Travis has a job available and gives some really good, well reasoned advice to would-be employees:
When I ask for two references, with contact information, this is because I want two references, with contact information. However, there is another reason: the job I just posted requires good attention to detail. 20% of you failed to include references, and this makes my job easier - I can immediately respond to you and say “I’m sorry; this position is not a match”, and then delete your email. Only 160 emails to go!
When I ask for your resume to be cut-and-pasted, instead of being included as an attachment, this is because I am stuck in the 1980s, and use a non-MIME aware email reader. Also, it’s another opportunity to filter out candidates who can’t read closely, or follow directions. We’re now down to 120 emails.
The job was listed as “customer support”. If you start your cover letter by asking about the “sales associate” position, or the “nanny job”, I know that (a) you’re applying for 100 jobs at once, and you’ve gotten confused; (b) you don’t have the attention to detail that this job requires.
...
etc.
I strongly recommend reading it, as his winnowing procedure is pretty much SOP at every company I have ever worked for.
Then we get to:
Finally, I prune the emails with spelling errors. Spell checkers are free, and they’re easy to run. You don’t care enough about this job to try, so you’re gone. 40 emails left.
Unfortunately, Travis tends to be a do-as-I-Say-not-as-I-Do kind of guy:
Logan Williams Says: July 4th, 2007 at 2:36 am
“… I turned the *add* off again 8 hours later.”
“Finally, I prune the emails with spelling errors. Spell checkers are free, and they’re easy to run. You don’t care enough about this job to try, so you’re gone. 40 emails left.”
Finally, I prune the blogs with spelling errors. Proofreading is simple, and necessary to editing. You don’t care enough about this blog to try, so you’re not going in my RSS reader. 20 Reddit submissions left.
Boed Says: July 4th, 2007 at 5:49 am
“But, come one, make things a bit easier for me, please?”
“and permission to listen to your iPod all day log.”
“Spell checkers are free, and they’re easy to run. You don’t care enough about this job to try, so you’re gone. 40 emails left.”
hmm……a bit of a contradiction wouldn’t you say?
Thus Travis would eliminate himself from *my* pool of potential jobs as I recognize the Do-As-I-Say or "Two Sets of Rules" boss as being incompatible with my personality. And I haven't even read the job description!
*snicker*
Seriously though, it's good advice.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Terror
Folks who know me well know I have two irrational fears, one which I have mastered, one which I have not.
The first, mastered fear, is of heights. (Actually it's of falling *from* heights.) (Actually, actually, it's of hitting the ground after falling from heights, but you get the idea).
The second... well, (and remember I said it was *irrational*) it looks like this:
Icthyphobia is my curse. Oddly, I even know why I have this, it involves an act of child abuse on the part of my father when I was about 4 or 5, yet it doesn't make a bit of difference. I have not completely conquered this one. Not yet anyway.
The first, mastered fear, is of heights. (Actually it's of falling *from* heights.) (Actually, actually, it's of hitting the ground after falling from heights, but you get the idea).
The second... well, (and remember I said it was *irrational*) it looks like this:
Icthyphobia is my curse. Oddly, I even know why I have this, it involves an act of child abuse on the part of my father when I was about 4 or 5, yet it doesn't make a bit of difference. I have not completely conquered this one. Not yet anyway.
Sinful by Nature
In totalitarian societies, the law is beside the point. Laws are written in such a away that compliance is completely impossible for most or all citizens. This gives the state leverage over the population because citizens can always be counted on to be doing *something* illegal at any time, and the threat of a prison sentence can be used to get them to do things they ordinarily wouldn't do, e.g. turn in a family member or friend, cover up goverment miss-steps, kill or torture etc. If you wonder why I am so adamently opposed to "Wars on $metaphore", it's because they often bear a striking resemblence to this idea. The War on Drugs has some prime examples, but the War on Terror is not without it's charm in this area.
Governements did not invent this idea though. The stole it whole cloth from religion.
Here's a great example of the idea that we all have "orginial sin" and therefore must subect ourselves to the Church to make it right with the gods.
Governements did not invent this idea though. The stole it whole cloth from religion.
Here's a great example of the idea that we all have "orginial sin" and therefore must subect ourselves to the Church to make it right with the gods.
Elegant, And Best Served Cold
From (the usually suspect) Yahoo News:
The family of Ron Goldman has purchased the rights to O.J. Simpson's canceled book, "If I Did It," from a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in a settlement reached Monday. The book rights will be held in the name of Ron Goldman LLC, Goldman family attorney David Cook said.
...
Ron Goldman LLC will own Simpson's name, likeness, signature and story and will hawk it to satisfy this terrible judgment. Justice has arrived in Miami," Cook said.
The Goldmans own the copyright, media rights and movie rights. They also acquired Simpson's name, likeness, life story and right of publicity in connection with the book, according to court documents.
The Goldmans want to rename the book "Confessions of a Double Murderer" and plan to shop it around, Cook said.
The family of Ron Goldman has purchased the rights to O.J. Simpson's canceled book, "If I Did It," from a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in a settlement reached Monday. The book rights will be held in the name of Ron Goldman LLC, Goldman family attorney David Cook said.
...
Ron Goldman LLC will own Simpson's name, likeness, signature and story and will hawk it to satisfy this terrible judgment. Justice has arrived in Miami," Cook said.
The Goldmans own the copyright, media rights and movie rights. They also acquired Simpson's name, likeness, life story and right of publicity in connection with the book, according to court documents.
The Goldmans want to rename the book "Confessions of a Double Murderer" and plan to shop it around, Cook said.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Libby
One interesting thing to note: if the President had pardoned Libby, Libby would have lost his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination and could be compelled to testify before congress.
Endlessly.
It was a smart move.
Endlessly.
It was a smart move.
Deep Weirdness about Spin States
The consequences of half-integral spin are one of those things that, I always assumed, were mathematical and not physical. i.e. you learn that the identity operator for spin in quantum mechanics is 720 rotation, not 360 rotation. It seemed odd and, now I can see that it was simply explained to me wrong by a professor who (in retrospect) didn't understand it either. Why do you have to rotate twice to get back to zero?
Feynman not only understood it, but gives a very clever way of internalizing it.
He really was the best of his generation.
Feynman not only understood it, but gives a very clever way of internalizing it.
He really was the best of his generation.
A Sin Of Which (unusually) I am Not Guilty
At least with respect to biologists:
From PZ:
Authors, film producers and directors, special-effects teams go to physicists, especially astrophysicists, to check that their worlds are workable, credible; they go to astronomers to check how far from their sun a planet should be, and so on. They even go to chemists to check atmospheres, rocket fuels, pheromones (apparently they're not biology….), even the materials that future everyday clothes (not only spacesuits) will be made of. They do go to self-styled "astrobiologists", who are usually astronomers or astrophysicists who remember some Biology 1.01 (or think they could if pressed). Between them they invent reptiloid "aliens" (who are cold-blooded enough to do all those dastardly things no warm-blooded American male could do…), feline aliens (who have the psychology of the household cat writ large, especially by more mature female authors…), dinosaur "aliens"…. Or giant ants. Or were they mut-ants, I don't remember (but how many screen mutations have you seen that change the recipient, not its progeny?). Or a vast array of "alien" human actors with a bit of wax, as easy on the Special Effects Dept as the Pure Energy aliens, or the Aliens on mid-day TV shows who magic things out of the air and see through clothing (do their eyes emit or receive X-rays?), and which otherwise free the writers from having to produce a consistent plot. Or Vulcans who can produce viable offspring with humans (when even our cousins the fish can't - mermaids are even less breedable than Spock). These people know that they don't know about physics, or astronomy, or chemistry. Those disciplines are real science. So they get help. But the biology seems so 'obvious' to them … and they don't realise that it feels just the same to be sure and wrong as sure and right! Of course, those of us that agree biologists can see that all those anthropomorphs can't be alien, they're vertebrate mammals and must share our ancestry here on Earth.
I stear clear of commenting too much on biology, I simply don't understand it well enough. I'm happy to *speculate* on life bearing planets, but I'll usually admit pretty quickly that I don't know much about the science.
From PZ:
Authors, film producers and directors, special-effects teams go to physicists, especially astrophysicists, to check that their worlds are workable, credible; they go to astronomers to check how far from their sun a planet should be, and so on. They even go to chemists to check atmospheres, rocket fuels, pheromones (apparently they're not biology….), even the materials that future everyday clothes (not only spacesuits) will be made of. They do go to self-styled "astrobiologists", who are usually astronomers or astrophysicists who remember some Biology 1.01 (or think they could if pressed). Between them they invent reptiloid "aliens" (who are cold-blooded enough to do all those dastardly things no warm-blooded American male could do…), feline aliens (who have the psychology of the household cat writ large, especially by more mature female authors…), dinosaur "aliens"…. Or giant ants. Or were they mut-ants, I don't remember (but how many screen mutations have you seen that change the recipient, not its progeny?). Or a vast array of "alien" human actors with a bit of wax, as easy on the Special Effects Dept as the Pure Energy aliens, or the Aliens on mid-day TV shows who magic things out of the air and see through clothing (do their eyes emit or receive X-rays?), and which otherwise free the writers from having to produce a consistent plot. Or Vulcans who can produce viable offspring with humans (when even our cousins the fish can't - mermaids are even less breedable than Spock). These people know that they don't know about physics, or astronomy, or chemistry. Those disciplines are real science. So they get help. But the biology seems so 'obvious' to them … and they don't realise that it feels just the same to be sure and wrong as sure and right! Of course, those of us that agree biologists can see that all those anthropomorphs can't be alien, they're vertebrate mammals and must share our ancestry here on Earth.
I stear clear of commenting too much on biology, I simply don't understand it well enough. I'm happy to *speculate* on life bearing planets, but I'll usually admit pretty quickly that I don't know much about the science.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Parker Model
Astrophysics IV was, in it's way, one of the most interesting classes I ever had. Easily one of the most difficult (made all the harder by the instructors merciless taunts about our lack of intellectual talent and constant quips about what we got wrong on our quals), we spent the better part of a semester on one of my favorite subjects, magnetohydrodynamics. Specifically, how MHD applies to star formation and how the Parker Model for solar wind and accretion disk coupling works.
Now days, there is just a cool video.
Now days, there is just a cool video.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Coffee
Girl Genius does a riff on what it would be like of someone invented a machine that made coffee taste as good as it smells. You know, the Anti-Starbucks.
Shyness Cure
Medical science is now touting a "cure" for shyness, a condition I would argue is neither medical nor involuntary. Fortunately the so-called "cure" has a list of side-effects longer than my arm, so it seems unlikely to make much headway.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Speed of Light and Interstellar Colonization
Sci Fi author Charlie Stross has a great essay on the inplausibility of interstellar travel using current technology. The last line essentially sums up my view of manned space exploration:
Colonize the Gobi desert, colonise the North Atlantic in winter — then get back to me about the rest of the solar system!
First, there is no business case for it, with the possible exception of LEO, GSO and maybe (if there is ice at the pole caps) the Moon. Riffing off of JFK, various presidents have called for going to Mars, but really that's both impractical and a huge waste of money. If it were up to me, I'd shut down almost all manned space flight from NASA, let private industry find a business case for humans and restrict government spending to robots (for which we get *some* scientific use) and technology development.
Second, our current technology is just not up to this. Yes, we put a man on the Moon, but it was hugely expensive and kind of a one-off. The shuttle was a good idea, but it's really technology as old as I am and aging less well.
Third, if you really want to do this, invest in something like the space elevator. That combines a practical business case, humans in space and technology within our current understanding of physics.
Not to say a) I dont want to see someone go to Proxima and b) I think it isn't possible ever. A breakthrough in our understanding of any of a number fundemental physical laws could open the way to the stars. If MOND were to turn out to be true, if we understood the HIggs field, if we re-wrote the laws of interia, it could be quite possible. But given chemical rocks, sunlight and "gumption", I dont think we can get there from here.
Not yet.
Colonize the Gobi desert, colonise the North Atlantic in winter — then get back to me about the rest of the solar system!
First, there is no business case for it, with the possible exception of LEO, GSO and maybe (if there is ice at the pole caps) the Moon. Riffing off of JFK, various presidents have called for going to Mars, but really that's both impractical and a huge waste of money. If it were up to me, I'd shut down almost all manned space flight from NASA, let private industry find a business case for humans and restrict government spending to robots (for which we get *some* scientific use) and technology development.
Second, our current technology is just not up to this. Yes, we put a man on the Moon, but it was hugely expensive and kind of a one-off. The shuttle was a good idea, but it's really technology as old as I am and aging less well.
Third, if you really want to do this, invest in something like the space elevator. That combines a practical business case, humans in space and technology within our current understanding of physics.
Not to say a) I dont want to see someone go to Proxima and b) I think it isn't possible ever. A breakthrough in our understanding of any of a number fundemental physical laws could open the way to the stars. If MOND were to turn out to be true, if we understood the HIggs field, if we re-wrote the laws of interia, it could be quite possible. But given chemical rocks, sunlight and "gumption", I dont think we can get there from here.
Not yet.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Gold Standard
I am running around with an ounce of gold in my pocket.
I bought it this morning at a wholesale gold distributer I know of in NY at a price 2.4% above the last fixed price in London. Not too shabby really.
It is, of course, just gorgeous. I got a bar with a stylized Art Deco imprint on the “face” side and the usual 999.9 fine declaration on the back. The bar is sealed in a transparent plastic container, bordered by an assay certificate from PAMP of Switzerland. Like a kid with a new toy, I have showed this to everyone I know and, so far without exception, this is the very first bar of gold they have ever seen. It’s wicked cool.
