Steve's Soapbox

Copper mining and sulfuric acid plant, Copperhill], Tenn. (LOC)

2009-05-01T08:47:00.001-05:00

Copper mining and sulfuric acid plant, Copperhill], Tenn. (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

Sites like this are why I have a job.

Vacation

2007-08-04T14:54:00.001-05:00

So, we took our son to the beach. Here he is checking out the water for the first time!

You have new Picture Mail!

2007-02-24T18:09:00.001-06:00

You have new Picture Mail!
Originally uploaded by simonsen77.

Wow

2006-12-15T03:09:00.000-06:00

How often do you find yourself at an imminent life-changing event? I mean, I know right now, Friday, December 15, 2006, 3:12 AM, that there is a very very high likelihood that I could be a father before the day ends today.

My wife, who is 39 weeks pregnant, also happens to be an obstetrician herself. She is on this day working a 24-hour call. She called me at about 2:30 am, worried that her blood pressure was high. Apparently this is a strong indicator that she/they might need to induce her into labor tomorrow morning. Basically, it was a heads up call.

Now, my pituitary gland is working overdrive, I'm amped on adrenaline, and sleepy-groggy-confused has completely vanished. I've double checked our packed bags. I checked batteries on everything (camera, video camera, radio) and freed up the memory space on all the devices. The bags are lined up by the door, and I'm contemplating showering (at 3:15 am) and could probably be talked into sleeping with my clothes on.

Wow.

How to name a baby

2006-09-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

I'd wager that your own name is a word you'll hear more often than any other in your life. It's one of the first things you learn to write, to read, to say; it's one of the first things you share with someone. I could go on indefinitely, but I think I've made my point.

So, I've got a son on the way. My wife and I are currently trying to decide on a name, and it's a maddening exercise. Hopefully, the name we choose will get a good 75-100 years of use, and be the object of all those verbs I mentioned earlier. Yet for all the consequences of this decision, there is no right or wrong answer. I can't analyze things, research names, and decide one name is "best." It's simply a matter of taste - and this is killing me! It's one thing to choose dinner, or a shirt, or even a car, relying on intuition - these'll last, what, a few hours to a few years? But a name?

I don't want a common name - who wants to share a name with so many that you perpetually have to add an initial to distinguish yourself? But a rare name is equally challenging - you're spelling or pronouncing it repeatedly, and you can never find the little souvenier license plates with your name. I'd like to use a family name, but that raises more questions. Is it OK to change spelling? And with every name, you've got to avoid having stupid initials or sharing a name with a particularly notorious historical figure. It goes without saying that we won't be putting Adolf Stephen on a birth certificate this December. I want a name that has some meaning, but I don't want it to be transparent.

So, I've tried to set up a framework for this, and of course have researched. We haven't bought any books, but the interweb has more than enough information. Google "baby names meaning" and I'm sure you'll find plenty of lists explaining what the names mean in Old Norse or Greek. The Social Security administration will give you rankings of how popular names have been and what the most popular are now. I've got one bookmark that even combines the two, and gives you fancy graphs. To top it off, there are scholarly/economic articles discussing the relationships between baby names and parental education, and so forth. It's overwhelming - maybe once I have a more-developed list of potential names, it would help, but it's useless while I'm in the brainstorming pahse.

So, if I cop out and name the kid after me, do I get to choose whether he's a junior or a II?

Time for a reinvention

2006-09-23T03:31:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been nearly four months since I've posted anything, let alone anything of significance. What's happened... most of the first and all of the second trimester of my wife's pregnancy have passed, I've started a new [old] job. I'm sure y'all can see why I haven't found much in which to write.

However, I'm newly motivated to write. An evening scouring Myspace revealed a much greater number of old friends online, at least compared to my last survey of that scene. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, but I've been feeling more nostalgic lately, more interested in cultivating old friendships. Therefore, I resolve to make a greater effort to this blog (I haven't exactly set the bar high, though.) So, if anyone comes looking, there may be something worth finding.

Police: Mom asks son to sell pot for bail - Yahoo! News

2006-06-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

It makes you wonder... was she dumb enough to simply tell her son "sell the stash in the fridge," or did she at least try a bit of subterfuge? Probably a weak attempt at the latter... "ask your Aunt Mary Jane to help with the bail, and there should be a little something in the freezer to help you get by while I'm away..."

Police: Mom asks son to sell pot for bail - Yahoo! News

CNN.com - Dobbs:�Gay marriage amendment sheer nonsense - Jun 7, 2006

2006-06-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Amen!

