The mantra of "good-paying manufacturing jobs going overseas" never seems to be questioned. But I wonder if this "common wisdom" is really true.
There's no question that many hire-and-train jobs are now done in other countries. Simple assembly, clothes manufacture, operation of simple automatic machines, and on and on. But have all the jobs of skilled machinists gone overseas, have all the jobs of process designers gone overseas.
I think not. What has happened is that the skills required for these jobs have become more demanding and the productivity of people performing these jobs has skyrocketed. Higher productivity leads to a lot fewer people needed to produce the same number of goods.
My father's grandfather was a machinist and my mother's uncle was a machinist. I doubt that either could get a machinist job now with the skills they had then. It takes a good eye and a steady hand to produce parts exact to the thousandths of an inch. But now manufacturers have numerically-controlled tools that can do the same thing time after time. The operator sets the job up and may be free to work on something else.
Once upon a time a teen-ager with a tool box could be an auto mechanic. Now auto mechanics use a wide array of electronic gadgets to check and adjust many systems in a car.
My father was a dental prosthetic technician with his own business specializing in crowns. He could afford a lot of big boy toys, bowling, golfing, and betting on the ponies. I have a folder full of testimonials from dentists praising the skill and timeliness of his work. Now dentists design a crown while you watch, push a button, chat with you for a few minutes, go downstairs to pick up the crown, and put it in your mouth with a nearly perfect fit.
And even if these old style jobs were still available, would anybody hire a kid off the street, train him in the basics, give him some simple jobs, and guide him in the development of a higher skill level. I doubt it. Many companies want new employees with experience. And often quite specific experience. If you know all about the model 21 machine, but a company has model 22 machines, fuhgedaboudit!
If any state or national government wants to solve the "jobs" problem, they should stop trying to create the unneeded jobs and start training people for the needed jobs. And even if they do that, will the needed jobs of today become the unneeded jobs of tomorrow?
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
A tip for Tom Emmer on wait staff pay
Tom Emmer, Republican candidate for Minnesota Governor, wants the minimum wage lowered for service workers who get lots of tips. See "Emmer: Lower wages for tipped workers", Jackie Crosby, Star Tribune, 2010-07-06. He says that the extra wages are taking money from customers. Is he also calling for CEOs with large bonuses to get a lower base pay? After all, these CEOs are also taking money from customers.
His arguments are also weak on other points.
He uses as an example the Eagle Street Grill in downtown St. Paul where "three servers take home over $100,000 a year, including tips."
Do each of the servers take home $100,000 a year or do three servers take home $100,000 a year among them. In the latter case, $33,000 may be a good income for many servers, but many others would like to get that much. If a server receives lots of tips, doesn't that mean they are providing good service to their customers. If they are providing good service to their customers, aren't many of these repeat customers and probably even buying a lot of food and drink. If the customers are buying a lot, the restaurant owners should be very happy to have highly-paid servers.
How many times have you gone into a restaurant where the server has not asked if you want drinks before dinner, has not asked if you want wine with dinner, and has given you a bill without even asking if you want coffee or dessert? Even if the answer will be no, a good server always asks these questions. The server who does will generate more revenue for the restaurant and will get a bigger tip. Oh, but that is taking money from the customers.
If you want to see more realistic figures, see "Tom Emmer goes after food server wages", Rachel Hutton, City Pages, 2010-07-06. She blows lots of the "facts" that Emmer states out of the water. An even better analysis is "Servers, wait staff unlikely to make $100,000", Annie Baxter, Minnesota Public Radio, 2010-07-06, 2010-07-06.
I could go on and on picking apart the arguments of the likes of Tom Emmer, but I'll end with just two.
One was mentioned in Baxter's argument comparing wait staff during slow times to that of sales persons. Many sales persons still get a base pay for getting out there and trying. Do CEOs get a lower base salary when sales are low?
Remember Circuit City. It laid off its highest paid sales staff and went downhill from there. It was the highest paid sales staff that people went to for answers. If they got good answers, they bought. The lower paid staff didn't always have the answers and so fewer people bought stuff from Circuit City. The high-paid servers are generating a lot of sales for their restaurants. Don't knock them!
Other references:
"Circuit City cost cutting madness", Andrew Weir
"How the Mighty Fall", Jim Collins. It is ironic that he mentioned Circuit City in his previous book, "Good to Great". Is there a lesson for Minnesota here?
His arguments are also weak on other points.
He uses as an example the Eagle Street Grill in downtown St. Paul where "three servers take home over $100,000 a year, including tips."
Do each of the servers take home $100,000 a year or do three servers take home $100,000 a year among them. In the latter case, $33,000 may be a good income for many servers, but many others would like to get that much. If a server receives lots of tips, doesn't that mean they are providing good service to their customers. If they are providing good service to their customers, aren't many of these repeat customers and probably even buying a lot of food and drink. If the customers are buying a lot, the restaurant owners should be very happy to have highly-paid servers.
How many times have you gone into a restaurant where the server has not asked if you want drinks before dinner, has not asked if you want wine with dinner, and has given you a bill without even asking if you want coffee or dessert? Even if the answer will be no, a good server always asks these questions. The server who does will generate more revenue for the restaurant and will get a bigger tip. Oh, but that is taking money from the customers.
If you want to see more realistic figures, see "Tom Emmer goes after food server wages", Rachel Hutton, City Pages, 2010-07-06. She blows lots of the "facts" that Emmer states out of the water. An even better analysis is "Servers, wait staff unlikely to make $100,000", Annie Baxter, Minnesota Public Radio, 2010-07-06, 2010-07-06.
I could go on and on picking apart the arguments of the likes of Tom Emmer, but I'll end with just two.
One was mentioned in Baxter's argument comparing wait staff during slow times to that of sales persons. Many sales persons still get a base pay for getting out there and trying. Do CEOs get a lower base salary when sales are low?
Remember Circuit City. It laid off its highest paid sales staff and went downhill from there. It was the highest paid sales staff that people went to for answers. If they got good answers, they bought. The lower paid staff didn't always have the answers and so fewer people bought stuff from Circuit City. The high-paid servers are generating a lot of sales for their restaurants. Don't knock them!
Other references:
"Circuit City cost cutting madness", Andrew Weir
"How the Mighty Fall", Jim Collins. It is ironic that he mentioned Circuit City in his previous book, "Good to Great". Is there a lesson for Minnesota here?
Monday, July 05, 2010
2904 miles and I can't stop driving
Yesterday we returned from a 12-day trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake ON, West Chester PA, and Silver Spring MD with overnight stops at Sault Ste. Marie MI, Richmond IN, and Madison WI. That's almost like driving coast-to-coast. The purpose was a reunion of my wife's sisters and cousins to celebrate our 50th anniversary and that of one of her cousins.
We drank and talked and ate and talked and we walked and we went on a jet boat ride and drank and talked and ate and talked. We took many pictures and movies and we gave impromptu speeches. As part of my speech I sang some song fragments with two duets with my wife. The best part was when my wife's youngest sister, who had had opera training, complimented me on my singing.
We stopped in West Chester to visit a high school and Scout friend and his wife. Although we took a walk in town and went out to a restaurant, we mostly sat in their gazebo, talked, read, and watched TV. It was also a bit of a nostalgia trip in that we haven't been in the area since we lived there in 1974-1977. It is something to drive twisty roads where the trees are right next to the road.
We stopped in Silver Spring to visit a possible third cousin of mine. Her ancestors were from Baltimore and my great-grandfather gave his father's birthplace as Maryland. Since John C. Magree was a ship's master born in Baltimore and dismissed from the U.S. Navy in 1862, I suspect he is our common ancestor. Now to find the right records. For him they are very sparse: I have found only one transcribed record of his bringing a ship of immigrants from Liverpool to New York. That was in December 1851. Since my great-grandfather was born in Brooklyn in December 1850, could John C. Magree have had two families, one in each U.S. port?
It was something to go from the hills of Appalachia to the Great Plains. In the morning we were going up and down and around and in the afternoon we were driving into the horizon. I took a picture of one gap and the valley behind us, but I never noted what the rest stop was. I suppose I could figure it out with the camera time stamp and a map. As we drove through West Virginia, we certainly understood the feeling of the song, "Country Roads".
I also understood the psychology of "keeping up with traffic". I've divided drivers into lone wolves, the wolf pack, and law-abiding individuals.
The lone wolves are the drivers who drive fifteen or more miles-per-hour over the speed limit. They are also the drivers who will weave in and out of traffic to get to an exit one minute before other drivers. They also arrive in the left lane at about the time another driver is ready to pass a vehicle in the right lane. That driver has the choice of being tailgated by the lone wolf or slowing down to avoid a collision with the slower vehicle in the right lane.
The wolf pack consists of those who drive five to ten miles over the limit. It is amusing to watch them drive. They are in a group of five to ten cars in both lanes. As they come to a slower vehicle they merge into the left lane, getting closer and closer to each other, sometimes less than a car length apart. When they get through the "choke point", the first driver will pull right in front of the lead car in the right lane, often at a distance closer than the following car was in the left lane. Then the second car pulls in front of the first, the third in front of the second, and so on, with a lone wolf bringing up the rear.
The law-abiding drivers are driving within five miles per hour of the posted limit. They rarely see each other because they are spaced some distance apart. This gives them the illusion that they are all alone in driving at the speed limit.
When one of these drivers passes a similar driver, the lone wolves and the wolf packs accuse them of holding up traffic. Isn't it the other way around? The lone wolves and the wolf packs are pushing traffic.
I think I've had enough of driving for a while. The one hour to our cabin is enough, and we may be passed only twice, if at all.
Besides, we have to pay all our credit card bills. Other than all the good visits, the next best thing was that our 2002 Prius got 48.0 miles per gallon in that 2904 miles.
We drank and talked and ate and talked and we walked and we went on a jet boat ride and drank and talked and ate and talked. We took many pictures and movies and we gave impromptu speeches. As part of my speech I sang some song fragments with two duets with my wife. The best part was when my wife's youngest sister, who had had opera training, complimented me on my singing.
We stopped in West Chester to visit a high school and Scout friend and his wife. Although we took a walk in town and went out to a restaurant, we mostly sat in their gazebo, talked, read, and watched TV. It was also a bit of a nostalgia trip in that we haven't been in the area since we lived there in 1974-1977. It is something to drive twisty roads where the trees are right next to the road.
We stopped in Silver Spring to visit a possible third cousin of mine. Her ancestors were from Baltimore and my great-grandfather gave his father's birthplace as Maryland. Since John C. Magree was a ship's master born in Baltimore and dismissed from the U.S. Navy in 1862, I suspect he is our common ancestor. Now to find the right records. For him they are very sparse: I have found only one transcribed record of his bringing a ship of immigrants from Liverpool to New York. That was in December 1851. Since my great-grandfather was born in Brooklyn in December 1850, could John C. Magree have had two families, one in each U.S. port?
It was something to go from the hills of Appalachia to the Great Plains. In the morning we were going up and down and around and in the afternoon we were driving into the horizon. I took a picture of one gap and the valley behind us, but I never noted what the rest stop was. I suppose I could figure it out with the camera time stamp and a map. As we drove through West Virginia, we certainly understood the feeling of the song, "Country Roads".
I also understood the psychology of "keeping up with traffic". I've divided drivers into lone wolves, the wolf pack, and law-abiding individuals.
The lone wolves are the drivers who drive fifteen or more miles-per-hour over the speed limit. They are also the drivers who will weave in and out of traffic to get to an exit one minute before other drivers. They also arrive in the left lane at about the time another driver is ready to pass a vehicle in the right lane. That driver has the choice of being tailgated by the lone wolf or slowing down to avoid a collision with the slower vehicle in the right lane.
The wolf pack consists of those who drive five to ten miles over the limit. It is amusing to watch them drive. They are in a group of five to ten cars in both lanes. As they come to a slower vehicle they merge into the left lane, getting closer and closer to each other, sometimes less than a car length apart. When they get through the "choke point", the first driver will pull right in front of the lead car in the right lane, often at a distance closer than the following car was in the left lane. Then the second car pulls in front of the first, the third in front of the second, and so on, with a lone wolf bringing up the rear.
The law-abiding drivers are driving within five miles per hour of the posted limit. They rarely see each other because they are spaced some distance apart. This gives them the illusion that they are all alone in driving at the speed limit.
When one of these drivers passes a similar driver, the lone wolves and the wolf packs accuse them of holding up traffic. Isn't it the other way around? The lone wolves and the wolf packs are pushing traffic.
I think I've had enough of driving for a while. The one hour to our cabin is enough, and we may be passed only twice, if at all.
Besides, we have to pay all our credit card bills. Other than all the good visits, the next best thing was that our 2002 Prius got 48.0 miles per gallon in that 2904 miles.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Afghanistan - Doing too much for too little?
Fareed Zakaria thinks that the fight against the Taliban is overreach with little result. He likens it to fighting Italy after Germany has been defeated. See "Fareed Zakaria Criticizes 'Disproportionate' Afghanistan War on CNN".
We should also look at the reverse situation. How many Americans would fight a foreign invader? Suppose there was an Anti-China League that started hitting Chinese targets. The Chinese, tired of the "American" terrorism, would invade the U.S. with overwhelming force. Many Americans would resist, even if they did not like the Anti-China League.
For what many call a "Christian" nation, we seem incapable of following the second greatest commandment - do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Also, why does the Afghan army need so much training when the Taliban has such minimal training? If the U.S. can't beat the Taliban with all of its sophisticated training and weapons, will an Afghan army beat the Taliban with the same sophisticated training and weapons? Either a sufficient number of Afghans are opposed to the Taliban to fight the Taliban on similar terms or too few Afghans are willing to risk their lives against the Taliban.
We should also look at the reverse situation. How many Americans would fight a foreign invader? Suppose there was an Anti-China League that started hitting Chinese targets. The Chinese, tired of the "American" terrorism, would invade the U.S. with overwhelming force. Many Americans would resist, even if they did not like the Anti-China League.
For what many call a "Christian" nation, we seem incapable of following the second greatest commandment - do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Also, why does the Afghan army need so much training when the Taliban has such minimal training? If the U.S. can't beat the Taliban with all of its sophisticated training and weapons, will an Afghan army beat the Taliban with the same sophisticated training and weapons? Either a sufficient number of Afghans are opposed to the Taliban to fight the Taliban on similar terms or too few Afghans are willing to risk their lives against the Taliban.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Make up your mind: Is the government incompetent or not?
There are many who think no government can do anything right, from building roads to managing health care. They say, "Private enterprise can do things cheaper and better than government can."
However, some of these same people think the government is always right when it comes to war or crime. "The president knows more than we do about …" The people who warned the president that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be difficult and nearly intractable seemed to have known more than the president.
"Everybody knows they are guilty." Many authors have made a bundle on novels about falsely accused suspects. At least one organization has freed prisoners falsely accused of capital crimes. Now we have the government as being very competent to know who a terrorist is. Worse yet, many accused of terrorism or being suspected of being a likely terrorist are having difficulty defending themselves. See "Too Scary to Fly, Not Scary Enough to Arrest", David Kravets, Wired, 2010-06-30.
Some of these same people who think government is incompetent think the Constitution should be "strictly interpreted." If so, then isn't putting someone on a no-fly list depriving that person of liberty "without due process of law"? (Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution)
However, some of these same people think the government is always right when it comes to war or crime. "The president knows more than we do about …" The people who warned the president that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be difficult and nearly intractable seemed to have known more than the president.
