John Thain “Retaining Talent” Comment on CNBC

John Thain while being interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on CNBC:

“If you don’t pay your best people, you will destroy your franchise.”

No, John – risky investments, horrible trades, incompetent traders, etc. will destroy your franchise…

From July 31, 2008:

https://bcclist.com/2008/07/31/woops-goldman-sachs-bad-bet/

Revisited on September 4, 2008:

https://bcclist.com/2008/09/04/goldman-sachs-bad-bet-revisited/

Yes, I understand that Thain ran Merrill Lynch into the ground and the above links (rightfully) ripped Goldman Sachs’ horrible analysis of the oil futures market.

Regardless, there’s no talent on Wall St. worth $18 billion. These overpaid clowns are human. There are plenty of humans that can crash a market. Good luck in prison.

1:50 mark…

The Solution: Tax Rebate Debit Card

So, I’ve (over)heard politicians/pundits mentioning a concern over offering tax rebate checks because the intended consumers (us) will save the tax rebate and/or put it towards credit card debt instead of spending the money.

Isn’t offering a government issued debit card the solution to people not spending their tax rebate checks? I’m not sure how the logistics would work – it can’t be that difficult – but, of course a government issued debit card is the solution.

E.g. Joe the plumber desires a $750 TV.  Joe walks into an electronics store, uses his $500 tax rebate debit card, and pays the remaining $250 out of pocket.

Seems like a pretty good way to stimulate the economy and get people spending even if it’s monopoly money.  Don’t get me started…

P.S.  I’ve seriously not paid more than 30 seconds attention to the 2009 tax rebate discussion.  If a government issued debit card has been discussed, I apologize.

How I Downgraded from iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 to 2.2

UPDATE: iPhone firmware 2.2.1 jailbreak released by QuickPWN.  Click here for information.

So, after upgrading to iPhone firmware 2.2.1, I needed to downgrade to iPhone firmware 2.2 so that my phone could be jailbroken. I posted the following blog entries highlighting my frustrations…

https://bcclist.com/2009/01/27/downgrading-iphone-2-2/

https://bcclist.com/2009/01/28/downgrading-iphone-2-point-2/

Peeps in the forums were saying the iPhone 2G downgrade from 2.2.1 to 2.2 was working ok. Or, if you had a 3G phone, you could downgrade to software 2.2 from 2.2.1 if you ejected your syncing phone at the right time.

Here’s what I did.  But, seeing that I started doing something I know nothing about at 2:00 am CST, the details may be a little foggy.  Maybe not a step-by-step guide but a good enough explanation…

  • Like everyone, my firmware was reading 2.2.1. So, I held down the Shift key on my keyboard and clicked Restore. I found the 2.2 ipsw file. See image here
  • An error message popped. I don’t have an image of this error message. But, it said something about an unknown error (some number) occurring.
  • I ran QuickPWN 2.2.
  • The process jailbroke my phone. But, there were no contacts, music, email, movies, etc. saved.
  • So, I pretty much gave up and restored the phone from my 1/16/2009 backup. I’ve done this like 10 times over the past few days.
  • But, as the restore began on my jailbroken phone missing all my data, I noticed that the “Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected” box was still checked.
  • So, as my phone was restoring back to 1/16/2009, I went to Edit -> Preferences -> Devices and checked “Disable automatic syncing for iPhones and iPods.” See image here
  • This checking of the box interrupted the restore and sync that was being communicated between iTunes and my iPhone.
  • The interruption allowed the jailbreak to remain in place (I had access to Cydia), my firmware to revert back to 2.2, and my iPhone 3G to retain all its music, movies, contacts, email, text messages, etc. See image here and here
  • But, I didn’t have cellphone signal – only WiFi – and my clock was 2 hours behind. It was 4:50+ am and not 2:50+ am. See image here
  • So, I restarted my computer and iPhone and restored (shift + restore) again from the .ipsw file and ran QuickPWN 2.2 again.
  • I had all my music, contacts, emails, text messages, etc. and cellphone service after restoring to the backup I saved earlier in the morning. My clock caught up as well.

The following is a final screenshot of my jaibroken iPhone 3G before I took off for work…

finally-jailbroken-again

Awesome!

P.S. Yes, I have some really random Apps from the App Store. I’ve deleted many of them – e.g. Google Earth – several times but the back-ups always restore to my previously installed Apps.  Soon to be deleted for good!

Update: Another screenshot of my jailbreak featuring the five icon dock from Cydia…

Dick Armey Sexist Comment Towards Joan Walsh on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews

Joan Walsh from Salon.com handled it well. Former House Representative Dick Armey is a dick. He seemed drunk.

Armey said, “I am so damn glad that you could never be my wife, ’cause I surely wouldn’t have to listen to that prattle from you every day.”

Full transcript and MSNBC video from tonight’s Hardball with Chris Matthews to come.

Update: Here’s the YouTube video (until it gets yanked) with the sexist comment around the 42 second mark…

Here’s the full version from MSNBC of the segment. It’s way too long. Dick gets sexist around the 9:44 mark…

dick-armey-sexist

Downgrade iPhone 3G Firmware 2.2 from 2.2.1 – QuickPwn Jailbreak Update

UPDATE 1: Click here to see how I downgraded from iPhone firmware 2.2.1 to 2.2!

UPDATE 2: iPhone firmware 2.2.1 jailbreak released by QuickPWN.  Click here for information.

The original BccList.com blog posting from yesterday – https://bcclist.com/2009/01/27/downgrading-iphone-2-2/ – has received some pretty good clickthroughs today.  This is obviously a pretty disruptive firmware update that Apple has released.  I have already set-up for my iTunes to not auto update in the future!