In doing some pricing research before the purchase, I came across this site, which is a very interesting gold blog. This article, had a view of gold I hadn’t really thought of before:
The value of gold has not materially changed for the past 50 years or so. You can still purchase the same material good or services with an ounce of gold as you could 50 years ago. This does not apply to the value of the dollar of course. It takes a lot more dollars to buy the same goods as you could have bought 50 years ago.The question, for investment purposes then, is what do you invest in? Dollars or gold?Investing in dollars leaves one open to the manipulative fluctuations resulting in the dramatic variations of value in the dollar and the devaluation caused by the continual printing of more dollars (we are talking US dollars here) to fund debts such as the federal government debts as well as public and private debts.Gold however, remains consistent and in fact does not increase in value in terms of purchasing power. Rather the value of the dollar decreases, in the long term, against the value of the dollar. Once upon a time 20 dollars would have bought one ounce of gold. Now it takes between 600 and 700 dollars and is quite likely to go higher.However what you could buy for 20 dollars 50 years ago will now cost around 600 to 700 dollars. Interesting! This tells one immediately where to put one's money if you want to retain the purchasing power of your assets.
Although I have know academically that gold is one of the axels around which commerce spins, I hadn’t really thought of it like that before. Kind of interesting.
As to WHY I bought the gold? It has to do with work (I expect to be reimbursed for it), and doubtless will be the source of another blog post in July. At this point though, I doubt this will be my last gold purchase.
I bought it this morning at a wholesale gold distributer I know of in NY at a price 2.4% above the last fixed price in London. Not too shabby really.
It is, of course, just gorgeous. I got a bar with a stylized Art Deco imprint on the “face” side and the usual 999.9 fine declaration on the back. The bar is sealed in a transparent plastic container, bordered by an assay certificate from PAMP of Switzerland. Like a kid with a new toy, I have showed this to everyone I know and, so far without exception, this is the very first bar of gold they have ever seen. It’s wicked cool.
In doing some pricing research before the purchase, I came across this site, which is a very interesting gold blog. This article, had a view of gold I hadn’t really thought of before:
The value of gold has not materially changed for the past 50 years or so. You can still purchase the same material good or services with an ounce of gold as you could 50 years ago. This does not apply to the value of the dollar of course. It takes a lot more dollars to buy the same goods as you could have bought 50 years ago.The question, for investment purposes then, is what do you invest in? Dollars or gold?Investing in dollars leaves one open to the manipulative fluctuations resulting in the dramatic variations of value in the dollar and the devaluation caused by the continual printing of more dollars (we are talking US dollars here) to fund debts such as the federal government debts as well as public and private debts.Gold however, remains consistent and in fact does not increase in value in terms of purchasing power. Rather the value of the dollar decreases, in the long term, against the value of the dollar. Once upon a time 20 dollars would have bought one ounce of gold. Now it takes between 600 and 700 dollars and is quite likely to go higher.However what you could buy for 20 dollars 50 years ago will now cost around 600 to 700 dollars. Interesting! This tells one immediately where to put one's money if you want to retain the purchasing power of your assets.
Although I have know academically that gold is one of the axels around which commerce spins, I hadn’t really thought of it like that before. Kind of interesting.
As to WHY I bought the gold? It has to do with work (I expect to be reimbursed for it), and doubtless will be the source of another blog post in July. At this point though, I doubt this will be my last gold purchase.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Tokyo Letter
Like the Nigerian Letter, but with a few twists. I am half tempted to make up some info and send it back to see what the next phase of the con looks like. I am, after all, a very "hornest" guy evidently.
Shin IchiTokyo, JapanFAx: +81-3-4496-6227Reply Email: shinichimail@sify.com
Good day HORVATH_MARK-WN-BBGI
Sir,
I am about to bring to you a lucrative business offer which will improve the lives of both of us. Do not worry that I got your email from your country's business directory. I am of the opinion and do strongly believe that business relationship between people can germinate from any source so long as there is trust , hornesty and tranparency. Be open minded and let us try a letitimate business relationship devoid of all the odds seen in the internet these days.
Before reading this letter, I would like you to exonerate your mind from all forms of negative impressions you may have been having concerning transactions that originate via the internet. I know that many people all over the world, mostly those from the third world have chosen to use the internet as a means of perpetuating negative acts. This is a letitimate business offer and I want you to give it a serious consideration.
I am writting this letter from Tokyo, my name is Shin ichi a Japanese citizen resident in Tokyo. This personal letter is being written to you to bring to your attention a rewarding business offer and a move to innitiate mutual business corperation with you and your company.I know I may have not had prior meeting with you before sending you this letter, please do not get offended by that as the business concern that I am about to bring to your notice is an urgent and rewarding one.Without wasting much of your time, I shall go ahead to explain in details the reasons why I am contacting you.
I went into partnership with Mr. Saito Akihiko, a japanese citizen also and a businessman based in the middle east. We both registered a joint company with which a supply deal was carried out with Abudhabi National Oil company. In the deal we made a net profit of $82.45Million United STates dollars. We also opened a remote account where this funds were secured offshore as we did not wish to bring it directly to our country due to the high tax imposed on funds coming from overseas. Along the course of this transaction, Mr. Akihiko passed away in Al Asad base during an ambush on the 28th of May 2005. Reference: http://icasualties.org/oif/Civ.aspx (Please you can click on the website above, scroll down on the list of casualties, he is the only Japanese casualty who was killed in that area (Saito Akihiko) . After the death, I tried my best to contact members of the family and the only one I got was Hironobu Saito who is so miserable about the kidnapp and murder of his late brother and has assured me that I can do anything within my power to get the funds back home since his late brother did not include him as beneficiary of the funds. for information concerning Mr. Hironobu Saito please refer http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/28/content_446587.htm (you can read about him also)The reasons why I am contacting you now is that we need a foreign partner who will act as next of kin to Mr. Akihiko Saito. It does not matter the nationality. I will endorse the process.Hence with the next of kin and I available the bank will release the funds $80.45Million United States dollars.
I shall provide you my national identity, my recent passport identity and also my passport photo for verification before you can make your decision to go along with this business. These days due to internet abuse, it is difficult to believe even when one presents a legitimate business offer. Hence, I shall grant you the liberty to verify and confirm all my identity documents before we carry on with the business.Take note also that subsequently, I shall send you information/details about the supply deal done in Abhudhabi and also information regarding the exact location of the funds at the present moment.For presenting yourself as next of kin in this transaction you shal be entitled to 5% of the total funds.Please if this transaction suites you kindly email me at: shinichimail@sify.com
In your email reply please provide me the following information:
1. Your phone number, fax number and mobile phone number (most importantly)2. Name of your company , activity of your company and how long you have been running your business.3. Your full name
Also please kindly answer the following questions in your email replya) Have you travelled overseas before?b) Have you ever managed funds more than 1million dollars?c) Do you have a valid passport to travel?d) How old are you ?e) Do you have any physical disabilities?F) Do you have any criminal records?g) Have you been arrested of any crime before?H) Are you married?I) If yes how many kids do you have ?J) Have you executed any government project before?K) Do you have an attorney ?
Please do not be hesitant to provide us all of the information requested above.(YOU EITHER SEND THE ABOVE INFORMATION BY EMAIL OR YOU CAN SEND BY FAX TO THE FAX NUMBER: +81-3-4496-6227 ) As soon as I receive your email, I shall send you my personal identification, International passport , photos and family photos also to confirm my identity and other documents concerning the said business before we proceed .
In God we trustExpecting your urgent response.
(Take note that I have contacted a consortium to send you this email through their server for confidentiality so Please if you are not interest in this project simply ignore the message.)
Shin IchiTokyo, JapanFAx: +81-3-4496-6227Reply Email: shinichimail@sify.com
KINDLY REQUEST ALL MY IDENTITIES (INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT, NATIONAL IDENTITY AND OTHERS ) FOR YOUR INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION PRIOR TO YOUR DECISION MAKING. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU REPLY STRICTLY AND ONLY TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS: shinichimail@sify.com OR SEND A FAX TO: +81-3-4496-6227.
Oops, I failed to note the following on the bottom (long with an invisible link back to the "law firm"
Equity Law Firm88 Lone Star Ranch - Chiredzi, ZIM Harare ZW
I guess it's african after all.
Shin IchiTokyo, JapanFAx: +81-3-4496-6227Reply Email: shinichimail@sify.com
Good day HORVATH_MARK-WN-BBGI
Sir,
I am about to bring to you a lucrative business offer which will improve the lives of both of us. Do not worry that I got your email from your country's business directory. I am of the opinion and do strongly believe that business relationship between people can germinate from any source so long as there is trust , hornesty and tranparency. Be open minded and let us try a letitimate business relationship devoid of all the odds seen in the internet these days.
Before reading this letter, I would like you to exonerate your mind from all forms of negative impressions you may have been having concerning transactions that originate via the internet. I know that many people all over the world, mostly those from the third world have chosen to use the internet as a means of perpetuating negative acts. This is a letitimate business offer and I want you to give it a serious consideration.
I am writting this letter from Tokyo, my name is Shin ichi a Japanese citizen resident in Tokyo. This personal letter is being written to you to bring to your attention a rewarding business offer and a move to innitiate mutual business corperation with you and your company.I know I may have not had prior meeting with you before sending you this letter, please do not get offended by that as the business concern that I am about to bring to your notice is an urgent and rewarding one.Without wasting much of your time, I shall go ahead to explain in details the reasons why I am contacting you.
I went into partnership with Mr. Saito Akihiko, a japanese citizen also and a businessman based in the middle east. We both registered a joint company with which a supply deal was carried out with Abudhabi National Oil company. In the deal we made a net profit of $82.45Million United STates dollars. We also opened a remote account where this funds were secured offshore as we did not wish to bring it directly to our country due to the high tax imposed on funds coming from overseas. Along the course of this transaction, Mr. Akihiko passed away in Al Asad base during an ambush on the 28th of May 2005. Reference: http://icasualties.org/oif/Civ.aspx (Please you can click on the website above, scroll down on the list of casualties, he is the only Japanese casualty who was killed in that area (Saito Akihiko) . After the death, I tried my best to contact members of the family and the only one I got was Hironobu Saito who is so miserable about the kidnapp and murder of his late brother and has assured me that I can do anything within my power to get the funds back home since his late brother did not include him as beneficiary of the funds. for information concerning Mr. Hironobu Saito please refer http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/28/content_446587.htm (you can read about him also)The reasons why I am contacting you now is that we need a foreign partner who will act as next of kin to Mr. Akihiko Saito. It does not matter the nationality. I will endorse the process.Hence with the next of kin and I available the bank will release the funds $80.45Million United States dollars.
I shall provide you my national identity, my recent passport identity and also my passport photo for verification before you can make your decision to go along with this business. These days due to internet abuse, it is difficult to believe even when one presents a legitimate business offer. Hence, I shall grant you the liberty to verify and confirm all my identity documents before we carry on with the business.Take note also that subsequently, I shall send you information/details about the supply deal done in Abhudhabi and also information regarding the exact location of the funds at the present moment.For presenting yourself as next of kin in this transaction you shal be entitled to 5% of the total funds.Please if this transaction suites you kindly email me at: shinichimail@sify.com
In your email reply please provide me the following information:
1. Your phone number, fax number and mobile phone number (most importantly)2. Name of your company , activity of your company and how long you have been running your business.3. Your full name
Also please kindly answer the following questions in your email replya) Have you travelled overseas before?b) Have you ever managed funds more than 1million dollars?c) Do you have a valid passport to travel?d) How old are you ?e) Do you have any physical disabilities?F) Do you have any criminal records?g) Have you been arrested of any crime before?H) Are you married?I) If yes how many kids do you have ?J) Have you executed any government project before?K) Do you have an attorney ?
Please do not be hesitant to provide us all of the information requested above.(YOU EITHER SEND THE ABOVE INFORMATION BY EMAIL OR YOU CAN SEND BY FAX TO THE FAX NUMBER: +81-3-4496-6227 ) As soon as I receive your email, I shall send you my personal identification, International passport , photos and family photos also to confirm my identity and other documents concerning the said business before we proceed .
In God we trustExpecting your urgent response.
(Take note that I have contacted a consortium to send you this email through their server for confidentiality so Please if you are not interest in this project simply ignore the message.)
Shin IchiTokyo, JapanFAx: +81-3-4496-6227Reply Email: shinichimail@sify.com
KINDLY REQUEST ALL MY IDENTITIES (INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT, NATIONAL IDENTITY AND OTHERS ) FOR YOUR INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION PRIOR TO YOUR DECISION MAKING. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU REPLY STRICTLY AND ONLY TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS: shinichimail@sify.com OR SEND A FAX TO: +81-3-4496-6227.
Oops, I failed to note the following on the bottom (long with an invisible link back to the "law firm"
Equity Law Firm88 Lone Star Ranch - Chiredzi, ZIM Harare ZW
I guess it's african after all.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Cowardice of the Democrats
I bash the GOP a great deal in my commentary, largely because I think they are wrong about almost everything and they fairweather friends to the law and to libertarian principles. It's important to remember though that the dems are not much better.
No one has summed it up better than this and I quote in the entirity because I agree completely.
I think Kos is onto something:
Many Democrats, especially its pathetic consultant class, still believe that the way Democrats show "strength" is by huffing and puffing and threatening to bomb the "f" out of Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, or whatever the latest boogeyman of the moment might be.In reality, Democrats are seen as weak because they are afraid to stand for those things they believe in. And if they won't fight for what they believe in, how can voters trust them to fight for anything that truly matters, whether it's national security or anything else?
The lesson of Reagan and to a lesser extent Thatcher - the pre-eminent conviction politicians of my lifetime - is that even those who deeply disagreed with them eventually respected their ability to stand for something unpopular and to lead. When I look at the Democrats today, I see no such conviction. That's a problem. No one is worse than Clinton, of course.
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2224950/19336916
No one has summed it up better than this and I quote in the entirity because I agree completely.
I think Kos is onto something:
Many Democrats, especially its pathetic consultant class, still believe that the way Democrats show "strength" is by huffing and puffing and threatening to bomb the "f" out of Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, or whatever the latest boogeyman of the moment might be.In reality, Democrats are seen as weak because they are afraid to stand for those things they believe in. And if they won't fight for what they believe in, how can voters trust them to fight for anything that truly matters, whether it's national security or anything else?
The lesson of Reagan and to a lesser extent Thatcher - the pre-eminent conviction politicians of my lifetime - is that even those who deeply disagreed with them eventually respected their ability to stand for something unpopular and to lead. When I look at the Democrats today, I see no such conviction. That's a problem. No one is worse than Clinton, of course.