"Everybody knows they are guilty." Many authors have made a bundle on novels about falsely accused suspects. At least one organization has freed prisoners falsely accused of capital crimes. Now we have the government as being very competent to know who a terrorist is. Worse yet, many accused of terrorism or being suspected of being a likely terrorist are having difficulty defending themselves. See "Too Scary to Fly, Not Scary Enough to Arrest", David Kravets, Wired, 2010-06-30.
Some of these same people who think government is incompetent think the Constitution should be "strictly interpreted." If so, then isn't putting someone on a no-fly list depriving that person of liberty "without due process of law"? (Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Fiscal responsibility is irresponsible
The great hue and cry is that government should be fiscally responsible, live within its means, and pay as it goes. Oh, yes, and government should not raise taxes; in fact in these times of an economic downturn, government should lower taxes to stimulate business.
Let's see, your kitchen caught fire. Luckily for you, the fire department arrived quickly and limited the damage to the kitchen. But you forgot to pay your fire insurance premium and the insurance was canceled.
You could eat out more often, but that would cost you more money than preparing food at home. For some budgets, that might be fiscally irresponsible.
Your next recourse is to take out an equity loan on your home to pay for the repairs. That certainly isn't pay as you go on home improvement.
Many people don't realize that we have something similar in government expenses. Suppose in this time of fiscal austerity that the city didn't have the money to replace its aging fire hoses. Then when the fire department came to your house some of those aging hoses burst and your whole house burned down.
What about sewer repairs? Suppose in this time of fiscal austerity that the city didn't replace some of its aging sewers. As the fire truck drove to your house it was the "last straw" for a big sewer pipe and it collapsed. Your house burned down, the city lost a fire truck, and the city has a major, major sewer and street repair project on its hands.
Do you think we can count on free will donations to pay for all of this today? The banks certainly won't be any of these donors. They will want interest on the loans they make to the city.
Let's see, your kitchen caught fire. Luckily for you, the fire department arrived quickly and limited the damage to the kitchen. But you forgot to pay your fire insurance premium and the insurance was canceled.
You could eat out more often, but that would cost you more money than preparing food at home. For some budgets, that might be fiscally irresponsible.
Your next recourse is to take out an equity loan on your home to pay for the repairs. That certainly isn't pay as you go on home improvement.
Many people don't realize that we have something similar in government expenses. Suppose in this time of fiscal austerity that the city didn't have the money to replace its aging fire hoses. Then when the fire department came to your house some of those aging hoses burst and your whole house burned down.
What about sewer repairs? Suppose in this time of fiscal austerity that the city didn't replace some of its aging sewers. As the fire truck drove to your house it was the "last straw" for a big sewer pipe and it collapsed. Your house burned down, the city lost a fire truck, and the city has a major, major sewer and street repair project on its hands.
Do you think we can count on free will donations to pay for all of this today? The banks certainly won't be any of these donors. They will want interest on the loans they make to the city.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Let's solve illegal immigration for once and for all!!
Illegal immigration has been a problem in America (and many other countries) for centuries. In what is now called the United States let's solve it by sending the children of illegal immigrants and the children's children, yea unto to the sixteenth generation, back where they came from. Let's start with sending all the Mayflower descendants back to England!
Did they really get permission from all the governments of the people already living here to stay put and to take resources from the then current occupants? Did they learn the customs and the languages of the people already living here? No, they insisted on following their Old World customs and speaking their Old World language. Even that language was a mishmash of the language of illegal immigrants from another part of the Old World.
Then let's send back all the children of the Southern planters and the children of their children. They grabbed great swaths of land from those already reaping the bounty of the land, they cleared the land of those pesky forests that produced an abundance of food, and they pushed those who already lived on the land farther and farther from the coasts.
And on and on it went, decade after decade, farther and farther west. Now the true illegal immigrants want to push out the descendants of the Anasazi, the Aztecs, the Toltecs, and the Mayans from land they had occupied for millennia until the real illegal immigrants arrived.
And we should send the Ojibwe out of the territory they took from the Dakota. And we should send the Lenni Lenape out of the territory they took from others as they pushed east to the Great Salt Sea (see James Fenimore Cooper).
If we all stayed put in the land of our fathers and their fathers, just think of how we could reduce the problem of illegal immigration!! Of course, if we all did that, we would still be peasants working from dawn to dusk, suffering cold and heat according to the season, and wondering when a drought or the foreign overlords would wipe us out.
We really should follow the advice of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" That means we have to absorb people moving in and we have to be sensitive when we move into others' territory. And next year we will have world peace.
Did they really get permission from all the governments of the people already living here to stay put and to take resources from the then current occupants? Did they learn the customs and the languages of the people already living here? No, they insisted on following their Old World customs and speaking their Old World language. Even that language was a mishmash of the language of illegal immigrants from another part of the Old World.
Then let's send back all the children of the Southern planters and the children of their children. They grabbed great swaths of land from those already reaping the bounty of the land, they cleared the land of those pesky forests that produced an abundance of food, and they pushed those who already lived on the land farther and farther from the coasts.
And on and on it went, decade after decade, farther and farther west. Now the true illegal immigrants want to push out the descendants of the Anasazi, the Aztecs, the Toltecs, and the Mayans from land they had occupied for millennia until the real illegal immigrants arrived.
And we should send the Ojibwe out of the territory they took from the Dakota. And we should send the Lenni Lenape out of the territory they took from others as they pushed east to the Great Salt Sea (see James Fenimore Cooper).
If we all stayed put in the land of our fathers and their fathers, just think of how we could reduce the problem of illegal immigration!! Of course, if we all did that, we would still be peasants working from dawn to dusk, suffering cold and heat according to the season, and wondering when a drought or the foreign overlords would wipe us out.
We really should follow the advice of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" That means we have to absorb people moving in and we have to be sensitive when we move into others' territory. And next year we will have world peace.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Duluth has become more international
I find it amusing that so many small cities call their airports International, as in Duluth International Airport. Unfortunately, there are few, if any, flights from some "International" airports to cities in other countries.
For example, to fly from Duluth MN to Winnipeg, Manitoba, one has to go first to Minneapolis-St. Paul or Chicago. Today's flights from Duluth International Airport are to Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago, and Orlando. It could be that freight or private planes fly in and out of Duluth directly to Canada, Asia, or Europe.
Another "requirement" for an "International" airport is currency exchange. I've never seen any currency exchange at the Duluth airport.
Even currency exchange anywhere in Duluth has been difficult. A local bank had to get the money from a correspondent bank. On the other hand, I could go into a bank in a small town in Ontario and exchange U.S. travelers cheques for Canadian dollars. Today I told a teller that I had taken my nasty pills and asked if she could give me Canadian money. She replied, "Yes."
She couldn't give me the exact equivalent because she didn't have small change, but that is to be expected almost anywhere. So, I asked for Canadian dollars in an even amount, and she was able to give me change in U.S. money.
On top of that, I can bring back any left over Canadian money and exchange it for U.S. dollars. Except for small change, like everywhere else.
Will yen and euros be far behind?
For example, to fly from Duluth MN to Winnipeg, Manitoba, one has to go first to Minneapolis-St. Paul or Chicago. Today's flights from Duluth International Airport are to Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago, and Orlando. It could be that freight or private planes fly in and out of Duluth directly to Canada, Asia, or Europe.
Another "requirement" for an "International" airport is currency exchange. I've never seen any currency exchange at the Duluth airport.
Even currency exchange anywhere in Duluth has been difficult. A local bank had to get the money from a correspondent bank. On the other hand, I could go into a bank in a small town in Ontario and exchange U.S. travelers cheques for Canadian dollars. Today I told a teller that I had taken my nasty pills and asked if she could give me Canadian money. She replied, "Yes."
She couldn't give me the exact equivalent because she didn't have small change, but that is to be expected almost anywhere. So, I asked for Canadian dollars in an even amount, and she was able to give me change in U.S. money.
On top of that, I can bring back any left over Canadian money and exchange it for U.S. dollars. Except for small change, like everywhere else.
Will yen and euros be far behind?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Quote of the day, make longer plans
The other day my wife was wondering with a cousin on how old their grandfather was when he died. He was Dr. Frederick L. Smith of the Mayo Clinic; I should be able to find something with Google. As it was, very little and no obituary. But I did find quite a few other Fred Smiths. This one was in "Christianity Today" by a Fred Smith who was dying and ready for it.
"I used to lecture with a psychiatrist. He was at our home on my 50th birthday and said, 'Now that you're 50, make longer plans.' I said, 'Now I know why you're a psychiatrist, you're nuts.' He said, 'No, when you start making shorter plans, your subconscious is telling you to die.' "
Now I know why I want to cut down trees and plant trees, clear paths and lay down chips, and many other projects in Brimson. I probably wouldn't get done all of what I dream if I live twice my current age (72).
"I used to lecture with a psychiatrist. He was at our home on my 50th birthday and said, 'Now that you're 50, make longer plans.' I said, 'Now I know why you're a psychiatrist, you're nuts.' He said, 'No, when you start making shorter plans, your subconscious is telling you to die.' "
Now I know why I want to cut down trees and plant trees, clear paths and lay down chips, and many other projects in Brimson. I probably wouldn't get done all of what I dream if I live twice my current age (72).
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Do, teach, or legislate?
Today the Duluth News Tribune published a short letter of mine involving the three words in the title. Since I promised, according to the DNT guidelines, that I have not had it published elsewhere, I'll give you a hint: the core of my letter begins, "Those who can, do."
You have until next weekend to look at it free. After that, it will cost you $2.95. When are newspapers going to learn Apple's 99 cents model.
You have until next weekend to look at it free. After that, it will cost you $2.95. When are newspapers going to learn Apple's 99 cents model.
Second Amendment and Insurrection
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
- Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Many people are using this amendment to justify carrying guns to defend themselves against what they believe is the tyranny of the state. But the amendment doesn't mention the security of the "people"; it says that a militia is necessary for the security of the state.
Moreover, Article I, Section 8, enumerating the powers of Congress states that it shall have the power
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;"
Some of the people who want to be armed against a tyrannical state give a broad definition of the Militia, citing some law defining the Militia, that the Militia includes most adult males.
So, if those arming themselves against a tyrannical state rise up against a state they judge tyrannical, then they should obey Congress when they are called upon to put down their own insurrection.
Oh, well! As I read somewhere lately, the Constitution is not a coherent philosophical document, but a political document full of compromises and sometimes inconsistencies. Too many people are making it a philosophical document, selecting only those clauses that support their political beliefs.
- Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Many people are using this amendment to justify carrying guns to defend themselves against what they believe is the tyranny of the state. But the amendment doesn't mention the security of the "people"; it says that a militia is necessary for the security of the state.
Moreover, Article I, Section 8, enumerating the powers of Congress states that it shall have the power
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;"
Some of the people who want to be armed against a tyrannical state give a broad definition of the Militia, citing some law defining the Militia, that the Militia includes most adult males.
So, if those arming themselves against a tyrannical state rise up against a state they judge tyrannical, then they should obey Congress when they are called upon to put down their own insurrection.
Oh, well! As I read somewhere lately, the Constitution is not a coherent philosophical document, but a political document full of compromises and sometimes inconsistencies. Too many people are making it a philosophical document, selecting only those clauses that support their political beliefs.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Whatever happened to "The computer for the rest of us"?
Remember way back in 1984 when the Macintosh came out. "The computer for the rest of us" was Apple's primary slogan. The interface was intuitive and almost every thing worked right out of the box. No messy commands to remember. Typing was only for when you had something to write, otherwise it was point and click.
In fact, a joke for a long time and still valid in many situations was "Macintosh users never read the manual."
For many people, Macs are a joy to use right out of the box and many still don't read the manual. Updates often come automagically and when they have been downloaded, the user goes to the Apple menu and clicks on restart.
But then Apple and other vendors forget to co-ordinate their updates. Or one doesn't provide certain features in all circumstances.
One that happened to us was that we could no longer scan with our HP 3310 All-n-One when we reconfigured the AIO to be a wireless printer for two computers.
I've been looking for a solution every so often for a couple of years. I've been to apple.com forums, HP forums, and independent forums. And support articles. Dozens and dozens of people have complained about this problem, but I never found a clear solution.
This week I tried sending a webform to Hewlett-Packard.
Chris of HP Total Care responded. His suggestions might have worked but he only wrote about connections through Ethernet or USB. I wrote back that I wanted wireless.
Michael responded. I tried his suggestions and I noted all the things that didn't work as stated. Still scanning didn't work. I wrote back with these problems.
Priscilla responded. She gave five pages of instructions. I started working through them one-by-one. One of the steps was to download software from Apple. That page was down for a good part of the afternoon. When I finally got the download and installed it, one part of the installation ran over five minutes with "Install time remaining: About a minute"!!!!
Then I had to download some HP software. That process was a bit more automatic than Priscilla described, but the installation began. At one point I was sent to System Preferences to do some selection or other. When I clicked on Scan another window opened. It said "Press scan to start". So I pressed the scan button on the AIO. That gave weird results I won't go into. Aha! I have to CLICK the SCAN button in the window.
Away the scan went, wirelessly, scanning a piece of paper I had on the scanner bed. Whoopee! The first scan in over two years!
OK, let's try a slide. I put in a favorite from Sweden of a big, white ferry dwarfing some apartment buildings on a bluff behind it. It scanned and scanned. But like years ago, the scanned photo had a blue wash over it. I got a better and faster result taking a picture of the slide shown through a table-top viewer. WYSIWYG is really WYSAWYG! "What you see is what you get" has become "What you see ain't what you get!"
Oh, well! At least I'll be able to scan all those pieces of paper that I don't want to file or that I want to email copies of to others.
And finally, despite all these complaints, I'll keep buying the "latest, greatest" Mac every few years. They are still easier to use than the competition.
In fact, a joke for a long time and still valid in many situations was "Macintosh users never read the manual."
For many people, Macs are a joy to use right out of the box and many still don't read the manual. Updates often come automagically and when they have been downloaded, the user goes to the Apple menu and clicks on restart.
But then Apple and other vendors forget to co-ordinate their updates. Or one doesn't provide certain features in all circumstances.
One that happened to us was that we could no longer scan with our HP 3310 All-n-One when we reconfigured the AIO to be a wireless printer for two computers.
I've been looking for a solution every so often for a couple of years. I've been to apple.com forums, HP forums, and independent forums. And support articles. Dozens and dozens of people have complained about this problem, but I never found a clear solution.
This week I tried sending a webform to Hewlett-Packard.
Chris of HP Total Care responded. His suggestions might have worked but he only wrote about connections through Ethernet or USB. I wrote back that I wanted wireless.
Michael responded. I tried his suggestions and I noted all the things that didn't work as stated. Still scanning didn't work. I wrote back with these problems.
Priscilla responded. She gave five pages of instructions. I started working through them one-by-one. One of the steps was to download software from Apple. That page was down for a good part of the afternoon. When I finally got the download and installed it, one part of the installation ran over five minutes with "Install time remaining: About a minute"!!!!
Then I had to download some HP software. That process was a bit more automatic than Priscilla described, but the installation began. At one point I was sent to System Preferences to do some selection or other. When I clicked on Scan another window opened. It said "Press scan to start". So I pressed the scan button on the AIO. That gave weird results I won't go into. Aha! I have to CLICK the SCAN button in the window.
Away the scan went, wirelessly, scanning a piece of paper I had on the scanner bed. Whoopee! The first scan in over two years!