CNN.com - Dobbs:�Gay marriage amendment sheer nonsense - Jun 7, 2006

ESPN.com: Page 2 : San Francisco's Bonds

2006-05-25T13:09:00.000-05:00

But he forgot to mention who eliminated the Giants... the Dodgers. :-)

ESPN.com: Page 2 : San Francisco's Bonds: "See, 1993 figures large in the relationship between Barry and Giants fans. The Giants were magic that year. They won 103 games. They were eliminated on the season's final day by the Atlanta Braves, those thieving bastards who traded for Fred McGriff before the deadline and won their 104th game on their 162nd try."

More CNN absurdity...

2006-05-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

Look, they're inviting the general public to critique the... general public. Ugh.

CNN.com ... 'IDOL' CHATTER
E-mail us: You be the judge
You be the judgeDid 'American Idol' voters make the right call?

CNN.com - Study: Video games can help cut surgical errors - May 24, 2006

2006-05-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

So, if I buy an Xbox 360 for my wife, would it be a work-related expense, since she's a surgeon?

CNN.com - Study: Video games can help cut surgical errors - May 24, 2006: "Study: Video games can help cut surgical errors"

CNN.com - Dobbs: Bush, Congress tell working folk to go to hell - May 24, 2006

2006-05-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

Bah, what a waste of breath. He could use his forum to take a stance and provide some detail on an issue. It is an op-ed, isn't it? Instead, we get a collection of vague proclamations - immigration is a problem (why?), fix it (how?).

Frustrating to see such a wasted opportunity.

CNN.com - Dobbs: Bush, Congress tell working folk to go to hell - May 24, 2006

BBC NEWS | Europe | West's 'terror deceptions' rapped

2006-05-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

So, I guess our government isn't alone in its missteps.

BBC NEWS | Europe | West's 'terror deceptions' rapped: "the report's foreword, written by Amnesty International's Secretary-General Irene Khan, reserves much criticism for Western governments, which she says have 'paralysed international institutions and squandered public resources in pursuit of narrow security interests'.

'Governments profess to champion the cause of human rights but show repressive reflexes when it comes to their own policies and performance,' says the report."

Bonds: 616? And, I feel like a newb

2006-05-22T12:14:00.000-05:00

So, Pat Hruby at ESPN Page 2 wrote a nice piece discounting Bonds' home runs, using a half-assed scientific approach. It's pretty amusing, though I was immediately struck by a glaring omission - if Bonds weren't such a tremendous threat, his walk rate would have suffered, leaving more official at-bats and therefore a few more homeruns (since the calculations are all based on HR-per-AB ratios). I noticed the feedback button, and fired off a quick message pointing this out.

Of course, I failed to notice a little sidebar entitled "FAQ"... had I paid attention, I would have seen my question, as well as its answer (which is, BTW, give Bonds an extra 17 taters). Doh! I so rarely reply or email writers, it figures this rare occasion would be one in which I display such a lack of sense. :-)

So, if we give him [Bonds] the extra 17, he's at 633, or 81 behind his actual total. 755 (Hank) + 1 (to beat Hank) + 81 (cushion to 'clear the asterisk') = 833.

So, if Barry can get to 833, we celebrate? At his 2006 rate of 1 HR per 20.33 PA (after subtracting out intentional walks and HBP), then assuming Barry continues to play 84% of his team's games (as he's done this year), and assuming 3.37 PA per game (as he has done for the past 3 years), he should reach our new target of 833 near the All-Star break, 2011! (stats from The Hardball Times)

The Chicago Sports Review | CHISPORT.COM

2006-05-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Sports Review | CHISPORT.COM: "30 Sports Things To Do Before You Turn 30"

What have I done?
1, 2 (well, a batting practice ball), 3 (if you consider the apron fairway), 7 (state science olympiads, trivia), 8 (saw the Braves win the NL pennant one year), 11, 13 (UGA over GT a few years ago), 16 (saw a no-hitter in the early 90s), 25 (seen Cards-Cubbies), 27 (does Olympic soccer count?), 28 (baseball and bowling), and of course 29 (just go to college in the South).

whoa... backlog

2006-05-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize I had 2 weeks worth of draft posts queued up. So, brace for a flurry of posts. Those of you on RSS (heh) be sure to click through and read them!

