Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Benjamin's Progress
Benjamin (now six) has made a lot of progress this year. It reminds me of the progress he made prior to his sister's birth.
Back then, he had several favorite words and a growing vocabulary. This time, the number of words might actually be uncountable. Not really, but it seems like it. This is because it seems like he has finally connected the utility function of words. Where before, his words seemed more like a 1 to 1 cause and effect, "If I say this, I get that," now he seems to be thinking in those words instead, which is a vast improvement.
Previously, I eluded to the new words he has related to with LazyTown. It is expanding. Before, it was just the word "dancing" relating to the song "Bing Bang." He really likes "Bing Bang." Now, he has connected "cake" to the song "Cooking by the Book." He comes up to me and says either "dancing" or "cake" and won't stop until I repeat it to him also.
I think he assumes this is how communication is done. Say it over and over until the other person says it. That's how we talk to him, so it makes sense he'd return in much the same way.
Instead of flailing his arms and grunting, he's coming up with words about 25% of the time now. This is all new behavior within the last three months. He is also closely following the "what's next" question with the correct answer as long as it's a routine thing. If it's not routine, he has no idea.
This is unlike Hannah (almost three) who is able to connect the "what's next" question with mere abstract ideas she has heard of. Once, Hannah got a flower from someone, and a random person told her how pretty it was and how she should put it in a vase when she got home. Hannah was shy with this person implying she perhaps didn't absorb the information but insisted on a vase when she got home. She never did that before with a flower but she had the procedure down.
So it's interesting to see where they both are. I can ask Hannah questions like "What does Mommy say?" The answer according to Hannah is, "She talks."
"What does a doggie say?" "He goes ruff."
"What does a cow say?" "He goes mooooooo."
"What does a kitty say?" "He goes meow."
And when asked, "What does Benjamin say?" She answers, "Eeeeeeeee!!" while flailing her arms. She speaks fluent "Benjamese," such that we have to remind her to talk like Hannah quite often indeed.
This has resulted in Hannah requesting that Daddy talk like Daddy, though I'm not sure what she heard that made her think I wasn't talking like Daddy.
It's an amazing contrast to witness. Right now, the juxtaposition is that Hannah can spell cake (due to all the birthdays this month and people trying to be covert around the kids) and Benjamin can say cake. Ok, Hannah doesn't know she's spelling cake, per se. She just thinks it's a long word for the same. "Can I have some cay-ay-kay-ee?"
$1,000,000 Idea 001: USB Encryption Pass-Through Adapter
Ok, here's my $1,000,000 idea, no. 001:
USB Encryption "Pass-Through" Adapter
There are several USB encryption solutions out there. Some are better than others. But what I'd rather see is an encryption "pass-through" for generic USB drives. That way, I can use any drive I want. On one side, I connect it to the computer. On the other side, I connect it to the drive. Is it a cable? Ok, that'll work. Is it just an adapter? That'll work too. Bottom line, I don't want the encryption system in the drive, only encrypted data because after a few months or years, the drive will be too small or it'll break. I also don't want to install any software. Once I separate the drive from the pass-through, I'm done. It should be at least 256-AES encryption. Additional protection like a password or biometric can be embedded into the pass-through itself. Also, it might be good to have a reset for dumping the current key (thus rendering the pass-through as useless for the drive). But all of it should be inside the unit so no additional software is needed.
There you go. Now go make $1,000,000 off my idea.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I Am Against Government Guaranteed Breast-feeding Rights for Working Moms
First of all, I respect and acknowledge people who support breast-feeding-working moms. I encourage people to support them economically. So will you please afford me the same respect and courtesy I am giving you? Am I free to disagree with you?
Furthermore, we do not get our rights from the government. No government is the giver of rights, whether federal, state, nor local. The problem is, public schools teach us that government gives us our rights, so when their benevolence shines into our lives, we are supposed to be grateful:
The above video is an example of why health care prices and California's budget are completely out of control. We are drowning in debt and taxes because we expect the government to distribute rights. I disagree, but am I allowed to act on that disagreement? Am I allowed to act on my belief without the initiation of force against me?
If you agree that I’m allowed to disagree with you and if you agree that I’m free to act on that disagreement, just as you are free to act on your beliefs, by way of example, if I don’t like government programs that "give" rights to breast-feeding-working moms, am I free to not to write a check and not to economically support them?
No, in fact, there is an extremely fine charitable organization named Le Leche League International that I would rather support. LLLi already gets federal help in the form of tax exemption because it is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. There is no possible way I can emphasize how great Le Leche League is. But I am forced under threat of violence to support other sub-standard, monopoly based organizations instead. It's just wrong.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Alphabet Sounds
One of Benjamin's teachers recommended getting some pictures for him to trace to help get him interested in coloring. Part of the problem is he isn't making the connection with the pictures we want him to color. They aren't familiar and he doesn't care to engage.
