Contents: arctic territory, terror in europe, game theory, genetic information, crop subsidies, waves, flu, columbus day, response to id, sartre, usb declaration of war
As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound
...the Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Even before the polar ice began shrinking more each summer, countries were pushing into the frigid Barents Sea, lured by undersea oil and gas fields and emboldened by advances in technology. But now, as thinning ice stands to simplify construction of drilling rigs, exploration is likely to move even farther north.
Belgium Is Trying to Unravel the Threads of a Terror Web
On a damp, gray day in March 2004, the Dutch traffic police stopped a Belgian driver for a broken headlight and accidentally stumbled onto a major investigation of Islamic radicals.
The driver was Khalid Bouloudo, a sometime baker and former Ford autoworker born in Belgium. During a routine check, his name turned up on an Interpol watch list, for an international arrest warrant from Morocco charging him with links to a terrorist organization based in Morocco and involvement in suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003.
The random arrest set in motion a cascade of events that underscored the extent of the radicalization of young Muslims throughout Europe - and a rapidly expanding and homegrown terrorist threat.
The case suggests a loose arrangement of terrorist sympathizers around Europe who officials say have provided support to terrorist operations in a number of countries. This has presented even small countries like Belgium with difficult law enforcement problems, forcing them to employ new investigative methods and pass tougher laws.
Game Theorists Win Nobel Prize for Economics
Israeli and U.S. citizen Robert J. Aumann and American Thomas C. Schelling won the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for their work on game theories that help explain economic conflicts, including trade and price wars.
Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that uses models to study interactions with formalised incentive structures ("games"). Unlike decision theory, which also studies formalised incentive structures, game theory encompasses decisions that are made in an environment where various players interact strategically. In other words, game theory studies choice of optimal behavior when costs and benefits of each option are not fixed, but depend upon the choices of other individuals.
International Business Machines to Put Genetic Data of Workers Off Limits
As concerns grow that genetic information could become a modern tool of discrimination, I.B.M. plans to announce a new work force privacy policy today.
I.B.M., the world's largest technology company by revenue, is promising not to use genetic information in hiring or in determining eligibility for its health care or benefits plans. Genetics policy specialists and privacy rights groups say that the I.B.M. pledge to its more than 300,000 employees worldwide appears to be the first such move by a major corporation.
The new policy, which comes as Congress is considering legislation on genetic privacy, is a response to the growing trend in medical research to focus on a person's genetic propensity for disease in hopes of tailoring treatments to specific medical needs.
Gene tests are not yet widespread, but start-up companies are already intent on developing a market for genetic testing and counseling. I.B.M. has a business stake in promoting genetic data gathering and processing, as a leading information technology company with a growing presence in the medical industry.
How does IBM get the genetic information?
Trade Chief Makes Offer to Reduce Crop Subsidies
The Bush administration will try to jump-start stalled negotiations over a global trade deal on Monday by offering to make steep cuts in domestic farm subsidies and export subsidies if other countries make similar concessions, senior administration officials said on Sunday.
The American offer comes after weeks of closed-door negotiations between the United States trade representative, Rob Portman, and members of Congress who have said they would not approve any deal unless they were convinced that American farmers could make up for the loss of government aid through new access to foreign markets. Farm subsidies in the United States total more than $19 billion annually.
The United States has lower tariffs on most farm imports, but it retains high barriers for products like sugar and orange juice - both of which have powerful lobbies in Washington - and it pays out billions of dollars in subsidies to producers of cotton, corn, beef and other commodities.
The reluctance by the United States and the European Union to reduce tariffs on imported crops and subsidies for domestic farmers has been assailed by large developing countries, including Brazil and India, which are demanding more access for their own farm products in exchange for lowering barriers to manufactured goods and services.
Leopold B. Belsen, 81, Expert on the Properties of Waves, Dies
An author of more than 300 articles and several books, Dr. Felsen and Nathan Marcuvitz wrote "Radiation and Scattering of Waves," which experts called one of the seminal works in electromagnetics.
Scientists Renew a Warning About a Himalayan Danger Zone
Great earthquakes - magnitude 8 or larger - occurred in the Himalayas in 1803, 1833, 1897, 1905, 1934 and 1950. But in the last half century, the region has been relatively quiet, with no earthquakes anywhere near the one with a magnitude of 7.6 that struck northern Pakistan on Saturday.
Danger of Flu Pandemic Is Clear, if Not Present
What worries scientists about the current strain of bird flu, known as H5N1, is that it has shown some ominous traits. Though it does not often infect humans, it can, and when it does, it seems to be uncommonly lethal. It has killed 60 people of the 116 known to have been infected.
The timing of the bird flu's emergence also makes scientists nervous, because many believe that based on history, the world is overdue for a pandemic.
I'm also worried that as the number of pirates has fallen, the global temperature has risen.
Columbus Day
'1491': Vanished Americans
American Indians have usually been presented as either underachieving metahippies, tree-hugging saints or some combination of the two. that's dehumanizing Because history is change, they were people without history."
Index to Creationist Claims, with Responses
Good. Exhaustive.
3 Share Nobel for Work on Behavior and Use of Light
Does anybody understand light?
The Value and Complexities of an Existential Love Affair
Hazel Rowley writes about the relationship of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Rowley has written biographies of the writers Christina Stead and Richard Wright.
Osama bin Laden's Declaration of War
Monday, October 10, 2005
Friday, October 07, 2005
Getting There
Circa November 20, 2010 I will turn 1,000,000,000.
One billion seconds, that is.
I find the prospect exciting.
One billion seconds, that is.
I find the prospect exciting.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Sundry Articles
Gross Domestic Happiness, Bike Seat Blues, Google Computer Software, Cellphone Use During Flights, I Am Exotic, Nobel Prize, Hauls Ass Sucks Gas
I mentioned this in January 2005 after I read the year-end Economist issue that Frank left at our house:
A New Measure of Well-Being From a Happy Little Kingdom
Gross Domestic Happiness in Bhutan.
Maybe biking to work isn't such a great idea...
Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
On a positive note, I finally learned what the area between the external genitals and the anus is called: the perineum. In men, a sheath in the perineum, called Alcock's canal (all-cock, hee hee hee), contains an artery and a nerve that supply the penis with blood and sensation. The canal runs along the side of a bone and when a cyclist sits hard on a narrow saddle, the artery and the nerve are compressed. Over time, a reduction of blood flow can mean that there is not enough pressure to achieve full erection.
Google and Sun Challenge Microsoft's Office
This is big news. Google Inc. took a step toward challenging Microsoft Corp.'s dominance of computer software with the announcement Tuesday of a collaboration agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc. The move could lead to Google offering next-generation word processing, spreadsheet and collaboration tools that would take on Microsoft's industry-leading Office suite of software.
Silence Aloft Is Under Threat
Many have come to cherish the airplane as the long metal tube of silence; however, Federal regulators are reassessing the rules barring phones in the air and some international airlines are gradually introducing Internet access to their planes. The emerging debate over whether to allow phone use on planes is taking on a larger symbolism. Airplanes have become the last place where people in business do not feel obliged to be constantly and immediately available. Perhaps counterintuitively, airplane travel has become for many people a highly productive time, either because it permits uninterrupted work, or simply a reflective time that has been lost in a world of 24/7 digital stimulation.
Study Suggests Most in U.S. Will Be Fat
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm exotic.
like shoving frogs into a wheelbarrow
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
discovery of bacterium tied to stomach ailments
Big SUVs Lag in Sales, Hindered by Gas Cost
At Ford, sales of the Explorer, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator fell more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. At G.M., sales of the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe fell more than 50 percent, while the GMC Yukon was down 46 percent and the Cadillac Escalade fell nearly 23 percent, with the supersize Escalade ESV falling 40 percent. Sales of the Hummer H2, made by G.M., fell 32 percent.
I mentioned this in January 2005 after I read the year-end Economist issue that Frank left at our house:
A New Measure of Well-Being From a Happy Little Kingdom
Gross Domestic Happiness in Bhutan.
Maybe biking to work isn't such a great idea...
Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
On a positive note, I finally learned what the area between the external genitals and the anus is called: the perineum. In men, a sheath in the perineum, called Alcock's canal (all-cock, hee hee hee), contains an artery and a nerve that supply the penis with blood and sensation. The canal runs along the side of a bone and when a cyclist sits hard on a narrow saddle, the artery and the nerve are compressed. Over time, a reduction of blood flow can mean that there is not enough pressure to achieve full erection.
Google and Sun Challenge Microsoft's Office
This is big news. Google Inc. took a step toward challenging Microsoft Corp.'s dominance of computer software with the announcement Tuesday of a collaboration agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc. The move could lead to Google offering next-generation word processing, spreadsheet and collaboration tools that would take on Microsoft's industry-leading Office suite of software.
Silence Aloft Is Under Threat
Many have come to cherish the airplane as the long metal tube of silence; however, Federal regulators are reassessing the rules barring phones in the air and some international airlines are gradually introducing Internet access to their planes. The emerging debate over whether to allow phone use on planes is taking on a larger symbolism. Airplanes have become the last place where people in business do not feel obliged to be constantly and immediately available. Perhaps counterintuitively, airplane travel has become for many people a highly productive time, either because it permits uninterrupted work, or simply a reflective time that has been lost in a world of 24/7 digital stimulation.
Study Suggests Most in U.S. Will Be Fat
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm exotic.
like shoving frogs into a wheelbarrow
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
discovery of bacterium tied to stomach ailments
Big SUVs Lag in Sales, Hindered by Gas Cost
At Ford, sales of the Explorer, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator fell more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. At G.M., sales of the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe fell more than 50 percent, while the GMC Yukon was down 46 percent and the Cadillac Escalade fell nearly 23 percent, with the supersize Escalade ESV falling 40 percent. Sales of the Hummer H2, made by G.M., fell 32 percent.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Twin Deficits
ATOL
America's nightmare: Becoming Britain
Heavy borrowing, particularly from Japan and China, is increasing the leverage of America's foreign creditors over the superpower. The dollar will eventually pay the price for this and the country will go Britain's way, losing military and political primacy after shifting from creditor to debtor status, warns a new study.
Follow to the source...
Council on Foreign Relations
Getting Serious about the Twin Deficits, first in a new series on the future of American competitiveness.
Summary
Twenty years ago, the United States was the world’s largest creditor nation, unsurpassed in its ownership of assets outside of its borders, even after deducting what foreigners owned inside its borders. Yet over the past two decades, America has been transformed into the world’s largest debtor nation.
The focus of Getting Serious About the Twin Deficits by Menzie D. Chinn, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who served as a senior economist for international financial issues on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, is on the economic consequences of inaction with respect to the fiscal and current account deficits. “The longer we wait,” the report explains, “the greater the likelihood of a global financial and economic disruption. Even absent a discrete crisis, hewing to the current course raises the chances of stagnant economic growth, if not recession, in the future.” The report also shows that there may well be other ramifications.
“A striking cautionary note regarding America ’s current path is provided by Britain ’s loss of military and political primacy in the twentieth century; that development followed a shift from creditor to debtor status. Similarly, a prolonged decline in the dollar’s value and increasing indebtedness will erode America ’s dominance in political and security spheres. These trends threaten the dollar’s role as the global currency that facilitates international trade and finance, something the United States has gained immeasurably from over the years. A weaker dollar also reduces American leverage in international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finally, a diminished U.S. currency means that each dollar’s worth of military and development assistance has less impact at precisely the time when the nation faces the greatest challenges. Those threats we ignore at our own peril.”
Stay with me...
Twin Deficits
1. Federal government budget deficit. The Republican-controlled congress spends more than it collects in revenue. The government/national/public debt is composed of the debt generated by deficits.
2. Current account deficit. The current account is the trade balance, adding in net factor income and transfers (US earnings from its assets abroad minus what the US pays on foreign-owned liabilities in the US). The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports of goods and services. The current account balance does not stray far from the trade balance, meaning the trade balance largely determines the current account balance.
The US consumes more than it produces. The US must borrow to pay for the current account deficit, and the amount shows up as capital flowing in. This borrowing results in the accumulation of debt or the selling off of assets held in the form of US-owned factories and securities abroad.
Net capital inflows is the difference between capital inflows (borrowing) and capital outflows (lending). Capital flows are composed of private and official flows. Official flows, for instance, include foreign central bank accumulations of US assets (usually either in dollars or US Treasury securities). The current account deficit must equal net capital inflows, up to a (sizeable) statistical error, and a difference due to the basis for accounting.
As long as a country runs a current account deficit, it must borrow to cover that deficit, or run down its foreign exchange reserves. Usually this process means that a country becomes ever more indebted to the rest of the world. Large revaluations in assets and liabilities due to exchange rate changes or price changes can affect this relationship.
Remedies
* Reduce the federal budget deficit
Call your profligate Republican representative today and tell himher to stop spending so much gd taxpayer money. Tell himher to get out the ax and start chopping programs. What the hell happened in the past five years.
* Reduce the quantity of oil imports
The value of imported petroleum and oil products equals about one-third of the trade deficit.
* Coordinate a revaluation (appreciation) of East Asian currencies
a la Plaza Accord
Debt
Deficit
Government Debt
Balance of Trade
Balance of Payments
Current Account
Purchasing Power Parity
Capital Account
America's nightmare: Becoming Britain
Heavy borrowing, particularly from Japan and China, is increasing the leverage of America's foreign creditors over the superpower. The dollar will eventually pay the price for this and the country will go Britain's way, losing military and political primacy after shifting from creditor to debtor status, warns a new study.
