Random Acts of Blogging
I Found a Vulture – Does That Count?
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007This from one of those “public service” e-mails I got at work today:
Scavenger Hunt at the American Museum of Natural History – Saturday, Nov. 3
11:45 – 4:00Join students from PS11M school in Chelsea for a scavenger hunt at the Museum of Natural History. Volunteers will first meet at the school, eat lunch and then go to the museum for an interactive hunt. You will also see the Mythical Creatures exhibition with the children and then escort the children back to the school.
If you’re interested, please sign up on the website. For any questions, please contact [name withheld]
So here’s my question: when the scavenger hunt takes place at the American Museum of Natural History, are you looking for small objects on a list, or are you actually looking for scavengers?!?
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Mmmm….Security!
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007Taken this past weekend in a West Philadelphia Dunkin’ Donuts:
I understand the need for security in an urban setting where a lot of cash changes hands, but something about seeing this message in that ever-so-friendly font is just unnerving, no?
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Wind Storm Rocks Seattle
Friday, October 19th, 2007From Matthew Baldwin over at Defective Yeti, we have this:
Note three things about this picture:
1) The text of the news story: “Seattle was whipped by Thursday’s wind storm, so much that one man was forced to hold onto a tree to keep from being blown over.”
2) The tree in question is thin enough that the man seems capable of wrapping his hand entirely around it.
3) Despite the raging wind storm, the seven year-old boy in the background seems to be having no trouble walking his bike down the sidewalk.
Clearly, Seattle has a different definition of “raging wind storm” than does, say, Kansas, where a raging wind storm ends with green witches, ruby slippers and flying monkeys…
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Random Acts of Blogging II
Friday, October 19th, 2007Once again, the things I want to blog about have exceeded the time I have available to blog. Hence, we move into “quick hit” mode.
First up: Violent crime has increased for the first time in more than a decade. What is to blame for this distressing news? The Bush Administration? The Democratic Congress? A weakening economy causing increased pressure on low-income youth? No. Apparently, it’s the iPod:
In the first three months of 2005, major felonies rose 18.3% on the New York City subway — however, if cell phone and iPod thefts are excluded, felonies actually declined by 3%.
Thus far, in Washington, D.C., in 2007, robberies of iPods on the Metro alone account for approximately 4% of all robberies in the city, compared with well less than 1% of robberies in 2005. Likewise, in San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, there were 4 reported iPod robberies in 2004, 102 in 2005, and 193 in 2006. The increase in iPod robberies on the BART between 2004 and 2006 accounts for a 23% of the increase in robbery in the entire city over that time.”
You see, it seems that iPods are criminogenic, which means they “create crime.”
iPods [are] “criminogenic (creating crime)” because they lack antitheft protection, because they are not tied to a subscription service and can thus be used after they’re stolen, because they’re “high-status items and may be stolen for their status,” because they make the owner less aware of his or her surroundings, and because they’re easy to identify, thanks to the visible white headphone cord and ear buds.
It sounds crazy at first, but when I look at that list, it starts to make some sense…
Next, we have Apple’s new OS X Leopard Operating System, due to ship on October 26. Apple touts more than 300 new features of the OS, although many of those are features of the applications that ship with it (like Address Book, Dictionary, DVD Player, iCal, iChat, etc.). Hey – remember when bundling applications inside your OS was considered anti-competitive, monopolistic behavior? But I digress…
What I found absolutely fascinating about this list of features was how many of them already exist in Windows Vista. There are semi-transparent window title bars, dynamically populated folders, live icons that show a preview of the application rather than just a static icon, improved Spotlight searching (including Boolean operators), e-mail stationary, group calendar scheduling, etc. In all, I counted roughly fifty of the three hundred changes as things that Vista already has up and running.
I’m not complaining, of course. These features are useful in Vista, and I’m glad they’re in Leopard now. I’m just surprised, because an Apple OS release typically includes innovative interface ideas, which are then implemented by Microsoft in the next Windows release, sparking cries of “Foul!” from Mac Zealots who claim Microsoft is just parroting what Apple has done. It seems we’ve achieved more of a “leapfrog” model now, which is just awesome news for PC consumers…
Moving from technology to politics, the month of October was a big one for high-profile, liberal documentaries. First there was this report about Canadian, Belinda Stronach, formerly a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Conservative Party, who switched to the Liberal Party in 2005.