He really loves a video Karen found on YouTube that has a picture for each letter of the alphabet. The song is popular at Benjamin's various schools, "Alphabet Sounds" sung by Barbra Miline. The video version is excellent, only for one minor thing: they use lower case letters. This does not detract from Benjamin's extreme interest in the video. But Benjamin does observe the letters and confused the upper case "I" with the lower case "l" when he sees the "Lion" slide. To me, the fact that he confused them is great. It means he is connecting the letters to the image. Wonderful progress.
Source: YouTube
His teacher recommended that I extract the pictures from the video with CMD-Shift-F4 (the Mac OS X way) and dump them into a photo so I could print them. I thought that was such a good idea, I did that when I got home after the meeting with her. For speed, I used CMD-Shift-F4, followed by <space>, followed by clicking on the Quicktime window. Then, to get rid of the Quicktime app border and isolate just the image, I used GIMP to use the magic lasso to select just the actual image, then I used "Crop to Selection." This resulted in a perfect crop of the images.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
(BN) U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Increase Amid Surge in Condo Construction
Not only is it too early to get excited, this is worse than bad. This is a result of the government's desire to get banks to lend.
So the banks lent to the most logical party: builders. If the builder defaults, the bank gets the building. But the bank doesn't really want the building because there is already two years worth of inventory.
Once the builders default, now who will the banks lend to?
Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.
U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Unexpectedly Jumped
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. housing starts in February unexpectedly snapped the longest streak of declines in 18 years, raising optimism the market may be finally finding a floor.
Work began on 583,000 homes at an annual rate, a 22 percent increase from January that was propelled by a surge in condominiums, apartments and townhouses, Commerce Department figures in Washington showed today. A separate report showed gains in producer prices slowed, underscoring a lack of inflationary pressures with the economy in a recession.
“It’s a bit too early to get too excited, but we are nearing the bottom in housing,” said Scott Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis, who had forecast an increase in starts.
The lifting gloom pushed up builder shares, led by gains at Toll Brothers Inc., the nation’s largest developer of luxury homes, and Pulte Homes Inc., the largest homebuilder. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Supercomposite Homebuilding Index advanced 6.4 percent to close at 188.92 in New York.
Building permits, a sign of future construction, rose less than starts, indicating construction may again slow. Developers are still contending with record foreclosures that depress prices and profits, and put pressure on the Federal Reserve, which meets today and tomorrow, and the Obama administration to solve the credit crisis.
Starts were projected to fall to a 450,000 annual pace, according to the median forecast of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from 400,000 to 500,000. January’s starts were revised up to 477,000 from a previously estimated 466,000.
More Permits
Permits increased 3 percent to a 547,000 annual pace. They were forecast to drop to a 500,000 annual rate, according to the survey median.
“You get the sense from a lot of the data coming out now that we’re beginning to get to a bottom,” Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re not quite there yet.”
The Labor Department reported wholesale prices rose 0.1 percent in February as the cost of energy products, cigarettes, light trucks and household appliances increased.
The increase was less than forecast and followed a 0.8 percent advance in January. Excluding food and fuel, so-called core prices rose 0.2 percent.
Compared with February 2008, producer prices were down 1.3 percent.
Slack, Prices
“There’s just a huge amount of slack now in the U.S. economy and the global economy” that’s keeping prices down, said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. “That’s going to hang around for some time.”
Economists predict Labor will report tomorrow that consumer prices increased 0.3 percent in February for a second month. January’s gain was the first in six months. Excluding food and energy costs, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that the central bank is “not anticipating deflation,” or a prolonged drop in prices that hurts profits and makes it difficult to repay loans.
Bernanke on Inflation
“We are committed to price stability, we believe we have the tools in place to do that,” Bernanke said March 10 in response to a question after a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “Right now both the objectives for price stability and the objectives for growth are pointing in the same direction and that is for strong support of the economy.”
Fed policy makers will keep the benchmark interest rate near zero following their two-day meeting tomorrow and discuss additional measures to calm the credit crisis, economists said.
Bernanke and his colleagues are examining whether to expand existing asset-purchase and lending programs or initiate fresh measures, such as buying Treasuries. The central bank also is purchasing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank debt under a program aimed to reduce mortgage costs.
The Commerce report showed construction of single-family homes climbed 1.1 percent to a 357,000 rate. Work on multifamily homes, such as townhouses and apartment buildings, surged 82 percent to a 226,000 pace from 124,000 in January.
Northeast Surges
The increase in starts was led by an 89 percent jump in the Northeast.
Banks need to “go the extra mile” and keep credit flowing to businesses to prevent the economy from worsening, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in remarks at the White House yesterday. The economy has lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.
