I think it is a terrible idea to put Bernie Madoff in jail. I am not saying that I think he is innocent and I am not saying that I think he should not be punished. I think he should be punished and severely.
But if he is put in jail, he will once again be living off other people. He will continue his parasitic lifestyle. He will be sucking his livelihood from the taxpayer. We will be paying for his food and shelter and his health insurance.
Instead of putting him in jail we should make him live in a suburb of Pheonix or Cleveland or Fresno. Make him live in a nondescript badly struccoed apartment complex with meth addicts and hookers. In a small one bedroom with broken air-conditioning and dark wood paneling. With the only view being the back of an equalling depressing building and the dumpsters between them.
Make Madoff work at a minimum wage job that does not provide health insurance. Make it so that he can never be promoted and always has to clean the bathrooms. Make him stay there till he croaks with no retirement and terrible health insurance.
Yes, this might fall under "cruel and unusual", but shouldn't the punishment fit the crime?
6.30.2009
6.25.2009
Food
From an article in the NY Times -
Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily"
hmm...doesn't sound hyper-palatable when it's put that way
and
the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.”
Now I know why I love Snickers...good engineering!
Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily"
hmm...doesn't sound hyper-palatable when it's put that way
and
the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.”
Now I know why I love Snickers...good engineering!
6.23.2009
6.22.2009
6.21.2009
Violence begets Violence
What would have been the worst thing to happen if police and the Basijis hadn't shown up?
Sounds like the bad stuff started when "police and militia forces used guns, truncheons, tear gas and water cannons to beat back thousands of demonstrators" Where did they need to be back from? Did the demonstrators have pitchforks and torches? Were they threatening anyone?
Trying to use the fear of pain is obviously not working, so why does the government insist on escalating it? It is just making the current Iranian government look bad.
The situation would have blown over much faster if the protesters had been allowed to march peacefully. Let them get their yayas out and then eventually they'd go home.
Sounds like the bad stuff started when "police and militia forces used guns, truncheons, tear gas and water cannons to beat back thousands of demonstrators" Where did they need to be back from? Did the demonstrators have pitchforks and torches? Were they threatening anyone?
Trying to use the fear of pain is obviously not working, so why does the government insist on escalating it? It is just making the current Iranian government look bad.
The situation would have blown over much faster if the protesters had been allowed to march peacefully. Let them get their yayas out and then eventually they'd go home.
6.17.2009
Moderate Drinkers
"Moderate drinkers are healthier, wealthier and more educated, and they get better health care, even though they are more likely to smoke. They are even more likely to have all of their teeth, a marker of well-being."
Maybe also better looking and loads more charm...
Maybe also better looking and loads more charm...
6.12.2009
What the Fuck? File # 17-L
A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.
"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space, The Telegraph reports.
Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere, creating "shooting stars," and never reach the ground. The few that do are typically made mostly of metals. Stony space rocks, even if they are big as a car, will usually break apart or explode as they crash through the atmosphere.
There are a handful of reports of homes and cars being struck by meteorites, and many cases of space rocks streaking to the surface and being found later.
But human strikes are rare. There are no known instances of humans being killed by space rocks.
According to a SPACE.com article on the topic a few years, back:
- On November 30, 1954, Alabama housewife Ann Hodges was taking a nap on her couch when she was awakened by a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) meteor that crashed through the roof of her house, bounced off a piece of furniture and struck her in the hip, causing a large bruise.
- On October 9, 1992, a large fireball was seen streaking over the eastern United States, finally exploding into many pieces. In Peekskill, New York, one of the pieces struck a Chevrolet automobile owned by Michelle Knapp. Knapp was not in the car at the time.
- On June 21, 1994, Jose Martin of Spain was driving with his wife near Madrid when a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) meteor crashed through his windshield, bent the steering wheel and ended up in the back seat.
In 2004, a 2,000-pound space rock bigger than a refrigerator exploded in the late-night sky over Chicago, producing a large flash and a sound resembling a detonation that woke people up. Fragments rained down on that wild Chicago night, and many were collected by residents in a northern suburb.
5.17.2009
5.16.2009
Processed Foods
I know processed foods are unhealthy but this really was a shocker...
"Increasingly, the corporations that supply Americans with processed foods are unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients." (From the NY Times)
"Increasingly, the corporations that supply Americans with processed foods are unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients." (From the NY Times)
5.15.2009
5.12.2009
5.07.2009
4.15.2009
Choreo vs. Impro
The glass is either half full or half empty.