The Blotter

2006-05-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

More followup on the domestic spying of US citizens. So, let's see how this works: if a leak isn't authorized by the pres (say, to alert the public their rights are being trampled), the NSA will use phone records to slam the door on the whistleblowers. But if the pres initiates the leak (say, to out a CIA operative because her diplomat husband publicly criticizes you) then I guess they don't pursue it...

The Blotter

The Scientific Activist: Reporting from the Crossroads of Science and Politics: Is Science Overrated?

2006-05-15T10:07:00.000-05:00

I had to take maybe 12 courses in english, history, social sciences, etc - how many science and math classes does a typical liberal arts major take?

The Scientific Activist: Reporting from the Crossroads of Science and Politics: Is Science Overrated?

CNN.com - Inside Bush's secret spy net - May 14, 2006

2006-05-14T15:56:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm late now bitching about this. How F***** incredible is this? How can anyone not be completely furious at our administration?

CNN.com - Inside Bush's secret spy net - May 14, 2006: "The day after USA Today broke the story that the National Security Agency (NSA) aimed to 'create a database of every call ever made' within the U.S., as one of the paper's sources put it, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 63 percent of those who were asked said they found the NSA program to be an acceptable way to fight terrorism, and 44 percent said they strongly approved of it."

To add something new, this evening (Wed, 5/17) I caught on NPR an interview with a Rep. senator from Kansas [NPR.org]. As I understand him, we have to exchange some freedoms to battle terrorists. The president is doing everything he can to fight terrorists, and any opposition to the president undermines the fight. Therefore, let Dubya be. Incredible.

But... I thought the terrorists hated us because of our freedoms? Shouldn't preserving our liberties be priority #1 in demonstrating that they haven't changed us?

Baseball Connoisseurs: The Atlanta Braves as the Good Ship Argo

2006-05-12T17:32:00.000-05:00

Pretty funny post.
Baseball Connoisseurs: The Atlanta Braves as the Good Ship Argo

Generation X - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2006-05-12T16:38:00.000-05:00

I now forget the circumstances in which I started reading the generation entries on Wikipedia. I have always felt a little insecure, though - I apply the Gen-X label to myself, even though I'm at the young end of it. Seeing this blurb, though, was amusing, as it fits me to a T.

Generation X - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Predominantly DNC-voters may call themselves progressive instead of liberal (which became an overloaded term with negative connotations in election. Predominantly GOP-voters may call themselves libertarian (in lieu of e.g. 'social liberal, fiscal conservative' and perhaps with the clarifier 'pro-defense libertarian' to distinguish them from anti-war peaceniks). Of note, some Gen Xers first reached voting age when Ross Perot ran for President from the Reform Party."

Negro League Legend - The Black Babe

2006-05-05T10:45:00.000-05:00

See my post a few weeks back about Babe Ruth.

NEGRO LEAGUE LEGEND / THE BLACK BABE / Josh Gibson may have been the greatest home-run hitter ever: "As Barry Bonds chases Babe Ruth's treasured spot in home run history, with only Hank Aaron on the horizon, it's worth wondering where Gibson might fit in this illustrious group. He was the preeminent home-run hitter in the Negro Leagues, a stout catcher whose displays of power rivaled Ruth's."

Mission: Avoid the damn movie

2006-05-05T09:08:00.000-05:00

So, this is a bit late. I hear the movie didn't do as well as was hoped. Score one for a savvy public immune to overwhelming media blitzes!

This whole post was prompted by seeing a contrived MI theme on Sportscenter, then another on ESPN's Daily Quickie. If it were a Disney movie, you could chalk it up to corporate synergy at it's worst. However, IMDB indicates it's a Paramount (aka Viacom, MTV, CBS, et al) movie, though, shooting a hole in my theories. I guess an eight-figure advertising budget gets you crap like that.

Rode Bodacious For Nine?

2006-05-02T06:59:00.000-05:00

Anecdotal evidence that Roger McDowell may not deserve to be drawn and quartered. Oh, and a couple paragraphs into it you'll see reference to the the next t-shirt you'll see on busted tees, etc.

Just one hit, that's it | Braves | ajc.com: "Hudson credits his recent improvement to pitching coach Roger McDowell, who noticed a flaw in his delivery two weeks ago after looking at side-by-side video of some of his best starts with Oakland and his first few starts this season."

Stick it to the Daily Quickie

2006-04-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

ESPN.com: The Daily Quickie: "
Speaking of sports films, I have no qualms fessing I'm excited to see 'Stick It,' given 'Bring It On' is one of my top Guilty Pleasure movies."