Anyways, please let me know if you’ve found a way to downgrade to iPhone software 2.2 from 2.2.1.  Otherwise, I read in the QuickPwn forum (page 6) that the Dev-Team has figured out a jailbreak but not an unlock.

Fair enough – I only plan to jailbreak.  Great work guys.  I hope something is out for the jailbreak within the next day or so!

Downgrading to iPhone 3G Software 2.2 from 2.2.1?

UPDATE 1: Click here to see how I downgraded from iPhone firmware 2.2.1 to 2.2!

UPDATE 2: iPhone firmware 2.2.1 jailbreak released by QuickPWN.  Click here for information.

quickpwn-logo

I know this posting will bore a majority of my once a day blog readers.  Bare with me since I’ve recently become obsessed with jailbreaking my iPhone.

So, my iTunes automatically (I think?!?) upgraded to iPhone firmware 2.2.1 from firmware 2.2.  Great.  It supposedly fixes some bugs – especially with Safari crashing.  I’m all for that.  But, it also ruins all the “work” you may have recently done  jailbreaking your iPhone with QuickPwn.

The bad news: If you upgrade to iPhone software 2.2.1, there is supposedly no way to downgrade back to software 2.2 and your phone is restored to a pre-jailbreak state. Please correct me if I’m wrong in the comment section of my posting – I’ve done way too much searching tonight and haven’t found anything.

The good news: Your phone still works and will be restored to the pre-jailbroken state.  The Dev-Team at QuickPwn – per their firmware 2.2.1 forum – expects to have a fix up and running within the next few days.  After the upgrade from iPhone firmware 2.1 to 2.2 occurred, I guess it took them 3 days to get QuickPwn updated.  We can obviously all wait a few days but where’s the donate button on their page?!?

Again, I’m new to jailbreaking but Apple must do this to simply fck around with hackers.  If Apple wanted to help “Joe the iPhone User” out, they’d have a software upgrade that allows for copy/paste, landcape typing, a video recorder, etc. and then there would be no reason to jailbreak an iPhone.  Ok, I take that back – there will always be a reason to hack something and make it better.

Facebook Note: 25 Random Things About Me

Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it is because I want to know more about you.

To create a list of 25 random things, go to “Notes” under tabs on you profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type 25 random things, tag 25 people (in right corner of app – don’t forget me!) then click “Publish.”

I think there are 2 areas for notes on facebook. Make sure you’re in the facebook note section that says “Tag people in this note” in the top right hand corner and has a publish button at the bottom.

1) The original instructions I copied and pasted weren’t clear. So, I had to change the instructions above so they were clearer. Not joking. Technical writer, anyone?!? Why are there two note sections on facebook?
2) My hope is that one day all computing is done from a mobile device.
3) I believe if one has desire, they can do anything they want. Yes, anything.
4) I have ADHD. I’m hoping to get through this list of 25 random things within the next few hours.
5) My dog, Polly, is adorable and spoiled.
6) I’m obsessed with technology, economics, and politics.
7) I would rather live in NYC but Chicago will suffice for the time being.
8 ) I listen to way too much rap music.
9) I listen to way too much Radiohead.
10) I don’t like music.
11) TV annoys me but I like watching commercials…especially good ones.
12) For some reason, I think this facebook note is much more fun than those mass chain emails.
13) I want to start adopting 15 year old kids because you’ll only have to pay their cost of living for 3 years and – of course – everyone in the household will have chores. The youngest person in the house gets the most annoying/boring chores.
14) I got frustrated with winter early on this year but have now become indifferent.
15) I don’t really like making coffee but enjoy drinking it.
16) I blog too much but not enough.
17) My favorite food is Trader Joe’s 3 Cheese Pizza.
18 ) I can’t figure out how Dane Cook has a job.
19) I’m happy with my job for the first time in forever.
20) I almost never use a blinker if there’s nobody around.
21) My favorite channel is MSNBC though I only occasionally slingbox it during work. The 8:00 am – 5:59 pm CST time slot is sort of lame.
22) I would drink a bottle of Brunello every night though I’ve probably had less than 15 bottles of wine in my life. 15, is that right? Seems like it.
23) I’m a huge fan of beer but hate shots. For real, if I end up doing a shot, I’m definitely puking it up later on in the night/morning and will be hungover for days. Give me a lot of beer (preferably good beer) on a Saturday night and I can be in church (?) on Sunday morning…no issue.
24) I used to live in a farmhouse. Loved it.
25) I’m almost always looking forward to the next day.

iPhone Broken :-(

I planned on getting so much done today including an inauguration trip to DC blog posting.  While finishing up the grocery shopping, I tried to give the wifey a call to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.  My phone wouldn’t respond.

Once I got home, I did the iPhone reboot like 300 times and read about 3 hours of forum questions regarding iPhones not responding.  Nothing worked.

Wish me luck – I plan on taking it to the Apple Store again and I’m not sure what I’ll do if it’s broken since the warranty could be voided and $500 for a new phone seems unreasonable.  Ahhhhhh.

Twitter Offers Password Advice

I try to exclusively use Twitter on my iPhone.  Occasionally, I’ll log in at work with a saved firefox password.  I rarely – if ever – use Twitter at home.  So, last night I couldn’t remember my password.  Easy enough.

But, I found their password advice on the “Forgot Password” page (see image below) sort of funny seeing that the Twitter administrator account was recently hacked.

If you chose not to check out the above link, the Twitter administrator account password was happiness.  I guess their password was more than 6 characters long so that met one of the suggestions.  Ha!

twitter-password