President Barack Obama has pledged a $275 billion rescue to help keep as many as 9 million borrowers in their homes and trim foreclosures. His efforts also include a tax break of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers that wouldn’t require repayment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington schandra1@bloomberg.net
Find out more about Bloomberg for iPhone: http://bbiphone.bloomberg.com/iphone
U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Unexpectedly Jumped
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. housing starts in February unexpectedly snapped the longest streak of declines in 18 years, raising optimism the market may be finally finding a floor.
Work began on 583,000 homes at an annual rate, a 22 percent increase from January that was propelled by a surge in condominiums, apartments and townhouses, Commerce Department figures in Washington showed today. A separate report showed gains in producer prices slowed, underscoring a lack of inflationary pressures with the economy in a recession.
“It’s a bit too early to get too excited, but we are nearing the bottom in housing,” said Scott Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis, who had forecast an increase in starts.
The lifting gloom pushed up builder shares, led by gains at Toll Brothers Inc., the nation’s largest developer of luxury homes, and Pulte Homes Inc., the largest homebuilder. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Supercomposite Homebuilding Index advanced 6.4 percent to close at 188.92 in New York.
Building permits, a sign of future construction, rose less than starts, indicating construction may again slow. Developers are still contending with record foreclosures that depress prices and profits, and put pressure on the Federal Reserve, which meets today and tomorrow, and the Obama administration to solve the credit crisis.
Starts were projected to fall to a 450,000 annual pace, according to the median forecast of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from 400,000 to 500,000. January’s starts were revised up to 477,000 from a previously estimated 466,000.
More Permits
Permits increased 3 percent to a 547,000 annual pace. They were forecast to drop to a 500,000 annual rate, according to the survey median.
“You get the sense from a lot of the data coming out now that we’re beginning to get to a bottom,” Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re not quite there yet.”
The Labor Department reported wholesale prices rose 0.1 percent in February as the cost of energy products, cigarettes, light trucks and household appliances increased.
The increase was less than forecast and followed a 0.8 percent advance in January. Excluding food and fuel, so-called core prices rose 0.2 percent.
Compared with February 2008, producer prices were down 1.3 percent.
Slack, Prices
“There’s just a huge amount of slack now in the U.S. economy and the global economy” that’s keeping prices down, said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. “That’s going to hang around for some time.”
Economists predict Labor will report tomorrow that consumer prices increased 0.3 percent in February for a second month. January’s gain was the first in six months. Excluding food and energy costs, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that the central bank is “not anticipating deflation,” or a prolonged drop in prices that hurts profits and makes it difficult to repay loans.
Bernanke on Inflation
“We are committed to price stability, we believe we have the tools in place to do that,” Bernanke said March 10 in response to a question after a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “Right now both the objectives for price stability and the objectives for growth are pointing in the same direction and that is for strong support of the economy.”
Fed policy makers will keep the benchmark interest rate near zero following their two-day meeting tomorrow and discuss additional measures to calm the credit crisis, economists said.
Bernanke and his colleagues are examining whether to expand existing asset-purchase and lending programs or initiate fresh measures, such as buying Treasuries. The central bank also is purchasing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank debt under a program aimed to reduce mortgage costs.
The Commerce report showed construction of single-family homes climbed 1.1 percent to a 357,000 rate. Work on multifamily homes, such as townhouses and apartment buildings, surged 82 percent to a 226,000 pace from 124,000 in January.
Northeast Surges
The increase in starts was led by an 89 percent jump in the Northeast.
Banks need to “go the extra mile” and keep credit flowing to businesses to prevent the economy from worsening, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in remarks at the White House yesterday. The economy has lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.
President Barack Obama has pledged a $275 billion rescue to help keep as many as 9 million borrowers in their homes and trim foreclosures. His efforts also include a tax break of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers that wouldn’t require repayment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington schandra1@bloomberg.net
Find out more about Bloomberg for iPhone: http://bbiphone.bloomberg.com/iphone
Sent from my iPhone
Who is more honest?
That's crazy. Members of Congress are seen as exactly equal to Walk Street in terms of honesty. So why do we trust either with so much responsibility?
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, March 15, 2009
(BN) California Budget Falls Back Into $8 Billion Deficit, State Analyst Says
It's going to get much worse. Raising taxes in California will result in much less revenue, not more. It will force people to spend less than they are doing already. Notice they're talking about a $12 billion shortfall by 2010, but I say at least tripple that.
Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.
California Budget Runs $8 Billion Short, Analyst Says
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- California’s revenue over the next 16 months will fall at least $8 billion short of what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers assumed when they passed a budget in February, the state’s fiscal analyst said.
The shortfall would leave California with a $6 billion deficit by June 2010, after a $2 billion budget reserve is spent, state Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said in a report to lawmakers today. The shortfall would grow to $12 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2010, he said.