Follow to the source...
Council on Foreign Relations
Getting Serious about the Twin Deficits, first in a new series on the future of American competitiveness.
Summary
Twenty years ago, the United States was the world’s largest creditor nation, unsurpassed in its ownership of assets outside of its borders, even after deducting what foreigners owned inside its borders. Yet over the past two decades, America has been transformed into the world’s largest debtor nation.
The focus of Getting Serious About the Twin Deficits by Menzie D. Chinn, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who served as a senior economist for international financial issues on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, is on the economic consequences of inaction with respect to the fiscal and current account deficits. “The longer we wait,” the report explains, “the greater the likelihood of a global financial and economic disruption. Even absent a discrete crisis, hewing to the current course raises the chances of stagnant economic growth, if not recession, in the future.” The report also shows that there may well be other ramifications.
“A striking cautionary note regarding America ’s current path is provided by Britain ’s loss of military and political primacy in the twentieth century; that development followed a shift from creditor to debtor status. Similarly, a prolonged decline in the dollar’s value and increasing indebtedness will erode America ’s dominance in political and security spheres. These trends threaten the dollar’s role as the global currency that facilitates international trade and finance, something the United States has gained immeasurably from over the years. A weaker dollar also reduces American leverage in international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finally, a diminished U.S. currency means that each dollar’s worth of military and development assistance has less impact at precisely the time when the nation faces the greatest challenges. Those threats we ignore at our own peril.”
Stay with me...
Twin Deficits
1. Federal government budget deficit. The Republican-controlled congress spends more than it collects in revenue. The government/national/public debt is composed of the debt generated by deficits.
2. Current account deficit. The current account is the trade balance, adding in net factor income and transfers (US earnings from its assets abroad minus what the US pays on foreign-owned liabilities in the US). The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports of goods and services. The current account balance does not stray far from the trade balance, meaning the trade balance largely determines the current account balance.
The US consumes more than it produces. The US must borrow to pay for the current account deficit, and the amount shows up as capital flowing in. This borrowing results in the accumulation of debt or the selling off of assets held in the form of US-owned factories and securities abroad.
Net capital inflows is the difference between capital inflows (borrowing) and capital outflows (lending). Capital flows are composed of private and official flows. Official flows, for instance, include foreign central bank accumulations of US assets (usually either in dollars or US Treasury securities). The current account deficit must equal net capital inflows, up to a (sizeable) statistical error, and a difference due to the basis for accounting.
As long as a country runs a current account deficit, it must borrow to cover that deficit, or run down its foreign exchange reserves. Usually this process means that a country becomes ever more indebted to the rest of the world. Large revaluations in assets and liabilities due to exchange rate changes or price changes can affect this relationship.
Remedies
* Reduce the federal budget deficit
Call your profligate Republican representative today and tell himher to stop spending so much gd taxpayer money. Tell himher to get out the ax and start chopping programs. What the hell happened in the past five years.
* Reduce the quantity of oil imports
The value of imported petroleum and oil products equals about one-third of the trade deficit.
* Coordinate a revaluation (appreciation) of East Asian currencies
a la Plaza Accord
Debt
Deficit
Government Debt
Balance of Trade
Balance of Payments
Current Account
Purchasing Power Parity
Capital Account
Monday, October 03, 2005
Twin Cities Marathon
Congratulations TCM runners!
Paul 2:56:55
Yarrow 3:00:27
Congratulations especially to Paul on successfully racing his first marathon. We first saw Paul at Nokomis, and although he was more focused than to greet us by pretending his hands were six-shooters, I was happy to see that he looked like the Big Chillin', relaxed, on cruise control. Paul maintained a placid countenance until mile twenty-one, where a look of aggressive focus accompanied his implacable stride. This is where Paul started to eat the competition, passing people left and right. The man could not be stopped. On Summit, Paul opened his mouth a little wider, perhaps to suck in more oxygen or to avoid grinding his teeth. Whatever the case, it worked. As the mileage continued to reel in runners, Paul defied the lure of fatigue. The downhill by the cathedral elicited a grimace from quads crying for mercy. With the marathon finished, Paul had to complete the straight-legged walk to the car and journey a couch.
In other news:
On Friday night, I watched the Chinese Connection. Good stuff.
On Saturday, we went to Whistle Farm to pick Honeycrisp apples and then to Afton to enjoy a hike in the absurdly nice weather.
Also on Saturday, the Huskers defeated the Cyclones of Iowa State University in overtime. Rejoice, rejoice, again I say rejoice.
On Saturday night we basked in the company of Steve, Yarrow, Liz, Megan, Tim, John, Mike B and peeps. Good times.
Paul 2:56:55
Yarrow 3:00:27
Congratulations especially to Paul on successfully racing his first marathon. We first saw Paul at Nokomis, and although he was more focused than to greet us by pretending his hands were six-shooters, I was happy to see that he looked like the Big Chillin', relaxed, on cruise control. Paul maintained a placid countenance until mile twenty-one, where a look of aggressive focus accompanied his implacable stride. This is where Paul started to eat the competition, passing people left and right. The man could not be stopped. On Summit, Paul opened his mouth a little wider, perhaps to suck in more oxygen or to avoid grinding his teeth. Whatever the case, it worked. As the mileage continued to reel in runners, Paul defied the lure of fatigue. The downhill by the cathedral elicited a grimace from quads crying for mercy. With the marathon finished, Paul had to complete the straight-legged walk to the car and journey a couch.
In other news:
On Friday night, I watched the Chinese Connection. Good stuff.
On Saturday, we went to Whistle Farm to pick Honeycrisp apples and then to Afton to enjoy a hike in the absurdly nice weather.
Also on Saturday, the Huskers defeated the Cyclones of Iowa State University in overtime. Rejoice, rejoice, again I say rejoice.
On Saturday night we basked in the company of Steve, Yarrow, Liz, Megan, Tim, John, Mike B and peeps. Good times.
Chinese Banks
Pete, we anticipate your arrival.
I've read two Jared Diamond books: Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Third Chimpanzee. I don't know if I want to summarize GGS for you. I will summarize the 3rd Chimp book later. But for now, more important affairs:
Feeding frenzy for overseas banks
Foreign investments into Chinese commercial banks, which began just a few years ago, have accelerated to a frantic pace in recent months, with record-shattering deals being announced seemingly almost weekly. Three of the four big state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) that acquired foreign funding - Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) - have received the most attention from the media, as each is preparing for a listing on overseas stock exchanges within the next two years. Bank of America (BoA), UBS, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are just a few of the major foreign financial institutions that joined the bidding race. Considering the fact that the three SOCBs collectively have 900 billion yuan (US$111 billion) of non-performing loans (NPLs) on their balance sheets, why would BoA or RBS spend north of $3 billion for just a 10% non-controlling equity stake in a Chinese bank? There is no simple answer to this question.
You down with GOP?
For GOP, DeLay Indictment Adds to a Sea of Troubles
A Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday on a charge of criminally conspiring with two political associates to inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections that helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas and cement its control of the House in Washington.
Statement by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is facing questions from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about his sale of stock in his family's hospital company one month before its price fell sharply.
Abramoff Indicted in Casino Boat Purchases
Jack is a republican lobbyist.
I've read two Jared Diamond books: Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Third Chimpanzee. I don't know if I want to summarize GGS for you. I will summarize the 3rd Chimp book later. But for now, more important affairs:
Feeding frenzy for overseas banks
Foreign investments into Chinese commercial banks, which began just a few years ago, have accelerated to a frantic pace in recent months, with record-shattering deals being announced seemingly almost weekly. Three of the four big state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) that acquired foreign funding - Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) - have received the most attention from the media, as each is preparing for a listing on overseas stock exchanges within the next two years. Bank of America (BoA), UBS, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are just a few of the major foreign financial institutions that joined the bidding race. Considering the fact that the three SOCBs collectively have 900 billion yuan (US$111 billion) of non-performing loans (NPLs) on their balance sheets, why would BoA or RBS spend north of $3 billion for just a 10% non-controlling equity stake in a Chinese bank? There is no simple answer to this question.
You down with GOP?
For GOP, DeLay Indictment Adds to a Sea of Troubles
A Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday on a charge of criminally conspiring with two political associates to inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections that helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas and cement its control of the House in Washington.
Statement by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is facing questions from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about his sale of stock in his family's hospital company one month before its price fell sharply.
Abramoff Indicted in Casino Boat Purchases
Jack is a republican lobbyist.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Federalist
So, I talked to Soren last night. I told him what was new with me. I’m reading the Federalist. The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles about the United States Constitution, first published in New York City newspapers (the Independent Journal, the New-York Packet and the Daily Advertiser) between October 27, 1787 and May 28, 1788. The articles were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, under the pseudonym "Publius" in honor of Publius Valerius Publicola for his role in establishing the first Roman republic.
Let’s recapitulate a little U.S. history, between 1776 and 1789.
Thanks largely to the French, the U.S. won the Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris gave the United States independence and peace but the U.S. struggled with an unsettled governmental structure and economic depression. The Second Continental Congress continued to act as a federal government, formalizing its own status by the Articles of Confederation, which were proposed and put into effect in 1778 but not fully ratified until 1781. The Articles of Confederation outlined the governance of a permanent federation of States without fully clarifying whether the United States was to be a nation-state or a mere league of States acting in cooperation.
The perceived need for a more powerful and complete federal government led, in 1787, to the calling of a convention to consider revising the Articles. That Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, chose to write a Constitution.
The Constitution itself called for ratification by state conventions specially elected for the purpose, and Congress recommended the Constitution to the states asking that such ratification conventions be called.
Several of the smaller pansy states, led by tiny Delaware, embraced the Constitution with little reservation. But in the powerful states of New York and Virginia, particularly New York, the matter of ratification became one of intense controversy. Thus, the New York ratification convention became the focus for a struggle over the wisdom of adopting the Constitution.
Opponents of the plan for stronger government took the name Antifederalists. They feared that a government with the power to tax would soon become as despotic and corrupt as Great Britain had been only decades earlier. The most notable Antifederalists were Patrick Henry and George Mason. They were also quite concerned with the absence of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
Anyway, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay addressed the people of the state of New York in an effort to allay fears associated with federal government by touting the benefits of a unified republic.
So far, Publius has surprised me with candid statements about human nature and war.
Eleven States ratified the Constitution in 1788. In 1789, the Constitution of the United States was put into operation, and George Washington was elected the first President of the United States.
Let’s recapitulate a little U.S. history, between 1776 and 1789.
Thanks largely to the French, the U.S. won the Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris gave the United States independence and peace but the U.S. struggled with an unsettled governmental structure and economic depression. The Second Continental Congress continued to act as a federal government, formalizing its own status by the Articles of Confederation, which were proposed and put into effect in 1778 but not fully ratified until 1781. The Articles of Confederation outlined the governance of a permanent federation of States without fully clarifying whether the United States was to be a nation-state or a mere league of States acting in cooperation.
The perceived need for a more powerful and complete federal government led, in 1787, to the calling of a convention to consider revising the Articles. That Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, chose to write a Constitution.
The Constitution itself called for ratification by state conventions specially elected for the purpose, and Congress recommended the Constitution to the states asking that such ratification conventions be called.
Several of the smaller pansy states, led by tiny Delaware, embraced the Constitution with little reservation. But in the powerful states of New York and Virginia, particularly New York, the matter of ratification became one of intense controversy. Thus, the New York ratification convention became the focus for a struggle over the wisdom of adopting the Constitution.
Opponents of the plan for stronger government took the name Antifederalists. They feared that a government with the power to tax would soon become as despotic and corrupt as Great Britain had been only decades earlier. The most notable Antifederalists were Patrick Henry and George Mason. They were also quite concerned with the absence of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
Anyway, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay addressed the people of the state of New York in an effort to allay fears associated with federal government by touting the benefits of a unified republic.
So far, Publius has surprised me with candid statements about human nature and war.
Eleven States ratified the Constitution in 1788. In 1789, the Constitution of the United States was put into operation, and George Washington was elected the first President of the United States.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Sex, Petrol, Pirates, Free Wi-Fi
A Sex Stop on the Way Home
Manhattan may have its gay bars and such traditional pickup spots as the woods of the Ramble in Central Park and the piers of the West Village. But in the less-accepting climate of the suburbs and the boroughs outside Manhattan, gay men often resort to courting one another from the relative safety and privacy of their cars. They troll remote parking lots that become de facto pickup spots well known in gay circles but not to the general public.
Trolling... I will make you fishers of men.
Governors Ask for Inquiry on Oil Prices
Excess profits, windfall, price gouge, bar bar bar. “To make money off the severe misfortune of others is downright immoral.” Where’s the faith in the free market? If it works for the health care industry, why can’t it work for the energy industry?
Writers Sue Pirates(Google), Accusing It of Copyright Violation
Three authors filed suit against Google yesterday contending that the company's program to create searchable digital copies of the contents of several university libraries constituted "massive copyright infringement."
The suit contends that Google knew or should have known that the Copyright Act "required it to obtain authorization from the holders of the copyrights in these literary works before creating and reproducing digital copies of the works for its commercial use and for the use of others."
Google has said from the beginning that its program is covered by the "fair use" provision of the copyright law, which allows limited use of protected works. In a statement issued in response to the suit, Google also said its program respected copyrights.
