Random Quote:
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
There is nothing that any wingnut on FOX News could ever say that would get them in trouble at all.
Test case.
Test case.
Al Franken of course is highly underestimated as a policy wonk, but I bet he's also the only person in the Senate who could do what he does at the end of this video:
(via Eric Kleefeld, who has other fun clips).
(via Eric Kleefeld, who has other fun clips).
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
It'd be nice if it were a condition of membership of the Democratic caucus in the Senate that, when the Majority Leader files for cloture, the members vote with him. No one has to vote for any bills they don't like, but no supporting Republican filibusters.
Now that there are 60 Dems, Harry Reid might be coming around to this notion.
Now that there are 60 Dems, Harry Reid might be coming around to this notion.
Gmail is finally out of beta.
I still use Thunderbird (upgraded finally from Netscape Mail) to download all my mail, but for composition I generally use the website. The major factor there was Google's integration of AIM into chat. And both of my old AOL addresses have long been converted to Gmail.
Not bad for something that I thought was an April Fool's joke (in part, anyway). Still, I was pretty wrong, both about the storage space and the ads. Though my screen is big enough that I don't even notice the ads off to the side.
But still, remember when a gigabyte seemed like a lot? Good times. According to Google, I am "currently using 569 MB (7%) of [my] 7345 MB."
I still use Thunderbird (upgraded finally from Netscape Mail) to download all my mail, but for composition I generally use the website. The major factor there was Google's integration of AIM into chat. And both of my old AOL addresses have long been converted to Gmail.
Not bad for something that I thought was an April Fool's joke (in part, anyway). Still, I was pretty wrong, both about the storage space and the ads. Though my screen is big enough that I don't even notice the ads off to the side.
But still, remember when a gigabyte seemed like a lot? Good times. According to Google, I am "currently using 569 MB (7%) of [my] 7345 MB."
Al Franken is a United States Senator.
The Washington Post fires Dan Froomkin (still not clear why, possibly being "too liberal" or simply for doing - gasp - media criticism), and two weeks later The Huffington Post hires him.
In case you even had an inkling to see Transformers 2, just read this and save yourself some cash.
Monday, July 06, 2009
For you jobless C-Span viewers, Joe Biden will swear in Al Franken shortly after noon tomorrow.
I think this post by Nate Silver shows the inherent falseness of "the Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority now" narrative.
Two moderate Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, are more likely (according to Silver's model) to vote for cap-and-trade legislation than nine Democrats. This is due to parochial interest, not ideology, which also demonstrates how harmful the filibuster is to the national agenda.
Two moderate Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, are more likely (according to Silver's model) to vote for cap-and-trade legislation than nine Democrats. This is due to parochial interest, not ideology, which also demonstrates how harmful the filibuster is to the national agenda.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
I'm just going to point out that she actually said this without irony: "Take the words of General MacArthur. He said, 'We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.'"
UPDATE: Speaking of irony, she later posted this to her Facebook page: "The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans." Predictable and ironic! That's quite the feat.
UPDATE: Speaking of irony, she later posted this to her Facebook page: "The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans." Predictable and ironic! That's quite the feat.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Matthew Yglesias writes:
More scary employment charts here.
Now one thing you will notice here is that today’s employment-population ratio is actually higher than it was at the peaks of pre-1980s business cycles. The difference-maker is feminism, which substantially increased women’s labor force participation. But while I think it’s fair to say that the United States of 40 years ago was suffering from a major social justice problem related to women’s unequal access to labor market opportunities, it’s not at all clear that we were actually facing an objective labor shortage.Sounds good to me!
Maybe instead of settling into a long-run equilibrium where overall labor force participation is way higher than it was in the late 1960s we ought to be headed for an equilibrium in which women’s labor force participation is way higher but overall participation is only slightly higher. More stay-at-home dads, in other words.
More scary employment charts here.
My old building had 40 units. Let's assume that's about 60 occupants.
My new building has three units, with seven occupants.
My old building had two washers and two dryers.
My new building has one washer and one dryer.
In my old building, I would walk to the basement and find myself unable to start a load of laundry about 10% of the time.
In my new building, I walk to the basement and find myself unable to start a load of laundry over 90% of the time.
Perhaps the difference is coin-operation? Regardless, I like my new apartment over the old one for many reasons, but this is not one of them.
My new building has three units, with seven occupants.
My old building had two washers and two dryers.
My new building has one washer and one dryer.
In my old building, I would walk to the basement and find myself unable to start a load of laundry about 10% of the time.
In my new building, I walk to the basement and find myself unable to start a load of laundry over 90% of the time.
Perhaps the difference is coin-operation? Regardless, I like my new apartment over the old one for many reasons, but this is not one of them.