The new forecast shows how quickly the state’s finances are being upended by the worst recession since the Great Depression. Just three weeks ago, Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed to close a record $42 billion deficit with a package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing plans that were supposed to leave the government with a surplus 16 months from now.
“Unfortunately, the state’s economic and revenue outlook continues to deteriorate,” Taylor said in the report. “Even in the few weeks since the budget was signed, there have been a series of negative developments.”
The Legislature and governor will need to adopt “billions of dollars in additional solutions” to rebalance the budget, Taylor said.
Schwarzenegger’s budget anticipated an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent this year, a figure that has already been eclipsed as businesses continued to fire workers. In January, the rate reached 10.1 percent.
Rising Taxes
The $130 billion budget signed in February raised the state sales-tax rate to 8.25 percent from 7.25 percent and boosted vehicle license fees to 1.15 percent from 0.65 percent of the value of an automobile.
The spending plan also added 0.25 percentage point to all personal income tax brackets for two years, so that a resident taxed at 8 percent will face an 8.25 percent levy. That increase may drop to 0.125 percentage point depending upon how much money California receives under the economic stimulus measure signed by President Barack Obama. The budget anticipates at least $7.8 billion in such federal funds.
The spending plan also cut $15 billion of spending, half from schools and colleges, and anticipates issuing $5 billion of bonds backed by the state’s lottery, though voters must approve the debt in an election in May.
“Our year of shared sacrifice isn’t over,” said Noreen Evans, a Napa County Democrat and chairwoman of the Assembly Budget Committee. “As grim as it is, this forecast is not even the worst-case scenario facing California. We must be prepared for more bad news to come.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael B. Marois in Sacramento at mmarois@bloomberg.net
Find out more about Bloomberg for iPhone: http://bbiphone.bloomberg.com/iphone
California Budget Runs $8 Billion Short, Analyst Says
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- California’s revenue over the next 16 months will fall at least $8 billion short of what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers assumed when they passed a budget in February, the state’s fiscal analyst said.
The shortfall would leave California with a $6 billion deficit by June 2010, after a $2 billion budget reserve is spent, state Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said in a report to lawmakers today. The shortfall would grow to $12 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2010, he said.
The new forecast shows how quickly the state’s finances are being upended by the worst recession since the Great Depression. Just three weeks ago, Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed to close a record $42 billion deficit with a package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing plans that were supposed to leave the government with a surplus 16 months from now.
“Unfortunately, the state’s economic and revenue outlook continues to deteriorate,” Taylor said in the report. “Even in the few weeks since the budget was signed, there have been a series of negative developments.”
The Legislature and governor will need to adopt “billions of dollars in additional solutions” to rebalance the budget, Taylor said.
Schwarzenegger’s budget anticipated an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent this year, a figure that has already been eclipsed as businesses continued to fire workers. In January, the rate reached 10.1 percent.
Rising Taxes
The $130 billion budget signed in February raised the state sales-tax rate to 8.25 percent from 7.25 percent and boosted vehicle license fees to 1.15 percent from 0.65 percent of the value of an automobile.
The spending plan also added 0.25 percentage point to all personal income tax brackets for two years, so that a resident taxed at 8 percent will face an 8.25 percent levy. That increase may drop to 0.125 percentage point depending upon how much money California receives under the economic stimulus measure signed by President Barack Obama. The budget anticipates at least $7.8 billion in such federal funds.
The spending plan also cut $15 billion of spending, half from schools and colleges, and anticipates issuing $5 billion of bonds backed by the state’s lottery, though voters must approve the debt in an election in May.
“Our year of shared sacrifice isn’t over,” said Noreen Evans, a Napa County Democrat and chairwoman of the Assembly Budget Committee. “As grim as it is, this forecast is not even the worst-case scenario facing California. We must be prepared for more bad news to come.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael B. Marois in Sacramento at mmarois@bloomberg.net
Find out more about Bloomberg for iPhone: http://bbiphone.bloomberg.com/iphone
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Should We Let Iran Have Nuclear Weapons?
I keep seeing articles on my aggregator that ask the question, "Should We Let Iran Have Nuclear Weapons?"
What arrogance. But I guess if only 61% of people in the US are sure it's not the job of the government to keep people from overeating, I really shouldn't be surprised at these kinds of questions.
Again I am reminded that the only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn anything from history.
The US Government has threatened practically every country that embarks to seek nuclear technology. But when they achieve nuclear weapons capability, the US stops threatening them and even send money! Such a deal! So with that kind of track record, why would Iran stop researching all things nuclear? What are our so-called "leaders" telling the world by acting like that?
If Israel and/or US forces try to disarm Iran by force, it will be because they didn't learn from Otto von Bismarck who warned that preventative war is "like committing suicide out of fear of death."
