Archive - Apr 2005

Many thanks to Nicole who gave Russ and I two tickets to see Tom Friedman speak in downtown St. Paul tonight. I heard bits of his talk on Midday today so I was quite excited at the chance to see him speak. I've long really enjoyed reading Friedman - although I often intensely disagree with him. I generally find him to have interesting insights nonetheless. Tonight was no exception.

I hope to comment on Bush's press conference in the next day or so, but for now I am going to constrain myself to writing about someone who's ideas matter.

Best moment: Tom responds to a question by a 9th grader asking what classes he should take to best get ready for a more flat world. Friedman replies that the best strategy is to talk to lots of people, find out who the best teachers are and take those classes. It doesn't matter what subject, but take classes from people who will motivate you to learn.

This was a significant part of his theme on the evening. People need to learn how to learn in a world marked by rapid technological shifts and upheavals. Be prepared to learn new skills or be prepared to be out of work.

The story really isn't new. It is actually quite similar to Dune (a really fun book) which shows how people in desperate environments will learn to be tougher and stronger than those in cushy ones. Well, Americans got the cushy position and global economics are now allowing people from around the world to challenge us for the jobs we have traditionally held. I hope you weren't thinking I could work the spice into this metaphor - I'm just not that good.

A brief comment on his presentation: no notes. Impressive. Some of his comments and responses to questions echoed verbatim his comments on the radio earlier. So he clearly has put some time and effort into this book tour. I enjoyed his presentation - it is funny how a person can be arrogant and humble at the same time. I can imagine his pride from earning 3 Pulitzers warring with his Minnesota upbringing.

Most humorous moment: his discussion on computers. Russ and I were stifling laughter at some of his simplifications / confusion on some of the finer points of the silicon revolution upon which this flatter earth depends. I could sit here and pick apart the details, but it honestly doesn't really change his points which I found to be mostly valid. And he pumped up the Firefox browser which you should damn well be using to read my blog.

Learning something new: apparently UPS engages in insourcing which is not really the opposite of outsourcing. I hadn't heard of this before, but apparently UPS doesn't just ship packages anymore. It runs the entire supply chain for some businesses ... for instance, if you buy a shoe from nike.com, it looks like UPS handles all the work of pulling it from the warehouse, packing it, and shipping it to you. And they repair computers too. Which begs the question ... Nike doesn't manufacture shoes anymore - factories that may or may not be appropriately labelled sweatshops in Asia do that. Now Nike doesn't even ship them. What the hell does Nike do besides advertise? I suppose they spend a little on R&D.

Stand up and cheer moments: Bush on Energy policy. Get a clue Bush. Taking a page from Kerry's platform and working to inspire a new generation of scientists to create American Energy Independence would be a great program. Tom noted that the Bush Administration has asked no one for sacrifices since 9-11. No Victory Gardens, no war bonds, no rationing. Of course, he neglected to note that many people have been forced to sacrifice as schools continue to deteriorate, bankruptcy "reform" gives more power to predatory banks, school tuitions increase by double digits, and low income folks watch the upper class get tax breaks. So in essence, Bush hasn't asked anyone to sacrifice, he simply quietly assumed we would. And we have. But in the nature of fairness, this is no radical departure from past Presidential actions.

Ultimately, I get the sense that Tom Friedman despairs for the future of this country. He quotes Bill Gates' speech at the National Education Summit on High Schools. "America’s high schools are obsolete." Friedman sees the day when Americans have lost our advantages in the global economy - but more importantly he recognizes that Bush and company do not. He wishes the Democrats had a better plan but notes they are still debating NAFTA. Well NAFTA is fact. Global free trade is fact. Perhaps some can argue that the genie could be forced back into the lamp but I don't see that happening.

So we can deal with that and prepare for it as Americans. But I don't see that happening because as Friedman says, the first thing we have to lose is our sense of entitlement. For a multitude of reasons, Americans believe themselves to be God's chosen people and the worse things get, the more I see them turning toward the church and casting blame rather than grabbing the bootstraps as our national mythology would encourage. I'm sure we will continue to produce individuals capable of greatness - producing individuals seems to be our strong suit and I'm no individual to sneer at that I guess.

All is well though. Who is to know what is good and what is bad? Many of us believed sweatshops would bring increased poverty to Asia. They have. But they have also resulted in people organizing to better their lives. My understanding of Marx was that he believed capitalism would ravage the planet before people rose up. He was wrong about a number of things, but I agree that global capitalism may well be the beginning of an interesting story.

Here I am, being responsible and icing my ankle. It's cold. My whole foot starts getting cold. Really cold. I'm trying to distract myself by watching this new "Con" show on Comedy Central. It's less inspiring than I hoped it might be. Can't say I've learned any tips.