So, my main hard drive started failing earlier this week. My system would crash and restart, as if the power had briefly gone out, and sometimes it wouldn't find Windows on reboot. So I went to Best Buy, and bought a new hard drive for about $130. My system came with two 250 GB HDDs. The new one? 1 TB.
Here's the obligatory "I remember installing a then-enormous 40 MB hard drive into our home computer with my father" mention.
Anyway, I've had to reinstall everything. I kept the bad hard drive connected, and have managed to transfer almost all my files. I originally thought the drive mechanism was wearing down, but I still managed to transfer over 100 GB of files at high speed. Some files I cannot even copy without an access error, which makes me think the actual disc is corrupted. I was surprised, since it's the second drive that I use more often, so maybe I can salvage it by fixing the bad sectors. Still, it will be a while before I fill up a terabyte, and I still have the second 250 GB drive.
One thing I had to reinstall was Firefox, and I ended up with the new 3.5 version. And wow, they're right, it's a lot faster. I recommend upgrading immediately and playing with Google Maps to see the improvement in rendering and Java speed.
Here's the obligatory "I remember installing a then-enormous 40 MB hard drive into our home computer with my father" mention.
Anyway, I've had to reinstall everything. I kept the bad hard drive connected, and have managed to transfer almost all my files. I originally thought the drive mechanism was wearing down, but I still managed to transfer over 100 GB of files at high speed. Some files I cannot even copy without an access error, which makes me think the actual disc is corrupted. I was surprised, since it's the second drive that I use more often, so maybe I can salvage it by fixing the bad sectors. Still, it will be a while before I fill up a terabyte, and I still have the second 250 GB drive.
One thing I had to reinstall was Firefox, and I ended up with the new 3.5 version. And wow, they're right, it's a lot faster. I recommend upgrading immediately and playing with Google Maps to see the improvement in rendering and Java speed.
My one-man mission to get Bill Nighy into a Harry Potter movie has been a success!
I believe I had mentally cast him as Luna Lovegood's father. We'll see if the producers agree with me. Wikipedia says otherwise, claiming he'll play Rufus Scrimgeour, but that would mean that old Rufus is not in the upcoming Half-Blood Prince. Which is certainly possible. Man I hope they don't fuck up the ending.
I believe I had mentally cast him as Luna Lovegood's father. We'll see if the producers agree with me. Wikipedia says otherwise, claiming he'll play Rufus Scrimgeour, but that would mean that old Rufus is not in the upcoming Half-Blood Prince. Which is certainly possible. Man I hope they don't fuck up the ending.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
The sum of the month that was allegedly June:
# June 2009 saw sunshine just 27 percent of the time, making it the second gloomiest June on record behind the 25 percent mark in 1903.What's the point of global warming, I ask you.
# The highest temperature recorded in June was 79, making it just the second June on record and first since 1916 that failed to reach 80 at any time.
# There were 19 days of measurable precipitation in June, second only to the 20 from 1916.
# The average wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour was the lowest on record for the month.
# At Logan Airport the average June temperature was 63.3, nearly five degrees below normal and the sixth coolest mark on record.
When the CBO scored the incomplete HELP health reform bill, which didn't include a public option, it found that it would cost over $1 trillion over 10 years and leave tens of millions uninsured.
Now the CBO has scored the complete HELP bill, which includes a public option, and it now costs less while insuring more people.
Now the CBO has scored the complete HELP bill, which includes a public option, and it now costs less while insuring more people.
On Tuesday, the Red Sox achieved a 99.6% win expectancy against the Orioles by midway through the 7th inning, but still lost the game.
Last night, the Orioles achieved a 98.6% win expectancy against the Red Sox, this time in the 9th inning with two outs, but still lost the game.
Never give up, never surrender.
Last night, the Orioles achieved a 98.6% win expectancy against the Red Sox, this time in the 9th inning with two outs, but still lost the game.
Never give up, never surrender.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Three-page Whedon/Chen Buffy comic here.
Conservatives are very serious on defense and terrorism.
I have trouble finding off-street bike racks.
Yeah, I thought part of the reform agenda was divorcing health insurance from employment. That was the best part of Wyden-Bennett, along with its savings.
Then again, I don't understand why corporate America has never gotten behind getting rid of the burden of providing health insurance, so clearly I'm missing something that Wal-mart knows.
UPDATE: Ah, this makes sense, as far as secret evil motives.
Then again, I don't understand why corporate America has never gotten behind getting rid of the burden of providing health insurance, so clearly I'm missing something that Wal-mart knows.
UPDATE: Ah, this makes sense, as far as secret evil motives.
Yuck.