Twitter Precision- Innovation

The internet is a difficult place for a precise person. Twitter is like the rest of the internet times a billion. You get rapid flow of "information" combined with a 140 character limit. This does not lend itself to precision.

In response to a lovely libertarian tweet slamming academia and claiming private innovation is the driver behind technological progress I responded:

"'The largest innovations in tech...come from the private sector.' Wrong. The private sector monetizes the academic discoveries.Ugh"

Now, that isn't exactly precise. It could easily be taken that I am saying no innovation comes from the private sector. This would obviously be an absurd statement on my part and would be completely inaccurate instead of a simple broad generalization. Then you get the the response: "like the lightbulb, telephone, internet, tablets, MP3 players, smart cars??? Please. Provide some examples"
The precise person inside of me is screaming to engage this person. To enlighten them a bit and encourage them to expand their knowledge and clarify I was not stating that that no innovation comes from the private sector. A brief perusal of their twitter feed showed me this would be a wasted effort as they are a gamergate supporter. There is no discussing with those fools. Instead, I'll do it here. We're going to throw out the telephone & the light bulb. I'm going to make an assumption and believe the tweeter thinks Edison invented the light bulb. He did not. He "perfected" the light bulb so it could be monetized. However, universities in the 19th century were very different than universities in the 20th & 21st centuries. So, the internet. The internet got its start at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This is not a private company. In fact it, much like NASA and many other government research arms are far closer to evil academia than they are to private companies. So, the government invented the internet. Have many private companies improved on it? Yes! Have many monetized it? Yes! Did they "invent" it? No. Tablets. Tablets are merely small touchscreen computers. Obviously the tweeter is a blithering idiot as they're essentially more complex versions of MP3 players (also small computers. I'm amazed he didn't throw in smart phones, lets just name different versions of the same thing.) Computers have been around for a couple hundred years, but modern ones did get started with lots of private work. Transistor based computers (the ones we use today) use transistors developed at Bell Labs. A private research facility that came out of Alexander Bell's Volta Labs and was run heavily by AT&T it developed a whole lot of stuff. But back to tablets. Which have touchscreens. Which were invented, by accident, in an academic lab. By someone who also worked at Oak Ridge National Labs. So, MP3 players & tablets were about the worst computer examples they could pick. Smart cars. Where to even begin? How do they not see this is the monetization phase of technology that's been developed in all sorts of places. You have AI, you have video technology, sensor technology, I mean, nobody was just in a lab anywhere and discovered a freaking smart car! (or a computer, or a tablet, or a well, most anything really, that's not how science works.) All of which plays into the point, the guy had no clue what he is talking about. But there is no engaging people like that. Which is sad and frustrating. There are many, many examples of scientific progress coming from the private sector. But that's not what the private sector exists to do for the most part. (We are seeing a resurgence to a degree it seems.) The private sector exists to figure out how to use abstract scientific discoveries and turn them into something concrete it can package and sell. There is nothing wrong with that but merely stating "Private companies created the smart car" does little do disprove my initial, if imprecise point.

The Shed

So, you need a little extra storage space outside. You think, "Hey, one of those 10x8 metal sheds would be perfect, they don't cost a lot either!"

You purchase the shed and wrestle it home, still thinking this is going to be a great project.

You happily level the ground for the shed's home and build a good solid foundation for it out of some nice pressure treated lumber and exterior plywood.

You then start to build the shed. Four hours into the process you regret every decision you made up to that point.

My wife and I are going to be tearing down our garage to build a new one. We needed somewhere to store our outside stuff while this was going on and we settled on a metal Arrow 10x8 shed.

It looks a lot like this:

I read some reviews online about the sheds and it seemed they were fairly sturdy and not overly hard to build, it just takes time.

Well, yes, it does take time. A whole lot of time. And it takes a lot of twisting of a screwdriver, a WHOLE lot of twisting of a screwdriver.