"We regret that this group has chosen litigation to try to stop a program that will make books and the information within them more discoverable to the world," the statement said. "Google Print directly benefits authors and publishers by increasing awareness of and sales of the books in the program. And, if they choose, authors and publishers can exclude books from the program if they don't want their material included. Copyrighted books are indexed to create an electronic card catalog and only small portions of the books are shown unless the content owner gives permission to show more."
Google temporarily suspended its library project last month to give authors and other copyright holders until November to opt out by telling it that they did not want certain works to be copied.
But Mr. Aiken said that offer turned longstanding precedents in copyright law upside down, requiring owners to pre-emptively protect rights rather than requiring a user to gain approval for use of a copyrighted work.
Some aspects of the Google Print program have encountered relatively little opposition, particularly one that invites publishers to submit their books to Google for scanning and inclusion in the Google search engine. Most of the large commercial publishing houses have submitted books to Google for scanning, in the hope that the program will lead users to find and buy their books more easily.
Avidly Seeking Wireless Clues From Google
Google had begun a limited test of the wireless service, which may be offered for free.
Manhattan may have its gay bars and such traditional pickup spots as the woods of the Ramble in Central Park and the piers of the West Village. But in the less-accepting climate of the suburbs and the boroughs outside Manhattan, gay men often resort to courting one another from the relative safety and privacy of their cars. They troll remote parking lots that become de facto pickup spots well known in gay circles but not to the general public.
Trolling... I will make you fishers of men.
Governors Ask for Inquiry on Oil Prices
Excess profits, windfall, price gouge, bar bar bar. “To make money off the severe misfortune of others is downright immoral.” Where’s the faith in the free market? If it works for the health care industry, why can’t it work for the energy industry?
Writers Sue Pirates(Google), Accusing It of Copyright Violation
Three authors filed suit against Google yesterday contending that the company's program to create searchable digital copies of the contents of several university libraries constituted "massive copyright infringement."
The suit contends that Google knew or should have known that the Copyright Act "required it to obtain authorization from the holders of the copyrights in these literary works before creating and reproducing digital copies of the works for its commercial use and for the use of others."
Google has said from the beginning that its program is covered by the "fair use" provision of the copyright law, which allows limited use of protected works. In a statement issued in response to the suit, Google also said its program respected copyrights.
"We regret that this group has chosen litigation to try to stop a program that will make books and the information within them more discoverable to the world," the statement said. "Google Print directly benefits authors and publishers by increasing awareness of and sales of the books in the program. And, if they choose, authors and publishers can exclude books from the program if they don't want their material included. Copyrighted books are indexed to create an electronic card catalog and only small portions of the books are shown unless the content owner gives permission to show more."
Google temporarily suspended its library project last month to give authors and other copyright holders until November to opt out by telling it that they did not want certain works to be copied.
But Mr. Aiken said that offer turned longstanding precedents in copyright law upside down, requiring owners to pre-emptively protect rights rather than requiring a user to gain approval for use of a copyrighted work.
Some aspects of the Google Print program have encountered relatively little opposition, particularly one that invites publishers to submit their books to Google for scanning and inclusion in the Google search engine. Most of the large commercial publishing houses have submitted books to Google for scanning, in the hope that the program will lead users to find and buy their books more easily.
Avidly Seeking Wireless Clues From Google
Google had begun a limited test of the wireless service, which may be offered for free.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Race
Race by % in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings, Lexington, and New Orleans.
Minneapolis
The racial makeup of the city is
65.13% White
17.99% African American
2.19% Native American
6.13% Asian
0.08% Pacific Islander
4.13% from other races
4.36% from two or more races
(7.63% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
St. Paul
The racial makeup of the city is
67.02% White
11.71% African American
1.13% Native American
12.36% Asian (mostly Hmong and Vietnamese)
0.07% Pacific Islander
3.84% from other races
3.87% from two or more races
(7.91% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Omaha
The racial makeup of the city is
78.39% White
13.31% African American
0.67% Native American
1.74% Asian
0.06% Pacific Islander
3.91% from other races
1.92% from two or more races
(7.54% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Lincoln
The racial makeup of the city is
89.25% White
3.09% African American
0.68% Native American
3.12% Asian
0.06% Pacific Islander
1.81% from other races
1.99% from two or more races
(3.61% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Hastings
The racial makeup of the city is
93.39% White
0.79% African American
0.42% Native American
2.02% Asian
0.04% Pacific Islander
2.39% from other races
0.96% from two or more races
(5.58% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Lexington (aka Mexington)
The racial makeup of the city
64.20% White
0.44% African American
1.17% Native American
1.10% Asian
0.02% Pacific Islander
30.78% from other races
2.30% from two or more races
(51.15% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
New Orleans
The racial makeup of the city was
67.25% African American
28.05% White
0.20% Native American
2.26% Asian
0.02% Pacific Islander
0.93% from other races
1.28% from two or more races
(3.06% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Minneapolis
The racial makeup of the city is
65.13% White
17.99% African American
2.19% Native American
6.13% Asian
0.08% Pacific Islander
4.13% from other races
4.36% from two or more races
(7.63% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
St. Paul
The racial makeup of the city is
67.02% White
11.71% African American
1.13% Native American
12.36% Asian (mostly Hmong and Vietnamese)
0.07% Pacific Islander
3.84% from other races
3.87% from two or more races
(7.91% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Omaha
The racial makeup of the city is
78.39% White
13.31% African American
0.67% Native American
1.74% Asian
0.06% Pacific Islander
3.91% from other races
1.92% from two or more races
(7.54% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Lincoln
The racial makeup of the city is
89.25% White
3.09% African American
0.68% Native American
3.12% Asian
0.06% Pacific Islander
1.81% from other races
1.99% from two or more races
(3.61% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Hastings
The racial makeup of the city is
93.39% White
0.79% African American
0.42% Native American
2.02% Asian
0.04% Pacific Islander
2.39% from other races
0.96% from two or more races
(5.58% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Lexington (aka Mexington)
The racial makeup of the city
64.20% White
0.44% African American
1.17% Native American
1.10% Asian
0.02% Pacific Islander
30.78% from other races
2.30% from two or more races
(51.15% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
New Orleans
The racial makeup of the city was
67.25% African American
28.05% White
0.20% Native American
2.26% Asian
0.02% Pacific Islander
0.93% from other races
1.28% from two or more races
(3.06% Hispanic or Latino of any race)
Business
Ford Completes Sale of Hertz to 3 Private Equity Investment Firms
Ford will receive $5.6 billion in cash for Hertz, the nation's largest auto rental company. The total transaction, including debt, was valued at $15 billion. The deal includes a cash tender offer of up to $2.3 billion. The infusion of cash comes at a time when Ford's cash reserves are shrinking.
Ford and Visteon Reach Agreements on Deal
Ford Motor Co. and auto-parts maker Visteon Corp. said Tuesday that they have reached definitive agreements to transfer unprofitable plants back to the automaker. Visteon has failed to make a profit nearly every year since it was spun off from Ford five years ago. Visteon, the No. 2 U.S. auto parts supplier behind Delphi Corp., relies on Ford for 64 percent of its business. Visteon has blamed its financial woes on production cuts at Ford, lower prices for parts and high labor costs it inherited after its spin-off from Ford. Goal: savings on auto parts.
Oracle to Pay $5.85 Billion for Siebel
Oracle, the giant database-software maker, announced on Monday that it would pay $5.85 billion to acquire Siebel Systems, its largest competitor in the market for sales automation programs. The deal will bolster Oracle's effort to topple its German rival SAP as the leading seller of business applications software for big corporations.
EBay to Buy Skype for $2.6 Billion
EBay said yesterday that it would buy Skype Technologies, the Internet phone provider based in Luxembourg, for $2.6 billion in cash and stock, a move that eBay hopes will bolster trading on its online auction site.
Labor
* Boeing machinists are on strike.
* Delta asks pilots' union for second round of cuts in wages and benefits.
Suddenly, Those Solar Panels Don't Look So 1970s
Solar power used to be pie in the sky. It’s still expensive, but technology is progressing. Without subsidies, solar panels for your home cost $20,000 to $25,000. Giants like BP and Royal Dutch Shell in the energy industry, or Sharp and Kyocera in electronics, make most solar gear.
New Approach From Gap to Cut Down on Clicks
"Gap's new sites leapfrog every other retail site out there today," said Carrie Johnson, a retail analyst with Forrester Research, an online consulting firm. "They're providing a customer experience that other retailers will quickly try to figure out how to copy."
Samsung Unveils New 16GB Flash Memory Chip
This is great news.
What the hell is flash memory?
Ford will receive $5.6 billion in cash for Hertz, the nation's largest auto rental company. The total transaction, including debt, was valued at $15 billion. The deal includes a cash tender offer of up to $2.3 billion. The infusion of cash comes at a time when Ford's cash reserves are shrinking.
Ford and Visteon Reach Agreements on Deal
Ford Motor Co. and auto-parts maker Visteon Corp. said Tuesday that they have reached definitive agreements to transfer unprofitable plants back to the automaker. Visteon has failed to make a profit nearly every year since it was spun off from Ford five years ago. Visteon, the No. 2 U.S. auto parts supplier behind Delphi Corp., relies on Ford for 64 percent of its business. Visteon has blamed its financial woes on production cuts at Ford, lower prices for parts and high labor costs it inherited after its spin-off from Ford. Goal: savings on auto parts.
Oracle to Pay $5.85 Billion for Siebel
Oracle, the giant database-software maker, announced on Monday that it would pay $5.85 billion to acquire Siebel Systems, its largest competitor in the market for sales automation programs. The deal will bolster Oracle's effort to topple its German rival SAP as the leading seller of business applications software for big corporations.
EBay to Buy Skype for $2.6 Billion
EBay said yesterday that it would buy Skype Technologies, the Internet phone provider based in Luxembourg, for $2.6 billion in cash and stock, a move that eBay hopes will bolster trading on its online auction site.
Labor
* Boeing machinists are on strike.
* Delta asks pilots' union for second round of cuts in wages and benefits.
Suddenly, Those Solar Panels Don't Look So 1970s
Solar power used to be pie in the sky. It’s still expensive, but technology is progressing. Without subsidies, solar panels for your home cost $20,000 to $25,000. Giants like BP and Royal Dutch Shell in the energy industry, or Sharp and Kyocera in electronics, make most solar gear.
New Approach From Gap to Cut Down on Clicks
"Gap's new sites leapfrog every other retail site out there today," said Carrie Johnson, a retail analyst with Forrester Research, an online consulting firm. "They're providing a customer experience that other retailers will quickly try to figure out how to copy."
Samsung Unveils New 16GB Flash Memory Chip
This is great news.
What the hell is flash memory?
Storm God
Is global warming responsible for the hurricanes experienced in the past few years?
Your credulity amazes me. Look at 1881-1890 or 1941-1950.
U.S. Hurricane Strikes by Decade
The word hurricane is derived from the name of a native Caribbean Amerindian storm god, Huracan, via Spanish huracán.
In Europe, High-Tech Flood Control, With Nature's Help
All you need is a Dutch boy.
Alarm Growing on Storm's Cost for Agriculture
Barbara Bush Calls Evacuees Better Off
Class Warfare
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in an interview on Monday with the radio program “Marketplace.” "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them."
Kanye West's Torrent of Criticism, Live on NBC
"George Bush doesn't care about black people!"
Jay-Z backs Kanye West's telethon outburst
The perfect storm and the feral city
Houston Finds Business Boon After Katrina
Your credulity amazes me. Look at 1881-1890 or 1941-1950.
U.S. Hurricane Strikes by Decade
The word hurricane is derived from the name of a native Caribbean Amerindian storm god, Huracan, via Spanish huracán.
In Europe, High-Tech Flood Control, With Nature's Help
All you need is a Dutch boy.
Alarm Growing on Storm's Cost for Agriculture
Barbara Bush Calls Evacuees Better Off
Class Warfare
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in an interview on Monday with the radio program “Marketplace.” "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them."
Kanye West's Torrent of Criticism, Live on NBC
"George Bush doesn't care about black people!"
Jay-Z backs Kanye West's telethon outburst
The perfect storm and the feral city
Houston Finds Business Boon After Katrina
Monday, September 12, 2005
Big Red
On Saturday Klinker, Chanda, and I traveled sans AC in the Saturn down to Lincoln for the Huskers' 6pm game versus the impious deacons of Wake Forest. My sister joined us and we joined more than 77,300 big red fanatics. The number of consecutive sellouts in Memorial Stadium was extended to 270; a streak that dates back to 1962. In Osborne we trust.
Nebraska 31 - Wake Forest 3
The blackshirts (Nebraska defense) scored three touchdowns.
Nebraska 31 - Wake Forest 3
The blackshirts (Nebraska defense) scored three touchdowns.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Land Speed Record
5.72 miles
16:24
20.93 mph
I shocked the world.
I will never break this mark.
In other news:
Next summer will feature two duathlons. The first will be the Dundrearies Duathlon; the winner will hold the title of Lord Dundreary until the following year. Later in the summer athletes with mettle and moxie will compete in an event of gravitas, an event with a hoary history: the 2nd Annual Mustache Duathlon. Tell your friends. Details to follow.
16:24
20.93 mph
I shocked the world.
I will never break this mark.
