The Punning Pundit: June 2004 Archives

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June 29, 2004

Inquiring minds...

Real Men Eat Quiche: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal

Posted by Andrew at 10:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

here seems to be an evil plan which is progressing...

mystica.cc Harry Potter Book 6 Title Confirmed

"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" Eh. No ring to that one, but we'll see...

Posted by Andrew at 04:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

It's all a hoax, people

Wired 12.07: Copy This Article & Win Quick Cash!

The email started with a list of recipients that was longer, and arguably more impressive, than the holy lineage at the start of the New Testament: dozens of people from Harvard and HarperCollins and The Wall Street Journal. This was a highbrow crowd. Then it got down to business. I was invited by a lawyer named Pearlas Sanborn to participate in a Microsoft/AOL/Intel email beta test designed to help Internet Explorer maintain its dominance in the marketplace.

Good article about hoaxes...

Posted by Andrew at 03:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Bloggy goodness Pt2

Mu.Nu

Looking for a new Blog to read? Bored at work and want something quick to take your mind of the drudgery? There's a new Blog showcase you may well be interested in...

Its such a neat idea that I'm putting it directly onto the sidebar without putting it through the normal vetting process. "some people" said I shouldn't, but what do they know? I'm optimistic!

(I really don't know how that turned into a political rant...)

Posted by Andrew at 01:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sovereignty

What Makes Iraq a Sovereign Nation? - No treaty power. An occupying army. What can the Iraqis do for themselves? By Sudhir Muralidhar

So, Iraq is roughly as Sovereign as California. Perhaps they'd like to be officialy enrolled as "texas east"?

Posted by Andrew at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 28, 2004

WTF?

:: Xinhuanet - English: Sovereignty formally transferred to Iraqi interim gov't ::

The coalition authorities formally transferred power to the Iraqi interim government on Monday, two days ahead of the scheduled June 30 in a bid to thwart escalating guerrilla attacks.

I would have been just as happy to occupy them for the next 10 years. What is our official legal standing in Iraq now?

Posted by Andrew at 01:11 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

June 26, 2004

Bloggy goodness

I've updated the links section. Take a look.

I don't have time to go over each of them by name, but rest assured that I wouldn't put them up there if they weren't quality blogs that I read daily...

Also, Ayn Clouter Has a poll up. She asks a different question than I think she wants answered, but the poll is interesting nonetheless...

To the Question: Who should become President if Kerry is impeached, the answer is, of course, the Vice President.

To the Question: Who do I want to become president if Kerry is impeached, the Answer is, of course, myself...

To the Question Who would do the most damage to Kerry were that person on the ticket the answer is: John Ashcroft...

I sersiously hope that Dean is wrong about Madam Clouter being a man. That would cause my nefarious plans to go awry...

Posted by Andrew at 01:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

OED: Limerick

The OEDILF - Forum Powered by Infopop

There is a team attempting to rewrite the Oxford English Dictionary (that master repository of all things English-language) in Limerick form. And they are doing it-- in what seems to be a throwback to a great punch line by Douglas Adams-- in alphabetical order. They are hoping to have it done sometime in the next century...

Seriously.

This is precisely the sort of obsessive, geeky thing the World Wide Web was invented for, right?

(Thanks to reader (and good friend) Dazed_and_Confucius for the link...)

Posted by Andrew at 12:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 25, 2004

Latin.

So, when all was said and done, I had over 2 Megs of Latin homework. By way of comparison, all my other papers over the last 3 quarters have come to a combined 1.5 Megs...

Posted by Andrew at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Well well!

Moneycontrol.com - News Detail

Link comes from a reader...

An Indian company could power internet giant Google's next killer application. Geodesic Information Systems, a Mumbai-based company listed on the BSE, is believed to be running a pilot project for what could some day be the Google Instant Messenger.

I wonder if it will have all the features I want. Especially the RSS reader...

Posted by Andrew at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

If life were like a game of poker...