Pricing projects in the service industry

2006-04-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

I came across an article from a manager at a design firm, discussing pricing projects. My comment is down the list (look for the time stamp of 4/27/06 06:39 am) discussing the standard approach in my industry, environmental consulting. To me the article (specifically, the approach it proposes) is simply common sense. Reading the comments, though, I realized that the transparency and disclosure in my industry certainly doesn't carry over to other industries.

Pricing a Project - Blue Flavor: "I believe these days are gone. In the Information Age the consumer is in control, with the ability to discover exactly how much a thing costs, honesty and transparency must be at the heart of how you price a project."

Maybe it's because environmental consulting is a tight market, or that we're all engineers and scientists working for engineers and scientists, but I can't imagine the approaches some of the commentators espouse flying in my world.

Marketplace: Petroleum 101

2006-04-25T19:00:00.000-05:00

Marketplace: Petroleum 101: "We did that [SS: relaxing environmental requirements on gasoline to lower prices] right after Katrina, and the people in St. Louis noticed brown skies and more pollution. So the tradeoff you'd make is 50 cents at retail, and putting up with some brown skies."

It seems to me the hangup with gas and environmental regs is not that they (regs & requirements) exist; it's that they vary from region to region, eliminating flexibility for suppliers to react to localized shortages. This reflects the overall environmental regulatory environment (pardon the pun) in which so much of the burden stems from inconsistent requirements state-by-state, not the actual requirements themselves.

Remember, anything leaving a plant as pollution is something that either came in as a raw material and is not being sold for a profit or was generated as a byproduct at an energy or efficiency cost to the manufacturer. It's been my experience most industry recognizes this, and recognizes it's in their own best financial interests to minimize pollution. Consistent requirements would certainly help. Instead, you get a system that changes with each state, with a tendency towards EPA and state agencies adopting bad cop/good cop roles, respectively.

Sorry for the tangential rant, it's just that I see this all the time at work, where environmentally-beneficial and berueacratically-efficient solutions are, unfortunately, often at odds.

Don't pitch to Bonds: A real Superman

2006-04-25T18:27:00.000-05:00

Don't pitch to Bonds: A real Superman: "It is impossible to fairly compare players of different eras with one another. With the advances in equipment, training, nutrition, travel, not to mention the evolution of the game’s eligibility rules or strategy, it is impossible to imagine how a player plucked from 1916 would have performed in 2006 and just as difficult to imagine how a player from 2006 would have fared in 1926. What one can easily do however is to look at how players compared to their contemporaries."

See, this bugs me, a lot. Yes, Ruth had fantastic numbers. Mind-numbingly fantastic. More-homers-by-himself-than-the-rest-of-the-league type ridiculousness. It's commonly accepted that comparing raw numbers in baseball is difficult across eras, so Ruth's greatness is often presented by comparing his numbers' to his peers'. But, and this is where I get annoyed, what about the sizable block of the population excluded from being his peers? Would that 1920 stat line with 54 homers have been as impressive if, say, Josh Gibson had 42 homers that year? Not to mention would he have lost a homer or two if Satchel Paige, instead of John "Scrub" Doe, were filling the a rotation slot for the Orioles?

It would be ludicrous to argue that Ruth might have appeared simply good in that context. No doubt in my mind exists that he still would be considered an all-time great. But near-universal recognition as the all-time greatest? I think he'd definitely slide a few notches lower.

When (if) Barry Bonds passes Ruth, expect to see a little more Ruth-glorification, coupled with righteous indignation towards Bonds, and even calls for silliness like asterisks. Just note the event, and remember the mitigating circumstances in each one's circumstances, and that both were simply operating under the accepted practices of baseball at their times. Then, go remember and celebrate Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey, etc. as more appropriate heroes.

Testing the Bounds of MySpace - Los Angeles Times

2006-04-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

An interesting perspective on MySpace... Though I'm still closer in age to the typical user than the typical parent, I guess I'm already becoming a dinosaur.

Speaking of which, I saw Dinosaur Jr. two nights ago... man, it's now taking me a couple days to recover from staying out 'til nearly 1 am on a work night.

Testing the Bounds of MySpace - Los Angeles Times

Opening Day Player Payroll: Inside the Numbers -- The Hardball Times

2006-04-10T09:15:00.000-05:00

A nice review of Opening Day baseball salary numbers over at the Hardball Times. The Braves are interesting: they have a modest $4M increase in the total roster payroll, and sit in the upper third of the league in total payroll. However, the median salary for the Braves' roster is $462,500 - 4th lowest in the league! It's pretty easy to see how this dichotomy arose: combine aging All-Star/potential Hall-of-Famers (Andruw, Chipper, Smoltz) plus a boatload of young (read: ineligible for arbitration) talent (McCann, Langerhans, Francour, the bullpen) and you get a total payroll dominated by a few heavy contracts.