Wrong. It's both. Those two states are not mutually exclusive.
Been thinking about choreography, improvisation, definitions a lot since M2M '09. Had an "aha" moment the other day driving home. No piece is either choreographed or improvised. All pieces are both. Even the most rigorously choreographed piece has a vast number of variations each time it is performed. And each improvisation has a lot of choreography i.e. habit, physical limitations etc.
Also the question of which elements are improvised and which are choreographed arises. For several years, Lower Left has been choreographing pieces using the lights. We predetermine(choreograph) what the lights will be and how long each will be on and what the transitions will be. What our bodies do within those lights is improvised. But then there is the question of habits and current injuries and what other information we have been taking in recently. All those elements can limit or choreograph us.
In fact with each improvisation each piece that people claim is "open" has a huge amount of predetermined factors:
-Gravity
It will still be same throughout the piece. There might be some fluctuation due to the moon and the earth's spinning core or other factors. But essentially the same.
-The Theater
Not many pieces change venues partway through. How many improvisations have decided to leave the building completely? (How about choreographing a piece but improvising the theater/location?)
-Performers
yes, people do enter and exit the performance space, but they are still the performers. How do we improvise the performers. Beside the names in a hat thing, because that is from a predetermined set of performers.
-Costumes
The pieces I have been in that had costume changes were choreographed as were the costume changes. I haven't been in a single improvisation in which I had the opportunity to improvise my costume. I have disrobed, maybe that counts. But never had an improvisation with costume as an equal improvisational element. Must look into this.
-Bodies
I always (for the most part) have the same body. I have never been able to grow extra legs on stage. Never have I seen anyone improvise on stage how many limbs s/he had.
Every piece is choreographed and every piece is improvised. The question is what elements are the choreographed ones and which ones are the improvised ones. And the next question is how tightly each one is improvised and choreographed.
Share
Wrong. It's both. Those two states are not mutually exclusive.
Been thinking about choreography, improvisation, definitions a lot since M2M '09. Had an "aha" moment the other day driving home. No piece is either choreographed or improvised. All pieces are both. Even the most rigorously choreographed piece has a vast number of variations each time it is performed. And each improvisation has a lot of choreography i.e. habit, physical limitations etc.
Also the question of which elements are improvised and which are choreographed arises. For several years, Lower Left has been choreographing pieces using the lights. We predetermine(choreograph) what the lights will be and how long each will be on and what the transitions will be. What our bodies do within those lights is improvised. But then there is the question of habits and current injuries and what other information we have been taking in recently. All those elements can limit or choreograph us.
In fact with each improvisation each piece that people claim is "open" has a huge amount of predetermined factors:
-Gravity
It will still be same throughout the piece. There might be some fluctuation due to the moon and the earth's spinning core or other factors. But essentially the same.
-The Theater
Not many pieces change venues partway through. How many improvisations have decided to leave the building completely? (How about choreographing a piece but improvising the theater/location?)
-Performers
yes, people do enter and exit the performance space, but they are still the performers. How do we improvise the performers. Beside the names in a hat thing, because that is from a predetermined set of performers.
-Costumes
The pieces I have been in that had costume changes were choreographed as were the costume changes. I haven't been in a single improvisation in which I had the opportunity to improvise my costume. I have disrobed, maybe that counts. But never had an improvisation with costume as an equal improvisational element. Must look into this.
-Bodies
I always (for the most part) have the same body. I have never been able to grow extra legs on stage. Never have I seen anyone improvise on stage how many limbs s/he had.
Every piece is choreographed and every piece is improvised. The question is what elements are the choreographed ones and which ones are the improvised ones. And the next question is how tightly each one is improvised and choreographed.
Share
4.12.2009
Darwin Thwarted Again
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A polar bear attacked a woman at Berlin Zoo Friday afternoon after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time, police said Saturday. One adult polar bit her several times after she plunged into the moat, police said.Zoo workers tossed rescue rings toward the woman to hoist her out and distract polar bears swimming nearby, said Goerg Gebhard, a Berlin police officer. At one point the woman fell back into the water and was grabbed by a bear before she was eventually hoisted to safety. "They saved her life," Gebhard told CNN. The woman was severely injured and was being treated at a hospital, police said. It's unclear why the woman entered the bear habitat, but police issued her a citation for trespassing. Berlin Zoo is home to Knut, the first polar bear to be born there in over 30 years. The bear became a huge talking point in Germany when his mother gave birth to him in December 2006.
