PHONOGRAPH

Goodbye, Everybody!

2007-04-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

(I am opening up comments, in case anyone wanted to say goodbye back.)

I Am Posting Pictures of Bulldogs in Goofy Outfits...

2007-04-30T17:48:00.000-05:00

...because really, that's what this blog was all about.

No.'s 751, 752 and 753

2007-04-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day Phonograph will be updated. This is my 751st post, and I will do two more after this.

I have had a lot of fun writing the blog, and want to thank everyone for reading. Over the past two years, I have had some highs (being quoted in Slate), some lows (being quoted in Pun City) and lots of middles (not being quoted anywhere.)

According to my counter, I have also had tens of thousands of visitors. Yet, I suspect I actually just had ten really bored visitors who have visited thousands of times.

So thanks, you guys.

A Congress Has to Do What a Congress Has to Do

2007-04-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

Congress today passed a bill that would end the war in Iraq by Oct. 1. Normally I would link to an AP story and post a clip, but there is no need for that here.

Most Americans want to end the war. Congress passed a bill to end the war. 'Nuff said.

How Far Away is 20 Light-Years, Anyway?

2007-04-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

For some perspective, here is a picture of the Carina Nebula taken by the Hubble Telescope, furnished by the AP:

It's 50 light-years wide.

Let's Go To Libra!

2007-04-25T11:05:00.000-05:00

We found another planet like ours. From the New York Times:

The most enticing property yet found outside our solar system is about 20 light-years away in the constellation Libra, a team of European astronomers said yesterday.

The astronomers have discovered a planet five times as massive as the Earth orbiting a dim red star known as Gliese 581.
It is the smallest of the 200 or so planets that are known to exist outside of our solar system, the extrasolar or exo-planets. It orbits its home star within the so-called habitable zone where surface water, the staff of life, could exist if other conditions are right, said Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory.

Twenty light-years away means about 120 trillion miles away, which is relatively close. Still, I wouldn't expect JetBlue flights to Gliese 581 anytime soon.

Sci-fi prediction corner: After polluting our planet to the brink of destruction, humans fly off to Gliese 581, only to find that the life-forms on that planet have polluted it to the brink of destruction as well.

No More Bees!

2007-04-24T17:44:00.000-05:00

I wasn't freaking out. Then I read this article, from the New York Times:

More than a quarter of the country�??s 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost �?? tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping. So far, no one can say what is causing the bees to become disoriented and fail to return to their hives.
As with any great mystery, a number of theories have been posed, and many seem to researchers to be more science fiction than science. People have blamed genetically modified crops, cellular phone towers and high-voltage transmission lines for the disappearances. Or was it a secret plot by Russia or Osama bin Laden to bring down American agriculture? Or, as some blogs have asserted, the rapture of the bees, in which God recalled them to heaven? Researchers have heard it all.

Now I am freaking out!

I Am Not Going to Say Anything

2007-04-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

I am not going to jinx it.

Announcement of Limited Importance

2007-04-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

I will submit my last post for Phonograph on April 30. At that point, my blogging will end.

This spring I am graduating from law school and starting a real job (theoretically). Having full-time employment as a lawyer would make blogging very difficult, if not impossible, because conflicts of interest might occur. I have already come narrowly close to one conflict already, and wish to not repeat it.

Then again, I might get a job mowing lawns or something instead. That would probably lead to very few conflicts.

At any rate, when I started blogging, I never thought about when I would stop, but this seems like a good time. I've been doing this for about two years now, and have enjoyed it a lot. I hope my readers have enjoyed it too (both of you.)

It's Baseball Season

2007-04-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

I have not yet seen my first place Milwaukee Brewers play at Miller Park yet, but I will soon. And if I am lucky, some crazed Patriots fan will throw pizza at me.

Will Law and Order be Saved?

2007-04-19T14:27:00.000-05:00

An NBC mainstay may be on its way out. From the New York Times:

The future of �??Law & Order,�?? one the most enduringly popular shows in television history, will be decided over the next few weeks as its network, NBC, and its creator, Dick Wolf, mull a wrenching decision:

Is it finally time to shut down production of a series that has churned out almost 400 episodes, fueled ratings for several cable channels with its voluminous repeats and spawned two successful spinoffs, all the while generating enormous profits for both NBC and Mr. Wolf?
The answer will come in the negotiations now going on between Mr. Wolf and NBC Universal, the corporate entity that includes the studio that produces the series. The talks involve not just the 17-year-old �??Law & Order�?? but also its most recent offspring, �??Law & Order: Criminal Intent,�?? now in its sixth season.
At least according to NBC executives, it�??s possible that either or both �??Law & Order�?? and �??Criminal Intent�?? will be canceled.