OK, let's try a slide. I put in a favorite from Sweden of a big, white ferry dwarfing some apartment buildings on a bluff behind it. It scanned and scanned. But like years ago, the scanned photo had a blue wash over it. I got a better and faster result taking a picture of the slide shown through a table-top viewer. WYSIWYG is really WYSAWYG! "What you see is what you get" has become "What you see ain't what you get!"
Oh, well! At least I'll be able to scan all those pieces of paper that I don't want to file or that I want to email copies of to others.
And finally, despite all these complaints, I'll keep buying the "latest, greatest" Mac every few years. They are still easier to use than the competition.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Critical thinking about pricing disparities
Many students have complained about the high cost of books, especially at university bookstores. I recently found out how great the disparity was between bookstore prices and online prices.
I keep telling myself to take Critical Thinking in the Philosophy Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. I even got my wife to consider taking it also.
Today, I looked it up in the UMD catalog. For the fall semester the class is full and even the waiting list is full. Besides, I looked at the costs and it would be about $1,000 apiece to take the class, if I read the fee schedule correctly.
OK, what's the text, maybe I'll just read that. I clicked on the bookstore link and Moore and Parker's "Critical Thinking" is $111 new and $83.25 used. What does Abe Books charge, a consortium of used booksellers across the country? Would you believe $1.00? With shipping less than $4.00?
As always, there is a caveat. Although the books may be in fair or good condition, these super-low prices are for editions from the 1990's. If you want an edition in 2004 or 2005, then the prices with shipping are about $35.00. If you want the latest edition (2009), then it will cost you less than $70.00. Three were available new and one used. That still beats $83.25.
The advantage to the newer editions may that they use examples from current events. I would think the pre-2000 editions wouldn't have much about global warming or wars of choice.
Now to figure out when I want to read "Critical Thinking". I think I have over 200 books on my to read list:)
I keep telling myself to take Critical Thinking in the Philosophy Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. I even got my wife to consider taking it also.
Today, I looked it up in the UMD catalog. For the fall semester the class is full and even the waiting list is full. Besides, I looked at the costs and it would be about $1,000 apiece to take the class, if I read the fee schedule correctly.
OK, what's the text, maybe I'll just read that. I clicked on the bookstore link and Moore and Parker's "Critical Thinking" is $111 new and $83.25 used. What does Abe Books charge, a consortium of used booksellers across the country? Would you believe $1.00? With shipping less than $4.00?
As always, there is a caveat. Although the books may be in fair or good condition, these super-low prices are for editions from the 1990's. If you want an edition in 2004 or 2005, then the prices with shipping are about $35.00. If you want the latest edition (2009), then it will cost you less than $70.00. Three were available new and one used. That still beats $83.25.
The advantage to the newer editions may that they use examples from current events. I would think the pre-2000 editions wouldn't have much about global warming or wars of choice.
Now to figure out when I want to read "Critical Thinking". I think I have over 200 books on my to read list:)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
To get out of Afghanistan, invite the Chinese in
Actually, the Chinese are already in Afghanistan. The Chinese won a bid for a copper mine in Logar province, but according to a recent U.S. survey, there are over a trillion dollars worth of metals and minerals in Afganistan, "U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan", James Riesen, New York Times, 2010-06-13.
What if the U.S. gets China more involved in extracting resources from Afghanistan? Would the Chinese have to bring in their own military to protect their interests? As the Chinese got more and more involved in mining, would they have to bring in more troops? They've managed to take over Tibet; would they be able to take over Afghanistan? Then the Taliban would be direct their ire against these new invaders and the U.S. could slip out.
There are a couple of caveats about this.
First, Logar was the province where several Afghani groups destroyed a 350-vehicle convoy, including tanks? Would the Chinese fare any better? Would they want to take on that kind of risk?
Second, if China takes over Afghanistan, they might lock out others from access to the mineral riches of Afghanistan. This could put U.S. companies at a big disadvantage.
A better way would be to promote the mineral wealth as a means for co-operation among all interested parties: large companies that want access, Afghanis that want jobs, Afghanis that want peace, and Afghanis that want political power. It really comes down to would you rather fight and keep Afghanis poor or would you rather find out ways to benefit all interested parties.
What if the U.S. gets China more involved in extracting resources from Afghanistan? Would the Chinese have to bring in their own military to protect their interests? As the Chinese got more and more involved in mining, would they have to bring in more troops? They've managed to take over Tibet; would they be able to take over Afghanistan? Then the Taliban would be direct their ire against these new invaders and the U.S. could slip out.
There are a couple of caveats about this.
First, Logar was the province where several Afghani groups destroyed a 350-vehicle convoy, including tanks? Would the Chinese fare any better? Would they want to take on that kind of risk?
Second, if China takes over Afghanistan, they might lock out others from access to the mineral riches of Afghanistan. This could put U.S. companies at a big disadvantage.
A better way would be to promote the mineral wealth as a means for co-operation among all interested parties: large companies that want access, Afghanis that want jobs, Afghanis that want peace, and Afghanis that want political power. It really comes down to would you rather fight and keep Afghanis poor or would you rather find out ways to benefit all interested parties.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Broadband gets broader
I went to an informational meeting put on by the Forest Service in the Brimson-Toimi area this afternoon. While chatting with other attendees I learned that broadband has become more widely available in Brimson. It is now within walking distance of our cabin.
But is it pricey!! Starting at $49.99 or something like that for up to 6Mbps for existing customers. Notice the "starting at" and "for up to". It is not exactly clear that you can get 6Mbps service for $49.99. Frontier's web site does not provide more details unless you click on "Buy now". Otherwise you have to talk to a representative to get more details. Why does one have to talk to a representative? Probably because one would be more likely to buy while talking to a representative.
I should state that there are other offers, say for $24.99 for up to 3Mbps for the first year and $34.99 the second year. There is also a $4.50/month equipment rental. And of course, "taxes, surcharges, and USF charges".
And the offers conflict. Existing customers can get this through Dec. 31 according to one page. Nation-wide the offer is available through Jun. 30.
Frontier is not alone in this. Look at the cell phone plans. Look at other phone companies offers. It's mind boggling. I just want simple tables:
x benefit y dollars
z benefit w dollars
Dream on!
But is it pricey!! Starting at $49.99 or something like that for up to 6Mbps for existing customers. Notice the "starting at" and "for up to". It is not exactly clear that you can get 6Mbps service for $49.99. Frontier's web site does not provide more details unless you click on "Buy now". Otherwise you have to talk to a representative to get more details. Why does one have to talk to a representative? Probably because one would be more likely to buy while talking to a representative.
I should state that there are other offers, say for $24.99 for up to 3Mbps for the first year and $34.99 the second year. There is also a $4.50/month equipment rental. And of course, "taxes, surcharges, and USF charges".
And the offers conflict. Existing customers can get this through Dec. 31 according to one page. Nation-wide the offer is available through Jun. 30.
Frontier is not alone in this. Look at the cell phone plans. Look at other phone companies offers. It's mind boggling. I just want simple tables:
x benefit y dollars
z benefit w dollars
Dream on!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
It's time for a little levity
Enough with oil spills, storms, demonstrations in Iran, and all the turmoil in the world. Let's take a moment to laugh a little.
One of our coffee group is very good with quips. The trouble is that we often forget them even though we laugh and laugh at the time he comes out with them. He often forgets them himself.
One that we forgot but he didn't was "If bubble wrap is used for Petri dishes, is that pop culture?"
He wore shorts earlier this week and when I said he had declared it's summer, he responded, "Summery judgment."
I had two I came up with this week, but I didn't write them down, now each of them is a lost word. That weak pun made me think of another pun.
Did you hear about the lumber truck driver who didn't know that he dropped part of his load? It was a lost cord.
Not remembering quips or not writing them down, reminds me of a saying of my favorite English teacher, Miss Palmer. She defined wit as "That which you have on the way home that someone else had at the party."
One of our coffee group is very good with quips. The trouble is that we often forget them even though we laugh and laugh at the time he comes out with them. He often forgets them himself.
One that we forgot but he didn't was "If bubble wrap is used for Petri dishes, is that pop culture?"
He wore shorts earlier this week and when I said he had declared it's summer, he responded, "Summery judgment."
I had two I came up with this week, but I didn't write them down, now each of them is a lost word. That weak pun made me think of another pun.
Did you hear about the lumber truck driver who didn't know that he dropped part of his load? It was a lost cord.
Not remembering quips or not writing them down, reminds me of a saying of my favorite English teacher, Miss Palmer. She defined wit as "That which you have on the way home that someone else had at the party."
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Coffee Party on Corporate Personhood
The Coffee Party has started a National Summit on Corporate Personhood. If you are interested in engaging others on discussing this, see http://coffeepartyusa.com/content/national-summit-corporate-personhood-0.
If you are interested in joining a Café Call on Money and Politics, see http://coffeepartyusa.com/content/join-coffee-party-“café-call”-money-and-politics.
The Coffee Party was organized to promote civil discourse on political issues. From a sampling of messages on one of the forums of the Coffee Party, I would say that the discourse is argumentative but civil. Responders may call into question an idea, but they don't seem to call into question the character of a writer.
If you are interested in joining a Café Call on Money and Politics, see http://coffeepartyusa.com/content/join-coffee-party-“café-call”-money-and-politics.
The Coffee Party was organized to promote civil discourse on political issues. From a sampling of messages on one of the forums of the Coffee Party, I would say that the discourse is argumentative but civil. Responders may call into question an idea, but they don't seem to call into question the character of a writer.
Was BP rewarded for risky behavior?
Drilling in deeper water carries more risks, but why drill in deep water if it is so risky? Some say it is because environmentalists prevent drilling closer in. Some say we need domestic sources of oil for energy independence. And some say that deep drilling is subsidized but shallow drilling is not.
On the latter, the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act exempted oil companies from paying a 12 percent royalty in the deeper water. When crude was cheap the royalty was not an issue but as the price of oil climbed, it made more sense to drill in royalty-free deep water than in royalty-required shallow water.
For more, see "Why was BP Drilling in 5,000 Feet of Water Anyway?", Justin Sharon, Minyanville (via Yahoo Finance), 2010-06-11.
On the latter, the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act exempted oil companies from paying a 12 percent royalty in the deeper water. When crude was cheap the royalty was not an issue but as the price of oil climbed, it made more sense to drill in royalty-free deep water than in royalty-required shallow water.
For more, see "Why was BP Drilling in 5,000 Feet of Water Anyway?", Justin Sharon, Minyanville (via Yahoo Finance), 2010-06-11.
Friday, June 11, 2010
If corporations are persons then…
Let's not only give them some of the "rights of persons" like "free speech", let's give them some of the responsibilities and consequences of being persons.
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they pay personal income tax? Many argue that corporate taxes are taking away from shareholders or are being passed on to customers. Well, aren't exorbitant executive salaries being decided by a self-selected board of directors taking away from shareholders also? Aren't the taxes being paid by my plumber or my barber being passed on to me? So, what's so different about corporations if they are considered persons?
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they be restricted severely for pollution? If I burn trash in my backyard or have a faulty furnace that is sending soot all over the neighborhood, won't I be called to account for it by my neighbors and the city? If I dump poisonous chemicals in my sink, won't I be called to account for it? If corporations are persons then shouldn't they be held to the same standards as physical persons?
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they suffer the same consequences for capital crimes? If a corporation commits such malfeasance that people die then shouldn't it go to prison? Prison in this case could be putting all its assets in escrow for the equivalent prison time. If a corporation willfully murders people and if the jurisdiction executes murderers then shouldn't the corporation be liquidated? Blackwater employees willfully shot Iraqis. The only consequence was the loss of some contracts and the company reorganized under a different name. Do you think that you or I could publicly change our name and address to escape punishment for any crime?
Remember the old adage: be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they pay personal income tax? Many argue that corporate taxes are taking away from shareholders or are being passed on to customers. Well, aren't exorbitant executive salaries being decided by a self-selected board of directors taking away from shareholders also? Aren't the taxes being paid by my plumber or my barber being passed on to me? So, what's so different about corporations if they are considered persons?
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they be restricted severely for pollution? If I burn trash in my backyard or have a faulty furnace that is sending soot all over the neighborhood, won't I be called to account for it by my neighbors and the city? If I dump poisonous chemicals in my sink, won't I be called to account for it? If corporations are persons then shouldn't they be held to the same standards as physical persons?
If corporations are persons then shouldn't they suffer the same consequences for capital crimes? If a corporation commits such malfeasance that people die then shouldn't it go to prison? Prison in this case could be putting all its assets in escrow for the equivalent prison time. If a corporation willfully murders people and if the jurisdiction executes murderers then shouldn't the corporation be liquidated? Blackwater employees willfully shot Iraqis. The only consequence was the loss of some contracts and the company reorganized under a different name. Do you think that you or I could publicly change our name and address to escape punishment for any crime?
Remember the old adage: be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"We all know that schools can be more efficient…"
Arne Duncan, U.S. Education Secretary, sent an op-ed piece to newspapers across the country about the financial crisis of the schools. The Star Tribune published it
2010-06-09, others as early as 2010-06-06. I tried finding a master at ed.gov but couldn't. He wrote that help may be on the way in the form of $23 billion dollars in emergency funding.
In the midst of all his exhortations on the importance of schools he wrote, "We all know that schools can be more efficient…" Oh! We all know? For a contrary view on that see "Arne Duncan's History Lesson to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)". It is a radical voice on how schools were designed to turn out factory workers. There is some truth in this diatribe. It does give some insight in this call for "efficiencies" in schools and government and where the call is coming from.
Efficiency means doing more with less resources. An efficient engine uses less gas. An efficient widget factory uses less material and energy to produce more widgets.
But you can't move a busload of people in a Prius; that many people would make a Prius very inefficient.
And you can't treat a classroom of children like widgets. Especially if your only measure of success is standardized tests. Children are individuals with varying levels of preparation and interest. Some will sit quietly and absorb knowledge like a sponge; others will fidget, disrupt, fall asleep, and get very little knowledge. It takes a lot of skill and a a lot of teachers to deal with such variety.
Using standardized tests for judging students and schools is like expecting a blue-grass musician to pass a written test on playing Beethoven. Let's put it another way. One student passes an English test of spelling and grammar, but writes very dully. Another student struggles through the same test, but writes prose that draws the reader in. Whose book would you rather read? Or manual? Or business plan?
Maybe the best means to efficient schools is to require parents to have a degree in early childhood development before they have any children.
2010-06-09, others as early as 2010-06-06. I tried finding a master at ed.gov but couldn't. He wrote that help may be on the way in the form of $23 billion dollars in emergency funding.
In the midst of all his exhortations on the importance of schools he wrote, "We all know that schools can be more efficient…" Oh! We all know? For a contrary view on that see "Arne Duncan's History Lesson to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)". It is a radical voice on how schools were designed to turn out factory workers. There is some truth in this diatribe. It does give some insight in this call for "efficiencies" in schools and government and where the call is coming from.
Efficiency means doing more with less resources. An efficient engine uses less gas. An efficient widget factory uses less material and energy to produce more widgets.
But you can't move a busload of people in a Prius; that many people would make a Prius very inefficient.
And you can't treat a classroom of children like widgets. Especially if your only measure of success is standardized tests. Children are individuals with varying levels of preparation and interest. Some will sit quietly and absorb knowledge like a sponge; others will fidget, disrupt, fall asleep, and get very little knowledge. It takes a lot of skill and a a lot of teachers to deal with such variety.
