Hillary Clinton - NY Times - Socialist?

2007-07-20 04:54:21
Ms. Bielstein added, “I’ve followed her history back to her college days, and I just don’t trust her. I think she’s a socialist, and I think that’s exactly where she wants to take us.”

This quote is from the 20 July 2007 article in the NYTimes.

If I could believe for a moment that that is "where she wants to take us", I would be behind her. But, I think she is so far in bed with corporate America that she won't even have that road on her map.

I don't think this is something to blame her for, because in the end all candidates are there to some degree--or will be. That is the real problem with elections and politics in this country. Until we fix that, there can be no such thing as an honest, unbought politican in a presidential race.

At the moment, Edwards may be the closest, but look at his money--the big money isn't with him, and won't be.

This state of affairs is responsible for the continuing apathy in American election--a truly embarrassing aspect of our democracy.
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Let's Talk About Emigration

2007-06-29 16:15:01
Cheney's has declared that the 200plus-year-old office of the Vice President is no longer part of the executive branch of the U.S. Government.

The U.S. Supreme Court has gutted Brown vs. The Board of Education.

I am very interested in emigrating. That's migrating with an E. Where is the country for those of us who have been dispossessed of our country? Canada demands that I have $600K. I don't have that. But, Canada would be my first choice. Then Norway or Sweden. (I'm an Anglophile in my soul, but, sadly, the U.K. has sold itself to Bush and co. and I fear would be only slightly better and probably only for a short while.)
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World Monuments Endangered

2007-06-29 03:07:16
We always hear about the side effects of drugs--legal and otherwise. But many other productions of modern civilization also have side effects.

A side effect common to many modern pursuits is the destruction/deterioration of the structures created long before this millenium.

The World Monument Fund has a link to a list of such endangered places.

Not only is the list unhappily long, but the categories into which the list is divided provide a litany of mistakes we are making, and have made:

Sites Threatened by Global Climate Change
Sites Threatened by Conflict
Sites Threatened by Economic and Development Pressures

Reading this list, you should be struck by the breadth and depth of our success at destruction. It does seem at times, to be what we are best at.

By the way -- I came to this list via a list I've subscribed to for years from a librarian named Marylaine Block. The email list is called Neat New Stuff and can be subscribed to here.
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CNN - Barbara Starr - Paris Hilton - Secretary Gates

2007-06-08 13:07:45
I am a CNN junkie and I am furious.

About an hour ago as Starr was speaking about the Gates announcement of the resignation of two top Iraq War generals, the anchor interrupted her for “breaking news” and the feed from Paris Hilton’s house came on the screen.

Starr is one of their top analysts and perhaps the best reporter based in the U.S.

And, yes, has screwed up many times, which is to be expected when they cover so much, but this was not a screw-up it was an affront to any reasonable viewer who had the misfortune to be watching at that particular moment.

Apologies are certainly due to Starr, but they are also due to their viewers.
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Civilian Deaths are 90% of Iraq War Deaths

2007-05-29 18:10:52
Just got up from watching 's feature on "War Made Easy", by Solomon. And here is the terrible, terrible takeaway fact:

as a percentage of War Deaths:
WWI: 10%
WWII: 50%
Viet Nam: 70%
Iraq: 90%

Perhaps quite soon, our vaunted military with it weapons of much vaunted accuracy will be able to conduct its wars with hardly a dent in its own forces.

And when that day comes, the Pentagon will be furiously looking for places to practice with their new toys.

And, all the while, some president will be standing there saying: "We seek peace."
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Second Entry to Participate at Technorati

2007-05-24 06:24:12
This is my second attempt to activate The VT2000 Blog with Technorati.

It has turned out to be extremely time-consuming as you have to piece together what to do if your software does not do it for you.

Though they encourage you to contact them (as a developer) they are less than responsive when you do.

That's too bad, as the concept and the design are excellent. Documentation is not. A little work on clarifying how to get things working would probably save a ton of posts in their forums. Technorati Profile End of small rant.
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High Gas Prices. No New Oil Refineries?

