Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Orphan Black



With my attention deficit medicated to manageable levels, I've been enjoying some TV again. The show that's been absorbing my thoughts is Orphan Black from BBC America.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The other bad news from the Kepler Telescope


                           Respectable View.          cosmotv.org

We heard this week that the Kepler Space Telescope has a second broken stabilizing wheel. Its four stabilizing wheels orient it in space. Without being able to aim its gaze, the telescope is probably done, three years prematurely.

The Kepler has definitely told us more about potential life outside our solar system than SETI. The SETI program's main contribution to our knowledge was from its negative results. It found no signals from other intelligent life, which made people begin to conjecture whether we are alone in the universe.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Communications companies that can't communicate.


The most paradoxical frustration in the postmodern, fiberoptic-faceted world is the communications company that can't communicate, not with its customers, not even among its own departments. Like a drunken, cross-eyed spider, this is a beast that should be adept at navigating the complex snares of the worldwide web, but instead, stumbles, rolls and cocoons itself.


Friday, May 10, 2013

When government is minimal

I'm tired of people who complain about the size of government. Yes, government should be as efficient as possible. Yes, we always should seek ways to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.

However, the size and growth of government is due to two factors that no amount of aggressive cutting can get rid of: population and resources. No matter what nation or who the people are, they have to get a government large enough to settle disputes and determine who has charge of its resources, artificial or natural.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Cleveland

Of course the main question when you hear this case is how did Ariel Castro possibly keep control of three women and one girl for a decade?

One possible answer comes from Elizabeth Smart, herself a victim of kidnapping, repeated rape and long-term captivity:

"Speaking to an audience at Johns Hopkins about issues of human trafficking and sexual violence, Smart recently offered an answer to that question. She explained that some human trafficking victims don’t run away because they feel worthless after being raped, particularly if they have been raised in conservative cultures that push abstinence-only education and emphasize sexual purity. . . ."

I don't know. That maybe explains some. That doesn't explain all of it. I'm not making an innuendo that these poor women cooperated with their capture in any way. I'm wondering how did Castro keep them in an ordinary urban house for so long? As Charles Ramsey-- the hero of this situation because he noticed, broke down a screen door and called 911-- said, he didn't expect the police to find anybody else. The neighbors thought Castro was quite ordinary.

However, his a history of brutal violence against his ex-, then deceased, wife has come out. Apparently, he had a lot of resentment over the divorce and the fact that he lost custody.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Political review of scientific studies?

I remember reading that when the concept of the number zero first arrived in Europe from the Arabian countries, it was so confounding that some parts of Italy made the use of it illegal. It's an example of trying to deny or obscure disturbing scientific facts by law. Today we usually only hear about this regarding Creationism, where evolution isn't usually illegal in the schools, per se, but biblical creation is added as a scientifically viable alternative. 

Creationism is only one example, one that makes the other instances  look justified in the minds of the ignorant. In Washington, former rancher and legislative clown Lamar Smith (R)  has proposed a law to have federally funded scientific studies reviewed by Congressional committees in the House and Senate, adding, as he claims "a layer of accountability. The intent of the draft legislation is to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent on the highest-quality research possible." Very Orwellian, Rep. Smith. No, you think for funding research, Congress deserves the results it wants.

How does adding not one, but two filters of ignorance to scientific research make it higher quality? Smith doesn't understand science and has no respect for it if he would propose a bill like this.


 It's very Soviet of him.  Soon we'll be planting summer wheat in winter. 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The wear of wait.

Jury duty's over. I arrived late, and there were more than a thousand people there. The highest number jury badge I heard 1045. I'm thinking that means there were 1100 people Note, the city now only has 330,000 or so people in it. So, one in 330 people in this town were stuffed into the jury waiting room and the "mezzanine," a strange name when it isn't a theater. All the chairs were taken up. There were people sitting in the aisles, along the walls, all with nothing to do but kill time. I tried to read, but ended up talking with a few other juror candidates.

Mostly about computers, and whether to buy a tablet. I'm committed to PCs myself. That's the infrastructure I have. I'm geeky enough to want a tablet, too, but I can't justify the expense. One person said they still ran WindowsMe. That's like having a thirteen year old car with manual windows and locks and a partly blown engine. 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Less than I thought

This spring has totally sucked so far, in terms of relief from the winter weather. Yes, it hasn't been as cold, but it hasn't been pleasant. The warm, sunny day always appears to be forecast the day after tomorrow. Today has always been rainy, tomorrow has always been damp but cold, and two days from now have always had a warm, sunny forecast. Weather is inherently unpredictable, but who would have thought in the midst of Global Warming we'd see this?

I went out Friday on various errands and got soaked. I took the Metrolink out to Microcenter. I got a tax credit, so I had a little extra in discretionary funds to spend. I got a couple of geeky items: a power screw driver, a USB Hub, then walked to Target for socks, a new pair of pants, and an umbrella. Elsewhere I bought a fire extinguisher and vacuum belts; then Skype auto-renewed for premium service, which is important since I have limited minutes on my cell and no landline phone.

All told, I spent a little more than $200. I woke up this morning to watch Orphan Black on Amazon (it's a show I highly recommend), and Amazon couldn't get approval for the $1.99 I wanted to spend. It turned out the bank put my card on a security hold suspecting fraud, because spending $200 is so unlike me. Really, it looks like I spent like a fraudster, too. People steal credit cards to buy power screwdrivers, USB hubs and fire extinguishers all the time, I imagine.

I know I look cheap when the credit card company stops my $1.99 purchase because spending so much is unlike me. I'm not cheap. I'm just poor, disabled and on a fixed income. I came into a little money which freed up a little pent-up discretionary spending. Most of it was for practical items.

After mucking and drowning Friday, I've hid indoors this weekend. Things tend to stretch out, meaning I get a lot less done than I expected. I only have about 600 words to read for the writers' group tomorrow. The total isn't going to change since I have jury duty tomorrow. Late this afternoon I tried to manage my passwords. I don't have a password manager program. I have my own method. It seemed like it would take just a few seconds. Unfortunately, something about permissions got me hung up. It took a total of an hour before I finally gave up.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny. I'll be waiting in the jury pool room with a stack of books to speed read.


Saturday, May 4, 2013

Jury duty

I have jury duty Monday, and I have to confess I tried to get out of it, but my psychiatrist wouldn't give me the excuse.

I know it's my civic duty, and I realize since I'm self-employed and won't be missing any paid days, but the last two times I've done this were either personal disasters or felt like it. I felt maybe I should have a pass this time?  Just when it seemed I've been running my days right.