Dearest pig, how do I miss thee? Let me count the ways.

One way really. Slow roasted and served in a barbecue sandwich that doesn't have slaw on it. I understand some places need the slaw to make the meat more moist but I just think that's cheating. Troutman's gave me my fix this trip. The pig was rich and smoky. The t-shirt we bought for Stephanie was even more epic.

If I did anything this Thanksgiving, I ate well. Mom and Stephanie made ridiculous cinnamon rolls. I made Chili that was pretty good. Dinner at Grandma's was as good as it's ever been minus the missing family members. Everyone had somewhere to be, though I'm sure we'll catch up soon. I can't wait to hear stories of Popsicle businesses, senior years and living with girlfriends. Those are all sure to be big adventures with stories worth telling.

I also was unable to catch up with so many friends that I would have liked to. There simply is not enough time in this world for all the goodness I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by. That's not bragging so much as a wish for a 30 hour day.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as stellar as mine. I think I might have even gained a pound or two.

Fox News officially becomes an entertainment channel.

Once again, Jon Stewart skewers Fox News for blatant hypocrisy, complete disregard for facts and being plain stupid. And he managed to do it by using their ultimate hero, Ronald Reagan.

If you're not going to use any semblance of the rules of journalism, you're entertainment. It's outright sad to me that Comedy Central has a show that has more respect for truth than the highest rated news channel in the country.

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The exceptionally interesting case study of OK Go!

By now, you've most likely seen this music video. It's quite a cool interpretation of a Rube Goldberg machine.

A couple weeks back, I first saw this at about 8:30a.m. in my work email from a friend on the east coast. Bastards have a 3 hour head start. Then it showed up in my Twitter feed reader posted by a friend. I then saw it there again. And again. And again. And yet again. Then it was sent around to the youth of the office (No idea how I was included) so back in my work email. Again. Then I saw it on the Huffington Post and Fast Company websites. Then it got buzzed up in my Google Buzz which was reading the same Twitter feed I'd already seen earlier.

OK, so what's the point? Most likely, my parents still hadn't seen this video. Unless it makes it onto The Rachel Maddow show or The Daily Show, they probably wouldn't.

So what's the other point? With the rise of internet driven communication, there is a huge splintering of media. Twitter, Facebook, Email, Google Buzz, Google Wave, My Space, and on and on and on. These are just the biggies. The fractionalization of media is causing audiences to get smaller. We can't all pay attention to all the channels (and I don't just mean TV and radio) that we used to. As a result, there are fewer of those epic, big common experiences that bind us together. There are fewer and fewer things that are so epically big, or at least epically experienced, we all can mark it in the timelines we're living. Landing on the moon for example. Sadly, it seems those markers have become tragedies in order to be big enough for all of us to pay attention. 9-11. Earthquakes being the latest example. It used to be that everyone knew Johnny Carson's skits by heart. Everyone knew his sidekick's laugh. And his name (Ed McMahon, just in case).

This splinter effect is making it easier for those who wish to divide and conquer to do just that. As we focus more and more on the media we like, it often tends to be the media we agree with. As a result, our greatest hopes and greatest fears are reinforced and thus become turbo-charged. It seems like our greatest fears are being repeated everywhere. The balance gets lost. Also, as the common experiences get fewer and far between, there's less and less common ground on which to build cohesion, understanding and community.

So, how does all this relate to the music video by OK Go? It relates because this video is an exceptional case study in the strengths and weaknesses of Internet driven communication. And thus, Internet driven living. The video got to me quickly. And repeatedly. But it did not get to me from a source that was either unexpected or shared with the masses. By that I mean the mass masses, not just the Twitterverse. Also, there was a bit of generation gap. One that will close as the Internet generation grows up, but my guess is the trouble my parents have with computers, cell phones and iPods today will be the troubles I have with the Internet of the future.

All that said, as my parents are pretty much the only ones who read this blog, they've now seen the video. Eventually anyway.

P.S. By the way, seven days after the first viewing of the video, it's brought up by a client during a presentation. Eight days later, it's being shown in the office to the creative director and a few folks who hadn't seen it. Odd.

P.P.S. The irony of posting this on a blog is not lost on me.

Prediction: Good enough is going to stop being good enough.

There's an interesting phenomenon that recent leaps in technology have created. In the mad rush to create the next big thing, good enough has become good enough. Netflix digital movies are fine even if they aren't as high-res as my TV or as high in sound quality as my stereo can push. Also on the sound front, MP3s are somehow fine even though they're missing a big chunk of the spectrum that a violin or symphony can create. Digital book readers can be black and white to save battery, no worries.

This has created an odd dynamic. I'm watching low-res on the highest-res screen I've ever owned. People are fine with big epic music that sounds tinny and movies played on a screen 1/100th the size of the original format.

This isn't going to stand for much longer. And the tide has already started to turn so this isn't some big revelation. The iPad, whether you want one or not, has drawn a line in the sand saying color for digital books and magazines is a must. Hulu and YouTube are pushing higher res through the pipes as fast as they can.

So what's the prediction? Three things: 1. We're not going to take good enough for much longer and the companies that recognize that and work to make our media / digital experiences as high quality as possible will thrive. 2. Our network has to be upgraded. Third world countries have networks faster than ours simply because the first pipe they put in the ground is fiber optic instead of the copper we originally put in. So we've got to invest. Thus, the companies capable of modernizing our network will also thrive. 3. Digital storage is going to boom. As digital files get better, they get bigger. So something's got to hold all that info. Hence, bigger drives, more storage, more demand for storage media.

While I still don't have a jet-pack (see earlier prediction) the past ten years have been pretty cool digitally speaking. Time for all that innovation to become quality.

Hypocrisy

Rachel Maddow does a very nice job of calling out the Democrats by pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republicans.

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Sarah Palin is a F--king Retard.

Retard is a word that shouldn't exist but does. It's degrading. It's vile honestly. It's also unconscionable that Sarah Palin would draw a line in the usage of such a word so as not to offend a political base. This is political hackery of the lowest kind. This also demonstrates to me that her politics are based on politics, not principles.

Thankfully, Colbert brings it all home. With actual satire, not fantasy satire.

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