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October 30, 2006
Time is the fire in which we burn
Would the United States be better off with only one time zone? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine
My annual inner monologue suggests two reasons to get up in the morning and go to bed at night: first, to enjoy the sunshine, and second, because that is what everybody else does. But what if the two imperatives collide? What matters more, waking up at the same time as everyone else or waking up with the sun?
Just a simple exploration of an interesting subject...
Posted by Andrew at 08:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 29, 2006
Proposition 1C
The “Prop 1” series are almost all bond issues. It is in my interest to make a principled stand against Bonds* that don’t go towards infrastructural improvements to the State. 1C is a Bond, and so gets a “No” vote from me...
This is a tough one, however. I really want to give money for all the things they’re gonna give money to. Ultimately, it comes down to this: I don’t see that the State ought to be spending US$2.8billion right away, and I don’t see that the need is so urgent that we ought to be spending US$6billion over 30 years to get that money right way. So no on 1C. Raise the taxes, spend US$204million that would have been spent on repayment on the program instead. We’ll be better off in the long run...
*Yeah, I made a fiscal pun. Sue me.
Posted by Andrew at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)
Proposition 1B
This is a Bond initiative. I usually vote against Bonds on principle (actually, on interest. But never mind that). This year, I’m changing thing just a bit: if the Bond is to fund an ongoing project, I’ll vote against it. If it’s for a capital/infrastructural improvement, I’ll vote for it. The principle is this: Taking out a loan for my phone bill is absurd. Taking out a loan to fix my roof may well be necessary...
On the surface, this Bond seems to meet my criterion. Port Security is a major issue, and something for which we can legitimately issue bonds. Yet looking at where the money will actually be spent: US$11.250billion on road improvement, US$4billion on public transit, etc. These are good and worthy things. Yet they are ongoing issues, not capital improvements. We ought to raise taxes for this stuff. Taking out a loan simply costs too much over the long haul...
Posted by Andrew at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
Boycott NBC?
NBC is refusing to run ads for the new Dixie Chicks movie because "[...] they are disparaging to President Bush"...
I have previously blogged about the Dixie chicks. At that time I said that boycotting them solely on the basis of their political beliefs was illegitimate. So you might think that I’d keep supporting them. You’d only be half-right...
NBC’s decision to not run the ads is reprehensible. The plain fact is that all good Americans ought to be disparaging as possible about (and to) President Bush. The man has been a disaster. It is frankly un-American for any business to refuse to air an advertisement based upon its political content...
NBC has the right to be un-American. Much like a child may—with perfect right—stick fingers in her own ears and say "La La La", NBC may—with perfect right—refuse to air certain ads. They are saying that they do not wish to engage in certain debates. This is speech...
We now know where NBC stands: they believe that the American President is so pampered and soft that he is unable to hear criticism of himself. To harm their business interests for their exercising their political voice would be to harm their future ability to call the President spoiled. As Americans, they have that right. I won't interfere...
Posted by Andrew at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
218(D)-217(R)?
Well, as of 9:42pm (PST) on 29 October 2006, that's what Pollster.com is saying. Actualy, they're saying that the Dems have 218 seats sewn up and the Reps have 193 sewn up and the other 24 are a toss. If true, this would give the Democrats a 1-vote lead even if all the tossups went Republican. Simply put; I don't believe this for a second...
Perhaps it's simply that too often in my short political life I've been excited about the Democrat's chances only to see them come crashing down. Perhaps as a fan of the Oakland Athletics (not to mention the Golden State Warriors), I am simply unused to seeing teams I root for actually win...
Anyway. Vote early. Vote often. Vote Democrat...
Posted by Andrew at 09:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 28, 2006
We Democrats.
Too often I hear and read the the Democratic Party doesn't stand for anything. This is flatly wrong. We in fact are rather principled. Those principles have little to do with the size of the government, but rather with how that government is used. Specifically, the Democratic party is the one that wants each citizen to be treated equally before the law. The Democratic party views the Government as a collection of citizens, and is thus easily overseen and reviewed by ordinary humans...