The Poor Man: Poker With Dick Cheney

Colin Powell: Ladies and gentlemen. We have accumulated overwhelming evidence that Mr. Cheney's poker hand is far, far better than two pair. Note this satellite photo, taken three minutes ago when The Editors went to get more chips. In it we clearly see the back sides of five playing cards, arranged in a poker hand. Defector reports have assured us that Mr. Cheney's hand was already well advanced at this stage. Later, Mr. Cheney drew only one card. Why only one card? Would a man without a strong hand choose only one card? We are absolutely convinced that Mr. Cheney has at least a full house.

Posted by Andrew at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

We got a C+

Grades by name of country

Posted by Andrew at 11:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 23, 2004

Neat Trick.

Wired News: Nano Killers Aim at Mini Tumors

I hope it works...

Posted by Andrew at 12:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 22, 2004

Yet more pirate fun

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

Posted by Andrew at 11:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Game time:

So, when you study Game Theory, there are a number of different games that are learned early as standard Reference works. Prisoner's Dilemma is probably the most famous...

Prisoner's Dilemma is a game in which two players following rational strategy end up worse off than if they both had perused another course. It's basically the short, mathematical version of Hobbes's work...

There is another game, called the Pirate Game. The Pirate game involves 5 pirates trying to split up booty. I'd always seen it referred to in passing, with the solution given as a "Refresher" as the author went on to explain some other point. I sat down recently and figured it out. Below, I'll state the problem and give 25 points to anyone who comes up with the solution. You're on your honor that you haven't figured it out before...

There are 5 pirates, 1,2,3,4, and 5. They have just plundered a ship, and have 100 gold pieces to split between them. These pirates are democratic, so they get to vote on how the loot is split. However, pirate 1 is the captain, and as such he gets first say on how the division goes. Then everyone (including him) gets to vote on it. If there is a tie, he decides the tie. If he loses the vote, they shoot him and Pirate 2 gets to try, with the same rules. The pirates get to propose in sequential order until there is no one left. Assume the Pirates are Perfectly Rational Beings...

How much loot does Pirate 1 end up with?

Posted by Andrew at 01:48 AM | Comments (20) | TrackBack

B5 + Star Trek=goodness!

Peeve Farm

That would be so cool.

Posted by Andrew at 01:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 21, 2004

Oh gods be good...

Pacific Beach, June 14, 2004

You really just need to look at it...

Posted by Andrew at 02:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

White Knight is up!

Dean's World: Godspeed Mike Melville

With any luck, all will go smoothly...
I'll update more later...

Posted by Andrew at 06:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Which deity am I?

Athena
Athena

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

Posted by Andrew at 01:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

He's Back!

Random Jottings: We're back...

And seems to have fallen in love with the country all over again...

Posted by Andrew at 12:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 19, 2004

Happy Juneteenth!

JUNETEENTH WORLD WIDE CELEBRATION

The United States is, and of right ought to be, about freeing slaves. On this date in 1865, a group of human beings-- who had been held in bondage by Americans-- learned that they had been freed...

While the 4th of July celebrates bold and necessary words, Juneteenth Celebrates a time when those words were put into action. Today, let every American celebrate Freedom. And may we remember to be always vigilant lest we trample the freedom of others...

Posted by Andrew at 06:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tough Choice

So, the choices for the catholic church are: John Kerry, who isn't as anti-abortion as the Church might like. On the other hand, there's George Bush, who the Pope thinks may be the Anti-Christ

So far, they are leaning towards the Anti-Christ...

(note, I have no idea how much this article atualy refects the thinking of the pope...)

Via The American Street

Posted by Andrew at 10:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 18, 2004

We seem to be losing where it matters...

Poll of Saudis shows wide support for bin Laden's views

Though there is hope:

The poll showed strong support for political reforms and allowing women to play a greater role in society. Almost two-thirds said they favored allowing women to drive, something they are currently banned from doing.

While support for political reforms, particularly elections, was high, few Saudis viewed liberal reformers with much favor.

Posted by Andrew at 07:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I would like to Concur with my esteemed colleague

The Queen of All Evil: Hey Al Qaeda

Posted by Andrew at 07:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 17, 2004

I passed Latin!!!