In other news:
Next summer will feature two duathlons. The first will be the Dundrearies Duathlon; the winner will hold the title of Lord Dundreary until the following year. Later in the summer athletes with mettle and moxie will compete in an event of gravitas, an event with a hoary history: the 2nd Annual Mustache Duathlon. Tell your friends. Details to follow.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
BWCA: Day 4
We rose early Sunday morning with hopes of canoeing on calm water. Marye and I had broken down our tent and were packing up when we heard one of the more quotable quotes of the weekend come from Andrea, Megan, and Tim’s tent: “Once this tent broken down there will still be one tent standing.” The ode to morning wood caused a little shrieking. As we paddled off into Big Sag it became apparent that the night did not quell the wind. We struggled across Big Sag toward the reprieve east of Camper's Island. Whereas yesterday we were facing a headwind, today we were facing crosswinds. It is difficult to control the direction of the canoe in large waves and strong wind. It is also a little unnerving when waves are crashing into the canoe parallel to the keel line. We paddled to the leeward side of Clark Island to recuperate before we hit the big waves. And they were big. We rose up onto crests and down into troughs, the starboard side of the canoe rising and then dipping, vulnerable if a second wave arrived too quickly. Tim said he looked over at Marye and me and saw only our heads when we were riding in the trough of a wave. I’m glad I didn’t know that. We made it. We went gently down the Sea Gull River, to Gull Lake, and to the boat ramp. We were at the end of the Gunflint Trail. We called the lodge and waited for the pickup van in the chilly wind. We packed up the MV (minivan) and headed to Sven and Olie’s. Take it back to the city. There was a traffic jam in Two Harbors, so we stopped at DQ to mollify the road rage within. When we parted from Megan’s house, we wished each other good showers. The end.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
BWCA: Day 3
On Saturday morning we weathered another little shower. The clouds released the sun, we strung up the tents, and settled down around the stove to eat pancakes. Fires were not allowed because of the smoldering forest fire between Alpine Lake and Seagull Lake. By late morning we shoved off for Big Sag. Peeps ran the first rapids, but as a novice in the canoe I opted for the driest strategy: tie nylon rope to the stern of the canoe and walk it down. The canoeing in the Boundary Waters is very intimate and very nice. Marye and I successfully ran some easy rapids, walked the canoe at the Granite Portage point, and ran the rapids at the Gneiss Lake Portage point. We lunched at Gneiss Lake Island. Peeps were tired but we had a long way to go; we weren’t even to the long straightaway leading to Big Sag, a more-exposed straightaway into the strong northwest wind we had already been struggling against. Onward. Monotonous, strenuous paddling. No enjoyment of pristine surroundings. General disenchantment with romantic ideas of simplicity and wilderness. After I navigated the canoes through Blowdown Portage, we sat motorless at the beginning of the straightaway. Eventually we made it to the rocky Horsetail Portage. We walked the canoes on a nylon leash and carried the kayak. Finally, we portaged at Saganaga Falls and paddled out onto Saganaga Lake, affectionately known as the Big Sag. We decided to call it a day and we stopped at a campsite on Conner's Island. We dined on pasta mixes, of which the Nacho Cheese got mixed reviews and caused concerns about tent gas. We sat around the flameless campfire, drained the box of red wine, and ate smores. Joe Crookston sang Fall Down As the Rain again on Grand Marais community radio. A big moon was rising in the east.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Intelligent Spaghetti
My sentiments exactly. Please read this article.But Is There Intelligent Spaghetti Out There?
Bobby Henderson, a 25-year-old with a physics degree from Oregon State University, had a divine vision. An intelligent god, a Flying Spaghetti Monster, he said, "revealed himself to me in a dream."
"We are willing to pay any individual $250,000 if they can produce empirical evidence which proves that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster."
An iPod Cellphone Said to Be Imminent
Apple + Motorola, marketed by Cingular
Destroying the National Parks
Good, parks are communist.
Recommended by Andrea:
The Vietnamization of Bush's Vacation
My excerpt: “The Leo Burnett advertising agency has been handed $350 million for a recruitment campaign that avoids any mention of Iraq.”
Historical Bush Approval Ratings
Hmmm.
Bush Approval Rating Continues to Drop
President Bush's job approval rating is now at 40%, the lowest of his administration. Bush has averaged 43% across three Gallup Polls conducted in August, marking a slow but steady decline since the beginning of the year. Bush's approval rating has dropped among independents, and has also dropped modestly among Republicans. Bush's August average rating is the lowest for any re-elected president since World War II at a similar point after their re-election, with the exception of Richard Nixon. Only 34% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States today -- the lowest satisfaction rating since January 1996.
In other news, New Orleans and Mississippi were punished by God.
Intelligent Falling Theory
Relax, Bill Gates; It's Google's Turn as the Villain
Google is a powerful business that offers a shitload of services, such as search engines, email (gmail), maps, news aggregation, and digital photo management (Picasa). Google will foray into instant messaging, mobile phone services, online payment services, and perhaps, ultimately, an operating system for your computer. People are complaining about Google. Google has so much power. Google hurt my feelings. Google hires all the most talented computer science people by offering them huge salaries. Google is arrogant. Google has a big penis. The people complaining are business people, free market people, laissez-faire people. Most of those people are pussies.
Summer Fading, Hollywood Sees Fizzle
Hollywood relies on summer blockbusters. Less people are going to movies. Why? Movies suck. Other entertainment. DVDs. Home theater.
Study Finds 29-Week Fetuses Probably Feel No Pain and Need No Abortion Anesthesia
The finding poses a direct challenge to proposed federal and state laws that would compel doctors to tell women having abortions at 20 weeks or later that their fetuses can feel pain and to offer them anesthesia specifically for the fetus.
About 1.3 million abortions a year are performed in the United States, 1.4 percent of them at 21 weeks or later.
The federal legislation, introduced by Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, in 2004 and again this year as the "Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act," says there is "substantial evidence" of "substantial pain to an unborn child" during abortions performed after 20 weeks. The bill includes a script doctors must read to women, offering to deliver anesthesia directly to the fetus and stating, "The Congress of the United States has determined that at this stage of development, an unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain."
Must read. Funny.
Rumsfeld Makes Surprise Visit To Wife's Vagina
Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory
Google is a powerful business that offers a shitload of services, such as search engines, email (gmail), maps, news aggregation, and digital photo management (Picasa). Google will foray into instant messaging, mobile phone services, online payment services, and perhaps, ultimately, an operating system for your computer. People are complaining about Google. Google has so much power. Google hurt my feelings. Google hires all the most talented computer science people by offering them huge salaries. Google is arrogant. Google has a big penis. The people complaining are business people, free market people, laissez-faire people. Most of those people are pussies.
Summer Fading, Hollywood Sees Fizzle
Hollywood relies on summer blockbusters. Less people are going to movies. Why? Movies suck. Other entertainment. DVDs. Home theater.
Study Finds 29-Week Fetuses Probably Feel No Pain and Need No Abortion Anesthesia
The finding poses a direct challenge to proposed federal and state laws that would compel doctors to tell women having abortions at 20 weeks or later that their fetuses can feel pain and to offer them anesthesia specifically for the fetus.
About 1.3 million abortions a year are performed in the United States, 1.4 percent of them at 21 weeks or later.
The federal legislation, introduced by Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, in 2004 and again this year as the "Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act," says there is "substantial evidence" of "substantial pain to an unborn child" during abortions performed after 20 weeks. The bill includes a script doctors must read to women, offering to deliver anesthesia directly to the fetus and stating, "The Congress of the United States has determined that at this stage of development, an unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain."
Must read. Funny.
Rumsfeld Makes Surprise Visit To Wife's Vagina
Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory
Met Council
What's with growth management and regional planning in the Twin Cities.
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning agency serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area and providing essential services to the region. The Council works with local communities to provide these critical services:
* operates the region's largest bus system
* collects and treats wastewater
* engages communities and the public in planning for future growth
* provides forecasts of the region's population and household growth
* provides affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families
* provides planning, acquisitions and funding for a regional system of parks and trails
* provides a framework for decisions and implementation for regional systems including aviation, transportation, parks and open space, water quality and water management.
Governance
The 17-member Metropolitan Council has 16 members who each represent a geographic district and one chair who serves at large. They are all appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor. The State Senate confirms Council member appointments.
Washington state has a Growth Management Act.Policy Brief from the Washington Research Council.
Washington's Growth Management Act: Goals and Promises
Regional Growth Management in Seattle
Federal Reserve
We should all make a resolution to read once a week from the Federal Reserve Bank.
Main page: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Twelve Federal Reserve Districts: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.
You can find conferences that discuss such things as: Revived Bretton Woods System: A New Paradigm for Asian Development?
Featuring interesting summaries such as: Dollars and Deficits? Where Do We Go From Here? (Europe is screwed)
By the way...
I read that Minnesota's biggest trading partners are:
1. Canada
2. Ireland
3. China
Exports are burgeoning. Read the article.
From ATOL:
China's Kazakh prize: The expert opinion
PetroKazakhstan will be a good acquisition for China's CNPC: oil industry experts tell ATol it has a relatively new refinery and some top-quality fields; it produces high-quality light, sweet crude; and it's strategically located near the Chinese border. But it's not a solution to China's growing oil demand: PetroKazakhstan represents about 30% of one year's demand growth in China.
How Iran's oil bourse could kill the dollar
Oil is priced and traded in the greenback, entailing huge transaction costs for non-dollar countries that have to buy these dollars. The oil bourse that Iran plans to start next year would change all that. It would make transactions cheaper, and it could drive a nail into the dollar's coffin, because a large part of the currency's clout stems from the fact that resources are quoted in it.
Main page: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Twelve Federal Reserve Districts: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.
You can find conferences that discuss such things as: Revived Bretton Woods System: A New Paradigm for Asian Development?
Featuring interesting summaries such as: Dollars and Deficits? Where Do We Go From Here? (Europe is screwed)
By the way...
I read that Minnesota's biggest trading partners are:
1. Canada
2. Ireland
3. China
Exports are burgeoning. Read the article.
From ATOL:
China's Kazakh prize: The expert opinion
PetroKazakhstan will be a good acquisition for China's CNPC: oil industry experts tell ATol it has a relatively new refinery and some top-quality fields; it produces high-quality light, sweet crude; and it's strategically located near the Chinese border. But it's not a solution to China's growing oil demand: PetroKazakhstan represents about 30% of one year's demand growth in China.
How Iran's oil bourse could kill the dollar
Oil is priced and traded in the greenback, entailing huge transaction costs for non-dollar countries that have to buy these dollars. The oil bourse that Iran plans to start next year would change all that. It would make transactions cheaper, and it could drive a nail into the dollar's coffin, because a large part of the currency's clout stems from the fact that resources are quoted in it.
BWCA: Day 2
Friday morning we rose and drove back into Grand Marais to Gene's IGA to buy a few more groceries, among them the most important camping viand: peanut butter. We also visited the World’s Greatest Donuts. I devoured old fashion glazed and chocolate glazed donuts. Next time I will have the skizzle. At our last stop in Grand Marais, we picked up our BWCA permits, which we did not receive until we watched a video and passed a test. Then we drove up the hill and followed the Gunflint Trail until the turnoff for Gunflint Lodge. We rented two canoes and offered ourselves the lodge’s hot chocolate as a lagniappe. Megan and Andrea were in one canoe, Marye and I were in another, and Tim was in his kayak. We pushed off into Gunflint Lake and paddled toward Magnetic Lake. I visited Canada for the first time. It sucked, but the U.S. side of the border was beautiful.
The first portage was short and provided a buena vista of the Granite River squeezed tightly into a fast, glassy flow before it proceeded into frothy rapids. We stopped at Blueberry Portage for lunch and shortly thereafter completed the 100 rod Pine Portage to bring us to Clove Lake. We paddled across the lake to a beachside campsite; sand courtesy of the low water levels naturally found from July until the replenishing snow melts. Tim practiced Eskimo rolls in his kayak. Andrea made sure Tim didn’t drown. I engaged myself in a game of footbag (hacky sack). Marye was the big chillin’. Megan read Cosmo. Dinner consisted of beans, rice, peppers, onions, and mushrooms in tortillas. Decadence was the theme; smores and box wine followed. We weathered a rain shower after dinner by listening to a Grundig hand-crank generator-powered radio under a tarp shelter fashioned by Tim "Koolhaas" Pavlish. At the end of the night we crushed the hopes of all bears by setting a personal record for height of a suspended food sack.
Monday, August 29, 2005
And the winner was...
That's right folks. I am #1. In a breathtaking display of raw power, unmatched natural ability, and lots of EPO, I dominated the rest of the 1st Annual Mustache Duathlon field, setting a course record at 57 minutes and some seconds.Hopefully more people can join me next year.
1st Annual Mustache Duathlon
On Saturday August 27, duathletes sporting a mustache grown for at least one week gathered at the residence of the Big Fundamentals (pictured left) for the 1st Annual Mustache Duathlon. The race commenced at the intersection of 32nd street and 46th avenue, where competitors mounted their bicycles and cranked away across the Lake Street bridge to St. Paul's river road, south past the Ford Furlough Plant, over Highway 5, and down the hill into Crosby Park, covering a distance of about 6.25 miles. At this point competitors suffered high transition times because of the need to lock up their bicycles. The run was an exciting 3+ mile route, which began with a leg through the woods and then wrapped back around the lake. The most difficult segment of the race was the transition from running to cycling up the big hill. Then it was time to cruise, north on river road to the Ford bridge, across to the Minneapolis side, and back to the Big Fundamental's house.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
BWCA Trip: Part 1
I'm going to a GIS workshop tomorrow. So here's tomorrow's post.