What arrogance. But I guess if only 61% of people in the US are sure it's not the job of the government to keep people from overeating, I really shouldn't be surprised at these kinds of questions.
Again I am reminded that the only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn anything from history.
The US Government has threatened practically every country that embarks to seek nuclear technology. But when they achieve nuclear weapons capability, the US stops threatening them and even send money! Such a deal! So with that kind of track record, why would Iran stop researching all things nuclear? What are our so-called "leaders" telling the world by acting like that?
If Israel and/or US forces try to disarm Iran by force, it will be because they didn't learn from Otto von Bismarck who warned that preventative war is "like committing suicide out of fear of death."
Not because Iran is powerful. By no means. But we are in the worst economic crisis because of these foreign and domestic preventative strategies. It doesn't work. To suggest otherwise is to just ignore history.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Glocks and CCW and PTSD, Oh My!
I was at the local gun shop today just looking around. The guy behind the counter was answering a few questions then just announced that he was out of all personal defense items. I guess there were enough people asking the same question at the same time, he felt necessary to tell everyone there.
Then, one of the customers decided to say, "Except for that Glock, but who would want it?" He was referring to the item in the case.
Nobody said anything, but we all looked at each-other. Then I heard someone softly say, "Speak for yourself."
Along the same subject, I asked a veteran I ran into if he was still eligible for Concealed Carry Weapons permit. Out here, you have to give a "legitimate need" on the application, but supposedly it's not a huge hurdle. What I was wondering about was his mental status. He was all to happy to announce to everyone that he was having trouble finding a job, having just come back from Iraq. He said you can't really put his experience on a resumé, what with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and all. So that's why I asked about CCW. I wouldn't normally just come out and ask, but his mental status was being discussed openly. Supposedly, here in California, PTSD is not yet a reason to stop CCW issue ... yet. Just give 'em time.
I also asked him what he thought of the stop loss going on in the military. He said it was pretty much a non-issue. Some call it a backdoor draft here in the States, but he said everybody in the military knows it's just part of the contract. In other words, if you only signed up for 3 years, but a stoploss is invoked, your stay is extended another 5 years and you knew that when you enlisted. So these people who are upset about stoploss are really saying they didn't read their contract.
Well, I'm glad I asked.
Then, one of the customers decided to say, "Except for that Glock, but who would want it?" He was referring to the item in the case.
Nobody said anything, but we all looked at each-other. Then I heard someone softly say, "Speak for yourself."
Along the same subject, I asked a veteran I ran into if he was still eligible for Concealed Carry Weapons permit. Out here, you have to give a "legitimate need" on the application, but supposedly it's not a huge hurdle. What I was wondering about was his mental status. He was all to happy to announce to everyone that he was having trouble finding a job, having just come back from Iraq. He said you can't really put his experience on a resumé, what with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and all. So that's why I asked about CCW. I wouldn't normally just come out and ask, but his mental status was being discussed openly. Supposedly, here in California, PTSD is not yet a reason to stop CCW issue ... yet. Just give 'em time.
I also asked him what he thought of the stop loss going on in the military. He said it was pretty much a non-issue. Some call it a backdoor draft here in the States, but he said everybody in the military knows it's just part of the contract. In other words, if you only signed up for 3 years, but a stoploss is invoked, your stay is extended another 5 years and you knew that when you enlisted. So these people who are upset about stoploss are really saying they didn't read their contract.
Well, I'm glad I asked.
The Governor Just Broke The Law
The reply e-mail Schwarzenegger sent below is illegal. He is trying to promote Proposition 1A by describing specific aspects of the proposition thereof. California law says that all ballot propositions are private matters before they are decided by the vote. Then they become public matters.
Sending an e-mail like this to me represents private correspondence using public equipment and public funding, which is prohibited by law. I know sending e-mail is cheap and easy for politicians, but there are principles that must be upheld. The governor is prohibited from promoting a private matter in this way. He used equipment, IT staff, and administrative staff to accomplish this, therefore he is guilty and in violation.
I will be happy to join any lawsuit that comes of this, but I am not a lawyer so I don't know how to go about it myself.
Sending an e-mail like this to me represents private correspondence using public equipment and public funding, which is prohibited by law. I know sending e-mail is cheap and easy for politicians, but there are principles that must be upheld. The governor is prohibited from promoting a private matter in this way. He used equipment, IT staff, and administrative staff to accomplish this, therefore he is guilty and in violation.
I will be happy to join any lawsuit that comes of this, but I am not a lawyer so I don't know how to go about it myself.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <governor@governor.ca.gov>
Date: Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Subject: Re:Budget
To: gov.ca.gov@martin-studio.com
Thank you for writing about tax increases included in the budget I recently signed. I value your input about this important issue during this challenging time.