What I wonder is if this is sustainable position for the franchise: obviously, the salaries of the yound players can go nowhere but up. In fact, if the Braves are to maintain their success of the past 15 years, they'll need several of the youngsters to make the jump to the all-star level, meaning an even bigger hike in total payroll. While there are a few albatross contracts (Hampton) that skew the totals, you can see the Braves only have a finite number of slots for high-cost talent. Which of the current Baby Braves will be the first casualty of arbitration- and free-agency-driven inflation? Guess we have to wait and see...

Opening Day Player Payroll: Inside the Numbers -- The Hardball Times: "Opening Day Player Payroll: Inside the Numbers"

How to recycle your computer | Salon.com News

2006-04-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

Another post more for my own future use... I've got a shipping label from Dell, courtesy of the PC I recently bought, and have an old PC I'd like to recycle. I've just been held back by a lack of packaging, and laziness.

How to recycle your computer | Salon.com News: "How to recycle your computer"

My Deadspin Entry for Flawed Merchandise

2006-04-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

In response to the Deadspin "Amazon.com Has Your Potentially Flawed Merchandise" post - I have a classic Losing Team Championship shirt. I found a faded "St Louis Cardinals - 1985 World Series Champions" t-shirt in an Atlanta thrift store 6 or 7 years ago. Since the Cards were the first baseball team I ever loved, I snatched up that memento, and have stubbornly hung on to it, in case Don Denkinger admits his folly and I start shooting heroin and lose the 50 pounds needed to actually fit the size small t-shirt on my 6'1" 210# frame.

Also, the shirt was a great litmus test - my then-girlfriend, upon seeing a ratty, faded, lying t-shirt on a hanger, questioned it, naturally. Upon relation of the story, though, she did not roll her eyes or mutter something about "that's following your paisley couch and bowling shirts out to the curb" - rather, she suggested it should be in a more prominent display than the back of my closet. 5 years of marriage later, she still feels the same way.

Joe Biden Article in GQ

2006-04-04T21:20:00.000-05:00

The recent GQ has a long interview with Joe Biden, the senior senator (Democrat) from Delaware. Ignoring the Wayne's World flashback that accompanies any reference to Delaware, it's a pretty good read. He sounds like an intelligent, principled guy, who could represent the party well in 2008.

JOE BIDEN CAN’T SHUT UP…: GQ Features on men.style.com: "JOE BIDEN CAN’T SHUT UP…
…About Bush, the Democrats, the mess in Iraq. About his chances in 2008 and how he’s going to explain his past screwups. About his near-death experiences. About Republican hypocrisy. Yes, if presidential elections were decided on an ability to speak in great, unfiltered, often inspiring bursts, the senior senator from Delaware would win in a landslide. Now, let him talk By Robert Draper"

What's frustrating, to me, though, is how well every politician comes across individually compared to how inept they all appear in the context of Washington DC partisanship. I don't know how independent this profile is, and I should do some due diligence before getting excited about him as a candidate, but it is encouraging, though.

He seems rather principled, and likely to uphold a consistent progressive ideology as a nice counterexample to the Republican hodgepodge of ideas chosen to maximize voter turnout. To me that has to be one of the must infuriating aspects of the current Republican party: the rejection of an overall theory of small-government and the adoption of a la carte beliefs.

In my youth, oddly, I associated much more so with the Republican party, as it seemed more fundamentally "fair" to empower individuals with their futures, rather than ask a bloated government to adminster job training, health care, retirement security, etc. Trickle-down economics, as I understood it, seemed to make sense. I guess I was more Libertarian, and voted that way the first couple times I could, but I certainly identified the least with the Democrats.

Now, I'm quite the opposite. The libertarian in me has left, as I feel that there remain too many artificial inequities, legacies of past wrongs (racism, sexism, etc), for me to deny the responsibility of a government to level the playing field, so to speak. My inner republican has in turn been outraged by what I perceive to be the abandonment of small-government principles. If Republican positions on individual privacy matters such as abortion and gay rights aren't an obvious enough illustration, simply consider the exorbitant growth in the US budget over the past 6 years. [Foxnews: Federal Budget Grows Massively Under Bush], [Factcheck.org: Spending Growth]

I'll wrap this post up, as I've rambled a bit. If I can do a little background checking on the Biden article, and if he seems like a good candidate, I will try to write a letter to him in support, which I will certainly duplicate here.