Using standardized tests for judging students and schools is like expecting a blue-grass musician to pass a written test on playing Beethoven. Let's put it another way. One student passes an English test of spelling and grammar, but writes very dully. Another student struggles through the same test, but writes prose that draws the reader in. Whose book would you rather read? Or manual? Or business plan?
Maybe the best means to efficient schools is to require parents to have a degree in early childhood development before they have any children.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Let's stop letting ideologues drive the debate
Two of the great mantras of our time are the need to improve test scores and the need for performance pay to satisfy the first.
One article that seemed to make sense was "The Uncertain Impact of Merit Pay for Teachers", Edwin Glaeser, New York Times, 2010-06-08. Even though some studies were not solid on merit pay, Prof. Glaeser still supported merit pay for teachers.
In trying to retrieve this article, I stumbled on "Let's Have Merit Pay for Economists Who Muck Around in Education Issues", Jim Horn, School Matters, 2010-06-08. Horn counters with other studies that showed performance pay doesn't work, including a study presented at the conference that Glaeser wrote about.
See also Horn's "More Research on Teacher Performance Pay for Duncan to Ignore".
What all this clamor for performance pay misses is that schools aren't really about test taking and getting good scores. They are about learning to learn and learning to be creative. I read that East Asian kids may be much better at passing tests than American kids, but they don't seem to have the innovative skills that are far more abundant in the U.S.
A refreshing antidote is "History for Dollars", David Brooks, New York Times, 2010-06-07. He wrote that many students are opting for college degrees in "practical matters" like accounting and that the portion of humanities majors has dropped as much as 50 percent in a generation. He argues that humanities gives communication skills, "a wealth of analogies", and the ability to think in different ways.
Ah! Think in different ways! That certainly beats thinking in differing ways.
One article that seemed to make sense was "The Uncertain Impact of Merit Pay for Teachers", Edwin Glaeser, New York Times, 2010-06-08. Even though some studies were not solid on merit pay, Prof. Glaeser still supported merit pay for teachers.
In trying to retrieve this article, I stumbled on "Let's Have Merit Pay for Economists Who Muck Around in Education Issues", Jim Horn, School Matters, 2010-06-08. Horn counters with other studies that showed performance pay doesn't work, including a study presented at the conference that Glaeser wrote about.
See also Horn's "More Research on Teacher Performance Pay for Duncan to Ignore".
What all this clamor for performance pay misses is that schools aren't really about test taking and getting good scores. They are about learning to learn and learning to be creative. I read that East Asian kids may be much better at passing tests than American kids, but they don't seem to have the innovative skills that are far more abundant in the U.S.
A refreshing antidote is "History for Dollars", David Brooks, New York Times, 2010-06-07. He wrote that many students are opting for college degrees in "practical matters" like accounting and that the portion of humanities majors has dropped as much as 50 percent in a generation. He argues that humanities gives communication skills, "a wealth of analogies", and the ability to think in different ways.
Ah! Think in different ways! That certainly beats thinking in differing ways.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Blogger was down
I tried posting the Carly Fiorina update on Sunday night, but when I signed on to Google's Blogger I was given a notice that "Blogger is unavailable". I tried again this morning and afternoon with the same result. This afternoon there was a status report:
"We're aware of isolated access issues in certain regions within the US. We're investigating this now and will follow-up as soon as we have more information to share
Thanks for your patience in the meantime."
Source for Carly Fiorina and the "real world"
The article I referenced in "Carly Fiorina, get real!" was the Huffington Post, "Carly Fiorina Gets the Demon Sheep Treatment From DSCC, California Democrats", Sam Stein, 2010-05-06.
She ran a "Demon Sheep" spot against her opponent in the Republican Senate primary for California, Tom Campbell. Campbell was the architect of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget.
I got it backwards that she was running for the Governor of California; she's running to oust Democrat Barbara Boxer from the Senate. Meg Whitman, another über-rich former CEO (EBay) is running for Governor of California.
The Democrats produced their own campaign video, "Demon Sheep II". In it, they have have a clip of Carly Fiorina saying, "Those of us who do live in the real world…" See "Demon Sheep II" in Sam Stein's article above.
Many of us may be envious of her "real world" with millions of dollars in the bank and the power she had as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, but I think most of us prefer our own "hum-drum" "real world".
She ran a "Demon Sheep" spot against her opponent in the Republican Senate primary for California, Tom Campbell. Campbell was the architect of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget.
I got it backwards that she was running for the Governor of California; she's running to oust Democrat Barbara Boxer from the Senate. Meg Whitman, another über-rich former CEO (EBay) is running for Governor of California.
The Democrats produced their own campaign video, "Demon Sheep II". In it, they have have a clip of Carly Fiorina saying, "Those of us who do live in the real world…" See "Demon Sheep II" in Sam Stein's article above.
Many of us may be envious of her "real world" with millions of dollars in the bank and the power she had as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, but I think most of us prefer our own "hum-drum" "real world".
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Carly Fiorina, get real!
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is running for governor of California. I saw a snippet of one of her ads, on The Huffington Post, I think. In it, she says something like politicians should join the real world.
Come on, Carly, when were you last part of the real world? Your first year at HP you had compensation of over 69 million dollars. Is that a real-world salary? That's over a thousand times what many people wish they could make in a year.
A few years later, you were fired from HP with a severance pay of 22 million dollars. A lot of people in the real world aren't making one thousandth of that every year and when they get laid off they get zilch.
Now you're trying to buy your way into being the CEO of California. Are you going to arrange to buy Nevada like you bought Compaq?
Sadly, the so-called capitalist system as run by CEOs and their crony boards is getting worse than what I wrote about ten years ago in "Talk about Boards with Conflicts of Interest", Reader Weekly, 2000-04-26. One thousand teachers in Duluth were trying to get a two-year raise that was one-tenth for all of them of what you got in a single-year.
Come on, Carly, when were you last part of the real world? Your first year at HP you had compensation of over 69 million dollars. Is that a real-world salary? That's over a thousand times what many people wish they could make in a year.
A few years later, you were fired from HP with a severance pay of 22 million dollars. A lot of people in the real world aren't making one thousandth of that every year and when they get laid off they get zilch.
Now you're trying to buy your way into being the CEO of California. Are you going to arrange to buy Nevada like you bought Compaq?
Sadly, the so-called capitalist system as run by CEOs and their crony boards is getting worse than what I wrote about ten years ago in "Talk about Boards with Conflicts of Interest", Reader Weekly, 2000-04-26. One thousand teachers in Duluth were trying to get a two-year raise that was one-tenth for all of them of what you got in a single-year.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
On freedom of the speech: Do I have a better memory than the Internet?
The Huffington Post reported that a newspaper was told by a court that it must reveal the name of an anonymous contributor to the comment section of an online story. The plaintiffs in the case complained that the comment was libelous. See "Illinois Newspaper Forced To Disclose Names of Anonymous Commenters", Huffington Post, 2010-06-03.
This made me think of a quote that I remember as this: "The antidote to too much freedom of speech (or the press) is more freedom of speech (or the press)." I thought Winston Churchill made it. I can't find it in Bartlett's Quotations, George Seldes' "Famous Quotations", in Wikiquotes, or with a Google Search.
I did find a whole bunch of interesting quotes relating to freedom of speech and of the press under Censorship in Wikiquotes. Two that seem to fit the above case are:
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania (1759)
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." - Thomas Jefferson
I did find a good quote by Winston Churchill in the Censorship section:
"You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts there is unspoken - unspeakable! - fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse - a little tiny mouse! -of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic."
I am sure you can think of quite a few dictators or terrorists who fit this quote today.
This made me think of a quote that I remember as this: "The antidote to too much freedom of speech (or the press) is more freedom of speech (or the press)." I thought Winston Churchill made it. I can't find it in Bartlett's Quotations, George Seldes' "Famous Quotations", in Wikiquotes, or with a Google Search.
I did find a whole bunch of interesting quotes relating to freedom of speech and of the press under Censorship in Wikiquotes. Two that seem to fit the above case are:
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania (1759)
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." - Thomas Jefferson
I did find a good quote by Winston Churchill in the Censorship section:
"You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts there is unspoken - unspeakable! - fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse - a little tiny mouse! -of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic."
I am sure you can think of quite a few dictators or terrorists who fit this quote today.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
"Revolutionary" ideas
I serendipitously picked up “The Case for Big Government” by Jeff Madrick.
One of my favorite quotes is “If high taxes allegedly reduce efforts, surely unfair compensation should do the same. Fair compensation should improve effort.”
I have several other quotes that I may post from time to time.
If you would like to read a description of the book and some reviews, visit the Hennepin County Public Library catalog https://catalog.hclib.org and enter its title in the search box.
Health was worse in the cities than in the country because of sanitation. Government provided sewer systems and the health improved. Government also mandated certain vaccinations and funded the development of many vaccines.
Bumper sticker: if you don’t have smallpox, thank the government.
One of my favorite quotes is “If high taxes allegedly reduce efforts, surely unfair compensation should do the same. Fair compensation should improve effort.”
I have several other quotes that I may post from time to time.
If you would like to read a description of the book and some reviews, visit the Hennepin County Public Library catalog https://catalog.hclib.org and enter its title in the search box.
Health was worse in the cities than in the country because of sanitation. Government provided sewer systems and the health improved. Government also mandated certain vaccinations and funded the development of many vaccines.
Bumper sticker: if you don’t have smallpox, thank the government.
Monday, May 31, 2010
On dealing with Toimi sand
I dreamed up this ditty yesterday, but it didn't quite fit in my entry "Life in the land of 10,000 rocks".
You mow sixteen acres and what you get,
Another day over and deeper in sweat.
If you see a bump coming
You step aside.
If the root one don't get you,
The stone one will.
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I gotta mow just one acre more.
You mow sixteen acres and what you get,
Another day over and deeper in sweat.
If you see a bump coming
You step aside.
If the root one don't get you,
The stone one will.
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I gotta mow just one acre more.
Titanic and BP
We watched the DiCaprio/Winslet "Titanic" last night. We haven't learned much since the Titanic about the hubris of relying on our technology to handle all contingencies.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Life in the land of 10,000 rocks
I get a kick out of the ads for yard equipment. They often show middle-age or even senior women easily pushing a weed cutter or such on a former plowed field. The reality for many is Toimi sand.
What is Toimi sand? Northern Minnesota was plowed up by glaciers which moved a lot of stuff around and broke it up. Some places this is ridges, some places it is gravel pits, some places it is great outcropping of rocks. In the Brimson-Toimi area in the Superior National Forest, it is sand in grains from fist-size to the size of a riding mower.
Some may be flush with the surface and no bother. Some may stick up so far that one must walk around them. Some may stick out just enough to trip the unwary walker. Some may be like an iceberg with seven-eighths of their mass below ground level.
Whatever the amount Toimi sand sticks up out of the ground, it makes running any wheeled equipment very difficult. Wheelbarrow, cart, trimmer, mower, or snowblower. These last two are more vulnerable; a rock could chip a blade or snap a shear pin.
To make work easier one has to work a lot. Today we tackled a rock that was sticking only about three inches out of the ground. I had to run a lawnmower around it one too many times.
I got out our big pry bar to have a go at this troublesome rock. I was able to jam the pry bar down along side the rock about nine inches and jiggle the rock. Going around the rock to several spots and using another rock or a log as a fulcrum, I was able to lift the rock a couple of inches but I just couldn't get it out, and the rock would fall back down.
I found some smaller rocks and dropped them along side the big rock. I was able to get the big rock up about an inch. I called my wife to help. I'd lever the rock up and my wife would drop a smaller rock down along side it and sometimes she could push it under the big rock. Up more and more. With me pushing the pry bar and bending it, my wife, of all people, pulled the rock up and out with her bare hands. The darn thing was the size of three footballs.
I took a ten-pound hammer to the rock. Arrowheads and flint knives flying all over the place. Wham! A big piece cracked off. More little pieces flying. Wham! An eighth of the rock cracked off. More little pieces flying. Wham! A bigger piece cracked off. Now over a third of the rock had split off. I tried hitting what looked like a fracture. No go! Again and again. Still no go. It is now lunch time. That's enough.
I tried lifting the bigger piece with the idea of carting the pieces off to dump in a hole. I couldn't do it. So, the rocks will sit there to another day. Or year, like two other big rocks in our cabin yard that I've gotten a bit out of the ground and then no further. And they too seem to be immune to cracking more than a chip at a time.
And poor Jean Valjean had to bust rocks all day with few, if any, breaks. It gives new meaning to being sentenced to years of hard labor.
What is Toimi sand? Northern Minnesota was plowed up by glaciers which moved a lot of stuff around and broke it up. Some places this is ridges, some places it is gravel pits, some places it is great outcropping of rocks. In the Brimson-Toimi area in the Superior National Forest, it is sand in grains from fist-size to the size of a riding mower.
Some may be flush with the surface and no bother. Some may stick up so far that one must walk around them. Some may stick out just enough to trip the unwary walker. Some may be like an iceberg with seven-eighths of their mass below ground level.
Whatever the amount Toimi sand sticks up out of the ground, it makes running any wheeled equipment very difficult. Wheelbarrow, cart, trimmer, mower, or snowblower. These last two are more vulnerable; a rock could chip a blade or snap a shear pin.
To make work easier one has to work a lot. Today we tackled a rock that was sticking only about three inches out of the ground. I had to run a lawnmower around it one too many times.
I got out our big pry bar to have a go at this troublesome rock. I was able to jam the pry bar down along side the rock about nine inches and jiggle the rock. Going around the rock to several spots and using another rock or a log as a fulcrum, I was able to lift the rock a couple of inches but I just couldn't get it out, and the rock would fall back down.
I found some smaller rocks and dropped them along side the big rock. I was able to get the big rock up about an inch. I called my wife to help. I'd lever the rock up and my wife would drop a smaller rock down along side it and sometimes she could push it under the big rock. Up more and more. With me pushing the pry bar and bending it, my wife, of all people, pulled the rock up and out with her bare hands. The darn thing was the size of three footballs.
I took a ten-pound hammer to the rock. Arrowheads and flint knives flying all over the place. Wham! A big piece cracked off. More little pieces flying. Wham! An eighth of the rock cracked off. More little pieces flying. Wham! A bigger piece cracked off. Now over a third of the rock had split off. I tried hitting what looked like a fracture. No go! Again and again. Still no go. It is now lunch time. That's enough.
I tried lifting the bigger piece with the idea of carting the pieces off to dump in a hole. I couldn't do it. So, the rocks will sit there to another day. Or year, like two other big rocks in our cabin yard that I've gotten a bit out of the ground and then no further. And they too seem to be immune to cracking more than a chip at a time.
And poor Jean Valjean had to bust rocks all day with few, if any, breaks. It gives new meaning to being sentenced to years of hard labor.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
How did I type Japanese?
You may have guessed, since I didn't write all of my Japanese message in Japanese, that I don't really speak Japanese. You're right! I know a few hundred words and a few grammar points. Not really enough for a conversation or to order in a restaurant other than "nippon birru, kudasai!" "Two beers, please!"
If you have a Mac, you can switch languages with a click of the mouse.
I was going to give you a long, possibly incorrect explanation, but I'll let your Mac give you a better one.
Go to the Finder and click-hold Help on the menu bar.
Type "foreign" next to "Search".
Click on "Typing in another language" and follow the directions.
Now, if you select Hiragana as the language to type, then type "nippon birru kudasai" you will get
日本ビッルください
You might have to start typing on a separate line.
