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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
mcfnord
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10:44p
Consensus is for Quakers
I am going to avoid Whole Foods based on the comments of its CEO. I find his position disappointing and unsound. I feel he is capitalizing on a fact of science--where 100% agreement is exceedingly rare--to promulgate misinformation or doubt. He doesn't sound like a libertarian, he sounds like a Fox news propagandist, and I believe this is not an honest error of ignorance on his part. I can't really go along with his "I've got views and that's cool" because his views are vulgar to me. I didn't strongly disagree with his view on medical insurance, actually, but this one I do disagree, and think it's inappropriate to say wormy things like "no scientific consensus" unless you're willing to determine and define what a scientific consensus really means, and how rare it can be. He intends to mislead through omission but who cares what his technique is?
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(comment on this) Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
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mcfnord
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12:17a
Wolfson invented the modern hostile tender offer, enhancing the power of shareholders and making the
What are the Iranians buying with their ill-gotten American currency? Mr. Morgenthau obtained a shopping list that includes tantalum, a hard metal used in roadside bombs. But the Iranians are thinking bigger. He reports that he showed the shopping list to an executive at Raytheon, which manufactures missiles for the American military. Mr. Morgenthau says that after reviewing Tehran's wish list, the Raytheon official was stunned at the sophistication that would be required to create it, and replied, "My hands went cold."
'Everyone has dropped the ball on [Iran sanctions]. The president is smoking pot or something if he thinks that being nice to these guys is going to get him anywhere," Mr. Morgenthau says. He says economic sanctions can "have significant impact" because most of Iran's enablers are not terrorists, just people "trying to make a buck. . . . They don't enjoy being the focus of an investigation." The D.A. argues that more aggressive federal enforcement of existing sanctions, plus a new effort to restrict Iran's gasoline imports, could make life very difficult for a regime that is under increasing pressure from its own citizens.
Of his recent prosecution of Anthony Marshall, convicted of stealing from his mother Brooke Astor, Mr. Morgenthau makes clear that the case had a significance beyond exposing the lifestyles of the rich and famous. He notes a disturbing trend of children ripping off their parents and grandparents. The case, he says, "sent a message all over the country: You can't steal from your elders."
Mr. Morgenthau notes that his office was the first in the country to "indict the footprint," which means securing indictments before finding a defendant. This has the practical effect of removing the statute of limitations.
Mr. Morgenthau is proudest of his victories in cases widely considered unwinnable. He notes that his office was the first in the country to successfully prosecute a murder case with no body and no witness. In 2000 he won convictions against Sante and Kenneth Kimes. The mother and son killed Irene Silverman when they believed she had caught on to their plot to swindle her out of her Upper East Side mansion. The son later admitted to disposing of the body in a dumpster.
Mr. Morgenthau's effort to go after citizens who park their money in tax havens has led to more frustration with the Mayor. The D.A. says Mr. Bloomberg "has never been any help. I've talked to him three times about it and each time the conversation is almost identical. I tell him how much money is offshore and in the underground economy and he always says, 'I'm paying my taxes.' And I always say, 'Mike, no one is suggesting you don't, but there are a lot of other people who don't.' And then he says, 'I'm glad I'm not a lawyer.'"
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(1 comment | comment on this) Monday, January 4th, 2010
mcfnord
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11:38p
Political prisoner of a retarded army
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) theweaselking: this is mcfnord. i just found your ban. for a few days i had meant to thank you for saying i was being more annoying than usual, it seemed complimentary. i think you've fulfilled a need of circular, insular thinking, what i sincerely and repeatedly accuse you of, by not simply ignoring me if you prefer, rather than banning me.
you aren't the first and it doesn't hurt my feelings. but you're mistaken. you invite debate? no. not really. it's better to provoke and run away.
i visualize you as a sanitary, dickish guy with a big heart. but it's not really that big. and your lj is under your control! STILL, not big-hearted. small in lots of ways.
in a way it's an honor to be silenced. "I have seen the truth" cracks me up. The truth. You. Stan Lastwordistan, web snap statistician.
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jadeejf
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10:47p
Unintentionally, this video works to pull the post together!
One of the most comments I've ever gotten on a Facebook post, was a link to this video, captioned with a simple "I miss the Smashing Pumpkins":
And I do miss them- they're very tied to a specific era and a specific group of friends that was only in my life for a very short time. Mostly I just miss being young and the '90s; one of my friends had a birthday party the other night, and I was jealous of her and her older friend because they lived in the area during the '90s, which still seems overly glamorous to me (and by glamourous, I mean grungey ;)...). Meanwhile, Billy Corgan is dating Jessica Simpson, James Iha is in a band with one of the Hanson brothers, and D'arcy moved to a farm in Michigan and has dropped off the face of the earth except for random call-ins to Chicago radio stations.
