Brian’s Plan for Gun control

Before you read this I want you to know I am mournfully sorry for the people of Newtown. My heart broke seeing the stories and I am sorry for your loss.

It looks like we are fully into blame mode and looking for a culprit. 

Looks like that culprit is going to be high capacity weapons.

Before we go down that path too far I just want to throw out a different perspective.

I live in the city. I own guns. I think it is ok to own guns. I think it is even ok to own the guns like the ones they keep flashing all over the news. I am not a hunter. I think it is a lame line to say stuff like why would a hunter need a 30 round clip? The purpose of these guns is to kill people, a lot of people. And that can be ok. If you ever have the chance to witness panic and violence in a crowd or realize that hungry and cold “nice” people can get real mean real quick you might change your mind too.

Safety from crowds of people wishing to do you harm is part of the appeal. For every mass shooting that has occurred you can find just as many examples of situations where a single person may have to defend themselves against a large crowd. 

If I find myself or my loved ones in this situation I hope I have options other than a bolt action .22

That said I am against banning any weapons.

However, I am all for regulating them and with that I give you: The Brian Proposal

1.) Buying a gun should entail at least the same amount of regulation that goes with buying a car.

a. You take a written test.

b. You take a practical test.

c. You pass an eligibility test.

d. You get liability insurance per each gun.

e. You pay for a permit.

f. You redo this every ten years.

g. It becomes a criminal offense to have an uninsured gun.



2.) Just like regular insurance you get a break on your insurance if you can prove the following

a. You have your gun secured in a safety device \safe of some kind

b. You have an alarm system

c. All residents in your property have taking a written and practical test

*This will lead to more guns safely stored preventing them from being mishandled or accidently discharged in accidents. Using the cost of insurance to drive behavior could have a profound impact.

3.) Using a portion of the fees from insurance, tests and permits the city will set up an aggressive gun buyback program. This will be an anonymous program where a user can turn in a gun and get a $100 bill no questions asked. These programs have been successful especially in crime ridden neighbors hood and getting guns that are in dangerous working conditions off of the street.

The net result of these few steps leads to more guns being stored securely and more guns being taken off the street. While this is not a 100% solution it moves society in the desired direction without imposing on people’s rights. By imposing the insurance premium on people that progresses with each gun they own you can also nudge the stockpiling of weapons in the opposite direction.

As part of this deal the republicans have to also agree to stop using conflicting arguments

If you are going to say outlawing thing doesn’t work …please apply that same logic to all of the other stuff you are constantly trying to outlaw..like abortion, gay marriage, marijuana etc.. try to makes it a little more consistent..mmmmkay

You Sir Are Right, Again

The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him. – Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

War on Science

Just finished the Book the Republican War on Science. It was an interesting book worth picking up. I wish the arguments would have been framed differently as to lay the ground work for a more constructive all inclusive re positioning of science in our society. I fear that arguments in this vain do more to polarize the issue than cause the discussion that needs to take place but since no one is having this discussion anyway I guess it really doesn’t matter.

Those Who Fail History

One of the things I was most acutely aware of during the last election was the plethora of business people who said that if a specific candidate was elected they were going to be forced to lay-off staff. Some notable ones included Papa John’s CEO. It seems to be walking a fine line of voter intimidation and free speech.

In catching up on my DVR I watched the whole series of the Men Who Built America. (Great series BTW). It was interesting to see the same issue in the McKinley election. As Carnegie, Rockefeller and Morgan applied pressure to sway the election.

One thing I would have liked to do is write down all the CEO’s who made statements and compare the numbers of employees at 1-3-5-10 years post election but that seemed like too much work and I have been too tired lately.

Pleasantville?

For some reason when I ever stumble along this little movie gem on TV I can’t help but sit and watch. I think it draws a nice story about a longing for a perfect and the realization that that idealized world isn’t what you think it is. There is a scene in the movie when the towns leaders are convened in a bowling where they are safe from the changes going on around them on the outside. They are plotting strategy about how to overcoming this changing world. While I know everyone is sick of politics I think this is a good representation of the current state of the republican party which is despite a lot of chest thumping is now in its current form entering its twilight. The changing demographics of America long two particular axis will continue to erode the parties relevance each year.