Getting down to business - I finished reading an issue of Army Magazine - The magazine of the Association of the United States Army. Interesting reading. I can only imagine how many on the left would react to such a magazine - I myself picked it up with certain stereotypes in mind. Some were reinforced but on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised that it does not come off as a right wing publication although the politics certainly lean heavily in that direction. On the balanced side, some letters to the editor leaned left. They do offer their articles online, which gives them bonus points.

I enjoyed an article called "Categorizing War is an Invitation to Defeat" which argued that war should not be separated into "conventional" and "unconventional." I agree with much of the article, but it set my brain off down a path I had mentally marked for later thinking. Basically, I find it funny that empires (such as the U.S., British, Roman) use terms like unconventional warfare to describe what their military spends most of its time doing. Empires spend lots of time quelling insurgencies. They spend far less time on a traditional battlefield which means the term traditional battlefield is actually bunk. Kinda funny really. At least that is what I'm thinking.

The one article that made the whole issue worthwhile though was "Military Lite: War with Half the Cost." In short, this piece explains why the Bush Administration finds it economical to abuse the reserve forces through overuse. Note: AC = Active Component, RC = Reserve Component. Some good points follow. Bracketed comments are mine.

The simple fact is that if RC units are going to be deployed multiple times for periods of years at a time on a regular basis, people will not join RC in the first place, and many experienced RC veterans will leave [if they are allowed]. Those who wanted to serve for multiple years overseas would have joined the AC in the first place, with its greater benefits and resources, and not the RC. The Pentagon, with its $15,000 bonus program, thinks it can patch a fundamentally broken RC manpower policy by throwing a few more dollars at it.

The author goes on to note all the ways in which the Pentagon saves money by using the RC. Reservists families have their own homes so they don't use permanent military housing, they tend not to use the crappy health coverage provided to RC personnel, and families of RC tend to be further from bases which means they don't use base facilities as often. In addition,

There is also a huge long-term savings since pensions are paid to reservists only when they reach age 60, as opposed to active duty retirees who can collect full pensions as soon as they retire with 20 years of service, some as early as age 38.

This is why half the force in Iraq is RC. Once again, we see the language being abused. Much like "conventional war" is far less common than "unconventional," the RC is used interchangeable with AC.

Throughout 2003 and 2004, Congress called for the permanent expansion of at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops on active duty to cover global commitments and was rebuffed by the civilian leadership of the Pentagon. Congress was told that the troops were unnecessary and that there was a temporary "spike" of demand for troops that would go away in the near future.

Although most of us already knew it was a bad idea to abuse the RC in this manner, I find some the nuts and bolts interesting. In the end, I wish people would take a lesson away from this. This is how the government treats its subjects. Those who are volunteering to join the military are in for a rough ride as they are sent around the world to protect U.S. empire. Whether they come back healthy or not, their sacrifices will be forgotten by all except those who love them. This is sad, but that doesn't make it any less the nature of empire.

Woke up sore again. Ankle hasn't been getting better, so I decided to waste my day off by spending the morning at the Dr. office. They couldn't tell me much except that the X-ray was normal ... I may have damaged a tendon sheath and almost certainly busted a blood vessel or two. So the upshot is that I need to take it easy for a few more days (easier than I have been taking it I guess) and let nature take its course.

To anyone who is curious - what transports data the fastest - pigeon, snail, or ADSL? The snail wins! This is too good to not quote.

Motivation: Since the snail proper is committed neither scientifically nor professionally to the advancement of data communications techniques, we had to contrive a way to entice it to get moving. After consulting the literature on utility theory and economic mechanism design, we proceeded to augment the platform with a unique incentive mechanism based on a fresh leaf of Lactuca Sativa, also known as iceberg lettuce, hereafter referred to as LGS (Lettuce-based Guidance Sub-system)

Got some photos groovin online from Lauren's hot tub party in early April.

I love the wireless ... chilling with Adam over lunch right now for Taco Tuesday at Tiffs. Yum. Listening to classic rock on the radio and thinking about how much I love Tacos.

Juan Cole has a link to this story looking into how the NYT reports deaths children in the Israeli / Palestinian conflict. Shockingly, it would seem that the deaths of Arabs is less of a news story than the deaths of Israelis.

Juan Cole also offers a good reply to Matthew Haughey who claims that bloggers who use the term MSM (mainstream media) should be ignored. While Matthew makes some good points regarding the othering of the media, I do think there is a nebulous line between MSM and other reporters.

Before I start, I have posted the Macalester tennis photos. Tennis is tricky to shoot - in some ways it is easy because you generally know who to shoot and you have warning before a return and such, but if you want to get good shots, you have to get in tight and fill the frame without cutting off important aspects of the photo. I haven't totally figured it out yet, but I got better photos this year than last.