As you know, our nation is facing an economic crisis, and California is no exception. In fact, California has been hit the hardest of all states - to the point that we faced a $42-billion shortfall if nothing was done. Think about that: this deficit is almost half of our annual budget. Rather than approaching this unprecedented crisis with gimmicks and temporary solutions, we took the difficult but responsible steps to address our $42-billion budget deficit and pass historic bipartisan reform measures.
I did not run for office to increase taxes on Californians or cut funding for crucial state programs. I hate taxes and while I am fundamentally opposed raising them, I have reluctantly concluded that you cannot erase a $42-billion deficit by cuts alone. To get us through this economic down-turn, we are temporarily increasing the state sales tax, the vehicle license fee and income tax. These increases are tied to budget reform, which will go before the voters in a special election. If the reform passes, the tax increases would sunset in no more than 4 years; however, if the reform fails, the tax increases sunset in 2 years. To help lessen any negative impact these increases may have on our economy, the budget includes an economic stimulus package that, among other provisions, will help small businesses hire new employees and speed up crucial infrastructure projects to get shovels in the ground and get people back to work.
Just as tax increases were necessary to balance the budget, so were spending cuts. In fact, the budget makes $14.9 billion in cuts to state programs. In my office alone, we have reduced costs by more than $700,000, and we will continue to reduce by another 10 percent. We are also working to make government more efficient by eliminating waste and redundancy in state agencies and departments.
This was a very difficult budget that forced us to make decisions we didn't want to make, but we have turned this crisis into an opportunity to make real, lasting reforms for California.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
From: <governor@governor.ca.gov>
Date: Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Subject: Re:Budget
To: gov.ca.gov@martin-studio.com
Thank you for writing about tax increases included in the budget I recently signed. I value your input about this important issue during this challenging time.
As you know, our nation is facing an economic crisis, and California is no exception. In fact, California has been hit the hardest of all states - to the point that we faced a $42-billion shortfall if nothing was done. Think about that: this deficit is almost half of our annual budget. Rather than approaching this unprecedented crisis with gimmicks and temporary solutions, we took the difficult but responsible steps to address our $42-billion budget deficit and pass historic bipartisan reform measures.
I did not run for office to increase taxes on Californians or cut funding for crucial state programs. I hate taxes and while I am fundamentally opposed raising them, I have reluctantly concluded that you cannot erase a $42-billion deficit by cuts alone. To get us through this economic down-turn, we are temporarily increasing the state sales tax, the vehicle license fee and income tax. These increases are tied to budget reform, which will go before the voters in a special election. If the reform passes, the tax increases would sunset in no more than 4 years; however, if the reform fails, the tax increases sunset in 2 years. To help lessen any negative impact these increases may have on our economy, the budget includes an economic stimulus package that, among other provisions, will help small businesses hire new employees and speed up crucial infrastructure projects to get shovels in the ground and get people back to work.
Just as tax increases were necessary to balance the budget, so were spending cuts. In fact, the budget makes $14.9 billion in cuts to state programs. In my office alone, we have reduced costs by more than $700,000, and we will continue to reduce by another 10 percent. We are also working to make government more efficient by eliminating waste and redundancy in state agencies and departments.
This was a very difficult budget that forced us to make decisions we didn't want to make, but we have turned this crisis into an opportunity to make real, lasting reforms for California.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
---------- Original message ----------
From: Anthony Martin <amartin75@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Subject: Budget
To: Arnold Schwarzenegger <gov@gov.ca.gov>
STOP SPENDING!!
Anthony Martin
Torrance, CA 90504
From: Anthony Martin <amartin75@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Subject: Budget
To: Arnold Schwarzenegger <gov@gov.ca.gov>
STOP SPENDING!!
Anthony Martin
Torrance, CA 90504
Is it the job of the government to keep people from overeating?
Scary thing is only 61% have their heads on straight!
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, March 9, 2009
Rothbard On My New Virtual Kindle
I thought I'd try out my new Kindle. Oops, I don't have one. But I have an iPhone and they released the software for that. So I thought I'd try it out by buying Vol. 1 (2009), Art. No. 3: Rothbards Confidential Memorandum to the Volker Fund by Murry Rothbard. It cost me a whole 80¢.
This work of Rothbard was originally written in 1961 and talks about the search for a libertarian "center." So it was written well before the Libertarian party. Yet being confidential, it went unpublished until after the death of the Libertarian party. A little ironic in my opinion.
Great insight, not withstanding, especially Rothbard's view on how to reach the housewife.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
H.A.T.T.
Synopsis: Writing exercise about a futuristic technological achievement.
