November 2008 Archives
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: Taleb's `Black Swan' Investors Post Gains as Markets Take Dive
"Universa Investments LP, the Santa Monica, California-based firm where Taleb is an adviser, has about $1 billion in accounts managed to hedge clients against big moves in financial markets. Returns for the year through Oct. 10 ranged as high as 110 percent, according to investor documents. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 39 percent in the same period.... 'The Black Swan Protection Protocol is designed to break even 90 to 95 percent of the time,' Spitznagel said. 'We happen to be in that other 5 to 10 percent environment.'"
Washington Times - BLANKLEY: Obama's health-care czar
Ousted Sen. Tom Daschle, expected to be appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has written a book on how to nationalize health care stealthily. He also thinks medical technology is bad because it reveals health problems early enough that doctors can do something about it. And doing something about it is expensive. "Of course, for Mr. Daschle, the problem with such high-tech diagnostics is that it leads to treatment. He cites a study approving the proposition that there are too many angiograms being performed.... Cardiologists might think they were carrying out their responsibilities. But under the Daschle/Obama plan, political hacks appointed to the health board will decide whether your cardiologist is allowed to image your arteries, and if they find blockage, try to successfully treat it."
Project Liberty: What Is the Tytler Cycle? Where Is the United States In This Cycle?
An 18th-century historian identified 9 phases through which societies cycle: Bondage, Spiritual Faith, Courage, Liberty, Abundance, Selfishness, Complacency, Apathy, Dependence, and back to Bondage. Where is the US?
Beware the church of climate alarm - Miranda Devine - Opinion - smh.com.au
"But the real fear driving climate alarmists wild is that a more rational approach to the fundamentalist religion of global warming may be in the ascendancy - whether in the parliamentary offices of the world's largest trading bloc or in the living rooms of Blacktown.
"As the global financial crisis takes hold, perhaps people are starting to wonder whether the so-called precautionary principle, which would have us accept enormous new taxes in the guise of an emissions trading scheme and curtail economic growth, is justified, based on what we actually know about climate.
"One of Australia's leading enviro-sceptics, the geologist and University of Adelaide professor Ian Plimer, 62, says he has noticed audiences becoming more receptive to his message that climate change has always occurred and there is nothing we can do to stop it." (Via Alarming News.)
Children are born believers in God, academic claims - Telegraph
"Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, claims that young people have a predisposition to believe in a supreme being because they assume that everything in the world was created with a purpose.
"He says that young children have faith even when they have not been taught about it by family or at school, and argues that even those raised alone on a desert island would come to believe in God." (Via Don Singleton.)
reason.tv - Videos > Where's Sock Puppet's Bailout?
Sock Puppet (mascot of Pets.com, a victim of the tech bubble popping eight years ago) testifies before a congressional committee. "Why are you talking about bailing out the auto companies, when you let all us tech companies crash and burn?"
Wikipedia: List of public signage typefaces
Links to articles about the fonts used on highway, subway, and railway signs around the world.
London Banker: Systemic Risk, Contagion and Trade Finance - Back to the Bad Old Days
"The recent 93 percent collapse of the obscure Baltic Dry Index - an index of the cost of chartering bulk cargo vessels for goods like ore, cotton, grain or similar dry tonnage - has caused a bit of a stir among the financial cognoscenti. What is less discussed amidst the alarm is the reason for the collapse of the index - the collapse of trade credit based on the venerable letter of credit....
"The combination of the global interbank lending freeze with the collapse of the speculative, leveraged commodity price bubble have undermined both the confidence of banks in the ability of a far-flung peer bank to pay an obligation when due and confidence in the value of the dry cargo as security for the credit if liquidated on default. The result is that those with goods to export and those with goods to import, no matter how worthy and well capitalised, are left standing quayside without bank finance for trade....
"If cargo trade stops, a whole lot of supply chain disruption starts. If the ore doesn't go to the refinery, there is no plate steel. If the plate steel doesn't get shipped, there is nothing to fabricate into components. If there are no components, there is nothing to assemble in the factory. If the factory closes the assembly line, there are no finished goods. If there are no finished goods, there is nothing to restock the shelves of the shops. If there is nothing in the shops, the consumers don't buy. If the consumers don't buy, there is no Christmas."
