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June 29, 2006
Moment of Silence, Please
Jim Baen has died.
Posted by Andrew at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 28, 2006
Duck!
capshunika 's FotoPage - Fotopages.com
Posted by Andrew at 12:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 26, 2006
Giving action to get action...
>Gizmodo, Smart Cards for Prostitues
It's not all free candy and soda pop for Mysore's ladies, however, given that the smart cards will hold their medical history. Obviously, the idea here is to encourage the prostitutes to get checked for sexually transmitted diseases more often. The smart cards will interact with an Indian computer known as a Simputer, letting doctors easily look up the prostitutes' medical data.(Update: fixed URL)Posted by Andrew at 02:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Riker baby!
Your results:
You are Will Riker
Will Riker
95%
Deanna Troi
75%
James T. Kirk (Captain)
65%
Worf
60%
Jean-Luc Picard
60%
Beverly Crusher
55%
Spock
52%
Uhura
45%
Geordi LaForge
45%
Data
40%
Mr. Sulu
40%
Mr. Scott
35%
Chekov
30%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)
25%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)
20%
At times you are self-centered
but you have many friends.
You love many women, but the right
woman could get you to settle down.
Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character are you?" quiz...
Posted by Andrew at 12:00 PM | Comments (1)
June 25, 2006
Fed humor..
Posted by Andrew at 12:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2006
Rad
I/O Brush: The World as the Palette
Take a look at the video...
Posted by Andrew at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2006
Minimum wage
There are two basic theories about how the economy functions. One looks at the supply of goods and services. The other looks at the demand for the same. Republicans (and the right-wing in general) tend to favor policies which are based around the supply-side. Democrats tend to... well, not talk about economic theory so much. But they advocate polices which have a strong demand-side component. All of which my readers ought to know. I’m going to advocate for a closer look at the demand side...
First, I want to give a brief overview of supply-side. Basically, the supply side holds that people would by stuff if prices were lower, and prices would drop if there were more stuff on the market. Therefore supply-side policies tend to favor putting money into the hands of people who will create more stuff, with the expectation that this will cause prices to drop and make the economy hum along like a the sorts of machinery which tax cuts make affordable...
There is a definite place for this sort of thinking. When an economy is at full employment and inflation is starting to set in, this might be an effective tool. Using this tool under the current situation is counter-productive. In today’s economy there is enough stuff on the market and still a surplus of cash. Therefore companies are using the money to buy back their stock. Surplus cash is not being used in a way that will improve the economy, but rather in a way that makes companies less accountable. This is non-optimal...
The other idea—one that we ought to be doing more of—is demand-side. Basically it holds that consumers are the basis of an economy. When consumers have more money they are able to afford more goods, and will therefore spend it on things that will help the economy. A rising tide of worker wages lifts all containerships...
The easiest way of getting money into the hands of consumers is to simply raise their wages. Employers are loath to do this (if a worker is willing to work for US$5.15/hr, why should an employer pay her US$6.15?), but the federal and state governments have the power to set a minimum wage. There is a strong correlation between higher minimum wages and job creation...
Let me contrast the two theories this way: how many TVs does IBM need to buy? How about Bill Gates? Giving either of them more money won’t help the economy. On the other wrist, If I had more money I’d buy a new TV right now. In fact, of the 30 people I work with, about 10 of us would buy new TVs if we had more money. The rest would buy other things. Prices are not falling as fast as a minimum wage increase would make wages rise. (In fact, prices are not falling. Period.) Therefore a minimum wage increase would be of benefit to the American economy. More importantly: it would be of benefit to Americans....
Posted by Andrew at 01:12 PM | Comments (11)
Gay=insane
On the face of it, this is pretty bad.
A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position.I wonder:
If being gay is a dishonorable discharge, but being insane is a medical discharge (not dishonorable) then perhaps classifying being gay as being insane is actually meant to help the gays. They won't have a dishonorable discharge on their records, nor would they have to explain to each employer that they were discharged for being gay. This move by the pentagon may seem insane, but might actually be compassionate...Of course, real compassion would be to have the laws changed to reflect the reality that gay people are just as fully human as straight people. But that’s not going to happen with this congress and administration...
Posted by Andrew at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cleaning out the inbox:
Just some articles I’ve been holding to comment on:
A small victory in the culture wars. The good guys won here! The Episcopalian church has decided that women, too, are human beings. As human beings they are capable of offering moral instruction and being good leaders. If I were Christian, I’d look long and hard a the Episcopalian church; they seem to have a better understanding of the universe than most churches. Of course, since they only admit to one deity that grasp is perforce kind of shaky (This is humor, for the irony impaired)
Even in games, episodes are better. Though I’m not sure how much more actually gameplay time you get. I guess time will tell...
