Blog Meme Of The Week

Ken AshfordBloggingLeave a Comment

I saw this at The Talent Show:

Rules:

1. Go into your archive.

2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).

3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

Okay.

My result (from a post dated February 12, 2004):

"Maybe something to do with ‘same sex marriages’ or Massachusetts or something."

Geez.  Nice sentence fragment. 

It was a silly post have to do with Mattel’s announcement that Barbie & Ken (you know, the dolls) were "breaking up", and my (failed) quest to find the punchline for that story.

Amazing Video Breakthrough

Ken AshfordScience & TechnologyLeave a Comment

Playdoh I’m not making this up:

Analog control of digital devices and media has always appealed to me. Like the controllers for a PS2, they allow degrees of fuzziness in a world made of very strict ones and zeroes. Life is not black and white, so for deeper interactive experiences we need to look at control devices that allow our analog thinking brains to influence and control this digital world.

Play-Doh is a fantastic analog material. It’s the total opposite of the ones and zeroes paradigm. So I took the idea of exploring Play-Doh as a fuzzy interface, looking at various ways to use this tactial, fun “interface” and use it to control digital media. [T]he amount of Play-Doh on screen dictates how fast the film plays.

As I twist the Play-Doh and take bits away, the film reacts accordingly in real-time. Add too much Play-Doh and the film rapidly speeds up. An intimate connection is made between the user and the media. Every action has a reaction in the digital space. No scary buttons to press. No instructions to read. It’s just Play-Doh.

Call me old-fashioned, but when I want to speed up the video, I use the remote.

Attention, “Family Values” People!

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

See how much your President believes in holding up "family values".  Check this out:

President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington’s closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.

In June, the State Department listed 14 countries as failing to adequately address trafficking problems, subjecting them all to possible sanctions if they did not crack down.

Of those 14, Bush concluded that Bolivia, Jamaica, Qatar, Sudan, Togo and the United Arab Emirates had made enough improvements to avoid any cut in U.S. aid or, in the case of countries that get no American financial assistance, the barring of their officials from cultural and educational events, said Darla Jordan, a State Department spokeswoman.

Cambodia and Venezuela were not considered to have made similar adequate improvements. But Bush cleared them nonetheless to receive limited assistance, for such things as combatting trafficking.

***

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Kuwait — another U.S. ally in the Middle East — were given a complete pass on any sanctions, Jordan said. Despite periodic differences, oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United States have a tight alliance built on economic and military cooperation.

Gee, I wonder if that last bit has anything to do with it.

Yes, We Can Blame Global Warming

Ken AshfordDisasters, Environment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

3hurricanes_1Yesterday, I blogged about this stupid quote from Jonah Goldberg:

If global warming explained the current spate of big hurricanes, there would be more in the South Pacific and elsewhere. It’s my understanding there haven’t been.

Jonah’s "understanding" notwithstanding, there’s always this, from the latest issue of Science:

We conclude that global data indicate a 30-year trend toward more frequent and intense hurricanes, corroborated by the results of the recent regional assessment. This trend is not inconsistent with recent climate model simulations that a doubling of CO2 may increase the frequency of the most intense cyclones, although attribution of the 30-year trends to global warming would require a longer global data record and, especially, a deeper understanding of the role of hurricanes in the general circulation of the atmosphere and ocean, even in the present climate state.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE:  Or, if you eschew scientific mumbo-jumbo, there’s this:

Around the world, powerful hurricanes – rated Category 4 or 5 – have become more frequent compared with 30 years ago. Coastal communities can expect more of the same, researchers say, for a variety of reasons that may eventually include global warming.

Two studies by researchers in the past two months, using slightly different approaches, have reported a noticeable increase in storm strength and in the share of strong storms a season experiences.

Editorials We Stopped Reading After The First Paragraph

Ken AshfordDisasters, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

From our dear friend Kaye Grogan:

Sooner or later people need to realize if they keep building homes in high risk areas, they are not putting too much value on their lives or the lives of their families. Yes, hurricanes and tornadoes hit urban and rural areas as well, but not on the same level and magnitude as coastal areas.

Well, yes, Kaye.  it is true that hurricanes tend to hit coastal areas, rather than inland areas.  I can’t deny that.   Touche.

But as for tornadoes . . . um, Kaye?

Avgtpsm_1

Source.

Not-So-Lovely Rita

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

Looks like this is going to be an interesting blog for the next few days:

Editor’s note [Houston Chronicle]: Welcome to our experiment in citizen journalism. The bloggers who are posting here live in various parts of the city, and they will be posting their experiences as Hurricane Rita approaches and moves through the area. Bloggers here are posting on their own and are solely responsible for the content of their blogs.

There’s already some interesting posts and photos.

UPDATE:  Yes, I know the title for my post is unclever and predictable.

How Government Does Biz

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Disasters, Economy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

I really liked what Robert Reich (Secretary of Labor under President Clinton) said yesterday on NPR’s Marketplace.  You should really give it a listen here.

But since you won’t, let me restate his commentary in my own words.

