Watching TV Makes You Smarter

Interesting five-page article examining the change in complexity of television over the last few decades:
The New York Times > Magazine > Watching TV Makes You Smarter:
In pointing out some of the ways that popular culture has improved our minds, I am not arguing that parents should stop paying attention to the way their children amuse themselves. What I am arguing for is a change in the criteria we use to determine what really is cognitive junk food and what is genuinely nourishing. Instead of a show's violent or tawdry content, instead of wardrobe malfunctions or the F-word, the true test should be whether a given show engages or sedates the mind. Is it a single thread strung together with predictable punch lines every 30 seconds? Or does it map a complex social network? Is your on-screen character running around shooting everything in sight, or is she trying to solve problems and manage resources? If your kids want to watch reality TV, encourage them to watch ''Survivor'' over ''Fear Factor.'' If they want to watch a mystery show, encourage ''24'' over ''Law and Order.'' If they want to play a violent game, encourage Grand Theft Auto over Quake. Indeed, it might be just as helpful to have a rating system that used mental labor and not obscenity and violence as its classification scheme for the world of mass culture.

And the conclusion should be?

Also interesting from the same article:
A study of 100,000 school children in over 30 countries around the world testified that non-computer using kids performed better in literacy and numeracy schools than PC-using children. Education experts have dubbed it the 'problem solving deficit disorder'.

Email destroys the mind faster than marijuana - study

I have no idea whether this study is either valid or reliable, but I do find it both funny and sad. Sometimes I wish that people in general would stop caring about the statistical deterioration of certain activities on the human body, whether that be smoking of any sort, overeating, wearing a helmet, flying in a plane, or reading email.

The Register:
Email users suffered a 10 per cent drop in IQ scores, more than twice the fall recorded by marijuana users, in a clinical trial of over a thousand participants. Doziness, lethargy and an inability to focus are classic characteristics of a spliffhead, but email users exhibited these particular symptoms to a 'startling' degree, according to Dr Glenn Wilson.

The deterioration in mental capacity was the direct result of the trialists' addiction to technology, researchers discovered.

Individual-i

Individual-i:
Today, the rights of individuals are being eroded: by government, by corporations, by society itself. This icon — the Individual-i — represents the rights of the individual.

It represents the right to privacy and anonymity in the information age. It represents the rights to an open government, due process, and equal protection under the law. It represents the right to live surveillance free, and not to be marked as 'suspicious' for wanting these other rights.

It recognizes that a free society is a safe society, and that freedom is founded upon individual rights.

How far can the fascism of Bush go?

And the fascism increases a bit more...
Fascism: A social and political ideology with the primary guiding principle that the state or nation is the highest priority, rather than personal or individual freedoms.


Yahoo! News - Bush administration eliminating 19-year-old international terrorism report:
The State Department decided to stop publishing an annual report on international terrorism after the government's top terrorism center concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985, the first year the publication covered.


Several U.S. officials defended the abrupt decision, saying the methodology the National Counterterrorism Center used to generate statistics for the report may have been faulty, such as the inclusion of incidents that may not have been terrorism.

Last year, the number of incidents in 2003 was undercounted, forcing a revision of the report, "Patterns of Global Terrorism."

But other current and former officials charged that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's office ordered "Patterns of Global Terrorism" eliminated several weeks ago because the 2004 statistics raised disturbing questions about the Bush's administration's frequent claims of progress in the war against terrorism.

I haven't had a real beard for a while, so I thought I'd send a picture out to those who haven't seen me in a while. (Dad, print out this for Mom; she'll like it.) (Yes, G., that's your shirt.)
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The need for a business card makes its way known in transcendental fashion.
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A new Ratzinger Pope

Here's an interesting analysis of the new Pope from a reformist Catholic's point of view:
THE POLITICAL ANALOGY: I was trying to explain last night to a non-Catholic just how dumb-struck many reformist Catholics are by the elevation of Ratzinger. And then I found a way to explain. This is the religious equivalent of having had four terms of George W. Bush only to find that his successor as president is Karl Rove. Get it now?

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - Naomi Klein:
Last summer, in the lull of the August media doze, the Bush Administration's doctrine of preventive war took a major leap forward. On August 5, 2004, the White House created the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, headed by former US Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual. Its mandate is to draw up elaborate 'post-conflict' plans for up to twenty-five countries that are not, as of yet, in conflict. According to Pascual, it will also be able to coordinate three full-scale reconstruction operations in different countries 'at the same time,' each lasting 'five to seven years.'

Fittingly, a government devoted to perpetual pre-emptive deconstruction now has a standing office of perpetual pre-emptive reconstruction.
...
In January Condoleezza Rice sparked a small controversy by describing the tsunami as "a wonderful opportunity" that "has paid great dividends for us." Many were horrified at the idea of treating a massive human tragedy as a chance to seek advantage. But, if anything, Rice was understating the case. A group calling itself Thailand Tsunami Survivors and Supporters says that for "businessmen-politicians, the tsunami was the answer to their prayers, since it literally wiped these coastal areas clean of the communities which had previously stood in the way of their plans for resorts, hotels, casinos and shrimp farms. To them, all these coastal areas are now open land!"

