Continue reading "Abrupt Climate Changing. Political Argument Dynamics Unchanging"
March 3, 2008
Abrupt Climate Changing. Political Argument Dynamics Unchanging
Sometimes I wonder how I will feel if my actions make the world 5 degrees warmer on average by the end of the century. Then I slap myself around and sober up. Looks like the argument around global warming is...
November 12, 2007
Gas Prices: A Perspective
Just a little perspective from the New York Times: Historical price of Gasoline in Inflation-Adjusted Dollars...
November 9, 2007
He saw it too
Pilot, former Air Force officer, and former Governor:"Craft did not resemble any man-made object I have ever seen." Fife Symington has something to tell you. Back in 1997, when half of Phoenix saw strange lights in the sky, he saw...
November 7, 2007
Pon'far Approaches
So. You said what about Ron Paul? It's that time again. The time that every true consultant dreads: American elections are just around the corner. Once you get the bits and bytes of making software happen, you realize that the...
October 30, 2007
Remembering Molecules?
Most all the stuff you learn in school is false. If that sounds like an extreme generalization -- it is. And it's exactly why what you learn is false: it's incomplete, it's generalized, it's dumbed-down for the masses. It's easy...
September 11, 2007
Hollywood Morality
It used to be that every show or movie you saw had some underlying sense of morality. Some shows, like Lassie or The Andy Griffith Show, were even explicit about it: at the end of each show, you got the...
August 20, 2007
Seven Crazy Political Headlines of the Week
Is it just me, or has there been a boatload of strange political headlines over the past week or two? Putin goes after Santa...
Continue reading "Seven Crazy Political Headlines of the Week"
August 13, 2007
Religiosity and GCC: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, do they? "Don't call it Global Warming," my correspondent emailed, "when you call it that, you open the discussion up to all sorts of non-germane quips about how it might be nice for it...
Continue reading "Religiosity and GCC: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition"
August 9, 2007
What Kind of Political Animal am I, Anyway?
It's a doggy-dog world out there I got into a great discussion over on Slashdot today regarding personal freedoms and wiretapping laws. In it, I pointed out I was a right-leaning libertarian. I think I might as well said "beeble-book,...
Continue reading "What Kind of Political Animal am I, Anyway?"
July 14, 2007
Is There Anybody Out There?
In the left corner, weighing in at 180 pounds, Christopher HitchensGod has really been ticking people off lately. Seems like since The Enlightenment, every so often we go through spells where God just seems to get on everybody's nerves. The...
July 11, 2007
Is There Anything Real Anymore?
I was watching a preview for the movie "Surf's Up" a couple of months ago -- it's the animated story for kids of a penguin who travels to the tropics to become a professional surfer -- when something caught my...
June 25, 2007
Happy Birthday ET
This month and next mark an unique anniversary of sorts for humankind -- the sixty-year anniversary of the popular realization that we might not be alone out there. The popularity of fanciful images and movies such as this in the...
June 6, 2007
Space: Kill NASA and Really Explore Space
I am a big fan of anything to do with flying or space. I am an instrument and commercial pilot, and I spend a lot of my free time reading about astronomy, cosmology, and all things space-related. I'm a...
Continue reading "Space: Kill NASA and Really Explore Space"
May 25, 2007
Did Walt Disney Cause Global Warming?
"The planet has a fever," the politician began, "If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told...
March 18, 2007
Trying to be Mistaken
As I've said before, I have my doubts about the Global Warming political movement and debate. So much of it seems emotionally-based and overblown. In addition, I have major concerns with end-of-world scenarios. From both history and personal experience, believing...
February 12, 2007
Iraq: The Lexical Tar-Baby
"...Howdy, Brer Rabbit," says Brer Fox, says he. "You look sort of stuck up this morning," says he. And he rolled on the ground and laughed and laughed until he couldn't laugh anymore. By and by he said, "Well, I...
February 6, 2007
My Problem with the Global Warming Debate
I believe in man-caused climate change. I understand that for many of you reading this, there is no debate on Global Warming: perhaps you are reading this fifty years in the future and the science is settled. Perhaps you've completely...