I started working on the shed at about 10:00 in the morning. I began putting the base together after wrestling the pieces outside. Things moved fairly smoothly at this point. My wife got home from the gym and came out to help. It was only about 12:45 when we got to the point in the instructions that should have tipped us off: "Do not continue past this point unless you have many hours to finish the job."

PFFFFFFT. How hard could it be? It wasn't even 1 yet. We forged ahead. By the 100th tiny screw you have to install I was starting to regret our decision on purchasing the shed.

The problem wasn't so much the screws, or the bolts, or the washers, its that there are about 500 or so of them all told. Oh, and you can't really use a drill to install them as they are tiny and you often have to fight to line up the holes so they'll go together. And they're tiny.

We forged ahead, our decisions getting worse and our speed slowing as time drug on. Mistakes were made. (What are the chances of installing all three roof braces upside down? Getting better all the time!) Tempers flared as we both tired.

Finally around 7 we finished. Oh, we weren't done. No no no! We merely got to a point where we could stop and it wouldn't fall down or blow away overnight.

Today I spent another 5 hours finishing it up.

It was a horrible process but a great learning experience. Next time I'll either just build a shed from scratch with lumber or buy a pre-fab'd shed and have it dropped in place. Either option will be superior to installing a million little screws one at a time with their little washers and GAH!!!!!

On the positive side it seems fairly sturdy and since it's been raining all day there appear to be no leaks in the roof.

All told it has about 40 combined man-hours of work in it though I'd say 3 of that was just due to general tiredness the first day.

Here it sits. Lurking.




                                                   

So, this time it'll make a difference.

Well, another police officer has been caught on camera gunning down an unarmed black man. This time, the man was obviously running from the officer who shoots him 8 times in the back as he runs away.

The officer then calls for backup from the body he has just handcuffed, because he's obviously a threat. Oh, the officer then tosses a taser by the body. I can't say "plants" but why are you throwing a taser next to the handcuffed body of a man you just shot in the back 8 times? Oh, and then accused of attempting to take said taser from you which is why you feared for your life and had to shoot him.

Why did this start? Drug dealing? Robbery? Or a busted tail light? If you guessed C, you would be correct.

I'd love to claim that THIS will be the one that changes people's minds. That wakes them up that there is a problem with cops killing black men, especially unarmed black men, for minor offenses.

But it won't be. Why? Because upper and middle class whites are going to believe the police when they smear this guy. They've been trained to believe from little on up that the police are the good guys (and many are) and for them, for WHITE people the police are!  For too many blacks they are not.

Chris Rock the prominent comedian has started posting instagram pics every time he is pulled over. A black man driving a nice car. I'm sure he was driving all over the road.

Not all cops are bad cops. In fact, few cops are truly bad. Its the culture of cops that is toxic. Its the culture that was going to cover up this crime, for it is a crime, until the video surfaced. Its the culture that turns otherwise good men and women into accessories to murder, theft, rape, and assault.

Look at the NYPD study on complaints of police brutality. A small percentage of cops made up a giant proportion of the complaints! Instead of "re-training" theses criminals again and again, kick them off the force and insure they cannot work in a police or security facility again. Many people aren't cut out to be cops and a lot of them are not because they are too timid, its because they have a criminal mindset themselves.

I grieve for the family of Walter Scott and I can only pray that justice is served. But I'm not naive enough to believe its going to change anything. Sadly.

Why are certain "sins" more "sinful?"

The current furor over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act raises all sorts of questions. First might be, what Religious Freedom's need restored? Another might be why all the fancy language to just say "We want to legalize discrimination."

Apparently certain vocal minorities of Christians feel that they should be able to have their cake and eat it too. Now look, I get it, we all love cake, but here's the thing, when you start a business, you don't instantly get to choose your customers. I work a job that has some retail aspects. Trust me, I wish I could choose my customers.

But, you start a business, a public business, you don't just get to say "Well, I only sell to Y." See, they used to do that in the South, and heck, even in many Northern places. It was discrimination then, its discrimination now whether its because of skin color or sexual orientation or the color of their eyes.

