.:Private Revolution

Franken by a nose

2009-07-01T12:19:00.001-03:00

The Minnesota Supreme Court has voted 5-0 that it is time to certify Al Franken as the senator from Minnesota.

Tell da troof -- Another artist engages 9/11

2009-06-26T16:42:00.004-03:00

Mos Def, Charlie Sheen, and Willie Nelson. A motley crew. Perhaps Britney will eventually jump on the bandwagon. Artist: Mos Def ft. Immortal TechniqueSong: Bin LadenCharlie Sheen talks with Alex Jones20 March 2006Democracy Now! The War and Peace ReportFebruary 21, 2008Willie Nelson talks about 9/11 with Amy Goodman10:19 Juan introduces Willie Nelson11:46 Willie Nelson opens with a song55:52

Ideal Bookmarking System

2009-06-21T11:10:00.011-03:00

On Mozilla's addon page, there are over 700 extensions under Bookmarks, and about 100 of those are listed when searching for 'tag'. You would think with all of that attention about tags I would be able to find something to suit my tastes. But when it comes to tagging I appear to by picky. So this is a description of the tagging system that I think would satisfy me. BOOKMARKINGKeyboard only. I

Congratulations! ... I guess

2009-05-29T16:49:00.003-03:00

One of my favourite bloggers was just accredited with her Master of Arts Degree. She is getting lots of congratulations for it. But I am ambivalent about whether to offer mine. Part of me thinks I should be jealous, I tried, but I'm not. I cannot claim any roaring outward success that makes completing a BA look like a small feat. I appreciate that it is hard work. Nor is it the situation that I

The gift crisis

2009-04-12T17:28:00.003-03:00

I'm not sure how to record this story so this post will be revised for style over the coming days. Content updates, should they be published, will be noted as such at the bottom of the post. The crisis is inching toward resolution, but the outcome is still uncertain. Through my meditations I have come to believe certain things. I believe rights are lost by not exercising them under threat. I

Cramer of Mad Money articulates the dire situation

2009-03-10T10:17:00.003-03:00

"When we rally it will be based on facts, not on silver linings." Cramer has come to the mindset that cheerleading is not what is needed. We need a healthy dose of cynicism. Not only are all of the indicators bad, but nothing that has worked before is working now. In the worst bear market since the Great Depression, or World Depression I, we still can't see the bottom. There is more cynicism yet

Barry Scwartz on Rules, incentives, and the war on wisdom

2009-02-16T11:45:00.013-04:00

7:46"When things go wrong, as of course they do, we reach for two tools to try to fix them. One tool we reach for is rules, betters ones, more of them. The second tool we reach for is incentives, better ones, more of them. What else after all is there?..."The truth is neither rules nor incentives are enough the do the job....."And what happens is that as we turn increasingly to rules, rules and

Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius

2009-02-09T19:17:00.002-04:00

During the Renaissance there was a shift in the perceived origin of creativity. Rather than coming from an external muse or daemon, creativity was completely the responsibility of the artist. Perhaps this was too much responsibility, giving artists the tormented reputation of modern times.

Bale Rage with transcript and analysis

2009-02-05T14:58:00.007-04:00

This is a story of a group of wary people trying to get through a project with the little energy and patience they have left.Bale is at first looking for an assurance Hurlbut will not make the same mistake a third time. With Hurlbut's half-hearted apology Bale decides to get him under control so they can get back to work. McG tries to take control as Bale is attempting to stir empathy in Hurlbut.

Absurdity at the intersection of gay marriage and polygamy

2009-01-27T12:30:00.004-04:00

The issue of polygamy is unrelated to gay marriage. I am really eager to see how Winston Blackmore can wind the two together. He argues "the Canadian definition of marriage, which includes same-sex couples, should then also include multiple partners."Gay marriage is about civil law and what the state is willing to recognize as a union. Polygamy, however, is bound up with religion. To be more

This post is more for me than for you

2009-01-23T12:48:00.004-04:00

I haven't worked much lately. I am on a handful of casual work lists. None too active. I have explored most entry level positions. I have looked into entrepreneurial enterprise. I have attended college and university. As most of us frame the issue, our options are entry level work, education, or self-employment. I haven't had a 40-hour-a-week full-time job since early 2006. I can't say I am eager

Pinnacle Game Profiler Review

2009-01-04T00:54:00.009-04:00

I have noticed a disconnect lately in my writing. I have not been writing about the things that I have found myself talking about. The first post to get my real and online lives integrated is about a piece of software I have recently introduced a few friends to.Pinnacle Game Profiler is the software I use to configure my game pad. After adopting it I can't imagine using anything else. Pinnacle

Free Student Access Code Card

2009-01-02T17:00:00.004-04:00

Clearing out my books I found a Student Access Code Card that came with the Brief Penguin Handbook. I never used it. The code is likely still good if anybody needs such a service. CSWFBH-LEVEE-NEWEL-NIXED-FRONT-WORSEThis code will give the barer access to MYCANADIANCOMPLAB 2.0To do this you will have to go to www.pearsoned.ca/mycanadiancomplabEnjoy

Tell me about yourself.