Disaster, it seems, is the new terra nullius.

NPR : Perception and Reality: The Business of Media

NPR : Perception and Reality: The Business of Media:
Here's another example. A spokesperson for CNN recently adopted a technique more fitting for some of the dodgy companies it covers -- dissembling in the hope that unwelcome questions would melt away.

This winter, there was a flood of stories about the widespread use of 'video news releases' -- sent out by government agencies -- that were designed to mimic actual news stories. They were broadcast on many local TV news programs.

When asked about the practice, the nation's media critic in chief – that would be one George W. Bush – defended it, saying that the stations ran the pieces voluntarily. But local news directors said they thought they were real. Why? Because they came from a division of CNN.

More than 800 American stations pay that division -- which is called CNN Newsource -- to send them stories from CNN and its affiliates. But that's not all CNN Newsource does. Many public relations firms also pay it to distribute 'video news releases' from their clients -- including the U.S. government. (Several competitors have similar deals.)

So CNN Newsource had more than one kind of client here. When preparing a story on the subject last month for NPR, I asked CNN, How big a side business is this? A CNN spokesman said there was no way to know how many video news releases were distributed by CNN in the typical week or month or year. It was impossible to tell, he said.

The 'video news releases' weren't a major source of revenue for CNN, he explained, in genial tones meant to inspire confidence. They only generated modest fees. Naturally, the size of those fees couldn't be divulged. He also said CNN put tough safeguards in place when the issue first surfaced last year. Each public relations firm now had to sign a contract for every 'video news release' saying each spot would make clear who paid for it.

Here's a pretty precise paraphrase of the conversation that ensued:

NPR: So, these guys at the PR firms actually have to sign a contract for every video news release you distribute through CNN Newsource?

CNN Guy: Yes.

NPR: And they pay you some nominal fee for each. It's not done through petty cash -- you guys send them bills, right?

CNN Guy: Sure.

NPR: So why can't you march down to accounting or your legal department and have someone pull those bills and contracts? Just count how many invoices and contracts there are. Wouldn't that instantly tell you precisely how many video news releases CNN Newsource had distributed?

CNN Guy:

NPR: Hello? Hello? You there?

There was a looooooong pause. I invited him – then and several times subsequently – to reconcile his responses. No further explanation followed.

How much will trickle down to you?

Citizens for Tax Justice Home Page CTJ
President and Mrs. Bush reported $784,219 in total income on their tax return. They paid $207,307 in income tax, $28,846 less than under the pre-Bush tax law.

Vice-president and Mrs. Cheney reported $2,173,892 in total income on their tax return. They paid $365,840 in income tax, $81,336 less than under the pre-Bush tax law.

In percentage terms, the Bushes paid 12 percent less in income tax due to the President’s tax cuts. The Cheneys paid 18 percent less.

American casualties by branch

I've been looking for this info haphazardly for a while. I guess my brother-in-law did choose one of the safest branches to join.
The War in Iraq: Why It's Dangerous to be a Reservist:
Out of 1,235 troops killed (combat and accidents) in Iraq, the army has lost 858 dead, the marines 350, while the air force and navy combined have lost 27. For every 1,000 active duty army troops sent to Iraq, 2.64 have died. For the National Guard and reserves, about two soldiers have died for every thousand sent over. The marines, navy and air force send troops over for different length tours, so their death rates are not comparable. But the marine rate is probably closer to 3 per thousand, while the air force and navy rate is under 1. For every death, there are about eight more wounded or injured.

Wedding Photography

For anyone who knows me, I'm sure they know that one of the things I've been obsessed with for years is the idea of starting a business and attempting to escape from being employed by companies. Well, Janella and I have finally settled on it, but I'm not going to talk about that on this blog. I set up a blog for it, as a place to keep all my thoughts on the process. But I thought my friends and family should know. You can also check out the listing on Craigslist which publicly puts the name out there. I plan for the link above to be the only connection between this blog and that one.

622 Music Videos

Do you have a music video you would like to see? It may very well be here: GRAN FARO: 622 Music Video's, From A Perfect Circle to Yeah, Yeah-

Listings

Someone combined the listings of Google Maps, for viewing rental and for-sale listings across the country.

hash bash 2005 (8)
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Tool for increasing non-oligopoly options

(I hesitated to add this link to my blog because of its tendency to open a new window for every link you click, but feel it is important even though it doesn't show enough respect for the user.)

I hope this project can expand beyond its initial "coffee-houses competing with Starbucks" target to other businesses.
Delocator
Delocate is a web-verb created for this project as a defense mechanism for independent business establishments. The term is defined as an action that creates complex competition analysis. This is achieved by locating both the targeted corporation store(s), Starbucks in this case, and the independently owned alternative(s) based on their physical proximity using comparative online retail store locator technology. On the delocator.net web site, users are enlisted into a temporary coalition to post information about cafés in their neighborhood (for instance, location, hours, open mic. nights, local artist exhibits, book readings, wireless internet service availability, organic and/or vegetarian food options, etc.).

