Indymedia is apoplectic that the Secret Service is investigating the release of personal information by Indymedia about RNC delegates. Fair enough. They didn’t take the same view when Focus on the Family was the releasor and Michael Moore the victim, of course.
31
Aug
Jonah Goldberg on how the government has helped create both fat peple and those pernicious 527s:
But the point is that when social engineers attempt to make things better, they’re just as likely to make things worse or create new problems. This is more than the law of unintended consequences, because “iatrogenic government” implies that our political physicians can’t stop meddling with the patient, even when their meddling is causing the problems.
I’ve always hated the phrase “unintended consequences.” It implies that the consequences are out of the hands of the culprit. I have no doubt that the consequences are not the goal of the social engineers, but in most cases the consequences are foreseeable. And if you know something is likely and you plow ahead anyway, you shouldn’t come back later and say the harm was unintentional.
31
Aug
I love Wikipedia, an open encyclopedia that is built from the ground up by volunteers. Anyone can create an entry, and anyone can edit any entry (and, in turn, have their revised entry edited by someone else). Wikipedia is an example of a type of collaborative software called wiki. Or to define it somewhat recursively, see the Wikipedia discussion of wiki(s). Wikipedia even defines itself. Apparently, an anonymous librarian expressed concern that the open nature of Wikipedia made it unreliable, and a Syracuse newspaper columnist used the email as an excuse to attack Wikipedia. And kept attacking Wikipedia defenders via email.
So it was heartening to see some objective support of the Wikipedia model, wherein Alex Halavais intentionally submitted 13 erroneous changes to Wikipedia pages, all of which were caught and corrected within a couple of hours. How can it be so efficient? It’s easy to track changes to Wikipedia, which publishes a “Recent Changes” page (at the time I looked, the most recent change was to the page for Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelöf). For a more real-world example, see the Wikipedia entry history for Jew, which is currently locked from editing due to ongoing battles with Holocaust revisionists. I find Wikipedia to be in an invaluable resource, for everything from the population of Vermont to famous Bubbas in history to Allied deceptions leading up to D-Day. Most internet information repositories can’t cover all three.
Related information:
Joi Ito on Wikipedia
Columnist Dan Gillmor says that Wikipedia is “an example of how the grass roots in today’s interconnected world can do extraordinary things.”
Steve Yelvington says Wikipedia is “user-generated content at its finest>”
Recent changes to Wikipedia (RSS feed is here)
31
Aug
Atlanta radio talker Neal Boortz is covering the convention and photoblogging on his blog. Lots of photos of what he calls “a motley collection of dirty-looking, shaggy, unkempt misfits,” notwithstanding the occasional glimpses “of someone every now and then who looked like they might actually earn a viable living at some productive enterprise.” I particularly like this description of his lodging overlooking Ground Zero:
As I compose this note it’s Sunday evening in New York. I’m in my 36th floor hotel room looking out toward the Hudson River. Three years ago I wouldn’t have been able to see the Hudson River from this room. Eighteen months ago this room, and this whole hotel was empty. I wouldn’t be able to see the river because the view would have been blocked by two skyscrapers, and I wouldn’t have been staying in this room because this particular hotel was closed for 20 months to repair damage from the collapse of the World Trade Towers. Right below me, Ground Zero.
26
Aug
On August 27th and 28th, the State of California will be hosting a garage sale to sell off surplus property. They’ve also listed some of the items on eBay. My favorite item is the 30 pounds of used scissors and 300 Swiss Army knives. For some reason, many of the eBay auctions are for knives. As an added bonus, you can leave feedback for the Governator.
18
Aug
Been too busy lately to post much of anything, but I’ve uploaded some pictures from Nolan’s birthday party at Build-A-Bear and Graeter’s Ice Cream parlor, Julia’s early 2nd birthday party at Nana’s house and Silver Lake, and the kids’ first day of school at Chance School.
If you really need something more serious, try Roger Simon’s take on the latest Kerry-Cambodia brouhaha or the new Technology Liberation Front weblog.
13
Aug
According to a report alarmingly titled Kentucky Obesity Epidemic 2004, issued July 23, 2004 by the University of Kentucky Center for Prevention Research, the Obesity and Chronic Disease Prevention Program and related divisions and branches of the Kentucky Department for Public Health in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. According to the report, 70% of Kentucky men and 55% of Kentucky women are overweight or obese, requiring drastic action:
According to the report, slowing the rate of overweight and obesity among at-risk adults and children in Kentucky and weight reduction among those already overweight and obese can provide significant economic and quality-of-life benefits.Medical expenses related to overweight and obesity are more than 35 percent higher for obese adults than for adults of normal weight. Last year, $1.1 billion was spent in Kentucky on medical costs directly related to obesity.