Happy Cooler Day

2006-04-03T17:48:00.000-05:00

From Brian Murphy's ESPN Page 2 column (which seems to have disappeared lately; at least, it doesn't regularly appear anymore).

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Happy Cooler Day: "realization that the first Monday in April represented not just the ultimate 'Cooler Day,' but also the 'Greatest Day in American Sports.'"

For those too lazy to click, Cooler Day is the fortuitous intersection of the NCAA Men's Tournament Final Game, Opening Day for Major League Baseball, and the first day of practice at the Masters.

What I Do

2006-04-03T17:44:00.000-05:00

The EPA press release below illustrates what I do, for y'all's information. Basically, I work to help my clients avoid this kind of thing. Mostly engineering with a little legal added to the mix.

Note: I have never worked at the facility mentioned below, and know nothing about the specifics mentioned therein. I just picked it semi-randomnly because it has big numbers, in an effort to make myself seem more important.

Environmental Protection Agency - EPA Press Release: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Faces Fine for Ozone Violations in Stratford, Conn.: "(Boston, Mass. - Mar. 31, 2006) - A fine of more than $325,000 may be levied under an EPA complaint against the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation for violations of the federal stratospheric ozone protection regulations and two federal hazardous air pollutant standards. The complaint follows up on administrative orders issued to Sikorsky in both 2004 and 2005, and is EPA’s third case in three months against New England companies for violations of the ozone protection program. "

U.S. News Graduate Rankings Released

2006-03-31T09:21:00.000-06:00

My grad school's in the top ten...

Georgia Institute of Technology :: News Room :: U.S. News Graduate Rankings Released: "Tech’s College of Engineering retained its position in the elite top five, behind only MIT, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. The eight engineering programs ranked in the top 10 are: aerospace (4th), biomedical (3rd), civil (5th), computer (6th) electrical (6th), environmental (8th), industrial and systems (1st) and mechanical (7th). "

Illegal Immigration

2006-03-30T19:17:00.000-06:00

So, I caught the tail end of an NPR story on the drive home discussing a recent study on America's attitudes towards immigration [Pew Research Center]. Leaving the gym, I heard another story about the mixed economic effects of illegal immigrants [Marketplace.org]. This morning, I had caught another essay on NPR suggesting that the US simply focus on reducing illegal immigration through attrition and enforcement of existing laws, rather than through new legislation [NPR Morning Edition].

The Pew study was interesting - one finding highlighted was that support and acceptance of immigrants increased with exposure to them; namely, those most against relaxed immigration policies have the least contact with them. While this invites all kinds of speculation on racism, closed-mindedness, protectionism, etc, I am mostly interested in the third link - the commentary on what to do about things.

I am really uncomfortable with the idea of further criminalizing illegal immigration - I don't see how it would affect the problems associated with illegal immigration, which I perceive mainly as the economic drag on social programs. The suggestion to target employers of illegals seems most appropriate, and appeals to this engineer's sensibilities. Consider that there are some 10 million or so illegals, and that a sufficient pool of potential illegals exists to resupply this number. It seems the logical course would be to try to reduce the driving force - crack down on employers, and this pool will naturally decline. This is also a more practical approach, as the pool of businesses hiring illegals has got to be somewhat, if not significantly, less than the number of illegals (which we're calling 10 million). So, fewer targets to pursue, and this group won't immediately replenish itself. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Unfortunately, it seems instead that Congress would rather take the easier route of targeting the nameless, faceless illegals, rather than targetting American companies that create the demand for illegals. Congress gets to trumpet a new law just in time for the fall elections, people forget as the media changes its attention, and nothing really changes. /sigh

Hail to the chief

2006-03-29T17:39:00.000-06:00

This link came to my attention from Buster Olney's blog at ESPN. It's a short anecdote about our president, Dubya. He comes off as a pretty funny, engaging guy - I think it's interesting, and can definitely see that this side of him would appeal to people and engender support. If he were a person who sought multiple viewpoints and to build consesus, he might have even been an effective leader. Instead, we get a guy who seems comfortable in a vacuumand doesn't court outside opinion, leading to our current state of affairs.

