Category: Society / Politics
April 28, 2008
Consume or Produce: Reflections on an Earlier Post
Eugenio just read one of Clay Shirky's recent articles, Gin, Television, and Social Surplus, and said it reminded him of a piece I posted here a little over three years ago:
The Great Decision: Consume or Produce
January 29, 2005Every time I sit down at a PC and every time I walk into my office at work, I'm struck with a fundamental decision: consume or produce.
I'm talking about information. Any minute can be reasonably and justifiably spent either consuming information, such as reading research papers, news sites, emails, blogs, etc., or producing new information, such as writing my own papers, putting up blog entries, leaving comments on blogs (hint, hint), composing an email, and so on.
Some people are very content to be primarily, if not entirely, consumers. They feel little or no need to share their knowledege, opinions, and thoughts with others. Some are more biased in the opposite direction, churning out an unending stream of content. ...
What's particularly serendipitous about Eugenio's note is that I recently signed up for Twitter and have been trying to figure out it can be the most useful as a communication tool. Twitter, as you likely know, is much more about production than consumption -- it makes creating and distributing tiny bits of information almost frictionless, thereby further increasing the load on us as consumers.
This is still an issue I struggle with every day. I doubt I'll ever resolve it.
Posted by Craig in Internet
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April 24, 2008
Religious License Plates in Florida
If Florida gets the Christian license plates that some lawmakers there have proposed, this should be an equally justifiable plate option for Sunshine State residents:
Posted by Craig in Cars
and Society / Politics
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April 23, 2008
As Gas Prices Go Up, Driving Goes Down...Finally
Pundits figured it would take gas at $4/gallon to curb driving. Looks like they were about right, but with the overall economy in recession, it only took $3.50/gallon or so to get things started. BusinessWeek has a good article on it.
Posted by Craig in Cars
and Society / Politics
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April 15, 2008
Senator Charles Grassley Proclaims Himself World's Biggest Hypocrite
This story on InsideHigherEd.com describes the crusade that Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, is directing towards the scourge of industry-sponsored research. Apparently, Mr. Grassley believes scientists/physicians shouldn't accept money from companies related to whatever they're studying.
Last August, in advocating for a national reporting system of drug company payments to doctors to help ensure that patients know about potential conflicts of interest for doctors who might prescribe medications, Grassley singled out DelBello, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Cincinnati, for what he said was her failure to accurately report her outside income in 2003 and 2004 from Astra Zeneca, a pharmaceutical company whose drug Seroquel she had studied in 2002.On April 2, Grassley stepped up his criticism. He took to the Senate floor to "report on the actions of one physician" -- DelBello -- "to explain how industry payments to medical experts can affect medical practice."
Don't think for a minute that his efforts are limited to "a national reporting system." It's clear that he feels industry money shouldn't go to not-for-profit and academic researchers.
While it's obvious that conflicts-of-interest are bad, most researchers that receive corporate support, either directly or indirectly, do not let their results be influenced by that funding. Beyond that, eliminating or further restricting industry support isn't a viable solution. Or is this Republican going to fill in those funding gaps for science with government money? I seriously doubt that.
What's even more ridiculous is the sheer hypocrisy of the Senator's statement:
He said, harshly: "This situation is unfortunate on so many levels. It is unfortunate...for patients who once believed that their doctor was not for sale..."
It takes guts to stand up and criticize a state university researcher for "being for sale" when he, himself, has accepted nearly $1,000,000 in campaign contributions from medical organizations and related companies since 2003.
Is it possible that Senator Grassley feels that if he makes it too difficult for the healthcare industry to fund research that it will simply divert those funds to their lobbying efforts instead (and, therefore, into Grassley's hands)? Talk about a conflict of interest.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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April 12, 2008
Reason #194 Why Dr. Phil is the Antithesis of Mental Health
Remember that pack of teenage girls behaving like lunatics and videotaping the beating they planned and dished out on another girl?
Well, the supposed "ringleader" of that group has been bailed out of jail (for $30,000) by...Dr. Phil! Supposedly so that the Dr. Phil Show will have exclusive rights to interview her.
It takes a lot of gall to glorify adolescent violence (purely in the name of ratings) and then decry it as a social evil.
I don't know if there's a TV Personality Scumbag award, but if there is, I'm sure Dr. Phil is a shoe-in.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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April 3, 2008
In Defense of Email
Over at Gizmodo, I came across this entry musing about the pervasiveness of text messaging (apparently not written by a European):"...I began to wonder about the phenomenon of text messaging as a whole. Sometimes it seems that it would make more sense to call or send an email, but that crap is for old people."
Perhaps I'm mistaken in believing the merits of email should be obvious and that nobody can honestly believe that texting is superior for all, or even most, occasions. So, I thought I'd put together a brief table outlining what I consider the advantages of each technology:
Near-instantaneous delivery |
Delivery can be delayed |
A clear advantage for texting | |
Included in all phones |
Increasingly common |
Not as much of a difference as even a year ago | |
| Good mobile email clients are no harder to use than most Texting interfaces | |||
160-character limit |
What can't email do? |
Attachments, long messages, and rich text are all things email does easily but that texting doesn't do well, if at all | |
no long-term storage |
email archives are forever |
Some messages you don't care about referencing in the future, but can you be sure when you send it that you won't care? | |
$0.10+ apiece when not bought in bulk |
Free with any Internet service |
Some may find this contentious, but I pay extra for texting on my cellular account whereas email is just part of my overall Internet connectivity fee |
I think the biggest drawback I see to texting is the whole temporal retention issue. I rely extensively on my ability to search through my emails, both professional and personal, sometimes going back years to look up something. In contrast, I don't know anyone who saves their text messages for even more than a few months. I asked a classful of college seniors how long they kept text messages on their phones. Less than 10% keep them longer than a week!