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2224950/19336916
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Best Comment Left in Someone Else's Blog
and the award goes to .... Andrew Sullivan for Obamagirl
Somewhere in America, Ron Paul Girl is finishing up her video, which centers around the gold standard.
Somewhere in America, Ron Paul Girl is finishing up her video, which centers around the gold standard.
Hortatory Subjunctive
An administration flunky named Lorita Doan tried to block investigations into the government's use of GOP emails, material and campaign recruiting materials to target democrats. Having failed at that, the congress changed hands and now she's on the business end of some sharp probing by the oversight committee.
Specifically she said, when refering to government employees following the law and complying with the oversight committee's requests for information:
Until extensive rehabilitation of their performance occurs, they will not be getting promoted and will not be getting bonuses or special awards or anything of that nature.
Now, on the defensive, she *testifies* that it was all a big misunderstanding about grammatical tense.
Watch here, it's priceless!
Even she shrugs at her defense, like "hey! it's the best I could do! It's not like I can cop to it, then I'd be guilty of violating the Hatch Act"
Specifically she said, when refering to government employees following the law and complying with the oversight committee's requests for information:
Until extensive rehabilitation of their performance occurs, they will not be getting promoted and will not be getting bonuses or special awards or anything of that nature.
Now, on the defensive, she *testifies* that it was all a big misunderstanding about grammatical tense.
Watch here, it's priceless!
Even she shrugs at her defense, like "hey! it's the best I could do! It's not like I can cop to it, then I'd be guilty of violating the Hatch Act"
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Evanescent Waves
I had read this quicky from Nick the other day, and was impressed by the work going on with evanescent waves. This seemed an unusual research topic to me because evanescent waves were always more of a mathematical construct resulting from the equation of motion and not something physical.
Then today in the NYT, they were re-visiting invisiblity. It hadnt occured to me that the negative index of refraction was due to the amplificiation of evanescent waves. A couple of minutes with Jackson* and a look at my EM notes and BOOM! It all fits into place.
The next 10 years in material science is going to be very cool.
* J. D. Jackson has a posse
Then today in the NYT, they were re-visiting invisiblity. It hadnt occured to me that the negative index of refraction was due to the amplificiation of evanescent waves. A couple of minutes with Jackson* and a look at my EM notes and BOOM! It all fits into place.
The next 10 years in material science is going to be very cool.
* J. D. Jackson has a posse
Monday, June 11, 2007
Good Blog on Security/Privacy/Law
I clicked because I thought the name was cool, 27 B Stroke 6
Brazil is one of my all time favorite movies.
Brazil is one of my all time favorite movies.
Words I Thought I Would Never Write
Nor, hopefully, will ever have to write again:
The best view of Paris Hilton ever.
If anyone wants me for the next few hours, I'll be in the shower.
scrubbing.
The best view of Paris Hilton ever.
If anyone wants me for the next few hours, I'll be in the shower.
scrubbing.
Dangerous
Nabil Shaath says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'"
here
This is almost fractal in it's ability to stun and terrify, each clause is independently scarey, summing to a grander, higher horror when read all together.
Just read that again, think about it and ... well... worry.
here
This is almost fractal in it's ability to stun and terrify, each clause is independently scarey, summing to a grander, higher horror when read all together.
Just read that again, think about it and ... well... worry.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Dregs
And thus I sample the bitter dregs of the cup of atheism, likely not for the last time. We buried Susan this weekend, her parents, her friends and I. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, almost as bad a burying Papa in 1988. There are 4 other people; Geoff, Becky, Jim and my sister who would be even harder for me, but this was plenty difficult. And I had to get through it without the comfort of knowing I would ever see her again. Lots of folks, especially her parents, took comfort in the idea of being reunited in the afterlife, and I truly, deeply and sincerely hope they are right. But I couldn’t. I tried. I tried hard to think I might be wrong, that there might be something after, that somehow, some way, her mind was elsewhere, being computed by who knows what. That I would see her again, and everyone else that I ever have, or ever would lose. I wanted badly to believe I’d see her again, hear her voice, and tell her a joke.
It was no use. I just couldn’t. She’s gone, her neurons scrambled. The delicate connections, networks and processes that made her taken by chaos and entropy. She is done and lives only in the memories of her friends and family. Atheism is a tough road, harder in many ways than the comfort of the illusion of order, justice and dreams. It gives much in the way of freedom and truth, but provides few shields from tragedy, loss and sorrow. When I face death, it seems I must face it square on. With reason. With rationality. Without the comfort of self-deception.
I shall miss her greatly, but I do draw some tiny comfort from the idea that, were our positions reversed, she would likely be thinking the exact same thing.
It was no use. I just couldn’t. She’s gone, her neurons scrambled. The delicate connections, networks and processes that made her taken by chaos and entropy. She is done and lives only in the memories of her friends and family. Atheism is a tough road, harder in many ways than the comfort of the illusion of order, justice and dreams. It gives much in the way of freedom and truth, but provides few shields from tragedy, loss and sorrow. When I face death, it seems I must face it square on. With reason. With rationality. Without the comfort of self-deception.
I shall miss her greatly, but I do draw some tiny comfort from the idea that, were our positions reversed, she would likely be thinking the exact same thing.
Better to Have it and Not Need it, Than Need it and Not have It
File in the "just in case" drawer.
Presidential Apology letter #3. The Softsell
The White House
President Geofferey C.M. Horvath __ ____ ,203_
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Washington)-Office of the POTUS.
We all know my father is something of a rascal. During the campaign, his antics often proved an amusing, and occasionally welcome distraction from a tough election campaign fraught with the serious issues facing our great nation. Even my opponents in the Democratic and ReAnimist parties would occasionally get a good chuckle out of some his stunts. Who can forget the time he caused Teddy Roosevelt’s reanimated corpse to goosestep down to the Lincoln memorial where he danced a merry jig with Lenin and Ezra Pound all the while belting out show toons from “Kismet”? Or when he “debated” Pope John Paul II, Walt Disney’s head and Stephen Jay Gould about the existence of a soul on the Paris Hilton Show? We all learned a valuable lesson on the limits of reanimation that day. (and if there any Catholics left after John Paul’s II’s stunning revelations on the afterlife, again, I’m very, very sorry).
However, in an attempt to amuse, my father sometimes over reaches and, quite inadvertently, occasionally causes some grief and stress. While his intention was to amuse when he added helium to the moonbase gas mixture, even the engineers admit, they expected the gas to clear in a few hours. Technically, it’s still quite habitable and much scientific and social research still goes on there, its just not reported by anything with live audio. Also, the less said about his prank with the Zombie Muhammad, the better.
It is in this vein that I ask my fellow North Americans to have some patience with him at this moment in history. First contact with an alien species was bound to be extremely tricky in any event, and it is worth pointing out that they contacted him. While the Recticulan culture is extremely complex ,they had been studying us for quite some time, so it was, as my father said, “a fair assumption they knew it was a joke”. I love my father very much and remain supportive of him. While the fact that he is something of a scoundrel cannot be, at this point, argued, as his son it is my duty to stand behind him in this troubled time. I ask the nation now to bear with us, and be assured that we are making every effort to repair the small breach in our relations with the first members of the interstellar community. Vice President Freeman, Richard Feynman and my father are with the Recticulans now, along with a cadre of cultural and social experts, working through the situation. The Recticulans are an extremely advanced culture, used to encountering other species and rationality is a key to their psychology. We are explaining, clearly and cogently how a whoopee cushion works, it’s cultural significance and it amusement value for a species like ourselves which does not use a bladder in it’s reproductive cycle as the Recticulans do. No one could have anticipated that they have an equivalent translation for that sound, nor is it reasonable on their part to assume that my father has ever met the Ambassador’s mothers.
We look forward to a quick and satisfactory solution to this in the next few days. Peace be with us all and God(s) Bless America!
Geofferey C.M. Horvath
President of the United States of America
Presidential Apology letter #3. The Softsell
The White House
President Geofferey C.M. Horvath __ ____ ,203_
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Washington)-Office of the POTUS.
We all know my father is something of a rascal. During the campaign, his antics often proved an amusing, and occasionally welcome distraction from a tough election campaign fraught with the serious issues facing our great nation. Even my opponents in the Democratic and ReAnimist parties would occasionally get a good chuckle out of some his stunts. Who can forget the time he caused Teddy Roosevelt’s reanimated corpse to goosestep down to the Lincoln memorial where he danced a merry jig with Lenin and Ezra Pound all the while belting out show toons from “Kismet”? Or when he “debated” Pope John Paul II, Walt Disney’s head and Stephen Jay Gould about the existence of a soul on the Paris Hilton Show? We all learned a valuable lesson on the limits of reanimation that day. (and if there any Catholics left after John Paul’s II’s stunning revelations on the afterlife, again, I’m very, very sorry).
However, in an attempt to amuse, my father sometimes over reaches and, quite inadvertently, occasionally causes some grief and stress. While his intention was to amuse when he added helium to the moonbase gas mixture, even the engineers admit, they expected the gas to clear in a few hours. Technically, it’s still quite habitable and much scientific and social research still goes on there, its just not reported by anything with live audio. Also, the less said about his prank with the Zombie Muhammad, the better.
It is in this vein that I ask my fellow North Americans to have some patience with him at this moment in history. First contact with an alien species was bound to be extremely tricky in any event, and it is worth pointing out that they contacted him. While the Recticulan culture is extremely complex ,they had been studying us for quite some time, so it was, as my father said, “a fair assumption they knew it was a joke”. I love my father very much and remain supportive of him. While the fact that he is something of a scoundrel cannot be, at this point, argued, as his son it is my duty to stand behind him in this troubled time. I ask the nation now to bear with us, and be assured that we are making every effort to repair the small breach in our relations with the first members of the interstellar community. Vice President Freeman, Richard Feynman and my father are with the Recticulans now, along with a cadre of cultural and social experts, working through the situation. The Recticulans are an extremely advanced culture, used to encountering other species and rationality is a key to their psychology. We are explaining, clearly and cogently how a whoopee cushion works, it’s cultural significance and it amusement value for a species like ourselves which does not use a bladder in it’s reproductive cycle as the Recticulans do. No one could have anticipated that they have an equivalent translation for that sound, nor is it reasonable on their part to assume that my father has ever met the Ambassador’s mothers.
We look forward to a quick and satisfactory solution to this in the next few days. Peace be with us all and God(s) Bless America!
Geofferey C.M. Horvath
President of the United States of America
Friday, June 08, 2007
Susan's Memorial Site
For those of you who are interested, her site is here. Warning: there is music!
I'm heading out for the burial in a few minutes to see her folks and her brother.
This, btw, is how I'll remember her most. We had a game where I would wait until some socially serious situation, then make a comment, for her alone, that would shock her into making "The Face". it was trival to do when she was 18 but, by the time she was 36, it was much harder. Still possible, I just had to be more clever and creative. It was one of the many ways she brought out the best in me.
I'm heading out for the burial in a few minutes to see her folks and her brother.
This, btw, is how I'll remember her most. We had a game where I would wait until some socially serious situation, then make a comment, for her alone, that would shock her into making "The Face". it was trival to do when she was 18 but, by the time she was 36, it was much harder. Still possible, I just had to be more clever and creative. It was one of the many ways she brought out the best in me.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The London Olympic Logo
From the same friend of mine who wrote my linked-in recommendation.
After hours of analysis I have come to the conclusion that the new logo
is a picture of Lisa Simpson giving someone a blow job.
he's right too!
You should see the losers along with some commentary.
The Economics of New York City
A breakdown of various businesses and their profitability in New York City.
This one is for Susan:
Stadium tickets: $117 million (4.2 million tickets at an average of $28 each); YES network TV/radio rights: $60 million; Major League TV and licensing: $30 million; concessions: $10 million; sponsorships and advertising: $30 million; premium seating: $27 million; local radio: $13 million; catering: $5 million; other: $10 million.
Being 13 games behind the Red Sox: Priceless!
This one is for Susan:
Stadium tickets: $117 million (4.2 million tickets at an average of $28 each); YES network TV/radio rights: $60 million; Major League TV and licensing: $30 million; concessions: $10 million; sponsorships and advertising: $30 million; premium seating: $27 million; local radio: $13 million; catering: $5 million; other: $10 million.
Being 13 games behind the Red Sox: Priceless!
Where to Buy
Excellent graph from the WSJ on the current housing inventories in 18 different cities.
It's a good time to buy, *if* you can get a loan.
It's a good time to buy, *if* you can get a loan.
Busted!
John Dvorak may have my number here, but I think he spent his summer vacation in TJICistan.
8 Rules for the Perfect Blog
8 Rules for the Perfect Blog
Deny the Fire it's Oxygen
A brief explaination from the NYT about why the JFK plot was posted on A30 instead of A1:
Here's the basic thinking on the J.F.K. story: In the years since 9/11, there have been quite a few interrupted terrorist plots. It now seems possible to exercise some judgment about their gravity. Not all plots are the same. In this case, law enforcement officials said that J.F.K. was never in immediate danger. The plotters had yet to lay out plans. They had no financing. Nor did they have any explosives. It is with all that in mind, that the editors in charge this weekend did not put this story on the front page.
(bolds are mine)While the chattering heads of the Right will be quick to leap on the idea that it's just the liberal bias of the Times trying to minimalize the administration's heroic efforts in the GWOT(tm), I actually think this makes a lot of sense. By denying front page coverage to every group of crazies who watch "24", the times is removing some of the incentives (e.g. fame, power) for this kind of behavior. This is basic security 101. Imagine if the press had done the same with the so-called "liquid" bombers in the UK a while back. I'd no longer have to scour my bags at the airport to throw out perfectly good bottled juice, toothpaste or water simply because a group of nuts put together a plot that was never a threat.
I see this decision by the Times as a common sense reaction and a sign that the public is finally tired of over-reacting to the least little threat. Good for them.