How can Law and Order be saved? Try less episodes featuring Chevy Chase and more episodes featuring donkey witnesses.

Is Wisconsin Going Smoke Free?

2007-04-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

Will there be no more smoking in taverns or restaurants state-wide? Quite possibly. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced legislation to ban smoking statewide in all workplaces, including restaurants and taverns.

Backers of the measure said it would create a level playing field for all businesses while protecting the health of workers in all industries.

All You Can Eat

2007-04-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

Slate's Neal Pollack spent a day in the Los Angeles Dodgers' all-you-can-eat section, and ate a lot. Here is a clip:

Tickets would cost $35 in advance and $40 on game days. In return, fans could gorge like George Kennedy in The Naked Gun. The menu would include nachos, hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, and soft drinks, what one Dodger PR flack called "basic ballpark fare that most fans enjoy."

This is a good deal, but not a great deal.

A great deal is offered by a certain local sports team that gives you all you can eat AND drink (Great Dane Beer) for $27. Plus, the fans in Madison actually stay until the end of the game.

The Gunman Was a Misfit

2007-04-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

This atypical disaster is looking like it was caused by the typical culprit. From the AP:

Meanwhile, a chilling portrait of the gunman as a misfit began to emerge.

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said she did not know Cho. But she said she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as "troubled."

"There was some concern about him," Rude said. "Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real it might be. But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."

She said Cho was referred to the counseling service, but she said she did not know when, or what the outcome was. Rude refused to release any of his writings or his grades, citing privacy laws.

The Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site that he left a note in his dorm room that included a rambling list of grievances. Citing unidentified sources, the Tribune said he had recently shown troubling signs, including setting a fire in a dorm room and stalking some women.

It seems he fits the typical pattern for people who do these types of things. Yet, there are hundreds of thousands of people in this pattern; exhibiting this behavior. The real mystery is why so few take it to this tragic level. What are those few missing that holds the others back?

I Am Already Looking Forward to Next Year

2007-04-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin will play Duke for the first time.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

2007-04-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

There is a great editorial comment today by Adam Cohen in the New York Times. I will share a clip a little bit later in the post.

First, let me get you up to speed. During Governor Doyle's reelection campaign, a travel scandal was alleged against his administration, resulting in the conviction of Georgia Thompson, a non-partisan government official, who was sent to prison just weeks before election day.

She was recently released immediately from prison after a Court of Appeals found that the evidence lodged against her was ridiculously thin. That evidence was lodged by U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic, a Bush appointee who may have been threatened with losing his job -- like several other U.S. attorneys did -- if he did not meet the political demands of the White House.

Now here is the great summary clip from Cohen:

Mr. Biskupic insists that he prosecuted Ms. Thompson only because he believed a crime was committed, and that he did not discuss the political implications of the case or the timing with anyone in the Justice Department or the White House. Congress has asked the Justice Department for all e-mail messages about the case to help resolve the matter.
But even if there were no discussions, Mr. Biskupic may have known that his bosses in Washington expected him to use his position to help Republicans win elections, and then did what they wanted.
That would be ironic indeed. One of the biggest weaknesses in the case against Ms. Thompson was that to commit the crime she was charged with she had to have tried to gain personally from the contract, and there�??s no credible evidence that she did. So Mr. Biskupic made the creative argument that she gained by obtaining �??political advantage for her superiors�?? and that in pleasing them she �??enhanced job security for herself.�?? Those motivations, of course, may well describe why Mr. Biskupic prosecuted Ms. Thompson.

Even if the evidence right now against Biskupic is thin, doesn't he deserve intense scrutiny for his decision? Shouldn't we be trying him? What goes around, comes around, right?

Scary Stuff at Virginia Tech

2007-04-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

I think we will be remembering this one for a while.

Kurt Vonnegut is Dead

2007-04-12T14:36:00.000-05:00

I am sad.

A Rare Moment of Intellectualism

2007-04-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

Hang on, because I am going to get really nerdy here.

Today, Slate has an article on Ludwig Wittgenstein by Clive James. Wittgenstein is perhaps my favorite philosopher and wrote perhaps one of the most remarkable books in philosophical history, the Tractatus Logico-Philosphicus. This early work changed philosophy, yet James only mentions it once, almost in passing:

Captured by the Italians, in the prison camp at Montecassinao he completed the work we now know as the Tractatus Logico-Philosphicus, a set of aphorisms based on the principle that language is a combination of propositions picturing the facts of which the world is composed.

I suspect that James did this on purpose, because he wanted to focus on the later and lesser appreciated years of Wittgenstein. Yet, those years are lesser appreciated for a reason. In my opinion, Wittgenstein in his later years lost his focus, started to think to big, and became one of those mushy philosophers that outsiders think all philosophers are.