(Via Crunchy Con.)
Rene Wanner's Poster Page / Shepard Fairey posters for Barack Obama
A collection of 149 parodies of the red and blue Obama HOPE poster. (But they missed the arugula poster!) (Via 423smith.)
Create an Inspirational Vector Political Poster - VECTORTUTS
Make your own Obama HOPE-style poster with Photoshop.
Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole | Coop's Corner - CNET News
"The complacency stems from having enjoyed a monopoly--and now finding they have to compete for an audience they once took for granted. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product. Newspapers are no exception."
The 40 Best TV Theme Songs of All Time :: List of the Day :: Paste
They left out the themes from "Route 66" and "Taxi." Good list otherwise.
Totally Non-political - John Derbyshire - The Corner on National Review Online
A sweet story about an abandoned pointer and the old man he lifted from bitterness and depression.
OutdoorLife - The Most Incredible Knife
An 85-tool Swiss Army knife three times as wide as it is long. Includes a "fine fork for watch spring bars." Weighs 2 lbs. 11 oz. Cost: $1,200. (Via Cracked.)
Giving Thanks to Those Who Serve - Kathryn Jean Lopez - The Corner on National Review Online
President Bush speaks to the 101st Airborne, the 160th Night Stalkers, and the Green Berets at Ft. Campbell, and reviews their record of achievements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
50 Strange Buildings of the World | Village of Joy
Strange for many different reasons: Indigenous architecture, starchitecture, whimsical structures. (Via Samizdata.)
Ace of Spades HQ: After 12 Years, Alan Colmes Quits Hannity & Colmes
Not the main point of the piece, but I agree with Ace's comparison of three leading conservative radio talkers:
"Limbaugh avoids (mostly) the self portrayal of hero via the distancing lens of irony. His boasts are so over-the-top they're funny (and meant to be). He undermines his own authority by poking fun at it, which has, as it turns out, the probably intended effect of increasing his authority.
"On the other hand, Hannity and O'Reilly deliberately set out to portray themselves as heroes. O'Reilly's always famously 'looking out for the folks' and 'on your side.' Hannity indulges too much in earnest caring and all-around good-guyism.
"It's a bit too much, at least for me. It's oversold.
"I prefer the self-mocking irony of a Limbaugh rather than the earnest crusading of Hannity or O'Reilly."
"In 22 states, including Arkansas, it is illegal to call yourself an interior designer without going through an arduous and expensive certification process. Like many states, Arkansas has an Interior Design Board. The sole purpose of this board is to register interior designers. The IJ paper notes that 'consumer complaints about interior designers to state regulatory boards are extremely rare. Since 1998 an average of one designer out of every 289 has received a complaint for any reason. Nearly all of those complaints, 94.7 percent, concern whether designers are properly licensed--not the quality of their service.'"
Urban Review STL: Selling a Native American Mound
"For Sale: Cozy home with two bedrooms, two baths, one fireplace and a 2-car garage. Oh yeah, it sits on the very last Native American mound in a city once known as 'Mound City.' It even has a name, Sugar Loaf Mound." More details here.
City Leader Rapper Names « Irritated Tulsan
Killa Grim Rick Nugget, Baddie John Easy-E Slim Curves, and Vile KT.
CitizenLink: Dr. Dobson: 'We Won't Be Silenced'
Focus on the Family founder replies to Kathleen Parker and others who want conservative Christians to be excluded from the public debate.
Hindu extremists' reward to kill Christians, as Britain refuses to bar members - Times Online
"Extremist Hindu groups offered money, food and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to Christian aid workers in the eastern state of Orissa." (Via Crunchy Con.)
Good to Know Where Our Priorities Are... « Irritated Tulsan
"I know the OSU Medical Center issue has brewed longer than some of you [City Councilors] have been in office. I know there is a limit to what the city can do. This issue with me is priorities. The city finds $30 million in donations to build a ballpark, finds the money move city hall, but makes no mention of the OSU Medical Center until recently."
Bounded Rationality: Weekend at Gilcrease Museum
Ansel Adams photography exhibit -- 138 of his most famous prints -- runs through January 4, 2009.
Mississippi State University Libraries : The Sheet Music Collection
PDFs of over 5,000 pieces of sheet music, mainly from the early 20th century.