Bubble wrap! click and find out...
This article qualified for me what it is I miss about my most recent EX. And, of course, since the qualities he names are not exclusive to her—but rather are general trademarks of a relationship—I don’t have to miss her...
Games are not sexy. This penetrating article explores why that might be. Sorry about the juvenile penetration joke...
This article is stupid on so many levels. See, games can be addictive, sure. But not the way drugs and alcohol are. More like the way food is. Humans play games. All higher-level animals play games. It’s actually a sign of higher brain functions. It’s possible to use games to compensate for some other, missing, function. The problem is not then with the game but rather with the player. The same way food or sex addition is...
Quick! Name all the Demons!
Are graphing calculators necessary? A friend of mine saysno...
And now my links bar is clear of all things I’ve wanted to bring to your attention. Until I wake up tomorrow, anyway...
Posted by Andrew at 12:41 AM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2006
Happy Juneteenth!
On this day, back in 1865, a group of Americans found out that their government now considered them human. It’s sort of embarrassing that America didn’t say this (or mean it) on July 4th 1776, but better late than never...
So, if you’re an American, take a moment to celebrate this important date. Symbolically remove a pair of chains. Swear at a politician. Become a better citizen by studying a pressing issue in your community. Read your Constitution...
Posted by Andrew at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Whoomp! There it is!
Well, the Democrats have released their national platform for the 2006 election cycle. Me likey!
Make Health Care More Affordable: Fix the prescription drug program by putting people ahead of drug companies and HMO's, eliminating wasteful subsidies, negotiating lower drug prices and ensuring the program works for all seniors; invest in stem cell and other medical research.Lower Gas Prices and Achieve Energy Independence: Crack down on price gouging; eliminate billions in subsidies for oil and gas companies and use the savings to provide consumer relief and develop American alternatives, including biofuels; promote energy efficient technology.
Help Working Families: Raise the minimum wage; repeal tax giveaways that encourage companies to move jobs overseas.
Cut College Costs: Make college tuition deductible from taxes; expand Pell grants and slash student loan costs.
Ensure Dignified Retirement: Prevent the privatization of Social Security; expand savings incentives; and ensure pension fairness.
Require Fiscal Responsibility: Restore the budget discipline of the 1990s that helped eliminate deficits and spur record economic growth.
What each of these points have in common is that they address my needs. Or the needs of people like me. Democrats are the party who get it about my needs being real and directly serviceable. That’s why I’ll be voting the strait party ticket this year...
Posted by Andrew at 12:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 15, 2006
Media res.
The other day I had the misfortune of meeting the author ofthis book. The man was a hack...
His hackery was made evident when he would discuss the most recent pair of elections and say “somehow” the public was grossly uninformed. “Somehow” the public thought Al Gore was a liar. “Somehow” the public believed John Kerry was a monster...
I’ll grant that the Democratic campaigns in each case were poorly designed and run. At the same time it is the media’s job to separate fact from fiction. If the public is grossly uninformed—if Americans still believe that we’ve found WMD’s in Iraq, if Americans believe that Al Gore claimed to invent the internet (he didn’t), if American think John Kerry took two different positions on the same bill (he didn’t)—the media is failing to separate fact from talking point. Our democracy suffers as a result..
Of course, the same point can be made in a well crafted cartoon:
Posted by Andrew at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
The complete plays of Shakespeare!
Explore Shakespeare with Google
Posted by Andrew at 01:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 13, 2006
Why we still need affirmative action.
I’ve done a lot of reading over these many years about how America is finally "past" it’s racist tendencies. We don’t need affirmative action the theory goes because we no longer care about race. Now, as it happens, I have a hard time even believing that race" describes a real phenomenon. As it also happens, I’m in the distinct minority...
Racism is a word we use to describe the phenomenon of looking at another person who has certain physical differences and seeing someone who is less human than you are. It is a failure of empathy. As such it not only dehumanizes the victim, but also the perpetrator...
It took me decades to understand these signs; the point seemed self-evident. It was not self-evident to the people the signs were directed at (my parents and grandparents)—which is why they were treated like “n-----s”, rather than like cohuman beings. Perhaps some day this whole sorry species of ours will get it right. In the mean time the victims of Katrina become the victims of America—and we all deserve to burn for it...