Why are prices so cheap at Walmart?  As most people know, it is because Walmart is so honkin’ huge, that it can demand lower prices on goods and services from its suppliers.  These savings are then passed on to us, the consumers.  That’s the free market at work, baby, and it’s pretty easy to grasp.

But consider this.  The United States federal government is bigger than Walmart.  Waaay bigger.  Federal government spending accounts for one-fourth of the GNP.  So you would think that, like Walmart, the U.S. Government would be able to have considerable clout in getting great deals from the companies that supply goods and services.

So why doesn’t it?  Why doesn’t it require companies to compete for lucrative contracts to clean up Katrina and rebuild New Orleans?  Why, instead, does it simply give no-bid contracts to companies like Halliburton, and allow these companies to pay their employees sub-standard wages (by suspending the Davis-Bacon Act?)

You already know the answer to these questions.  Admit it.  Do I need to go on?

Bush To Bestow Honor On Cindy Sheehan

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, SheehanLeave a Comment

This is, uh, interesting.  Keep in mind as you read, that on the weekend of September 24-25, there will be a huge anti-war rally in Washington, D.C., in which Gold Star Mom Cindy Sheehan will play a vital role.

America’s Gold Star Mothers carry a great burden of grief,  yet they show a tremendous spirit of generosity in helping their fellow citizens.  With kindness and understanding, they support members of our Armed Forces and their families, provide vital services to veterans, help to educate young people about good citizenship and our Nation’s founding ideals, and bring comfort to many in need.  We commend these proud women for their compassion, commitment, and patriotism, and our Nation will always honor them for their sacrifice and service.   

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895 as amended), has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother’s Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its observance.  On this day, we express our deep gratitude to our Nation’s Gold Star Mothers, and we ask God’s blessings on them and on their families.   

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, September 25, 2005, as Gold Star Mother’s Day.  I call upon all Government officials to display the flag of the United States over Government buildings on this solemn day.  I also encourage the American people to display the flag and hold appropriate ceremonies as a public expression of our Nation’s sympathy and respect for our Gold Star Mothers.

From Tapped, who adds the following:

[I]f Bush meets with any Gold Star mothers on Sunday and not Sheehan, it will be perceived as a snub to a whole subset of Gold Star moms (those who oppose the war), and certainly that can’t be the message the president wants to send on the day he’s asked people to honor them.

Related: Donahue vs. O’Reilly.

Bush Hitting The Sauce Again

Ken AshfordBush & Co.Leave a Comment

DrinkupbushSo says The National Enquirer.

Yeah, I know.  The National Enquirer.  So we can assume it’s not true.  Especially when you read sentences like this in the Enquirer article (which itself reads like a really bad Dallas episode):

"When the levees broke in New Orleans, it apparently made him reach for a shot," said one insider. "He poured himself a Texas-sized shot of straight whiskey and tossed it back. The First Lady was shocked and shouted: "Stop George!"

Now, this implies that President Bush was, you know, actually engaged in what was going on in New Orleans.  Clearly, he wasn’t.  Certainly not at the time the levees broke.  So the veracity of the story is dubious.

BoozecrisisOn the other hand, recall that the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal first "broke" in the tabloids — and those turned out to be true.

And Bush certainly has good reason to drink.  He has fewer and fewer friends.

Here’s what Andrew Sullivan has to say:

A sea-change? Dan Drezner, who actually criticized this administration when it could have made a difference (yes, he even endorsed Kerry in frustration at the incompetence of it all), notices a change in right-wing blogs. Check out the comment section. Money quote there:

Funny, these are the same guys who idolized him for the first five years of his presidency. What changed, all of a sudden? Certainly not Bush, he is still acting the same way he has his entire career.

What’s changed is that after five years of presidency, the elections are finally over. It is now safe to criticise Bush, because such criticism can’t possibly matter any more – it can’t affect his reelection chances.

Forgive me if I don’t perceive this as responsible conservatism. Responsibility would have been criticising him before it’s too late to do anything about his weaknesses.

Ahem.

Even Bob Novak can’t deny the "sea change" against Bush:

Longtime participants in Forstmann Little conferences…told me they had not experienced such hostility against a Republican president at previous events. Yet, they were sure a majority of the guests had voted for Bush.

….U.S. News & World Report disclosed this week, with apparent disdain, that presidential adviser Karl Rove took time off from the Katrina relief effort to be at Aspen. He was needed as a counterweight. I settled in for serious fireworks, expecting Bush-bashers to assault his alter ego at the conference’s final session. However, direct confrontation with a senior aide must have been more difficult than a remote attack on the president. It would be a shame if Rove returned to Washington without informing George W. Bush how erstwhile friends have turned against him.

So it’s not too surprising that Bush might be turning to old reliable friends.  In this case, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam.

“Potentially Catastrophic”

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

Those are the words being used to describe Rita, the "monster" Category 5 hurricane heading toward Texas.