The Enquirer - President caught Brennaman off-guard in 2004 meeting

True Dat/Double True

2006-03-29T17:11:00.000-06:00

I've linked to King Kaufman's columns before, and I'll do it again. This line's from today's baseball preview. You have to appreciate a columnist that simply understands and accepts the foulness of the Yankees as a basic law of nature, much like gravity and semi-intelligent design.

King Kaufman's Sports Daily | Salon.com: "I'm an honest person who is kind to animals and small children, mostly, and I deserve to see the Yankees not win their division at least once before my grandchildren swindle me out of my pension."

2006-02-03T08:54:00.000-06:00

Cool... perfect timing, as I've been on a Pumpkins nostalgia trip the past few weeks.

Corgan, Chamberlin revive Smashing Pumpkins - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Billboard) - In the clearest sign yet that
Billy Corgan is reviving seminal alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins, sources say he and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are set to begin work on a new studio album."

2006-02-03T00:31:00.000-06:00

Diamond Kings

2006-02-02T09:10:00.000-06:00

The ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill wrote the article below. He mentions his year as the QB for the Jackets, which was also my first year at Tech. What an awful football season. My high school's team had also been awful - 0-10 my junior and senior years, so I went basically 3 years without cheering at a victory.

The first game that year was at home against Arizona. I remember it as a close game, with Tech having a real shot at a win until a late, bogus pass interference call screwed us.

ESPN.com - RECRUITING - Tom Luginbill: My Recruiting Story: "I found the 1994 season didn't go quite as planned. We suffered through a 1-10 season..."

2006-01-31T13:02:00.000-06:00

Hehe, here's a great line from the sports columnist at Salon, King Kaufman.
Salon.com | King Kaufman's Sports Daily: "'The president has trademarked starting the game on third base,' a fictional Justice Department official said on the condition of not having a name made up for him."

2006-01-26T21:06:00.000-06:00

Yup.... and I'm hoping to be one of them soon.

Survey: More Parents Playing Video Games - Yahoo! News

2006-01-25T12:50:00.000-06:00

Lol... I know exactly what he means.

Braves & Birds - The Atlanta Sports Blog: "Mr. Tagliabue, how do you sleep at night?" "On top of piles of money with many beautiful women!": "it always worries me when I do something that Red Staters love and Blue Staters abhor. In that period, I had the same feeling of disquiet listening to Merle Haggard, eating at Waffle House, drinking bourbon, and being outside in February. Then I remembered that my party pissed away the election by nominating a liberal from Massachusetts who had all the personality of Herb Sendek and I felt strangely better."

2006-01-23T17:30:00.000-06:00

I think this is a pretty accurate summation of the state of digital music. As someone who has taken to buying music online (iTunes) almost exclusively, I think it's a welcome change. I think they'd have been better off spending the last 5 years adjusting to digital delivery, rather than suing 10 year olds.

EMI's Nicoli sees Internet reviving music industry - Yahoo! News: "'We've moved on from the days when the main impact of digital technology was to harm our industry by facilitating rampant online and physical theft,' he said. 'The day is surely within our sights when digital growth outstrips physical decline and we can all compete for share of a growing pie.'"

2006-01-20T17:23:00.000-06:00

GRIZZLIES: Beard Pau-er - Wear a Beard, Score a Ticket

Hey baby, want to feel my beard?

2006-01-14T21:43:00.000-06:00

Nice - my google ads include WoW gold farming (unsuprising) and industrial chemical mixing equipment. What I like about the second one is that it fits in nicely with a long-running joke between my wife and me. When we got married, she wanted to register for a mixer. I, having just seen some industrial lab catalog at work, and wanting to flaunt our geek pride, campaigned to register for a "bench-scale homogenizer." Basically, an industrial labratory mixer. In a harbinger of our lives together, she prevailed. ;-)

2006-01-14T21:41:00.000-06:00

If you notice posts missing, it's not me depublishing. I had some problems with duplicate posts yesterday. Let's just chalk it up to Friday the 13th gremlins.

2006-01-13T15:35:00.001-06:00

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Video Dog

It's actually a cat.

2006-01-13T15:30:00.000-06:00

Michigan Football Forum: Stop the One-Peat

Pretty good points by some Michigan folks (wow, that looks odd in print).

Here's a referencing link from the USC side.

I'll run it by some LSU folks and get some input.