Do I txt? Yep, everyday, but I still use email a lot more. I'm not going to pull the "age = wisdom" card and claim that "old people" (per the Gizmodo story) use email more because they're wiser (I'm not even sure I'd be considered "old"), but my perception is that email offers a lot of advantages that texting just can't match right now.
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Internet
and Mobile & PDAs
and Phones
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April 1, 2008
Dumb Criminals
Some things you just couldn't make up if you tried:
Pamela McNeil, 44, of Northside, had just been released from the Hamilton County Justice Center -- where she was taken on a theft charge and nine minor arrest warrants but released because of overcrowding -- when she was arrested less than an hour later, accused of stealing from the blind man who runs the deli inside the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Full story (Cincinnati.com)
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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Bringing Social to the Desktop: The Buddy Bar
The sheer power of social computing had me wondering how I could best capture some of these new technologies in my everyday life. What occurred to me was that I spend a lot of time sharing: links, stories, photos, videos, etc. Sure, there are lots of tools for sharing these days. Sites like Digg and the sharing feature in Google Reader are just two examples.
But those tools rely on my friends/colleagues to use those same tools, go to those sites, or interface with them in some other new way. No, what I'd really like is a sharing interface that spans multiple media and methods. My idea for that is...the Buddy Bar:
Basically, the Buddy Bar combines (some of) the functionality of an IM client, an email client, a photo/document-uploader app, and blog interface. Here's how I envision it working:
1) You add some friends to your Buddy Bar. You include their name and all contact info you have for them: phone number(s), email address(es), IM/Twitter IDs, and so forth.
2) Simply clicking on a friend opens up an IM dialog. Buddy Bar would be service agnostic, so it would use whatever IM service your friend used.
3) Drag and drop a URL onto your friend's avatar would send it to your friend via one of the predetermined methods you set up for him/her (e.g., email, IM, etc.).
4) Dragging and dropping a file would generate a pull-down menu for you to send that file via one of the various methods you set up for that friend. For example, drop a JPG and the menu might include
• Email
• Email
• IM
• MMS
• Flickr
• Webify*
*Webify could be to upload it to a web space under your control and send your friend a URL to that location.
Drop a Word file and you might get a different set of options:
• Email
• Email
• IM
• Google Docs
• Webify*
5) Select some text from a webpage or document and drag that over to your friend's avatar and you'd get a similar drop-down for methods of delivery.
6) Drop something big on their avatar (e.g., a 200MB home movie file) and it could initiate a Torrent invitation to your friend.
7) Right-click a friend and you get options for audio/video chat, invite to room, ping, and other options.
You get the idea. Basically, it would be an automator for distributing content and managing communication with those in your private social network. I think it could also be very handy for people who work in a distributed environment and constantly need to share info (extra functionality could be built in if it was being used in an intranet setting).
One thing Bob mentioned is the chance for abuse. "Stop sending me this crap!" was his actual comment, IIRC. So, you'd have to have some sort of content/contact moderation much like you have in good IM clients, but with better discrimination based on the type of content being offered.
Anyway, I'd love to see something like this developed. Anyone know of an app/service that accomplishes even most of this?
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Internet
and Society / Politics
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March 26, 2008
Funny Bill Gates Quote
"Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient.
There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning."
- Bill Gates, Time Magazine, January 13, 1996
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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March 4, 2008
The Saddest Photo
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February 24, 2008
Parenting Requires More than Conception Apparently Surprising to Some
Here's a humdinger of a story, thanks to KETV in Omaha, Nebraska: Police: Child Shows Investigators How To Use Marijuana
I'm not sure which I find more ridiculous: that these idiots would be granted a license to own a shotgun, or that they don't need a license to bring two children into the world.
Seriously...society restricts all sorts of activities to only those who can show they won't endanger themselves or others -- driving, owning handguns, scuba diving, drinking, operating heavy machinery, hunting, and so on. But, to be a parent, all you need to do is be able to procreate.
If the State actually has a significant interest in both (a) promoting healthy and stable families (the reason given for denying marriage licenses to gay couples) and (b) ensuring safe conditions exist for children (the reason for requiring schools and daycare centers to be licensed), then why is it that just anybody can produce children without the state requiring them to take a class or a test or something like that?
I mean, we insist that every prospective driver knows what a stop sign means before we say he can drive a car. Why don't we insist that every expectant parent knows that babies require regular feedings and diaper changes before being able to keep their offspring?
I'm not advocating a Brave New World-type scenario where the government controls baby production. I'm just suggesting that every parent should have certain knowledge before he/she is allowed to care for children. Why would we hold parents to less of a standard than we hold daycare workers? Seriously...why?
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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February 21, 2008
US Immigration Policy is Clearly Botched
CNN has a video story of an Armenian family who is being deported from the US.
People get deported every day. But, there are two things about this story that seem absurd.
First, the family has been here for 15 years without a problem.