Continue reading "My Problem with the Global Warming Debate"
December 12, 2006
ISG's Iraq: The Big Picture
I thought I would put on my process wonk hat and take a look at the Iraq Study Group report. As you may know, part of my day job is teaching and applying technology strategy. Most anybody who uses a...
August 31, 2006
Goodbye 4GW, Hello Transactional Warfare
There have been some great books lately on how warfare is both returning to its desultory roots and evolving from Mao's war to a decentralized trans-national threat. One buzzword is 4GW, which stands for Fourth Generation Warfare. The general idea...
August 24, 2006
This Just in: War is Illegal
This weekend we celebrate the 78th anniversay of the Kellogg-Briand Pact. There'll be bands marching, fireworks in the sky, and outdoor parties and celebrations. What? You don't know about the Kellogg-Briand Pact?...
August 22, 2006
Hello. I'm Your Local Crackpot
Recently I wrote an article suggesting some new ways to look at the Global War On Terror. As a result of that article, several readers contacted me asking me to expand the idea. So I've been working on that, putting...
August 16, 2006
Naturally Speaking
Isn't this beautiful? Wonder why? I just got through reading an interesting book, "Playing God in Yellowstone", by Alston Chase. The blurb kinda goes something like this: Chase argues convincingly that Yellowstone National Park is slowly being destroyed. He details...
August 7, 2006
Welcome to the First Media War
I've been doing analysis for most of my life, and I'm curious about the current state of world affairs, so I thought I would share with you my preliminary conclusions on the world situation as it is today. I believe...
June 30, 2006
Flag Burning: A Solution
Here's the solution to the flag burning question. Enact a law that says to be a genuine United States flag, the flag must be made of some heinous material that pollutes like crazy when burned. Ergo, burning the flag is...
June 16, 2006
Software Patents: Getting Wrapped Around the Axle
Sometimes when I tell people I have applied for a patent it's like I just told them I abuse my dog with a fork. I am amazed at the vitriol that people have for software patents! People who in every other way hate big businesses are more than happy to rip apart the system into something where only the big guys control everything.
Continue reading "Software Patents: Getting Wrapped Around the Axle"
June 2, 2006
Whining and Complaining
My last blog entry was basically me whining about having to do a business plan, and how I lived in the middle of nowhere. I also whined and complained a bit about trying to get some help from a web...
May 15, 2006
The NSA: Spies or Cops?
I'm a libertarian. That means I believe that people should be as free as possible and I believe that the government should only interfere when absolutely necessary. i'm a big private property person, and I am for freedom and privacy to the ultimate extent possible.
May 10, 2006
Season of Ranting
For those of you who are reading this blog from somewhere besides the United States, we're about to go insane over here.
May 9, 2006
Keeping your Mouth Shut
Anybody who reads me knows i'm not a big fan of government security. I think that the government security in many areas has created a crises in faith in the government. Something like 70% of people think the government knows...
April 29, 2006
Is UFO Classification Hurting Our Country?
I was just watching the May 2001 National Press Club briefing by Project Disclosure, which is dedicated to declassifying UFO information held by the United States government. I'm a science fiction buff, but a "want to believe" skeptic when it...
Continue reading "Is UFO Classification Hurting Our Country?"
April 13, 2006
Being Wrong
Iraq seems like it has been in the news every day for years now. I'm not getting into the whole "should we have went" debate. We're there now. I am, however, interested in this idea of the Iraqis setting up...
February 28, 2006
The Coming Internet War
In the next 100 years, there will be a shooting war over the internet. Why? Because the free flow of information across the net is just too powerful a force for existing institutions to deal with. Already we are seeing...
November 11, 2005
Veteran's Day 2005
Today is Veteran's Day in the United States.
November 10, 2005
Happy Birthday USMC!
Today is the birthday for the United States Marine Corps. 230 years ago, the congress decided to create the marine corps (yes, this was before the Declaration of Independence. After several attempts by the American colonies to work out some...
October 31, 2005
Fila what?