1.) The largest growing “religious” population in the US is non-theists -- atheists. This population will start to have a larger and larger influence going forward. As we move from a more superstitious based culture to a more rational scientific minded culture how we think, vote and handle issues will change in a way I would forecast is not going to be favorable to the party.

2.) The diversity of the country is changing. As we become more multicultural you can no longer win elections based on appealing to one segment of the population. You will need to include people or all different backgrounds and here the party has some extreme challenges and may have to change its dogma considerably.

The party strategy then becomes one of two paths; suppress these changes or the population within these demographics from voting or fundamentally change the party platform.

My gut tells me that line is too hard, that number 1 will prevail and with that my prediction is that if the economy keeps flat or marginally improving we will never see another viable republican candidate for president.

Business Idea #32123 – Business Card Vending Machine

Business card vending machine for hotels, bars clubs.  Insert a few bucks. Pick a template. Enter a few details and bam a custom card pops right out. I would be willing to bet they might even do well as a novelty item at places where conventions take place etc.. 

Dubstep

This might be a complete burst of bull shit or it is marketing genius. At the ripe old age of 34 I have come to the conclusion I have no idea what dubstep is. In the music store however I noticed that it apparently has its own section and then it occurred to me perhaps there is nothing to this genre of music other then awesome marketing. I mean your own section where you only have to compete with a limited array of artists. You pay a fee to have your album labeled dubstep and you are on your way.

PS If anyone is reading this from radio station please stop playing that Alex Clare song you are a day late and dollar short. Plus the acoustic version was ten times better when it came out like ten years ago. 

Look at that I made a hipster comment...I crack myself up

I Feel Your Pain Superman

Maroon 5

I have noticed this band is kind of like kryptonite to me. When ever I hear it I lose power my head hurts I get weak and all I can do it cover my ears and wither on the floor in agony. The louder the music the greater the impact.

Maybe Adam Levine is an evil super genius who is going to incapacitate the world with his awful sounds and hold the world for ransom until he is paid enough to keep quiet.

Screenplay Idea #5612

A young man is brutally murdered and mugged by a small gang a hoodlums who drag his body into a run down house and go through his . They take his cash and in his wallet he also has a lottery ticket for the Powerball ticket for the drawing that night as it drifts down to the ground you hear them say it is not your lucky day mother @#$%.

The next morning as they are waking up. The news is lit up by the fact that someone in their town has won the power ball jackpot of 125,000,000.00

They know where the ticket is as they go back to get it a homeless person is there with the body he gets killed.

They have to kill the owner who of th store who sold the ticket to get the video of who bought the ticket.

They start to kill each other until there is one left who is in prison.

His cell door opens

Flash of a shanks meddle in the dark

Another flash now with blood on it

Flash to a news report of a cop claiming the largest Powerball jack pot in state history.

Fade to black....

It is probably an over done concept on greed, corruption ect but might be the right time and place for a small movie project.

Pressure to Power the World - Idea #25132

Project Idea: Use of Pressure to Create Energy 

Perhaps through the use of a piezoelectric disk? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity) 

Another way to harvest the wind using a piezoelectric ideas. Possibly modifying the structure of the disk. The solution could provide renewable energy cheaply, solve the problem of distance with electric cars by allowing for another method of charging the battery.

In this example the wind is interacting with a slightly free hanging structure. This then puts pressure on a variation of a piezoelectric disk which generates voltage transferred to a storage device. A scenario where I could see this would be the grill of car where the faster it moves the more pressure would be applied causing the disk to distort and more voltage to be created.

A potential second scenario would be to create entire frames of objects to be piezoelectric discs.

For example here is a window frame or even better a series of windows that make up an array in an office building

In this example the entire window frame is a piezoelectric disk as wind pushes on the glass it applies pressure to the frame that causes distortion in the disk creating voltage.



You would have to make them sensitive enough and amplify the voltage.

Questions:

1.) Does the disk have reverberate contract and detract to make voltage?

If the answer if that it can create voltage under constant pressure then perhaps another application can be applied one where the primary foundation of a house is a large Piezoelectric disk and the weight of the structure + gravity applies pressure on the foundation. Since this pressure will be constant the home\office \structure would have a limitless amount of energy.


2.) Can we arrange with technology the atoms of the crystals in such a way to increase voltage, make the plates more sensitive, and more efficient?

3.) What equations do I have to know to find out if this is feasible? Who would I ask?