Here's the basic thinking on the J.F.K. story: In the years since 9/11, there have been quite a few interrupted terrorist plots. It now seems possible to exercise some judgment about their gravity. Not all plots are the same. In this case, law enforcement officials said that J.F.K. was never in immediate danger. The plotters had yet to lay out plans. They had no financing. Nor did they have any explosives. It is with all that in mind, that the editors in charge this weekend did not put this story on the front page.
(bolds are mine)While the chattering heads of the Right will be quick to leap on the idea that it's just the liberal bias of the Times trying to minimalize the administration's heroic efforts in the GWOT(tm), I actually think this makes a lot of sense. By denying front page coverage to every group of crazies who watch "24", the times is removing some of the incentives (e.g. fame, power) for this kind of behavior. This is basic security 101. Imagine if the press had done the same with the so-called "liquid" bombers in the UK a while back. I'd no longer have to scour my bags at the airport to throw out perfectly good bottled juice, toothpaste or water simply because a group of nuts put together a plot that was never a threat.
I see this decision by the Times as a common sense reaction and a sign that the public is finally tired of over-reacting to the least little threat. Good for them.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Typo
Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), wanted to sponsor a bill honoring "America's First Responders"
Seems like a decent thing to do. So he sent out this press release from his office:
Read the 3rd paragraph very carefully. It says:
"First responders in Colorado have recently provided critical services in the face of blizzards and tornados," added Allard. "Since I don't think first responders have really done anything significant in comparison to their counterparts who have dealt with real natural disasters, I have no idea what else to say here..."
OOPS!
He later retracted and corrected it:
Please pardon my typo in the first version of this release. I sincerely apologize for the error. The corrected paragraph reads:
"First responders in Colorado have recently provided critical services in the face of blizzards and tornados," added Allard. "This resolution celebrates them and all first responders serving our nation."
"First responders in Colorado have recently provided critical services in the face of blizzards and tornados," added Allard. "This resolution celebrates them and all first responders serving our nation."
A Recommendation
from one of my former co-workers and "friends":
Dear Mark,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users.
Details of the Recommendation:
"Mark Horvath is a radical (evil) genius with a tendancy to simplyfy everything down to the molecular level.... He has a passion for raw meat, a passion only superceded by one for barbecueing Australian aborignies marinated in rock salt. Without him I would be a shell of a man, a man whos existence would be pitiful. I love Mark as much as I do Blue M&M's"
It should be noted that a) Kenny thinks blue M&Ms are an affront against god and b) he is a right, proper git.
Dear Mark,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users.
Details of the Recommendation:
"Mark Horvath is a radical (evil) genius with a tendancy to simplyfy everything down to the molecular level.... He has a passion for raw meat, a passion only superceded by one for barbecueing Australian aborignies marinated in rock salt. Without him I would be a shell of a man, a man whos existence would be pitiful. I love Mark as much as I do Blue M&M's"
It should be noted that a) Kenny thinks blue M&Ms are an affront against god and b) he is a right, proper git.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Memorial Ceremony
For Susan, in Webster MA, 2:00pm on Saturday, June 9th.
Email me if you need more details or want to coordinate a ride from Boston. I'll rent a mini-van and can take a few folks out on Saturday.
Email me if you need more details or want to coordinate a ride from Boston. I'll rent a mini-van and can take a few folks out on Saturday.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Susan Gordon, 1970-2007
Susan passed away last week, appearently while I was in Boston. I dont have all the details yet, but will update as they come in.
Susan posted here as the Strawberry Woman, and I have know her for the better part of 20 years. She was one of the 5 most influential people who have affected my life.
Susan posted here as the Strawberry Woman, and I have know her for the better part of 20 years. She was one of the 5 most influential people who have affected my life.
Motivation
TJICistan adopts my favorite work poster.
I had another at CertCo, very breifly, which had a picture of a sinking oil tanker. It read, PURPOSE: The only value of you life might be simply to serve as a warning to others"
I also have a T-Shirt I wear to the gym which says, in large letters "BOMB SQUAD" and then in smaller letters "If you see us running, try to keep up".
I wore this in a a hotel lobby after a lift once while traveling with McBride (Head of Capital Markets now for Verizon Business). I got "talked to" by the manager. McBride still reminds me of it a couple times a year.
I had another at CertCo, very breifly, which had a picture of a sinking oil tanker. It read, PURPOSE: The only value of you life might be simply to serve as a warning to others"
I also have a T-Shirt I wear to the gym which says, in large letters "BOMB SQUAD" and then in smaller letters "If you see us running, try to keep up".
I wore this in a a hotel lobby after a lift once while traveling with McBride (Head of Capital Markets now for Verizon Business). I got "talked to" by the manager. McBride still reminds me of it a couple times a year.
Armed Madhouse
I needed a book to read on a flight back from Boston yesterday and (for *some* reason) I couldn't find Hitch's book God is not Great, in either the B&N or the airport bookstore (I strongly suspect it is being kept behind the counter to avoid "offending" anyone), so at the last minute I picked up Greg Palast's Armed Madhouse. I am also reading the quite excellent Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden (of Black Hawk Down fame), but unfortunately I left it in my checked bag. So I grabbed Madhouse and got on the plane.
Now, I have never been convinced of the case for war against Iraq, but it took me awhile to figure out why I was right. While suspicious of the President, that really wasn't enough, and while having some very minor intelligence and not so minor Iraqi friends who used to be in the nuclear business, that only seemed to justify my position, not really inform it as much as I liked to think. My worry was I was right for the wrong reason, a problem at least as bad as being wrong for the wrong reason. Eventually I figured out where my reluctance had come from and why; I was against the war because I recognized a marketing campaign when I see one and anything being sold that hard raised a lot of red flags. It was as simple as that. My job involves a great deal of marketing, so I have a pretty good feel for folks pushing a weak product, and this fit the bill. Weak facts, lots of conjecture, personal attacks on Hans Blix, "buy now before the price goes up" kind of urgency, etc. I'd like to think it was for more lofty, intellectual analysis, but it really wasn't, that came later after I had made up my mind.
So I picked up Armed Madhouse, read the first 30 pages or so and put it down as a far-left masturbatory exercise. Cute, but not definitely from a paranoid left kind viewpoint, I had thought. So instead I watched Alien vs. Predator (which was much, much better than I expected). My Digiplayer ran out of juice, so I picked up the book again and realized the author was from the BBC, then gave it another look. The BBC has been, over the last 5 years, much better at covering America than American journalists. Also, in flipping through it, Palast cites a memo from Grover Norquist about the libertarian economic "rules" the neo-cons wanted for post-war Iraq.
Then the penny dropped
Because, I happened to be paying a lot of attention to the Iraq economic rules (we were considering doing a microsoft based project in post-war Iraq back when we thought that Iraq would be stable in a few months), and I could not figure out a) why the laws they set up were so fucking bizarre, and b) why so many basic things failed to happen. Also, in my blog-wanderings I had seen the Norquist memo, but had never put these things together. Palast has a whole chapter where he maps the memo against the outcomes and shows how the "libertarian workers paradise" resulted in the outcome we all saw.
and it made sense.
ut-oh.
Palast has lots of documentary evidence in the book he cites, most of it I just assumed was far left nuthouse stuff. Looking up a bit of this morning, I see that it's not. And, while I doubt it's "all true", it is unnervingly logical. I recommend picking it up and reading it yourself. I remain skeptical, but I can't easily dismiss his conclusions as quickly as I had hoped.
Now, I have never been convinced of the case for war against Iraq, but it took me awhile to figure out why I was right. While suspicious of the President, that really wasn't enough, and while having some very minor intelligence and not so minor Iraqi friends who used to be in the nuclear business, that only seemed to justify my position, not really inform it as much as I liked to think. My worry was I was right for the wrong reason, a problem at least as bad as being wrong for the wrong reason. Eventually I figured out where my reluctance had come from and why; I was against the war because I recognized a marketing campaign when I see one and anything being sold that hard raised a lot of red flags. It was as simple as that. My job involves a great deal of marketing, so I have a pretty good feel for folks pushing a weak product, and this fit the bill. Weak facts, lots of conjecture, personal attacks on Hans Blix, "buy now before the price goes up" kind of urgency, etc. I'd like to think it was for more lofty, intellectual analysis, but it really wasn't, that came later after I had made up my mind.
So I picked up Armed Madhouse, read the first 30 pages or so and put it down as a far-left masturbatory exercise. Cute, but not definitely from a paranoid left kind viewpoint, I had thought. So instead I watched Alien vs. Predator (which was much, much better than I expected). My Digiplayer ran out of juice, so I picked up the book again and realized the author was from the BBC, then gave it another look. The BBC has been, over the last 5 years, much better at covering America than American journalists. Also, in flipping through it, Palast cites a memo from Grover Norquist about the libertarian economic "rules" the neo-cons wanted for post-war Iraq.
Then the penny dropped
Because, I happened to be paying a lot of attention to the Iraq economic rules (we were considering doing a microsoft based project in post-war Iraq back when we thought that Iraq would be stable in a few months), and I could not figure out a) why the laws they set up were so fucking bizarre, and b) why so many basic things failed to happen. Also, in my blog-wanderings I had seen the Norquist memo, but had never put these things together. Palast has a whole chapter where he maps the memo against the outcomes and shows how the "libertarian workers paradise" resulted in the outcome we all saw.
and it made sense.
ut-oh.
Palast has lots of documentary evidence in the book he cites, most of it I just assumed was far left nuthouse stuff. Looking up a bit of this morning, I see that it's not. And, while I doubt it's "all true", it is unnervingly logical. I recommend picking it up and reading it yourself. I remain skeptical, but I can't easily dismiss his conclusions as quickly as I had hoped.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The Goon Doctor
What happens when you post random medical maladies into a public form and ask folks to comment?
You get the Goon Doctor:
My girlfriend's vagina is all out of whack.
Holy shit, my tooth just broke
Help me learn about Opiods
A Tick on my Glans
What the hell is growing on my arm?
Tell me why I sweat so much?
and more. TMI
You get the Goon Doctor:
My girlfriend's vagina is all out of whack.
Holy shit, my tooth just broke
Help me learn about Opiods
A Tick on my Glans
What the hell is growing on my arm?
Tell me why I sweat so much?
and more. TMI
Glenn vs. Glenn
here
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds defends Joe Klein and "responds" to my post by (a) accusing me of rooting for the U.S. to lose and (b) re-printing an e-mail he received from Michael Yon who claims that, in Anbar, "the guns are mostly quiet now" and the Infantry Task Force with which he is embedded "hardly have fired their weapons." Yon claims that things are so peachy in Anbar that the meetings of the Task Force are "more administrative than combat oriented."
Associated Press reports today (h/d David Sirota):
Two US soldiers were killed while conducting combat operations in Iraq's volatile Anbar Province, the military announced Thursday.
The soldiers, assigned to Multi National Force-West, were killed Wednesday, the military said. The military declined to release the names of those killed pending notification of their relatives.
The deaths raised the number of members of the US military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003 to at least 3,433, according to an Associated Press count.
And then there is this. And this. But the real fault lies with anyone who points any of this out, because they want the U.S. to lose. What is most amazing is that the same people (like Reynolds) who have been lying to the country for four straight years about all of the Glorious Progress being made in Iraq continue to expect that when they speak, anyone other than the shrinking band of hard-core war supporters will listen.
Many, many times over the last four years -- in numerous places in Iraq -- violence has ebbed temporarily. Yet Iraq, contrary to the ongoing claims from the Bush administration and its followers, has inexorably descended into total chaos and violence. Pointing to three-day lapses in violence in a single place as proof that things are improving is so transparently irrational that, particularly at this point, it merits as much response as the desperate claim that anyone who opposes the war "wants the U.S. to lose."
Do I want the US to lose? No, certainly not, and I never have. However, I have thought, since before the first bombs fell on Baghdad, that the key to non-losing was not to invade. I have been skeptical about this since before the invasion and, frankly, I dont see any reason to stop now.
GG makes a great point about anonymous sources too. What is the purpose of anonimity if the material is boilerplate administration text? Is the credibility of the president so low that he has to release information anonymously for it to get any play? And if so, why would it deserve to be called news?
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds defends Joe Klein and "responds" to my post by (a) accusing me of rooting for the U.S. to lose and (b) re-printing an e-mail he received from Michael Yon who claims that, in Anbar, "the guns are mostly quiet now" and the Infantry Task Force with which he is embedded "hardly have fired their weapons." Yon claims that things are so peachy in Anbar that the meetings of the Task Force are "more administrative than combat oriented."
Associated Press reports today (h/d David Sirota):
Two US soldiers were killed while conducting combat operations in Iraq's volatile Anbar Province, the military announced Thursday.
The soldiers, assigned to Multi National Force-West, were killed Wednesday, the military said. The military declined to release the names of those killed pending notification of their relatives.
The deaths raised the number of members of the US military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003 to at least 3,433, according to an Associated Press count.
And then there is this. And this. But the real fault lies with anyone who points any of this out, because they want the U.S. to lose. What is most amazing is that the same people (like Reynolds) who have been lying to the country for four straight years about all of the Glorious Progress being made in Iraq continue to expect that when they speak, anyone other than the shrinking band of hard-core war supporters will listen.
Many, many times over the last four years -- in numerous places in Iraq -- violence has ebbed temporarily. Yet Iraq, contrary to the ongoing claims from the Bush administration and its followers, has inexorably descended into total chaos and violence. Pointing to three-day lapses in violence in a single place as proof that things are improving is so transparently irrational that, particularly at this point, it merits as much response as the desperate claim that anyone who opposes the war "wants the U.S. to lose."
Do I want the US to lose? No, certainly not, and I never have. However, I have thought, since before the first bombs fell on Baghdad, that the key to non-losing was not to invade. I have been skeptical about this since before the invasion and, frankly, I dont see any reason to stop now.
GG makes a great point about anonymous sources too. What is the purpose of anonimity if the material is boilerplate administration text? Is the credibility of the president so low that he has to release information anonymously for it to get any play? And if so, why would it deserve to be called news?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
PZ Meyers' Hate Mail Bag
Thousands of years ago, when I was an astronomy grad student, I was in charge of the Pre-Print Library. The PPL is sort of a way of getting your idea out into circulation before it gets published, but after it has completed the peer-review cycle. Since the lag time can be a couple of months between acceptance and publication, the "pre-print" allows you to let folks know what you've done, that it's been reviewed and to start debate. In astronomy this isn't so critical because there just aren’t that many astronomers and generally everyone who would care has already seen your work in development or as a peer-reviewer. As such, the PPL was a boring, low-maintenance job (unless it was a Karen Strom paper, that's a whole other kettle of fish).