But what is a filabuster, anyway? And how did such a weird-sounding word get into our language.
October 30, 2005
CIA Leak: Common Sense
A couple of years ago, we were told that the current administration was "outing" undercover CIA agents as part of a political smear campaign.
October 11, 2005
China Opens Up "Internet Addiciton" Clinic
Spending a little too much time online? In China, the government has an answer for you -- internet addiction treatment.
Continue reading "China Opens Up "Internet Addiciton" Clinic"
September 15, 2005
Kat Splat
I've had the good luck in the last couple of days to get into a polite discussion on a blog about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina
September 6, 2005
Katrina Internet Scams
Today my wife got a letter from Africa. Seems like there was this son of a famous industrialist.
August 23, 2005
Call Me Names, Please
Every week or so, I get online on one of the politics rooms where most people disagree with me. Why? Because it is good to learn to care for people who disagree with you. Teaches you character.
August 19, 2005
Home
With all of the wars, poverty, discussion, terror, fighting, and general malcontent, i thought it might be good to get a little bigger perspective on things. Any Questions?
August 12, 2005
Can Moving Data be a Crime?
Let's say you have a company with a lot of information. You hired a subcontractor to do something, let's say check for dirty data. The contractor does his work, but meanwhile he's also downloading ALL of the data on your...
August 2, 2005
Artificial Womb + Stem Cell = Headaches
There's a column in slate today that is giving me a headache. We've all talked about stem cells and morality, and I'm not going to beat that gong any more. But with the development of artificial wombs, that means that...
July 28, 2005
Touring the World Media
I like to read foreign political stories, mainly because it is so fascinating as an American to see the arguments we have here played out in other venues. Watching America is a neat web site that takes foreign newspaper stories and translates them into English -- the idea being that most English-speaking people never get to read what is written about world politics in other languages. (BTW, I have no idea about the political leanings of this site -- apologies if if offends anyone. I just think it is neat reading articles from foreign papers.) Some interesting ones from this week:
July 27, 2005
A Bird So Rare, It Never Existed
I blogged recently about just how do you know an animal is extinct? It seems that subject is more and more in the news lately, with the recent conclusion that the rare Cape Verde Raptor is SO rare, it never...
July 25, 2005
Dead? Pay $1
NEW YORK --The nation's largest direct marketing group set up a registry Thursday to remove dead people from its telemarketing, e-mail and direct mail lists -- for $1. That's great news. People doing the right thing and charging folks for...
July 22, 2005
Judge Roberts Robs Liquor Store!
Nyah. Not really. Actually, the confirmation of Roberts is looking like something of a snoozer, but I can guarantee you, if you read this headline in the Washington Post tomorrow, things have changed. What other headlines would stir things up?
July 20, 2005
Inside Word On Chinese Space Launch
China announced the other day that it was sending pig sperm into space. Well, at WTF we have an super-secret inside look at the payload container to be used on that mission.
Say it Again, Sam
I love an administration that makes a lot of public gaffes. After all, Americans love poking fun at the administration, even if we voted for them. Here are some doozy's from the current one over the last year.
July 18, 2005
Politics -- More Annoying Than Commercials?
I'm a big political junkie. Every Sunday I watch the talk shows, and usually yell at the TV from time to time when false information is presented. What can I say? I don't watch football, so this is it for me. But I'm concerned that political advertising is going to get more annoying than commercial advertising over the next few years, if such a thing is possible.
Continue reading "Politics -- More Annoying Than Commercials?"
July 17, 2005
Stemming the PAC Bucks
The fountain of youth is going to be a great thing, and with promises that stem cells will do everything, including making us younger, count on me for support. But let's also try to keep a level head on our shoulders, okay?
July 14, 2005
Birds Conspire To Destroy Planet!
Sometimes you don't pick the topic, the topic picks you. Like today, when we had the story about chickens being able to think about the results of their actions. For some reason, it just seems like a bird day around...
July 13, 2005
When Nothing Happens, A Lot Can Get Done
William Saletan has a great article today in Slate about stem cell research and the current discussion in Washington. Whether you're for it or against it, that's not the point. The interesting thing is how much can get accomplished when nothing happens.
