Thursday, August 30. 2012
 Embrace Your Inner Insecurity
How girls pack a suitcase
Giving by the Rich Dropped $30-Billion During Recession
Reporters In Tampa Working Hard to Cover Nonexistent Racism
MSNBC Refuses to Cover Minority Speeches
Yahoo News Washington bureau chief on the Romneys: “They are happy to have a party when black people drown”
Soros Hires GOP Stalkers
A Gun That Progressives Refuse To Ban
Against Paul Ryan: Paul Ryan’s nasty ideal of self-reliance.
That's a straw man. Here's the transcript of Ryan's speech. One quote from it:
It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new. Now all that's left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on yesterday's wind.
President Obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he might have made. He said, well, "I haven't communicated enough." He said his job is to "tell a story to the American people"- as if that's the whole problem here? He needs to talk more, and we need to be better listeners?
Mead: President Obama: American Tory?:
Arguably, a little bit of Toryism in the White House would be less profoundly devastating and destructive than the long reign of Tory blight was for the UK. America is bigger, brasher, less governable than Britain. In Britain the establishment can aspire, and sometimes succeed, to enfold the whole country in a dim and dismal environment of stale, smug consensus. This trick is much harder to pull off in the United States. One could make a cogent argument that the kind of Toryism that largely stifled modern Britain could be less damaging and more helpful over here.
Dancing with the Taliban
I use my credit card for almost everything, and every time the salesclerk hands me the chit to sign I ask him or her, "How do you spell Barack Obama?" Without fail, the salesclerk laughs, and usually asks why. I reply, "Obama wants all my money, so he should pay my bills." Sometimes the repartee extends to, "I know, I know, he'll just bill it back to me...and add a fee on top of that!" It's all fun, me keeping a smile on my face and speaking with a chuckle, and the salesclerk's eyes often widen at realization, especially if one of those who paid $100,000 for a college degree and not being able to find a job above the level of high school dropout.
Try it. You'll like it.
Wednesday, August 29. 2012
There is a slow, deliberate change taking place on the internet. Not all that long ago, most digital publishers offered 'free' content, focusing on the sale of ads. This model is not a good revenue generator for the majority of websites. Several years ago, the Wall Street Journal switched to a paid model, and the New York Times also has a pay wall, one which is somewhat porous. Many of the digerati feel all content on the internet can, or should be, 'free'.
The Economist is a publishing outfit which has spent much time analyzing this market and how to approach it. I have read The Economist for years and I respect their views and analysis. They recently moved to the subscriber model, as well.
Technically, most publishers are not 'free', since they use advertising to cover their costs of business. But there's a cost to you, the reader, with advertising. It's a subtle cost, one which impacts the amount of readable material and sometimes even the editorial content. The alternative, a subscriber model, is something internet users rarely encounter. For some reason, people are comfortable subscribing to magazines, newspapers, and even cable TV. Radio remains one of the few 'free' media, and even that is changing as XM/Sirius slowly becomes popular (it was included as a 'free' trial for a year with our new car). However, on the internet, it's not uncommon to hear people ask for 'free' access.
Should news and information remain 'free', and, if not, why would anyone be upset if it isn't? Many of my friends who work in the media industry have lamented the move to subscriber models. I point out a simple fact. If they were willing to pay for the paper or magazine, why wouldn't they be willing to pay for the online version? Is there some difference in the delivery system that eliminated costs?
Continue reading "Everything is Free on the Intertubes"
 Day one of the convention went pretty much as I expected it to go. A whole bunch of boring speeches, albeit with a few exceptions, ending with two fabulous speeches performances by Ann Romney and Chris Christie. If you missed them, the links are below.
The one big 'disgrace' — to pick a word — was the delegates casting votes for Ron Paul. I'm not sure what kind of kooky message they were trying to deliver, but 'unity of the party' certainly wasn't on their agenda. Michigan cast the majority of its votes for Ron Paul.
Delegates are ethically but not legally compelled to cast their ballots based on the results of primaries and caucuses conducted in their state.
Well, sure. That makes sense. There's certainly no reason to pay any attention to those pesky primaries if just a handful of people can make the decision. Thank goodness for abbreviated democracy!