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4.07.2009
New Method of Terrorist Attack?
A man stole a plane from a Canadian flight school and flew into the United States.
Will this be the new paradigm of attack? 9/11 caused the first shift. And then the Shoe Bomber, Richard Reid caused another shift. Thanks to him we have to take our shoes off now when going through security. Found out after looking at Wikipedia that I am 6 days older than the Shoe Bomber.
from Wikipedia - "He was sentenced by Judge Young to life imprisonment on each of the three charges, 20 years imprisonment on four other charges, and 30 years on four other counts, to be served consecutively, followed by five years of supervised release."
So after the Shoe Bomber serves his life imprisonment term he will have 5 years of supervised release. Who is going to supervise that? And then once the supervision is done, will he be able to freely roam the after-life?
But back to the topic at hand - Are Cessnas from Canada the new dirty bomb? What about Mexico? Well, those from Mexico are probably too full of cocaine or weed to put any bombs in them. But then again, I heard that Canada grows some fine buds also...
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Will this be the new paradigm of attack? 9/11 caused the first shift. And then the Shoe Bomber, Richard Reid caused another shift. Thanks to him we have to take our shoes off now when going through security. Found out after looking at Wikipedia that I am 6 days older than the Shoe Bomber.
from Wikipedia - "He was sentenced by Judge Young to life imprisonment on each of the three charges, 20 years imprisonment on four other charges, and 30 years on four other counts, to be served consecutively, followed by five years of supervised release."
So after the Shoe Bomber serves his life imprisonment term he will have 5 years of supervised release. Who is going to supervise that? And then once the supervision is done, will he be able to freely roam the after-life?
But back to the topic at hand - Are Cessnas from Canada the new dirty bomb? What about Mexico? Well, those from Mexico are probably too full of cocaine or weed to put any bombs in them. But then again, I heard that Canada grows some fine buds also...
Share
4.03.2009
The Positions of the Human Form
360(shoulder) x 360 (shoulder) x 135(elbow) x 135(elbow) x 360 (wrist) x 360 (wrist) x 360 (spine) x 360 (hip) x 360 (hip) x 135(knee) x 135(knee) x 360 (ankle) x 360 (ankle) x 360 (head) =
12,143,953,109,659,430,000,000,000,000,000,000 body positions
Between 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 estimated number of stars in the universe.
Assuming 1 postion/sec (31,449,600 seconds in a year)
386,140,145,173,847,400,000,000,000 years for 1 person to do all positions.
These are rough calculations that do not take into account several factors. The fingers, the face, the wide range of mobility of the spine, the various sizes of circles that each rotation joint can do.
If you wanted to see how many possible positions there are in a duet, square the large number at the top. A trio - that number to the third power... a quartet that number to the fourth power etc.
Adding in costumes, lighting, repetition of movement, sound...there are an infinite number of dances possible.
Which leads me to a question of value. If so many dances are possible, how do we determine the good ones? Value and quantity usually have an inverse relationship - the greater the number of something, the less that something is valued. Take grains of sand and diamonds.
Are all of the dances that have been created of equal value because there are vastly fewer dances that have been created in comparison to dances that have not been created? Is every dance you will see in your lifetime of equal value?
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12,143,953,109,659,430,000,000,000,000,000,000 body positions
Between 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 estimated number of stars in the universe.
Assuming 1 postion/sec (31,449,600 seconds in a year)
386,140,145,173,847,400,000,000,000 years for 1 person to do all positions.
These are rough calculations that do not take into account several factors. The fingers, the face, the wide range of mobility of the spine, the various sizes of circles that each rotation joint can do.
If you wanted to see how many possible positions there are in a duet, square the large number at the top. A trio - that number to the third power... a quartet that number to the fourth power etc.
Adding in costumes, lighting, repetition of movement, sound...there are an infinite number of dances possible.
Which leads me to a question of value. If so many dances are possible, how do we determine the good ones? Value and quantity usually have an inverse relationship - the greater the number of something, the less that something is valued. Take grains of sand and diamonds.