Last Thursday at 6pm Andrea, Tim, Marye, and I gathered at Megan’s house, point of departure for our BWCA excursion. Tim secured his kayak atop Megan’s minivan, we loaded our packs, and we were off. Tim provided fresh beats while Megan drove to Two Harbors, where we refilled with black gold and stopped at Dairy Queen. Tim took down a blizzard and a foot-long. Impressive. I drove from the birthplace of Soren Anderson to a location on the north shore about twelve miles north of Grand Marais. As we drove along the giant freshwater lake, we were graced by a particular cloud arrangement that filtered the moonlight into a single stream illuminating the water below with a conical spotlight, raising the expectation of seeing the Son of God commencing the Second Coming by walking across Lake Superior. Alas, deism won the battle again and the clouds began to clear. The moon had swelled to within a day of full. Aided by the moonlight, we hiked over the rocky shore and turned west into a small inlet where we pitched our tents on a beach of small pebbles, a most excellent bed and a most excellent source of a unique sound. The crashing waves pick up myriad pebbles and then set them down gently, creating a faint sound like the tide racking thousands of miniature billiard balls.
The Gods Must Think I'm Crazy
Pete Dillon has a blog, which he promises to update infrequently. For now, you can visit and look at pictures from his bicycle trip from Albuquerque to Greyhound, Utah.
Did God tell Pat Robertson that the U.S. should assassinate President Chavez of Venezuela? I don't think so. God told me that Pat Robertson is crazy.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at what else Mr. Robertson has said to boost his credibility. What better place to start than September 11th.
Robertson agreed with Falwell that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way."
During ABC's This Week, on April 30, 2005, Robertson was speaking about judicial activism when he said, "Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."
In 1998, Robertson warned that hurricanes and other natural disasters would sweep down on Orlando, Fla., because gay men and lesbians were flocking to Disney World on special "gay days." Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia headquarters. He took credit for steering the course in 1985 of Hurricane Gloria, which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995.
Robertson has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
Robertson’s net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion USD according to the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast. Through his ostensibly charitable organization, Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation. He has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although he has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism".
In the late 1980s, Pat Robertson sued Congressman Pete McCloskey and Representative Andy Jacobs for libel. McCloskey, who served with Robertson in Korea, made claims that Robertson was spared combat duty when his powerful father intervened on his behalf. Jacobs repeated these statements publicly. During pre-trial depositions, another veteran who had served with Robertson, Paul Brosman, Jr., spoke of rumors during the war that Robertson had been carousing with prostitutes and hassling Korean women. Brosman stated that Robertson himself talked about his exploits with prostitutes. In the end, Robertson dropped his lawsuit claiming scheduling conflicts between court dates and his 1988 presidential campaign, and was ordered to pay part of McCloskey's court costs.
Did God tell Pat Robertson that the U.S. should assassinate President Chavez of Venezuela? I don't think so. God told me that Pat Robertson is crazy.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at what else Mr. Robertson has said to boost his credibility. What better place to start than September 11th.
Robertson agreed with Falwell that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way."
During ABC's This Week, on April 30, 2005, Robertson was speaking about judicial activism when he said, "Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."
In 1998, Robertson warned that hurricanes and other natural disasters would sweep down on Orlando, Fla., because gay men and lesbians were flocking to Disney World on special "gay days." Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia headquarters. He took credit for steering the course in 1985 of Hurricane Gloria, which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995.
Robertson has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
Robertson’s net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion USD according to the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast. Through his ostensibly charitable organization, Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation. He has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although he has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism".
In the late 1980s, Pat Robertson sued Congressman Pete McCloskey and Representative Andy Jacobs for libel. McCloskey, who served with Robertson in Korea, made claims that Robertson was spared combat duty when his powerful father intervened on his behalf. Jacobs repeated these statements publicly. During pre-trial depositions, another veteran who had served with Robertson, Paul Brosman, Jr., spoke of rumors during the war that Robertson had been carousing with prostitutes and hassling Korean women. Brosman stated that Robertson himself talked about his exploits with prostitutes. In the end, Robertson dropped his lawsuit claiming scheduling conflicts between court dates and his 1988 presidential campaign, and was ordered to pay part of McCloskey's court costs.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Should Pat Robertson Be Assassinated?
Televangelist Calls for Assassination of Chavez
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested on-air that American operatives assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop his country from becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."
China Ups the Ante in Its Bid for Oil
China's biggest state-owned oil company, the China National Petroleum Corporation, announced on Monday that it would pay $4.18 billion for a Canadian oil company with shares traded in New York and substantial reserves in Kazakhstan.
Trade wars can lead to shooting wars
U.S. vs. China, currency, trade, jobs, standard of living, military
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested on-air that American operatives assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop his country from becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."
China Ups the Ante in Its Bid for Oil
China's biggest state-owned oil company, the China National Petroleum Corporation, announced on Monday that it would pay $4.18 billion for a Canadian oil company with shares traded in New York and substantial reserves in Kazakhstan.
Trade wars can lead to shooting wars
U.S. vs. China, currency, trade, jobs, standard of living, military
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Republican Myrmidons and Co.
From Clever Peasantry
The War the South Won
Using your tax dollars, the government created an admirable piece of propaganda.
2005 Republican Freedom Calendar: Celebrating a century and a half of civil rights achievement by the Party of Lincoln
Why should you take the time to read it?
Ostensibly, you should read it if you wish to be better informed about our national heritage. Honestly, you should read it if you are a minority who holds a low opinion of the Republican Party’s recent civil rights record.
What will you learn?
It is not possible for the ethos of a political party to change over time. What does this imply? The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on February 28, 1854, as a party opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories. The first Republican Party President of the United States was the guy who freed the slaves. Therefore, the Republican Party has always been a tireless advocate of civil rights. In the 19th century, the Democrat Party consisted of racist, slave-owing southerners and conciliatory northerners. Ever since, the Democrat Party has assailed civil rights with a vengeance befitting a kung-fu movie where the father of the Democrat Party is killed by Civil Rights.
From Wikipedia
… The post-war emergence of the United States as one of two superpowers and rapid social change caused the Republican Party to divide into a conservative faction (dominant in the West and Southeast) and a liberal faction (dominant in New England) – combined with a residual base of inherited progressive Midwestern Republicanism active throughout the century. A Republican like U.S. Sen Robert Taft of Ohio represented the Midwestern wing of the party that continued to oppose New Deal reforms and continued to champion isolationism [not to be confused with free trade]. Thomas Dewey represented the Northeastern wing of the party that was closer to Democratic liberalism and internationalism. In the end, the isolationists were marginalized by those who supported a strong U.S. role in opposing the Soviet Union throughout the world, as embodied by President Eisenhower. However, this development did not represent the end of the story. The seeds of conservative dominance in the Republican party were planted in the nomination of conservative Barry Goldwater over liberal Nelson Rockefeller as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election.
One element of the New Deal coalition was the "Solid South", a term describing the Southern states' reliable support for Democratic presidential candidates. Goldwater's electoral success in the South, and Nixon's successful Southern strategy four years later, represented a significant political change, as Southern white protestants began moving into the party, largely in reaction to national Democratic Party's support for the Civil Rights Movement. The remaining pockets of liberal Republicanism in the northeast began to die out as the region turned solidly Democratic. In The Emerging Republican Majority, Kevin Phillips, then a Nixon strategist, argued (based on the 1968 election results) that support from Southern whites and growth in the Sun Belt, among other factors, was driving an enduring Republican electoral realignment.
If Republican Party propaganda were a pill, it would be Rohypnal.
Only Libertarians should be allowed to talk about freedom.
The War the South Won
Using your tax dollars, the government created an admirable piece of propaganda.
2005 Republican Freedom Calendar: Celebrating a century and a half of civil rights achievement by the Party of Lincoln
Why should you take the time to read it?
Ostensibly, you should read it if you wish to be better informed about our national heritage. Honestly, you should read it if you are a minority who holds a low opinion of the Republican Party’s recent civil rights record.
What will you learn?
It is not possible for the ethos of a political party to change over time. What does this imply? The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on February 28, 1854, as a party opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories. The first Republican Party President of the United States was the guy who freed the slaves. Therefore, the Republican Party has always been a tireless advocate of civil rights. In the 19th century, the Democrat Party consisted of racist, slave-owing southerners and conciliatory northerners. Ever since, the Democrat Party has assailed civil rights with a vengeance befitting a kung-fu movie where the father of the Democrat Party is killed by Civil Rights.
From Wikipedia
… The post-war emergence of the United States as one of two superpowers and rapid social change caused the Republican Party to divide into a conservative faction (dominant in the West and Southeast) and a liberal faction (dominant in New England) – combined with a residual base of inherited progressive Midwestern Republicanism active throughout the century. A Republican like U.S. Sen Robert Taft of Ohio represented the Midwestern wing of the party that continued to oppose New Deal reforms and continued to champion isolationism [not to be confused with free trade]. Thomas Dewey represented the Northeastern wing of the party that was closer to Democratic liberalism and internationalism. In the end, the isolationists were marginalized by those who supported a strong U.S. role in opposing the Soviet Union throughout the world, as embodied by President Eisenhower. However, this development did not represent the end of the story. The seeds of conservative dominance in the Republican party were planted in the nomination of conservative Barry Goldwater over liberal Nelson Rockefeller as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election.
One element of the New Deal coalition was the "Solid South", a term describing the Southern states' reliable support for Democratic presidential candidates. Goldwater's electoral success in the South, and Nixon's successful Southern strategy four years later, represented a significant political change, as Southern white protestants began moving into the party, largely in reaction to national Democratic Party's support for the Civil Rights Movement. The remaining pockets of liberal Republicanism in the northeast began to die out as the region turned solidly Democratic. In The Emerging Republican Majority, Kevin Phillips, then a Nixon strategist, argued (based on the 1968 election results) that support from Southern whites and growth in the Sun Belt, among other factors, was driving an enduring Republican electoral realignment.
If Republican Party propaganda were a pill, it would be Rohypnal.
Only Libertarians should be allowed to talk about freedom.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Andrew Rock
Results from the 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Helsinki
Andrew Rock, whilom DIII LaCrosse runner, finished 2nd in the 400 (44.35) to Athens Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner. Mr. Rock then ran the lead leg of the USA's gold medal 4x400. I finished 3rd in the 400. View the photo finish to see my speed suit.
*
Articles I might read:
Building a Virtual Microbe, Gene by Gene by Gene
Have You Heard? Gossip Turns Out to Serve a Purpose
Wal-Mart Says Oil Prices Held Down Profits for Quarter
*
Marye and I borrowed the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? from the library. I enjoyed it. The picture show is directed by St. Louis Park, Minnesota, natives, The Coen Brothers, who incorporated themes from The Odyssey into the movie. The soundtrack is mossome.
I must read more about:
Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
*
Waste Yes, Want Not
Is there want of landfill space? No.
Regulations created conditions for enormous landfills to create economies of scale and new compacting technology has allowed landfills to save space by increasing density.
To Woo Students, Colleges Choose Names That Sell
Beaver College no more.
*
The Male Condition
Read this. The article talks about the difference between male and female brains. It also talks about autism.
Andrew Rock, whilom DIII LaCrosse runner, finished 2nd in the 400 (44.35) to Athens Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner. Mr. Rock then ran the lead leg of the USA's gold medal 4x400. I finished 3rd in the 400. View the photo finish to see my speed suit.
*
Articles I might read:
Building a Virtual Microbe, Gene by Gene by Gene
Have You Heard? Gossip Turns Out to Serve a Purpose
Wal-Mart Says Oil Prices Held Down Profits for Quarter
*
Marye and I borrowed the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? from the library. I enjoyed it. The picture show is directed by St. Louis Park, Minnesota, natives, The Coen Brothers, who incorporated themes from The Odyssey into the movie. The soundtrack is mossome.
I must read more about:
Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
*
Waste Yes, Want Not
Is there want of landfill space? No.
Regulations created conditions for enormous landfills to create economies of scale and new compacting technology has allowed landfills to save space by increasing density.
To Woo Students, Colleges Choose Names That Sell
Beaver College no more.
*
The Male Condition
Read this. The article talks about the difference between male and female brains. It also talks about autism.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
morning
A few things...
This morning two pileated woodpeckers, also known as log cocks, were hammering away at an elm tree outside our kitchen window across the street. Pileated woodpeckers are slightly smaller than crows and are notable by their red crest. One of the woodpeckers hewed a twelve-inch strip of bark off the elm. Sweet.
We have all seen the style of jeans young American women wear; low-riders accentuating yeasty love handles that bulge and hang over the sides. There is a name for what you see: muffin tops.
We are growing a Thai dragon pepper plant along the side of our garage. The plant is burgeoning like a mo-fo, pencil-tip peppers everywhere. I chopped one up - one, mind you - and sprinkled it over a plate of pasta. Very hot. Then my nose started to run a little bit. I rubbed my nose. The dragon got all up in my nose. It was sensational. I will keep some of the seeds and try to grow more plants next year.
I finished reading Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince. I also just finished reading America (the book), produced by the folks at Comedy Central.
This morning two pileated woodpeckers, also known as log cocks, were hammering away at an elm tree outside our kitchen window across the street. Pileated woodpeckers are slightly smaller than crows and are notable by their red crest. One of the woodpeckers hewed a twelve-inch strip of bark off the elm. Sweet.
We have all seen the style of jeans young American women wear; low-riders accentuating yeasty love handles that bulge and hang over the sides. There is a name for what you see: muffin tops.