4.) If this is possible has it been tried before?

5.) If it is possible and has not been tried before how would I get a grant to create a prototype.

Inspirations Thread count

Can you be inspired when you are satisfied? I find myself sitting on a plateau wondering what is the next challenge. It is a strange situation to be at in life where there is no great challenge to overcome. No stress of complete destruction. It is a weird feeling to have just more than enough. Think it is time to dig a little bit deeper to overcome the inertia of comfort.

--File this under problems of the first world

Punked the Faithful Version

Sometimes a part of me wants to pull a super elaborate prank. Perhaps using satellites and some illumination process with lasers write some scripture in the night sky saying something

“Follow the sign into the wilderness and you will be saved for I am the lord your god”

On the very next day cause a red laser from space to be seen all over the world and watch people flock to the point of light and then slowly move the dot as the masses of people followed it…maybe down to Antarctica or something…after all you need to suffer and endure to be saved right?

It would be kind of like that game you play with a cat where you shine the red dot and let the cat chase it but never can catch it.

Then just turn it off and leave them wondering… hopefully some place really far away.

Where is Ashton when I need him?

Liberals Do It To

Liberals Are Not Immune to BS Either

This graph keeps popping up in conversations and on FB, G+ etc. It says the CEO now makes 450 time more than the average worker. Being a curious fellow and wondering how these numbers were arrived I did a little leg work. It took about 5 seconds to find out that it is BS. In regards to how quickly this was disproved I wondered why so many people agree with the findings?

1.) It would be difficult to calculate in the first place CEO’s make widely different salaries depending on the size, type of industry etc..

2.) People are forwarding on way to many things that just aren’t true. I would say a good rule of thumb is if you have a graphic that does not list its sources its is BS and please don’t hit the share button. There is enough BS in the world without adding to it.

On a side note looking at this fake number with a twist. For those in my great state of Minnesota take this stat out to the great state fair. Suddenly the number 1 in 450 becomes more plausible when you think about how many people in this crowd are capable of running a company.

HR Mistakes

Heard this today and got a chuckle out of it…”You spend 98% of your energy dealing with your 2% error in

judgment when hiring”

Polling Locations Bias Individuals

There was an interesting passage in the book Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow that gave me a little pause.

It was referring to a study where school referendums were on the ballot and results for the elections. It was

showing the difference in the voting results based on the location where the ballot was cast in a school or

non-school location and the results were that a person was much more likely to vote yes for the referendum

if they were voting in a school than if they were not.

I thought this was particularly interesting since this year Minnesota will be voting on whether or not to

constitutionally ban gay marriage….and my polling place happens to be in a church…I would image that

this scenario is played out where there will be several percentage points who will be persuaded to vote yes

based on where the polling location is taking.

If you aren’t able to post political commentary near polling places how does that reconcile holding a polling

location where the location itself is a symbol for the initiative?

Confession #65442

It was me I took your three weeks of food that you fill-up the work fridge with and left it out on the counter all weekend…opps. Next time how about just bring the food in on a daily basis like everyone else so there is
room for everybody….

Twins Game

                                                 With TC at the Brewers\Twins Game

Masters 2012

Summer Vacation

Haven't been posting here much lately if you miss me and want to up for the next 90 days you can reach me on Plus  https://plus.google.com/u/0/100544147995321483893/posts

Lots of little things in the works entering a series of three 30 day personal sprints.

 See you on the other side.

Global Warming and Sosa

Described in my favorite terms baseball:

Do you think Sammy Sosa took steroids? Yes
Do you think Steroids enhanced his performance? Yes
Do you think he was more likely to hit a home run at each plate appearance taking steroids then without? Yes

Do you think if he struck out six times in a row that would be proof he wasn’t on steroids? No
Can you prove that a specific home run, he hit in a specific inning on a specific day was directly due to steroids? No
Can you predict if he will hit a home run in his next at bat after taking steroids? No

See there are two concepts at work a general one and a specific one. Global warming like steroids is a general rule. An event is more likely to occur because of stimulators then without it. Just like the average number of home runs will increase, the average temperature will increase over time.

Bus Driver Diss

We call people who steer boats captains, people who steer planes captains and we tend to look down at bus drivers,. What’s up with that? Seems kind of arbitrary.