The librarian also gets a lot of "self-published" articles. Stuff that has not been through peer review or is even generally written by a trained professional scientist. It's often weird, kooky stuff and occasionally it's extraordinarily clever. Once or twice a year I'd get something so clever I'd have to think for awhile about why it wouldn't work, (usually it's a subtle variation of dividing by zero or conservation of energy, but buried so deeply in it's hard to see). In short, it was excellent work for a grad-student as it tests one's ability to reason and spot flaws.
That said, most of it was just sheer crazy fun in a paranoid tone, but all of the crazy stuff encapsulated one flawed assumption: Science works by endorsement, in the same way as religion e.g. there were quotes by Einstein that would be made to support the argument, because Einstein was an “authority” and couldn’t be questioned. Their goal was to get some professor somewhere to endorse their idea this making it “Science”. This was wrong, of course. Einstein was wrong about lots of things, most notably quantum mechanics, as is everyone else who ever gets quoted. Science is about error correction not endorsement or doctrine.
Reading PZ Meyers hate mail bag reminded me very much of the kinds of crazy stuff we’d get once every week or two. It’s nice to know some things never change.
The librarian also gets a lot of "self-published" articles. Stuff that has not been through peer review or is even generally written by a trained professional scientist. It's often weird, kooky stuff and occasionally it's extraordinarily clever. Once or twice a year I'd get something so clever I'd have to think for awhile about why it wouldn't work, (usually it's a subtle variation of dividing by zero or conservation of energy, but buried so deeply in it's hard to see). In short, it was excellent work for a grad-student as it tests one's ability to reason and spot flaws.
That said, most of it was just sheer crazy fun in a paranoid tone, but all of the crazy stuff encapsulated one flawed assumption: Science works by endorsement, in the same way as religion e.g. there were quotes by Einstein that would be made to support the argument, because Einstein was an “authority” and couldn’t be questioned. Their goal was to get some professor somewhere to endorse their idea this making it “Science”. This was wrong, of course. Einstein was wrong about lots of things, most notably quantum mechanics, as is everyone else who ever gets quoted. Science is about error correction not endorsement or doctrine.
Reading PZ Meyers hate mail bag reminded me very much of the kinds of crazy stuff we’d get once every week or two. It’s nice to know some things never change.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Department of Happy Endings
"Vice President Cheney isn’t not on the phone records of the alleged D.C. Madam, who is accused of running a high-price call-girl ring in Washington, the accused madam’s lawyer said on Tuesday."
Wonkette
Wonkette
Friday, May 25, 2007
ISO 3103, A Standard for Brewing Tea
Also in the "they must be kidding" category Dr. Nick has found the ultimate tea-brewing standard.
ISO 3103From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (commonly referred to as ISO). It specifies a standardized method for brewing tea, originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980[1]. It was produced by ISO Technical Committee 34 (Food products), Sub-Committee 8 (Tea).
ISO 3103From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (commonly referred to as ISO). It specifies a standardized method for brewing tea, originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980[1]. It was produced by ISO Technical Committee 34 (Food products), Sub-Committee 8 (Tea).
I Honestly Thought He was Kidding
In chatting with an old friend from Certco, he mentioned he was heading to the cape this weekend for a little R&R. I mentioned how remote we are here in Russian River Valley, and he responded with a joke about having a "gas-powered blender" for making mudslides and daiquiris. I laughed
but he wasn't kidding
I know what I want for Father's Day now...
but he wasn't kidding
I know what I want for Father's Day now...
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Everything Bigger than 200 Miles
This awesome image of everything in the Solar System larger than 200 miles in diameter!
Not as many, numerically, as I would have guessed.
Also, they missed my ego
Not as many, numerically, as I would have guessed.
Also, they missed my ego
Like Robinson Caruso, It's as Primative as Can Be
I am currently in the Russian River Valley, taking a sort vacation and a few wine tours. It's nice and all, and the trees are ... well, wild! Huge, skyscraper trees, hoooooom hooooooom.
Anyway, it turns out, I have gone to the first place in America I have been to since ... ... 1998, that doesn't have wireless phone service! None, nada, zip!
This is a Bad Thing, since my boss' boss (Brian) wants to talk to me about my boss(who is temporary) getting to keep his job. Not surprisingly, I have a fully thought out opinion on this subject, but may not get to deliver it because my fucking phone wont work!!!!!!
Dammit!
and, perversely, I have decent internet access. If only there was some way to get phone service over the internet (there's a business plan!).
Anyway, it turns out, I have gone to the first place in America I have been to since ... ... 1998, that doesn't have wireless phone service! None, nada, zip!
This is a Bad Thing, since my boss' boss (Brian) wants to talk to me about my boss(who is temporary) getting to keep his job. Not surprisingly, I have a fully thought out opinion on this subject, but may not get to deliver it because my fucking phone wont work!!!!!!
Dammit!
and, perversely, I have decent internet access. If only there was some way to get phone service over the internet (there's a business plan!).
We Lose Yet Another Atheist to Religion
and, truthfully, I could see myself making a similar, deathbed conversion.
Dear Friends and Family;
I know that all of you have been concerned about my emotional and spiritual welfare, especially since the stroke. I know I have lacked direction, conviction, and integrity. I am writing to tell you that I have admitted to the error of my ways and have reached a turning point in my life.
Many of you feel that my lack of faith is the root of my problems and you were right. But I have been saved and want to spread the word; I hope that you can share in the blissful savior I have found. I love all of you so much, I want you to benefit from my new faith.
So, please take a moment to share in my redemption and go to the website below and rejoice in the truth.
http://www.venganza.org/
Peace and noodles,
Laurie
Mortal by birth, Pastafarian by choice.
Dear Friends and Family;
I know that all of you have been concerned about my emotional and spiritual welfare, especially since the stroke. I know I have lacked direction, conviction, and integrity. I am writing to tell you that I have admitted to the error of my ways and have reached a turning point in my life.
Many of you feel that my lack of faith is the root of my problems and you were right. But I have been saved and want to spread the word; I hope that you can share in the blissful savior I have found. I love all of you so much, I want you to benefit from my new faith.
So, please take a moment to share in my redemption and go to the website below and rejoice in the truth.
http://www.venganza.org/
Peace and noodles,
Laurie
Mortal by birth, Pastafarian by choice.
Creationist Museum Opens in Kentucky
here
PETERSBURG, Ky. — The entrance gates here are topped with metallic Stegosauruses. The grounds include a giant tyrannosaur standing amid the trees, and a stone-lined lobby sports varied sauropods. It could be like any other natural history museum, luring families with the promise of immense fossils and dinosaur adventures.
But step a little farther into the entrance hall, and you come upon a pastoral scene undreamt of by any natural history museum. Two prehistoric children play near a burbling waterfall, thoroughly at home in the natural world. Dinosaurs cavort nearby, their animatronic mechanisms turning them into alluring companions, their gaping mouths seeming not threatening, but almost welcoming, as an Apatosaurus munches on leaves a few yards away.
What is this, then? A reproduction of a childhood fantasy in which dinosaurs are friends of inquisitive youngsters?
Yes! That's exactly what it is!
This is what happens when you let folks without a Fungineering Degree design rides...
PETERSBURG, Ky. — The entrance gates here are topped with metallic Stegosauruses. The grounds include a giant tyrannosaur standing amid the trees, and a stone-lined lobby sports varied sauropods. It could be like any other natural history museum, luring families with the promise of immense fossils and dinosaur adventures.
But step a little farther into the entrance hall, and you come upon a pastoral scene undreamt of by any natural history museum. Two prehistoric children play near a burbling waterfall, thoroughly at home in the natural world. Dinosaurs cavort nearby, their animatronic mechanisms turning them into alluring companions, their gaping mouths seeming not threatening, but almost welcoming, as an Apatosaurus munches on leaves a few yards away.
What is this, then? A reproduction of a childhood fantasy in which dinosaurs are friends of inquisitive youngsters?
Yes! That's exactly what it is!
This is what happens when you let folks without a Fungineering Degree design rides...
This Looks Like a Job for... The Comma Police!
From the NYT:
When the attack began, it was Dec. 7 at Pearl Harbor but Dec. 8 in Japan. The book is subtly subtitled “A Novel of December 8th” to signal its attention to the Japanese point of view. On the basis of that detail, you might expect a high level of fastidiousness from “Pearl Harbor.”
And you would be spectacularly wrong. Because you would find phrases like “to withdraw backward was impossible,” sounds like “wretching noises” to accompany vomiting, or constructions like “incredulous as it seemed, America had not reacted.” Although the book has two authors, it could have used a third assigned to cleanup patrol.
This is not a matter of isolated typographical errors. It is a serious case for the comma police, since the book’s war on punctuation is almost as heated as the air assaults it describes. “One would have to be dead, very stupid Fuchida thought,” the book says about the fighter pilot Mitsuo Fuchida, “not to realize they were sallying forth to war.” Evidence notwithstanding, the authors do not mean to insult the fighter pilot’s intelligence — or, presumably, the reader’s.
Historian Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) is one of the authors. If you like grammar humor (and I do!), read the rest of it, it's jaw-droppingly bad.
When the attack began, it was Dec. 7 at Pearl Harbor but Dec. 8 in Japan. The book is subtly subtitled “A Novel of December 8th” to signal its attention to the Japanese point of view. On the basis of that detail, you might expect a high level of fastidiousness from “Pearl Harbor.”
And you would be spectacularly wrong. Because you would find phrases like “to withdraw backward was impossible,” sounds like “wretching noises” to accompany vomiting, or constructions like “incredulous as it seemed, America had not reacted.” Although the book has two authors, it could have used a third assigned to cleanup patrol.
This is not a matter of isolated typographical errors. It is a serious case for the comma police, since the book’s war on punctuation is almost as heated as the air assaults it describes. “One would have to be dead, very stupid Fuchida thought,” the book says about the fighter pilot Mitsuo Fuchida, “not to realize they were sallying forth to war.” Evidence notwithstanding, the authors do not mean to insult the fighter pilot’s intelligence — or, presumably, the reader’s.
Historian Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) is one of the authors. If you like grammar humor (and I do!), read the rest of it, it's jaw-droppingly bad.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Where Did This Man Go?
It was a shameful thing to ask men to suffer and die, to persevere through god-awful afflictions and heartache, to endure the dehumanizing experiences that are unavoidable in combat, for a cause that the country wouldn’t support over time and that our leaders so wrongly believed could be achieved at a smaller cost than our enemy was prepared to make us pay. No other national endeavor requires as much unshakable resolve as war. If the nation and the government lack that resolve, it is criminal to expect men in the field to carry it alone.
John McCain, Forward to The Best and The Brightest
As readers know, I was never convinved that the Iraq part of the war was the Right Thing to Do and opposed it (as opposed to the Afgahn part which I did and still support), largely because the evidence seemed to suggest we'd be where we are today.
I'd happily vote for the John McCain who wrote that quote. I wonder if we'll ever see him again.
John McCain, Forward to The Best and The Brightest
As readers know, I was never convinved that the Iraq part of the war was the Right Thing to Do and opposed it (as opposed to the Afgahn part which I did and still support), largely because the evidence seemed to suggest we'd be where we are today.
I'd happily vote for the John McCain who wrote that quote. I wonder if we'll ever see him again.
Monday, May 21, 2007
I Can't Decide
Parody or Not?
At first I thought, "well done! very funny!", but looking through the rest of the blog..... I dunno... It's a lot of work to go through just to lampoon Brownback. I'm not ruling it out, but I am beginning to fear these folks are serious.
At first I thought, "well done! very funny!", but looking through the rest of the blog..... I dunno... It's a lot of work to go through just to lampoon Brownback. I'm not ruling it out, but I am beginning to fear these folks are serious.
Fat people more religious than skinny people
Passed along without comment except to say that Half Sigma often claims strong conclusions from incomplete data.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Presidential Candidate Pros and Cons
From McSweeney:
HILLARY CLINTON
Pro: Known commodity; strong fundraiser.
Con: Polarizing; unlikely to woo those already opposed to her.
JOE BIDEN
Pro: Technically still running for president.
Con: Dude. Come on.
DICK CHENEYIN AN ELABORATE LATEX DISGUISETHAT TAKES FIVE HOURS TO APPLY
Pro: Trojan horse, my friend. Trojan fucking horse.
Con: Ruse would be so exciting that he would surely drop dead of a massive stroke about a month before Iowa.
WALTER MONDALE
Pro: Has spent last 22 years going over tape, reviewing mistakes, plotting, scheming, waiting, watching, preparing to pounce like a 79-year-old Minnesotan panther.
Con: None.
SAM BROWNBACK
Pro: Serves as a positive role model for ethnic brownbacks all over the country.
Con: Such an ethnicity does not technically exist; lacks the pen-gripping power of Kansas Senate predecessor Bob Dole.
NEWT GINGRICH
Pro: Well known.
Con: See above.
HILLARY CLINTON
Pro: Known commodity; strong fundraiser.
Con: Polarizing; unlikely to woo those already opposed to her.
JOE BIDEN
Pro: Technically still running for president.
Con: Dude. Come on.
DICK CHENEYIN AN ELABORATE LATEX DISGUISETHAT TAKES FIVE HOURS TO APPLY
Pro: Trojan horse, my friend. Trojan fucking horse.
Con: Ruse would be so exciting that he would surely drop dead of a massive stroke about a month before Iowa.
WALTER MONDALE
Pro: Has spent last 22 years going over tape, reviewing mistakes, plotting, scheming, waiting, watching, preparing to pounce like a 79-year-old Minnesotan panther.
Con: None.
SAM BROWNBACK
Pro: Serves as a positive role model for ethnic brownbacks all over the country.
