Blogs

I watched the Hoffman's episode of Restaurant: Impossible on Wednesday night. I have a few things to say about it and about these kind of shows in general. First, to repeat what I said Wednesday, I have never seen this show and watched out of curiosity about the Hoffmans and their situation. I have probably seen a dozen episodes of various shows of this type in my life. I do not enjoy them. Here's why. When I watch a non-reality show that tells a fictional story with fictional characters, I know those characters and situations cease to exist when the show is over. I can enjoy the shows as if they were test runs or simulations of reality. I know the characters do not continue to have lives outside of the show where they continue to be stressed out or are oblivious to their character flaws, etc. In reality shows, we have real people with real lives and problems. I know that after the show ends they continue to have those problems and stresses  and I find that disturbing and sad, even more so, because now their lives have been broadcast to a large audience. Yes, these people will have these problems whether the show exists or not, but a large part of what I find disturbing and sad is also that there are other people, the show creators, who see this and think to themselves, "how can we make money from the misfortunes of these people". Also, a major part of Restaurant:Impossible is the artificial restriction of 48 hours to identify and correct problems. It is guaranteed to reliably create stress and onscreen behavior that is "good" for the show. Of course, dropping the 48 hour restriction would be better emotionally for everyone involved, but it wouldn't make for a dramatic show, would it? I know, these kind of shows are popular and get high ratings, so I guess I am out of the majority on this topic.

Space News:

Mars Curiosity Rover successfully made its mid-course correction on Wednesday.

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1200

The Cassini Saturn orbiter is having an issue with its communication circuitry.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20120112/

The Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt that malfunctioned and got stuck in earth orbit will be falling to Earth in an uncontrolled manner in the next few days and no one really knows where its suviving fragments will land.

http://www.spaceflight101.com/phobos-grunt-entry-blog.html

Random interesting links:

Here's a list of links to clever "McGyver" tips like cooling a can of soda in 2 minutes, open a banana the right way, free air at Shell stations, etc.:

http://lifehacker.com/5875817/35-macgyver-tips-clever-uses-and-other-life-hacks-in-one-infographic

A list of "incredibly strange brain disorders":

http://io9.com/5874229/10-incredibly-strange-brain-disorders

And, finally, if you use Twitter and like to follow funny people, here is a list of actors and writers from many current comedy shows who are on Twitter:

http://splitsider.com/2012/01/a-comprehensive-guide-to-your-favorite-tv-shows-writers-and-performers-on-twitter

(from the gizmodo post):

http://gizmodo.com/5875893/where-to-find-your-favorite-funny-people-on-twitter