On the up side, the person at the podium was only repeating the votes for Romney, so when the Michigan rep said, "Thirty-three votes for Ron Paul (wild, maniacal screaming from the 127 Paulbots in the audience), six votes for Mitt Romney, one vote for Rick Santorum", all the person at the podium said was, "Mitt Romney, six votes". Big statement to the world you made there, Michigan.
A lesser disgrace was the six states that had their vote number reduced because the morons governing the state races decided to hold their primaries before the date the RNC had allowed. My home state of Florida, which, being the 4th-largest state in the union, should have had near as many votes as California's 172, was allotted a paltry 50. Hmph.
One other small disgrace were the 'abstention' votes. Nevada had five. Please tell me how a person can become a Republican delegate and find none of the candidates acceptable — on a write-in ballot!
Pics, links, and more unabashed blather below the fold.
Continue reading "Election 2012: The convention — day two"
Smart Writing - It’s good to be published, and better to be understood:
The really troublesome thing about all this is that many academic writers, even in the humanities, have legitimate and important insights to convey. Yet they genuinely believe, whether for one of the aforementioned reasons or for some other, that it doesn’t serve their interests to write straightforward English sentences.
My theory is that, if you couch your observations in academese, it makes you sound smarter. In ordinary English, most deep insights end up sounding pretty ordinary.
Labradoodle vs. Mutt: The Real Cost of Owning a Dog
Teenage marijuana use may permanently reduce IQ
Why Humans Give Birth to Helpless Babies
Chris Christie: The Statesman
Mia Love Rocks the House at RNC Convention
Shameful Media Spins, Shills and Race-Baits the GOP Convention
Knish:
The essential 21st Century conflict is between the rationers and the producers. This is not a class conflict, that is the fallacy that the left has fallen into for over a century. It is a conflict between a system of bureaucratic collectivism and a society of individuals. It is not a conflict between the rich and the poor, the majority of the rationers are either rich or close enough to it. Their charges may be poor, but the representatives of their victim groups invariably become rich. The rationer camp is funded by some of the wealthiest men and companies in America who agree with its premise that we need to ration everything from children to jobs to food to carbon emissions.
Tuesday, August 28. 2012
 And they're off and running...
For those of you without a TV, YouTube is doing a constant streamcast of the convention here.
It's been on for an hour or so and it appears to mostly be short speeches by various local dignitaries and the occasional live band. The real action begins tonight at 7. Two schedules to check are here and here.
I suppose the highlight of the evening will be Governor Chris Christie's speech at 10. After all the feisty videos we've seen of him at some small-town function, it'll be interesting to see him in a 'formal' setting. I imagine he'll try to keep his natural boisterousness toned down, but his charismatic personality will still shine through.
I also look forward to seeing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He was my original choice for the VP slot when the primaries got under way.
Enjoy the show!
With the new football season only a week away, I started gearing up for my fantasy leagues. I'm usually in at least one, sometimes two, because I love the science of football. I love any sport that is highly quantifiable, and football has recently begun to have more than its share of statisticians break it down.
To learn as much as I can and prepare, I've studied the game closely. The best sites I've found are Football Outsiders and Advanced NFL Stats (I'm open to more if anyone cares to share). Call them sabremetricians for football, and as Bill James' work revived my love for baseball, these people keep my enjoyment of football very high.
The real value of fantasy leagues are the communication which takes place between the participants. It tightens the bonds of friendship and improves the vibe in an office. People who once had only work in common suddenly have much to talk about.
The old saw that you don't discuss religion or politics in polite company should probably be revised to include sports. Specifically fantasy sports, but sports in general can be very messy. Many of us have had disagreements and arguments over sports. Regardless of quantifiability, the question of who the greatest players are will always be fraught with emotion rather than pure reason. Barstool logic tends to predominate these discussions.
One could say barstool logic predominates most emotionally driven discussions.
"Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result."
My favorite coach of all time (many peoples' favorite), Vince Lombardi, was often called upon to share his opinions on business, politics, and religion. Vince was a devout Catholic, a very tough taskmaster, but he was known to have a heart of gold. His views on the relationship between success and work for the achievement of victory continue to resonate through the years. He was a man who took control and didn't place blame, he inspired people to perform a job.