In the Tractatus Logico-Philosphicus, we find words of unbridled narrow concentration that deconstructed language as we know it. In under a hundred pages, Wittgenstein rapidly and efficiently reaches a sobering conclusion: philosophy is basically a pointless study.

Then, having proven himself out of a job, he never wrote another book again. How remarkable is that?

Are You Ready for the Attack...

2007-04-11T11:12:00.000-05:00

of the 17 Year Cicadas?

Image courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Nurse for a Day

2007-04-11T11:06:00.000-05:00

Presidential candidate John Edwards worked a shift as a nursing assistant at a New York nursing home this morning. Here is a sample of how is day went, from the AP:

Dressed in jeans and a blue work shirt, Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, helped awaken Irving Zywoto and tried to explain to the 83-year old resident who he was.

"Remember the last presidential election in 2004? Kerry and Edwards? I'm Edwards. I'm running for president this time," he said.

Later, Edwards donned rubber gloves to rub moisturizer on Zywoto's legs and gave him his morning shave.

Edwards should think about working there full time. It sounds like a better job than being the next president.

America's Scariest Medical Accidents

2007-04-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

Just in case the thought of surgery isn't scary enough, here is some more frightening news. From the AP:

Family members say the 73-year-old Baptist minister was driven to kill himself by the traumatic experience of being awake during surgery but unable to move or cry out in pain.

Sizemore's death has drawn attention to a little-discussed phenomenon called anesthesia awareness that some experts say may happen to 20,000 to 40,000 patients a year in this country. Typically they feel pain, pressure or other discomfort during surgery because they are not adequately anesthetized.

The causes can include doctor errors, faulty equipment or medical conditions so severe that the patient cannot be safely put under deep anesthesia.

"It's the first time I know of anyone succeeding in taking their own lives because of this, but suicidal thoughts are not all that uncommon" among such patients, said Carol Weihrer, president of the Virginia-based Anesthesia Awareness Campaign, which she founded after her own experience with anesthesia awareness.

Sizemore, a clergyman and former coal miner from the town of Beckley, was admitted to Raleigh General Hospital on Jan. 19, 2006, for exploratory surgery to diagnose the cause of abdominal pain, according to a lawsuit filed March 13.

An anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist who worked for Raleigh Anesthesia Associates gave Sizemore paralyzing drugs to prevent his muscles from jerking and twitching during the surgery, the complaint alleges. But it says they failed to give him general anesthesia to render him unconscious until 16 minutes after the first cut into his abdomen. The family says he suffered excruciating pain.

I woke up while having my wisdom teeth removed. I didn't feel any pain, thank goodness. I do remember thinking, "You idiots! I'm not asleep!" Then I fell asleep again shortly.

Baseball in Milwaukee... Without the Brewers

2007-04-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

Two new teams are coming to Milwaukee this week. From the AP:

After snow wiped out Cleveland's series against Seattle for the fourth day in a row Monday, the Indians moved their next series against the Los Angeles Angels to Milwaukee's Miller Park.

The teams will play a three-game series beginning Tuesday in a ballpark that has a retractable roof, unlike Jacobs Field. The opener and Wednesday's game will be played at 7:05 p.m. EDT, with Thursday's scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Of course, we all remember what it was like the last time the Cleveland Indians played their home games in Milwaukee. Hopefully we see some of that again.

Spring Break! Wooooo!

2007-03-30T18:47:00.000-05:00

Phonograph will be unupdated for a while I am away on my final spring break, ever.

Where am I going? Someplace south? Someplace warm? Someplace tropical?

Indeed. I am going to Chicago.

Field Trip!

2007-03-29T11:07:00.000-05:00

I am going to the wrong school. From Sports Illustrated:

Some students may skip classes this week to attend college basketball's Final Four, though at least a dozen have managed to score class credits out of the trip.
The students are sports management majors at Lynn University in South Florida. As part of a course titled "The Final Four Experience," they will be traveling with a couple of professors to Atlanta to get a firsthand look at what goes into the major sporting event.
And get this, each student gets three credits for the excursion.
"It's a chance for us to meet people with high positions and see how they got to where they are now," junior Emily Lipman said. "Then we'll be able to feed off that."
The group arrived Wednesday and won't just attend the Final Four. They will tour the city's pro and college sports stadiums, network with team executives and some sponsors, including representatives of The Coca-Cola Co.
The trip cost $3,250 per student. It may seem pricey but the total covered the cost of the class, a hotel room for six nights, food, roundtrip airline tickets, two rental minivans, a Georgia Tech baseball game and Thrashers hockey game, along with the Final Four and championship games at the Georgia Dome.

I wonder if it is too late to transfer, switch majors and enroll?