A rant from a friend

The following is a post that Nicole posted on her site, and that I'm going to repost here because her site isn't fully up yet and isn't sending RSS feeds yet (and because I enjoy rants against the two-party system).

I'm not back yet as I have to reinstall MT, but my rant won't wait.

I live in county where a boy was just presented with a medal of honor on behalf of his heroic dead father who's great feat was to singlehandedly kill 50 Iraqis, saving 100 Americans--a reward for state sponsored violence, and a token just at that. That boy doesn't need a fucking medal--that boy needs a fucking father. Let's see President Bush take care of that.

People with their blinders on assume that I'm a Democrat. Most people don't even realize that there are other options, and frankly, the system encourages that misunderstanding. The system doesn't really work all that well for those of us that bow out of the two-party system--how many times has someone told me that the reason that they register as a Democrat is so that they can vote in the primaries? More times than I can count. And how many people vote Democrat in order to vote against the Republican party? Our vote has no integrity whatsoever. I count my blessings that I don't live in a swing state and haven't been forced to vote for someone that I couldn't at least pretend to support in a very long time.

I mentioned my political distress to my officemate here at work and he asked, "What did you expect from this administration?" Well, my friend, I expect nothing from this administration, or any other administration for that matter. This medal of honor business has been going on for quite some time, and just about every administration that I've known has had it in for somebody. I didn't vote for Gore in 2000 because he and Clinton were directly responsible for the murders of many people in Kosovo by what the government likes to call friendly fire. If there's anything I can say with certainty, it's that no fire is friendly when you're at the receiving end of it. As for Iraq, we've been bombing them for my whole adult life and it looks like we'll keep it up. They tell us that no one wants another Vietnam on their hands, but....

Not that our votes matter all that much, anyway. I remember the day in elementary school that I learned about the electoral college. Years away from voting and I already realized that I had been disenfranchised. I guess now the word is out that this one fucked up system.

Thanks to Allen I've been listening to music by Micheal Franti, and he mentions the term peaceful revolution. I love the idea of a peaceful revolution, but peaceful revolutions only seem to be peaceful on the part of the revolutionaries. This kind of thing isn't new, and your not knowing about it won't keep it from happening.

Google Maps - from: detroit, mi to: ny, ny

Oh, my god, it puts my driving directions on the satellite view also. How cool is that! I can see the little blue line following the freeway from Detroit to New York.

This really does let one plan out the most scenic route.

Chart of City and World satellite coverage

For those interested, here is the chart of satellite imagery resolution for the various U.S. cities.

Coverage of U.S. cities

Google Maps + Keyhole

I was wondering if Google would actually do this:

A-while-a-go they bought Keyhole, a satellite imaging website which had close-up satellite maps of, well, the world. They have now integrated Keyhole into Google Maps. So, whenever you are looking at Google Maps and trying to find directions, at any time you can click on "satellite" and it will change the symbolic map to an actual photograph of the area of the U.S. map you are looking at. What's even cooler is that it treats the satellite picture just like it treats the map, i.e. you can still zoom, pan, click and drag with the mouse, find nearby restaurants, etc., all while viewing the photograph.

Admittedly, the zoom level won't go all the way to single-street level everywhere, but will in major cities (i.e. new york city, portland, detroit). But this limitation comes with a bonus in that the satellite map exists worldwide but the symbolic map only exists in the U.S.; if you want to drag your way over to Russia, you can.

Google Maps + Keyhole

The ridiculousness of anecdotal evidence

Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time:
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

Bukowski on steroids?

The next movie on my have-to-see list is Sin City. At first, I thought this was just another comic book made into a movie, but now I see that it's quite a bit more. Robert Rodriguez is directing this flick, with Frank Miller (the creator of the comic book) as a co-director, and Quentin Tarantino as a guest director. In and of itself, that would be enough to excite me, but when Mickey Rourke is described as "Bukowski on steroids" then I'm there.

Rodriguez also dropped out of the Director's Guild of America so he could share the directing credit with Frank Miller.

UGO Screenwriter's Voice - News -- March 29, 2004:
I'm fine with leaving and they're fine with my leaving. Someone in my position doesn't need the protection of the guild as much as a newcomer who might get strong-armed by a film company. In my case, the obstacles I face come from the guild. Studios are only too happy when I suggest shooting something in digital, or when I try to do 20 jobs at the same time on my movies. I don't consider this a negative thing, and perhaps it's better that I resign and come back later than have someone use my precedent as an example to strong-arm a directing credit they don't deserve on some future film.

I didn't want Frank to be treated as just a writer, because he is the only one who has actually been to Sin City. I am making such a literal interpretation of his book that I'd have felt weird taking directing credit without him. It was easier for me to quietly resign before shooting because otherwise I'd have been forced to make compromises I was unwilling to make. Or set a precedent that might hurt the guild later on.

All the dead are laughing now

List of some Mitch Hedberg (Feb 24, 1968 - Mar 30, 2005) jokes:
Sometimes I wave to people I don't know. It is very dangerous to wave to people you don't know, because what if they don't have a hand? They'll think you're cocky. 'Look what I got motherfucker, this thing is useful...I'm gonna go pick something up.'