2008-12-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Interviewer: So, tell me about yourself.Applicant: I'm an unconventional thinker.Interviewer: How's that?Applicant: Well, first of all I find that question hypocritical.Interviewer: Why would you say that?Applicant: It is meant to gauge my level of preparation, yet requires no preparation on you part. Interviewer: It's just a question that most applicants expect.Applicant: Then they expect

People should be allowed to make stupid mistakes

2008-11-29T02:21:00.000-04:00

I was thrilled today to hear on PEI will not be passing any cell phone driving legislation any time soon. I was not so thrilled to read in the Cadre, the monthly UPEI paper, about why they put up the $190,000 iron fence. It was to protect pedestrians. It was to protect people from willfully choosing to jaywalk. When you are given power over people it is tempting to try to make them appear smart

Ubiquity for flash gamers

2008-11-12T12:24:00.003-04:00

I love Ubiquity for many reasons, but for now I am applying it to flash games. I like playing flash games. There are so many to choose from, they are small, accessible and often extremely innovative. Unfortunately, often they are played on a small area of a window on screen that is increasingly being eaten up by buttons and bars. Internet Explorer and Firefox have an option to get rid of all of

Democracy: Voting and negotiation

2008-11-10T18:52:00.003-04:00

Democracy has been praised for empowering the masses by giving them the vote. There is however another political action, negotiation, that is still reserved for the political class.Rolling Stone, "Worst Congress Ever":To ensure that Democrats can't alter any of the last-minute changes, Republicans have overseen a monstrous increase in the number of "closed" rules — bills that go to the floor for

At least we know who is president

2008-11-05T20:26:00.003-04:00

All of the polling data put Coleman and Franken at neck and neck. This of course made me confident that Coleman would take the prize. My ace in the hole was supposed to be Barkley. Third party candidates are often listed under 'Other' for telephone polls, so I thought Barkley's representation would be slightly under represented, likely taking voters away from Franken. Regardless of the validity

Lawsuits in Minnesota

2008-11-01T17:39:00.001-03:00

Coleman is suing Franken over the content of a television and radio spot. The ad contains allegations that Coleman is the 4th most corrupt US senator, and that he is living almost rent free in a D.C. apartment. There are also other allegations in the ad that are not part of the law suit. There is no chance that the suit will be decided in time for the election. Now a Coleman supporter is being

Optimizing behavior - Revisited yet again

2008-10-28T23:20:00.001-03:00

For those not up to date on my mandatory SSP class at UPEI, I am currently on course for a 64% without completing a final mandatory paper, or so I was told on Thursday. After what I can only assume was a discussion with administrators who demand discipline from students, my instructor now tells me that failure to do a satisfactory job of this paper puts my work ethic in question, which then

Optimizing behavior - Revisited

2008-10-24T13:47:00.002-03:00

Follow up on The Scourge of Optimizing Behavior I got the number. I wanted to know the minimum score I would need on my final paper to get a 'P' in my SSP program.The final mark is calculated like this:Final Mark = 75%X(Class work) + 25%X(Final Paper)If this is higher than 60% I get a 'P' on my transcript, rather than an 'F'. The final mark is never published. So if I set the final mark to 60% we

The Scourge of Optimizing Behavior

2008-10-14T18:53:00.000-03:00

I am now coming from a Student Success Program (SSP) class. Taking this class is one of the conditions of my probation at UPEI. The class is not worth a credit, and in fact there will not even be a final mark published, merely a P or F. To this end I have no interest in putting any more into the class than what is needed to get a P. So I put a question to the instructor, "What is the minimum mark

Coleman suspends negative ads before debate

2008-10-14T15:17:00.000-03:00

Obama has been pulling ahead in the polls. ERIC BLACK puts Obama's lead somewhere between commanding and dominating. Real clear politics puts the count at 313-158-67 (read: Obama-McCain-Toss Up).Franken v. Coleman v. Barkley hotter than ever. The advertisement violence between Franken and Coleman has left their names worse for the ware, though Coleman committed recently to suspend his negative

Minnesota RNC Trials

2008-09-22T10:23:00.001-03:00

As reported by Minnesota's City Pages, the Minnesota City Council has declined to launch an investigation into police conduction during the Republican National Convention earlier this month[...]Ostrow could’ve just come out with it and said, “We don’t see a need to mount an obligatory sham investigation, because the Minneapolis police department is moving forward with an obligatory sham

Mashedlife.com Review

2008-09-18T21:55:00.003-03:00

I heard about it for the first time today, but mashed life already has a slough of sites touting the revolution in its simplicity. You will have to go to the site for a comprehensive explanation, but it allows for one click access to password protected sites. Yes, this is useful, and it has a few other neat features that will not be hard to find out about. I don't expect everything to work