Bet there is a lot more risk driving the 5 down Chicago Ave than a flight from New York to LA

Wardrobe Choices

I am convinced every girl has a go to hooker outfit. 

Autism on the Rise?

Autism on the Rise?

In putting these two thoughts together I can’t help but wonder if part of rise in cases of diagnosed autism comes from increased sexual selection for employable intelligence?

No doubt better screening is a factor but I wonder…

Meh Ball

 

I love baseball. I love math. I enjoy stories by Michael Lewis. Money ball should have been a slam dunk and yet it was kind of a bore. I take consolation in the fact that it was the Twins who ended the infamous win streak. Only wish that would have happened in 30 minutes into the movie and it would have ended there.

Turning Over Your Social Media Passwords for a Job Interview?

There has been a lot talk about companies asking job interview candidates for their social media passwords. I don’t quite buy into this though. This seems extremely risky from a business point of view. The candidate could easily say you looked at my personal pictures and writing and didn’t hire me because of my orientation on this matter.

In fact prior to a job interview where this was a possibility I would almost encourage people to take a lot of pictures of them kissing someone of the same sex, join some obscure religious sects fan page and sue the company for discrimination if you didn’t get the job.

I can’t think of one reason why a company would want to absorb this type of risk, why their auditors or insurance coverage would want to allow it either.

But if it is a possibility for you I would turn the invasion of privacy into sure hire or pay day with a little reverse play.

Lovable Fool

It took me a long time to realize a few simple truths that I will share in case anyone else is finding they are in a similar spot. There is a big difference between liking someone and promoting someone. To put it in other words you can be the most liked person in the office and stay at the bottom of the org structure for as long as you let your attitude and behavior keep you there.

There was an article I read approximately 5 years ago as part of a class course study that probably changed my professional life more than anything else. Here is the article by Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo. I realized on an honest assessment from myself and the feedback of a trusted colleague that I was in the wrong box in this matrix and needed to make a few changes

If you are a lovable fool here are three things you can do to help yourself and your career.

1.) Get some training, a degree a certification something that will get some letters behind your name. It helps build competency and confidence in your abilities. It also helps others have some confidence in your abilities

2.) Shut your mouth a little more. Keep the fact that you are hung over to yourself. Weekend plans that involve binge drinking, blow-up dolls should be kept to yourself. While everybody tends to love the party guy, most people aren’t chomping at the bit to put them in P\L management positions. – Keep personal drama

3.) In this day and age of interconnectedness remember there is a difference between co-workers and friends. Kept them separate. Separate circles and sharing properties in social media apps. Even if you are friends with them in real life – still restrict them to the co-worker circles. The last thing you want is them to pull up a site in your office that has compromising pictures or access to different things that a person a cube over doesn’t – if they are a co-worker – restricted period.

You can be likable and reserved especially if you tend to have a foul mouth and a heavy hand on the vise. Just keep it separate.

It sounds simple, be professional, but sometimes the need to fit in or be liked tends to make us compromise our future enterprise prospects.

A lesson I am happy I learned when I did.

Meanwhile in the Background of my Brain

Wondering….

 

 

What is the difference between a drug and a vitamin?

 

What if he had been wearing a ski mask instead of a hood?

What other factors are going on in this neighborhood that they have armed block watch?

Would Trayvon have felt threatened if he saw someone in a hood approaching him?

For some reason those seem like important questions to me today. 

Reward Program

Dear Pet Co\Roundy’s etc why can’t you just give me a good deal when I take the time to come into your store?

You want to combine my demographic information with my purchasing habits to be able to better market to people?
This is the primary reason when ever I sign-up for a rewards program I fill out all the information as wrong as possible. I am a 90 year old woman on most of them or better yet I just go to stores that don’t require me to carry around little plastic cards on my key chain to get a good deal.

Global Warming is a Farce?

Now I see if you want to debate the impacts of global warming. I can see if you want to argue solutions to the problem or urgency of their implementation but to say that the over whelming amount of data and scientists who are studying the problem have no idea what they are talking about is dangerous and irresponsible.

The next time you hear someone say this it is time to ask a few questions.

1.) How do you think a green house works?

2.) Do you think that changing the thickness or material the greenhouse is constructed of will change the environment inside?

3.) Do you think we can accurately measure gas or air and the types of pollutants in the air?

Little experiment you can do for some extra convincing.