In 2004, she gave an interview with the CBC defending the Canada Health Act and arguing against a two-tier health system, in which those who could afford to pay more would receive speedier access to health care (the system touted as far superior to the United States’ system in Michael Moore’s Sicko).
In 2007, she was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (a common form of breast cancer), which required a mastectomy and breast reconstruction. On the advice of her doctor, she flew to California and paid out of pocket to have the surgery done there (something Canadians can’t do in Canada under the Canada Health Act she so stauchly defended).
And of course, if we’re going to mention Moore, then we have to mention Gore. Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth (review here) has been distributed to 3,500 London schools, along with four other short films about the environment.
A lorry driver and father of two children, 11 and 14, sued to have the film declared unfit for schools because, he said, it was “politically biased and contains serious scientific inaccuracies and ‘sentimental mush’.” The British judge agreed that the film promoted “partisan political views,” but did not ban it from schools, instead requiring that teachers “warn pupils that there are other opinions on global warming and they should not necessarily accept the views of the film.”
Later in the month, Gore went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, although his opponent got more votes (kidding…)
Sticking with politics, a quick mention is warranted on the Iraq war:
A congressional study and several news stories in September questioned reports by the U.S. military that casualties were down. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), challenging the testimony of Gen. David H. Petraeus, asserted that “civilian deaths have risen” during this year’s surge of American forces.
A month later, there isn’t much room for such debate, at least about the latest figures. In September, Iraqi civilian deaths were down 52 percent from August and 77 percent from September 2006, according to the Web site icasualties.org. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the Associated Press reported similar results. U.S. soldiers killed in action numbered 43 — down 43 percent from August and 64 percent from May, which had the highest monthly figure so far this year. The American combat death total was the lowest since July 2006 and was one of the five lowest monthly counts since the insurgency in Iraq took off in April 2004.
During the first 12 days of October the death rates of Iraqis and Americans fell still further. So far during the Muslim month of Ramadan, which began Sept. 13 and ends this weekend, 36 U.S. soldiers have been reported as killed in hostile actions. That is remarkable given that the surge has deployed more American troops in more dangerous places and that in the past al-Qaeda has staged major offensives during Ramadan. Last year, at least 97 American troops died in combat during Ramadan. Al-Qaeda tried to step up attacks this year, U.S. commanders say — so far, with stunningly little success.
Things are still not going well enough over there, of course. And one large bomb can reverse all of these statistical trends. But regardless of what party you belong to, this has got to be good news…
And finally, it’s been a while since a newspaper sent undercover reporters through airport security in order to embarrass the TSA, right?
WASHINGTON – Security screeners at two of the nation’s busiest airports failed to find fake bombs hidden on undercover agents posing as passengers in more than 60% of tests last year, according to a classified report obtained by USA TODAY.
Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and bomb parts that Transportation Security Administration testers hid under their clothes or in carry-on bags at checkpoints, the TSA report shows.
At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, screeners missed about 60% of hidden bomb materials that were packed in everyday carry-ons – including toiletry kits, briefcases and CD players. San Francisco International Airport screeners, who work for a private company instead of the TSA, missed about 20% of the bombs, the report shows.
These studies, while making for great headlines, continue to miss the point. The goal of airport security is not to find every bomb. The goal is to make people who would consider bringing an actual bomb on the plane think twice about doing it because of the high likelihood that they will be caught. In other words, security works when it prevents people from trying to bring bombs on planes, not only when it catches someone in the act of doing so.
That number, of course, is impossible to measure…
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Celebrity Sighting
Thursday, October 4th, 2007I’m on a 6:35AM flight from Newark, NJ to Charlotte, NC. It’s one of those ExpressJet flights with about 50 seats on the whole plane. One of those seats is occupied by Dr. Cornell West, formerly of Harvard University, now at Princeton University, and frequent guest on various TV talk shows, including Real Time with Bill Maher.
At this moment, the passengers that know who he is are busily explaining him to those who don’t. As for me, a 6:35AM flight means the alarm goes off at 4AM. Dr. West is one of those guys it would be fascinating to talk to for a couple of hours, but at this hour, the priority is getting back to sleep, only to be awakened by the plane landing in Charlotte. I’m guessing Dr. West feels the same way. So chock this up to opportunity lost.