People Don't Ride the Bus? Sue 'Em
In a story that could only have come from France, a group of French cleaning women are being sued by the bus company because they are not riding the bus. Yes. Angels and ministers of grace defend us, because people are actually driving instead of using public transportation -- somebody should sue these selfish clods!
July 12, 2005
Shuttle Debate Continues
A good friend of mine emailed me today -- "Are you as nervous as I am about this launch? What if NASA mixes up its missions and crashes the shuttle into a comet?" he asked. Humor aside, it seems that...
July 11, 2005
Welcome CNet Readers!
Thanks to CNet for mentioning my blog on your site today. One of the first rules of PR is "any publicity is a good thing". I appreciate the link....
Don't Email Us, We'll Email You
If you ask me, Congress has yet to get in on the act. I would think that by combining an automatic chatting program, like ELIZA, with a text parser, you could have the Congressman's staff automatically IM the person to talk about their problems. Not that anything would get done, mind you, but it's the thought that counts. What's the old saying? Politics is all about sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
July 10, 2005
Scientific Research: Fake It Until You Make It
That's not an attempt to rag on scientists -- far from it. I'm just saying they are people like the rest of us.
Continue reading "Scientific Research: Fake It Until You Make It"
Advances in Aviation
Will every house have a plane in the garage? Hardly. But the price of business travel might come down some, and who knows? It might actually become more convenient as well. Let's hope.
July 9, 2005
But Who's a Cranial Rectalist?
I'm probably being way too hard on David Bruhn, the author. I'm sure in the abstract field of political science he is probably a million times smarter than I ever will be. I'm going to go over there right now and try to slog my way through his article.
July 8, 2005
From the Rumor Mill
Drudge is running rumors that the media is on standby for Rehnquist's retirement. That could open up a summer double-header for you political junkies. The Washington Post is running an article that the GOP is preparing for a two-front war, something that it looks like the pentagon is reconsidering.
July 7, 2005
London Experiences Terror Attack
(Non-technical entry) For those of you who don't get out a lot, several explosions reported in London this morning. More news on CNN here.
Putting a New Face on Things
Sometimes, you can't change reality. Project is late, customer is unhappy, dog ate your homework -- whatever the cause or symptom, for some reason you're stuck with it. It's times like these that you need to change your perception. Look...
July 6, 2005
Stoning Okay, NZ Politician Says
So here's a lesson to French leader Chirac, who's getting some heat about his insulting British cooking: it's easy to hurt people's feelings, and very difficult to make things right afterwards.
Battle of the Neurons
But Halle Berry? Heck, most of us guys could recognize her in total darkness from 200 feet. The pretty-people brain cells must be tougher.
July 5, 2005
Blogs Up!
This leaves open the most interesting question: how are we going to form these associations? How do I know what kinds of people have ideas that will interest me?
Education: Still a Hot Button Issue
You don't have to train all the time, but if you've gone several months without learning a new skill, the IT sector is passing you by.
July 4, 2005
Politics Is the Art of Persuading
In order to persuade people you need to know what they are interested in. Politics and marketing are very close relatives. A new company is measuring eyeball movement across web pages in an effort to see what interests you and...
BitTorrent May Be Next
Likewise, digital imaging, sound, and storage means that experiencing an event and recording an event are going to be the same thing.
GPS Tracking Your Ride?
"The tighter you squeeze your fist, the more that will slip through your fingers." There might be a lesson there for all of us, no matter how well-intentioned our motives are.
July 3, 2005
Things Are Heating Up All Over
If you looked at some of the other screens in that shop, they looked like bizarre neo-modern art -- reds, pinks, huge buttons. It was like Picasso became a GUI designer.
Fear The Sky
As a private pilot, I can tell you that you've got as much to fear out of these little planes as you do the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.
July 2, 2005
India's Prime Minister Acts To Strengthen Cyber-Security
Winners in this arena are going to have to do more than cut costs: they're going to have to win the war of public opinion at the same time.