There are many things that come out of this worldview; economic and environmental stances which you may or may not agree with. Which is fine; we don't always agree with ourselves on these issues. But if the Democratic Party were in charge, we'd be debating the best way of providing the most healthcare to all our citizens-- at the lowest price. We may not get the correct mix, but we'd at least give it a shot. Which is a hell of a lot more than you're gonna get out of anyone further to the Right...
In this election, the stakes are higher, of course. It isn't simply an issue of one congressperson talking (or even voting) against President Bush. It's that... hell! Read this Rolling Stone Article on the subject. It's bad. A vote for any Republican is a vote for the leadership which allowed Mark Foley to have free run of the Congressional Pages for 5 years without doing a damned thing...
Perhaps we want different things out of our government, though. What would you like to see Congress doing?
Posted by Andrew at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2006
Being Propositioned in Election 2006: Proposition 1A
Proposition 1A is a (state) constitutional amendment about which puts all gas-tax revenue into the Transportation fund, rather than putting it into the General fund. I can see both sides on this issue. On one wrist, taxes on Gas are a fairly direct tax on using a state-provided bit of infrastructure (roads). Thus it makes sense to make the people who use roads pay for them...
At the same time, it happens that the State’s general fund can be overdrawn and thus the legislature may want to raid it to pay for things like schools or prisons. Flexibility isn’t an unimportant thing...
Ultimately, I’m going to vote against this one. Sales taxes are sales taxes; there are some major pieces of infrastructure (I’m looking at you: schools and prisons) which benefit everyone and have almost no directly taxable inputs or outcomes. Since damned near everyone in the State drives, this is a fairly broad tax across the entire population. I’m not married to this opinion, though. If you have an argument in favor of this prop, let me know...
Posted by Andrew at 02:22 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2006
Why we need democrats in office
GOP.com | Republican National Committee :: Home
Click "watch the new ad".
The GOP (for some inexplicable reason) has decided to showcase their past half-decade of anti-terror policy failure. I guess they understand that only with Democrats in office can we be made safe...
Posted by Andrew at 08:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 17, 2006
I'd call it kafkaesque
Save that a trial would be an improvement.
In a jail cell at an immigration detention center in Arizona sits a man who is not charged with a crime, not suspected of a crime, not considered a danger to society.But he has been in custody for five years.
1 man still locked up from 9/11 sweeps
This is being done in your name. In my name. It must end...
Posted by Andrew at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 16, 2006
A look back
3 years ago, I set out, in a series of posts, to determine what the "Next Generation" consoles would look like (X-Box, Play Station, and Nintendo). Well, here we are. Its 2006, and within a month all 3 players will be ready. Indeed, Microsoft is already out there. How’d I do?
Well... I rock. I know at least enough to be a Microsoft or Sony executive. Though given the track records of each company, perhaps that’s not saying much. I predicted that each system would ship with modern versions of then-current Xbox equipment. Granted that MS and Sony make gamers buy the “platinum” package, or whatever they’re calling their boxes...
My prediction was that Sony would have to play catch-up, and no know how. I seem to have been correct on this: no one I know is all that excited about the Sony system. MS decided to give us the best controller on the market; making it small enough to fit in your hands (an actual issue!), full of analog-y goodness, and wireless. In effect, they went from stealing Sony’s controller to stealing Nintendo’s...
Speaking of Nintendo. man was I wrong! While everyone else was letting their system evolve, Nintendo was pulling off a Revolution. They completely rethought the way games ought to be played, and have managed to build genuine excitement about their new concepts. I was right about one thing: Nintendo is aggressively marketing the idea that the Wii can play GameCube games...
Over all: I did fairly well. Not great—I completely missed the Nintendo thing—but pretty well. I also predicted that Microsoft would be the big winner this time around. That forecast seems to be bearing out...
Posted by Andrew at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2006
Instant Messaging.
I’ve been using the internets since Al Gore invented them. I remember back when you Prodigy users couldn’t send Emails to AOL users. I won’t swear by the exact process (almost undoubtedly the market began to demand, rather than disdain it), but eventually Email—and just about every other function of an ISP—broke free of it’s walled garden. Users could send Email to users of other systems. And just about then—call it 1996--, Instant Messaging became big...