(Mother jones link via Ezra Klein
Posted by Andrew at 12:44 PM | Comments (1)
Basic Problems
Posted by Andrew at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2006
What it means to be a “nice guy”
There is this pervasive social idea that “nice” people don’t get laid. Or much of anything else. Amanda steps up to debate the idea that nice guys ought to expect tail just for being nice. The post she is responding to involves a guy who claims to want to be feminist whining about how this won’t get him into bed with the sort of buxom young thang he is used to. There were so many bad premises and false starts that it’s a miracle Amanda arrived at a valid conclusion...
Let me just start off by laying out my own beliefs. I’d love to call myself a feminist. Insofar "feminism is the radical notion that women are human", I’ll roll with it. Since I tend to feel that way about every-damned-one is human (replace the relevant bits of that statement with the “race” or creed of your choice and you’ll see what I mean), I tend to call myself a “humanist”. This means that in my view, men are from... Earth. Women are from... Earth. Some of us want to visit the Delta, some the Obelisk, but everyone wants to travel...
So what does it mean to be “nice”? Well, in my experience, “nice” means “spineless” and “socially awkward”. When a “nice” guy meets a girl he likes he does everything he can for her. He treats her as either a child or a goddess—but never a co-equal human being. If he treats her like a child, he’s showing that he doesn’t respect her enough for her to return that respect. If he treats her like a goddess, he’s showing that he doesn’t respect himself enough for her to respect him. Either way: this guy may have made a friend. But never a lover....
Non-nice people come in as many varieties as a pack of flavored condoms. I won’t defend each and every choice—some are indefensible. I will say that non-nice people are capable of communicating desire. Effectively communicating this desire is a pretty universal key to most people’s private chastity belts. In fact, nearly every other lock is extremely personalized. No wonder” nice” guys can’t get to first base; they can’t communicate their desire. Nor are they able to pick up on the subtle cues that a woman would really quite badly like to be nailed to the nearest sturdy object. This is the “social awkward” part...
When looked at as a whole, it becomes quite clear: feminist men aren’t “nice”. Indeed, it is quite clear to me that spineless and awkward men aren’t going to get laid no matter how egalitarian the world becomes. It isn’t that women like men to be assholes, merely that men and women both like their partners to have gonads. Our species’ survival kind of depends on it...
Posted by Andrew at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2006
White Stripes + Lego!
Posted by Andrew at 10:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 08, 2006
Word to the WISE
As some of you may recall, I’ve given Linux a try a few times. I love the idea of Linux. I love the idea of an operating system that doesn’t care what browser I use, or what word processor I’m typing on, or any of the scores of things that Microsoft is invested in. Yet no mater how much I like Linux in theory, its execution seems lacking...
Specifically, its executables seem lacking. Here’s the process when I use Windows:
1) I download the file
2) I double-click the file that ends in “.exe” or “.msi”
3) I hit “I agree” once then “next” a bunch of times
4.1) I may have to reboot.
4.2) I use the damned programHere’s how that runs when I use Linux
1) I download the file
2) I stare at the file helplessly while I try to figure out what to do next. I’ve heard rumors of something called “apt-get”? Where is that? the hell? I dunno what to do. Why did I even bother with Linux? Gah! This is so frustrating..
3) Abandon the attempt. Reformat the hard drive to remove Linux. (Reformatting, you see, is easier than installing a program)It isn’t like Linux developers are blind to this problem. Linspire has developed an entire business model around it. Other developers use a similar method of program-delivery. Basically each distribution vendor takes responsibility for each bit of software that will go onto user’s computers, and gives it whatever tweaks and bits that will make it work for their users. Imagine if the easiest, most simple method of getting new programs was to download them from Microsoft...
Linux is making great strides towards becoming a viable desktop operating system. No matter how pretty Linux’s new eye candy, no matter how "secure"* is, no matter the great new features, if I can’t decide to install a great new program no one has ever heard of before—or even an older program the 6 person staff who make my distro don’t use— Linux has no utility for me. The problem is solvable, if the will is there...
*I have this sneaking suspicion that half of Linux’s security reputation rests on this very inability to install programs.
Posted by Andrew at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2006
Adorable!
Posted by Andrew at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Senate votes to protect actual, existing marriages.
CNN.com - Senate�blocks same-sex marriage ban - Jun 7, 2006
Or, rather, it couldn’t quite bring itself to destroy actual, existing marriages. But the result is almost the same...
Posted by Andrew at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2006
Quiz!
You scored as D'Artagnan. You are D'Artagnan, the brash Gascon who embodies the high ideals of the Musketeer. You are sometime your own worst enemy, but your motives are pure and your character is unimpeachable. You are destined for great things and passionate (though often ill-fated) love.