BTW, if you are using TextEdit, you have to be careful when typing in English, I typed "nippon birru kudasai" and it became "nippon bird kudasai". Proofread! Proofread!
If you have a Mac, you can switch languages with a click of the mouse.
I was going to give you a long, possibly incorrect explanation, but I'll let your Mac give you a better one.
Go to the Finder and click-hold Help on the menu bar.
Type "foreign" next to "Search".
Click on "Typing in another language" and follow the directions.
Now, if you select Hiragana as the language to type, then type "nippon birru kudasai" you will get
日本ビッルください
You might have to start typing on a separate line.
BTW, if you are using TextEdit, you have to be careful when typing in English, I typed "nippon birru kudasai" and it became "nippon bird kudasai". Proofread! Proofread!
Friday, May 28, 2010
The ultimate abortion machine
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Republican Party is not as hawkish as many of its opponents believe. The 2008 Republican Party platform includes the following under "National Security":
"The U.S. should lead that effort by reducing the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number consistent with our security requirements and working with other nuclear powers to do the same."
Let's hope that "the lowest number consistent with our security requirements" rapidly approaches zero. This would be consistent with the large section in the 2008 Republican platform titled "Maintaining The Sanctity and Dignity of Human Life", which includes, "At its core, abortion is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life." After all, the use of nuclear weapons, or any other weapons taking the lives of non-combatants, "is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life."
In other words, nuclear weapons are the ultimate abortion machine.
"The U.S. should lead that effort by reducing the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number consistent with our security requirements and working with other nuclear powers to do the same."
Let's hope that "the lowest number consistent with our security requirements" rapidly approaches zero. This would be consistent with the large section in the 2008 Republican platform titled "Maintaining The Sanctity and Dignity of Human Life", which includes, "At its core, abortion is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life." After all, the use of nuclear weapons, or any other weapons taking the lives of non-combatants, "is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life."
In other words, nuclear weapons are the ultimate abortion machine.
どもありがとございます
Welcome and thank you to my Japanese subscriber. I hope you can read my blog entries often.
住みません！私は日本がわかりません. Wow! I didn't expect my Mac to give me Kanji too!
See also "How did I type Japanese?"
住みません！私は日本がわかりません. Wow! I didn't expect my Mac to give me Kanji too!
See also "How did I type Japanese?"
Välkommen till min svensk läsare
Tack så mycket för ditt besök till min blog. Hoppas att du hittar mycket av intresse här.
Moderate Republicans do exist, sort of
When I searched www.gop.com for material for another entry, I came across the Moderate Republcans group. It has only 11 members since 2009-11-19, the eleventh joining today (not me). It has only three entries, one being an announcement for the candidacy of Colonel Oliver Wimbledon Pepper IV Esq. for President in 2012.
I think the originator of the group had more serious purposes: "A group that has no set view on issues. We view a majority of the Republican Platform favorably. A minority of views, we may differentiate, but we all find ourselves between the far-right conservatives and centrist political spectrum."
If you're tired of the choice between the Republicans who dream of a country that never existed and the Democrats who dream of a country that will never be, maybe you should drop in on this group to give the more serious members some encouragement.
I think the originator of the group had more serious purposes: "A group that has no set view on issues. We view a majority of the Republican Platform favorably. A minority of views, we may differentiate, but we all find ourselves between the far-right conservatives and centrist political spectrum."
If you're tired of the choice between the Republicans who dream of a country that never existed and the Democrats who dream of a country that will never be, maybe you should drop in on this group to give the more serious members some encouragement.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Which teacher gets pay for performance for our granddaughter?
Our son, his wife, and their daughter Kayo visited Minnesota from Tokyo recently. Kayo stayed with us a few days while her parents took some relief from her high energy.
I consider Kayo a normal almost three-year-old. Lots of energy and lots of rest. Eagerness to please and obstinate to do things her way. Curious about almost everything from books with lots of words and pictures to nooks and crannies she shouldn't get into.
She can recite the English alphabet and my son says she knows most of the Japanese syllable chart (100+ syllables). I do know she knows the horizontal vowel sounds, but she never did the vertical consonant sounds for us. She can count to 20 in English and Japanese. She recognizes words in books. Of course, the key words for a page are bold and in a different color, but she points at the word and says it. She can switch back and forth between English and Japanese, but she speaks mostly in Japanese because her playmates speak Japanese.
Her parents don't hold fast to the "rule" of each parent speaking his or her native language to the child, but her mother speaks mostly Japanese to her.
What kindergarten or elementary teacher who was paid for performance wouldn't love to have Kayo in his or her class?
If Kayo is so normal why does she have such extraordinary skills? Simple, she has a stay-at-home mom who has her own specials skills. Kayo's mom has ten years of experience in early childhood development. Now instead of helping a roomful of toddlers and pre-schoolers, she has only one student. Class size does matter.
Now consider the effort made by a teacher with a class of thirty, many who may not even have seen a book before. That teacher probably should be paid extra for even trying.
So, if we are to pay for performance, should stay-at-home parents get paid if they spend a lot of time stimulating their kids' minds? It will never happen.
I consider Kayo a normal almost three-year-old. Lots of energy and lots of rest. Eagerness to please and obstinate to do things her way. Curious about almost everything from books with lots of words and pictures to nooks and crannies she shouldn't get into.
She can recite the English alphabet and my son says she knows most of the Japanese syllable chart (100+ syllables). I do know she knows the horizontal vowel sounds, but she never did the vertical consonant sounds for us. She can count to 20 in English and Japanese. She recognizes words in books. Of course, the key words for a page are bold and in a different color, but she points at the word and says it. She can switch back and forth between English and Japanese, but she speaks mostly in Japanese because her playmates speak Japanese.
Her parents don't hold fast to the "rule" of each parent speaking his or her native language to the child, but her mother speaks mostly Japanese to her.
What kindergarten or elementary teacher who was paid for performance wouldn't love to have Kayo in his or her class?
If Kayo is so normal why does she have such extraordinary skills? Simple, she has a stay-at-home mom who has her own specials skills. Kayo's mom has ten years of experience in early childhood development. Now instead of helping a roomful of toddlers and pre-schoolers, she has only one student. Class size does matter.
Now consider the effort made by a teacher with a class of thirty, many who may not even have seen a book before. That teacher probably should be paid extra for even trying.
So, if we are to pay for performance, should stay-at-home parents get paid if they spend a lot of time stimulating their kids' minds? It will never happen.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wise political move or dumb technical move
The Republican Party has started a web site to solicit opinions based on "the priorities of the people". It is "America Speaking Out". For one summary, see "Republicans' new Web site not exactly what they hoped it would be", Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 2010-05-26.
I went to it with the idea of submitting the proposition that the three greatest Republican Presidents were the ones that made major investments - Lincoln and railroads, Teddy Roosevelt and the National Parks, and Eisenhower and the Interstate highway system.
When I clicked on the button to add a suggestion, the sign-in was overlaid on the current window:
If these people want to run our government efficiently, can't they at least run their own web site efficiently?
I went to it with the idea of submitting the proposition that the three greatest Republican Presidents were the ones that made major investments - Lincoln and railroads, Teddy Roosevelt and the National Parks, and Eisenhower and the Interstate highway system.
When I clicked on the button to add a suggestion, the sign-in was overlaid on the current window:
If these people want to run our government efficiently, can't they at least run their own web site efficiently?
Will moderates be returning to Minnesota state government?
I don't have any great hopes for seeing this happen in a big way soon, but a wedge has been put in to create an opening. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the DFL-nominated candidate for governor, has chosen John Gunyou as her running mate.
John Gunyou was Finance Commissioner under Arne Carlson, the last state-wide moderate Republican. He has written many op-ed pieces for the Star Tribune criticizing the many ideologues in politics, especially Republicans. I've saved five of them.
One of my favorites is "Taxpayer's League's model for governing", Star Tribune, 2006-06-15. Sorry, it's no longer available online. His opening is priceless:
"Here's a civics question to start the day. Who provides your public services like police and fire protection, education, parks and roads? Is it: (a) cities, counties and schools, (b) Uncle Sam & Cousin Tim, or (c) the Minnesota Taxpayers League?
Listening to the Taxpayers League and their political sycophants crow about our state's drop in tax rankings is a little hard to take for those of us actually responsible for delivering the services those taxes pay for. It's a whole lot easier to pontificate about downsizing government when you don't have to figure out how to stretch shrinking resources to patch crumbling streets."
Among other things he points out is the Taxpayer's League doesn't consider that the price of asphalt has gone up but the cities's share of the unchanged gas tax has not gone up. As citizens' two biggest concerns are speeding and road repair. Gunyou proposed that his city solve these with less taxes by having inverted speed bumps. He had a couple of other tongue-in-cheek ideas for getting something for nothing.
If you are a Minnesota voter, I highly recommend looking up his commentaries in your nearest public library. That is, if it is still open and at a time convenient to you.
I was planning to cast a blank ballot in the August primaries, but now I will be sure to put an X next to Kelliher/Gunyou. Also, after I post this I'll make a small contribution to the Kelliher/Gunyou campaign. Note that I am still a Party of One and do not contribute to parties. Oh, the Coffee Party might be an exception.
John Gunyou was Finance Commissioner under Arne Carlson, the last state-wide moderate Republican. He has written many op-ed pieces for the Star Tribune criticizing the many ideologues in politics, especially Republicans. I've saved five of them.
One of my favorites is "Taxpayer's League's model for governing", Star Tribune, 2006-06-15. Sorry, it's no longer available online. His opening is priceless:
"Here's a civics question to start the day. Who provides your public services like police and fire protection, education, parks and roads? Is it: (a) cities, counties and schools, (b) Uncle Sam & Cousin Tim, or (c) the Minnesota Taxpayers League?
Listening to the Taxpayers League and their political sycophants crow about our state's drop in tax rankings is a little hard to take for those of us actually responsible for delivering the services those taxes pay for. It's a whole lot easier to pontificate about downsizing government when you don't have to figure out how to stretch shrinking resources to patch crumbling streets."
Among other things he points out is the Taxpayer's League doesn't consider that the price of asphalt has gone up but the cities's share of the unchanged gas tax has not gone up. As citizens' two biggest concerns are speeding and road repair. Gunyou proposed that his city solve these with less taxes by having inverted speed bumps. He had a couple of other tongue-in-cheek ideas for getting something for nothing.
If you are a Minnesota voter, I highly recommend looking up his commentaries in your nearest public library. That is, if it is still open and at a time convenient to you.
I was planning to cast a blank ballot in the August primaries, but now I will be sure to put an X next to Kelliher/Gunyou. Also, after I post this I'll make a small contribution to the Kelliher/Gunyou campaign. Note that I am still a Party of One and do not contribute to parties. Oh, the Coffee Party might be an exception.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A Plug for a Writer Relative
My wife's brother-in-law is a more prolific writer than I am, at least of books. He has started his own website about himself, his works, and some friends. If you are interested in fantasy fiction, drop in to his WordFactory.
If you do, please say I sent you.
If you do, please say I sent you.
The Velcro controversy - equal opportunity satire
Jim Heffernan is at his best when he satirizes public figures (or himself or other journalists). He really takes on many politicians of different persuasions in "Disaster feared as worldwide Velcro failure spreads".
Be sure to read Jim's latest blog entry sitting down in a chair with arms. Neither Jim nor I can take responsibility for anyone falling out of his or her chair laughing.
Be sure to read Jim's latest blog entry sitting down in a chair with arms. Neither Jim nor I can take responsibility for anyone falling out of his or her chair laughing.
Monday, May 24, 2010
A pragmatic conservative
I call Ross Douthat a "yes but conservative". He has a considered approach to politics rather than following an ideological checklist. His analysis of Rand Paul's follow-through on Paul's Kentucky Republican primary upset is a great example of Douthat's thinking. His column, "The Principles of Rand Paul", New York Times, 2010-05-24, has many wonderful, quotable statements. I'll give you this teaser: "In an age of lockstep partisanship, there’s a lot to admire about this unusual constellation of ideas, and its sweeping critique of American politics as usual."
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Has a new, moderate party gotten closer?
David Brooks speculates in "The Story of an Angry Voter", New York Times, 2010-05-21, that given the extremes that both parties seem to be moving to, the pragmatists in government will have no choice but to start a new party. Although he doesn't see it happening in the near future, I hope that he keeps writing about the possibility.
Don't play golf with a bear
Bears are very impolite golfers. They don't replace their divots.
All along one path at our Brimson place there are many gouges. A bear or bears have come along looking for grubs and other goodies under ground. It couldn't be truffles, could it? Anyhow, the path looks like a mess.
One advantage is that the bear may help me select rocks that I could move off the path. This path is strewn with big rocks that make pulling a cart of firewood a lot more effort than over smooth ground. The bear dug along the edge of some of these rocks. Those rocks may be candidates for lifting out with a pry bar.
Or the rocks could be like in the cartoon: A man is digging a rock out of his yard and says to his wife, "I'll be in for lunch as soon as I get this rock out." However, the rock is so huge that it goes under the house.
All along one path at our Brimson place there are many gouges. A bear or bears have come along looking for grubs and other goodies under ground. It couldn't be truffles, could it? Anyhow, the path looks like a mess.
One advantage is that the bear may help me select rocks that I could move off the path. This path is strewn with big rocks that make pulling a cart of firewood a lot more effort than over smooth ground. The bear dug along the edge of some of these rocks. Those rocks may be candidates for lifting out with a pry bar.
Or the rocks could be like in the cartoon: A man is digging a rock out of his yard and says to his wife, "I'll be in for lunch as soon as I get this rock out." However, the rock is so huge that it goes under the house.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Shall we boycott BP?
What if several thousand people stopped buying gas at BP stations? Would BP notice? Would a boycott have any effect on its safety practices?
It's easy enough for me to say; there are not that many BP stations in my area. Also, the gas sold at them probably is not refined by BP. Retail gasoline is generally refined locally by a few refineries and blended according to formulas provided by each retailer.
However, would a boycott of BP give a message beyond BP, say to politicians who have knee jerk reactions to any interference in the so-called "free market" or to wimpy politicians who live in fear of such reactions. For how much time has been wasted see, "Obama and the Oil Spill", Thomas Friedman, New York Times, 2010-05-18.
I thought of doing a mashup for YouTube of testimony of how safe offshore drilling was combined with news footage of the spill. To save myself the trouble I did a search of YouTube for "BP oil spill rainy" where Rainey is an executive who testified before the Senate on how safe offshore drilling was. I hit pay dirt with "Play him off, Keyboard Cat (Sarah Palin, BP Oil Spill, Senator McCain) FAIL!!!!"
It's easy enough for me to say; there are not that many BP stations in my area. Also, the gas sold at them probably is not refined by BP. Retail gasoline is generally refined locally by a few refineries and blended according to formulas provided by each retailer.
However, would a boycott of BP give a message beyond BP, say to politicians who have knee jerk reactions to any interference in the so-called "free market" or to wimpy politicians who live in fear of such reactions. For how much time has been wasted see, "Obama and the Oil Spill", Thomas Friedman, New York Times, 2010-05-18.
I thought of doing a mashup for YouTube of testimony of how safe offshore drilling was combined with news footage of the spill. To save myself the trouble I did a search of YouTube for "BP oil spill rainy" where Rainey is an executive who testified before the Senate on how safe offshore drilling was. I hit pay dirt with "Play him off, Keyboard Cat (Sarah Palin, BP Oil Spill, Senator McCain) FAIL!!!!"
