January 2012
1 post
4 tags
Countries with Higher Per-Capita GDPs than the US
Since Mitt Romney asked the question, here are the countries that have a higher GDP per capita than the US (plus a few that are close.)
Monaco 186,175
Liechtenstein 134,392
Luxembourg 108,706
Bermuda 101,346
Norway 78,674
Qatar 2009 69,754
Switzerland 65,003
British Virgin Islands 57,626
Denmark 2009 56,687
Cayman Islands 54,827
United Arab Emirates 54,138
San...
December 2011
2 posts
Happy New Year from the Future!
3 tags
Why I'm Quitting Facebook
Today I announced on my Facebook account that I will be deleting my account from the service at a date in the near future. I’m not doing this as part of any larger statement or campaign; I’m simply no longer interested in maintaining my account.
Since everything on the internet requires a list, I’m including mine:
I Don’t Use It. The most important reason for me to quit...
November 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Armistice Day
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands...
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Polls and Statistics
The problem with statistics and polling in politics is that people put too much faith in small samples.
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What I've Learned in Two Months in Afghanisan
A few things I’ve picked up after spending two months in Afghanistan.
Deployment is really 50% Stripes, 50% Groundhog Day.
Trucks were not meant to hold up a lot of the equipment the US Army fields. There’s a lot of money to be made if it could.
Dust+water=wet dust
The best day to test bandwidth is Monday morning.
October 2011
1 post
A Better Solution to my Internet Problems →
Turns out, good old RFC1149 is a good solution for internet in a combat zone. That’s what I’m proposing at least.
September 2011
3 posts
6 tags
The Tragedy of Lost Technologies
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong nostalgia for old computer technologies. Old hardware, old software, or old ideas, they all appeal to me for some strange reason. Even now, I spend time becoming proficient using software or tools that were obsolete 20 years ago. For me, the value is not in the ability to utilize this skills in my career but to appreciate the evolution of current...
4 tags
Deployment: Second Month Begins
I’ve been away from home for 31 days now. As I begin my second month in Afghanistan, I feel I’m starting to get the hang of this place. I’m learning my job, I’m getting to know people, and I’m confident I’ll do well here.
The positive:
Excellent soldiers
Helpful colleagues and superiors
The heat is starting to break (~90° every day, instead of 100°+)
The...
4 tags
Three Weeks In
I’ve been deployed for about three weeks now, with about two weeks in Afghanistan Ever so slowly, I’m starting to get into my stride. There certainly has been a lot of adjustment for me, but I think the biggest change is not being wired up 24/7 (broadband internet, iPhone, etc.) It’s easy to forget how nice things are back in the US. Small comforts from home and the little...
August 2011
9 posts
4 tags
WatchHockey night in Kandahar. Those Canadian’s have their priorities straight.
4 tags
Cultural Hoarding
What’s the point of trying to archive our entire culture? That is, every book, every song, every objet d’art ? After all, it seems to be contrary to our natural instinct to create new works.
In the same way that honeybees decide what is the best site for a new hive, society and sub-cultures at large will, through its collective action, will determine the most valuable examples of...
3 tags
Let's Go! Afghanistan
First impressions of Afghanistan:
It’s really dusty here. Not sure if that’s from the US or just how it is.
Kandahar Air Field smells. I’m 100% certain that’s from us.
It’s hot. I’m 100% certain that’s how it is.
The Absurdity of the Balanced Budget Argument
One of the central points of contention during the recent debt ceiling argument was the instance that a “balanced budget” amendment be part of any deal. Advocates like to equate the budget of the United States to households, arguing that if individuals cannot spend beyond their means, the government shouldn’t be able to either. This argument is not only absurd, it represents a...
4 tags
Imbalanced Approach
One of the more peculiar arguments in the United States and other developed nations is the conflict between free market economics and immigration policy. The people who advocate for deregulating markets and free trade agreements are often the same people who argue for strict immigration policies and tight border controls. The problem here is that the two ideas are in opposition to one another.
...
Why the US is falling behind in education
How does the United States stack up against the world when it comes to educating the next generation? Poorly, if the media are to be believed. Report after report shows that the US is lagging further behind in science and mathematics. As our students learn less and less, it should come as no surprise that our economy continues to be anemic. Without considerable reform, our students will only...
July 2011
11 posts
4 tags
Sensible Litigation Reform
Last week’s “This American Life” addressed the question of patent trolls, profiling the company Intellectual Ventures, a company that is arguably one of the largest patent trolls in the United States. What caught my ear on itself, I started thinking that the problem is not only with the patent system, but with the American legal system writ large.
While I have no doubt that the...
2 tags
Observations from a Microsoft Certification Class
I recently had to attend a Microsoft certification course as part of my job (not sure why, but that’s another issue). After almost a week learning the mundane details about Windows 7, I’ve come to a number of conclusions:
The answer to almost any problem/configuration change in the Microsoft universe is “reboot the computer”. This is a horrible design model and a lazy,...
4 tags
Stepping Up
This entire debt ceiling argument — the current political theater doesn’t quite rise to the level of being a debate — highlights just how dysfunctional both the White House and Capitol Hill Class of 2010 has become.
In the corridors of power, a house dividend is showing that it cannot stand. The Senate, who was summarily disregarded last week, has come up with a plan that...
Why We Don’t Need a Debt Ceiling →
Great piece in this week’s New Yorker on why the debt ceiling is an anachronism, legally dubious and counter-productive.
OS X Lion - App Compatibility Grid →
luclatulippe:
Hey Mac folks: this handy chart (and you can also view it in “table” mode.. just click the tab on the far right of the page) helps you understand if OS X Lion will work with your current desktop apps… including the beasts from Adobe.
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Smallpox
If I had to get a horribly disfiguring smallpox vaccine scar, why couldn’t it have at least looked like something?
3 tags
Learning to Love the Checklist
I’m in the process of buying a house, which is a maddeningly painful process. As I work through delay after delay, I’ve come to notice that the major source of almost all the problems has been a lack of communication and misunderstandings. The solution to this would be, of course, a list of all the steps involved. I’ve heard of this before: it’s called a checklist.
Now...
3 tags
Restarting My Blog
After some thought, I’ve decided to restart my personal blog via Tumblr.
Why the change? Simplicity.
I’ve maintained my old site for years. Too often I found myself focusing on the admin side of the house rather than publishing content. Since I’m not a web developer, it really doesn’t make sense to get distracted by the backend when I need to be worried about my...