10 mph-the-whole-drive shitshow.
So I'm sitting somewhere between National and La Cienega, about 40 minutes after I left Pacific Palisades, and I hear it: a high pitched whine. I know what's coming. I scoot my car a little to the left and a motorcycle whizzes by, whitelining between the lanes. Then another. Five minutes later, another passes. And again. All flying by the thousands of immobile vehicles on the freeway.
By the twentieth motorcycle, I got to thinking: cars are the devil. If I were appointed King of Transportation in the United States, my first order of business would to be ban cars and force all the manufacturing plants to start cranking out motorcycles.
"Max," you say, "that's crazy! That would never work!" This is where you're wrong. Motorcycles are objectively much better than cars. That's right, I said it: objectively. They can park almost anywhere, they all get 50-60 miles per gallon, and they have better acceleration and handling than any car on the market.
"But they're dangerous!" No. The motorcycle itself is not dangerous. What makes motorcycles dangerous is the prospect of getting nailed by a car, which would obviously put the motorcycle driver at a mass disadvantage. If no cars were on the road (due to my ban), all things would be equal and it wouldn't be any more dangerous than driving a Mini Cooper.
"But you can't carry passengers!" Almost every motorcycle can carry at least two people. Need to carry more? Get a sidecar. Nobody really carpools anyway, so don't try to pass this off as an excuse.
"But you can't carry groceries and stuff!" Most motorcycles have pouches or bins or something to carry junk. If that's not enough, get a sidecar. If that's not enough, I'm sure some company would start manufacturing detachable trailers or something for motorcycles to carry all that "stuff" you need.
"But they're so loud!" Wrong again. Most motorcycle owners have their bikes modified so that they are louder than they have to be, mostly so that oblivious car owners can hear them coming and won't nail them with their SUVs. A motorcycle isn't inherently louder than any other car.
"But... but... you're crazy!" Possibly, but this is a good idea. Motorcycles use a fraction of the resources of cars, in terms of construction, pollution, and even space. This is a good idea. Write your congressman or something.
For those who don't know, Los Angeles rush hour is a fascinating phenomenon, especially on Friday. Said rush hour lasts from about 3:30 until 8:30, completely clogging a number of freeways, but especially the 10 East, from Santa Monica all the way to east of downtown. I'm talking a bumper-to-bumper, don't-break-10 mph-the-whole-drive shitshow.
So I'm sitting somewhere between National and La Cienega, about 40 minutes after I left Pacific Palisades, and I hear it: a high pitched whine. I know what's coming. I scoot my car a little to the left and a motorcycle whizzes by, whitelining between the lanes. Then another. Five minutes later, another passes. And again. All flying by the thousands of immobile vehicles on the freeway.
By the twentieth motorcycle, I got to thinking: cars are the devil. If I were appointed King of Transportation in the United States, my first order of business would to be ban cars and force all the manufacturing plants to start cranking out motorcycles.
"Max," you say, "that's crazy! That would never work!" This is where you're wrong. Motorcycles are objectively much better than cars. That's right, I said it: objectively. They can park almost anywhere, they all get 50-60 miles per gallon, and they have better acceleration and handling than any car on the market.
"But they're dangerous!" No. The motorcycle itself is not dangerous. What makes motorcycles dangerous is the prospect of getting nailed by a car, which would obviously put the motorcycle driver at a mass disadvantage. If no cars were on the road (due to my ban), all things would be equal and it wouldn't be any more dangerous than driving a Mini Cooper.
"But you can't carry passengers!" Almost every motorcycle can carry at least two people. Need to carry more? Get a sidecar. Nobody really carpools anyway, so don't try to pass this off as an excuse.
"But you can't carry groceries and stuff!" Most motorcycles have pouches or bins or something to carry junk. If that's not enough, get a sidecar. If that's not enough, I'm sure some company would start manufacturing detachable trailers or something for motorcycles to carry all that "stuff" you need.
"But they're so loud!" Wrong again. Most motorcycle owners have their bikes modified so that they are louder than they have to be, mostly so that oblivious car owners can hear them coming and won't nail them with their SUVs. A motorcycle isn't inherently louder than any other car.
"But... but... you're crazy!" Possibly, but this is a good idea. Motorcycles use a fraction of the resources of cars, in terms of construction, pollution, and even space. This is a good idea. Write your congressman or something.
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