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Those who can…
Most of us know the saying, "Those who can do; those who can't teach."
Given all the legislation being written to micromanage education, I would like to add to the saying, "Those who can't teach, enter politics."
Given all the legislation being written to micromanage education, I would like to add to the saying, "Those who can't teach, enter politics."
The irregularity of the Irregular Blog
Regular subscribers to the feed of my Irregular Blog and those who read it directly surely have noticed that I may write two or three entries in a day and then none for a few days. It is not because I've run out of ideas, I have a long list.
It is more because of time and/or energy, especially on weekends. When I go to our cabin, I spend a lot of time preparing firewood, clearing brush (I wonder if George W. Bush would like to help me now that he has free time), and chipping it to put on trails. If I go without my wife, I have to work three times as hard with these tasks, meal preparation, fire-building for cabin or sauna, and many other little chores.
When I come into the cabin to sit a spell, I often would rather do a Sudoku puzzle on my iPod or read a novel than do anything that even resembles work.
On top of all else, the patience-trying speed of 24Kbps internet access, makes even checking my bank balance a long chore, the same for uploading a new blog entry.
When I started the Irregular Blog, I recognized that I wouldn't have daily entries and named it accordingly. I started it partly because I had more ideas than I could put in a bi-weekly Reader Weekly column. Of course, I couldn't put what I planned for the column in the blog; that would be stealing my own thunder.
Once I stopped writing the Reader Weekly column, then I was free to write what and when I wanted to for the blog. I also was not constrained by size, I could write two words or two thousand words.
Like a regular column, a blog writer has his or her regular fans, and one writes as much for these fans as oneself. It is to these fans that I apologize for the irregularity of the Irregular Blog. Even when there are only about twenty fans of this blog instead of the probably over two hundred there were for my "Party of One" column in the Reader Weekly.
Please keep checking and let others know about this blog. I do have a long list of ideas, including about a bilingual three-year granddaughter who is proof that it is difficult to rate teachers on their performance.
It is more because of time and/or energy, especially on weekends. When I go to our cabin, I spend a lot of time preparing firewood, clearing brush (I wonder if George W. Bush would like to help me now that he has free time), and chipping it to put on trails. If I go without my wife, I have to work three times as hard with these tasks, meal preparation, fire-building for cabin or sauna, and many other little chores.
When I come into the cabin to sit a spell, I often would rather do a Sudoku puzzle on my iPod or read a novel than do anything that even resembles work.
On top of all else, the patience-trying speed of 24Kbps internet access, makes even checking my bank balance a long chore, the same for uploading a new blog entry.
When I started the Irregular Blog, I recognized that I wouldn't have daily entries and named it accordingly. I started it partly because I had more ideas than I could put in a bi-weekly Reader Weekly column. Of course, I couldn't put what I planned for the column in the blog; that would be stealing my own thunder.
Once I stopped writing the Reader Weekly column, then I was free to write what and when I wanted to for the blog. I also was not constrained by size, I could write two words or two thousand words.
Like a regular column, a blog writer has his or her regular fans, and one writes as much for these fans as oneself. It is to these fans that I apologize for the irregularity of the Irregular Blog. Even when there are only about twenty fans of this blog instead of the probably over two hundred there were for my "Party of One" column in the Reader Weekly.
Please keep checking and let others know about this blog. I do have a long list of ideas, including about a bilingual three-year granddaughter who is proof that it is difficult to rate teachers on their performance.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Did jobs ever return?
Did jobs ever return?
No, they never returned
And their fate is still unlearn'd
They may ride forever
'neath the halls of Congress
They're the jobs that never returned.
Actually, the fate of many jobs has been learned, but not by those in Washington who think their posturing and speeches are going to bring them back.
Changing technology keeps changing the jobs needed. The railroads put lots of cart drivers out of business. More powerful locomotives with more safety features moved more freight with fewer and smaller crews. Computers reduced the need for typists and all kinds of other office help. The Internet reduced the need for printing, sales people, and order processors. I think most of us over 50 can make, in less than an hour, a list of 100 jobs that no longer exist or whose need is greatly reduced.
Politicians think that tax cuts or business incentives are going to bring jobs back. But the hiring of the unemployed is going to be minimal. More than likely the target businesses are going to hire people from other firms with the required "experience" or "skills".
That is another factor that makes creating jobs so difficult. Once upon a time, companies hired workers with some general knowledge about the work and trained them on the job for the needed specifics. Nowadays, if you don't have the required "skill set", fuhgedaboutit! Some of these skill sets are so detailed that it is a wonder that companies find anybody.
See "The New Poor: In Job Market Shift, Some Workers Are Left Behind", Catherine Rampell, New York Times, 2010-05-12, "Dentistry and the economy", "Forget jobs, create opportunities", and "Where have all the jobs gone?"
No, they never returned
And their fate is still unlearn'd
They may ride forever
'neath the halls of Congress
They're the jobs that never returned.
Actually, the fate of many jobs has been learned, but not by those in Washington who think their posturing and speeches are going to bring them back.
Changing technology keeps changing the jobs needed. The railroads put lots of cart drivers out of business. More powerful locomotives with more safety features moved more freight with fewer and smaller crews. Computers reduced the need for typists and all kinds of other office help. The Internet reduced the need for printing, sales people, and order processors. I think most of us over 50 can make, in less than an hour, a list of 100 jobs that no longer exist or whose need is greatly reduced.
Politicians think that tax cuts or business incentives are going to bring jobs back. But the hiring of the unemployed is going to be minimal. More than likely the target businesses are going to hire people from other firms with the required "experience" or "skills".
That is another factor that makes creating jobs so difficult. Once upon a time, companies hired workers with some general knowledge about the work and trained them on the job for the needed specifics. Nowadays, if you don't have the required "skill set", fuhgedaboutit! Some of these skill sets are so detailed that it is a wonder that companies find anybody.
See "The New Poor: In Job Market Shift, Some Workers Are Left Behind", Catherine Rampell, New York Times, 2010-05-12, "Dentistry and the economy", "Forget jobs, create opportunities", and "Where have all the jobs gone?"
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Nuclear power is safe and clean?
If nuclear power is safe and clean, why do bugs around some nuclear plants mutate at ten times the rate of bugs elsewhere. And that's not ten times a very small fraction. The overall rate is three percent, but one scientific illustrator found the mutation rate can be 30 percent around nuclear plants.
See "Swiss Artist Catalogs Mutant Insects Around Nuke Plants", Wired, 2010-04-19
Could these be another form of canaries in the mine?
See also "Nuclear weapons and climate change - is there a connection?"
See "Swiss Artist Catalogs Mutant Insects Around Nuke Plants", Wired, 2010-04-19
Could these be another form of canaries in the mine?
See also "Nuclear weapons and climate change - is there a connection?"
Monday, May 10, 2010
Another biased poll
Today I received an envelope labeled "REGISTERED DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED", "REGISTERED SURVEY NUMBER: …", and "RESPONSE REQUESTED WITH 72 HOURS". Wow! Important sounding! It was from the Democratic National Committee. I was tempted to put it where I put most other surveys. Looks like "liberals" aren't all that interested in "saving trees".
But, my curiosity got the better of me. Just how biased are the survey questions?
It is called "2010 PRESIDENTIAL SURVEY", it has my name and address at the top, and it has my "DNC MEMBERSHIP #". Gosh, when did I join the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic Party. I've contributed to candidates, but I haven't contributed money to a party since I was a Republican precinct finance chairman. My term ended in 1981 and I never went back. I guess they never read my Reader Weekly columns, "Party of One".
Also, the first page says "PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN BY: May 28, 2010. Hm! May 28 is more than 72 hours from today.
"SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS" include reviewing the questions, answering "to the best of your knowledge or ability", and using the proper ink color. Then, the true purpose:
4. Complete your DNC contribution form.
5. Return your completed survey, along with your contribution, in the envelope provided.
That was almost enough to trigger the second attempt to "save a tree". But my curiosity wanted to know if the questions were any less biased than in the survey I wrote about in "URGENT Poll on Obama Care" http://magree.blogspot.com/2010/03/urgent-poll-on-obama-care.html
The first section was on "PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PERFORMANCE". The questions seem straight-forward with a choice of Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, and Undecided. But those answers are ambiguous. A Democrat might rate Obama poor on health insurance reform because Obama didn't do enough, and a Republican might rate Obama poor because Obama did anything at all. Of course, how many Republicans will return the form. They might "save a tree" and a stamp.
The "NATIONAL PRIORITIES" section asks the respondent to rate the relative importance of thirteen issues. Most seem innocuously worded, but one could see a bias in the selection of some.
The "DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIORITIES" is partisan with items about raising funds and electing Democrats, but the real partisan item is "Combating Republicans' Obstructionist Tactics".
That item is a real problem, but maybe it could be minimized by promoting fewer thousand-page bills trying to do everything at once.
I'm tempted to return the form with the link to this blog entry, but I think I'll "save a tree" and a stamp.
But, my curiosity got the better of me. Just how biased are the survey questions?
It is called "2010 PRESIDENTIAL SURVEY", it has my name and address at the top, and it has my "DNC MEMBERSHIP #". Gosh, when did I join the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic Party. I've contributed to candidates, but I haven't contributed money to a party since I was a Republican precinct finance chairman. My term ended in 1981 and I never went back. I guess they never read my Reader Weekly columns, "Party of One".
Also, the first page says "PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN BY: May 28, 2010. Hm! May 28 is more than 72 hours from today.
"SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS" include reviewing the questions, answering "to the best of your knowledge or ability", and using the proper ink color. Then, the true purpose:
4. Complete your DNC contribution form.
5. Return your completed survey, along with your contribution, in the envelope provided.
That was almost enough to trigger the second attempt to "save a tree". But my curiosity wanted to know if the questions were any less biased than in the survey I wrote about in "URGENT Poll on Obama Care" http://magree.blogspot.com/2010/03/urgent-poll-on-obama-care.html
The first section was on "PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PERFORMANCE". The questions seem straight-forward with a choice of Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, and Undecided. But those answers are ambiguous. A Democrat might rate Obama poor on health insurance reform because Obama didn't do enough, and a Republican might rate Obama poor because Obama did anything at all. Of course, how many Republicans will return the form. They might "save a tree" and a stamp.
The "NATIONAL PRIORITIES" section asks the respondent to rate the relative importance of thirteen issues. Most seem innocuously worded, but one could see a bias in the selection of some.
The "DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIORITIES" is partisan with items about raising funds and electing Democrats, but the real partisan item is "Combating Republicans' Obstructionist Tactics".
That item is a real problem, but maybe it could be minimized by promoting fewer thousand-page bills trying to do everything at once.
I'm tempted to return the form with the link to this blog entry, but I think I'll "save a tree" and a stamp.
Save a tree, don't use electricity
Our Brimson property has an easement for power and telephone right-of-way. The telephone line is underground with relay or junction boxes every few hundred feet. The power lines are on poles.
To be sure that the power lines are accessible, the power co-operative has all the brush cut every few years. We thought it was every eight to nine years in the non-winter months. In the intervening times we've taken out a few ten-foot birch and replanted them elsewhere on the property.
We were surprised when the brush was cut this winter. And it was the messiest that we ever saw. Hacked, splintered stumps of alder and other shrubs and trees all over. It looked more like a battlefield than a right-of-way.
We generally don't drive by the east half because we come from the west. Saturday we took a walk on the road along the east half. We noticed that several good-sized trees had been knocked down: a ten-inch birch, a few smaller birches, and a few 6-8 inch aspen.
Well, we can't let those go to waste. We might as well harvest them for firewood rather than cut down other trees.
The first job was to make a path to them through all the splintered brush stumps. That was lots of fun considering how uneven and rocky the terrain is. More fun yet because the wheeled trimmer cuts too high because of the unevenness and then is difficult to get over the little stumps. Heave, grunt, groan, heave, back off and try again.
The second job was clearing a safe workplace around the downed trees. Almost everyone fell into the brush outside the easement. That took long-handled nippers and a lot of bending.
I won't describe the delimbing process and which part of which of the three criss-crossed trees I did in which order. Eventually we had enough for two small loads of bolts or rounds in our SUV. I don't remember if we took all the usable firewood from that spot or left some.
I do know one of my first tasks next weekend is to cut up and split the wood we took back to our cabin. Then I'll go back to harvest some of the other trees. Without cutting down a single tree, we'll be well on our way to having some nice, dry wood for the 2011-2012 heating season.
It is sad, though, to think of all the trees on other easements that are just going to be left in an unsightly jumble to rot.
Next time you feel good about all your recycling or other efforts "to save a tree", consider that when you flip a light switch, you may be taking down a tree.
To be sure that the power lines are accessible, the power co-operative has all the brush cut every few years. We thought it was every eight to nine years in the non-winter months. In the intervening times we've taken out a few ten-foot birch and replanted them elsewhere on the property.
We were surprised when the brush was cut this winter. And it was the messiest that we ever saw. Hacked, splintered stumps of alder and other shrubs and trees all over. It looked more like a battlefield than a right-of-way.
We generally don't drive by the east half because we come from the west. Saturday we took a walk on the road along the east half. We noticed that several good-sized trees had been knocked down: a ten-inch birch, a few smaller birches, and a few 6-8 inch aspen.
Well, we can't let those go to waste. We might as well harvest them for firewood rather than cut down other trees.
The first job was to make a path to them through all the splintered brush stumps. That was lots of fun considering how uneven and rocky the terrain is. More fun yet because the wheeled trimmer cuts too high because of the unevenness and then is difficult to get over the little stumps. Heave, grunt, groan, heave, back off and try again.
The second job was clearing a safe workplace around the downed trees. Almost everyone fell into the brush outside the easement. That took long-handled nippers and a lot of bending.
I won't describe the delimbing process and which part of which of the three criss-crossed trees I did in which order. Eventually we had enough for two small loads of bolts or rounds in our SUV. I don't remember if we took all the usable firewood from that spot or left some.
I do know one of my first tasks next weekend is to cut up and split the wood we took back to our cabin. Then I'll go back to harvest some of the other trees. Without cutting down a single tree, we'll be well on our way to having some nice, dry wood for the 2011-2012 heating season.
It is sad, though, to think of all the trees on other easements that are just going to be left in an unsightly jumble to rot.
Next time you feel good about all your recycling or other efforts "to save a tree", consider that when you flip a light switch, you may be taking down a tree.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
My WikiQuote unquoted
I checked on my WikiQuote entry that I wrote about in "If you can read this, thank a teacher". It was denied. I won't go into the reasons why here. I don't know if I'll give it another try or not. At least not this week.
Government is bad; government is good; make up your mind
Many think that free enterprise can do no wrong and that government can do no right. Facts don't seem to sway such ideologues that companies can really screw up and that government can do many things right.
Many complain that the government didn't respond fast enough to the Gulf oil spill. Many forget that it was BP that acted in some careless way that the spill occurred.
Many complain that the government didn't respond fast enough to the Times Square bomb incident. Many complain that the government made many mistakes. Many forget that the government acted very quickly and found many wide-spread clues in a little over two days. That mistakes were made doesn't surprise me. Consider the volume of information that has to be sifted through and the quick judgments that must be made to determine what information is important.
Free enterprise is no different in making judgments on information. One department of a bank is working with a borrower to change the terms of a loan; meanwhile another department of the same bank is working to sell the house at auction.