We are growing a Thai dragon pepper plant along the side of our garage. The plant is burgeoning like a mo-fo, pencil-tip peppers everywhere. I chopped one up - one, mind you - and sprinkled it over a plate of pasta. Very hot. Then my nose started to run a little bit. I rubbed my nose. The dragon got all up in my nose. It was sensational. I will keep some of the seeds and try to grow more plants next year.
I finished reading Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince. I also just finished reading America (the book), produced by the folks at Comedy Central.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Dad, what's a cracker
Marye and I went to La Grolla on Selby for dinner last night. When we were walking back to our car on Marshall, I heard a couple of young (<10 years old) black kids talking.
"Anthony. Anthoneeeeee. Where's Anthony?"
"He's back there playing with the crackers."
Sure enough, Anthony was further down the sidewalk playing with the crackers.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Senator Coleman Announces Support for Terrorists
This survey question is on the Unctious One's website:
"Do you share Senator Coleman’s concerns that a new proposal to require all Minnesotans traveling to Canada to get passports, at a cost of $100 apiece, would create an unnecessary burden for northern Minnesota families and businesses, and would not substantially improve United States homeland security?"
Tendentious Analysis
Minnesota sychophantic Senator Norm Coleman opposes the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. When Senator "Dastard" Coleman's opposition to terrorism prevention was aired on Al-Jazeera, what kind of message did it send to the terrorists? Senator Coleman's stance portrays Minnesotans as cowards running from the War on Terror. As a result, terrorists are heartened by our foundering resolve and porous security.
Why doesn't the dastard support terrorism prevention? A passport costs $100 and expires after 10 years. So, terrorism prevention would cost an individual $10 per year. It is despicable to consider a nominal ten dollars per year unworthy of preventing an attack on the Mall of America. Norm Coleman, you perfidious pussy, why do you hate America?
"Do you share Senator Coleman’s concerns that a new proposal to require all Minnesotans traveling to Canada to get passports, at a cost of $100 apiece, would create an unnecessary burden for northern Minnesota families and businesses, and would not substantially improve United States homeland security?"
Tendentious Analysis
Minnesota sychophantic Senator Norm Coleman opposes the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. When Senator "Dastard" Coleman's opposition to terrorism prevention was aired on Al-Jazeera, what kind of message did it send to the terrorists? Senator Coleman's stance portrays Minnesotans as cowards running from the War on Terror. As a result, terrorists are heartened by our foundering resolve and porous security.
Why doesn't the dastard support terrorism prevention? A passport costs $100 and expires after 10 years. So, terrorism prevention would cost an individual $10 per year. It is despicable to consider a nominal ten dollars per year unworthy of preventing an attack on the Mall of America. Norm Coleman, you perfidious pussy, why do you hate America?
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Bipartisan Profligacy
Chemistry
Structures and Reactivity of Non-heme Oxoiron(IV) Compounds
Eric J. Klinker
Angewandte Chemie
Anderson, Adrian B.; Ciriacks, Chanda M.; Fuller, Kathryn M.; Arriaga, Edgar A.. "Distribution of Zeptomole-Abundant Doxorubicin Metabolites in Subcellular Fractions by Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection." Analytical Chemistry (2003), 75(1), 8-15.
Chanda M. Ciriacks and Michael T. Bowser. “Monitoring D-Serine Dynamics in the Rat Brain Using Online Microdialysis-Capillary Electrophoresis” Anal. Chem., 76, 6582-6587 (2004).
Monday, August 08, 2005
Flex
Okay, big weekend. I had the day off on Friday. I went for a run, hacked away at the Highland Park driving range, climbed around in the basement of Midwest Mountaineering, and then played tennis with Tim and Marye. After tennis, we made a stop at DQ, where I enjoyed a Dilly Bar. Later I fired up the Weber and Megan and USGS employee Eric Smith joined us for grilling. Then we went to DQ, where I enjoyed a hot fudge sundae. We progressed to Molly Quinn’s Deserted Irish Pub, which proved that there is not always whiskey in the bar. Steve and Yarrow were going to meet us inside, but they were delayed by road construction and didn’t arrive until we were walking out the door. We called it a night and went our separate ways. We watched with a smiles as Steve and Yarrow drove away ahead of us, Yarrow’s head just barely high enough to be silhouetted in the middle of the pickup truck, banjo music drifting through my head.
On Saturday, we met Megan, Holly, Steve, Yarrow, and Liz at the Birchwood Café for lunch. Afterwards, Marye and I went to the Powderhorn Park Art Fair. We walked around the lake, looking inside each vendor’s white tent, which contained either sculpture, jewelry, clothes, photography, clay, or mixed media. I bought a Coke. It was good. Actually, it was great. We also listened to a band called the Brass Minstrels. We left the art fair to pick up Marye’s Mom at the airport. We went to Champs by Ridgedale Mall to eat dinner. We were sitting on the patio when Marye pointed to the parking lot and said something like “That looks like Kevin Garnet.” It was. KG. The Big Ticket. He was tossing around a football with some other dudes in the parking lot. Things I learned about KG: He is tall. He is playful. He drives a white Land Rover with tinted windows. He wished the Wolves had drafted me instead of Rick Rickert.
Paul and I couldn’t meet for our Sunday morning run because Mary was running the 5K at the Hennepin Lakes Classic, so I decided to run the 10K, joining Yarrow, Megan, Holly, and peeps. Marye and I biked down the Midtown Greenway to Lake Calhoun, smooth. I didn’t pay to enter, so I dropped out at mile six, which suited me just fine because I was desperately sucking air. Splits: 6:02 – 5:54 – 5:50 – 5:53 – 6:01. Justin Pavlish ran a 17:18 5K. That’s right, Tim’s dad’s brother’s son who rents a room from Tim ran a 17:18 5K. Tim isn’t the fastest Pavlish in the house. In even more exciting news, Paul ran the Richfield half marathon in 1:22.38, a blazing pace of 6:16, good for 9th place. Machine.
After the races, we biked back home in time to meet my Mom, who brought us a few tomatoes, and my Grandma, who made us a lemon meringue pie. Laura joined us and we ate lunch at the Longfellow Grill.
I coasted through the remainder of Sunday by delving into Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. I actually already read a bootleg copy of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, which I procured in Nebraska. It’s called Harry Potter the Mexican Standoff. Spoiler Warning!!!!! Everybody dies.
On Saturday, we met Megan, Holly, Steve, Yarrow, and Liz at the Birchwood Café for lunch. Afterwards, Marye and I went to the Powderhorn Park Art Fair. We walked around the lake, looking inside each vendor’s white tent, which contained either sculpture, jewelry, clothes, photography, clay, or mixed media. I bought a Coke. It was good. Actually, it was great. We also listened to a band called the Brass Minstrels. We left the art fair to pick up Marye’s Mom at the airport. We went to Champs by Ridgedale Mall to eat dinner. We were sitting on the patio when Marye pointed to the parking lot and said something like “That looks like Kevin Garnet.” It was. KG. The Big Ticket. He was tossing around a football with some other dudes in the parking lot. Things I learned about KG: He is tall. He is playful. He drives a white Land Rover with tinted windows. He wished the Wolves had drafted me instead of Rick Rickert.
Paul and I couldn’t meet for our Sunday morning run because Mary was running the 5K at the Hennepin Lakes Classic, so I decided to run the 10K, joining Yarrow, Megan, Holly, and peeps. Marye and I biked down the Midtown Greenway to Lake Calhoun, smooth. I didn’t pay to enter, so I dropped out at mile six, which suited me just fine because I was desperately sucking air. Splits: 6:02 – 5:54 – 5:50 – 5:53 – 6:01. Justin Pavlish ran a 17:18 5K. That’s right, Tim’s dad’s brother’s son who rents a room from Tim ran a 17:18 5K. Tim isn’t the fastest Pavlish in the house. In even more exciting news, Paul ran the Richfield half marathon in 1:22.38, a blazing pace of 6:16, good for 9th place. Machine.
After the races, we biked back home in time to meet my Mom, who brought us a few tomatoes, and my Grandma, who made us a lemon meringue pie. Laura joined us and we ate lunch at the Longfellow Grill.
I coasted through the remainder of Sunday by delving into Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. I actually already read a bootleg copy of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, which I procured in Nebraska. It’s called Harry Potter the Mexican Standoff. Spoiler Warning!!!!! Everybody dies.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Dallas-Fort Worth
Marye and I flew to Texas last weekend for my cousin Dacia's wedding. We arrived at DFW airport Friday night. My Mom picked us up at the airport and we rode through Irving, past Texas Stadium, which is home of the Dallas Cowboys, past a mega-church (did I just repeat myself), and arrived at our hotel, the Wyndham Anatole, juxtaposed to the Trinity River, which is basically a runoff ditch flanked on each side by an undeveloped 15 meter earthen levee that prevents flooding. This is the most luxurious hotel room I have ever stayed in. We had a king-size bed, couch, table, desk, 14th-floor view, and a phone on the poop deck – that’s right, a phone on the wall by the toilet (hello, ass-wiping service). Concierge - fancy French word for slave. Anyway, the hotel room was approximately the same size as our old apartment. The hotel featured a private art collection with an eastern Asian theme: Buddhas, elephants, pagodas, etc. The hotel complex was huge: two enormous atriums, the tower where we stayed, a beaucoup of boutiques (offering gewgaws such as $190 princess fairy Halloween costumes for your 5-year-old), extensive outdoor grounds, indoor and outdoor pools, restaurants, convention centers, and $15 overnight parking. The hotel also featured hundreds of rather corpulent, heavily veneered Mary Kay women in their 40s.
On the way to the wedding we drove by the American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks. The wedding ceremony was at a church next to Southern Methodist University. Each bridesmaid, wearing a dull pink dress with a brown sash, carried a different white flower: lilies, snapdragons, tulips, roses, hydrangeas, calla lilies. In a survey conducted after the wedding, nobody could recall whether there were groomsmen. Anyway, 1 Corinthians 13 was read and Jesus sighed in relief, as the streak was kept intact. A clarion soprano squeezed her butt cheeks together and hit all the high notes in the Lord's Prayer. Impressive. The reception was at the Dallas Museum of Art. Art highlights: mosaic, crazy floor, posing next to statues, riding the camel (pictures please). Back to the wedding... I drank a Shiner Bock. It sucked. I switched to Tanqueray and tonic. Then I ate myself into somnolence, only to be roused by some fresh beats, my shoulder wouldn’t stop twitching.
A little about Dallas...
Air conditioning is used to produce extreme contrast.
Hotel - 70 degrees, Ambient - 98 degrees, Church - 64 degrees, Body – flummoxed.
Dallas is the second-largest city in Texas, eighth largest in the United States. The DFW Metroplex is the fifth largest metro area in the U.S. and one of the fifty largest metro areas in the world.
Minneapolis is almost 2.5 times as dense as Dallas.
US cities over 400,000 ranks by population density in 1990
Major/Notable Companies Based in the Dallas Area:
7-Eleven
American Airlines
Blockbuster
BNSF
Dr. Pepper
Electronic Data Systems (established by Ross Perot)
Exxon Mobil
Frito Lay
Greyhound
JC Penney
Kinko's
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Neiman Marcus
Pier 1
Pizza Hut
Radioshack
Southwest Airlines
Texas Instruments
Dallas, Texas - home base of Anywhere, USA.
Mary Kay, enriching Women's lives (TM), founded in 1963, number one best-selling brand of skin care and color cosmetics in the U.S.
Faith first.
Family second.
Career third ;)
Revenue fourth? 2004 revenue: $1.8 billion
Are you old and wizened?
Do you have derelict eyes, lips, cheeks, and nails?
We have the anti-aging answer: cleansers, moisturizers, foundation, concealers, powders.
Does fast food have you smelling like beef tallow?
We have fragrance.
By the way…
Twin Cities-Based Companies:
Target
U.S. Bancorp
Marshall Field's
Xcel Energy
Piper Jaffray
3M
Ecolab
St. Paul Travelers
Lawson Software
Land O'Lakes
Aveda
Northwest Airlines
Supervalu
Dairy Queen
Medtronic
General Mills
UnitedHealth Group
Imation
Best Buy
Cargill
Links to Old News
South Korean Scientists Create World's First Cloned Dog
The cloning of a dog posed unique challenges. Up next, a manticore.
Adidas Agrees to Acquire Reebok in $3.8 Billion Deal
Competition for Nike.
King Abdullah is the new leader of Saudi Arabia, replacing the less-than-pious King Fahd.
A steady Saudi hand - for now
How Wall Street Wrecked United's Pension
I need to go back and read this, but from my skim it looks like United, lured by the possibility of lucrative returns, pursued a strategy of higher risk investment and gambled away workers' pensions. United is probably locked in by contract, but it would be a good idea to switch to a 401k or IRA match program.
Why Bill Gates Wants 3,000 New Patents
What are the patents for?
Mind games over Iraq
Soldiers are returning from the global struggle against violent extremists with mental health problems, and the government is not prepared to help these veterans.
Waiting for a tsunami
This is a classic doomsday column about the U.S. economy. The earthquake is credit. The tsunami is a wall of debt. Have you seen the movie Seven. Remember gluttony, the dude who was tied to the table and stuffed with food until he died.
Who will eventually drag down U.S. per capita income.
Asia: the best bet for businesses
Leading in consumption
Wu-Tang
I was reading about the clan on Wikipedia.
I need more nicknames.
Bane
Bain
Crazy Leg
List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
What do other people think is popular.
Alive and Thriving in the Midwest: Brawling in Cages
This article is about three years late.
The weather rained 37 inches on Bombay, India, the other day. Wow.