Second, the family has a 13-year-old daughter who -- you guessed it -- was born in the US and, therefore, is a US citizen. And because she wasn't born in Armenia, the US government won't pay for her plane ticket to Armenia so she can stay with her family. So, the family has to leave the 13-year-old here in the US by herself.
Help me understand, folks. Is this situation the result of "compassionate conservatism" or is it due to the administration's "family values?"
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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February 18, 2008
A Warped Sense of Morality
It amazes me what religion can do to people's sense of what's right and wrong.
CNN.com has a story about a man who killed a convenience store clerk during a robbery 14 years ago, but who just recently turned himself into police. The crazy bit is the reaction of the members of the church where he had been a youth pastor: "He's a hero, really," and "To lock him away someplace and say he owes it to society is robbing the next generation of a mentor" are some off the more bizarre comments congregants made about the situation.
So, let me get this straight: doing something awful (like murder) is no concern at all as long as you confess, and when you do, you're setting a better example for others than someone who didn't do something bad in the first place? I just don't understand that kind of logic.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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February 15, 2008
Cartoon PSA on Warrantless Wiretapping
Mark Fiore has whipped up a truly awesome cartoon explaining just why the Fed's warrantless wiretapping program is a good thing...really. Give it a watch!
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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February 13, 2008
Police Out of Control
CNN has two videos of cops acting like disrespectful bullies to a quadriplegic and some little kids.
Quadriplegic dumped out of his wheelchair
Cop puts skateboarder in headlock
I know they have stressful, dangerous jobs (well, some of them), but if they want respect, they're going to have to stop acting like this.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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January 14, 2008
Photograph Your Car, Violate the Car-Maker's Trademark....Huh?
I just came across this ridiculous story on BoingBoing about Ford preventing a Mustang owner's group from publishing a calendar featuring photos the owners took of their own cars on the grounds that all images of Ford cars are inherently trademarked and, therefore, property of Ford.
Can American companies become any more stupid than this? I'm not quite sure it's possible.
For the record, I'm fairly confident Subaru has no such policy. And just to try it out, here's a shot of my own car (a 2005 Impreza WRX STI).
Posted by Craig in Cars
and Photography
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'American Idol' Meets 'Monty Python'
And the results are horrifying. I guess it's about time to pack that show up.
I've only met two people who didn't "get" the humor in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and they were both about as smart as a bag of hammers.
Posted by Craig in Movies & Books
and Popular Media
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January 13, 2008
When Capital Punishment Is Just
There is no doubt about the crime. There is no reform likely for the criminal. There is no place in society for him, yet the $100,000+ each year it costs to feed, house, and care for him could instead go towards medical care for children, public services for the mentally ill, better police training, more fire crews on staff, better roads...the list is endless.
Why waste (and I use that term in the most literal way possible) perfectly good public funds on keeping this child-rapist and murderer warm, safe, healthy, and well-fed when so many more deserving are left cold, sick, and hungry? There is simply no valid, rational reason to.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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January 11, 2008
US' Transition to Police State Continues
Under 50 years old and want to drive a car in the United States? Then you'll need a forthcoming "Real ID", a souped-up, extra-secure, and extra-costly driver's license that is regulated on the federal level. The data contained on the card will be shared among a wide array of state and federal agencies, you know, just in case you're a terrorist.
Oh, and in case the Republicans are elected again later this year, I've already figured out what they'll change the United States crest to when they come into power.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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New Bush Coins from Blip.TV an Excellent Parody
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January 4, 2008
GearBits' Predictions for 2008
As has become customary around the changing of the calendar, here are GearBits' official predictions for 2008.
1) Blu-Ray Wins the Format War
Yep, I'm going to pick a winner and it's going to be Blu-Ray. The one-two punch of Warner Brothers's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity (from its Switzerland-like neutrality of supporting both formats) later in 2008 and Apple's announcement that BD will be the only HD format available in its products will cement HD DVD's demise. And none too soon. I don't really care which wins...just make it snappy so that prices on players and media can plummet, thanks.
2) Google's Android Shakes Up Phone Industry
For a while now, the cellphone industry has been fairly static. A few smartphone and mobile OS makers have generally tussled for market share, but the overall industry has been pretty evolutionary. Google's entry will prove to be a watershed moment, with open source finally making a big impact in the handheld space (and no, I don't consider the Zaurus to be a big deal...sorry). Actual handsets running Android will be announced, if not available, before the end of 2008.
3) Palm Supports Android
This is more of a hope than an actual prediction, as I just don't know whether the egos at Palm will let the company do the right thing and admit that their next-generation OS (which has been under development since 2004!) will be a viable contender against Android (which has essentially the same technical details but scads more developer support). But, if cooler, more rational heads prevail at Palm, they'll announce that they're plans will be to produce at least one Android-based product (probably to come out sometime in 2012 :-/ ).
4) Microsoft's HD Photo Replacement for JPEG Image Standard Goes Nowhere
I'm not saying it's a bad idea technically; I'm just saying that JPEG is so entrenched now that replacing it would be about as reasonable a thing to try as would be replacing MP3 with any of the multitudes of better formats. JPEG, like MP3, isn't great, but it's adequate (at least for consumers) and ubiquitous. We'll still be saving all our photos in JPG (and maybe RAW) at the end of 2008...and likely long after that.