2006-01-13T15:28:00.000-06:00

Image:Afos.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

rofl

2006-01-13T12:35:00.000-06:00

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Uni Watch: Uni Vision: "• From Tom McCaffrey: 'I imagine you're going to get more than a few e-mails about this, but the best Rose Bowl-related uniforms are those on the USC Song Leaders.' And sure enough, Carl Mazzone adds, 'Last year, during their trip to the Orange Bowl, the USC Song Leaders wore orange patches over their, well oranges.'"

2006-01-13T12:34:00.000-06:00

Moroccan's game smooth as silk | ajc.com

I'd mock, but they beat Tech this year.

2006-01-06T17:25:00.000-06:00

Salon.com Life | Broadshee t

Interesting note on recent trends in US marriage patterns.

2006-01-06T17:16:00.000-06:00

Jeremy Hermanns dot org » Alaska Flight #536 - Rapid De-Pressurization and Panic at 30K Feet

Interesting... I was pointed to this from the Ask the Pilot column on Salon, and I think I'd have to agree that the author comes off sounding a little dramatic.

Here's the Salon article...

2006-01-05T22:22:00.000-06:00

30% Off the Regular Price of One Book
at Borders/Waldenbooks

2006-01-05T22:02:00.000-06:00

Mobhunter.com: Expansion Announcement: Prophecy of Ro

Wow, Everquest is still going strong. This seems like an appropriate subject for my first continuation post. Two years ago, I was playing that game excessively, to the point my wife was actually familiar with the Yahoo! EQ Widows group.

Now, I just have a milder infatuation with world of warcraft.

2003-10-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

EPA | TTN CHIEF | TANKS Software Frequently Asked Questions: "HOW DO I OBTAIN ANTOINE'S COEFFICIENTS FOR OTHER CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS?
Two of the best resources are the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics and Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook. These references should be available at most technical libraries. Other references are:
Reid, Prausnitz and Sherwood, Properties of Liquids and Gases, McGraw Hill, 1987.
Yaws and Yang, Property Data: To Estimate Vapor Pressure Easily, Hydrocarbon Processing, October 1989.
Baublik, Fried and Hola, The Vapor Pressures of Pure Substances, Selected Values of the Temperature Dependent Vapor Pressure in the Normal and Low Pressure Regions, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1984.
Antoine's Coeffecients are also in the NIST Chemistry workbook, which is available online at: http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/
**Please note that in some resources, such as the NIST Chemistry Workbook, the Antoine's equation constants in bar, K must be converted to mmHg, degrees C for use in TANKS 4.0. To do this, add 2.8751 to A, keep B the same, and add 273.15 to C."

2003-10-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Salon.com News | Anxious in Orange County: "I've often wondered whether there is some characterological trait that distinguishes the truly right-wing (as opposed to merely Republican) from the generally liberal. The cliché is that conservatives cling to stasis and certainty while liberals are more comfortable in the flux and flow of modern life."

2003-10-14T09:01:00.000-05:00

Chuckleheads!
: "The defense's problems can't solely be traced to Phillips. Any coach would have difficulty turning this bunch of chuckleheads into a cohesive unit. "

2003-10-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

Red River Gorge: "Two Hikes

If you are new to the area, the following are a couple of hikes that would be good for a weekend backpack trip."

2003-10-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

GORP - National Scenic Trails - Sheltowee Trace - Hiking Tips

2003-10-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

True 'dat. I wish...

ESPN.com - Page2 - East coast envy: "... I felt loathing the way Red Sox and Yankees fans do for each other. I'm a Dodgers fan, and I've got plenty of venom for the Giants, and the Yanks, too, but the Boston-New York thing is of another, more concentrated order."

2003-10-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

Great line. Nice story.

ESPN.com - Page2 - Baseball's border wars: "I know. Don't live your sports dreams through your son. Whatever. Father knows best."

2003-10-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Punkvoter.com

I'll add this as a permanent link soon.

2003-10-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News - Ah-nuld Elected Governor!

...and it's listed in the entertainment news. Makes me sooo proud to be a native Californian.

2003-10-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News - Episcopal Church Faces Split Over Gays

Hey, at least the conservatives are the minority.

2003-10-06T13:29:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News - Cubs End 95 Years of Playoff Frustration: "Ninety-five years of frustration. Ninety-five years of ridicule. Put it all to rest. The Chicago Cubs (news) are postseason winners. "

Hmphph... squeaking out a divisional series win does not end the ridicule. If anything, it will make the next loss even worse.

2003-10-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

Here's my football team.
ajc.com | Georgia Tech | Inconsistent Jackets press on

2003-10-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

Hi, this is my blog. I've started a new job today, so I thought I'd try this as well.