Some of you may remember my enthusiasm a week before the Nov 2 election, when I posted a link to the new Eminem Mosh video which was more political than anything else I had seen him do. Well, it turns out that it was produced by a great leftist collective called Guerrilla News Network (GNN) with a different ending (you can view it there). This version became quite popular on MTV. The version that made it out features people getting fed up and turning out in large numbers to the voting booths. The original shows that group storming the halls of power in DC and disrupting the process ... guess which one I prefer?

Stylistically, the original version makes more sense and flows better but I'll admit that I still found the voting version quite powerful.

The fine folks at GNN are also putting out a documentary on the Iraq War called BattleGround, 21 Days on the Empire's Edge.

I know it seems odd coming from someone who believes we can do better than democracy - but I'm sick of seeing modern politicians totally disrespect the ideals of open society and democracy. Democracy is only possible when you respect the beliefs of others. Time and time again, the Bush Administration has proven it does not understand this concept. Time magazine reports on the Bush Administration preventing former Kerry supporters from attending some boring Telecommunications meeting. I'm not sure who to feel sorrier for.

Mark your calendars. Seriously. Get the durn thing out - start using iCal if you got it or pull out a pen and write it on that lovely personalized photo calendar some rockin dude gave you for Christmas. Why? Cuz Kung Fu Hamlet is back! A friend of mine has been doing this show for a number of years and I hear it is worth seeing. Last year I missed it to go to Hawaii. This year I will definitely be checking it out. Early August. Get ready!

Okay - now this is funny. Defective Yeti is worried about google maps.

Less funny. Jeff Vail notes that U.S. forces are moving into Azerbaijan - their jumping off point for anything into Iran.

The army is developing a HUMVEE like hybrid vehicle that will be rather fuel efficient to use around the base and such. Looks kinda cool and will replace the 11 mpg HUMVEE with a 50 mpg HUMVEE light in chill situations ... and possibly operated by remote on the battlefield.

I'm beat. Not sure why - though I did do a bike ride this morning, I feel extreme fatigue right now. Probably due to the sun exposure - I spent 4 hours taking photos of Mac baseball this afternoon as they beat split a doubleheader with Grinnell. Fun stuff. Didn't get beaned by any foul balls, but it was at the forefront of my thoughts for much of the day.

Posted some photos at macsportsphotos.net of softball and baseball. Hoping some parents will appreciate it and drop me a donation or two to help cover costs. I spent some time upgrading the software and creating a new donation page, so maybe that will help.

Spent much of the evening next door in Kim's apt, trying to figure out how the online microeconomics course at Metro State University works. I need to take a micro course before I start at the U in the fall and I would like to do it online as I have no car and a constantly changing schedule. I found the web site to be somewhat unhelpful, will have to call them tomorrow and take care of things the old fashioned way.

Saw a good article in the Pioneer Press detailing mass transit funding news. Looks like they passed a bonding bill to pay for the NorthStar Line and some additional money to work toward more rail/bus solutions in the Twin Cities. Good deal. So long as I am paying taxes, I sure would like to see that money used in intelligent ways to ensure future generations have more to look forward to than 2 hour daily commutes locked in a car. Unless they finish that flying car idea - isn't that due soon?

Another interesting story (found from on the goMinnesota Blog) mentions voters will have more than one constitutional amendment to vote on next year. There will be an amendment to raise the gas tax .05 a year because Pawlenty can't do it without backing down on his no new taxes pledge.

I see that a high school girl in Winona loves her vagina. She got one of those pins (Kim has one too) and wore it to school. Predictably, it has turned into a free speech battle. She has been swamped with interviews from local to the O'Reilly Factor. I'm not really sure where I come down on this issue ... should absolute freedom of speech exist in schools?

I strongly believe the government has no right to limit freedom of speech among adults. Should it have the right to limit it in schools? I want to first say that I think it is crap to argue that kids won't learn the importance of freedom of speech unless they experience it. I think the opposite is actually quite true, they will gain a greater appreciation for it, the more their conduct is regulated -- which is not to say it is a good idea!

Ultimately, I have to conclude that when it comes to clothes and buttons, I think the school needs to enforce certain standards in order to maintain an environment conducive to learning. I don't think this means schools should censor the student newspaper, but I can also imagine some socially conservative parents wanted to protect their children from messages they consider obscene. Although I disagree with such notions of obscenity, I think parents deserve to be the ones to make that call.

I found information on the above and below posts at NewPatriot.org which is a good local blog.