Con: Such an ethnicity does not technically exist; lacks the pen-gripping power of Kansas Senate predecessor Bob Dole.
NEWT GINGRICH
Pro: Well known.
Con: See above.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Dear Anonymous Atheist Complaint Box
My act of linking approvingly to this thread does not, in any way, constitute an endorsement.
In exactly the same way that Glenn Reynolds linking approvingly to pro-torture arguments and administration apologia does not.
Heh, read the whole thing...
Friday, May 18, 2007
More Hitch
He goes on Fox but refuses to really play the game.
here
"you took up all my time to answer with your rather long and unlettered question"
here
"you took up all my time to answer with your rather long and unlettered question"
There Is Nothing out of Bounds
From the Wapo:
Attorneys for Cheney and the other officials said any conversations they had about Plame with each other and reporters were part of their normal job duties because they were discussing foreign policy and engaging in an appropriate "policy dispute." Cheney's attorney went farther, arguing that Cheney is legally akin to the president because of his unique government role, and has absolute immunity from any lawsuit.
"So you're arguing there is nothing -- absolutely nothing - these officials could have said to reporters that would have been beyond the scope of their employment [whether it was] true or false?," U.S. District Judge John D. Bates asked.
"That's true, your honor.
Attorneys for Cheney and the other officials said any conversations they had about Plame with each other and reporters were part of their normal job duties because they were discussing foreign policy and engaging in an appropriate "policy dispute." Cheney's attorney went farther, arguing that Cheney is legally akin to the president because of his unique government role, and has absolute immunity from any lawsuit.
"So you're arguing there is nothing -- absolutely nothing - these officials could have said to reporters that would have been beyond the scope of their employment [whether it was] true or false?," U.S. District Judge John D. Bates asked.
"That's true, your honor.
Lawyer/Posers
TJIC has a pretty good (and sadly typical) interaction with a customer and his lawyer about copywrite law. I'd happily agrue a lot with Travis on any number of topics (and do), but never one where he had a financial stake unless I was ab-so-lute-ly sure I was right and had 2 or more expert opinions to back me up.
Read here, it's very good.
Read here, it's very good.
The Tributes Keep Coming in...
From field Correspondent Tara, a Tribute from Betty Bowers*:
When CNN called, Jerry would drop everything except pounds for a chance to squeeze much of his face into unforgiving aspect ratio of pre-HDTV television. With his smarmy smile and affable facility for slapping a perfunctory "but I love him in Christ" at the end of even the most vicious, artless insults, he was rather effective in putting a charming, folksy face on demeaning other human beings and their children.
*She's a better Christian than you, just ask her
When CNN called, Jerry would drop everything except pounds for a chance to squeeze much of his face into unforgiving aspect ratio of pre-HDTV television. With his smarmy smile and affable facility for slapping a perfunctory "but I love him in Christ" at the end of even the most vicious, artless insults, he was rather effective in putting a charming, folksy face on demeaning other human beings and their children.
*She's a better Christian than you, just ask her
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Why I Am a Bad Person
Because I don't disagree with any of this
I think it is impolite and uncivil to voice this in wake of the person's death, however that doesn't take away from the underlying truth of the piece.
Sorry, in this case I am failing to rise to my better nature.
I think it is impolite and uncivil to voice this in wake of the person's death, however that doesn't take away from the underlying truth of the piece.
Sorry, in this case I am failing to rise to my better nature.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
McCain Wins!
well, at least he's free-er to say what he really thinks.
I'm a little afraid though that's what he's been doing all along.
I'm a little afraid though that's what he's been doing all along.
Our Boys in Blue
Cop Rock!
BTW, this recent spurt of blogging is largely because I am back home after 10 days on the road. I am home for 8 days, then back on the road until late July (with a few at home breaks thrown in).
BTW, this recent spurt of blogging is largely because I am back home after 10 days on the road. I am home for 8 days, then back on the road until late July (with a few at home breaks thrown in).
The 7 Signs!
One wonders how hard they had to work to make sure it came out to exactly 7:
http://www.hanford.gov/oci/video/7signsofterrorism.wmv
This is both foolish and dangerous. Foolish because the guidance is so generic and silly as to be useless (other than the idea that you should "be afraid, all the time". Dangerous because it ties up resouces with false positives and diseminates misinformation. Even the examples are stupid, e.g. why would a terrorist steal a suit from a dry cleaner? Its that terribly risky? Wouldn't it be likely they could be caught or identified by in-store recording? Would a suit grabbed at random even fit? Better to buy one at a store (or even a Goodwill Store) and avoid the risks.
I hate pointless, useless security and when it's disseminated by the government, it's even worse. What a waste of money.
(via)
http://www.hanford.gov/oci/video/7signsofterrorism.wmv
This is both foolish and dangerous. Foolish because the guidance is so generic and silly as to be useless (other than the idea that you should "be afraid, all the time". Dangerous because it ties up resouces with false positives and diseminates misinformation. Even the examples are stupid, e.g. why would a terrorist steal a suit from a dry cleaner? Its that terribly risky? Wouldn't it be likely they could be caught or identified by in-store recording? Would a suit grabbed at random even fit? Better to buy one at a store (or even a Goodwill Store) and avoid the risks.
I hate pointless, useless security and when it's disseminated by the government, it's even worse. What a waste of money.
(via)
I Agree, 100%
Gabriel Sylar
Powers: Flaw Discernment, ranging from mundane machinery to anomalies of the brain. This discernment also seems to allow him the ability to sense the powers of other people who possess them, and integrate them into his own genetic makeup. Powers that have been acquired through this method include Advanced Telekinesis, Cryokinesis, Eiditic Memory, Short-range Matter Disruption, and Wide Scope Hearing.
Last Seen: Painting a portent of the future explosion. In his mother’s blood. After he stabbed her in the chest with a pair of scissors. There is no possible way those three sentences could be any cooler to write.
From the Goon's Heroes thread
Powers: Flaw Discernment, ranging from mundane machinery to anomalies of the brain. This discernment also seems to allow him the ability to sense the powers of other people who possess them, and integrate them into his own genetic makeup. Powers that have been acquired through this method include Advanced Telekinesis, Cryokinesis, Eiditic Memory, Short-range Matter Disruption, and Wide Scope Hearing.
Last Seen: Painting a portent of the future explosion. In his mother’s blood. After he stabbed her in the chest with a pair of scissors. There is no possible way those three sentences could be any cooler to write.
From the Goon's Heroes thread
Where does the Internet go at Night?
A conversation 18 years ago:
Me: We're going to go see Grandma and Grandpa Manley in California!
Geoff: Ohhhhhhh! That's far away!
Me: Very far.
Geoff: I think that's where the sun goes at night!
Me: ... to California?
Geoff: Yes!
Last week, he answered found where the internets go at night...
To the Liberace Museum
Me: We're going to go see Grandma and Grandpa Manley in California!
Geoff: Ohhhhhhh! That's far away!
Me: Very far.
Geoff: I think that's where the sun goes at night!
Me: ... to California?
Geoff: Yes!
Last week, he answered found where the internets go at night...
To the Liberace Museum
Star Trek Day!
What do you do when, after advocating a lost lost cause for years it starts to sink in that you may have been in error all this time?
Regroup, research and rethink?
Nope.
Hold a Star Trek Day!
nerds!
Regroup, research and rethink?
Nope.
Hold a Star Trek Day!
nerds!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Religion is Good For Kids!
... if and only if you want docile, easy to control children who never question authority. Otherwise, not so much.
Oh, and there are some problems with the methodology:
Titled "Religion and Child Development: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study", the study begins with three admirable caveats: (1) The benefit is defined primarily by how well-behaved children are, (2) the data, based on parent and teacher interviews, are entirely subjective, and (3) the data were gathered from a survey conducted for a different purpose and from a cohort consisting almost entirely of first graders.
the rest here. Naturally, since it's a dubious study with questionable data and a diffcult to support conclusion, it's all the rage on Fox!
Oh, and there are some problems with the methodology:
Titled "Religion and Child Development: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study", the study begins with three admirable caveats: (1) The benefit is defined primarily by how well-behaved children are, (2) the data, based on parent and teacher interviews, are entirely subjective, and (3) the data were gathered from a survey conducted for a different purpose and from a cohort consisting almost entirely of first graders.
the rest here. Naturally, since it's a dubious study with questionable data and a diffcult to support conclusion, it's all the rage on Fox!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
More on "The Secret"
I covered some of this already, but Slate has an extended write-up today. While the "Secret" seemed like the familiar Oprah-ish do-what-feels-good philosophy, I hadn't fully realized where I had seen this all before until I read this paragrpah:
At this point I should add that The Secret is not only drivel—it's pernicious drivel. The obvious question that arises from its claim that it's easy to get what you want, is: Why do so many people get what they don't want? As Byrne writes, "Imperfect thoughts are the cause of all humanity's ills, including disease, poverty, and unhappiness." Yes, according to The Secret, people don't just randomly end up being massacred, for example. They are in the wrong place because of their own lousy thinking. Cancer patients have long been victims of this school of belief. But The Secret takes it to a new and more repulsive level with its advice not just to blame people for their illness, but to shun them, lest you start being infected by their bummer thoughts, too.
Recognize the idea? It comes from the only world religion that has it's head so far up it's ass that it doesn't beleive in matter.
Yup, it's Christ Science (with less Christ and even less Science).
At this point I should add that The Secret is not only drivel—it's pernicious drivel. The obvious question that arises from its claim that it's easy to get what you want, is: Why do so many people get what they don't want? As Byrne writes, "Imperfect thoughts are the cause of all humanity's ills, including disease, poverty, and unhappiness." Yes, according to The Secret, people don't just randomly end up being massacred, for example. They are in the wrong place because of their own lousy thinking. Cancer patients have long been victims of this school of belief. But The Secret takes it to a new and more repulsive level with its advice not just to blame people for their illness, but to shun them, lest you start being infected by their bummer thoughts, too.
Recognize the idea? It comes from the only world religion that has it's head so far up it's ass that it doesn't beleive in matter.
Yup, it's Christ Science (with less Christ and even less Science).
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Liberals Defend 2nd Amendment, Defeat Gun Control Laws
no, really!
If only as a matter of consistency, Professor Levinson continued, liberals who favor expansive interpretations of other amendments in the Bill of Rights, like those protecting free speech and the rights of criminal defendants, should also embrace a broad reading of the Second Amendment. And just as the First Amendment’s protection of the right to free speech is not absolute, the professors say, the Second Amendment’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms may be limited by the government, though only for good reason.
I have to admit, my own awakening to the 2nd amendment came a little late. While never a fan of arbitrary gun laws, I sort of came to full understanding it after reading the Federalist Papers (Fed 8, I think). I believe that guns should be regulated exactly like other potentially deadly items are, i.e. a lot like prescription drugs, with proper training, they can be handled safely and responsibly. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to cop to both rifle training and a membership (now lapsed) in the NRA). Like abortion, I think the problem is at the boundaries and how they are set. I certainly see a right to own a gun, but I’m also pretty sure folks don’t have a right to a nuke. Where, between those poles, do the limits lie? I don’t know but I think that’s the debate our society is now having.
Oddly, I have a hugely better chance to build a working nuke than a working gun. Phrased another way, if I had to build them both, I am fairly certain the nuke would work, offering me a pain-free death. The gun, on the other hand, I would be terrified to try, as it’s as likely to blow my face off as hit anything.
Weird.
If only as a matter of consistency, Professor Levinson continued, liberals who favor expansive interpretations of other amendments in the Bill of Rights, like those protecting free speech and the rights of criminal defendants, should also embrace a broad reading of the Second Amendment. And just as the First Amendment’s protection of the right to free speech is not absolute, the professors say, the Second Amendment’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms may be limited by the government, though only for good reason.
I have to admit, my own awakening to the 2nd amendment came a little late. While never a fan of arbitrary gun laws, I sort of came to full understanding it after reading the Federalist Papers (Fed 8, I think). I believe that guns should be regulated exactly like other potentially deadly items are, i.e. a lot like prescription drugs, with proper training, they can be handled safely and responsibly. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to cop to both rifle training and a membership (now lapsed) in the NRA). Like abortion, I think the problem is at the boundaries and how they are set. I certainly see a right to own a gun, but I’m also pretty sure folks don’t have a right to a nuke. Where, between those poles, do the limits lie? I don’t know but I think that’s the debate our society is now having.
Oddly, I have a hugely better chance to build a working nuke than a working gun. Phrased another way, if I had to build them both, I am fairly certain the nuke would work, offering me a pain-free death. The gun, on the other hand, I would be terrified to try, as it’s as likely to blow my face off as hit anything.
Weird.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Blingdexes
A note on the current bifurcation of the economy:
Warning: Horrifying attempts to hip up these indices comes from God knows where (iBankers? PR flacks?), leading to a word that leaves aghast readers in its awful wake: "blingdexes"
~~~
"Still, the new crop of "blingdexes" offer further proof the wealthy are increasingly creating their own consumer economy. The number of millionaire households in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1995, according to the Federal Reserve. The total wealth held by the nation's richest 1% has increased more than 50% since 1998, to $16.7 trillion in 2004, the latest period measured by the Fed."
Interesting stuff.
~~~
NOTE TO MIDDLE-AGED WHITE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY BANKERS, INDEXORS, PR FLACKS AND MEDIA STILL USING THE WORD "BLING": Stop. Right now. For your own sakes. It does not make you look hip if you use hip-hop, urban, or black expressions -- most especially those that are circa 1998. Please stop it immediately. All it does is reveal you to be a clueless middle-aged white guy.
The term Bling long ago jumped the shark. And because I am a middle-aged white person, I was more than a year late in making that observation -- over two years ago. (See RIP Bling-bling for more details).
here
I love it when brokers get jiggy with it! It's the ... shiznuts!
Word homes!
Warning: Horrifying attempts to hip up these indices comes from God knows where (iBankers? PR flacks?), leading to a word that leaves aghast readers in its awful wake: "blingdexes"
~~~
"Still, the new crop of "blingdexes" offer further proof the wealthy are increasingly creating their own consumer economy. The number of millionaire households in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1995, according to the Federal Reserve. The total wealth held by the nation's richest 1% has increased more than 50% since 1998, to $16.7 trillion in 2004, the latest period measured by the Fed."