But when it comes to war and terrorists, many think the government is always right. "The President knows more than we do." Oh, yeah! Many assume that if the government says that someone is a terrorist then that person is a terrorist and should be tried in a military tribunal without any of the usual legal protections.
Aren't some of these people who believe such also calling for us to follow the intent of the Founders? The Founders didn't want unbridled power in any branch of government. That's why we have separation of powers with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and an independent judicial branch. With a military tribunal, we are having the executive branch acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury.
How do we know that Faisal Shahzad wasn't just caught up in some strange circumstances and was accused just to show that the government was doing something about terrorism? We readers of newspapers are probably seeing enough information to have some assurance that Shahzad is the perpetrator, but we can't make a life or death judgment on that basis.
That's why we have trials before judges where the government states its reasons to believe that the accused is guilty, where an accused lawyer's attempts to prove otherwise, and a jury of the accused peers weighs the arguments to determine the truth.
If we have it otherwise, any one of us could be falsely accused and be judged guilty solely on the basis of an accusation. When that can happen, there goes the "Freedom" that many claim to defend.
Many complain that the government didn't respond fast enough to the Gulf oil spill. Many forget that it was BP that acted in some careless way that the spill occurred.
Many complain that the government didn't respond fast enough to the Times Square bomb incident. Many complain that the government made many mistakes. Many forget that the government acted very quickly and found many wide-spread clues in a little over two days. That mistakes were made doesn't surprise me. Consider the volume of information that has to be sifted through and the quick judgments that must be made to determine what information is important.
Free enterprise is no different in making judgments on information. One department of a bank is working with a borrower to change the terms of a loan; meanwhile another department of the same bank is working to sell the house at auction.
But when it comes to war and terrorists, many think the government is always right. "The President knows more than we do." Oh, yeah! Many assume that if the government says that someone is a terrorist then that person is a terrorist and should be tried in a military tribunal without any of the usual legal protections.
Aren't some of these people who believe such also calling for us to follow the intent of the Founders? The Founders didn't want unbridled power in any branch of government. That's why we have separation of powers with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and an independent judicial branch. With a military tribunal, we are having the executive branch acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury.
How do we know that Faisal Shahzad wasn't just caught up in some strange circumstances and was accused just to show that the government was doing something about terrorism? We readers of newspapers are probably seeing enough information to have some assurance that Shahzad is the perpetrator, but we can't make a life or death judgment on that basis.
That's why we have trials before judges where the government states its reasons to believe that the accused is guilty, where an accused lawyer's attempts to prove otherwise, and a jury of the accused peers weighs the arguments to determine the truth.
If we have it otherwise, any one of us could be falsely accused and be judged guilty solely on the basis of an accusation. When that can happen, there goes the "Freedom" that many claim to defend.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
If you can read this, thank a teacher
This week is "Teacher Appreciation Week". I didn't know it until I saw the Huffington Post article "Teacher Appreciation Quotes: Famous Sayings For Teachers And About Teaching".
My favorites was
"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." - Jacques Barzun
If this isn't a rebuke of merit pay and the idea of easily measurable teacher performance, I don't know what is.
However, one of the commenters (LeoWong) to the article wrote that Barzun didn't write this, but about the artistic or intellectual life.
I looked and looked for a more direct attribution but could only find the same quote over and over again with no source citation other than Jacques Barzun.
So, I wrote a WikiQuote entry to ferret out some more information. We shall see what happens. [It was deleted. I won't go into the reasons here.]
My favorites was
"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." - Jacques Barzun
If this isn't a rebuke of merit pay and the idea of easily measurable teacher performance, I don't know what is.
However, one of the commenters (LeoWong) to the article wrote that Barzun didn't write this, but about the artistic or intellectual life.
I looked and looked for a more direct attribution but could only find the same quote over and over again with no source citation other than Jacques Barzun.
So, I wrote a WikiQuote entry to ferret out some more information. We shall see what happens. [It was deleted. I won't go into the reasons here.]
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Have we become like imperial Rome?
Sometimes I wonder. Bread, circuses, and foreign wars!
When I read about all the jockeying to get the public to pay for yet another stadium in the Twin Cities, I wondered about our future.
We are paying a lot for welfare for the less fortunate and even for the more fortunate. We are paying huge sums to athletes and even more to build huge, luxurious stadiums for games. And we fight wars around the globe; wars that hardly touch the vast majority of our population.
And many of the extremely wealthy are going to extremes to not pay for any of this. If and when our empire collapses, will these same people plunder the public buildings for materials to build their country villas?
When I read about all the jockeying to get the public to pay for yet another stadium in the Twin Cities, I wondered about our future.
We are paying a lot for welfare for the less fortunate and even for the more fortunate. We are paying huge sums to athletes and even more to build huge, luxurious stadiums for games. And we fight wars around the globe; wars that hardly touch the vast majority of our population.
And many of the extremely wealthy are going to extremes to not pay for any of this. If and when our empire collapses, will these same people plunder the public buildings for materials to build their country villas?
Is National Day of Prayer a National Day of Hypocrisy?
A federal judge has ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. Strict secularists are overjoyed and those in favor of public prayer are undeterred in holding National Day of Prayer events. Many politicians of the right and the left plan to participate.
But are those who are in favor of a National Day of Prayer going to respect the following:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:5-6 (King James Version)
But are those who are in favor of a National Day of Prayer going to respect the following:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:5-6 (King James Version)
Monday, May 03, 2010
What I thought I saw wasn't a puddy tat
As I was driving back from our cabin yesterday, I saw a medium size dog crossing the road. But it didn't look quite like a dog. It was too heavy for a fox and it was dark brown. It had a black tip on its tail and a short snout. I wondered if it was a wolverine.
I pulled over to take a picture, but I was too slow. Almost as soon as I stopped, it went into the line of trees and into a clear cut area. I really could see it among all the left-behind debris. This was along Hwy. 44, probably between Pequaywan Inn and the North Star Fire Dept.
When I got home, I looked up wolverine and chose the Wikipedia site. The picture at the top right of the page looks very much like what I saw. Click on it for a bigger picture.
I misled myself yesterday because I scanned through the text without that picture registering in my mind. Two later pictures show a couple of pelts and a wolverine in rocky terrain. All three show lighter fur that I didn't see as the wolverine crossed my path. When I noticed the picture today, it was an ah-ha moment. It definitely was not a puddy tat!
I pulled over to take a picture, but I was too slow. Almost as soon as I stopped, it went into the line of trees and into a clear cut area. I really could see it among all the left-behind debris. This was along Hwy. 44, probably between Pequaywan Inn and the North Star Fire Dept.
When I got home, I looked up wolverine and chose the Wikipedia site. The picture at the top right of the page looks very much like what I saw. Click on it for a bigger picture.
I misled myself yesterday because I scanned through the text without that picture registering in my mind. Two later pictures show a couple of pelts and a wolverine in rocky terrain. All three show lighter fur that I didn't see as the wolverine crossed my path. When I noticed the picture today, it was an ah-ha moment. It definitely was not a puddy tat!
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Darn slow dial-up
The New York Times had "A Moment in Time" request for photos today. I read about it at our cabin this morning but I didn't read carefully. I thought the photo was supposed to be taken at 11:00 EDT this morning, and so I took one at about 10:00 CDT.
I wasn't about to get back online to submit my photo from the cabin; no way am I going to send a photo at 24kbps, and I am very reluctant to get on more than ten minutes a day. It really tries my patience to wait and wait for pages to download.
Now I'm back in Duluth and looked up "A Moment in Time". Aarrgghh!!! It was for 15:00 EDT, not 11:00 EDT. The Times will forgive a minute or two variation from the "Moment", but not four hours!
Of course, some of you will say I should have read the article more carefully. I guess you'r right. But after waiting for five minutes for the front page to load…
Oh! Oh! I'm saved! The article said 11:00 but the submission FAQ says 15:00 UTC! That translates to 10:00 CDT! My picture was taken at 09:59:59 CDT.
Look for it in The New York Times soon.
And since I retain the copyright, I may put it on Flickr, but not tonight. This has been enough excitement for the day.
I wasn't about to get back online to submit my photo from the cabin; no way am I going to send a photo at 24kbps, and I am very reluctant to get on more than ten minutes a day. It really tries my patience to wait and wait for pages to download.
Now I'm back in Duluth and looked up "A Moment in Time". Aarrgghh!!! It was for 15:00 EDT, not 11:00 EDT. The Times will forgive a minute or two variation from the "Moment", but not four hours!
Of course, some of you will say I should have read the article more carefully. I guess you'r right. But after waiting for five minutes for the front page to load…
Oh! Oh! I'm saved! The article said 11:00 but the submission FAQ says 15:00 UTC! That translates to 10:00 CDT! My picture was taken at 09:59:59 CDT.
Look for it in The New York Times soon.
And since I retain the copyright, I may put it on Flickr, but not tonight. This has been enough excitement for the day.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
If you think teacher's should be paid for performance…
I have a little exercise for you.
Take 30 critics of education and give them each 30 1/4-inch diameter bolts with 20 threads per inch. From a mixed assortment of 1/4-inch nuts with 20 threads per inch and 28 threads per inch, give each critic 30 randomly-drawn nuts. Give them, say, 10-minutes each to put the nuts on the bolts. They will each be paid according to the number of bolt-nut pairs they can successfully assemble.
Knowledge is not bolts and students are not nuts. In fact, we tend to treat either the students who have difficulty absorbing the knowledge or the teachers who cannot match the knowledge to the students as dolts.
On a more practical level, consider a history teacher's task and a chemistry teacher's environment. If the school requires all students to take history but only a self-selected few students are going to take chemistry, which teacher do you think is more likely to have the better performance?
Take 30 critics of education and give them each 30 1/4-inch diameter bolts with 20 threads per inch. From a mixed assortment of 1/4-inch nuts with 20 threads per inch and 28 threads per inch, give each critic 30 randomly-drawn nuts. Give them, say, 10-minutes each to put the nuts on the bolts. They will each be paid according to the number of bolt-nut pairs they can successfully assemble.
Knowledge is not bolts and students are not nuts. In fact, we tend to treat either the students who have difficulty absorbing the knowledge or the teachers who cannot match the knowledge to the students as dolts.
On a more practical level, consider a history teacher's task and a chemistry teacher's environment. If the school requires all students to take history but only a self-selected few students are going to take chemistry, which teacher do you think is more likely to have the better performance?
Generals or teachers: who knows best?
President George W. Bush said he would wait for an assessment from the generals before he would make a decision about Iraq or Afghanistan. He wanted advice "from the ground". President Barack Obama leans this way, too.
Many are making judgments about schools and claiming that teachers' unions are blocking reforms. In other words, those "on the ground" don't know what's going on, but those on the outside know better?
Similarly, to many, the teachers' unions are greedy, but Wall St. billionaires worked hard for their money. I wonder how many of these critics would make it through a day in the schools.
Many are making judgments about schools and claiming that teachers' unions are blocking reforms. In other words, those "on the ground" don't know what's going on, but those on the outside know better?
Similarly, to many, the teachers' unions are greedy, but Wall St. billionaires worked hard for their money. I wonder how many of these critics would make it through a day in the schools.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Pay less tax for roads, pay more for auto repairs
I knew that our low-tax attitude is shifting costs to auto repairs, but I didn't really know how big the problem was until I read "Lousy Roads Cost your $335 Annually", Wired, accessed 2010-04-28.
The $335 is average across the country; in some cities the average can be $750. And that is just for repairs to cars. The article also describes how road repairs get lower priority than new construction. New construction is also generally done with bonds, and so that means we have to consider interest costs. Talk about saddling future generations with debt!
There may be hope. One federal bill is proposing that more money go into repair instead of new construction.
The $335 is average across the country; in some cities the average can be $750. And that is just for repairs to cars. The article also describes how road repairs get lower priority than new construction. New construction is also generally done with bonds, and so that means we have to consider interest costs. Talk about saddling future generations with debt!
There may be hope. One federal bill is proposing that more money go into repair instead of new construction.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I can't save a tree because I'm saving a tree
Tomorrow is our recycling pickup day. I looked for paper bags for our stack of old newspapers and our boxes of junk mail, envelopes, and office paper. We had none!
We have been taking cloth bags to the grocery store to "save a tree". We use store bags when we forget the cloth bags or we have more than two bags of groceries. The more we remember to take the cloth bags, the smaller our stash of paper bags gets. Today we had no full-size paper bags.
Fortunately, we had a couple of smaller bags and we didn't have that big of a pile of newspapers or that much other paper. But what happens next week if don't get more paper bags?
I've been musing about the balance of recycling. What is the balance between resources used to produce new paper and containers and those used to recycle these items?
For example, how much water is consumed rinsing out plastic bottles, especially detergent bottles.
How much water do I use to rinse all the tomato juice residue out of a bottle.
What is the energy cost to have three different haulers come through the neighborhood to pick up recyclables and the traditional trash. Few haulers have combination trucks and must come through twice.
What is the energy cost to drive to specialty waste spots with compact fluorescent bulbs, yard waste, and old electronics? Especially if the collection sites are not on your usual travel routes?
I doubt few people know the balance. Probably the true value of recycling is that it makes people more conscious of their waste.
We have been taking cloth bags to the grocery store to "save a tree". We use store bags when we forget the cloth bags or we have more than two bags of groceries. The more we remember to take the cloth bags, the smaller our stash of paper bags gets. Today we had no full-size paper bags.
Fortunately, we had a couple of smaller bags and we didn't have that big of a pile of newspapers or that much other paper. But what happens next week if don't get more paper bags?
I've been musing about the balance of recycling. What is the balance between resources used to produce new paper and containers and those used to recycle these items?
For example, how much water is consumed rinsing out plastic bottles, especially detergent bottles.
How much water do I use to rinse all the tomato juice residue out of a bottle.
What is the energy cost to have three different haulers come through the neighborhood to pick up recyclables and the traditional trash. Few haulers have combination trucks and must come through twice.
What is the energy cost to drive to specialty waste spots with compact fluorescent bulbs, yard waste, and old electronics? Especially if the collection sites are not on your usual travel routes?
I doubt few people know the balance. Probably the true value of recycling is that it makes people more conscious of their waste.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Save a tree? Why?
Starbucks has been running a commercial to encourage people to bring reusable travel mugs instead of asking for a paper cup. The commercial shows people putting Starbucks paper coffee cups on the pavement, eventually creating a picture of a tree. One of the slogans is "One person can save trees, together we can save forests." Ironically, they are not saving coffee beans. As each person places a cup on the pavement, it is quite obvious that it still contains coffee! That was lots of coffee to use for a single ad. I will admit that the cups had to be weighted in case of a breeze.
Minnesota Public Radio has a campaign to get people to become sustaining members. On the air they are saying "Save a tree" because it will reduce their mailings because sustaining members will be automatically charged each month. Additionally, for each new sustaining member they will have a tree planted in the member's name.
I don't like to see waste and I like to conserve resources by recycling, but I think these "Save a tree" campaigns are somewhat misguided.
First, the much of the wood pulp for paper comes from private lands. When held by a forest products company, they are managed for sustainability. When a tree is taken from such land, it is replaced by planting or by natural regrowth.
Second, the primary source of wood pulp is aspen and balsam fir, both which regrow naturally. In fact, I call them both weeds. Aspen regrows quickly from root suckers. Balsam fir grows from seed cones without much effort. In fact, both kinds of trees continually spring up in any area of our Brimson property that we don't keep clear.
I am very allergic to balsam fir, getting a severe skin reaction any time I have to trim a balsam or cut one down. I've talked to a logger friend about removing many of them, but he says there is no market for balsam. I may have to hire him to remove some near the cabin; they are too close, especially with drought conditions.
"No market for balsam" may be an indication that many recycling efforts are "paying off". Consider also that many paper companies have been downsizing. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; fire a logger."
Worse yet, the value of private forest lands is increasing so much that forest product companies are selling their land to real estate companies. These companies are selling them off in smaller parcels to individuals. When this happens the individuals take out trees for driveways and buildings. See "Breaking Up the Forests".
The breakup of the forests could have consequences for wildlife. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; starve a moose." Somebody long ago told me that if I wanted moose, clear cut. When we bought our property, there was a recently cut area of aspen (aka poplar or popple). The stand was about eight-foot high and we occasionally saw moose tracks. Now the stand is twenty to thirty-feet high and we haven't seen a moose track for years. Moose aren't completely gone from our area. One of our Brimson neighbors found two dead bull moose with locked horns: "Shed Hunter Finds Two Minnesota Record-Book Moose Locked After Battle to the Death".
Moose aren't the only tree predators. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; shoot a deer." We have made many efforts to plant trees. Our most successful was white spruce. We had some success with sugar maple with probably half the seedlings turning into twelve to fourteen foot trees. We tried red oak and they are all gone. We had hoped to plant hundreds and hundred of white pines, but deer took a big toll on them. We initially stapled paper to the tips in the fall (the recommended practice), but the deer would bite the top off below the paper. We tried putting circles of fencing around individual trees, but the deer would reach in with their tongues and pull the tips out. We put screen around the fencing and that seemed to work. Unfortunately, for all this protection, we couldn't protect against drought. Several of the trees that survived the deer turned brown and died. I think of the 200 or more pines that we planted over a two-to-three year period, only about forty have survived and only about twenty are taller than me.
We have been harvesting aspen for firewood, both for our cabin and for our Duluth house. I think we used about eleven trees last year, almost all aspen. We are starting to use some birch; it is finally getting to fireplace size after a big die-off several years ago. But our job may have become easier. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; stop the wind." Except for some trees that were in the way of other trees, we have been harvesting broken tops. The best yet are the four-inch diameter trees that were snapped off in a big wind storm or two. The woods looked like it was full of a jumble of toothpicks. When we can get to those without bark, all we have to do is cut them into fireplace lengths, no splitting. These are just great for having a fast, very hot fire to warm the cabin quickly.
Ah yes, fire. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; start a forest fire." A mature forest is much more likely to burn and over a wider area. If we reduce our harvest of trees too much, we will have more forest fires. It is nature's way of providing for large-scale renewal.
I think where we really have to be concerned about trees is in urban areas. I regret that we no longer have any of the back yard trees we once had. A silver maple and a birch became too old. An ash provided easy access to our attic for squirrels, and three smaller birch just got in the way of the power and telephone lines. Other than our arbor vitae, trees in the front yard are out of the question because of sewer lines. Boulevard trees are impossible because the boulevard is only two feet wide.
Overall it is going to be more difficult to have neighborhood trees. Wider streets leave less room for trees. The ongoing sewer work in Duluth is going to lead to more front-yard trees being taken down or fatally stressed. Disease and age are going to do in many mature trees.
About the only places left for lots of trees are parks. Do we want to spend the tax money to keep our parks green? It's either spend the money on a healthier environment or spend the money on health care.
Be careful what you wish for, you may get the opposite.
Minnesota Public Radio has a campaign to get people to become sustaining members. On the air they are saying "Save a tree" because it will reduce their mailings because sustaining members will be automatically charged each month. Additionally, for each new sustaining member they will have a tree planted in the member's name.
I don't like to see waste and I like to conserve resources by recycling, but I think these "Save a tree" campaigns are somewhat misguided.
First, the much of the wood pulp for paper comes from private lands. When held by a forest products company, they are managed for sustainability. When a tree is taken from such land, it is replaced by planting or by natural regrowth.
Second, the primary source of wood pulp is aspen and balsam fir, both which regrow naturally. In fact, I call them both weeds. Aspen regrows quickly from root suckers. Balsam fir grows from seed cones without much effort. In fact, both kinds of trees continually spring up in any area of our Brimson property that we don't keep clear.
I am very allergic to balsam fir, getting a severe skin reaction any time I have to trim a balsam or cut one down. I've talked to a logger friend about removing many of them, but he says there is no market for balsam. I may have to hire him to remove some near the cabin; they are too close, especially with drought conditions.
"No market for balsam" may be an indication that many recycling efforts are "paying off". Consider also that many paper companies have been downsizing. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; fire a logger."
Worse yet, the value of private forest lands is increasing so much that forest product companies are selling their land to real estate companies. These companies are selling them off in smaller parcels to individuals. When this happens the individuals take out trees for driveways and buildings. See "Breaking Up the Forests".
The breakup of the forests could have consequences for wildlife. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; starve a moose." Somebody long ago told me that if I wanted moose, clear cut. When we bought our property, there was a recently cut area of aspen (aka poplar or popple). The stand was about eight-foot high and we occasionally saw moose tracks. Now the stand is twenty to thirty-feet high and we haven't seen a moose track for years. Moose aren't completely gone from our area. One of our Brimson neighbors found two dead bull moose with locked horns: "Shed Hunter Finds Two Minnesota Record-Book Moose Locked After Battle to the Death".
Moose aren't the only tree predators. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; shoot a deer." We have made many efforts to plant trees. Our most successful was white spruce. We had some success with sugar maple with probably half the seedlings turning into twelve to fourteen foot trees. We tried red oak and they are all gone. We had hoped to plant hundreds and hundred of white pines, but deer took a big toll on them. We initially stapled paper to the tips in the fall (the recommended practice), but the deer would bite the top off below the paper. We tried putting circles of fencing around individual trees, but the deer would reach in with their tongues and pull the tips out. We put screen around the fencing and that seemed to work. Unfortunately, for all this protection, we couldn't protect against drought. Several of the trees that survived the deer turned brown and died. I think of the 200 or more pines that we planted over a two-to-three year period, only about forty have survived and only about twenty are taller than me.
We have been harvesting aspen for firewood, both for our cabin and for our Duluth house. I think we used about eleven trees last year, almost all aspen. We are starting to use some birch; it is finally getting to fireplace size after a big die-off several years ago. But our job may have become easier. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; stop the wind." Except for some trees that were in the way of other trees, we have been harvesting broken tops. The best yet are the four-inch diameter trees that were snapped off in a big wind storm or two. The woods looked like it was full of a jumble of toothpicks. When we can get to those without bark, all we have to do is cut them into fireplace lengths, no splitting. These are just great for having a fast, very hot fire to warm the cabin quickly.
Ah yes, fire. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; start a forest fire." A mature forest is much more likely to burn and over a wider area. If we reduce our harvest of trees too much, we will have more forest fires. It is nature's way of providing for large-scale renewal.
I think where we really have to be concerned about trees is in urban areas. I regret that we no longer have any of the back yard trees we once had. A silver maple and a birch became too old. An ash provided easy access to our attic for squirrels, and three smaller birch just got in the way of the power and telephone lines. Other than our arbor vitae, trees in the front yard are out of the question because of sewer lines. Boulevard trees are impossible because the boulevard is only two feet wide.
Overall it is going to be more difficult to have neighborhood trees. Wider streets leave less room for trees. The ongoing sewer work in Duluth is going to lead to more front-yard trees being taken down or fatally stressed. Disease and age are going to do in many mature trees.
About the only places left for lots of trees are parks. Do we want to spend the tax money to keep our parks green? It's either spend the money on a healthier environment or spend the money on health care.
Be careful what you wish for, you may get the opposite.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Feeling guilty about the weather
For three Saturdays in a row, rain has been predicted for Brimson from midweek on. And every Saturday we've had either sunny weather or a mix of clouds and overcast. We have been overjoyed as far as we were available to be outdoors most of the day.
Our joy is tempered by the concern that every day of drought increases the fire danger.
I thought on Saturday night that rain had started. I saw some wet spots on a cart and felt a bit of precipitation on my arms. Apparently it was only condensation because of the air cooling.
Today was another mixed sun and clouds day. We got lots done.
The Weather Channel is predicting rain for Thursday and Friday for both Duluth and Brimson. We don't look forward to the return of mosquitos, but they are better than a charred cabin and woods.
Our joy is tempered by the concern that every day of drought increases the fire danger.
I thought on Saturday night that rain had started. I saw some wet spots on a cart and felt a bit of precipitation on my arms. Apparently it was only condensation because of the air cooling.
Today was another mixed sun and clouds day. We got lots done.
The Weather Channel is predicting rain for Thursday and Friday for both Duluth and Brimson. We don't look forward to the return of mosquitos, but they are better than a charred cabin and woods.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Our free market system: Free to lie and cheat
Much of the financial crisis was created by thousands of banks and loan officers throughout the country. It was getting more important to originate loans and then sell them to others. The more loans originated, the more money the loan officers and their banks would get. They didn't have to worry about risk because the buyers of the loans assumed the risk. Because the loans were packaged and sold again, the end buyers had no idea of the risk.
One of the ways to originate more loans was "stated-income". Either the borrower was allowed to state any income needed to get the loan or the loan officer encouraged the borrower to overstate the income. The actual income was not verified in either case.
See "I Worked For A Major Mortgage Company, And What We Did Was Criminal", Michael David White, Business Insider, 2010-04-22.
Many think that any action by government to curb excess is interference in the "Free Market". Would any professional sports team play without referees and umpires? I doubt it. All the teams of a league pay into a pool to pay for the leagues referees and umpires. Managers and players may complain about individual decisions, but doubt they would like to settle any disputes themselves.
Let's think about government as a referee in the sport of business. One branch of government sets the rules. Another, independent, branch of the government enforces the rules. A third, also independent, branch settles disputes about the rules. Corporations and individuals pay taxes to support government as a referee.
What would the "free market" be like without these systems of rules? Would Apple go to war against Palm if Apple felt Palm was infringing on its patents. Would the Beatles and their fans go to war against Apple because the Beatles felt Apple was misusing their trademark?
And what about individual citizens, should the "free market" be allowed to defraud, maim, and kill people in the name of bigger profits? With no recourse to their government for the citizens to redress these grievances?
There is no easy answer to what is too much government and what is too little government. We have too many people thinking that all government is taking the "people's freedom" away. And we have too many people thinking that government is not doing enough to protect the "people's freedom" from "rapacious corporations".
One of the ways to originate more loans was "stated-income". Either the borrower was allowed to state any income needed to get the loan or the loan officer encouraged the borrower to overstate the income. The actual income was not verified in either case.
See "I Worked For A Major Mortgage Company, And What We Did Was Criminal", Michael David White, Business Insider, 2010-04-22.
Many think that any action by government to curb excess is interference in the "Free Market". Would any professional sports team play without referees and umpires? I doubt it. All the teams of a league pay into a pool to pay for the leagues referees and umpires. Managers and players may complain about individual decisions, but doubt they would like to settle any disputes themselves.
Let's think about government as a referee in the sport of business. One branch of government sets the rules. Another, independent, branch of the government enforces the rules. A third, also independent, branch settles disputes about the rules. Corporations and individuals pay taxes to support government as a referee.
What would the "free market" be like without these systems of rules? Would Apple go to war against Palm if Apple felt Palm was infringing on its patents. Would the Beatles and their fans go to war against Apple because the Beatles felt Apple was misusing their trademark?
And what about individual citizens, should the "free market" be allowed to defraud, maim, and kill people in the name of bigger profits? With no recourse to their government for the citizens to redress these grievances?
There is no easy answer to what is too much government and what is too little government. We have too many people thinking that all government is taking the "people's freedom" away. And we have too many people thinking that government is not doing enough to protect the "people's freedom" from "rapacious corporations".
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
End of an era, but not a double bar end
After nearly nine years, I stopped taking voice lessons today. As I told my instructor last week, "The first rule of successful employment is to show up, and the first rule of successful retirement is to not show up." I think I mostly tired of trying to practice regularly and too often having some impediment to practice. I also did not become as strong and accurate singer as I would like (see previous statement).
I have improved greatly since I started. I do get the right notes more often and do have some "musical sense" that I can match other voices or a piano and can make the right intervals. With my instructor's help I have developed a richer and less strained voice.
Who is this patient voice teacher? Curt Hanson, choir director at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Superior WI. I started with him in the summer of 2001 at the John Duss Music Conservatory. When the Conservatory closed two years ago he started teaching independently. If you are interested in voice lessons, either as a beginner or as an accomplished singer who wants a few pointers, give Curt a call at 715-392-4731.
Why is it "not a double bar end"? A double bar signifies the end of a piece of music. I do plan to continue, practicing a variety of songs, getting better at the ones I know, and learning some others.
I have improved greatly since I started. I do get the right notes more often and do have some "musical sense" that I can match other voices or a piano and can make the right intervals. With my instructor's help I have developed a richer and less strained voice.
Who is this patient voice teacher? Curt Hanson, choir director at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Superior WI. I started with him in the summer of 2001 at the John Duss Music Conservatory. When the Conservatory closed two years ago he started teaching independently. If you are interested in voice lessons, either as a beginner or as an accomplished singer who wants a few pointers, give Curt a call at 715-392-4731.
Why is it "not a double bar end"? A double bar signifies the end of a piece of music. I do plan to continue, practicing a variety of songs, getting better at the ones I know, and learning some others.
Some perspective on UnitedHealth Group's profit
Yesterday UnitedHealth Group reported first quarter earnings of $1.19 billion and revenue of $23.19 billion.
Assuming the population of the United States is 300 million, $1.19 billion means nearly $4 for each man, woman, and child and $23.19 billion means about $77 for each person. That's just for the first quarter. If the figures stay about the same for the next three quarters, then the per person figures will be $16 and $308, respectively.
The CEO of UnitedHealth received $98.6 million compensation last year. That's about thirty-three cents per person("UnitedHealth CEO reaps nearly $100 million from stock options", David Hilzenrath, Washington Post, 2010-04-16).
One commentator said that the CEOs pay was not that exorbitant because much of it was the exercise of options granted several years ago. But where did the stock come from when the options were exercised? I bet the 4.9 million shares came from the UnitedHealth treasurer, that is, shares set aside at the time of granting the options. Stephen Hemsley paid $8.72 per share when they were trading for $28.94. If UnitedHealth had sold those shares on the market, it could have gotten about $98 million more. That could go a long way to reducing health care premiums for a lot of people.
Assuming the population of the United States is 300 million, $1.19 billion means nearly $4 for each man, woman, and child and $23.19 billion means about $77 for each person. That's just for the first quarter. If the figures stay about the same for the next three quarters, then the per person figures will be $16 and $308, respectively.
The CEO of UnitedHealth received $98.6 million compensation last year. That's about thirty-three cents per person("UnitedHealth CEO reaps nearly $100 million from stock options", David Hilzenrath, Washington Post, 2010-04-16).
One commentator said that the CEOs pay was not that exorbitant because much of it was the exercise of options granted several years ago. But where did the stock come from when the options were exercised? I bet the 4.9 million shares came from the UnitedHealth treasurer, that is, shares set aside at the time of granting the options. Stephen Hemsley paid $8.72 per share when they were trading for $28.94. If UnitedHealth had sold those shares on the market, it could have gotten about $98 million more. That could go a long way to reducing health care premiums for a lot of people.
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