( Long thoughts on capital punishment, hunting, and Mennonites )
You know- I can write thousands upon thousands of words in LJ daily, but trying to apply this output level to my novel is ... failing. Miserably. I need to come up with something soon, too. *sigh*
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jadeejf
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9:15p
A productive day...
Carl and I just got home- we spent all day at the new house. Our nanny doesn't get home until today, and her niece had to go to school today, so I took the day off to watch the baby, and Carl worked from home. So, around 10 a.m., we headed over to the new house to meet the electrician there.
The remodeling thus far, has been an exercise in disappointment. The foundation repair people, while they did stabilize the foundation, did not fix the ... leany-ness of the house. So, now we're talking to the general contractor about potential flooring options to smooth out the 3-inch-ish drop between the northeast and southwest corners of the house. Well, today, the electrician got there, and brought the wrong replacement electrical panel.
Still, I helped Carl take the hardware off of all the cabinets he demo'ed earlier this month while Catelyn slept, and got to enjoy hanging out with Catelyn when she was awake. I like six-month-olds much more than three-month-olds, I think, though you do trade in more awareness of the world for less lengthy naps.
And I got to meet the general contractor, and we worked out a general design for the kitchen, thank goodness! As in a design that will allow us to know exactly what size cabinets we need to order from the cabinet supplier, which is cool. Only thing is is that our contractor seems really attached to getting the cabinets from this one supplier, and they were not very helpful to us this weekend, where another supplier was (there's a cubic ton of cabinet warehouses just south of Seattle's downtown, so we walked the strip). We also found an awesome lighting/hardware store, Rejuvenation, which we'll investigate if our budget ever recovers enough from remodeling a kitchen and bathroom to consider changing around hardware and lighting ;) I mean, with lights like this, how can you not love them?
So we figured out the kitchen design, but we're waffling on the cabinetry. We were going to go with white cabinets and a dark countertop, but white shows traffic, and we have a small kitchen, and painting wood white costs extra. So now we're leaning towards a light wood, probably an oak-ish color. And we think we may have picked out a counter. But who knows, really? So many decisions to make.
Oh, and the worst disappointment of the day? Still no phone chargers. Carl's last phone finally ran out of charge tonight- he thinks he has an extra charger at work, which is good, but I really, really miss my phone. :-/
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(3 comments | comment on this) Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
jadeejf
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7:02p
You know...
I could really do without this five-day-long one-sided sore throat. I'm having a rough time keeping up with everything; and it's good that I have to take tomorrow off anyway because of the nanny scheduling issue, but seriously... go away sickness! (Doc did a 5 min. strep test, which came back negative, and told me to gargle with aspirin in the most beautiful South African accent. It was the closest to a Grey's Anatomy moment I've ever gotten, though I totally had a moment of wishing I had worn something other than sweats and a ratty t-shirt- heh).
In other news, though, I still managed to go out for a friend's birthday. She invited a few of us out to Habesha. The food was delicious- quite possibly the best Ethiopian I've had in Seattle (and I'm up to four restaurants now, with Habesha). It's hard to beat Pan Africa's location, but Habesha is super-duper tasty.
We wandered around Capitol Hill- she'd planned to go to one bar, but it was far away, and then the first one we tried didn't open until 10:30, and the second and third were small and full. The fourth was half-reserved for a private party, but we managed to get a few beers and curl up next to a pool table. It was interesting to see the other two bars, too- they both looked fun- The Stumbling Monk was one, and the other was... Captain Black's? It was all decorated like a pirate ship and it looked like it had some decent Southern cooking on the menu. I got my okra at the Ethiopian place, though, so I was alright ;) Hush puppies, though... just sayin'
I'm batting very low on my New Year's resolutions- we skipped church today, as Carl has managed to pick up a cold (I'm a little skeptical, but he gets sick at the drop of a hat, so fine, whatever). And I haven't written anything for my novel yet either. Nor have I done much reading. Just lots of hanging out with the baby and laundry and watching episodes of Mercy in between.
I have to say that I really dig going in to feed her one last time around 11 when I go to bed for the night. She's so cute when she's all sleepy- and she nurses much better too- less distracted, and by that time I'm mostly refilled, so to speak. But mostly she's just really, really cute. She's starting to get mama separation anxiety, which is good for her developmental stage, but it's kind of hard on me. Like, if she's in that mood, I can't walk past her while she's playing to put her bottles in the fridge without her crying to be picked up. Poor baby. And I totally pick her up, too- it's not like I'm ignoring her 24/7, but she's definitely more ... clingy? She does it a little bit to Carl, as well, but only if she's really tired. Anyway, it's both cute and annoying, but mostly cute. I'm sure I'll miss the mama-wanting when she's 13 and thinks I'm way too embarrassing to be seen dropping her off at school (she's totally right, and I'm okay with that... haha!).
Alright- off to go finish a few more errands while Carl is out doing the grocery shopping with bebe in tow. It's nice to have a break this weekend- my throat is driving me nuts. :(
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mcfnord
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10:25a
ebay reserve pricing is stupid
I need someone to do me a favor: Bid $19 on this ebay auction: this one
I bid $20 but nothing happens until someone else bids up my price, and we can see what the reserve price might be.
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mcfnord
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1:40a
insider trading is information
There are some further claims that the article makes, again based on Manne and a study by the SEC themselves which he claims show that insider trading doesn't actually harm the market, but I was mostly interested in the claim that insider trading actually helps the market and your thoughts on it.
It is made of those who believe in kindness, beauty, creativity and diversity. Oh yes, and imagination, and joy and possibility. In addition to the folks who come and visit RCR regularly, much of the soul of RCR is made up of those who cannot visit often. They are the depth of the river. Space and time are constraints. We appreciate their warm wishes and passions. They are the foundation of RCR: The soul.
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(comment on this) Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
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jadeejf
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12:17a
Oh, and...
My friend write4jesus posted another poem by the same author, Frances Ridley Havergal. I enjoyed it so much that I looked up more of her work, and found this one, which I thought I would share with all of you on the first day of a new decade:
New Year's Wishes
What shall I wish thee?
Treasures of earth?
Songs in the springtime,
Pleasures and mirth?
Flowers on thy pathway,
Skies ever clear?
Would this ensure thee
A Happy New Year?
What shall I wish thee?
What can be found
Bringing thee sunshine
All the year round?
Where is the treasure,
Lasting and dear,
That shall ensure thee
A Happy New Year?
Faith that increaseth,
Walking in light;
Hope that aboundeth,
Happy and bright;
Love that is perfect,
Casting out fear;
These shall ensure thee
A Happy New Year.
Peace in the Savior,
Rest at His feet,
Smile of His countenance
Radiant and sweet,
Joy in His presence!
Christ ever near!
This will ensure thee
A Happy New Year!
–Frances Ridley Havergal
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(6 comments | comment on this)
jadeejf
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12:10a
Resolutions 2010
So, the time for New Year's resolutions is upon us. First off, I'd like to resolve to get rid of this horrible sore throat within the next week. It's made it difficult to get into making New Year's resolutions, but I figured I should probably get on it, keeping in mind the verse that jsl32 posted on the subject ;)
( Resolutions 2010 )
Tonight, I am going to wholeheartedly avoid getting started on any of these ;) Being sick sucks, and I really hope we can get me to an urgent clinic tomorrow to find out if this yuck is strep throat or not. Let's pray the baby doesn't get whatever it is... ugh. Oh, and in theory, I will be updating about these goals on the first of every month. I often forget, so if you guys remember, be sure to give me a poke about it!
P.S. Am taking suggestions for the books and/or authors!
___________
In other news, we went to Home Depot and picked out appliances tonight. It wasn't as exciting as it could have been since I'm feeling so icky, but we'll be getting a fridge, oven, washer/dryer and dishwasher to replace the 60's era appliances (I know sarahrae! I'm a little sad, too, but we're hoping to sell them to people who will appreciate them more). They were having a sale, so we saved 10 percent on everything ;) We got a black oven and dishwasher, and a white fridge. Our dishwasher has stainless steel innards, which helps the dishes dry faster, and the stove is one of the electric ones without the coils/metal pieces over the burners- just a flat surface, so cleanup should be easy :D
Oh, and our fridge has a little thinger that spits out water and ice in the door. That was all Carl, though- I was just like "What's the cheapest?" :) I kind of wanted to get a chest freezer too, but I don't know where we would put it, and we should probably see how we do with a full-size freezer before we get anything else. The washer and dryer are side-loading, so we're either going to have our contractor build a platform (hopefully with drawers) for it to sit on top of so it's at arm height when I'm standing straight up, or we're just going to buy the platforms that are pre-made. But we're hoping the contractor can build a custom one a little taller than the pre-made ones so it'll be closer to my height. That's what I'm excited about- no more bending over to get stuff into the dryer ;) It was really hard when I was pregnant, and now I just want the convenience ;)
So, kind of a fun start to 2010, but not as much as it could be with my stupid throat being sucktastic and all. Boo.
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(14 comments | comment on this) Friday, January 1st, 2010
(5 comments | comment on this) Thursday, December 31st, 2009
jadeejf
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11:02p
Year in Review + Decade in Review!
I'm totally going to spend tomorrow coming up with New Year's Resolutions. They're fun, and I miss having something to automatically use as post fodder on the first of the month. But they will be simple and not particularly ambitious this year (not like the year of 50 books!). In the meantime, here's a quick rundown of the last decade- which as one friend pointed out was sort of like my whole life, since it started in high school and ended with a six-month-old ;) But here goes nothing...
( Decade in Review )
( Year in review, with photos! )
Phew- that took a long time! Good thing I didn't post a photo for every year, either ;)
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