5) Subnotes Will Explode in Availability (and Maybe Popularity)
I've always been a fan of tiny, sub-3-pound laptops, but I think 2008 will see a huge number of these clamshell devices come out of every corner of the consumer electronics space. The Asus EeePC and the OLPC XO Laptop are two examples. While Microsoft had a good idea in its UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) concept, the hardware was just never executed all that well. Frankly, I think a 7" touchscreen for Windows is just too difficult. But, going with the traditional clamshell design and using cheaper and/or smaller technologies (e.g., flash memory instead of a HDD) will bring us a raft of interesting (and some good) designs at <$500 price points. Bring 'em on! And I think we'll start to see a lot more people toting these things along that traditionally avoided laptops for whatever reason (cost, weight, etc.).
6) The GPS War Heats Up
TomTom, Nokia, and Garmin will exchange hostile fire over the GPS market due to convuluted agreements regarding mapping data as well as market-share for hardware. Products will continue to decline in price and improve in functionality, and >50% of cellphones will have some form of GPS functionality available on them. I guess that's two predictions in one...oh well.
7) DRM Hits Choppy Water
2007 saw some movement away from DRM (digital rights management), especially in the music industry, but I expect we'll see similar initiatives in all areas of media. DRM has been proven again and again to be little more than an expensive technological boondoggle, and the leading innovators at the consumer media interface (e.g., Apple, Amazon, and Google) will make some headway into reversing the trend of more encumbrance for our media. The RIAA and MPAA will continue to fight it...they know how to do nothing else...but economic results will start to demonstrate that DRM actually hurts profitability.
8) Major Tech Stocks End 2008 Up Significantly
These are bound to be wrong, but what the heck...nobody pays me for stock tips. I think Apple will end 2008 at 235, Google will be at 960, and Microsoft will finish the year at 50. As for other stocks, iRobot will end up at either 46 or 12 (can you tell I'm a cynical shareholder?), IBM will show tepid growth to 112, and RIM, hurt by the continued weak US dollar and facing increasing competition, will struggle to match its 1-year high of 127.
9) I Buy a New Laptop and Am Disappointed
My Panasonic CF-W2 is now three-and-a-half-years-old and I'm starting to cringe every time I turn it on (my luck with hard drives makes me skeptical of many living past their 4th birthday). I've been looking at possible replacements (e.g., Toshiba R500, Panasonic W7, maybe the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 or the rumored Apple subnote) and so far every single one has some significant trade-offs. So, I expect I'll get one and it will turn out to be not significantly better than my aging Toughbook. You'd think in nearly four years that two grand would buy something markedly superior. We'll see...
10) Major Changes in Automotive Industry Announced
While the car business makes actual change only very slowly, we'll see some huge announcements in 2008 that will fundamentally change the future of that industry. Things like record oil prices, an increasing attention to sustainable/green technology, and significant ownership changes will substantially change the competitive landscape. Make no mistake; Toyota will continue its ascent and eclipse GM as #1 car-maker in the world. But, we will see several major announcements that will start affecting actual consumers in 2009 and beyond.
So, I'll check back in about 12 months to see how I fared. In the meantime, what do you think will happen?
Posted by Craig in Computing
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December 28, 2007
Most Popular Media on Peer-to-Peer Networks
Wired has an interesting article that shows the media (recording artists, TV shows, and movies) most popular on the P2P networks (i.e., BitTorent). I was surprised...surprised by (a) two of my favorite shows were on the list, and (b) I'd heard of nearly nothing on the music list. I guess aging has its consequences, eh?
Anyway, here are the lists (for the full details, check out the Wired story):
Top Songs of 2007
1. Shop Boyz - "Party Like A Rock Star"
2. Akon - "I Wanna Luv U"
3. Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girls"
4. Mims - "This Is Why I'm Hot"
5. Akon - "Don't Matter"
6. T-Pain - "Bartender"
7. Soulja Boy - "Crank Dat Soulja Boy"
8. Justin Timberlake - "My Love"
9. DJ Unk - "Walk It Out"
10. Jim Jones - "We Fly High"
Top Music Artists of 2007
1. T.I.
2. T-Pain
3. Akon
4. 50 Cent
5. R. Kelly
6. Lil Wayne
7. Justin Timberlake
8. Fergie
9. Ludacris
10. Snoop Dogg
Top Movies of 2007
1. Resident Evil: Extinction
2. Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End
3. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
4. Ratatouille
5. Superbad
6. Beowulf
7. Transformers
8. American Gangster
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10. Stardust
Top TV Shows of 2007
1. Heroes
2. Prison Break
3. Top Gear
4. Smallville
5. Desperate Housewives
6. House, M.D.
7. Lost
8. Grey's Anatomy
9. 24
10. Dexter
Posted by Craig in Industry
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December 21, 2007
Our OLPC Arrived Today
Our One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) device arrived in the mail today. We participated in the Give One Get One campaign (we bought two; one was sent to us and the other was donated to a developing area of the world somewhere).
After less than an hour with it, I'm pretty amazed at the hardware that's packed into this little guy, especially for the price of <$200. Sure, the processor is a little slow for handling complex Flash-enabled websites, and you won't win any speed races initiating apps, but it has just an amazing mesh Wi-Fi interface (which allows instant sharing amongst other OLPCs of most activities on any one of them), an embedded webcam, and a whole host of pre-installed applications (from a music mixer to drawing to a web browser to a journal/notebook and so on).