Remember the shady campaign contributions from Chinese and Indonesian sources? James Riady? John Huang? The slimy pay-to-play pardons at the end of Slick Willie's second term? Christopher Hitchens does: "In matters of foreign policy, it has been proved time and again, the Clintons are devoted to no interest other than their own. A president absolutely has to know of his chief foreign-policy executive that he or she has no other agenda than the one he has set. Who can say with a straight face that this is true of a woman whose personal ambition is without limit; whose second loyalty is to an impeached and disbarred and discredited former president; and who is ready at any moment, and on government time, to take a wheedling call from either of her bulbous brothers?"
Some good news, mixed news, and bad news for downtown Oklahoma City. One of the bad news items: "The Thunder is losing. That was expected, just as it was with the Hornets. But the buzz just isn't the same this time around. And some of the good things going on right now are tied to the arrival of the NBA. A souring on the team could be bad for much of downtown."
Rocks In My Dryer: Because Regular Pumpkin Pie Is Just Plain Dull
Quick and easy, no-bake pumpkin tarts.
Dave Barry Gift Guide - MiamiHerald.com
The annual gift guide: a zombie yard sculpture, a restroom baby hanger, and a great stocking-stuffer: FEMA disaster-preparedness activity books.
Jonah Goldberg On Kathleen Parker s "G-O-D" Shame - Right Wing News
Commenter Bill Dalasio, a non-religious libertarian conservative, says the threat to his liberty isn't coming from "oogedy-boogedy" social conservatives: "Put bluntly, I can't help but feel I'm being sold a bill of goods here. Progressives, with the full consent of moderates,...chip away consistently and unabashedly at my freedom. All the while, telling me how scared I should be of the religious conservative bogeyman hiding under the bed." He cites smoking restrictions, speech codes, gun laws, the fairness doctrine, and mandatory recycling as examples.
Via the Cranky Conservative, who adds, "The essence of modern liberalism is a quest to perfect society. It really should come as no surprise, therefore, that it is the left that seeks to use government to achieve that end. More often than not, social conservatives are merely fighting against greater government intrusion."
Southwest emerges as bidder for ATA's LaGuardia slots
Southwest Airlines to New York City? They're buying a defunct airline to get access to the Big Apple.
RedState: How To Tell The "Culture Wars" Are Not Over
We can tell, because the Left was actively fighting for cultural hegemony in this election. In fact, the Left has been the aggressor all along:
"The point is this: we have political conflict over social and cultural issues because we have two sides that disagree on a broad range of issues, and neither is willing to change its position. If these issues were actually unimportant or indefensible, the side that was losing elections on them would throw in the towel and adapt its positions, as for example happened with the end of the political battles over segregation and Prohibition. And if cultural liberals disdained conflict, they would never start battles on these issues - yet they do so all the time. Indeed, abortion wasn't an issue in national politics until Roe v. Wade; the NRA wasn't a force in politics until liberal politicians pushed increasingly intrusive gun-control measures."
Dallas - DC9 At Night - Echoes And Reverberations: The Ghosts Of The Longhorn Ballroom
Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, the Sex Pistols -- they all played the Longhorn.
Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know - Telegraph
"He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president - he didn't.... He doesn't drink coffee...."
DEWEY GROOM & THE LONGHORN BALLROOM « Paula's Back-Log
"Dewey Groom: From the Mabank Flash To Big Daddy of Country Music" from the July 1971 edition of the Country Music Reporter.
Foreign Service Institute language courses -- audio courses developed by the U. S. Government in the '60s -- are available free for download. Over 30 languages from Amharic to Yoruba.
330 - From Pickin' Cotton to Pickin' Presidents « Strange Maps
Interesting correlation between a map of 1860 cotton production and county results in the 2008 presidential race.
Clayton Cramer's BLOG: Applying The Fairness Doctrine To Public Schools
"If you are a biology teacher, and you teach about evolution, then this question of fairness gets even more interesting. The Young Earthers will demand equal time (and in geology class, too!); the Old Earth Creationists will insist that the Intelligent Design crowd really aren't on the same side (and this is true), so they will demand equal time. And the Intelligent Design crowd will demand equal time. Can you see why the biology teacher might decide just to skip the whole evolution unit?