I’ve long shaken my head at the need to have either 4 separate programs open (AIM, Gtalk, Yahoo!IM, MSN Messenger), or to have an ugly kludge like Trillian or GAIM. Even when I have such a beast, it requires up to 4 accounts. This began to change a bit with the last Beta versions of MSN messenger and Y!IM, which can actually talk to each other...
Ideally, Instant messaging would be just one more use of bandwidth, which any Email address could be plugged into any client. I’d like my computer’s address book to function as my buddy list. And so forth. This just got a step closer to reality when LiveJournal introduced their Instant Messaging service. LJIM isn’t that big a deal in and of itself. The fact that it’s build on an open network is a big deal. It means that users of LJIM and GTalk – two separate networks—can now talk to one another. It didn’t require a negotiation, or a compromise, or even an acknowledgement that the other company exists. The fact that users of either system can talk to the other is a boon for both...
That’s how IM will integrate. A service or network will decide that they wish to offer Instant Messaging, and rather than create their own proprietary protocols (which takes time/money), they will use the Jabber network. I could see Comcast setting something up in the next year or so. Eventually, the big 3 will find themselves having to either open up or be shut out. The market begins to demand it...
Posted by Andrew at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2006
He didn't even ask any questions
In reading This piece at Hullabaloo, I was suddenly reminded of the above quote from Star Wars...
Darth Vader tortured Han Solo because Darth was evil. Did Han commit crimes? Yeah, goes with the word "smuggler". Could Han have been convicted sans torture? Absolutely. But Darth Vader was a "master of evil" and so tortured an Imperial Citizen simply to cause pain. Because he could...
Jose Padilla is an American Citizen. We tortured him for 3 years. This was done in our name. my name. It resulted in no convictions, no plots being foiled, it resulted in nothing...
No matter the hypothetical situation involving Jack Baur and a ticking nuke, the fact-- the reality-- is that in this case our government tortured an American citizen every day for over 3 years. And nothing came of it. Is that the sort of nation you want to live in?
Posted by Andrew at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 10, 2006
Spore!
The Long Zoom - New York Times
I am unconvinced that the AI is going to be good enough. Yet the concept looks promising as all hell.
Posted by Andrew at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 09, 2006
Lust for Power
The problem with Mark Foley is not that he was attracted to a 17 year old. I fully expect that many 54 year olds are attracted to the occasional hot 17 year old. The problem is not that he had a relationship with one young man who was just barely at the age of consent. The problem is that Mark Foley seemed only interested in barely legal teens. Indeed, I don’t believe there is a record of him being involved with anyone over the age of 21...
I’ll admit: the gay factor does add a bit to the titillation. Much more problematic is the fact that these were not young men, but rather older boys. In at least one instance, we have the spectacle of a US Congressman turning a blind eye to the fact that his “date” is using a false ID to buy alcohol—because said “date” was too young to legally drink! Worst of all was that Republican in a position to stop Foley gritted his teeth and said nothing...
For years it had been known that Foley likes teenagers. For years it had been known that Foley was using his position as a Congressman to keep himself supplied with barely post-pubescent teenage boys. For years the Republican leadership did nothing—and didn’t dare tell a Democrat...
The shear willingness to sacrifice anything to hold onto power, the naked partisanship, the raw arrogance—these are the hallmarks of the Foley scandal. They are a good illustration of why the Republican Party needs to be out of power...
Posted by Andrew at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Um... not quite
because there’s a pragmatic reason that the Vatican might be a little hesistant to come right out and say that there’s no limbo is because the concept is wielded by everyday Catholics to explain where the souls of unborn babies go, which is just an extra way to guilt trip women who have abortions. But it’s sort of a balancing act, as far as I can tell, because as most people understand it, unbaptized children go to limbo but when Jesus returns, they all get to go to heaven. So it’s a way to guilt trip women who have abortions without casting god as such an uncruel monster as to throw souls into hell that never even had a shot at sinning.
Almost. Limbo was a concept invented back when infant mortality was... higher than it is today. By a lot. So yes, it was a way of making God a whole hell of a lot less cruel. But it had nothing at all to do with Abortions...