I think the main problem tends to be the grasping of size and relatively fragile nature of the problem. Climate change is small gradual and occurring over time. For example there is variation like this winter being a heat wave in Minnesota. Might not be due to global warming just a random occurrence. It is the overall trend that is concerning.

Yes weather patterns have changed in the past due to asteroids, volcanoes, polar shifts etc. They also had dramatic impacts on the earth. We can study these events just like we can study the impact we are having.

Rain on an Asphalt Roof

In a similar vein as yesterdays post on hot meals we had some of the first thunderstorms roll through Minneapolis of the season this past Monday night. It was very relaxing and almost tribal. I sat on my couch with all the lights out drinking a glass of wine and watching the lightening show. I was warm. I was dry. Something in that combination felt supremely powerful. There is something about living in Minnesota that I absolutely love. Although in modern time the need and skill to survive here is diminished there is something about the ability to shelter, provide, persevere and succeed in an adverse environment.



Or is it complete stupidity? I spilt on the topic every few days.

Hot Meal

Something warm in your tummy. I think there is something to the feeling of enjoyment of a hot meal. I mean when you think about it for 100,000’s of thousands of years our frail little bi-pedal species has been eking out a living eating plants and grubs or running from predators and trying to survive. Hot meals were hard to come by. You had to build a fire, be in a safe place to do so and have an abundance of resources and time to actually cook something. Most of that is still true today. Maybe something reaches across time every time I have that hot meal and lets me know everything is ok. I am in a safe place.

Improvement Outside In

It is amazing what a little home renovation can do. I have lived walking on 1970’s rolled linoleum for longer than I care to remember. Avoided spending the money to redo it under the guise if it isn’t broke why fix it. However after finally succumbing to pressure to update it I am super jacked about the result. After retiling and re-carpeting the floors I am amazed at how big of a difference it has had on my overall being.

It is amazing how much aesthetics of how something looks can have on your personal being. It looks less cluttered it is relaxing it cleaner, modern, rich. There is something about putting yourself in a rich mindset to attract further riches. I have come to fully accept that you are what you think about and in changing the appearance of my daily surroundings I can reinforce a different way of thinking that is continuing to have a compound impact on my life.

Creature of Habit

You never quite know how big of a creature of habit and routine you are until something fundamentally changes your habit or routine.

Team Shirts

As I advance in my career the focus of building teams becomes increasingly important. There is an interesting dynamic that I have been watching play out. Imagine this scenario your company is part owner of a professional sports team. In celebration of that fact three years the company bought everybody at the company official team sports jerseys. So everyone who was at the company during that time has them.

Now this company continues to have “pride” days where everybody is asked to come dressed in their team colors. (Jerseys) Now new employees have the option of buying a jersey at a moderate expense or not participating in the team events. This seems to cause considerable rifts between the employees who have a jersey and those who don’t.

Seems an obvious solution would be to buy a jersey for every new employee on some schedule for example after their 2nd annual review or something. However due to budget constraints that is not possible. Wondering if any other companies have “pride” day issue like this and how they deal with them?

 

They See Me Trolling…They Hating

Just a quick word on trolling. People be trolling ,get used to it. It is not necessarily a bad thing. Alternative viewpoints even if they are mean or sarcastic can be helpful. Anything that is of merit usually has differing perspectives. It is ok. So what if someone doesn’t like you or disagrees with you. Never mind the fact that some people need to get called out on their bull shit lest they go on believing in tooth fairies. Trolling has its place, you can choice how you respond to it. Ignore it, debunk it, etc.

 

Drive

Was it just me or was this movie awesome? This movie has some of the most gratuitous violence I have seen in a while and a great use of pause a timing to get your buttons going. The ending should have been a little darker but my guess is this was the intent of the director and a test market got to over ride it.

Founded on Christian Values \ Principles?

Here is a little experiment and civic lesson that is fun and informative. Next time you here someone spout this non-sense it is time to ask them a few questions.

Usually it takes just one.
1.) What values and principles are those?

If I am feeling like being a dick I pull up a copy of the declaration of independence and start reading through the charges against the king and asking where in the bible would I find the corresponding principle? Can they show me?