Interesting stuff.
~~~
NOTE TO MIDDLE-AGED WHITE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY BANKERS, INDEXORS, PR FLACKS AND MEDIA STILL USING THE WORD "BLING": Stop. Right now. For your own sakes. It does not make you look hip if you use hip-hop, urban, or black expressions -- most especially those that are circa 1998. Please stop it immediately. All it does is reveal you to be a clueless middle-aged white guy.
The term Bling long ago jumped the shark. And because I am a middle-aged white person, I was more than a year late in making that observation -- over two years ago. (See RIP Bling-bling for more details).
here
I love it when brokers get jiggy with it! It's the ... shiznuts!
Word homes!
Army Training, Sir!
A note from my son this morning with photos:
Here are some pics of me getting the SMI Leadership Award at ourAwards Ceremony. The man presenting is my CO, LTC Flood. The award wasgiven to one Sophomore and one Junior who demonstrated the biggestimprovement in leadership in the past year, instead of a ribbon or somethingthey gave me and the other guy a very nice eagle statue with our names onit. Since I was a new Cadet and now am going to be the third highestranking Cadet in our leadership, they said that was big a big enoughimprovement and gave it to me. Don't be upset that you weren't invited, theceremony was at 6am and lasted about an hour, no one's parents showed up...
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony1.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony2.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony3.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony4.jpg
Here are some pics of me getting the SMI Leadership Award at ourAwards Ceremony. The man presenting is my CO, LTC Flood. The award wasgiven to one Sophomore and one Junior who demonstrated the biggestimprovement in leadership in the past year, instead of a ribbon or somethingthey gave me and the other guy a very nice eagle statue with our names onit. Since I was a new Cadet and now am going to be the third highestranking Cadet in our leadership, they said that was big a big enoughimprovement and gave it to me. Don't be upset that you weren't invited, theceremony was at 6am and lasted about an hour, no one's parents showed up...
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony1.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony2.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony3.jpg
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~gch23/ceremony4.jpg
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Predictions for 2001 from 1901
Surprisingly accurate given the time frame. If one is very slightly generous in their interpretation of the descriptions, there is better than an 80% accuracy rate. The just missed on the bit about giant fruits...
and the pneumatic tubes...
and the killer Walrus invasion...
here
and the pneumatic tubes...
and the killer Walrus invasion...
here
Day by Day
I've read it occasionally and failed to see what the fuss is about. This critique however is excellent:
If Chris Muir drew Charles Schulz's Peanuts, for example, he wouldn't have bothered drawing a panel showing Lucy pulling the football away at the last minute when Charlie Brown tries to kick it. That would be too Old School for him. Instead, Muir would just have Lucy say, "Democrats always pull the football away at the last minute when you are trying to kick it, Charlie Brown." Lucy and Charlie Brown would also probably be in their underwear.
The rest of the post is about some conservatives giving themselves permission to use "blackface" in their criticism of Hillary. If a liberal did this, the talking heads would be swarming on them.
If Chris Muir drew Charles Schulz's Peanuts, for example, he wouldn't have bothered drawing a panel showing Lucy pulling the football away at the last minute when Charlie Brown tries to kick it. That would be too Old School for him. Instead, Muir would just have Lucy say, "Democrats always pull the football away at the last minute when you are trying to kick it, Charlie Brown." Lucy and Charlie Brown would also probably be in their underwear.
The rest of the post is about some conservatives giving themselves permission to use "blackface" in their criticism of Hillary. If a liberal did this, the talking heads would be swarming on them.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Product Placement
PZ entones:
And really, my initial impression that here was a device that would allow women to fire debilitating high voltage sparks out of their nether regions did get me a little bit excited, so you can't blame me for mentioning it.
here
And really, my initial impression that here was a device that would allow women to fire debilitating high voltage sparks out of their nether regions did get me a little bit excited, so you can't blame me for mentioning it.
here
A Very Distrubing Result
"Reality" may not exist when no one is looking at it.
They found that, just as in the realizations of Bell's thought experiment, Leggett's inequality is violated – thus stressing the quantum-mechanical assertion that reality does not exist when we're not observing it. "Our study shows that 'just' giving up the concept of locality would not be enough to obtain a more complete description of quantum mechanics," Aspelmeyer told Physics Web. "You would also have to give up certain intuitive features of realism."
Alan Aspect has been working on this for a decade and a half, in part to build an instantaneous communication device. This observations could have some odd and weird effects.
I imagine folks who are more religious and less grounded in math are already warming up their word processors to talk about how this proves the existance of god...
They found that, just as in the realizations of Bell's thought experiment, Leggett's inequality is violated – thus stressing the quantum-mechanical assertion that reality does not exist when we're not observing it. "Our study shows that 'just' giving up the concept of locality would not be enough to obtain a more complete description of quantum mechanics," Aspelmeyer told Physics Web. "You would also have to give up certain intuitive features of realism."
Alan Aspect has been working on this for a decade and a half, in part to build an instantaneous communication device. This observations could have some odd and weird effects.
I imagine folks who are more religious and less grounded in math are already warming up their word processors to talk about how this proves the existance of god...
Is the Global Economy in a Bubble?
Some interesting observations and thought:
1. Global fundamental economic conditions are nearly perfect and have been for some time.
2. Availability of global credit is generous and cheap and has been for some time.
3. Animal spirits and optimism are therefore high and feed on themselves through reinforcing results and through being universally shared.
4. All global assets reflect this and are overpriced and show, probably for the first time, a negative return to risk taking.
5. The correlation in global economic fundamentals is at a new high, reflected in the steadily increasing correlation in asset price movements.
6. Global credit is more extended and more complicated than ever before so that no one is sure where all the increased risk has ended up.
7. Every bubble has always burst.
8. The bursting of the bubble will be across all countries and all assets, with the probable exception of high grade bonds. Risk premiums in particular will widen.
9. Naturally the Fed and Fed equivalents overseas will move to contain the economic damage as the Fed did last time after the 2000 break. But the heart of thelast bubble, the NASDAQ and internet stocks, still declined by almost 80% and 90%, respectively.
10. What is wrong with this logic? Something I hope.
11. Of course the tricky bit, as always, is timing. Most bubbles, like internet stocks and Japanese land, go through an exponential phase before breaking, usually short in time but dramatic in extent. My colleagues suggest that this global bubble has not yet had this phase and perhaps they are right.
I'm not sure I agree with each step, and the global market is a lot of more complicated than Japanese Land market. Still there is a lot to be said for going short.
1. Global fundamental economic conditions are nearly perfect and have been for some time.
2. Availability of global credit is generous and cheap and has been for some time.
3. Animal spirits and optimism are therefore high and feed on themselves through reinforcing results and through being universally shared.
4. All global assets reflect this and are overpriced and show, probably for the first time, a negative return to risk taking.
5. The correlation in global economic fundamentals is at a new high, reflected in the steadily increasing correlation in asset price movements.
6. Global credit is more extended and more complicated than ever before so that no one is sure where all the increased risk has ended up.
7. Every bubble has always burst.
8. The bursting of the bubble will be across all countries and all assets, with the probable exception of high grade bonds. Risk premiums in particular will widen.
9. Naturally the Fed and Fed equivalents overseas will move to contain the economic damage as the Fed did last time after the 2000 break. But the heart of thelast bubble, the NASDAQ and internet stocks, still declined by almost 80% and 90%, respectively.
10. What is wrong with this logic? Something I hope.
11. Of course the tricky bit, as always, is timing. Most bubbles, like internet stocks and Japanese land, go through an exponential phase before breaking, usually short in time but dramatic in extent. My colleagues suggest that this global bubble has not yet had this phase and perhaps they are right.
I'm not sure I agree with each step, and the global market is a lot of more complicated than Japanese Land market. Still there is a lot to be said for going short.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Creationist Builds Noah's Ark
Cool!
Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible. Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan's fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. "The design is by my wife, Bianca," Huibers said. "She didn't really want me to do this at all, but she said if you're going to anyway, it should look like this." A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine - biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.
I encourgae biblical literalists to do things like this and always happy when they do. Why? It points out how unlikely this actually is. Sure the true believers will crow over it, I dont care about them. Reasonable people though look at this and cant help but compare it with their everyday experience at, say, the zoo. Trying to fit an entire zoo into a structure that size starts to seem a little silly, especially when you factor food and zebra shit into the equation.
Personally, I would head straight for the dinosaur compartment.
Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible. Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan's fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. "The design is by my wife, Bianca," Huibers said. "She didn't really want me to do this at all, but she said if you're going to anyway, it should look like this." A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine - biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.
I encourgae biblical literalists to do things like this and always happy when they do. Why? It points out how unlikely this actually is. Sure the true believers will crow over it, I dont care about them. Reasonable people though look at this and cant help but compare it with their everyday experience at, say, the zoo. Trying to fit an entire zoo into a structure that size starts to seem a little silly, especially when you factor food and zebra shit into the equation.
Personally, I would head straight for the dinosaur compartment.
For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls
I was catching up on Dr. Nick's blog and ran across a posting from TJIC that he links to about the subject of race and IQ. I've long known that TJIC's opinions were pretty far to the right on this subject, but wow. Read the post here.
To be honest I was pretty shocked.
We all have a tendency to read books and articles which confirm our inner biases and self-image, espeically when that self-image sets us apart from the rest of the population. That's understandable. OTOH, this is a question of science, and science, when it's done correctly, is a model of an objective reality. After the inital shock of reading TJIC's post I had to think through the question, "Shocking, but is it true?" I had read the Bell Curve when it came out and as some of you know, I spent a lot of time in college training as a teacher to work with gifted kids. I ultimately chose not to follow that career, but it involved a lot of training around human intelligence, it's measurement and it's manifestation. Also, as some readers know, I had a full bore neuropsych evaluation last year, so my own inteligence has been measure as best as can be done with current technology and some of the results surprised me (and the testers). Given this, after a few hours of thinking, I came to the conclusion that the Bell Curve, even after almost 15 years, is still a bad piece of science. Here's why:
There are a bunch of cumulative assumptions the authors of the Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray) make which lead to their results, any one of which if not true results collapses their hypothesis:
Intelligence may be depicted as a single number. This is based on Spearman's hypothesis that "g", a measure of general intelligence that synthesizes multiple aspects of exists and is dominant. While a useful concept, psychometrics moved way beyond the concept of g in the 80s (early critiques of this date back to the '30s). Howard Gardner and Bob Sternberg both have proposed different, measurable models of multiple intelligences (Sternbergs theory is actually very useful from a practical point of view). The use of multiple tests to catalog mental processing in different areas is pretty well established at this point in time, and is certainly the norm moving forward. Online IQ tests are fun and sometimes (if you score well) can make you feel good about yourself, but they really don't have a lot of value as a tool of science. The Bell Curve is based almost exclusively on the approach that g is the central measure of intelligence and is reflective of a more complicated reality. It is however, too simple a measure for them to deconvolve their entire theory. Kind of like judging your entire physical health based on your bowling score. Bowling requires coordination, speed, strength, good vision, fast reflexes and mental discipline, all factors measured in physical exam. It is reflective of those aspects, but loses a lot of information in the integration. A better, more accurate approach would involve designing an intelligence test which controlled for multiple environmental and cognitive module biases. However, that would be work and the authors of the Bell Curve are economists, not psychometricians. Simply put, a single number IQ score is too coarse a measure on which to base these kinds of sweeping conclusions.
Intelligence is primarily genetic. While there is absolutely a genetic component to intelligence, the degree to which your potential intelligence as dictated by your genes' control of your brain structure is translated into your functional intelligence which you use every day is determined by lots of factors in your environment many of which no one has any control over. To draw the conclusions Herrnstein and Murray have come to, i.e. that one group of people has a overall lower genetic potential for intelligence than another, they would have to de-convolve all the relevent environmental factors. They don't do this, in part because no one could do this with the data they are using. One possible explanation for the Flynn Effect is the improving environmental and educational environment is allowing people to realize more of their genetic potential (another is that improved access to education is making a larger number of people better readers and they are doing better with the cultural bias of the test).
Intelligence is a fixed, unchangable value after a certain age. I don't even know where to begin. The general effect of the physical environment (disease, pollution, trauma, etc.) is to lower functional intelligence over time for populations exposed to these hazards. In the absence of external factors, IQ scores do tend to be stable, however the Herrnstein and Murray do not control for these factors to any significant degree in their data. I think that have cooked into the data the very effect they are looking for.
Testing Bias. A lot of the data they use is old, and while they attempt to correct somewhat for this, it's lipstick on a pig. I dont think you can meaningfully compare data in the 60s with data from the 80s. The tests are different, built with different assumptions and testing for different effects. It's simply not possible to integrate results in the way they do, not without adding apples and oranges.
Correlation and Causation: All that said, there is one more beef I have with the Bell Curve, at least as work of science, they bury the regression analysis in the back of their book. Their entire premise is based on an R2 value of 0.4. While interesting statistically, no one in a physical science would publish a result like that, much less base a public policy on it. Further, that is their *best* result. Read Appendix 4 of their book, then read this analysis.
Race: Finally, they define a "race" fairly loosely. Their functional definition is, basically, dark people with lots of ancestors from Africa. Unfortunately for them, modern genetics doesn't actually bear out on this, although it turns out there *are* distinct races within the human family. It's a very complex (and very interesting) subject, but again the Bell Curve simply integrates over this complexity. For a researcher to really support the Bell Curve's conclusions, they would need to deconvolve intelligence scores along genetically important racial lines. Obviously this was not possible to do in 1994, so I don't fault the authors, however in science all conclusions are tenative and need to be re-evaluated in the light of new evidence and new models. Depending on the Bell Curve's definition of race too much is unsupportable at this late date.
And that's why I disagree with the Bell Curve. :)
To be honest I was pretty shocked.