Who's Afraid of China Inc.?
Wal-Mart with an army.
The Rap on Puffy's Empire
Sean John Combs, Puff Daddy, P-Diddy
This guy is a force. I wonder how he writes an article. The articles are so long, which happens when you digress into an explanation of dialectical materialism.
Scarcity economics and overcapacity
by Henry C K Liu
Trade in the age of overcapacity
by Henry C K Liu
The secret Downing Street memo
Who cares.
The cloning of a dog posed unique challenges. Up next, a manticore.
Adidas Agrees to Acquire Reebok in $3.8 Billion Deal
Competition for Nike.
King Abdullah is the new leader of Saudi Arabia, replacing the less-than-pious King Fahd.
A steady Saudi hand - for now
How Wall Street Wrecked United's Pension
I need to go back and read this, but from my skim it looks like United, lured by the possibility of lucrative returns, pursued a strategy of higher risk investment and gambled away workers' pensions. United is probably locked in by contract, but it would be a good idea to switch to a 401k or IRA match program.
Why Bill Gates Wants 3,000 New Patents
What are the patents for?
Mind games over Iraq
Soldiers are returning from the global struggle against violent extremists with mental health problems, and the government is not prepared to help these veterans.
Waiting for a tsunami
This is a classic doomsday column about the U.S. economy. The earthquake is credit. The tsunami is a wall of debt. Have you seen the movie Seven. Remember gluttony, the dude who was tied to the table and stuffed with food until he died.
Who will eventually drag down U.S. per capita income.
Asia: the best bet for businesses
Leading in consumption
Wu-Tang
I was reading about the clan on Wikipedia.
I need more nicknames.
Bane
Bain
Crazy Leg
List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
What do other people think is popular.
Alive and Thriving in the Midwest: Brawling in Cages
This article is about three years late.
The weather rained 37 inches on Bombay, India, the other day. Wow.
Who's Afraid of China Inc.?
Wal-Mart with an army.
The Rap on Puffy's Empire
Sean John Combs, Puff Daddy, P-Diddy
This guy is a force. I wonder how he writes an article. The articles are so long, which happens when you digress into an explanation of dialectical materialism.
Scarcity economics and overcapacity
by Henry C K Liu
Trade in the age of overcapacity
by Henry C K Liu
The secret Downing Street memo
Who cares.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Minnesota Swamp Ass
New Minnesota State Record Dew Point Set Saturday July 23rd
Pipestone, Minnesota, recorded a temperature of 93 degrees at 5pm, and combined with a dew point of 86 degrees, the heat index reached 125 degrees. Butt sweat was rampant.
Pipestone, Minnesota, recorded a temperature of 93 degrees at 5pm, and combined with a dew point of 86 degrees, the heat index reached 125 degrees. Butt sweat was rampant.
Paul Singh Is a Machine
Yesterday on my bike ride home from work I crossed paths with Paul along the river road near the Washington bridge by the U of M. Paul is training for Twin Cities Marathon this October. Jude, just so you know, Paul looks tough. He cannot be persuaded be the entreaties of fatigue. He cannot be stopped.
While I'm speaking of Paul...
Here's his Geography Honors Project:
Unrecognized Potential Along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors
Abstract
The economic vitality of the commercial corridors in Minneapolis and St. Paul is imperative to the well-being of inner-city neighborhoods. In order to assist community groups with redevelopment along the corridors, this publication identifies commercial revitalization using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model. One commercial corridor that was found to be experiencing greater success than was predicted by the GIS model is the section of Nicollet Avenue known as Eat Street. The history of Eat Street highlights several strategies that can assist community groups with their redevelopment efforts.
While I'm speaking of Paul...
Here's his Geography Honors Project:
Unrecognized Potential Along Twin Cities Commercial Corridors
Abstract
The economic vitality of the commercial corridors in Minneapolis and St. Paul is imperative to the well-being of inner-city neighborhoods. In order to assist community groups with redevelopment along the corridors, this publication identifies commercial revitalization using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model. One commercial corridor that was found to be experiencing greater success than was predicted by the GIS model is the section of Nicollet Avenue known as Eat Street. The history of Eat Street highlights several strategies that can assist community groups with their redevelopment efforts.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
I will waste your time too
This article from yesterday's Star Tribune gets the "Biggest Pile of Shit" and Biggest Waste of Space" journalism awards.
President is way too pumped up about exercise
by Jonathan Chait
Summary
The President has an obsession with exercise; apparently, exercise = obsession.
The President spends too much time on exercise; up to one hour, oh my deity.
The Press Secretary said "The president finds (exercise) very healthy in terms of ... keeping in shape. But it's also good for the mind."
What does Jonathan "Shitting Pen" Chait have to say about that?
"The notion of a connection between physical and mental potency is, of course, silly."
Wow.
Why can most of us not exercise?
"Unfortunately, most of us have more demanding jobs."
Again, wow.
President is way too pumped up about exercise
by Jonathan Chait
Summary
The President has an obsession with exercise; apparently, exercise = obsession.
The President spends too much time on exercise; up to one hour, oh my deity.
The Press Secretary said "The president finds (exercise) very healthy in terms of ... keeping in shape. But it's also good for the mind."
What does Jonathan "Shitting Pen" Chait have to say about that?
"The notion of a connection between physical and mental potency is, of course, silly."
Wow.
Why can most of us not exercise?
"Unfortunately, most of us have more demanding jobs."
Again, wow.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Mirror, Water, Energy
Main Street in the Cross Hairs
Wireless identity theft by means of intercepting stores' credit card transactions.
Who's That Strange Monkey in the Mirror?
Self-recognition. Who recognizes the reflection in the mirror. Apes, dolphins, humans. How do we recognize ourselves, especially our faces.
With a Push From the U.N., Water Reveals Its Secrets
Scarcity.
Lawmakers Reach a Deal on New Energy Policies
This should be good.
Crime in Minneapolis
From the City of Minneapolis
2002 Annual Report
About
Uniform Crime Reporting
Part I Offenses
which include crimes against persons and crimes against property
1) Criminal Homicide
2) Forcible Rape
3) Robbery
4) Aggravated Assault
5) Burglary
6) Larceny Theft
7) Motor Vehicle Theft
8) Arson
Part II Offenses
includes narcotics, prostitution, and gambling
Categories reflect proactive enforcement action and are not indicators of criminality.
Forgery/Fraud/Embezzlement
Possession of Stolen Property
Vandalism/Property Damage
Weapons
Prostitution
Sex Offenses Other Than Rape
Narcotics
Gambling
Family Offenses
Driving While Intoxicated
Liquor Laws
Disorderly
Vagrancy
All Other Offenses
Curfew and Loitering
Juvenile Runaway
Understanding Crime Statistics
Minneapolis
382,618 people
There are no per capita statistics.
page 40 of the annual report pdf
Calls for Police Service Processed by the Emergency Communications Center
Service: 71%
Crime: 29%
Service Calls
Disturbances: 42.1%
Traffic: 35.9%
Alarms: 7.6%
Medic/Welfare: 6.9%
Assisting People: 6.9%
Hazards: 0.7%
Crime Calls
Property Crimes: 42.4%
Domestics: 19.8%
Assaults: 17.6%
Miscellaneous: 16.9%
Robbery: 2.7%
Sex Crimes: 1.1%
All crimes traced their roots back to atheist single mothers profoundly influenced by the 60s.
2002 Annual Report
About
Uniform Crime Reporting
Part I Offenses
which include crimes against persons and crimes against property
1) Criminal Homicide
2) Forcible Rape
3) Robbery
4) Aggravated Assault
5) Burglary
6) Larceny Theft
7) Motor Vehicle Theft
8) Arson
Part II Offenses
includes narcotics, prostitution, and gambling
Categories reflect proactive enforcement action and are not indicators of criminality.
Forgery/Fraud/Embezzlement
Possession of Stolen Property
Vandalism/Property Damage
Weapons
Prostitution
Sex Offenses Other Than Rape
Narcotics
Gambling
Family Offenses
Driving While Intoxicated
Liquor Laws
Disorderly
Vagrancy
All Other Offenses
Curfew and Loitering
Juvenile Runaway
Understanding Crime Statistics
Minneapolis
382,618 people
There are no per capita statistics.
page 40 of the annual report pdf
Calls for Police Service Processed by the Emergency Communications Center
Service: 71%
Crime: 29%
Service Calls
Disturbances: 42.1%
Traffic: 35.9%
Alarms: 7.6%
Medic/Welfare: 6.9%
Assisting People: 6.9%
Hazards: 0.7%
Crime Calls
Property Crimes: 42.4%
Domestics: 19.8%
Assaults: 17.6%
Miscellaneous: 16.9%
Robbery: 2.7%
Sex Crimes: 1.1%
All crimes traced their roots back to atheist single mothers profoundly influenced by the 60s.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
For Jose
From Minnesota Public Radio
All Things Considered
July 20
11 Books That (Might) Make a Difference
Dr. Jon Hallberg, regular medical analyst on All Things Considered, recently surveyed 4,000 medical practitioners in the University of Minnesota system and asked them about what books they would recommend to an incoming medical student.
"Tuesdays with Morrie," by Mitch Albom
"The Plague," by Albert Camus
"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," by Jared Diamond
"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," by Annie Fadiman
"Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science," by Atul Gawandee
"The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini
"Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World," by Tracy Kidder
"Arrowsmith," by Sinclair Lewis
"The House of God," by Samuel Shem
"The Lives of a Cell," and other books by essayist Lewis Thomas
"The Tennis Partner," and other books by Abraham Verghese
All Things Considered
July 20
11 Books That (Might) Make a Difference
Dr. Jon Hallberg, regular medical analyst on All Things Considered, recently surveyed 4,000 medical practitioners in the University of Minnesota system and asked them about what books they would recommend to an incoming medical student.
"Tuesdays with Morrie," by Mitch Albom
"The Plague," by Albert Camus
"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," by Jared Diamond
"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," by Annie Fadiman
"Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science," by Atul Gawandee
"The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini
"Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World," by Tracy Kidder
"Arrowsmith," by Sinclair Lewis
"The House of God," by Samuel Shem
"The Lives of a Cell," and other books by essayist Lewis Thomas
"The Tennis Partner," and other books by Abraham Verghese
London, China, Grand Theft Auto, Bolivian Wrestlers, Johnny
For me to read later:
British Police Evacuate 3 Subway Stations After Explosions
China Says It Will No Longer Peg Its Currency to the Dollar
Video Game Known for Violence Lands in Trouble Over Sex
In This Corner, in the Flouncy Skirt and Bowler Hat...
In Takeover Dance, the Chinese Miss a Step
Court Nominee's Life Is Rooted in Faith and Respect for Law
British Police Evacuate 3 Subway Stations After Explosions
China Says It Will No Longer Peg Its Currency to the Dollar
Video Game Known for Violence Lands in Trouble Over Sex
In This Corner, in the Flouncy Skirt and Bowler Hat...
In Takeover Dance, the Chinese Miss a Step
Court Nominee's Life Is Rooted in Faith and Respect for Law
Land Speed Record
I set a land speed record on the way to work, which has never been done before.
17:24
5.72 miles
19.7 mph
17:24
5.72 miles
19.7 mph
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Made in China
Business
Bid by Chevron in Big Oil Deal Thwarts China
Not so fast with that headline. On August 10, Unocal sharholders will vote on offers. The current CNOOC offer, which is higher than Chevron's, was rejected because of political risk. To accept the CNOOC offer, Unocal wants financial guarantees if CNOOC walks away from a deal or if the offer is blocked by the U.S. Congress.
Chinese End Maytag Offer; 2 Suitors Left
Whirlpool has the highest offer.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are resurgent lately.
Who's doing well? Intel, Yahoo, US Bank, Wells Fargo, International Paper, Merrill Lynch, IBM.
Kodak, Posting Another Loss, to Lay Off 10,000
G.M Posts Third Straight Quarterly Loss
Ford Motor's Earnings Decline 19% in the Quarter
Ford's financial arm is responsible for an infusion of revenue into the struggling company. What exactly does Ford's financial arm do? Car loans. Ford's Premier Automotive Group includes Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo.
Johnson and Johnson will probably delay its purchase of Guidant.
Northwest Airlines is anticipating a action that may precipitate a 30-day countdown until a strike by mechanics. Northwest is renegotiating labor contracts to avoid bankruptcy. Pilots already made concessions.
Caribou, a coffee house started in Minnesota, may put forth an IPO. Only on two occasions has Caribou had a year in the black.
What did the Fed Chief say?
Greenspan Signals Further Rate Increases
Olympic bomber gets life in jail
I'm afraid of white males.
And the Supreme Court Justice nominee is…
Johnny G. Roberts
Bid by Chevron in Big Oil Deal Thwarts China
Not so fast with that headline. On August 10, Unocal sharholders will vote on offers. The current CNOOC offer, which is higher than Chevron's, was rejected because of political risk. To accept the CNOOC offer, Unocal wants financial guarantees if CNOOC walks away from a deal or if the offer is blocked by the U.S. Congress.
Chinese End Maytag Offer; 2 Suitors Left
Whirlpool has the highest offer.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are resurgent lately.
Who's doing well? Intel, Yahoo, US Bank, Wells Fargo, International Paper, Merrill Lynch, IBM.
Kodak, Posting Another Loss, to Lay Off 10,000
G.M Posts Third Straight Quarterly Loss
Ford Motor's Earnings Decline 19% in the Quarter
Ford's financial arm is responsible for an infusion of revenue into the struggling company. What exactly does Ford's financial arm do? Car loans. Ford's Premier Automotive Group includes Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo.
