There’s something that’s been getting on my nerves lately, and I know it shouldn’t, but it does: people who don’t think things through to the degree that they really should be. Now, I’m not one to put myself up on a pedestal and say I’m perfect – far, far from it. I’m talking about little things that only require a little bit of thought – things that, when thought about by a person with a bit of intelligence, should make that person stab the delete key as quickly as possible.

Longer than 140: When reading the reviews on iTunes for the new Tori Amos album, Midwinter Graces, a commenter wrote the following:

“I think releasing this album was a misstep, albeit an obvious bid for holiday sales…”

It’s a Winter- and holiday-themed album. When else would you expect to see it released, June?

I was struck by something that I read on Twitter a few minutes ago, and quickly realized that any reply I wanted to make would take more than 140 characters. What I read was “I want Google to make their GPS app an Android exclusive, stick it to Apple for GVMobile. iPhone users can spend $200 for TomTom app/cradle.”

Longer than 140: My first thought was that you’ve got to be pretty self-absorbed to wish ill on millions of iPhone users just because you’re unhappy about the Google Voice/Apple situation. You can live without Google Voice on your iPhone while a deal gets worked out. Then I thought that maybe that’s a little unfair… I know I’ve had similar feelings about companies and didn’t consider the existing user base. Plus, I’m not in the best mood this morning, so maybe I’m being a little uncharitable. So, I’ll leave it at this: in twenty years, when Google is the only thing left standing in the internet and telecommunications fields, we’ll look back and realize that maybe Apple standing up to Google wasn’t such a bad idea after all. We’ll say to each other, “remember when Google was a search engine and they didn’t control every aspect of our digital lives?”

I know it’s fashionable to bash Apple this year, but it’s starting to get old.

Christian couples are increasingly (supposedly) sharing an email account to aid them in resisting temptation. From The New York Post:

“There’s not a Gestapo, KGB quality to it, like I have to check in with mother before I do anything,” said Lance Maggiacomo, 40, a nurse from Beverly, Mass. “It’s what we believe as Christians.”

Longer than 140: You know what else has nothing to do with mistrusting your partner? Installing a GPS tracker in your body so they’ll know where you are at all times. Hey, that’s just called basic safety. Even better – install cameras all over your house and review the recordings together before bed every night. Nothing says “I trust you” like working together to monitor each others’ actions. How very Christian.

Longer than 140 is a series of blog entries based on things that I’d ordinarily post to Twitter, but can’t express in 140 characters; they tend to be slightly over the limit. I dislike abbreviation and ctting out chrctrs and avoid it when possible.

A little while ago I unfollowed two people on Twitter that are here in Albuquerque because, for the past two or three days, they’ve had nothing in their Twitter streams but “WOW the best site online to gain more twitter followers for FREE <link>” or “I just become a member of this AWESOME site that gets you TONS of followers <link>”. These two people were actually the reason I wrote Longer than 140 #2 yesterday.

Longer than 140: @armstronginsure is an insurance agent of some kind. I don’t need insurance right now, but if I were to start researching alternatives to my current plan, I might have included her. She’s blown that chance. It’s nothing personal. I’m sure she’s very nice. But that doesn’t override my desire to live spam-free in my Twitter stream.

Longer than 140 is a series of blog entries based on things that I’d ordinarily post to Twitter, but can’t express in 140 characters; they tend to be slightly over the limit. I dislike abbreviation and ctting out chrctrs and avoid it when possible.

I use a third-party client called Nambu to organize my Twitter stream. I put people into groups based on location, industry, family, and friends. I follow only people that I want to read. If I’m following you, I’m reading everything you write. I pretty much blindly follow anyone that’s here in Albuquerque, which means that not everyone in my ABQ group is on “solid footing”, so to speak – but I read it all anyway. So tell me, if you were to post nothing but “This is the easiest way to get thousands of followers!!! <link>” for days at a time, even if you occasionally post something genuine, should I kick you off my list? What’s the point of following you if you’re not saying anything interesting or if the noise is drowning out the signal?

Longer than 140: You’re trading an active reader – me – for (possibly, but not probably) thousands of followers who have no idea who you are, no idea what you’re about, and have zero interest in you as a person. In short, they’re not really following you at all. They’re just adding to your followers tally. Me or them. Your choice.

Longer than 140 is a series of blog entries based on things that I’d ordinarily post to Twitter, but can’t express in 140 characters; they tend to be slightly over the limit. I dislike abbreviation and ctting out chrctrs and avoid it when possible.

In this inaugural Longer than 140 post, I’d like to call attention to an article that I read at MacWorld just a few minutes ago. I was happily reading along, nodding my head at all the appropriate points, when I came across the following:

The Linux camp will give it another go with a Linux variant called Moblin that has the backing of Intel and is headed for netbooks soon.

Longer than 140: To paraphrase Master Yoda, “This is why you fail”. You give your variants ridiculous names that no average computer user takes seriously. Moblin? Seriously? You think that an OS that sounds like a character from The Lord of the Rings is going to make significant inroads on the desktop? You’re out of your minds.

Longer than 140 is a series of blog entries based on things that I’d ordinarily post to Twitter, but can’t express in 140 characters; they tend to be slightly over the limit. I dislike abbreviation and ctting out chrctrs and avoid it when possible.