2007-05-23 03:18:00
The mainstream media is mucking on about the lack of and saying this is in large part the cause of . BUT, they make a serious mistake in allowing "experts" to get away with the explanation: "Of course with prices this high, oil companies would want more refineries to take advantage of the high prices." Bunk.

Think about it. We KNOW we are at or close to, . If you know the supply coming down the road is absolutely going to decrease, would you spend millions to build a refinery? And the oil company executives know the end of oil is coming.

They know their time for raking it in is coming to an end. So, think about it, the logic is quite good.
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NYT Review of Gore's The Assault on Reason

2007-05-22 03:43:16
Umm - why is the promotion on the web of disinformation any worse, or different than it's promotion by the current administration, or, for that matter, the mainstream media?

Found in today's NYT review of 's :
As for his conviction that the Internet can help re-establish “an open communications environment in which the conversation of democracy can flourish,” it plays down the more troubling aspects of the Web, like its promotion of rumor and misinformation alongside real information, and its tendency to fuel polarizing, partisan warfare.
Sorry to see that the Times' writer did not catch his or her own faulty logic, especially when the writer had already talked about the disinformation disseminated by the administration in the run-up to the Iraq war.
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James Dyson, the British Inventor

2007-05-20 08:33:40
Just saw on the television an interview with the of the vacuum cleaner and the ball barrow. Interesting guy. But the great takeaway for me was a quote from him:

"Expect failure, but don't accept it."

Never did a simple conjunction lead to such a powerful instruction.
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Imus, U.S. Society, and GIGO

2007-05-20 07:47:09
Now that the Imus dust has settled, it’s time for a comment or two.

While it was happening I noticed with interest that not one of the loud voices actually replied to the serious objection voiced by the : that Imus’ comment was a logical result of an endemic culture that allows, and even finds humor in . The team was quite clear on this. They were smart enough to go to the source; the voices jumping to their defense were not. The defense jumped on the race bandwagon. That’s one behind the human bandwagon. The team was riding high and right on in the lead wagon. But once again, the media—and the money (in the form of advertisers and the networks)--went for what they could sell as controversial and ignored underlying causes.

When you enter the world of computer programming, one of the first lessons you learn is framed by the epithet “garbage in, garbage out.” (GIGO) Which on another plane, reminds me of ’s phrase: “Life is like a sewer; what you get out of it, depends on what you put into it.”

What you find in a society’s drainpipe is largely produced by those to whom the media grants power. And those to whom this power is granted beget all sorts of off-spring. Hey man, this is what’s hot! This is what gets you the green!

Well, this green is a pretty ugly color after all. But we sure enough see a lot of it. And, unfortunately it is classified as legal tender.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I am a rabid proponent of the . Doesn’t prevent me from deploring the fact that I live in a society that so heinously misuses that granted privilege and so hugely gains from doing so.
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Cell Phone Design

2007-05-20 06:51:36
Those who know me are probably surprised at this entry giving credit to a huge corporation--but good design is . I am a designer and I care about design in all kinds of applications. And certainly we benefit on the rare occasions when something mass produced is exceedingly well-designed.

The object of my admiration is the . Unfortunately, I live in a fringe area and it worked only fitfully. But, I am definitely in the minority on that score.

This object--the minute you wrap your hand around it--just feels right. About the area of a pack of cigarettes but half as thick, its slight ly grippy surface attracts your skin and almost seems to bond with it.

The user-interface is spectacular. (I've used 3 other --Kyocera, Motorola W300, and Nokia 6103.) By far this surpasses all of them. It was only the 2nd phone I used, but the navigation was almost intuitive. The screen was large and extremely clear. But, sadly, for me, it didn't work in the mountains--or rather the hollows of Vermont. The pain of giving it up was almost physical. The next one I tried was the W300, and not only did it also not receive well, but the interface was incredibly clumsy and non-intuitive. I was happy that it did not work and could hardly wait to turn it in.