Continue reading "Football and Leadership"
 Well, not unexpectedly, I've postponed my tumor operation a few weeks. I'm tentatively scheduled for Sept 24th. Between getting much less for my stocks than I'd hoped for and losing my web job until October, I simply don't have the money yet.
But it's cool. As I mentioned in the last update, the tumor hasn't grown any worse, so there's no need to panic. I'm currently designing a web site $600, so I'll get there. For those of you just tuning in, the back story is here. Contributions to the Save Our Doc fund are more than welcome. To those of you who have already pitched in, my sincerest thanks.
One thing I've noticed that seems to be common amongst cancer docs is that they tend to be a fairly upbeat group. My doctor in Miami is a riot. At one point he adopted his 'tough guy' voice and growled, "Just rub a little dirt on it — you'll be fine!" The doctor in Mexico was the one who, after looking at the scans, said "Good news. You have a cancer, not the cancer." Whether or not hospitals specifically seek out cancer docs with an upbeat personality is anybody's guess, but it sure has helped on this end. Whenever I start feeling down and picturing the worst, something one of the docs has said inevitably comes to mind and cheers me up.
I also notice they have a particular reticence to using scary words like "cancer" and "tumor". It's usually just "your condition" or "the problem". I happened to be watching an episode of 'House MD' a few weeks ago and Wilson, the resident oncologist, was talking to a patient and referred to "your condition", so I gather it's just part of the biz.
To finish up on an upbeat note, two of my friends are delighting in sending me 'gallows humor' cartoons to cheer me up. I posted one a few weeks ago; the 'Dead End' sign next to a graveyard. This one's pretty funny:
 Animals Are as With It as Humans, Scientists Say
Which is to say, not very much
The World’s Most Expensive Camera Lens
This Child’s View Of Single-Motherhood
Yale, 61 Years Later, the Rot Continues
Coyote: One of the Year's Most Distasteful Activities
Learning to Like Mitt - Andrew Ferguson, reluctant Romneyite
Reducing Hate by Restoring Tolerance
At Romney event, two reactions to his birth certificate joke: reporters gasped--and a crowd of thousands laughed and cheered.
Karl Rove predicts historic loss for Todd Akin
President Obama has Tour Buses Flown to Stump Speeches
Cheesecake Factory Medicine - Paul Ryan's critics and the architects of ObamaCare reveal their real vision for health care: coercion.
... journalism isn’t about reporting facts. It’s about crafting stories to teach people what to believe. The masses need lessons, not facts.
Interview: David Gelernter on America-Lite
Swing-voters: Meet the Deciders
President Obama's Problems with Women
Women are concerned about more things than free birth control pills
For someone who grew up in a Republican household that nonetheless considered the Times an essential part of our intellectual diet, the paper’s increasing bias over the past decade has been breathtaking.
Unilever sees ‘return to poverty’ in Europe.
Filmed while walking on sand. That might be an error, because the shakiness gives me a headache and I pan too quickly. The minute, despite that, gives you an idea of why we love the spirit-cleansing place. It ain't the Jersey Shore, that's for sure. Nothing against the Jersey Shore, mind you.
Love the beach tents where people put their newborns to keep them out of the sun and wind, and to nurse in privacy. All babies require a little bath in the cool water, though, to help toughen them up for life. They love it. All of our kids have benefited from cold salt water, and still love it.
That's Cape Cod Bay, with Plymouth straight across but not visible. The Pilgrims sailed right past this spot, stealing the Indians' corn until the Indians in Eastham found them and showered them with arrows. Hence Plymouth, where the Indians had all died but left vast cornfields.
Cape Cod 002 from birddog on Vimeo.
Monday, August 27. 2012
 We're in Maine with iffy internet, lots of fish chowdah, clam chowdah, mussels steamed in white wine with garlic, wild blueberries, corn on the cob, and no hurricanes.
Where are our readers this week?
Can you say "no" to your kids? We do it, and have done it, every day. It's one simple syllable. Learning limits is a painful part of growing up but we all get past it in time. As we shrinks like to say, "Reality sucks." It is also beautiful, and so much of life is free, no charge.
The real achievement in life is not in saying No to one's kids, but in saying No to oneself. We call it "internalizing" the limits of reality and coming to peace with them. Who, at times, would not chose to be a kid again?
