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LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSIONPosted by Ron Coleman on January 20, 2008
David Lat at Above the Law responds to an outraged, but evidently not “outed,” would-be tipster who gets all huffy about a
narrowly-tailored — fabulously tailored, in fact — social invitation circulated at a big law firm:
Truth be told, we aren’t deeply troubled. Regardless of their technical status under the law, events for lawyers who share common interests happen all the time.
So lighten up, Mr. Tipster! You probably wouldn’t have liked the music anyway . . .
Posted in Heart and spirit, Jocularity | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 20, 2008
A mailer from a congressional candidate’s campaign contains a photo of his head attached to an image of a different body that makes him look thinner.
The photo is presented as a true image of Dean Hrbacek, a Republican former mayor of Sugar Land. In reality, it is a computerized composite of Hrbacek’s face and someone else’s slimmer figure, in suit and tie, from neck to knee.
Yes, it is dishonest, especially in a society where we not only prefer to have pretty people around us than un-pretty ones (has there ever been a different kind of society?) but one where we make pretty firm affirmative moral judgments about people based on their weight.
Is it more dishonest than wearing a hairpiece? I’d say so, yes. The hairpiece, like any cosmetic appliance, changes how you really look. So does getting a tummy tuck; if Hrbacek had done that, he’d be a slimmer guy. But playing with pictures is a tad more of an acute angle on that slippery slope.
Posted in Heart and spirit, Politics and Poker | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 19, 2008
Victor David Hanson gets it right:
I think those who might prefer a McCain or Giuliani will be perfectly happy to vote for the ticket should a Romney or Thompson be the standard bearer. But from the recent rhetoric, it almost seems the inverse is not true. And if that is the case, then a President Clinton seems to me a sure thing—which of course may be the desire— in the fashion that 1964 purists thought their loss logically led to recovery in 1968 or 1976 had to transpire to get to the promised land of 1980. I would remind conservatives, however, that we are in a war, and that sitting out 2008 might mean allowing a candidate to win (pick any of the three Democrats) who has promised to withdraw all troops in 2009, regardless of the battlefield landscape (perhaps versus a McCain Presidency who surely won’t do that).
Obviously I’m the guy in the first sentence. Rudy is history, and while I absolutely share most of the reservations about McCain, I’m not going to oppose him just because the MSM can stand him. Not considering the alternatives. (H/T to Glenn.)
UPDATE: Melissa Clouthier couldn’t agree less.
Posted in Politics and Poker | 3 Comments »
Posted by Casey Tompkins on January 19, 2008
Instapundit recently linked to this article about new battery research.
Apparently some nano-tech research done at Stanford’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering indicates that it might be possible to increase the life of a rechargeable lithium-ion batteries by a tremendous amount. The article mentioned the possibility of reaching a 40-hour life.
That’s fantastic compared to current (excuse the pun) batteries. I agree with Professor Reynolds: “Bring it on!”
Something else occurs to me; is it possible to scale this technology up? Forty hours at 40 mph could give an electric car a 1600 mile range. Forty hours might be unrealistic (at least at first) but the possibilities are intriguing.
This post originally published at the Gantry Launchpad.
Posted in Futurama, Scientificus | 5 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 18, 2008
Chess master Bobby Fischer dies at 64.
He was a rotten, nasty and evidently rather crazy old genius. His story is a sad one, and it is hard not to see the tragedy of too many crossed wires in a brain of great power.
But he was who he was, and he will not be missed.
Posted in Heart and spirit | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 17, 2008
Afraid to talk, write or advertise about the SUPER BOWL?
Posted in Americana, Gelt, Lex scripta | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 17, 2008
Here’s an interesting set of thoughts on the topic of hitting your forties… or the middle of them. In light of this discussion, and many of the great insights that were offered in
the comments, I’ve been thinking more about this.
I found this link when searching for commentary on the concept elucidated in the Mishna that, at age 40, one begins to have deeper understanding. I absolutely experienced this in my own life. I didn’t necessarily say deep, but I did say deeper.
Posted in Heart and spirit | 8 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 16, 2008
Obama, that is. Not so clear. David Kelsey has a unique take on how to answer that question.
Posted in Politics and Poker | 3 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 16, 2008
You must stop and look at this mural, of which the photo is just a detail, next time you are near Radio City Music Hall. It’s got all sorts of edifying stuff going on.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on January 16, 2008
Glenn Reynolds writes, in reference to a predicted threat to the technological leadership of the US:
The big problem is that the American workplace doesn’t make technical jobs attractive enough. The pay is okay, but less than that of other professionals, like lawyers. And the working conditions for engineers and scientists are generally quite poor — too much Dilbert, not enough Skunk Works. They act as if there’s a positive conspiracy to take all the fun out of it, according several of my friends who work in the area.
Well, I have had this discussion with Instapundit before. I just don’t understand how a market-oriented guy can utter formulations like this. “The American workplace” isn’t some guy with a green eyeshade. Unless Glenn wants to see a Japan, Inc.-type “investing in winners” and pay-scale-setting government policy instituted here, which I certainly know he doesn’t, what is the point of this?
It would seem there is some structural reason that technology workers are compensated at the level they are here, considering all factors (e.g., the cost of living), if indeed it’s the case that they are undercompensated.
Bashing lawyers, again, is not the answer, because not only we can never make technology jobs competitive with the best professional jobs, but we can never make the gap here look anything like the gap in the developing world, i.e., among our putative competitors. They are not, in the long run, going to be one of possibly two or three global centers for international finance nor the sort of commerce that makes business enterprises find it worth paying attorneys $400 – $1000 an hour to protect their interests.
In short, let’s stop comparing apples and oranges. Envy is not a basis for policy-making! Like you, Glenn, I sometimes wish I were fresh out of a good law school (as we both once were, if not quite the same law school) and contemplating those starting salaries and bonuses, just for a little while. But those times, for both of us, are rare; life is basically good as a human being, isn’t it? Even human beings with science degrees would agree.
UPDATE: One Instapundit writes in to suggest a secular reason for the problem: Legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley. Well, you can indeed blame the lawyers for that one.
Posted in Americana, Gelt, Stragety | 1 Comment »