"And this is exactly what the Democrats are trying to do. The Fairness Doctrine would require that for every hour of conservative talk radio which makes money selling advertising space, the radio stations would need to run an hour of left-wing talk radio--and lose piles of money. In practice, it would make conservative talk radio so unprofitable that talk radio would largely disappear. And that's the goal: to shut down what has become the only significant counterweight to the left's domination of broadcast radio and television."
YouTube - "Portable 2 Compared to This Fish" - JOHN CLEESE Compaq Ad
Both weigh 22 pounds, but the dead fish can't run IBM's most popular software or match the Compaq's whopping 4.1 MB of memory.
Washingtonian Magazine - Bob Novak, "What I've Learned"
The "Prince of Darkness" talks about self-confidence, how to cultivate sources, partisanship, the best of the politicians he covered over the course of a half century, the future of the Republican Party, his cancer, and his faith. Great, wide-ranging interview. (Via Club for Growth.)
Longtime Bricktown advocate Jim Brewer dies | NewsOK.com
Note: Bricktown was in existence long before MAPS happened. "Brewer was a successful oilman when he began buying properties in Bricktown in the mid-1980s...."
Covering the recount in the Coleman-Franken Senate race.
Service with a Smile - Features - Philanthropy Roundtable
The remarkable story and business philosophy of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy.
Obama's promise to bankrupt the coal industry begins already: Coal stocks down 15% since Election Day.
Lib Dem stripper: 'I'm quitting as councillor because no one respects me' | Mail Online
"She added: 'I look at the people within councils and realise it is impossible for someone like me to stay there without making huge sacrifices. Unless you are rich, unemployed or retired there is little possibility of being able to manage work, home life and the council.'" Just like Tulsa. (Via Jammie Wearing Fool.)
ZuDfunck: NFL Week 10 Announcing and Coverage Maps
Oooooo! More pretty maps! Sunday's CBS and Fox NFL games by TV market.
McCainBlogette.com - Musings and Pop Culture on the Political Trail
Meghan McCain's photos -- lots and lots of them -- showing life on the presidential campaign trail.
President Map - Election Results 2008 - The New York Times
More cool maps! An interactive map showing county-by-county results from 1992 to the present. You can even compare this year to a previous year. The only areas that got redder since 2004: Cajun Country, the Redneck Riviera, and a belt from western Pennsylvania, through W. Va., Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and into eastern Oklahoma -- the migration path of the Ulster Scots (including my mother's side of the family).
imagiNATIVEamerica » Oklahoma City's 1910 Plan for Grand Boulevard by W.H. Dunn
Oooooo! Aaaaaaah! Beautiful maps, plans, and renderings of an early day plan for Oklahoma City's parks and boulevards.
On the Other Foot: See why I love this woman?
"NEW PARIS, Pennsylvania: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was swiftly working the rope line at an apple orchard in southwestern Pennsylvania when she met a supporter who brought her to an abrupt stop. Amber Brown, 23, held a poster that read, 'I have Down syndrome and I'm voting for you. I'm a fighter too!' Seeing Brown, Palin wrapped her in a tight hug. 'I love that poster,' Palin said. 'You're a fighter and you're beautiful.'"
Jack Cashill writes: Yavelow Study Confirms Ayers Hand In Obama's "Dreams"
Call it the crockumentary hypothesis. After seeing the tool of source criticism used to attack the authorship of scripture, it's kind of fun to see it being used to deconstruct the liberal messiah.
Gen. Barrow's lesson in dying - Crunchy Con
"What I want to tell you is this: you can probably think of an old man or old woman in the periphery of your life, someone who may or may not be as illustrious or as accomplished as Gen. Barrow was, but who still has quite a story to tell. You may have thought to yourself that someday, you'd like to sit down with that person and have a long talk. But everydayness sets in, and you never do get around to it. Suddenly, you're out of days. The moment has passed. There's nothing left but regret."
The Judge Report - A Jerk to the End
The One delivers the ol' one finger salute.
Lautenberg, Zimmer go at age and earmarks in last debate - Breaking News From New Jersey - NJ.com
The wonders of Metamucil: "'Age has nothing to do with whether you're effective,' [N. J. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 84,] countered. 'It's known that I produce regularly.'"