Johnson and Johnson will probably delay its purchase of Guidant.
Northwest Airlines is anticipating a action that may precipitate a 30-day countdown until a strike by mechanics. Northwest is renegotiating labor contracts to avoid bankruptcy. Pilots already made concessions.
Caribou, a coffee house started in Minnesota, may put forth an IPO. Only on two occasions has Caribou had a year in the black.
What did the Fed Chief say?
Greenspan Signals Further Rate Increases
Olympic bomber gets life in jail
I'm afraid of white males.
And the Supreme Court Justice nominee is…
Johnny G. Roberts
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Headlines
From the NY Times:
Tired of Prying Off Stickers? Tattooed Fruit Is on the Way
P.L.U. (price look-up) days are numbered. Names, identifying numbers, countries of origin and other information that helps speed distribution are burned onto the outer layer of the skin. Sell advertising space on food skin.
Hewlett-Packard to Lay Off 14,500 to Save $1.9 Billion
U.S. to Broaden India's Access to Nuclear-Power Technology
A Gene for Romance? So It Seems (Ask the Vole)
This article is a good read. If you need more convincing: "The male mouse's rule for dealing with strangers is simple - if it's male, attack it; if female, mate with it. But male mice that are genetically engineered to block the scent-detecting vomeronasal cells try to mate rather than attack invading males."
Hunting for Life in Specks of Cosmic Dust
Looking for another Earth, I recommend reading Rare Earth.
Housing Goes Frothy to Flat in Denver Area
Five years ago, median house prices were rising at an annual clip of nearly 17 percent. By the first quarter of 2005 the increase had slipped to 3 percent.
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart
Good article. Please shop at Costco. Costco was founded with a single store in Seattle in 1983.
From Nate’s Site:
While eating irony pizza, Norm Coleman speaks, presumably with unction, about others playing partisan politics.
Star Tribune article
Roots of gang violence feed off 60s
by Katherine Kersten, Minnesota’s Worst Writer (trademark)
You must read this article. Katherine Kersten's brain is a shit-brown think tank. Obfuscation. Dark brown shit in the way. From Latin ob- in the way + fuscus dark brown.
Spengler from ATOL:
Harry Potter and the Decline of the West
Spengler is always amusing.
Tired of Prying Off Stickers? Tattooed Fruit Is on the Way
P.L.U. (price look-up) days are numbered. Names, identifying numbers, countries of origin and other information that helps speed distribution are burned onto the outer layer of the skin. Sell advertising space on food skin.
Hewlett-Packard to Lay Off 14,500 to Save $1.9 Billion
U.S. to Broaden India's Access to Nuclear-Power Technology
A Gene for Romance? So It Seems (Ask the Vole)
This article is a good read. If you need more convincing: "The male mouse's rule for dealing with strangers is simple - if it's male, attack it; if female, mate with it. But male mice that are genetically engineered to block the scent-detecting vomeronasal cells try to mate rather than attack invading males."
Hunting for Life in Specks of Cosmic Dust
Looking for another Earth, I recommend reading Rare Earth.
Housing Goes Frothy to Flat in Denver Area
Five years ago, median house prices were rising at an annual clip of nearly 17 percent. By the first quarter of 2005 the increase had slipped to 3 percent.
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart
Good article. Please shop at Costco. Costco was founded with a single store in Seattle in 1983.
From Nate’s Site:
While eating irony pizza, Norm Coleman speaks, presumably with unction, about others playing partisan politics.
Star Tribune article
Roots of gang violence feed off 60s
by Katherine Kersten, Minnesota’s Worst Writer (trademark)
You must read this article. Katherine Kersten's brain is a shit-brown think tank. Obfuscation. Dark brown shit in the way. From Latin ob- in the way + fuscus dark brown.
Spengler from ATOL:
Harry Potter and the Decline of the West
Spengler is always amusing.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Why Martyrdom
From ATOL:
Suicide Bombers: Allah's New Martyrs
by Farhad Khosrokhavar
"Khosrokhavar's psychoanalytical exegesis, drawn from numerous interviews of hardcore Islamists, is compulsory reading for persuasively rationalizing the irrational actions that dot the terrorist map of the 21st century. It provides madness a much-deserved reason and context."
Here's my doggerel summary of what I've heard on the subject:
Why do suicide bombers suicide bomb?
1. They hate freedom.
who knows how you started hating freedom
perhaps you were Muslim
beset with a modern reality of futility and meaningless in the wake of hegemony
overcome by life's indifference and ambiguity
a derelict human being
suffering from divine neglect
facing military superiority, material superiority
facing pervasive cultural decadence, shamefully tempting
by many measures, you are inferior
as a result, you are humiliated
you are in extreme crisis
you are extreme Islam
you find recourse in moral superiority
succor in self-assertion
restoration of dignity through offensive martyrdom
I am reminded of a book I read a few years ago.
The True Believer
by Eric Hoffer
In other news, I saw Kung Fu Hustle on Friday and I swam in a refreshing 88 degree pool yesterday.
Suicide Bombers: Allah's New Martyrs
by Farhad Khosrokhavar
"Khosrokhavar's psychoanalytical exegesis, drawn from numerous interviews of hardcore Islamists, is compulsory reading for persuasively rationalizing the irrational actions that dot the terrorist map of the 21st century. It provides madness a much-deserved reason and context."
Here's my doggerel summary of what I've heard on the subject:
Why do suicide bombers suicide bomb?
1. They hate freedom.
who knows how you started hating freedom
perhaps you were Muslim
beset with a modern reality of futility and meaningless in the wake of hegemony
overcome by life's indifference and ambiguity
a derelict human being
suffering from divine neglect
facing military superiority, material superiority
facing pervasive cultural decadence, shamefully tempting
by many measures, you are inferior
as a result, you are humiliated
you are in extreme crisis
you are extreme Islam
you find recourse in moral superiority
succor in self-assertion
restoration of dignity through offensive martyrdom
I am reminded of a book I read a few years ago.
The True Believer
by Eric Hoffer
In other news, I saw Kung Fu Hustle on Friday and I swam in a refreshing 88 degree pool yesterday.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Soliciting
Last night while I was chilling in the basement, watching TV, I decided to create a list of products being peddled to me.
Fox
Thursday July 14
about 7:40-8:50
That 70s Show
The OC
Commercial Products
Select Comfort sleep number bed
Garnier Fructis shampoo
Mabelline mascara
Biore skin care
Playtex tampons
Levis
Chevy
Volkswagen Jetta
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Toyota RAV4
Suburu Tribeca
KFC
McDonalds
Wendys
Dominos
Olive Garden
TGI Fridays
Mountain Dew
Pepsi
Coca Cola
Gatorade
Juicy Fruit
Verizon
Sprint
Quest
Excedrin
anti-drugs
Pier 1
Target
upcoming shows on Fox
movies
Blockbuster
Valley Fair amusement park
Camp Snoopy
Visa
At some point in my life, I have patronized all those listed in bold.
Fox
Thursday July 14
about 7:40-8:50
That 70s Show
The OC
Commercial Products
Select Comfort sleep number bed
Garnier Fructis shampoo
Mabelline mascara
Biore skin care
Playtex tampons
Levis
Chevy
Volkswagen Jetta
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Toyota RAV4
Suburu Tribeca
KFC
McDonalds
Wendys
Dominos
Olive Garden
TGI Fridays
Mountain Dew
Pepsi
Coca Cola
Gatorade
Juicy Fruit
Verizon
Sprint
Quest
Excedrin
anti-drugs
Pier 1
Target
upcoming shows on Fox
movies
Blockbuster
Valley Fair amusement park
Camp Snoopy
Visa
At some point in my life, I have patronized all those listed in bold.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
In Bane We Trust
Below are two cases regarding the display of the ten commandments of Moses in public places.
You ask, what about the seventeen commandments of Bane. More on that later.
McCreary County, Kentucky, et al., v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, et al.
Questions Presented
Oral Argument
Syllabus and Opinion of the Court
Van Orden v. Perry
Question Presented
Oral Argument
Slip Opinion
You ask, what about the seventeen commandments of Bane. More on that later.
McCreary County, Kentucky, et al., v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, et al.
Questions Presented
Oral Argument
Syllabus and Opinion of the Court
Van Orden v. Perry
Question Presented
Oral Argument
Slip Opinion
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Guest Post 2: At the movies
On Sunday afternoon, the S.O. and I traveled to Block E to see the new Tom Cruise flick, The War of the Worlds. The action was excellent, and I recommend seeing this film on the big screen. Supposedly this film has made over $100 million in less than one week. Tom Cruise is dreamy.
A movie I haven't seen (yet) is Batman Begins. Supposedly, this film promotes free markets and small government and is becoming a hit with the Atlas Shrugged crowd. Apparently, both Jesus and Batman are libertarians.
klink
A movie I haven't seen (yet) is Batman Begins. Supposedly, this film promotes free markets and small government and is becoming a hit with the Atlas Shrugged crowd. Apparently, both Jesus and Batman are libertarians.
klink
Guest Post 1: Great Moments in Freedom
In the absence of Dr. Bane, currently touring the Great West, I have the fortunate opportunity to guest blog. I am honored. For the next week, pardon the capitalization and punctuation.
But I digress. On the heels of the country's 229th birthday, I thought I would share an account of my Independence day. I rolled out of bed around 10 AM, scratched myself, and went to the dog park at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Neither my future wife nor I have a dog, but my S.O. (significant other) used to live with a girl who had a dog, and occasionally we still like to see the dog. I dressed in my red, white, and blue swim trunks, a similarly colored t-shirt, and my freedom visor. I was the only person at the park in celebratory colors. Clearly the liberal moonbats of Minneapolis hate America. After about 2 hours at the dog park, I took the S.O. home and was on my way to the house of Bane when I was waved down at an intersection. The man who stopped me was clearly of middle-eastern ethnicity, but I stopped anyway. He asked if I could jump start his car. I said I didn't have cables, which was a lie. He had cables, so I felt obligated to help because the tone of my first response implied that I would help if I did have cables. In a thick Syrian (as I learned later) accent he said his car was dead, 3 houses down, in the alley, behind the house. Hmmmm. To many men, this might cause alarm. But to me, dressed as I was, I sent a clear message- Don't fuck with freedom. Anyway, I gave him a jump, we made small talk, and he was very grateful. He wanted to reward me for my kind deed, and offered me some crafts of his trade, 4 lighters and an ashtray. (The kind Syrian man works in a tobacco shop). The lighters were quite normal, 3 bics and one novelty lighter that looks like a stack of 5 poker chips. The ashtray is quite a different story. The tricolored tray boasts a marijuana leaf in the middle, with the word "LEGALIZE" curved underneath the leaf.
The message was clear. This was a sign on Independence Day, an Independence Omen. What says 'I love freedom' more than an ashtray proclaiming the futility of the war on drugs, calling for the legalization of drugs so that our prisons won't be filled with young men and women who committed victimless crimes, crying out for the right to own yourself. Thank you kind Syrian, for your message of freedom.
klink
But I digress. On the heels of the country's 229th birthday, I thought I would share an account of my Independence day. I rolled out of bed around 10 AM, scratched myself, and went to the dog park at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Neither my future wife nor I have a dog, but my S.O. (significant other) used to live with a girl who had a dog, and occasionally we still like to see the dog. I dressed in my red, white, and blue swim trunks, a similarly colored t-shirt, and my freedom visor. I was the only person at the park in celebratory colors. Clearly the liberal moonbats of Minneapolis hate America. After about 2 hours at the dog park, I took the S.O. home and was on my way to the house of Bane when I was waved down at an intersection. The man who stopped me was clearly of middle-eastern ethnicity, but I stopped anyway. He asked if I could jump start his car. I said I didn't have cables, which was a lie. He had cables, so I felt obligated to help because the tone of my first response implied that I would help if I did have cables. In a thick Syrian (as I learned later) accent he said his car was dead, 3 houses down, in the alley, behind the house. Hmmmm. To many men, this might cause alarm. But to me, dressed as I was, I sent a clear message- Don't fuck with freedom. Anyway, I gave him a jump, we made small talk, and he was very grateful. He wanted to reward me for my kind deed, and offered me some crafts of his trade, 4 lighters and an ashtray. (The kind Syrian man works in a tobacco shop). The lighters were quite normal, 3 bics and one novelty lighter that looks like a stack of 5 poker chips. The ashtray is quite a different story. The tricolored tray boasts a marijuana leaf in the middle, with the word "LEGALIZE" curved underneath the leaf.
The message was clear. This was a sign on Independence Day, an Independence Omen. What says 'I love freedom' more than an ashtray proclaiming the futility of the war on drugs, calling for the legalization of drugs so that our prisons won't be filled with young men and women who committed victimless crimes, crying out for the right to own yourself. Thank you kind Syrian, for your message of freedom.
klink
Friday, July 01, 2005
Viajar
Tonight Marye and I fly to Seattle. We'll rent a car and tour the Oregon coast, northern California, the Oregon and Washington Cascades, and arrive in Mazama for Steve and Yarrow's wedding on July 9.
Places we'll be camping:
* Beachside
* Harris Beach
* Del Norte
* Jedediah
* Crater Lake
* Viento
* Alta Lake
* Mazama
Places we'll be camping:
* Beachside
* Harris Beach
* Del Norte
* Jedediah
* Crater Lake
* Viento
* Alta Lake
* Mazama
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