In fact, if you’re a Catholic, you pretty much believe that all unbaptized people are (so sorry) going to hell. Since infant children have no control over when or whether they’re baptized, it seems more than a bit cruel to send ‘em to hell...
Posted by Andrew at 10:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 07, 2006
Fall 2006 TV season
I watch some TV. And now that I’ve got myself a TiVo, I watch more of it. Also, the networks are beginning to realize that “Geek” is a valid lifestyle choice. Anyway, I’m watching more TV. Since it’s heading into October, the shows I’m watching have started their new seasons. I’m actually kind of excited about a couple of the shows.
Monday:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Gods what an unwieldy name! So it’s had 2 episodes and it’s by Aaron Sorkin. It’s about a Saturday Night Live type variety show, and attempts to show the creative process as it plays out over a week. So far, the show has been as unwieldy as the name, but Sorkin has built up enough trust that I’m willing to give this show a bit longer...
Heroes: This show has also had a pair of Episodes to it’s credit. It’s a superhero story set in modern times. One of the eponymous is a Japanese businessman who is obsessed with the original Star Trek. Another is a heroin-addicted comic book writer who—when he’s high—gets glimpses of the future and draws depictions of it. And then there’s your by-now-expected shadowy government conspiracy. I’m convinced that they will turn out to be good guys in this whole affair...
I’d have a lot less faith in this show were it not for the creative team. Jeff Loeb is a longtime comic book veteran with a penchant for creating wonderful and believable characters. He has, in the past, dwelled too much on the internal life of a charter—forgetting that superhero books are supposed to include a modicum of action. Nevertheless, the last 10 seconds of the second episode leave no room for doubt that there will be plenty of bang...
Tuesday:
Veronica Mars: The first season of this show was everything that Television ought to be. It was smart, featured some great characters (admittedly with a bit of rough acting), and was a terrific exploration of class issues in the United States. The second was... good, don’t get me wrong. The writing wasn’t as even as the first season. They weren’t as focused on a single story and didn’t seem to know how to bring it together. Of course, the last quarter of the second season brought it all together tremendously...
Which brings up the third season. There has been one episode so far. Veronica is off to college, her Father is doing a road trip with a known killer and—wait, huh? This can’t end well. Also, Veronica is hot on the heals of a serial rapist. This season will feature six episode arcs, rather than a more traditional 22 episode story. If the ratings don’t pick up, the show will be canceled. So, um, tune in...
Friday:
Battlestar Galactica: Ron Moore is all over my TiVo list, I’ve also got Deep Space 9 set to regularly record. The thing is: I’m not so sure about this third season. As I’m sure you know, in the first season, humanity was brought to the brink of extinction. Of the billions that had been, we were reduced to 50,000—roughly the number of people in Tower 1 when the World Trade Center got hit. The first season did an excellent job of establishing that humanity was weak and needed to run run run in order to survive...
Season 2 saw Humanity starting to settle into their new lives. Also, we began to have a clue as to where to go next. The Pegasus arrived and humanity had a second defense platform. Ron Moore had told just about all the story he could without fundamentally changing the mix. And so he did. In the last 15 minutes or so of Season 2, humanity found a world, settled down, lived a year in the life—and then were enslaved...
The third season opens four months into the occupation. 2,000 humans managed to be off-world when the Cylons hit. This season wants to explore was it is like to be occupied. There is a direct allegory there—for those who take it—of American operations in Iraq. The parallel isn’t very exact (we Americans have no intention of being in Iraq forever—the Cylons want to be on New Caprica forever), but the emotions and thoughts are close enough for Television. Me? I’m hoping someone shoots Tigh and takes leadership of the resistance from him. Especially since the Cylons who most want to destroy humanity also want Tigh in charge. I guess we’ll see...
So there we have it: my weekly diet of Television. So: what’s on your list that’s not on mine?
Posted by Andrew at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2006
Me? I'm voting Pelosi
Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp' - washingtonpost.com
in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats _ in her fondest wish _ win control in the Nov. 7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history.Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."
Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
Posted by Andrew at 10:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack