Random
catdynamics | August 20, 2007The "Seven Sergeants" Op-Ed in NYT on Iraq
Read it.
Sometimes we link because linking is an inherent good.
catdynamics | August 17, 2007Rainy cool francophile vendredi, and we had questions...!
Oh, mighty iPod One, what of our Pulsar Questions?
Can you answer?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Please Do Not Go - Violent Femmes
The Crossing: Dead Souls - Joy Division
The Crown: Stuart and the Avenue - Green Day
The Root: This is Reggae Music - Zap Pow
The Past: Surfin' USA - Beach Boys
The Future: Clampdown - Clash
The Questioner: If I Had Possession Over Pancake Day - Half Man Half Biscuit
The House: Tight Wad Hill - Green Day
The Inside: Look Like That - Violent Femmes
The Outcome: Ha-ha-ha Rækju Reggae…
catdynamics | August 15, 2007Philosophia Naturalis 13 is up at the Cocktail Party, which makes me think about economists again...
A lot has been said about the dismal science, both its applications, and the inapplicability of its grander theorizing.
Which is actually rather unfair, economics is, in parts, well founded quantitative and based on well defined assumptions that are tested both by observational data and microeconomic experiments.
I conjecture that much of the problems of economics may come from the fact that most of the people who "do" economics - whether by trying to apply academic economic theory, or by…
catdynamics | August 13, 2007with Karl Rove out of the White House, does this mean the Vice President's Office dominates access to the President totally? With less weighing of domestic political consequences when making political decisions?
If Cheney is not now the major political influence on Bush, then who is?
catdynamics | August 12, 2007...or give me death
We will fight them in the conference rooms...
Turf Wars continued.
A visitor once asked for a tour of the "Sigurdsson Labs" - I offered to show them my workstation, it was rather nice, until it broke. And there is the old one in the corner, of course. University inventory control wants to see it about every other year, they think it is worth actual money.
Ok, I think I have a student in some corner also, but they're working hard, I'm told.
Can't be having them disturbed by visitors.
catdynamics | August 10, 2007in the beginning there was the Computer.
http://celobox.googlepages.com/god.html
Mmm.
Command line.
They got it right.
Hang in there 'till "day 6", it is worth the wait.
catdynamics | August 10, 2007"breaking news" that NYPD is deploying to search for or intercept a aQ threat of a "radiological bomb" in New York (one news site claims "near 34th street"?)
threat is "unverified", of course, we'll see - radiological bombs are mostly psychological weapons, very hard to get material together for a bomb and then dispersed in a way that makes much of an actual health effect - more something for causing panic and dislocation, especially with false alarms
also interesting that right wing news sites have been buzzing with "imminent 'dirty bomb' attack" speculations for several days now
http://news…
catdynamics | August 10, 2007we continue providing educational products for the new kids on the block
last one for a while, I promise, just had to put this one up
catdynamics | August 10, 2007the new kids need some more education to complete their perspective on science
across the 8th dimension...
Dedicated to (soon to be) Dr May
catdynamics | August 10, 2007sultry dog days, and if there's been much astro science news, I haven't paid attention
so... we go topical and ask the All Wise iPod: whence go those engines of capitalism, the Free Markets of the world?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Too Soon To Tell - Bonnie Raitt
The Crossing: Bright Lights - Special AKA
The Crown: What Colour Are You Wearing
The Root: Homeless - Paul Simon
The Past: Thing Called Love - Bonnie Raitt
The Future: Hello, I Love You - Doors
The Questioner: Hitchin' A Ride - Green Day
The House: Hey You - Pink Floyd
The Inside: Alabama Song - Doors
The…
catdynamics | August 9, 2007deLong notes the central banks increased the money supply by 7% in a single day (dollar and euro),
for some reason
this works out to 5.3 trillion percent per year, or 4.3 billion %/year if you assume bankers don't work weekends...
economists can sometimes have more fun than even astronomers
Watching the markets has been "interesting" recently
I have vague memories that a feature of markets is highly correlated variance,
ie that large day-to-day fluctuations correlate with large medium term fluctuations,
could be an interesting autumn
catdynamics | August 9, 2007So, the Beeb reports Russian Tu-95 rec aircraft buzzed Guam
They most likely went to check on how Valiant Shield '07 is going - the summer's three aircraft carrier exercise off Guam.
Stennis, Nimitz and Kitty Hawk are there, while the Enterprise just cleared the Suez Canal and is hovering outside the Persian Gulf. So the Gulf now has no carriers, which apparently has some of the emirates on the coast in a tizzy, since they were under the impress there'd be a permanent carrier shield in the Gulf between them and Iran.
According to the unreliable Debka file, foreign observers were excluded…
catdynamics | August 9, 2007Joe P. is keeping busy
I'll be sending another package there in about 10 days, if anyone local has a contribution
catdynamics | August 8, 2007...in the Minor Key
One of my favourite Billy covers.
Don't know what the video is supposed to convey...
catdynamics | August 8, 2007Some links are just for the sake of linking
Banality of Evil
For Our Own Good
catdynamics | August 3, 2007bloomin' hot friday
we ask the iPod - what will become of the three doctors?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
The Crossing: Geek Stink Breath - Green Day
The Crown: Si, fui soldato - Pavarotti
The Root: Jarg Armani - Half Man, Half Biscuit
The Past: Hey, Coal Miner - Larry Long
The Future: Íslenskir Karlmenn - Stuðmenn
The Questioner: Adagio - Mozart
The House: Revolution Rock - Clash
The Inside: Sassafras Roots - Green Day
The Outcome: If I Fall You're Going Down With Me - Dixie Chick
Bloomin' heck.
Sorry I asked...
Tale of hard…