"BUT MAH BELIEFS!" you cry, railing that baking a cake, making a pizza, or selling flowers to "the gays" is somehow an affront to God (pro tip: its not) and you think you shouldn't have to go against your beliefs. YOU are special. YOU have beliefs unlike others. (Or something, I'm sorry, I don't really get the logic, but whatever I'm about to destroy it anyway.)

Here's the problem: Why is homosexuality apparently the "worst" sin? I mean, if you have a business you've sold to adulterers, fornicators, the greedy, liars, thieves, wife beaters, and child abusers. You've done transactions with people involved in pretty much every sin out there. I mean, your customers, they're human, they sorta have flaws. Just like YOU have flaws. Just like I do.

So, why are homosexuals somehow the worst? Because you know about their "sin?" That by having a transaction with them you somehow tacitly approve of their "lifestyle?" They're your customer. They're giving you money for your service. That's where it begins and ends.

I suppose the excuse "But I KNOW about their sin!" still exists. But again, it doesn't make any sense. Why is obvious "sin" worse than hidden sin? One could argue hidden sin is actually worse for a whole bunch of reasons.

But basically the issue boils down to this: If you don't want to do business with people whose lifestyles you don't agree with, don't own a business. Be someone else's employee and let them worry about the "moral" implications of their sales.

You can approach this from another angle too. Why would you not want to serve these people and do the best job possible? Show that you love them as you love anyone? What does building walls do to help show God's love? Or, is the real issue you only believe God's love really applies to those who think like you?

His name was Michael Brown

I spent last Wednesday, August 13, 2014, glued to my computer. Scrolling across my twitter feed were the stories coming from Ferguson, MO. I was watching live video, not from some giant news corporation, because none of them had crews there (the locals did, but their footage, if it existed was not making its way to the national coverage) but of people actually on the ground as a heavily armed and armored police force tear-gassed its way through a residential neighborhood. Imploring protesters to "Go home, this is no longer a peaceful protest!" all while firing stun grenades, tear gas, flares, rubber bullets and having the piercing shriek of an LRAD blasting in the background.
I read in real time as two reporters were arrested for not leaving a McDonalds quickly enough, and then after the Police Chief found out, quickly being let go. I saw the reporters of Al-Jazeera flee their camera equipment as a tear gas canister exploded near them. I read the eye-witness reports of people saying officers pointing that camera to the ground.
A local reporter spoke live on camera of her fear as police searched the media vans, military rifles in hand, and suggested it was time for the media to leave as the police couldn't vouch for their safety.
I've since followed various narratives on the story since. The brief day of mostly calm on Thursday as the thugs of the St. Louis County Police were pulled out and the Missouri Highway Patrol, under the command of native son, Capt. Ron Johnson took over.
I watched and read with disgust on Friday as the Ferguson Police finally released the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown while simultaneously releasing video of what appears to be Brown robbing a convenience store minutes before he was shot.
Then, hours later mentioning, oh, the officer in question had no knowledge of the robbery so that had nothing to do with Brown's death.
I've watched and been sickened by so much racist vitriol, both blatant and carefully camouflaged has been spewed about the looting that happened the day Brown was killed. Mostly ignoring all arrested for looting had come into Ferguson from out of town. There has since been a bit of looting, but the images of the citizens of Ferguson, standing guard outside the stores to stop looting are poignant. These people LIVE there. They don't want to steal from neighbors or destroy their property. There is a criminal element anywhere and they are always opportunistic. Seeing regular folks standing up to thugs both with a badge and without is heartening.
What is disheartening is another unarmed black man is dead. I'm not certain what happened on August 9th. All I know is an unarmed 18 year old black man was lying dead on the pavement over thirty feet from the police car where the initial shot was fired. All I know is his body lay on the pavement for over 4 hours as they "processed the scene." All I know is that it took a week for them to even release the name of the officer involved. All I know is the police response was akin to what I would expect in Moscow, only I believe the Russians could actually have executed it in a professional manner.
The Michael Brown case brings so many issues to light yet again. Race issues. Police issues. Political issues. If I can bring myself to write about some of those I will. Right now, my heart breaks for the family of Michael Brown.
And my heart breaks for Darren Wilson, who has to live with the fact he shot an unarmed man to death. He apparently felt justified in the moment, but someone is dead because of his actions and that person didn't even have a weapon. Maybe Wilson is some racist monster, but I think more likely he a fairly regular officer for Ferguson, though, read some of the articles on that and you might be appalled.
I'll stop for the moment with this: If you were more concerned by the limited looting that occured over a week of protests than you are that an 18 year old man had his life cut short for little apparent reason, then you probably need to take a good hard look at your values.