As a wise man once said, “I should be sleeping.”
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The High Holidays, They Are a Changin’
Monday, September 24th, 2007
Apparently, famed singer/songwriter Bob Dylan (otherwise known as Zushe ben Avraham) attended Yom Kippur services at the Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia:
Recording legend Bob Dylan joined Chabad-Lubavitch of Georgia for Yom Kippur services over the weekend. Dylan, who was in town for a concert following the holiday, was called up to the Torah, but otherwise did not cause much of a stir among the congregation.
Arriving in a ski cap and tallit, Dylan stayed for the duration of the morning services, during which he was called up by his Jewish name Zushe ben Avraham. The singer/songwriter said the blessings in Hebrew without stumbling, like a pro, reported Rabbi Yossi Lew, co-director of the Chabad House.
Dylan’s appearance was kept under wraps at the request of his manager, who found the Chabad House through Chabad.org’s online director.
I wonder if those fluent in Hebrew could understand a word he said in that language…
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Marcel Marceau: 1923-2007
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007Famed French mime, Marcel Marceau has died.
The family had no comment.
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Random Acts of Blogging
Thursday, September 20th, 2007I usually try to avoid posts like this, but there’s a list of things I’ve been meaning to blog about and I just haven’t been able to find the time. So, some quick hits:
– The Yankees have pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox in the American League East. On May 30th, the Red Sox lead was 14 1/2 games. Just two weeks ago, the lead was 7 games. Ah, September baseball…
– Former President of Harvard University, Larry Summers, has been uninvited to speak at the University of California at Davis due to pressure from a group of female professors who signed an online petition. The petition called Summers a “keynote speaker who has come to symbolize gender and racial prejudice in academia.” Leaving aside the idea that they’re preventing someone from speaking because they’re offended by his views (a concept that seems completely antithetical to free speech), note that their concern is his symbolism regarding gender and racial prejudice, not the prejudice itself. I think that speaks volumes about the protesters’ real intent here.
– Speaking of turning down visitors, New York City has denied a request by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit Ground Zero. I think this is the right answer, both because his presence would offend the many, many people who think of this space as hallowed ground, and also because of the official reason given by the New York City Police Department: security. There is no doubt in my mind that President Ahmadinejad would encounter an angry mob if he showed up at the site. On the upside, Ahmadinejad apparently acknowledges the existence of 9/11, as opposed to the Holocaust, which he famously regards as a hoax. Also note that while I’m glad Ahmadinejad will not be visiting Ground Zero, I’d be fine with him speaking at the University of California at Davis.
– Dan Rather – September 10th, 2004:
“I believe, I know that this story is true. I believe the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn’t have gone to air if they had not been.”
Dan Rather – September 18, 2007:
Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit Wednesday against CBS, alleging that the network made him a ‘scapegoat’ for a discredited story about President Bush’s National Guard service. The 75-year-old Rather, whose final months were clouded by controversy over the report, says the complaint stems from ‘CBS’ intentional mishandling’ of the aftermath of the story.
Is it me, or is he really not helping his own credibility here?
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Keeping the Blood Pressure High…
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
Thump…thump…thump…thump…thump…thump…thump…thump….
Thump……………..thump……………thump…………..thump……………..
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Jews to President Bush: Happy Arbor Day!
Thursday, September 6th, 2007President George W. Bush issued the following statement today, September 5, 2007:
I send greetings to those around the world celebrating Rosh Hashanah.
The sound of the Shofar heralds the beginning of a new year and a time of remembrance and renewal for the Jewish people. During these holy days, men and women are called to reflect on their faith and to honor the blessings of creation.
The enduring traditions of Rosh Hashanah remind us of the deep values of faith and family that strengthen our Nation and help guide us each day. As Jewish people around the world come together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, it is a chance to look to the new year with hope and faith.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Rosh Hashanah and shanah tovah.
GEORGE W. BUSH
It’s a lovely message, except that Rosh Hashanah doesn’t begin until sundown on September 12, 2007 (next Wednesday evening).
In the spirit of the President’s message, and on behalf of Jews throughout the world, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish him and his wife, Laura, a safe and happy Arbor Day.
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