Are all of the dances that have been created of equal value because there are vastly fewer dances that have been created in comparison to dances that have not been created? Is every dance you will see in your lifetime of equal value?
Share
3.30.2009
Tax Cuts vs. Food Stamps
From Harper's Index:
Estimated amount by which the U.S. GDP increases for each additional dollar of tax cuts:
$1.03
Amount for each additional dollar of infrastructure spending and food stamps, respectively:
$1.59, $1.73
Are Republicans, supposedly the business minded and business friendly party, unaware of this fact? Maybe I don't have such a great business acumen but I have always thought a 73% or even a meagrer 59% return on investment is much better than a 3% return. But then again, the Republicans were at the helm when the economy went into the toilet, so what do they know.
What are we waiting for, Obama? Let's start feeding people and building bridges!!!
Estimated amount by which the U.S. GDP increases for each additional dollar of tax cuts:
$1.03
Amount for each additional dollar of infrastructure spending and food stamps, respectively:
$1.59, $1.73
Are Republicans, supposedly the business minded and business friendly party, unaware of this fact? Maybe I don't have such a great business acumen but I have always thought a 73% or even a meagrer 59% return on investment is much better than a 3% return. But then again, the Republicans were at the helm when the economy went into the toilet, so what do they know.
What are we waiting for, Obama? Let's start feeding people and building bridges!!!
3.28.2009
Don't candles also make greenhouses gases?
From an Antarctic research base to the Great Pyramids of Egypt and beyond, the world switched off the lights on Saturday for Earth Hour, dimming skyscrapers, city streets and some of the world's most recognizable monuments for 60 minutes to highlight the threat of climate change.
Sounds like a good idea. But I am not sure if everyone got the idea completely.
"In Australia, people attended candlelit speed-dating events..."
Candles burn oxygen creating carbon dioxide, a green house gas. Therefore they were still adding to the problem.
"A key 2010 football World Cup qualifier against Serbia posed a dilemma for Romanians. "Shall we watch the match or turn off the lights?," the 7plus daily asked in its main front-page headline."
Couldn't they just play the game during the day time when there is carbon free light?
"McDonald's Corp. planned to dim its arches at 500 locations around the U.S. Midwest"
Why not stop selling burgers for an hour? The consumption of meat adds more to global warming than transportation.
Sounds like a good idea. But I am not sure if everyone got the idea completely.
"In Australia, people attended candlelit speed-dating events..."
Candles burn oxygen creating carbon dioxide, a green house gas. Therefore they were still adding to the problem.
"A key 2010 football World Cup qualifier against Serbia posed a dilemma for Romanians. "Shall we watch the match or turn off the lights?," the 7plus daily asked in its main front-page headline."
Couldn't they just play the game during the day time when there is carbon free light?
"McDonald's Corp. planned to dim its arches at 500 locations around the U.S. Midwest"
Why not stop selling burgers for an hour? The consumption of meat adds more to global warming than transportation.
2.19.2009
Irish Police
Sounds like the police in Ireland could use the Rosetta Stone.
from the BBC -
"Details of how police in the Irish Republic finally caught up with the country's most reckless driver have emerged. 
from the BBC -
"Details of how police in the Irish Republic finally caught up with the country's most reckless driver have emerged.
He had been wanted from counties Cork to Cavan after racking up scores of speeding tickets and parking fines.
However, each time the serial offender was stopped he managed to evade justice by giving a different address.
Poles are Ireland's largest immigrant population
But then his cover was blown.
It was discovered that the man every member of the Irish police's rank and file had been looking for - a Mr Prawo Jazdy - wasn't exactly the sort of prized villain whose apprehension leads to an officer winning an award.
In fact he wasn't even human.
"Prawo Jazdy is actually the Polish for driving licence and not the first and surname on the licence," read a letter from June 2007 from an officer working within the Garda's traffic division.
"Having noticed this, I decided to check and see how many times officers have made this mistake.
"It is quite embarrassing to see that the system has created Prawo Jazdy as a person with over 50 identities."
The officer added that the "mistake" needed to be rectified immediately and asked that a memo be circulated throughout the force.
In a bid to avoid similar mistakes being made in future relevant guidelines were also amended.
And if nothing else is learnt from this driving-related debacle, Irish police officers should now know at least two words of Polish.
As for the seemingly elusive Mr Prawo Jazdy, he has presumably become a cult hero among Ireland's largest immigrant population"
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