Not by much, mind. But I eked out my C-. This means I never again have to study a language...

I think I'm going to ritually burn all my remaining papers, tests, homework assignments and notes...

Posted by Andrew at 11:49 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Vanishing act

Once Again, the Bush Administration Is Worse Than I Had Imagined: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal

Great, so now we're "disappearing" prisoners. Didn't we fight the cold war to put an end to that sort of thing?

Posted by Andrew at 11:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 16, 2004

Best Computer ever!

Hot damn! I wonder how well it cools?

Posted by Andrew at 09:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

De minimis non curat lex

Drew Vogel over at terminus has issued a challenge. To wit:

There was a recent case in New Jersey which found that "Ladies Nights" (that is; the practice of discounting drinks for women on certain nights) at drinking establishments (to differentiate them from the legal sense of the word "bar"), was discriminatory to men. One of the arguments advanced by the establishment in question was that De minimis non curat lex or "the law does not bother with trifles". The challenge before me is to determine whether the fact that the law has bothered with this case makes it more than a trifle, or if the phrase is simply wrong.

To do this, I will analyze the reasoning behind each world. First looking at the world where things are important because the law notices them, and then looking at the world where the law looks at unimportant things. This is called "arguing from outcomes", yet it proves itself a useful tool. Then I shall pass a judgment. Finally, I shall shut my computer down and study for my last final; this one being in Poli-sci...

In the first case, we have a world in which the law looks only at things which are of import. There is actually some good prima-fascia evidence behind this: if someone didn't find something to be of import; they wouldn't go through the bother of suing...

This argument only holds true in the general sense, however: There are people who enjoy putting others through the misery of a lawsuit. While they are a small minority, it is enough, I think to discredit this line of thought.

The biggest problem with the "Lex non curat" doctrin is that it partakes of Post hoc ergo Propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this) reasoning. Since the law plainly does care about things I might otherwise consider foolish; the law plainly does care about things which I would consider silly (the gay marriage thing, for instance). Which brings me back to the exercise above: Who gets to decide what standard we use?

The other world, the one where the law looks at unimportant things seems like the one in which we actually live. This is based only on my own subjective thought, and with no scholarly knowledge of law (merely how laws are made-- a different subject!) I cannot make an educated assessment.

None of which answers the question: Does this case prove the Latin saying? Does the Latin Saying prove the case? These are not mutually exclusive answers, and the answer is: Neither. This case has merit. The plaintiff is disgruntled enough to have given up much of his own time to correct a moral wrong. The citizens of New Jersey care enough to fight and argue against the ruling. Vociferously. But this case would have merit regardless of its being brought-- the law does not need to give its imprimatur to make it so...

Because this law is not a trifle, we cannot disprove the case on the basis of it. Therefore the question is invalid.

Thoughts?

Posted by Andrew at 01:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 15, 2004

Grammatical irregularity

Susanna Dokupil on Supreme Court & Pledge of Allegiance on National Review Online

"One nation, under God, invisible...."

Perhaps we all remember the day those mysterious words we memorized by rote suddenly started to make sense. Republik. Forwichit. InDIvisible. After years of incantation, the concepts finally crystallized into a powerful statement encapsulating the core principles of our country.

One man tried to take that experience away.

The reason making sense of that passage is so difficult is the weird enjambment of "under god" into a foreign place. I remember distinctly the day I realized that "indivisible" attached it self to "one nation", and not to "god". If we remove "under god" only to clarify this point, well, I could live with that...

Posted by Andrew at 12:23 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 14, 2004

More Christian movies, please!

"Jesus Christ, Superstar" by Amy Sullivan

Open up the Bible to practically any page (okay, skip Lamentations) and you can find enough classic morality tales and adventure stories to fill dozens of books and movies. Looking for war? Romance? Spy thriller? Buddy movie? Fantasy? Action/adventure? It's all there. Reclaiming some of the Christian market would cut into the profits of Tim LaHaye and Mel Gibson; provide a richer interpretation of Scripture; fatten the bottom lines of Hollywood and New York, and just might save American politics, to boot. Amen.