I'm not sure it is a better solution for a kid's school laptop if that kid has access to regular electricity and his/her parents can scrape up the cash for an Asus EeePC or cheapie Dell (I just saw one in a flyer for <$370), but as it was designed for children in third-world countries, I think it should be a great fit for any kid 5+ who wants to just explore what computers can do.
Update: I just noticed that our unit does not have the two "keyboard LEDs" shown in the above pic. I wonder why not...they'd be handy for nighttime 'puting.
Posted by Craig in Computing
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November 6, 2007
Find a Penny, Save a Bit More
And to think that someone once told me I was wasting my time saving Canadian pennies.
Canada's Dollar Reaches Record High on Fed Rate Cut SpeculationNov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar climbed to a record against its U.S. counterpart on speculation credit market losses will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again this year.
The currency rose 0.7 percent to $1.0791 at 8:07 a.m. in Toronto as the U.S. dollar weakened against 15 of the 16 most- traded currencies.
Read the whole story (Bloomberg.com)
Posted by Craig in Industry
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October 26, 2007
Trademarks of a Dangerous Government
You know the signs of a government run amok. We've seen the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, Iran, and other countries' governments do dastardly things to preserve, if not outright abuse, the establishment's power base.
Here are some more easily recognized hallmarks of a bad government:
2) Manipulates public information so as to hide evidence that contradicts its position
3) Spies on its citizens without the oversight of an independent judiciary
7) Converts the media into a propaganda tool
8) Relies heavily on fear tactics to maintain power
It's good to know that the Bush administration is trying its best to rid the world of those awful governments that do these terrible things. After all, one such government is plenty.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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October 8, 2007
America's Founders on the Influence of Religion
A terrific editorial in the New York Times provides some interesting insights into what many of the founders of the US thought about religion and its influence on the country.
A Nation of Christians Is Not a Christian NationBy Jon Meacham, 10/7/2007
JOHN McCAIN was not on the campus of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University last year for very long -- the senator, who once referred to Mr. Falwell and Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance," was there to receive an honorary degree -- but he seems to have picked up some theology along with his academic hood. In an interview with Beliefnet.com last weekend, Mr. McCain repeated what is an article of faith among many American evangelicals: "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."
...
The only acknowledgment of God in the original Constitution is a utilitarian one: the document is dated "in the year of our Lord 1787." Even the religion clause of the First Amendment is framed dryly and without reference to any particular faith. The Connecticut ratifying convention debated rewriting the preamble to take note of God's authority, but the effort failed.
...
The founders were not anti-religion. Many of them were faithful in their personal lives, and in their public language they evoked God. They grounded the founding principle of the nation -- that all men are created equal -- in the divine. But they wanted faith to be one thread in the country's tapestry, not the whole tapestry.
In the 1790s, in the waters off Tripoli, pirates were making sport of American shipping near the Barbary Coast. Toward the end of his second term, Washington sent Joel Barlow, the diplomat-poet, to Tripoli to settle matters, and the resulting treaty, finished after Washington left office, bought a few years of peace. Article 11 of this long-ago document says that "as the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion," there should be no cause for conflict over differences of "religious opinion" between countries.
The treaty passed the Senate unanimously. Mr. McCain is not the only American who would find it useful reading.
Read the entire article (nytimes.com)
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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September 28, 2007
More Ammo for a Parenting Permit
Police: Couple Abandoned Baby So They Could Party
GLENDALE, Wis. -- A Glendale couple said they couldn't afford a baby sitter, so they strapped their 14-month-old son in his stroller at home while the couple went out, police alleged.
Rachel Anderson and her live-in boyfriend, Mitch Laputka, were ordered to stand trial Thursday on charges they neglected baby Gabriel so badly that his body was covered with diaper rash, his body temperature was 12 degrees below normal and he stopped breathing, requiring 21 minutes of CPR to revive him. Police said the couple admitted to leaving the boy home alone because they wanted to party.
The couple recently got jobs at Pizza Hut, police said Anderson told them, and the couple used the money for drinking parties. Police said Anderson told them that she often left Gabriel strapped in his stroller when the couple went out or to work, and that she changed Gabriel's diaper once per day. Police said Laputka told them that he didn't do diapers, that was Anderson's job.
Read the whole story (WISN.com)
We need a government permit to hunt, fish, drive a car, run a business, return to the country after traveling outside it, build a house, dig a well, camp, boat, and own certain types of animals, but not to create and raise a new human being, perhaps the biggest responsibility there is.
How in the world does that make sense?
Posted by Craig in Bad Parents
and Society / Politics
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September 26, 2007
Hypocrisy Defined
President Bush is threatening to veto a bipartisan bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $35 billion (distributed over 5 years, or $7 billion a year) because it's not "fiscally sound," but is simultaneously planning to ask for another $200 billion to continue his illegal and widely condemned devastation, occupation, and rebuilding (sort of) of a non-threatening country.
$200 for bombs and Humvees and murderous contractors, sure...but no $7 to help sick kids. Really makes me wonder who the hell supports this unconscionable moron.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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September 18, 2007
The Original Emoticon :-) Turns 25
CNN has an interesting story on the origins of the smiley emoticon :-) that is now ubiquitous.