Every once and a while I encounter the joy of running into a minister or student who can take this argument a step further because let be honest the bible can justify anything. The question then becomes is this exclusively a Christian Principle? (The ones that can be found can also be found in every major religion as well as within the pages of the lord of the rings, the odyssey, etc)

If they are really good they will come up with samples and verses but fail the following test. The bible is filled with stories, recordation of events, fables and analogies but these truths preexisted Christianity. They are not even religious in nature.

Ask these questions and if you are religious you should appreciate the effort to discover this for yourself. After all you should probably know why you go to a Church and not a Mosque or Temple or visa versa.

1.) What values and principles distinguish Christianity from say Islam or Taoism?
2.) Do you have to be religious at all to live this value or Principle?

The simple answer is this countries founding has nothing to do with Christianity.

If you think you can prove otherwise after completing these simple exercises I would love to hear from you.

Unintended Benefits

Something I have noticed about getting up early and working out. I take shorter showers and use less hot water. Perhaps because I am more alert and have blood flowing I am dilly dallying less bring my show time and water usage time almost in half. 

Mastermind?

I can’t help but think of how stupid someone must be to rob a bank. Why risk going to Federal prison trying to rob the most prepared target possible with the upside potential of maybe getting away with a couple thousand dollars? It just doesn’t make sense.

If I was a criminal I would probably target places like Half Price Books or clothing consignment stores or some secondary market (excluding pawn shops) where they have to deal in cash. Seems like an easier target with less risk and probably the general take.

Oh Looks at the Bead Work

Watching the GOP field talk about which candidate is more conservative is like watching people argue over who can see the emperor’s new clothes in the finest detail. There is something sad about watching grown men argue over the merits of the tooth fairy and something fundamentally troubling that they are doing it to applause of others.

New Blog – The Fecal Platter

Here is a blog concept that would be an instant hit.

People submit photos of their bowel movements and they are analyzed by a blogger who give them a reason the fecal payload is the way it is color, length consistency etc. along with a recommendation of change in diet and a recipe to drive home the change.

I think this would be a hit because it hits all of the following.
1.) It is interactive with the audience (they submit you respond)
2.) You build up a pipeline – people will keep coming back every day wanting to see their turd on your home page.
3.) It is a little bizarre and novel. It will get people talking.
4.) It has built in niche sponsorship with companies like Metamucil or colonoscopies.
5.) You could partner with charities colon cancer etc.
6.) It is a subject that people are embarrassed to talk about driving more people to search on the internet for items like colon health.
7.) Providing recipes and advice targeted to the audience gives them positive incentive for taking the time to visit the blog.

Anyone want to turn poop into gold with me?

Ameritopia

Just finished this book and this book and would highly recommend it. The thought that swirled in my head after I finished it last night had really nothing to do with the book but rather was a philosophical conversation that should probably be addressed. The way the author presents his case showing the failing of Hobbs, More, Plato and Marx next to the ideas of , John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu and Alexis de Toqueville it became even more clear.

The question that I found myself pondering in the end didn’t have anything to do with America but rather with how does the contrast of ideas explain the presence and prominence of the Church. It seems to be a conflict of ideas but an accepted contrast of ideas for a large number of conservatives.

For example the church requires a surrendering of the individuals will to a representative who can dictate laws who has not been elected by the people. Perhaps the difference here is that the promise of utopia is delivered in some other dimension or that people genuinely have enough doubt in the basis of religion that power and influence of the church really does not impede their will?

Religion aside it was a great book and worth a read, especially for anyone who is a fan of philosophy and how an idea can change the world.

Time Reallocation

It is amazing how a little reorganization in your schedule can have such a wonderful impact. Every morning for the past 10 years I have made ironing as part of my morning routine. 10 minutes of pressing out a wrinkle free shirt and pants.

.

Now I am ironing all my clothes while watching a little TV Sunday nights and going for a 10 minute jog in the morning instead.

 

Taking my non-productive time (watching TV on Sunday nights) and turing it into productive time that is having a trickle down impact on my health. Wiin Win bitches.

 

This winter and not smoking has not bee kind to my mid section so it is a well needed change. 

The Dictator

Not sure how many people saw “the Dictator” dump an urn on Ryan Seacrest the other night at the Academy Awards but I noticed  a few things.

 

One: I thought it was hilarious. The absurdity of asking 100 pompous people who they are wearing being interrupted in such a manner was hilarious. Ryan was good on his feet and as testimonial of his power in the city there were almost no such new stories reporting anything about it.   