Posted by Andrew at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What a great blog!

Today In Alternate History

Posted by Andrew at 05:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thank you, Mr. Hitchens

A Moral Chernobyl - Prepare for the worst of Abu Ghraib. By Christopher Hitchens

Yes, but what about the ticking bomb? Listen: There's always going to be a ticking bomb somewhere. Some of these will go off, and it's just as likely to be in my part of Washington, D.C., as anywhere else. But we shall be fighting a war against jihad for decades to come. And the jihadists will continue to make big mistakes based on their mad theory. And they are not superhuman: They can be infiltrated, bribed, and turned. You don't have to tell them what time of day it is, or where they are, or when the next meal will be served. (Though it must be served.) But you must not bring in that pig or that electrode.

awha! How about just the one pig, just for the one guy?

Posted by Andrew at 04:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Flag day.

I don't want to diss the Flag on her day, but the recent Supreme Court decision is the perfect opportunity to unfurl my own pledge:

I pledge allegiance to the Constitution
Of the United States of America
And to the republic
Which it created
One nation indivisible
With Liberty and Justice for all

Perhaps not an improvement over the original, but definitely better than what we have. Frankly, I don't want to salute a piece of cloth, I want to salute my actual document, and the nation it founded. I no one swears to lay down their lives for a piece of nice cloth, but they do all the time for the finest document ever produced by the mind of Man...

Posted by Andrew at 03:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 13, 2004

Outsourcing! Insourcing!

An Outsourcing Finger Exercise: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal

Not what I was looking for, but interesting nonetheless...

Now, does anyone know of a defect for the "Gains for trade" model?

Posted by Andrew at 10:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sold!

Why the FCC should die | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Getting rid of the FCC and replacing it with laws and the free market would remove a weapon from those threatened by new ideas and new profit streams. I wonder if I could ever happen...

Posted by Andrew at 11:11 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Contest:

Dean is running a contest. Click over there to see what it entails. My entry is below the spoiler line...

Anyone who wants to send me a entry can do so in my comments section...

There were two main results of the defenestration of Prague: firstly, and most serendipitously, was the plethora of callipygian women who descended upon the kerfulffle (discombobulating the persnickety men)-- this juxtaposition of high politics and base lust caused the assembled men, (many of whom were quite flibbertigibbet to begin with) to let out the only appropriate sound: a sort of onomatopoeic whine of synapses misfiring.

Posted by Andrew at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 10, 2004

By gods, yes

Cooking Up Excuses With the Pentagon - How to torture alleged terrorists and get away with it. By Phillip Carter

Posted by Andrew at 02:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A great American has passed on...

CNN.com - Ray Charles dies at 73 - Jun 10, 2004

Posted by Andrew at 01:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 09, 2004

Clouting Authority

Have I mentioned my unremitting (and most probably unrequited) crush on Ms. Clouter. I can only hope that there is no Mr. Clouter to foul my chances...

Anyway, she's back to blogging. With any luck her system won't drop dead again...

Posted by Andrew at 12:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 08, 2004

Snork!

Highway Department says stop messing with our slogan

So, the unofficial texas state motto is really an anti-litter campaign?

Posted by Andrew at 12:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 07, 2004

Win Conditions

I wanted to comment a bit fuller about the link directly below. This occupation has been handled poorly. Not to take anything away from the soldiersthey seem to have handled their orders as well as possible. It is those orders themselves which must be questioned...

It is beyond question that we haven't been doing well since the end of "major combat operations". The reason for this is that the Bush Administration hasn't a clue how to run an occupation in such a way that creates a democracy. Let me write a bit about what we are trying to create:

In Saddam's Iraq, rule was a thing of force. If Saddam, or anyone, wanted something all they had to do was take it. Any law desired: it had only to be imposed. The only thing in Saddam's Iraq capable of stopping raw power and bloodshed was more raw power and bloodshed. Saddam was, in the oldest sense of the word, a Tyrant. The world is well rid of him...