McCloskey's books were among my favorites as a kid, and favorites of my kids too. Make Way for Ducklings! Blueberries for Sal! It's real New England Yankee, Maggie's Farm stuff.
Swimming in Maine? It is not for the weak. You have to have the Right Stuff. Failure is not an option. Ya gotta join in.
From a commenter at Carpe Diem:
I have a dream that a day will come when academics value diversity in the content of our minds, and not the color of our skin...
Don't hold your breath. They have doctorates, and thus know what is best for you little people.
'Apocaloptimist' is a humorous term I recently heard that best describes how I've felt about the economy these last 4 years. The concept that it's all crashing down, but not to worry because we'll all be fine, in the end. I'm not sure that it's all going to come crashing down, but we're still not out of the recession/depression and there is a long road ahead before things improve to the point where we can feel confident about the future. Regardless of where we are, a quick review of history does point to one clear fact, and this is simply that mankind has a remarkable capability to adapt, make due, and eventually engage progress of a tangible nature.
We're still progressing today, just much more slowly.
But in the depths of a recession, true pessimists step forward. These are people who cannot see anything good, and refuse to take a simple step of reviewing history and seeing that bad times never last 'forever'. Absolutes can come back to haunt you, if used improperly. "We can never..." is the kind of phrase that inspires someone, somewhere to think, "Well, maybe we can...", and then they actually go out and do whatever it is we could never do.
Most human activity leads to peaks and those peaks are usually followed by valleys. Getting into the right frame of mind is how you get out of the valley and move to the next peak. Statements such as this, however, do nothing to help:
“No more fundamental innovations are likely to be introduced to change the structure of [today’s] society .... Like every previous civilization, we have reached a technological plateau.” — Jean Gimpel, technology historian, professor, and author.
Malthus was wrong, and 215 years later his views have still not provided any meaningful insights on how the world operates.
Armstrong’s America - Small-town boy on moon. A quote from the quiet and modest Armstrong:
"I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer, born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace and propelled by compressible flow."
New York Times “bleeds” progressivism, says its public editor
Gosh. Really?
The Truth About Woody Guthrie at 100
What they don’t tell you about Romney
To his credit, he has not written a self-mythologizing autobiography. Doesn't need to, because he has accomplished lots of real things in the real world. That is not easy to do.
1001 Pieces of Islamist Propaganda: Fabricated Exhibit Comes to D.C.
Our current President is telling lies to the little people
Mark Steyn: War on women? The real war is on children
The Truth About Obama and Welfare Reform
Negative $4,019 - The Obama years have been brutal on middle-class incomes.
Elizabeth Warren Ad: Let's Be More Like China
The Indians came from China, right?
Al Gore update
Race wars at the Census Bureau
What race is Obama? More importantly, what race is Derek Jeter? Even more importantly, aren't American Indians actually Asian?
How to Beat President Obama -The man who runs the American Crossroads Super PAC on targeting 'the persuadables' with precise messages on welfare, ObamaCare and the economy.
A Teacher’s Union Hits Bottom
The Romneys Sparkle on Fox. Where Have They Been Hiding Ann?
Michael Barone: The Evolution of the Republican Party Voter
VDH on California:
A rich inheritance, a big law settlement, tenure, a movie deal, a state sinecure — these enablers of elite liberal thought are all predicated on the less-liberal productive classes creating wealth to share. Behind every liberal philanthropist fortune is a huge capitalist score.
Sunday, August 26. 2012
Today's sermon at church was about faith, about Abraham's faith but mostly about the times when his faith was weak or non-existant.
Pastor said "Don't focus on how small your faith is; focus on how big the God is in whom you can have faith." Actually, she said it much better than that.
Luke 17:6:
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
A little rhetorical hyperbole there on the Lord's part, but I get the point. However, after gardening and transplanting all afternoon, despite my level of faith, I had to do it all myself. God willing, the plants will prosper.
This appellate decision from 1993 (h/t Volokh) is interesting to read, as much for its content as for the decision.
It tells a life story and a legal story, but the quality of the writing is what most impressed me. That judge's clerk can write, and knows how to tell a Dickensian story. (Clerk informs, judge decides, clerk writes.)
Correction via reader: Judge Posner writes his own opinions!
Here.
Fool me once...Well, I can't really say that. Didn't fool me the first time.
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