 

I bet next year there will be a delay and we will miss some goodie.

 

I wonder how much of  a delay you can have and still call something Live? 

All Things Equal?

It seems like a lot of the rhetoric surrounding the coming election has to do with making things equal or relative and part of me actually shivers at the thought. The truth is some lifestyles are more successful than others. A person who workout everyday, avoids alcohol and saves more then they spend is going to be more successful then someone who doesn’t. That is truth at least if you measure success by being healthy and financially sound.

 

I have a problem with using legislative measures to set lifestyles to equal. It creates a disincentive for getting healthy or being financially prudent more over it usually comes at the expense of the people who have chosen wisely from the beginning. Now I understand some people have obstacles to being able to choice correctly but looking at the world from our point of view today how can it make sense to legislate equality?

Public Opinion

Quote of the day a few days ago..

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways." -- Bertrand Russell 

Perspectives in the Land of Cheese

Listening to Andrew Zimmerman on MPR. He had an interesting perspective on what is normal.  After taking some calls about all the “interesting” things he has eaten and how different other cultures are he said, “In Africa they wonder why we let perfectly good milk rot and then cut it into little blocks and eat it.”

 

Maybe it is because cheese is such a way of life here but I never thought of the consumption of it from that perspective before and it was kind of interesting. 

Crazy Warm Weather and Missing NHL Players

Crazy Warm Weather and Missing NHL Players The last few days have been downright beautiful in Minneapolis. Although besides the obvious victims of this year’s winter ski hills, snow plowers, snow mobile sale folks etc.

 However walking past the open water on lakes and the empty hockey rinks I can’t help but wonder if this winter didn’t also claim the life fulfillment of at least a few potential hockey players.

There is a rule of thumb that if you want to be great at something you need to put in 10,000 hours practicing that something. What if this winter and closing of hockey rinks and outdoor play causes a play to miss just enough ice time to not be good enough for the NHL?

 A random event unknowing shaping the potential of the future passes unnoticed. But I guess they all do don’t they..

Habits

Looking down at my expanding mid section I realized there is more truth to the adage, "We form our habits and then our habits form us." then I thought.

Hunger Games

Ok I ripped through this series and I was going to type some long post justifying why I enjoyed them so much. Something filled with gauging popular cultures tastes and some other overly intellectual bs but the truth is I just like it. It was a good series. Being good is good enough doesn't have to be some bigger reason. That said I wish the ending was a little less fairy tale'ish but I guess it is a kids book after all.

Voter I'd Cards

I must be missing something here. We require Id to buy smokes, enter bars, buy lottery tickets or beer. I mean you have to show your Id for tons of age restricted items. Why would voting be any different? This just seems like such a silly thing to fight over, I must be missing something?

Modern Wedding Symbolism

Place this ring on her finger as a sign of a penis going into a vagina.

Tattoo Printer

Why couldn’t you build a tattoo printer? One that worked just like a laser printer with a needle? You stick your arm in a sleeve and 10 minutes later you have a sleeve. Seems like if we can build a printer that can create organs we should be able to do tattoos?

Happy Childhood

"A happy childhood is the worst possible preparation for life" - Kinky Friedman

You Should Pay Me

“Sorry if you put your advertising on me you have to pay me, not the other way around.” I have never really put much thought to this one before but it is pretty true. If a company wanted you to wear their logo as a temporary tattoo on your forehead you would expect them to pay you for using you as a vehicle for advertising their product. Yet for some reason when it comes to clothes we pay a premium to be able to turn ourselves into a walking billboard for a company. Strange…

Ratio of What

I wonder what ratio you would come up with if you took the number of people who signed up for military service and divided it by the number of people who tried out for a reality show? I wonder what that ratio would tell you if you monitored it over time or what it would actually say about the America. My assumption in posing this question is that the target audience of military service and reality show (American Idol, X Factor, Real World etc...) is probably about the same age group?

New App #25321 – Motion Pass through Window

We have all done this, you now see it daily. People walking and checking emails at the same time. What if we designed an app that used the camera of the phone to project a small window in the top right of your screen so you would not have to look up when you are walking? You would need make the camera “right side itself” so it is always projecting an image of what is in front of you regardless of the camera. The red box below would be the viewfinder of camera. You would never have to look up again.

Can one be prudent in the age of Facebook?