“Nearly two-thirds of Kentucky adults are either overweight or obese and almost one-third of Kentucky children are overweight or at-risk for becoming overweight,†said Dr. James W. Holsinger, Jr., secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. “We all face an enormous job ahead of us to educate people and to develop and execute obesity prevention and reduction strategies that work.â€
While there are many causes of overweight and obesity, the report concludes that changes in society and individual behavior over the last 25 years are primary causes.
Those are alarming statistics to be sure. One reason, of course, is that the statistics are based on the Body Mass Index, which has incredibly restrictive definitions of “normal” weight. I am 6′0″ and 185 pounds, I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and watch what I eat, and according to the formula, I have a BMI of 25.1, which makes me “overweight” (normal weight would be a BMI of no more that 24.9). And up until June 1998, I wouldn’t have been overweight at all - the BMI criteria from the NHANES II survey defined “normal” to include BMIs up to 25.8. Many have criticized the BMI, arguing that because it cannot differentiate between fat and muscle, many fit individuals are wrongly called overweight or even obese (i.e. Brad Pitt is overweight, while Russell Crowe is obese).
Put all that aside, and assume that many Kentuckians are too fat - it is, after all, a state famous for dishes like Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burgoo, the Hot Brown, Derby Pie and the Mint Julep. What should we do about it? The state’s response is a $450,000 study, funded by a CDC grant, to “to explore ways to encourage children and adults to make lifestyle changes that can help make people and communities healthier.” Now ongoing are 9 public forums to get input on the ways we Kentuckians can be less fat., to be used when the Commonwealth develops its “action plan.” Among the ideas from the Lexington forum:
- More Farmers Market vouchers for the poor and elderly
- Eliminate vending machines in schools
- Provide more safe places for adults and children to play
- Plant gardens at schools and assisted-living facilities
I could have saved the government a lot of money - here is my 2-step Action Plan for reducing obesity:
- Eat Less
- Move More
It’s not that I disagree that obesity is a health problem, it’s just that it’s a health problem individuals have total control over, and a $450,000 government study and the inevitable multi-million dollar “action plan” isn’t going to change that.
12
Aug
Reuters is reporting that Brazil has mapped the DNA of the most wonderful plant in the world in order to create SuperCoffee:
Brazil has created the world’s first DNA map of the coffee plant to cut production costs and create beans that cater to the rich tastes of U.S. and European consumers, the country’s government said on Tuesday.After over two years of work, the world’s biggest coffee grower is using the DNA map to create the world’s biggest genetic data base on the plant. It contains information on the 200,000 DNA sequences, and 35,000 genes that create different aromas and caffeine levels in the beloved tropical bean.
According to Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues, “We are going to create a super coffee that everyone can benefit from eventually.” Unfortunately, it appears that while the new beans will be genetically engineered, they will not be genetically modified. Perhaps in five or six years, when Brazil opens its database on the bean to private interests, a company from a country that is less Luddite on the issue will create a true super coffee. I’d buy it. In the short term, we’ll have a putative competitor to Columbia and less expensive production.
[via Virginia Postrel]
12
Aug
Dean Esmay and Harry Shearer think The Simpsons has gone on far too long (Harry: the last three seasons have been “the worst.” Dean: there’s no fixing it). It’s probably jumped the shark. But the MasterCard commercial from the Super Bowl, which seems to be back in circulation (saw it the other night during The Amazing Race) almost makes up for it.
12
Aug
Don’t miss MoveOnPlease.org, a Oh My God Did They Ever Nail This One parody of the Soros Hit Machine MoveOn. If there’s ever been a more poorly named organization, I can’t think of one. The parody’s from National Lampoon, which hasn’t been funny since the Reagan Administration. Don’t miss the trailer for Michael Moore’s “I Am Not An ***hole” or the FAQ:
What is MoveOnPlease.org all about?
MoveOnPlease is working to bring ordinary, but very liquid people with access to significant-sized bank accounts and second mortgage available Park Avenue condos, back into politics. With a system that today revolves around big money that we have no access to and big media that we control, most citizens are left out. When it becomes clear that our “representatives” don’t represent the public since we do such a god damn piss-poor job of gaining seats in either house, the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOnPlease is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice and wallet. Our nationwide network of more than 1,700,000 very lonely online activists who have nothing better to do after they whack-off then sit in front of their computer wishing it was a woman (or at least a more attractive computer) is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today, if you don’t count actually working for a living.
[via Dean Esmay]