However, I'm still waiting on Strunk & White to nail down how it should get used with punctuation. ;-)
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Internet
and Society / Politics
and Technology
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September 12, 2007
THIS Is the Country I Love
After years of shame, embarrassment, and grief caused by the actions of a jingoistic, power-mad president, unchecked by a timid, sheeplike Congress, this story restores a bit of the pride I had in my country by demonstrating the magnitude of what Americans can do for one family when united by concern, caring, and generosity.
Youssif and family arrive in U.S.: 'Am I in heaven?'
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Youssif, the 5-year-old Iraqi boy who was savagely burned by masked men, arrived in the United States late Tuesday with his family -- the first step toward his lengthy rehabilitation.
For a family whose lives were tortured by the random and brutal violence of Iraq, the sheer magnitude of stepping onto American soil was surreal. His parents were rendered speechless. Quite simply they grinned from ear to ear. They didn't need to speak. The joy on their faces was palpable.
They had traveled more than 7,500 miles to get help for their son, from war-torn central Baghdad to coastal Los Angeles. It marked the first time the family had ever left their homeland, let alone flown on a plane.
"Oh my God, it's so green. Am I in heaven?" Youssif's mother, Zainab, said after arriving in Chicago before the family flew on to Los Angeles where Youssif will be treated.
CNN and CNN.com first reported his story on August 22 after the family risked their lives to tell his story: On January 15, masked men grabbed Youssif outside his home, doused him with gas and set him on fire.
The story prompted an outpouring of support to get help for Youssif. More than 12,000 CNN.com users have contributed to a fund set up by the Children's Burn Foundation.
Youssif and his family are expected to be in the United States for six months to a year while he undergoes multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.
Read the entire story (CNN.com)
It will take the US at least a generation to even attempt to fully undo the damage we've done to generations of Iraqis. Not that we are alone at fault, but certainly we bear the majority of the responsibility for reparation and redress.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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September 7, 2007
When Capital Punishment Makes Sense
Good grief!
Police: Man Found In Kids' Bedroom Has Predatory Past
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore County man who was caught lurking in a children's bedroom in the middle of the night has a history of burglary and sex offenses, according to police documents.
Richard Marks, 49, was charged with attempted sex offense in the most recent case, but charging documents indicate that the incident is part of a pattern of behavior for Marks that dates back to early 1970s.
Charging documents obtained by WBAL TV 11 News showed that Marks had several prior arrests on charges including robbery, burglary and sex offenses; however, since he was never convicted of sexual offenses, he was never put on a sexual predator list.
In 1974, he was sentenced to five years behind bars. In 1980, he was convicted of assault with the intent to commit murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Nine years later, Marks was convicted on burglary charges and sentenced to four more years.
Court documents show that in 1991, Marks entered a Dundalk home on Kavanaugh Road through an unlocked basement door. The documents stated that Marks approached a sleeping teenage boy, told him to undress or he would kill him and then sexually assault him.
Marks was sentenced to 25 years in prison with no parole on burglary charges, while sexual offense charges against him were dropped. But he was released in April of this year -- after only 16 years behind bars -- because of good behavior, corrections officials told 11 News.
Officials said at the time of his sentencing in 1991, Marks admitted to being a repeat offender.
In the most recent case, Brian Jarrell said he saw Marks in his two children's bedroom armoire at 2:30 a.m. Monday.
"I don't remember much. My only thought was, 'I can't let this guy get out,'" Jarrell said.
Jarrell was able to subdue Marks until police arrived.
Charging documents revealed that at the time of his arrest, Marks was wearing clear rubber gloves, had three bandanas on him and that Jarrell found two rags with a strong odor of chemicals in the bedroom.
Police said they found a stain on the fitted sheet by the children's heads and found the same chemical odor on the children's hair. After Marks was subdued out front, a neighbor said he had to shake one child several times to wake him and that he seemed very lethargic and confused.
Police said they also found a backpack inside the home that they believe belonged to Marks. Inside it they found petroleum jelly, plastic gloves, girls panties, chemical-soaked rags, gum, candy, a razor and putty knife and costume false teeth.
Read the original story (WBALTV.com)
Seriously, are we ever going to let this guy out? And if not, why keep him around? Personally, I don't want my tax dollars wasted on the $100,000 a year it takes to feed, clothe, medicate, and house this guy for the rest of his life when so many other social needs go unmet.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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I'm So Proud
Just 16 more months...just 16 more months...
Gaffe-prone Bush in fine form at APEC summit
'OPEC' forum filled with slips of the tongue, confusion for presidentSYDNEY - Even for someone as gaffe-prone as U.S. President George W. Bush, he was in rare form on Friday, confusing APEC with OPEC and transforming Australian troops into Austrians.
Bush's tongue started slipping almost as soon as he started talking at a business forum on the eve of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney.
"Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction," he told Prime Minister John Howard. "Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."
As the audience of several hundred people erupted in laughter, Bush corrected himself and joked, "He invited me to the OPEC summit next year." Australia has never been a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Later in his speech, Bush recounted how Howard had gone to visit "Austrian troops" last year in Iraq. There are, in fact, no Austrian troops there. But Australia has about 1,500 Australians military personnel in and around the country.
Upon finishing his speech, Bush took the wrong way off-stage and, looking slightly perplexed, had to be re-directed by Howard to a center-stage exit.
But not before a veteran White House correspondent seized the opportunity to ask Bush whether there had been any new message in his speech. Apparently misunderstanding the question, he bristled and asked, "Haven't you been listening to my past speeches?" before turning away.