Of course, it also applies to this situation:

American League
Eastern Division W L Pct GB Home Road Streak
New York 88 63 .583 – 50-27 38-36 Won 3
Boston 88 64 .579 0.5 50-24 38-40 Lost 1
Toronto 74 77 .490 14.0 40-37 34-40 Lost 1
Baltimore 70 81 .464 18.0 35-39 35-42 Lost 4
Tampa Bay 64 89 .418 25.0 40-38 24-51 Won 1

Useful Database

Ken AshfordWeb RecommendationsLeave a Comment

Phone_jail_300 Tired of being caught up in a big company’s automated recorded voicemail (also known as "voice-jail")?  Want to speak to an actual human being?

If so, then check out this online database.  It shows you the phone "shortcut" so you don’t have to listen to all of the ridiculous menu options.  Some examples:

Astoria Federal Savings — 800-ASTORIA — When you hear the womans voice press zero. Will transfer right away to a human.

Bank of America — 800-900-9000 — Hit zero twice, after menu choices play

Bank One — 877-226-5663 — Press 0 thru the options to get a live person

Chase — 800-CHASE24 — Hit five, pause, then hit one, four, star, zero

CIBC — 800-465-2422 — Enter card# and pin, then press 0

CitiBank — 800-374-9700 — Zero

Ann Coulter Stew

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

I honestly think she has lost her mind now.

Today, Ann takes a bunch of key words and topics of the day, throws them into a large bowl, stirs them up with her bony man-hands, and produces an absolutely incomprehensible editorial on a topic which still eludes me, although I’m pretty sure it is intended to be some sort of liberal-bashing.

Let’s see how many times she mixes and matches topics that have absolutely nothing to do with each other.  First, the title:

ACTUALLY, ‘JUDICIAL ACTIVISM’ MEANS ‘E=mc2’

Okay.  That’s one.  I guess this opinion piece is going to have something to do with judges, or Einstein.  Or both.  Let’s venture further.

Democrats are so excited about Hurricane Katrina, they’re thinking of moving "Camp Casey" to an area outside the National Weather Service.

That’s two.  Even assuming I knew what the subject matter of her editorial was, I still don’t know what this means.  What does Hurricance Katrina have to do with Cindy Sheehan?

What they haven’t figured out yet is how Richard Perle and the "neocons" cooked up a hurricane that targeted only black people.

That’s three.  In only three sentences.

So, what have we learned so far?  Democrats are so excited about a hurricane cooked up by neocons, that we want to move Cindy Sheehan’s protest to the National Weather Service . . . and this has something to do with judicial activism and the Theory of Relativity.

How Stupid Is Jonah Goldberg?

Ken AshfordEnvironment & Global Warming & Energy, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

Answer: Pretty stupid.

The issue is whether or not global warming is leading to increases in ocean temperatures, which leads to more ferocious hurricanes. 

I acknowledge that the scientific jury is still out on this issue, but Jonah’s explanation why it is not so is — well — stupid.  Pointing to this NOAA chart, he writes:

We are almost done with 2005. The average number of major (cat 3, 4 or 5) hurricane strikes on the US per decade is 6. There were 10 during the 1940s.

And by gosh, he’s right.  If you look at the NOAA chart, the number of Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricanes from 1941-1950 is indeed listed as 10.  And the average per decade is listed as 6.

A couple of problems, though. 

First of all, the chart shows only hurricanes to strike the U.S. mainland!  A category 5 hurricane which weakens to a Category 2 hurricane by the time it hits the U.S. mainland gets listed as a Category 2, not a Category 5.  And a Category 5 hurricane that hits Mexico mainland, doesn’t get listed at all!

In fact, "hurricanes to strike the U.S. mainland" is a bad indicator of the overall the quantity and ferocity of hurricanes worldwide.  It’s like me saying, "There were fewer car accidents at the corner of Main and First Street this year, therefore, traffic accidents citywide are decreasing in number."

Jonah tacitly acknowledges this problem, when he writes:

If global warming explained the current spate of big hurricanes, there would be more in the South Pacific and elsewhere. It’s my understanding there haven’t been.

Wow.  It’s his "understanding".  Thanks for the factual support.

Secondly, the chart shows that there were three Cat 3/4/5 hurricanes from 2001-2004.  So obviously, it does not include Katrina or Rita (FLASH UPDATE:  Hurricane Rita is now a Category 5 hurricane).  So, if the "average per decade is 6", we have already reached 5 in this decade, which is only half over!  In other words, his "chart" (even assuming the data was relevant to worldwide hurricanes) shows that this is one of the worst decades for serious hurricanes in recorded history.  How exactly does this disprove  global warming?

UPDATE:  More Jonah stupidity here.

Too Busy To Freak Out About This

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

One of these days, I’m going to read this wikipedia entry from top to bottom, and browse around the Flu Wiki.  I know nothing about the avian flu, but a lot of people who do know about it think we should all know about it.

This blog is supposed to be pretty good, too.  It keeps an eye out on current developments, like this:

With the deaths of two young girls (ages 2 and 5), the Indonesian alarm bells are ringing more loudly. WaPo reports ten more hospitalized with high fever, bird flu suspected (numbers of hospitalized patients differ in various news reports).

Yeah.  I kind of hear those alarm bells ringing, which prompted this post.

But it’s almost baseball post-season, so . . . you know . . . priorities.