Its Official, Stop Saying they're Conservative.

Thanks to the McCutcheon decision by the SCotUS yesterday we officially became an oligarchy. Now, you might say with cases like Citizens United we've been headed towards this for a few years and you'd be right.

However, those brilliant minds at the Supreme Court have stripped all campaign finance limits.  A single donaor can pump as much directly to campaigns as they want.  No more arbitrary $100k limit.  Nothing.

The "conservatives" claim this will not lead to bribery as there needs to be proof of bribery.  Apparently they live in a bubble.  Bribery happens DAILY in Congress and in politics around the country.  Its the horse-trading that goes on by lobbyists. Its the cushy multiple six figure jobs waiting for ex-Congressional members. Its how members of Congress become millionaires while in office working a job that pays well, but shouldn't make them multi-millionaires.

So, is it bribery in the sense of "I give you 50k cash you vote X way?"  Nope.  Is it bribery all the same?  Yes.

Overturning decades of legal precedent the "conservative" justices decided that free and fair elections are not important to a democracy.  The rights of a few super-rich are more important than the lives and rights of the hundreds of millions of American who are not super-rich.

They are not conservative. They are every bit as activist as the most liberal judges have been and have done more in the last decade to destroy the health of America for the average American than was done in 50 years of liberal courts.

They can also stop pretending about being "originalists." Scalia and Thomas are two of the most bought members of the court. Their precious Founding Fathers and Constitution are apparently a joke as they make ruling after ruling creating a new nobility, a nobility of wealth.

What a joke

So, its no surprise to any living, breathing American that our government officials and private corporations are far too cozy.

Republicans might be the most egregious offenders, but Democrats work hard to keep pace. After all, how else could Rahm Emmanuel leave his job in the Clinton administration and get a job that paid him millions at a bank, with absolutely no banking experience?

Merely the latest in a steady stream of politicians cum lobbyists is the now-former FCC Commissioner Attwell Baker. She is leaving her position to join Comcast's lobbying group based in Washington DC.

Nice, so the person who previously was in charge of regulating companies like Comcast, now works on their behalf pressuring congress and presumably whoever takes her old position.

I'd love to just rail away at Ms. Baker for being a person with no principles, and to a degree I feel that way. But why attack one person? The entire system is so hilariously broken its not even funny.

We have ex-Congressmen and staffers stepping into jobs at the companies they passed legislation in favor of. We have countless government employees, both appointees, and rank and file who leave their government jobs to then lobby the very people who took their place. We have ex-military getting hired by arms companies and "security" companies to cajole their still in service pals to buy their new weapon or hire their mercenaries, er, contractors to help defend the next "humanitarian" mission.

As if it isn't bad enough that corporations can now donate with impunity to elections we allow those who make policy decisions to step away from their jobs and instantly step into their counterparts role.

Our government needs moratorium periods on certain workers before they can take certain jobs. If you want to leave your post to go run a college, or a company, ok. But if you are leaving your post to take a job where your sole purpose is to use your insider information to unduly influence a decision in your new employer's favor? I'm sorry, you'd need to wait at least 2 years MINIMUM before doing that. I'd prefer a waiting period of 5 years.

Go get a real job for a bit. Actually produce something possibly. Or, am I asking too much out of the money machine that is federal politics?