Read the entire story (MSNBC.com)
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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September 5, 2007
Hunting Declines Offset by Wildlife Observation
CNN (via the AP) has the following story, Where have all the hunters gone?
Hunters remain a powerful force in American society, as evidenced by the presidential candidates who routinely pay them homage, but their ranks are shrinking dramatically and wildlife agencies worry increasingly about the loss of sorely needed license-fee revenue.Observers say increasingly urban and suburban culture is contributing to the decline in hunters and fishers.
New figures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that the number of hunters 16 and older declined by 10 percent between 1996 and 2006 -- from 14 million to about 12.5 million. The drop was most acute in New England, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific states, which lost 400,000 hunters in that span.
The primary reasons, experts say, are the loss of hunting land to urbanization plus a perception by many families that they can't afford the time or costs that hunting entails.
"To recruit new hunters, it takes hunting families," said Gregg Patterson of Ducks Unlimited. "I was introduced to it by my father, he was introduced to it by his father. When you have boys and girls without a hunter in the household, it's tough to give them the experience."
Some animal-welfare activists welcome the trend, noting that it coincides with a 13 percent increase in wildlife watching since 1996. But hunters and state wildlife agencies, as they prepare for the fall hunting season, say the drop is worrisome.
"It's hunters who are the most willing to give their own dollar for wildlife conservation," Patterson said.
Read the entire story (CNN.com)
I'm quite content to hear that hunting is declining, but I find it a bit ironic that wildlife conservation efforts would still be significantly dependent upon those who wish to kill the large animals in those areas. It's almost like saying that the only way to extract value from the natural spaces is to use them as shooting ranges. It really suggests that the US Fish and Wildlife Service needs to partner with other governmental organizations to figure out better ways to simultaneously promote and extract revenue from non-hunting/non-damaging uses of natural spaces.
Of course, as suburban sprawl continues to envelop larger and larger areas of formerly wild land, the chances for anyone to observe, let alone hunt, big animals will be greatly reduced. Will we get to the point where the only large wild mammals left in the US are deer? Given the range of animals that lived here just 200 years ago, that will certainly be a sad day if (or when) we do.
Posted by Craig in Science & Nature
and Society / Politics
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August 23, 2007
Americans Working Less Now than We Used To?
Fortune / CNN Money.com have an interesting piece: Are Americans too lazy? U.S. workers can't compete globally unless they work harder, writes Fortune's Geoff Colvin.
The surprising report of our relative sloth arrives in new research from the UN's International Labor Organization, which looks at working hours around the world. When it comes to what we might call hard work, meaning the proportion of workers who put in more than 48 hours a week, America is near the bottom of the heap. About 18% of our employed people work that much.We have increased our leisure time enormously over the past 40 years -- so much so that it "corresponds roughly to an additional five to ten weeks of vacation a year," says a study by Mark Aguiar of the Boston Fed and Erik Hurst of the University of Chicago business school, who conducted the study.
People with jobs are working fewer hours. Compounding the effect, fewer of us work at all, with growing numbers of people spending more time in retirement.
Of course, there's more to work than what we do on the job; there's also the work we do at home, and that too has fallen drastically. (It has fallen on average; men are actually doing a bit more work at home than they used to, but women are doing much less.)
Put it all together, and the researchers figure we're getting about 117 hours of leisure per week (including sleep), vs. 110 hours in 1965. That's more than 360 additional idle hours per year. We are a couch-potato nation.
Read the entire story (CNN.com)
If these data are accurate and the analysis is sound (e.g., it doesn't conflate the growing retired population with those of a working age who simply choose not to work), then it speaks directly to those who decry the growing wealth gap in this country (the populations at the top and bottom of the income scale are growing while the middle shrinks). I'm all for social equity, inalienable rights, and equal opportunity for everyone to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but I'm also of the opinion that rewards tend to be the fruits of one's effort, not simply one's existence.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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August 21, 2007
Do NOT Read This Blog Post!
Instead, why not read a book? Chances are that you're not reading as much as you used to...or should.
Posted by Craig in Movies & Books
and Society / Politics
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August 8, 2007
Election 2008: Candidates' Positions
A terrific summary of the main candidates' positions on over two dozen different issues are clearly presented on this table (flickr.com), which is a graphic version of this table (2decide.com).
Granted, the table doesn't get into specifics or degree of intensity of support, but it's definitely a helpful start when the field is so heavily populated.
And I'm shocked...shocked, I tell you, to realize that of all the candidates, Dennis Kucinich, the boy from my own state of Ohio, most closely matches my own positions (as far as I can tell...he and I seem to disagree only on capital punishment).
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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August 6, 2007
Peer Money Pressure in Silicon Valley
I just read a fascinating article in the New York Times, In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich and it reminded me how fortunate I am to live in Cincinnati. Sure, we don't have beaches here, but $300K will buy you a really nice house in most parts of town and, unless you live in the outmost 'burbs, your commute is likely under 30 minutes.
What's particularly saddening is that most of these single-digit millionaires who work 70 hours a week just to maintain their social status could have a much better quality-of-life somewhere else. Shorter commutes, housing prices a third of what they're used to paying, and more time for family and friends is all available if they just leave Silicon Valley.
I guess it's kind of like getting kids hooked on drugs to clean up. One of the first steps is to remove them from the bad influences (i.e., other kids who do drugs). However, in the case with these tech managers, it may be that they need to be removed from the other Menlo Park digerati before they realize that social pressure is really destroying their quality of life.