The one I have now, the Nokia, is satisfactory. The interface is okay, except I really, really hate the use of icons as opposed to text. But, it does operate well in my difficult area.
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Joining Technorati

2007-05-18 03:37:36
This blog collector is one of the reasons I wanted a blog. It is one of the nicest pieces of web design I've seen. It's clean, fast, and easily navigable. This post is supposed to be entered on my site so that I could complete the Technorati joining process, but I want to leave it here because I like giving credit to people who have done things right.
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Boomers: Doctors and Mechanics

2007-05-13 10:58:36
Short blog of advice to all :

Always find and keep a mechanic and a doctor-- both of whom are is significantly younger than yourself.
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Boomers: Computers, Internet, and Old Age

2007-05-13 10:49:09
Here's something else for to think about besides hearing aids (see below): old age. But I'm not talking about creaky bones, and catarrh in the morning. I'm talking about the future you don't want to talk about.

When you have visited your parents or older relatives in nursing homes, I know you've seen the sleepers-in-their-chair, the starers-out-the-window.

While you still have enough time, begin to insulate yourself against this kind of future. IF you are not computer literate--become so. And quickly. IF you are a bit computer literate--become moreso. And quickly.

Your nursing home future, providing of course it is only physical infirmities which have put you there, will be rich indeed. will freely give you all of these and more:

Interest Groups, News, Book Reviews, Online Games (esp. Poker for play money), Research Potential, and on and on. Only limited by your own imagination.

So start now! Force yourself to take a course, collar a geeky relative, or brute force it yourself, but do it. Become VERY Internet literate as soon as you possibly can. You will never be bored again.
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Walking Behind the Casket

2007-05-09 14:18:13
Last autumn--2006--I went to my cousin's at the Binghamville Church in Fletcher. It was windy and sunny and the small church was packed. Some of us spoke up about Rae. But the most wonderful thing happened after the service!

Rae's casket was muscled down the 6 or 7 steep, narrow steps and then down the little knoll that the church sits on. The pall bearers slid it into the back of the hearse which then slowly moved out to the road. We knew where it was going--to the cemetery next to the church. The entrance was about 500 feet down the road and we all fell in behind the dark gray hearse.

We ambled and talked, held hands, hugged occasionally while the wind blew over everything. After we entered the gate, there was about another 2 or 300 feet more.

No leaping into cars and separate grievings, no isolation from the casket. No long trip to another parking spot. Just a walk behind Rae, in the town he'd lived in all his life. I was struck by the fact that we were walking, and, by our walking, paying homage to a fine Vermont farmer on a day he would have loved, and in a manner he would have felt comfortable with.

I've been to a number of funerals, but this was the first one that had more reality than pomp. Thanks, Rae.
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The Cost of Hearing Aids

2007-05-09 13:30:58
This has been bugging me for a while. Never mind the high price of gas! All you coming down the pike will want to think about this one.

I don't use , but think about what they are. And think about what we are surrounded with-500 dollar computers, 300 dollar phones that can haul in the world in images and sound.

WHY does a hearing aid cost THOUSANDS of dollars?

And someone will murmur--Well, they have to be fitted to your ear.

Say what? I got musicians earplugs a couple of years ago from a hearing doctor at a hospital. Cost? 75 dollars. So that's how much the custom part costs!

This has to be some kind of racket.

I just want you all to think about it. It's really quite appalling.
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Simple Blog System

2007-04-01 06:30:03
I developed this system because other blog systems were too feature-heavy and their interfaces too cluttered for my taste. The VT2000 Blog System does three things and does them well.

It let's me blog and let's others search and comment. Period.

It also looks fine in mobile devices.

I want to use this first entry to thank two people who helped and inspired me in my long association with computers and the Internet.

First is Richard Heurtley whom I met at Vermont Creative Software in 1990. He is my favorite geek and one of finest human beings I know.

Second is Michael Bowden and though I've no idea where he is now, he was the friendly face at the Computer Center at Western Michigan University in 1980 when all the rest there were trying to hold on to information and their mainframe territories to keep the newly minted PC users from learning anything.
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