Setting: Federation Starfleet Command, Circa 24th Century
Writing Topic: New Transporter Technologies
Executive Summary: Think of the H.A.T.T. system as a virtual worm-hole or a worm-hole simulator. But instead of using a singularity or space folding technology, the worm-hole is simulated by a holographic system and an otherwise normal mater/energy transporter.
H.A.T.T. stands for Holographic Assist Tactical Transporter, which is a particular transport rig and holographic array combination that uses a specialized matter transport scheme to create an illusion that allows subjects to perceive they are merely walking down a hall during the transport process.
The illusion is supported by a simultaneous transport using traditional technologies, overlaid with "holographic masking." The masking is achieved on a grid configured in such a way that the transporter buffer is able to maintain visual simulation during the entire transport process. The main effect being sought is the total absence of a "light show" during transport. All visual artifacts normally perceived during transport are replaced with a normal looking environment for both observers and subjects.
On one side of the transport cycle, the entrance to a real hallway exists or a holographic hallway is projected. The other half of the hallway is an exit on the other location. The subject merely walks through the hallway to the other side with no other obvious effects except that the other side of the hallway is in a vastly remote location.
Both or neither sides of the hallway need be holographic, yet the usual buffer cycle is "hidden" during transport by holographic means. For example, if both sides of the hallway are real physical hallways, a one-way holographic block (or plug) is formed on both ends and a holographic "morph" transition is generated in the middle.
From the standpoint of technology, a standard transport buffer is being utilized. The length of the holographic hallway will roughly dictate the buffer delay requirements. Longer buffers require longer hallway simulations.
For site-to-site transport, a non-holographic hallway that has a "dead-end" on one side can serve as one half of the transport to avoid the need for a holographic block (or plug). The other side of the transport can also be a similar non-holographic hallway, if one is available. The middle of the hallway will be morphed or blended holographically to create a seamless transition to the subject. The transition can be created automatically or crafted by a Starfleet Certified Holographic Developer (the HDK is available on the Starfleet central database, keyword: GOHATT).
Depending on the situation, personnel can configure H.A.T.T. to allow bi-directional or uni-directional movement through the hallway.
Bi-directional movement means subjects can walk in either direction through the hallway. With this configuration, ongoing emergency transports can be established to move specialists and equipment where needed. For example, in the case of a natural disaster where there may be multiple triage points, medical personnel and doctors would be able to use H.A.T.T. to move quickly and freely from one location to the other without needing to coordinate with traditional transporter crew.
Uni-directional movement means subjects can only walk in one direction through the hallway. This configuration lends itself to military and security situations where personnel are needed, but security is heightened.
There is also a blend of bi-directional/uni-directional movement. The blended movement can be predicated on the density of the subject or other types of discrimination. This would allow personnel to transport even when either side of transport has differing atmospheric pressures or is between underwater environments.
This blended pattern can also be configured to allow or filter weapons fire to some extent.
Setting: Federation Starfleet Command, Circa 24th Century
Writing Topic: New Transporter Technologies
Executive Summary: Think of the H.A.T.T. system as a virtual worm-hole or a worm-hole simulator. But instead of using a singularity or space folding technology, the worm-hole is simulated by a holographic system and an otherwise normal mater/energy transporter.
H.A.T.T. stands for Holographic Assist Tactical Transporter, which is a particular transport rig and holographic array combination that uses a specialized matter transport scheme to create an illusion that allows subjects to perceive they are merely walking down a hall during the transport process.
The illusion is supported by a simultaneous transport using traditional technologies, overlaid with "holographic masking." The masking is achieved on a grid configured in such a way that the transporter buffer is able to maintain visual simulation during the entire transport process. The main effect being sought is the total absence of a "light show" during transport. All visual artifacts normally perceived during transport are replaced with a normal looking environment for both observers and subjects.
On one side of the transport cycle, the entrance to a real hallway exists or a holographic hallway is projected. The other half of the hallway is an exit on the other location. The subject merely walks through the hallway to the other side with no other obvious effects except that the other side of the hallway is in a vastly remote location.
Both or neither sides of the hallway need be holographic, yet the usual buffer cycle is "hidden" during transport by holographic means. For example, if both sides of the hallway are real physical hallways, a one-way holographic block (or plug) is formed on both ends and a holographic "morph" transition is generated in the middle.
From the standpoint of technology, a standard transport buffer is being utilized. The length of the holographic hallway will roughly dictate the buffer delay requirements. Longer buffers require longer hallway simulations.
For site-to-site transport, a non-holographic hallway that has a "dead-end" on one side can serve as one half of the transport to avoid the need for a holographic block (or plug). The other side of the transport can also be a similar non-holographic hallway, if one is available. The middle of the hallway will be morphed or blended holographically to create a seamless transition to the subject. The transition can be created automatically or crafted by a Starfleet Certified Holographic Developer (the HDK is available on the Starfleet central database, keyword: GOHATT).
