Wake up! It’s the first the month! So, we’re taking a look back at the month of January to see who were the most active when it came to comments on Beyond the Rhetoric. You’re going to see some familiar faces here and I’m glad that they’re sticking around to keep the conversation going.
Once again at the top is our good friend Ray Ebersole. To kick off the new year, Ray chimed in with his opinion on the Mayan apocalypse, as well as the US Presidential election, the GOP candidates involved in the race, and Florida Governor Rick Scott. From Nancy Pelosi to John Bonner, there’s plenty to read here.
Next up, we have Used tires. Seeing how I live in Vancouver, the post about how to stay safe while driving on wet roads hits a little close to home. Remember to check those treads for problems, deficiencies, and wear. Uneven tire wear can be indicative of a problem with your wheel alignment, which can prove disastrous under less than ideal conditions.
To my knowledge, this isn’t the first appearance by Zagorath on the top thinkers list and I hope it won’t be the last. A great read on the myth of the retina display was published on his blog a while back, reminding us that the “magic” number of 300ppi is only relevant at a specific distance. Beyond that, the pixel density can be less and still achieve the same “retina display” experience. The 720p display on the recent Galaxy Nexus is one example of that.
The last post written by Betshopboy on his own blog showcases his SCMS 2011 result, completing a full marathon in four hours and 21 minutes. I wonder if he has participated in any other marathons since then and, if so, if he has been able to crack that sub-four hour target time yet.
And finally, we have Sourish @ iPhone 4 Problems to round out the top five for January. If you’ve ever wondered about the benefits of jailbreaking, the forum thread has over 20 responses with all sorts of information about why you may want to hack into your preferred iDevice. There are risks, of course, but there are certainly rewards to be enjoyed too.
Side note: The winner of my CES swag bag giveaway has been randomly selected. Congratulations goes out to Ratman2050. You are the winner! Please contact me with your shipping address and I’ll send it out to you right away. Thanks again to everyone else who entered.
Hi Michael,
I am new to your blog, in fact, I’m new to actually following a blog of any sort. I stumbled across a slice of your perspective through a search for something that must have been important at the time and found your material, writing style and passion very appealing. And now I find out that you are encouraging comments and sharing fun things in a bag? Who knew?? I had no idea this was part of your monthly devotion in sharing information and boosting interaction. Nice work Mr. Kwan!
Regardless whether you pass along cool swag or not, I do love your insight and all that you share. I’m looking forward to many tidbits and mind shifting chronicles still awaiting their birth through the tips of your fingers. Great work… and thank you.
David
Hi David
Welcome to the BTR community. After reading your comment, I thought I’d give you a heads up.
While this “Top Thinkers” post is certainly Kwan’s monthly devotion and a form of give-back to the most talkative of us, the “sharing of fun things in a bag” certainly isn’t a monthly event here.
Like you’ve said, regardless whether any swag was passed along, reading this blog is already a bonus onto itself.
Thank you BSB for the heads up and you’re right, the content is in fact the prize in itself. And I assume that Betshopboy.net is your blog? Nice use of images. I really like the collages, they’re a great way to include more images without extra space.
Thanks Michael, I actually had time to comment regularly again and it felt good to express myself and actually not be falling asleep all the time.
I’m not one to talk politics, but watching my countries politicians just makes me sick. None of them has much of a clue as to how to work together, or what our country was founded on. It was a democracy or really a republic, but it is based on freedom and compromise for everyone’s sake. Not one of the politicians currently in office understands that.
None of the GOP understand that and none of the Democrats either. They don’t learn from experience, nor do they understand that it’s the folks without the money that are the ones that need the help. Those people are the ones that will pull the country back up. Until they start helping the poor, America will continue spring leaks, just stay afloat and become a big stick in the mud not leading anyone anywhere.
Who would you consider the least of the five evils (Obama + four remaining GOP candidates)?
I consider the present President the least of the evils. He has made an effort in the recent past to compromise, and he already has the pieces in place to flow directly into making progress as we move past the election.
Any of the 4 current contenders would have to form a staff, get accustomed to the position and create relationships within the Washington inner circle to pass his nominees in a timely manner. As we know the first year of a presidency is mainly wasted on getting the ball rolling and your staff in place.
I feel that would be a major hindrance to any progress the country has made in the last year and might set us further behind. Plus, all of the GOP candidates don’t have the best interest of the low to lower middle class people in mind. They are looking at big business and how to help them, no matter how it affects the general public.
Thanks for the shout out Michael.
It’s embarrassing that my last blog post was published some 2 months back, and I haven’t been doing work on my blog.
I’m currently in a lull period after the December marathon. I’ve signed up for my next marathon, which will be at the end of May.
Wow cool! What time did you get?
Hey thanks a heap for the link.
Thanks for featuring me again 🙂 .