A prudent man, remembering that life is short, examines his friendships critically now and then. A few he retains, but the majority he tries to forget. - H. L. Mencken Interesting quote in a era when collecting friends seems to be a part time job.

Kindle and Book Signings

I was going through my book case recently and noticed a few books that I have had autographed over the years. I couldn’t help but wonder what will happen to the book signing when most copies are digital? Does the autograph market guarantee that a certain amount of books will always be print? Does a stylus tracing over an Ipad have the same market value as a signature? Same emotion appeal? Pondering the future of a signature in general. Does a digital signature make you less emotionally committed to a contract?

The Day the Twinkie Disappeared

So Hostess is filing for Chapter 11 protection. I can’t help but wonder if the government legalized marijuana if that would be the same as a bailout in this situation?

Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind by Tim Groseclose

I just finished Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind by Tim Groseclose and just want to record some initial thoughts. As most people, who read this blog, if there is anyone out there still, are aware I tend to lean left of center on most issues and so this is probably not a book you would see me reading. That said I really enjoyed it. 1.)I love anyone who can present evidence in a clear and logical way and Groseclose does that beautifully. I appreciate that all of his assumptions are on the table from his point of view to data collection and to be honest although I think everyone assumes the media to be liberally biased I found the results to be fascinating as to the extent and implication. 2.)I put this book down and walked away and was acutely aware at how sloppy and weak my critical thinking has become when it comes to the new I read and watch. 3.)There is an example in the book that has to do with the reporting of the Bush tax cuts and seeing the data presented from both sides (like reporting is supposed to do) I would have honestly sided with Bush on the issue had they been fully presented at the time. This leads me to wonder what other positions I am defending without knowing all of the facts. 4.)Surprisingly the offense that I took to this book was as an atheist not a liberal. I believe in data, I think the study is sound, but just because something is centrist doesn’t make it true. **Future possible study. One thing that I couldn’t shake was the weighting concept and the scope of items measured. Although I have no data to support this position I would like to jot down some thoughts for further possible study on the subject. In my personal life the book I finished reading prior to this was Boomerang by Michael Lewis about among other thing the European debt crisis. Now for example, like many people you can’t turn on the news these days without hearing Greece this and default that. I have probably heard 20 news reports on it, read 30 articles in the paper but how I now see that issue is framed by that book. Somehow that doesn’t seem to factor in to this. For example today is 1/26/2012 this is the New York Times Best Seller List. I guess you could pick any top reading list. How many are conservative? Liberal? Does that make a difference? What if the order of magnitude is so much bigger then reading a paper? ***I know it is also not included in the study but similar to watching a one hour special on TV what impact does a message you are getting from a one hour sermon in church have on a user? Listening to Midmorning isn’t going to send you to Hell but ignoring the message of a sermon might? This could impact elasticity, right? **If the free market principal is at play and there is more underlying demand for conservative news papers or balanced opinion. Why hasn’t the sector shifted to more of a balance? If more people are conservative , have conservative demand, shouldn’t the free market system sort this out?

What Your Average Bed Time Says About You…

I bet if you did a large enough regression analysis you would find the following: every hour past 9:00PM that an average person goes to bed correlates to an incremental increase in how many sexual partners they have had. For example a person whose average bed time is 9:00PM and person whose average bed time is 3:00 AM would have vastly different numbers in partners. There is also the inverse of this. The later a person arrives at the office in the morning the more partners they have had…since it tends to hold the later you are up the later you the later you arrive at the office. Think about that the next time you watch someone stroll in at 9:15.

App Idea #653789

Wouldn't it be cool if you could design an app that took pictures and video of what the world looks like through the eyes of a dog or cat? You could have an app per pet type people would eat that up.

Check Mark – Finished – Completed

Last night I gave my final presentation for my MBA and so it done. What will I do with all my new found free time? If I am smart I will fill it with jogging and salads. I wont miss class or papers but there is some good people I have met along the way:) Cheer and keep reaching for the stars:)

2012 GOP Field

Even if I accept so called most negative statements made about Obama - He is socialism, Muslim, he is not a US citizen, change hasn't come fast enough etc. I would still rather vote for him than any person the GOP has offered up. If I was a republican I would be embarrassed.

Order Up

I wonder if coaches cover up their mouths when ordering with the menu to avoid tipping off to the rest of the table what is coming next?