Results are in

Over the weekend, I was watching the Mythbusters episode which was testing the idiom "It's like taking candy from a baby."  The phrase is used to imply that something is as easy as, well, taking candy from a baby. But long ago, I realized that phrase makes no sense at all. Anyone who's every been around babies knows that if a baby wants something, then even if you can easily take it from them, what you're really going to have is whatever you took away plus an unhappy baby. If the something you are taking away is candy, then you're likely to get tears from the baby, too. So taking away candy from a baby is just mean.  I think that's a better representation of the idiom.  What said you on the poll?

Clearly, most people went with the traditional meaning.  The three "other" responses all included meanness or cruelty in some way.  Still, most people (3:1 from this non-scientific poll) seem to think it is easy and not that mean or cruel to take candy from a baby. 

Apple didn't like my homage to Nate Dogg

This is a screenshot of the podcast customer review page in the iTunes Store for one of the podcasts I listen to regularly. If you go read the reviews in iTunes right now, you won't see my review. It was removed, probably by Apple, most likely because of the critical comment I made about how someone at Apple did not like my full review of the podcast that I had tried to post before the one in the screenshot was posted.

When you write a podcast review on iTunes, you are presented with five "Tips for writing a great review":

• Keep them short and to the point. Average iTunes customer reviews are about 200 words.

  Mine clocks in at 238 words. Granted, it is formatted a little differently and looks longer, but it's no significantly longer than what Apple calls average.
  

• Praise podcasts on their own terms, not at the expense of other podcasts or the audience of other podcasts or genres.

  My review is nothing but praise, and says nothing about other podcasts or audiences of other podcasts.
  

• Take the time to copy edit your work so that you avoid embarrassing typos or grammatical errors.

  Good advice. Done.
  

• Do not use profanity or overtly sexual language.

  No problem here!
  

• Do not use language that can be construed as hateful, especially in regards to lifestyle, religion, or race.

  Nothing in my review has anything to do with religion or race, so that's a non-issue. With respect to lifestyle, I suppose you could make a case about the numerous references to drunks, but if you know anything about the podcast I'm reviewing, you know that the topic of alcohol and drunks comes up frequently in the podcast itself. In fact, it is often in the titles and descriptions of the podcasts as posted to iTunes. And, my review is not "hateful" with regard to any lifestyle, so I don't really see it as going against this tip, either.
  
  At the very bottom after you write your review (not to exceed 6000 characters, mine clocks in at 1200 characters) there is one more line:
  
  

  If a review is deemed inappropriate, it will not be posted to the iTunes Store.

  
  
  I did some searching online to see if there were other people who had their reviews rejected from the iTunes Store. The only relevant information I could find came from a FAQ for Podcast Makers on Apple's site:
  
  

  Can I have a review removed?

  iTunes does not remove reviews for editorial purposes. Reviews with profanity, hate speech, explicit/pornographic content, or commentary that is completely off topic are prohibited. To request removal of a review, click on Report a Concern for that review.

  Again, if you know anything about the podcast I was reviewing, you would know that every line in my review was completely ON topic for their show.
  
  My guess is that Apple doesn't want their Customer Reviews to become like the ones you see on Amazon. (e.g. The Story about Ping, Tuscan Whole Milk) Which is a shame. Because if fans of podcasts (or any content on iTunes) can't have fun to promote their favorite artists, everyone sort of loses an opportunity to discover something new.
  
  Anyway, the full podcast review that I wanted to post is here. My apologies to Warren G and Nate Dogg...
  
  [Andy:]
  Podcasters
  we podcast any speaking of his mind
  and we download em
  But you can't be any geek off the street,
  gotta be out of your parents basement, if you know what I mean, earn your keep!
  PODCASTERRS!!! MOUNT UP!
  
  [Broham:]
  It was a clear black night, a clear white moon
  Nick D was in the seat, trying to consume
  some talk in the eve, chattin' with a drunk
  I'm rollin in my ride, beers are in the trunk
  
  [Andy:]
  Just hit the Northside on the Kennedy
  on a mission tryin' to find Mr. Nicky D.
  Got a 'dog with fries and I need to chew
  all you drunks know what's up with 312
  
  So I hooks a left on Addison and Clark
  The Cubs are out of town so I said "Let's park."
  I jumped out the ride, and started to cough
  Nick went on a rant and my pants fell off!
  
  [Nick D:]
  Since Andy's tweetin' me I'ma check my phone
  Laughin' so hard that I start to moan
  Won'tcha load up your ipod with The Nick D Show
  You can do it right now or at your leisure, bro!
  
  [Andy:]
  He's speaking
  about a previous era
  Nick fans,
  Brew and view,
  I dare ya.
  Drunks
  Are in the News
  
  [Nick D:]
  Wisconsin's where they're from and the "winner"'s gonna lose
  
  
  Movies
  Music
  We brings
  Culture
  D-Funk
  where Chicago is home
  and home is Chicago

All the cool kids are doing it, so here's my personality mosaic:



1. Castle Ruins - St Andrews Scotland, 2. Lunch, 3. ic0452.JPG, 4. oh... the blues, 5. Danica McKellar at Microsoft, 6. cup of coffee, 7. Istanbul Train Station, 8. pie ala mode on laptop on irc channel #sf-raves - dscf0334, 9. Covering Third, 10. HAVING FUN BEING A KID AGAIN !!!, 11. Uncertain Future, 12. at The Beat Museum, San Francisco: Hunky Jim Morrison of the DOORS band

Now you go get one!!