D'Artagnan
80% Aramis
70% Athos
65% Mercedes
60% Richelieu
55% Porthos
40% Edmund Dantes
35% Rochefort
25%
Which Dumas character are you? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.comPosted by Andrew at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate
So today we Californians have our primary election. Being a patriotic American, I woke myself early in order to study candidates and propositions before heading on down to the old-folks home which serves as a polling center...
I know what you guys are wondering: what did he listen to on his way there? What song came on in the booth? Well here’s a special Election day edition of the Tuesday (non-random) several:
1) America (Santana)
2) Star Spangled Banner (Jimmie Hendrix live version)
3) American Tune (Paul Simon)
4) America, Fuck Yeah! (Team America Sound Track)
5) Back in the USSR (the Beatles)Man, when Jimmie came on and I was surrounded by old people and he hits the distortion—reminded me of what I was doing in there. Rock and Roll is the official music of Freedom; Jimmie playing the anthem tells you why. I’ve never experienced the pain and dissonance of “rockets’ red glare” quite like Hendrix’s tune. Then he holds it so long, so laboriously, so... wildly—one begins to wonder if we ever will see our flag again...
Anyway. Go vote. And if you bring your iPod, let me know what you play...
Posted by Andrew at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
President Bush welcomes new Immigrants.
Watch the background:
We obviously need to fix the illegal immigration problem. Had those guys been terrorists rather than decent, hard working would-be future Americans, Dick Cheney might well be president today. That’s a serious problem. Obviously cameras, a fence, armed guards, a helicopter, and a television crew (all things Bush brings with him) aren’t good enough...
I have some more thoughts on the subject, but I’ll let you guys think about it for a bit...
Posted by Andrew at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
John Weidner Hates America
In reading this charming post, John Weidner shows himself to be an enemy of the American Revolution. He has forgotten that freedom does not mean physical security, but rather the ability to be secure from random abuses of governmental power. But enough of my prose for a moment, let’s look at his blatherings:
Under ideal circumstances there should probably have been no public arrests at all. The junior jihadis should have been quietly whisked off to Gitmo, so as not to alert others that they are being watched.Does John Weidner really want to give to every politician and every future politician and every conceivable future politician the right to make secret arrests of citizens? Whatever he thinks of George Bush, does he truly believe that Bush’s successor or Bush’s successor’s successor wouldn’t use this power for purely personal ends? Can Mr. Weidner not think of any single politician in all of America who wouldn’t have him—John Weidner-- locked up for his political beliefs?
We the public know who the Government is arresting not to show the face of the evil we stand against, but rather so that we the people know that the Government is, in fact, fighting against evil and not us. What does Mr. Weidner think Liberty means if it doesn’t have at its core the right to know and decide how the government is using its vast power? And how can we citizens know and make those decisions if the government isn’t required to tell us what it’s up to? Indeed, the whole argument in favor of the Second Amendment (by people on the Right) is to keep the government too scared of us citizens to cause soviet-style disappearances.
I don’t trust anyone with the power to make citizens "disappear". The fact that Mr. Weidner does says frightening things about his belief in liberty...
Posted by Andrew at 12:38 AM | Comments (1)
Gravitas-off
Posted by Andrew at 12:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 05, 2006
The Competition
The Ferrett has a nice post today about why Borders sucks. He doesn’t frame it this way, or even think about it this way, but he sure does talk about it...
The rest of us sighed with relief…. Because Sophie sucked.
It’s not that Sophie was deluded; she was great with customers. She’d go off and talk to them for minutes on end, holding up the line, disappearing to have some happy, dithering conversation when the counter was busy and we needed help. She had been assigned to take care of the art section, but her shelves were always a friggin’ disaster because Sophie would spend her time yapping to anyone who came within earshot, forgetting to shelve or straighten books.
Unfortunately, the things Sophie was good at were not the things you needed to be a good book store clerk, let alone management.
No. Sophie did not suck. Borders sucks. Imagine you’re a customer (most of you are). You walk into a bookstore and everyone on the floor ignores you because they’re straitening shelves. No problem, you think. I’ll just go to the customer service desk. Which is empty. And no one comes by. And then they point you to a computer to look it up yourself...
This happens to me time and again at Borders. It’s why I work for Barnes and noble. Every employee and store within the Barnes and Noble family is judged on 4 things:
1) Putting the book in the customer’s hand
2) Offering to ship to home (or call another store if the customer wishes) if we can’t find the book
3) Fast Cashiering (1 register open for each 4 people in line.)
4) Offering the membership.I’ll grant that the last one is way more important for the company than the shopper...