Remember how the State Department was criticized last year for putting out a terrorism report which concluded that terrorism incidents had gone down? The criticism came because it later admitted that "mistakes" were made and in fact, that year was the absolute worst for terrorist incidents (at least in the history of this report). This was quite unflattering for GW, so apparently Condi Rice has decided that the State Dept doesn't need to compile that report anymore. It seems like the facts are inconvenient for an administration that is boasting of winning the war against terror.

In sporting news, apparently TCF is going to plaster its name on the new Gopher stadium at the U. I had read that this is the first stadium in the Big 10 that is named after a corporation but I cannot confirm this - I suspect Klink will be able to.

Northwest Airlines ... wow. I am trying to update my worldperks info. Ha! I just sent them this email after some frustration.

I am extremely dissatisfied with NWA PIN assistance. I apparently have a PIN which I have forgotten. I don't remember ever getting it, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

So I went to the PIN assistance section and it asked for my secret question ... which I have not filled out because the I never choose the passport digits question and my passport number wasn't the correct answer. So the system wouldn't let me update my PIN. Fair enough.

Looking through you FAQ, it says the PIN assistance will email my PIN to my email address - so I think awesome. But no, it doesn't. Once again, I get a secret question.

So I look at the FAQ again and it tells me there is a toll free number. I call it, but each option I try ends up asking me for my worldperks number (which I have) and then my PIN (which I don't have) and I can't get to a menu that will allow me to change my PIN. Thus I am stuck.

Please let me know how I can retrieve/update my PIN. Y'all should be securing Top Secret information with this setup. People will get frustrated long before they find state secrets.

This is where having the digital camera is nice. Check out my ankle!


At this point, I'm afraid I have to concede that I may have hurt it. Fortunately, I was smart enough to wear a compression sock to work which minimized the swelling. I am now icing it again. It looks worse than it feels and seems to be high enough that my ankle remains stable although it does pain me when I put all my weight on it.

That didn't stop Kim and I from heading out to see some music at the Turf tonight. Martin Devaney opened with some good solo songs. Mike Gunther came out next with a wicked set that I really enjoyed - although we did leave before he finished due to extreme tiredness.

29 miles today. Biked down the Mighty Missipp' to the less than Mighty Minnehaha over to Lake Harriet, around Lake Calhoun and back. It was a fun trip - somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 hours that left me a bit tired.

Having to type this in an odd position so I can ice my ankle because I'm afraid if I don't, Walchka, Lauren, and Kim will again all gang up on me for being stupid. It turns out my last soccer match left me a little bit gimped out. Still not sure what exactly happened, I must've got booted on my inner ankle (fairly high up) because it is rather swollen and painful when I walk ... but it is a dull pain that doesn't appear to be serious in my mind - mainly cuz I don't think I hurt any of the area ligaments. But I am icing it and not being a stupid meathead.

Looks like James is moving back to the area. Yeah! I've barely talked to him in years, but I miss the good old days at 1676 Hague. It will be good to get more of the old crew back together.

I grabbed lunch at the Acme Deli yesterday (just East of St Clair and Snelling) and saw a great bumpersticker on their counter. Something like, "Just say No to Homophobic Bigots: Send Michelle Bachman Packing." Damn straight.

Okay, so I just started reading some of the local stories today, but this has to be the stupidest thing I will read all week. Gov Pawlenty on the importance of putting gays in their place:

If you hear them speak about it, they'll say there are other issues that should come in front of this issue," Pawlenty said. "They probably said on the bridge of the Titanic that icebergs are a distraction. Marriage between a man and a woman and protecting that is not a distractin. It's important.

I have not thought much about Pawlenty in the past ... didn't have much of a problem with him, actually liked some of his priorities in transit policy but this is too much. I reckon this is one of those hot button issues for me. Comparing the need to prevent homosexual couples achieve parity with heterosexual couples to ignoring icebergs on the Titanic ... absurd.

The article from which I found that quote (linked above) is an interesting read. Bachman says there is no other issue that so unites people across demographic lines - which only illustratres the depth of our problems here. Much like hating Jews united the Germans a few decades ago. There I go drawing risky historical parallels, but it seems to fit. Gotta love that hatred in times of economic stress.

A black pastor discusses what he sees as the breakdown of African American families. That breakdown is indeed a troubling trend and spells increased problems for their communities in the future. But it might have more to do with the high rates of incarceration for black men in our lovely justice system than it does with shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

It may just be time for a kiss-in. Next time these homophobic folks rally, we should gather up tons of people and join their protests - and start making out with same sexed friends in the middle of them. Besides annoying the hell out of them, it would be fun. As Michael Valentine put it, "Kissing is goodness."

Addendum: Sorry Klink, if Vin Diesel comes, I'll be kissing him instead of you. Just thought you should know.