We all have a tendency to read books and articles which confirm our inner biases and self-image, espeically when that self-image sets us apart from the rest of the population. That's understandable. OTOH, this is a question of science, and science, when it's done correctly, is a model of an objective reality. After the inital shock of reading TJIC's post I had to think through the question, "Shocking, but is it true?" I had read the Bell Curve when it came out and as some of you know, I spent a lot of time in college training as a teacher to work with gifted kids. I ultimately chose not to follow that career, but it involved a lot of training around human intelligence, it's measurement and it's manifestation. Also, as some readers know, I had a full bore neuropsych evaluation last year, so my own inteligence has been measure as best as can be done with current technology and some of the results surprised me (and the testers). Given this, after a few hours of thinking, I came to the conclusion that the Bell Curve, even after almost 15 years, is still a bad piece of science. Here's why:
There are a bunch of cumulative assumptions the authors of the Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray) make which lead to their results, any one of which if not true results collapses their hypothesis:
Intelligence may be depicted as a single number. This is based on Spearman's hypothesis that "g", a measure of general intelligence that synthesizes multiple aspects of exists and is dominant. While a useful concept, psychometrics moved way beyond the concept of g in the 80s (early critiques of this date back to the '30s). Howard Gardner and Bob Sternberg both have proposed different, measurable models of multiple intelligences (Sternbergs theory is actually very useful from a practical point of view). The use of multiple tests to catalog mental processing in different areas is pretty well established at this point in time, and is certainly the norm moving forward. Online IQ tests are fun and sometimes (if you score well) can make you feel good about yourself, but they really don't have a lot of value as a tool of science. The Bell Curve is based almost exclusively on the approach that g is the central measure of intelligence and is reflective of a more complicated reality. It is however, too simple a measure for them to deconvolve their entire theory. Kind of like judging your entire physical health based on your bowling score. Bowling requires coordination, speed, strength, good vision, fast reflexes and mental discipline, all factors measured in physical exam. It is reflective of those aspects, but loses a lot of information in the integration. A better, more accurate approach would involve designing an intelligence test which controlled for multiple environmental and cognitive module biases. However, that would be work and the authors of the Bell Curve are economists, not psychometricians. Simply put, a single number IQ score is too coarse a measure on which to base these kinds of sweeping conclusions.
Intelligence is primarily genetic. While there is absolutely a genetic component to intelligence, the degree to which your potential intelligence as dictated by your genes' control of your brain structure is translated into your functional intelligence which you use every day is determined by lots of factors in your environment many of which no one has any control over. To draw the conclusions Herrnstein and Murray have come to, i.e. that one group of people has a overall lower genetic potential for intelligence than another, they would have to de-convolve all the relevent environmental factors. They don't do this, in part because no one could do this with the data they are using. One possible explanation for the Flynn Effect is the improving environmental and educational environment is allowing people to realize more of their genetic potential (another is that improved access to education is making a larger number of people better readers and they are doing better with the cultural bias of the test).
Intelligence is a fixed, unchangable value after a certain age. I don't even know where to begin. The general effect of the physical environment (disease, pollution, trauma, etc.) is to lower functional intelligence over time for populations exposed to these hazards. In the absence of external factors, IQ scores do tend to be stable, however the Herrnstein and Murray do not control for these factors to any significant degree in their data. I think that have cooked into the data the very effect they are looking for.
Testing Bias. A lot of the data they use is old, and while they attempt to correct somewhat for this, it's lipstick on a pig. I dont think you can meaningfully compare data in the 60s with data from the 80s. The tests are different, built with different assumptions and testing for different effects. It's simply not possible to integrate results in the way they do, not without adding apples and oranges.
Correlation and Causation: All that said, there is one more beef I have with the Bell Curve, at least as work of science, they bury the regression analysis in the back of their book. Their entire premise is based on an R2 value of 0.4. While interesting statistically, no one in a physical science would publish a result like that, much less base a public policy on it. Further, that is their *best* result. Read Appendix 4 of their book, then read this analysis.
Race: Finally, they define a "race" fairly loosely. Their functional definition is, basically, dark people with lots of ancestors from Africa. Unfortunately for them, modern genetics doesn't actually bear out on this, although it turns out there *are* distinct races within the human family. It's a very complex (and very interesting) subject, but again the Bell Curve simply integrates over this complexity. For a researcher to really support the Bell Curve's conclusions, they would need to deconvolve intelligence scores along genetically important racial lines. Obviously this was not possible to do in 1994, so I don't fault the authors, however in science all conclusions are tenative and need to be re-evaluated in the light of new evidence and new models. Depending on the Bell Curve's definition of race too much is unsupportable at this late date.
And that's why I disagree with the Bell Curve. :)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Well Said on Masculinity
A version of the same advice I've given to my son on many occasions. It didn't occur to me at the time to view it through this lens, but it's quite apt.
The basic good code of a certain brand of masculinity, as opposed to macho, is that you don't pick fights, and that you never tolerate the strong bullying the weak. Bullying, in fact, is seen as a declaration of weakness - if you were strong, you wouldn't be picking fights with weaklings, now would you? And if you were confident, you wouldn't need to prove anything, would you? Certainly you don't back down from a fight - but you don't go looking for it either.
It also summarizes my early, instinctive opposition to war, i.e. we were picking a fight, not finishing one.
The basic good code of a certain brand of masculinity, as opposed to macho, is that you don't pick fights, and that you never tolerate the strong bullying the weak. Bullying, in fact, is seen as a declaration of weakness - if you were strong, you wouldn't be picking fights with weaklings, now would you? And if you were confident, you wouldn't need to prove anything, would you? Certainly you don't back down from a fight - but you don't go looking for it either.
It also summarizes my early, instinctive opposition to war, i.e. we were picking a fight, not finishing one.
You Had me at "Opportunist"
God is not Great
If the followers of the prophet Muhammad hoped to put an end to any future "revelations" after the immaculate conception of the Koran, they reckoned without the founder of what is now one of the world's fastest-growing faiths. And they did not foresee (how could they, mammals as they were?) that the prophet of this ridiculous cult would model himself on theirs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—hereafter known as the Mormons—was founded by a gifted opportunist who, despite couching his text in openly plagiarized Christian terms, announced that "I shall be to this generation a new Muhammad" and adopted as his fighting slogan the words, which he thought he had learned from Islam, "Either the Al-Koran or the sword." He was too ignorant to know that if you use the word al you do not need another definite article, but then he did resemble Muhammad in being able only to make a borrowing out of other people's bibles.
If the followers of the prophet Muhammad hoped to put an end to any future "revelations" after the immaculate conception of the Koran, they reckoned without the founder of what is now one of the world's fastest-growing faiths. And they did not foresee (how could they, mammals as they were?) that the prophet of this ridiculous cult would model himself on theirs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—hereafter known as the Mormons—was founded by a gifted opportunist who, despite couching his text in openly plagiarized Christian terms, announced that "I shall be to this generation a new Muhammad" and adopted as his fighting slogan the words, which he thought he had learned from Islam, "Either the Al-Koran or the sword." He was too ignorant to know that if you use the word al you do not need another definite article, but then he did resemble Muhammad in being able only to make a borrowing out of other people's bibles.
Better Dead than Red
From Cryptogram:
Announcing: Second Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest
The first Movie-Plot Threat Contest asked you to invent a horrific and completely ridiculous, but plausible, terrorist plot. All the entries were worth reading, but Tom Grant won with his idea to crash an explosive-filled plane into the Grand Coulee Dam.
This year the contest is a little different. We all know that a good plot to blow up an airplane will cause the banning, or at least screening, of something innocuous. If you stop and think about it, it's a stupid response. We screened for guns and bombs, so the terrorists used box cutters. We took away box cutters and small knives, so they hid explosives in their shoes. We started screening shoes, so they planned to use liquids. We now confiscate liquids (even though experts agree the plot was implausible)...and they're going to do something else. We can't win this game, so why are we playing?
Well, we are playing. And now you can, too. Your goal: invent a terrorist plot to hijack or blow up an airplane with a commonly carried item as a key component. The component should be so critical to the plot that the TSA will have no choice but to ban the item once the plot is uncovered. I want to see a plot horrific and ridiculous, but just plausible enough to take seriously.
I spent an inordinate amount of time in security lines, usually 2 a week but sometimes more. It irks me to no end to watch people give up their small amounts of hair jell, baby formula and toothpaste for no constructive purpose what-so-ever. While waiting, I have often wondered what the TSA could try to ban that would clearly be ridiculous and would point out to everyone just how foolish the banning business is.
I decided on the color Red.
I think I have worked out a way that the color Red could be critical to hijacking plot so that the TSA would no longer allow red objects though security. No red soda cans, no red lipstick, no red childrens' toys, no red sneakers, maybe even no red hair. I think it would take something of that catastrophically stupidity to wake folks up to the security theatre of the TSA. I'm going to winkle out the last details and enter Bruce's contest. Obviously I'll post here too
Announcing: Second Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest
The first Movie-Plot Threat Contest asked you to invent a horrific and completely ridiculous, but plausible, terrorist plot. All the entries were worth reading, but Tom Grant won with his idea to crash an explosive-filled plane into the Grand Coulee Dam.
This year the contest is a little different. We all know that a good plot to blow up an airplane will cause the banning, or at least screening, of something innocuous. If you stop and think about it, it's a stupid response. We screened for guns and bombs, so the terrorists used box cutters. We took away box cutters and small knives, so they hid explosives in their shoes. We started screening shoes, so they planned to use liquids. We now confiscate liquids (even though experts agree the plot was implausible)...and they're going to do something else. We can't win this game, so why are we playing?
Well, we are playing. And now you can, too. Your goal: invent a terrorist plot to hijack or blow up an airplane with a commonly carried item as a key component. The component should be so critical to the plot that the TSA will have no choice but to ban the item once the plot is uncovered. I want to see a plot horrific and ridiculous, but just plausible enough to take seriously.
I spent an inordinate amount of time in security lines, usually 2 a week but sometimes more. It irks me to no end to watch people give up their small amounts of hair jell, baby formula and toothpaste for no constructive purpose what-so-ever. While waiting, I have often wondered what the TSA could try to ban that would clearly be ridiculous and would point out to everyone just how foolish the banning business is.
I decided on the color Red.
I think I have worked out a way that the color Red could be critical to hijacking plot so that the TSA would no longer allow red objects though security. No red soda cans, no red lipstick, no red childrens' toys, no red sneakers, maybe even no red hair. I think it would take something of that catastrophically stupidity to wake folks up to the security theatre of the TSA. I'm going to winkle out the last details and enter Bruce's contest. Obviously I'll post here too
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Open Mouth, Insert ... garlic?
I was talking to a colleague a few motnhs ago about the various, unusual foods I have eaten in my travel career and how, oddly, I have taken a liking to some of the spicy ones, kimchi being a prime example. This is odd becuase I don't really care for spicy Tex-Mex food, but like a lot og garlic and exotic spice.
"You know, I bet you would like pickled garlic", he said.
"!!! They make that?"
"Hahaha, oh yes! I'll bring you some"
Today, on my desk when I came back from Vegas, I found a jar of Mother's Garlic Pickle (South Indian Style) with a note reading, "Hot Style! Go Easy on this!!!"
Time to put up or shut up....
"You know, I bet you would like pickled garlic", he said.
"!!! They make that?"
"Hahaha, oh yes! I'll bring you some"
Today, on my desk when I came back from Vegas, I found a jar of Mother's Garlic Pickle (South Indian Style) with a note reading, "Hot Style! Go Easy on this!!!"
Time to put up or shut up....
Book-Learned Liberals Destroy the World
Damned elites with their book-learning! They're the ones causing global warming....
As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they?
Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects.
From PZ (with some skepticism)
As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they?
Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects.
From PZ (with some skepticism)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Aladdin Hotel
I'm currently in Las Vegas, giving a security speech at Computer Associates World. When I booked the trip, I decided to stay at the Aladdin Hotel. It's one of the new mega-properties that have gone up in the last few years, so it;s built arcology style, i.e. it's a self-contained hotel/mall/entertainment complex. These things cost about $5B to build, and I've been making it a habit to staying in as many as I can before the bubble breaks.
I noticed something odd on the way in... the cabbie took me to the Planet Hollywood arco, not the Aladdin arco. The PH arco seemed odd. Clearly finished, the entire outside of the complex was an shambles of recladding and brickface... this isn't right...
"I'm sorry", I said, "I wanted to go to the Aladdin"
"This is it!"
"Really? I hadn't realized they changed the name. When I booked it said Aladdin"
"Oh, they changed it and ... re-educating? it."
So I asked at the front desk...
"Why did you change the name?"
"Well, we didn't think it was very good business to be catering to .... that crowd... with the war and all"
that crowd? Yes, I am sure all middle eastern terrorists heading to Las-Fucking-Vegas, would stay at the Aladdin hotel, to remind them of the comforts of home... Clearly all things middle eastern are now verboden. They are attempting to remove every single scrap of middle eastern myth from the hotel (which, btw, is owned by the multinational Hilton corportation). It looks like a cheap rip-off of Mandaley Bay now, with a crapier mall.
utter foolishness.
One wonders what the hotel's fortune would have been if everything in Iraq had worked out.
I noticed something odd on the way in... the cabbie took me to the Planet Hollywood arco, not the Aladdin arco. The PH arco seemed odd. Clearly finished, the entire outside of the complex was an shambles of recladding and brickface... this isn't right...
"I'm sorry", I said, "I wanted to go to the Aladdin"
"This is it!"
"Really? I hadn't realized they changed the name. When I booked it said Aladdin"
"Oh, they changed it and ... re-educating? it."
So I asked at the front desk...
"Why did you change the name?"
"Well, we didn't think it was very good business to be catering to .... that crowd... with the war and all"
that crowd? Yes, I am sure all middle eastern terrorists heading to Las-Fucking-Vegas, would stay at the Aladdin hotel, to remind them of the comforts of home... Clearly all things middle eastern are now verboden. They are attempting to remove every single scrap of middle eastern myth from the hotel (which, btw, is owned by the multinational Hilton corportation). It looks like a cheap rip-off of Mandaley Bay now, with a crapier mall.
utter foolishness.
One wonders what the hotel's fortune would have been if everything in Iraq had worked out.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
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