In America we have a different system. Our government is not allowed to do a great many things. If raw power and bloodshed are used, it is widely perceived as wrong and there are defined channels for stopping it and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Even officers of the lawarmed agents of the stateare held accountable for their use of force. Misconduct with that raw power is punished most severely. The world gleefully looks to us as an example of what government should look like...

Our Job in Iraqa Job we took on of our own free electionis to take Saddam's Iraq and make it look as much like Our America as the Iraqi people will admit to under their custom. They will put their own flourish and shine on itevery free people does. But the Rule of Law will be obeyed; the rule of power will become a half-remembered nightmare...

This has nothing to do with turning on lights. This has a bit to do with teaching children. This has little to do with feeding people. These things are not the measure of our success...

What measures our success is the amount of legal courts that are being set up. What measures our success is how well the Iraqi police are behaving. What measures our success is the Free and competitive local Iraqi elections. What measures our success is how well the Iraqi people feel their government speaks for them, rather than being imposed on them. By these measures I believe us to be failing...

Fallujah is basically an independent country. The Kurds have just demanded that they be granted powers of nullification over laws of the Central Government. And every time Iraq Wobbles, Ossama bin Laden wins...

I don't know what Kerry will do once he takes office. No one can. But I've heard that his plan looks a lot like Bush's. This to me is a good thing. Bush's plan is basically sound. The execution of that plan has been inept. Bush needs to go, not just for America, but for Iraq as well...

Posted by Andrew at 01:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Rumsfeld: Defeatist?

Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror

The United States and its allies are winning some battles in the terrorism war but may be losing the broader struggle against Islamic extremism that is terrorism's source, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday.

Some might have suggested coming up with a coherent plan before going off to war...

(thanks American Street)

Posted by Andrew at 08:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 05, 2004

I'm not saying anything Negative about Reagan today...

Ronald Reagan, Party Animal - The man who taught Republicans to be irresponsible. By Timothy Noah

But when Mr. Noah does...

Posted by Andrew at 04:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Requiescat in Pace

Ronald Reagan Dies at Age 93 (washingtonpost.com)

Ronald Reagan is Dead. I'll not say anything bad about him for a while.

Posted by Andrew at 02:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 04, 2004

Money, money, money

So, there is a new initiative on the ballot which would call for a US$3billion bond to finance Stem Cell research...

I say let's do it. Firstly, taking out debt to do research is an investment, not an expenditure. I fully expect that the extra revenues we'll receive as the result of successful research (longer-lived tax payers, if nothing else!) will make up for the shortfall...

Also, it's a nice way to tweak George II's nose. If it were all about that, we couldn't afford it. But like I said, I expect this measure to pay itself off over time...

Update: I misspelled initiative above. Fixed. I almost spelled it "mispelled". Wouldn't that have been apropos?

Posted by Andrew at 10:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 03, 2004

Goodness!

CIA Director Tenet Resigns

Posted by Andrew at 08:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 02, 2004

Hot Damn!

CBC News:Launch date set for private rocket's launch into space

Posted by Andrew at 09:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Dirge for Diggory

In honor of the 3rd Harry Potter film. But this song gives away the end of the 4th book...

(to the Tune of Eleanor Rigby, with apologies to the Beatles and J.K. Rowling)

Ah, look at all the Hogwart's People
Ah, look at all the Hogwart's People

Cedric Diggory picks up his broom from the field where a game has been
Lives only to play
Looks out the window, wearing the tie that he keeps on the knob on the door
For Dumbledor

All the Hogwart's People
Where do they all come from ?
All the Hogwart's People
Where do they all belong ?

Arthur Weasley writing the words of a law that no one will hear
No one cares.
Look at him working. Raiding Malfoy in the night when there's nobody there
What do muggles care?

All the Hogwart's People
Where do they all come from?
All the Hogwart's People
Where do they all belong?

Cedric Diggory died in the field and was buried as Voldemort came
The Death Eaters came
Arthur Weasley wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
The rest'll be saved