Depending on the situation, personnel can configure H.A.T.T. to allow bi-directional or uni-directional movement through the hallway.
Bi-directional movement means subjects can walk in either direction through the hallway. With this configuration, ongoing emergency transports can be established to move specialists and equipment where needed. For example, in the case of a natural disaster where there may be multiple triage points, medical personnel and doctors would be able to use H.A.T.T. to move quickly and freely from one location to the other without needing to coordinate with traditional transporter crew.
Uni-directional movement means subjects can only walk in one direction through the hallway. This configuration lends itself to military and security situations where personnel are needed, but security is heightened.
There is also a blend of bi-directional/uni-directional movement. The blended movement can be predicated on the density of the subject or other types of discrimination. This would allow personnel to transport even when either side of transport has differing atmospheric pressures or is between underwater environments.
This blended pattern can also be configured to allow or filter weapons fire to some extent.
Other Uses :: Psychological Treatment
People who suffer from Barclay Disorder (an extreme form of transporter anxiety, not to be confused with Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome) may find H.A.T.T. much more preferable since the transporter cycle can not typically be perceived by the subject. It may also be used to assist in psychological treatment by professionals.
Other Uses :: Low Impact Intervention
Xenologists and diplomats may be able to use the H.A.T.T. system to conduct low impact intervention where exposure to technology may interfere with the normal development of emerging civilizations.
It may also be useful in subduing technological exposure for civilizations that accept the technology but are bothered by it or find it offensive to showcase such achievements.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Keywords This Week
This week, the following keywords were used to find articles on my blog in order of occurrence, according to Google Analytics:
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Google Fail (Google Voice Search + Earthquake)
One neat application for iPhone is Google Voice Search. So today, I tried the new Earthquake results in Google. I'm sure they'll fix it soon, but witness a rare Google FAIL!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Lack of Regulation
It's funny because it's true, right? In addition, since we lack regulation, innocent institutions and individuals who invested in term asset backed securities and other loan facilities will suffer. Therefore, we must bail out AIG, as this news segment asserts:
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6993143
I would like to suggest that the above assertion is incorrect and that the problem was not that AIG and companies like it took advantage of poor regulations. There were sufficient regulation already in place to prevent fraud. The problem was that there was an excess of credit created by the Federal Reserve System.
So to complete the tainted meat analogy in the comic, imagine the government was in charge of producing the live cattle. They could produce as much or as little cattle as legislators decided. And let us also imagine the government produced as much cattle as possible because they believed our economy depended on it. There was so much cattle, meat packers had to come up with more creative ways to process and sell meat to the US population. If they didn't do something with the government provided cattle, the cattle would die before being processed.
That's silly, right? If the government knew its actions were inefficient, they would scale back their efforts, right? No, instead they berated the market for not producing meat as fast as the government produced cattle.
But the correct thing for the government to do would be to produce less cattle, not berate the free market. Don't breed them as much, don't force them on the meat packers. But instead, the government decides to increase cattle production even more due to the upcoming crisis they caused. More crisis, more cattle.
So the free market, faced with overwhelming supply of their commodity, decide to launch cattle into space, develop enormous cattle boats, or some other "innovative" solution. Eventually, they even figure out how to get the average person to buy cattle so each home has two or three heads of cattle. The president's advise when more crisis hits, "Go on a cattle drive." Eventually. the free market does things with the cattle no one would have ever dreamed of. They deal with the problem with innovation, which is what humans tend to do with problems.
It's a good analogy because at some point, one innovative solution might fall under an "unregulated" area. Then, this unregulated area might result in risk like a tainted food supply like the comic suggests. But the free market would not have tried this unregulated solution if it weren't for the ridiculously overwhelming supply of cattle. The problem was the government. The cattle market was just trying to deal with it.
In the real world, we have an overwhelming supply of something, but it's not cattle. It's credit. I'm not talking about credit cards, although that's pretty bad. I'm talking about credit created by the Federal Reserve System that floods the market.
The market had to take on the credit just like it had to take on the cattle. If they didn't take the credit, they risked being eliminated from the competition or prosecuted by the regulators. If you don't play the US currency game, you are dealt with.
So the credit market created all kinds of innovative solutions, including term asset backed securities and loan facilities to convert the credit into an investments.
It doesn't matter what it is. Cattle, credit, or jaguars, if you overproduce it, the market has to compensate with asset bubbles. The media is blaming the market for the bubbles when the government overproduced the commodity.
So what's the correct answer to the problem of AIG and such? Let them fail but blame the government's credit glut. But of course, the government won't allow it to fail because it means having to admit they caused the problem in the first place. They would rather take over AIG, making the US government the biggest issuer of insurance.
Welcome to the American Dream. We are all insurance brokers now.
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