This means that every single person at a Barnes and Noble is dedicated to helping customers find books. Think of something which you-- as a shopper-- want when you come into a bookstore. Is it on the list, or covered by something on the list? If it isn’t, let us know; we’d like to fix that...
Customers want to browse the store, find any books they’re looking for, get recommendations, and—when it’s time to go—have the “giving up their money” part of the process be as painless as possible. Everything else we do (receiving the books, shelving the books, straitening the books) is to support our customer’s expectations. When the support functions become primary aims—as they have in the case of Border’s books—customer satisfaction plummets. Sophie can play for my team any day of the week. The Ferrett would be fired or eased out within three months. And that’s why Barnes and Noble is the world’s largest bookstore...
Oh, and for the record, I’ll go this far:
In support of part 4...
Posted by Andrew at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2006
Canadians avert attack.
My co-workers have been asking why Canada was attacked. To them it’s incomprehensible; Canada, the sentiment runs is not engaged in Iraq, and therefore ought to be safe. If you buy into the Bushian logic that Iraq is the War on Terror, this would make some sense. But to believe that would be to believe that This war has been going on since roughly March 2003, or perhaps September 2001. Al Qaeda has been at war for a lot longer...
As much as I hate to agree with certain right-wing elements, it seems to bear repeating: Al Qaeda hates us because we are free. They don’t hate democracy, or the statue of Liberty, or our constitution. They hate our freedom. Specifically, they hate the freedom of the 51% of us who are female. They hate the freedom of the 20% of us who are atheists. They hate the freedom of the 10% of us who are gay. They hate the freedom of those of us who are Jewish. They hate my freedom to be an outright and outspoken pagan. Separation of Church and state? They’re against it...
They hate the freedom of human beings to be human beings. To live, love, laugh, cry and be merry, however they are called to experience this life. They don’t believe that there is more than one correct way to live*. They believe in a one-size fits all shapeless garment cut to the specifications mentioned in a specific book most of Humanity doesn’t believe in. The Canadians have a system which encourages its citizens to find their happiness. The enemy hates that. And so Canada got attacked...
*’An it harm none’Posted by Andrew at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
Ummm, wha?
Posted by Andrew at 07:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2006
Be excellent to each other
(Stolen from Castewar)
Posted by Andrew at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
Be excellent to each other
Party on dude
(Stollen from Castewar)
Posted by Andrew at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2006
"And their memory deserves better than Bill O'Reilly."
The guilty pleasure offered by the existence of Bill O'Reilly is simple, and understandable.99 times out of a hundred when we belly up to the Billo bar of bluster... nearly every time we partake of the movable Falafel Feast, he serves us nothing but comedy.
Farce, slapstick, unconscious self-mutilation -- the Sideshow Bob of commentators, forever stepping on the same rake, forever muttering the same grunt of inarticulate surrender, forever resuming the circle that will take him back to the same rake. The Sisyphus of morons, if you will.
But this is the 100th time out of 100.
Damn. that's... Click the link and watch the whole thing...
Posted by Andrew at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pr0ns
Apparently certain software categorizes this blog as having pornographic content. Since that’s the case, is it possible that anyone is interested in some hot, juicy, soft, wet, pr0ns? Me? I love ‘em myself; I can’t get enough. Mm. My tongue is getting aroused just thinking about it...
More substantively: I’ve been called a "first amendment absolutist" for my insistence that refusing to support an artist who’s non-art-related politics are offensive is a dampener on free-speech and thus violate the spirit of the American constitution. Specifically, if someone loves the Dixie Chicks’ Third album, but hates their left-wing politics, they should be good Americans and go buy it anyway. (hating the politics expressed in their new album is reprehensible, but is valid grounds for not buying it. Just so we’re clear)...
My fundamental belief is that the easier time citizens have of expressing their ideas, opinions, and beliefs, the better America will be. Let the Nazis march and the flags burn: my America, the America I believe in and have sworn an oath to is strong enough to withstand citizens dissenting. And since it turns out that people I disagree with are (occasionally) correct (I hate it when that happens), I need to give them as strong a voice as possible to be correct. Even when they’re wrong opposition gives me the ability to test my beliefs against someone else’s and thus give more rigor and honesty to my own understanding.
Which brings me to these filters. I know why they’re there. I understand the impulse. Companies don’t want to be sued because Jill was looking at things Jack found naughty. But they haven’t blocked anything naughty here. All they’ve done is stifle one small voice yearning in the dark. A citizen can’t be heard; America is diminished in some small way...
Posted by Andrew at 12:04 AM | Comments (1)