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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July 10, 2007
Vatican States that Catholicism Is the Only True Church
There has been a lot in the news about the rise of religious fundamentalism around the world. It is blamed on inspiring extremists of all stripes to do and say things many consider shocking.
Well, add one more to the pile. Today, a large religious institution claimed it was the only true church and that others are, in fact, lesser pursuits.
The Vatican on Tuesday said Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ.The Vatican said other churches are "wounded" since they do not recognize the primacy of the pope.
A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.
But the document said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations -- a view likely to further complicate relations with Protestants.
"Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress ... it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," it said.
Read the full story (CNN.com)
That kind of in-your-face, my-faith-is-better-than-your-faith chutzpah is good to hear, because Christianity just isn't keeping up its reputation as the ass-kicking, witch-burning, proselytizing, pagan-killing religion it worked so hard to earn back during The Crusades. Tolerance, schmolerance!
Posted by Craig in Society / Politics
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July 6, 2007
One Good Use for the Death Penalty
Adults who routinely abuse children deserve nothing less...or more.
Man accused of biting off 3-year-old's lip, earNEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) -- A man accused of biting off the lip and ear of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter pleaded not guilty Thursday and was ordered held without bail.
Bryan James, 34, was charged with assault and battery upon a child causing substantial bodily injuries. Police said the attack left the girl so mutilated doctors could not fully repair the damage.
The child's mother, Jessica Silveria, 26, pleaded not guilty to permitting substantial injuries to a child under 14 and intimidation of a witness. She was also ordered held without bail.
The girl lost the upper part of her lip and her ear was so mutilated that surgery could not return it to its natural state. The child also suffered other human bites on her body, New Bedford police Capt. Richard Spirlet said.
Read the whole story (CNN)
Posted by Craig in Bad Parents
and Society / Politics
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June 13, 2007
The 3-State Race (3SR): 86-Mile Road Race around Cincinnati I-275 Loop
I have an idea. It's pretty crazy and 99% likely never to bear fruit, but I feel compelled to describe it here...just in case. And don't think this is entirely thought out...I'm imagining it literally as I type.
Imagine this: a road race around the 86-mile loop of highway circling Cincinnati, Ohio known as I-275 (map below). I-275 in Cincinnati is a divided highway ranging from 2 to 4 lanes in both directions. It wanders through three different states -- Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky -- and crosses the Ohio river twice.
Who could race in this event? Anyone. It would be a true road race where any road-worthy automobile may enter. Think road rally for the everyman.
But who would race in this event? That's an entirely different question. Since closing I-275 would be impossible for any period of time more than, say, a few hours (if even then), the field of cars would have to be limited to about 180. Here's how I figure that. If one lap is 86 miles and even the pokiest racer should be able to average 100 mph, that's .86 hours, or about 50 minutes around the whole loop. If you want to finish the last car in by noon (to re-open the highway), and you wanted to start each car a minute behind the previous one (so as to limit bunching up), then you could launch cars for three hours straight (e.g., starting at 8am, the last one leaving at 11am and returning just before noon).
But, who would those 180 racers be? Well, we'd need to make sure that they know how to drive, so they would have to show that their cars are road-legal and pass a full race safety inspection (a la SCCA rules). But that would still leave thousands aching for a chance to blast through closed highways at ridiculous speeds.
So, to further pare the field, a $500 entry fee would be required. Maybe make it $1,000...or maybe auction off the spots. Alternately, and this could be done to help offset the costs of hosting the race (more on that later), the organizers could require a $X00 fee to enter a RAFFLE from which participants would be drawn. Then, each participant would have to pay the entry fee to actually race. The motivation would be the thrill, potential prize money, and some local fame.
I also imagine that you'd need a few classes of cars, primarily for sequencing the starts (you should have the fastest cars at the beginning and the slowest at the end in order to minimize overtaking and passing) and based primarily on top speeds (e.g., 180+, 160-180, 140-160, and less than 140). This would be the perfect opportunity for those rich guys with their Porsche Carreras and Mercedes SLRs to really open them up on public roads. It would also make for a really fine exotic car show.
Staging the cars could be done at an on-ramp area near I-75 and adjacent to a large commercial base of restaurants, etc. for helping support the hordes of tourists.
And that brings me to the money part. This could, if managed correctly, be a HUGE money-maker for the region. While you could you sell TV rights to the event, the tourism dollars alone would be enormous. If the race is on a Sunday morning (lightest traffic means the best time to close the highway for a few hours), then the day before, a Saturday, could be a huge parade of all the cars through downtown Cincinnati. It could be like a public Indy 500 for the everyday guy.
My biggest concern would be the ability to negotiate a way to close down a major highway loop that crosses three different states for a period of 4 daylight hours. If that could be done, the rest would be perfectly feasible, I think. And, if it could be pulled off once, the second year would be bigger, better, and easier just because a lot of the complexities would have already been worked out.
So, if anyone from Cincinnati town council or Hamilton County is reading this, please consider this idea; I think it would be at least an interesting thing to attempt. Heck, Cincinnati once proposed to be the site of the summer Olympics. This race wouldn't be one-tenth that much cost or effort, yet might still accomplish many of the same goals for the city and the region.
Posted by Craig in Cars
and Industry
and Society / Politics
and Travel
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