tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62230762024-03-07T05:52:30.110-08:00Game the WorldPlayers Who Know the Rules Win.Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.comBlogger840125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-65396745259134115662013-11-28T13:00:00.001-08:002013-11-28T13:00:16.604-08:00Random Musings: Gun-Free Zones and the Cargo Cult
There have been a number of commentators comparing Liberal
thought to Cargo Cults, the mistaking of the trappings of a condition for the
causes of the condition. An example of that is the pushing of home ownership as
a means to middle class affluence. The plan was to reduce the barriers to
owning homes rather than to develop the traits within people to overcome the
barriers. The resulting Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-76949315212925783672013-11-20T19:07:00.001-08:002013-11-20T19:07:00.879-08:00Not an Inducement to Compromise
Supposing that President Obama were to attempt another item
on his legislative agenda, a big if considering his current cellar dwelling
poll numbers, it strikes me as impossible that Republicans in Congress would
have any reason to deal with him. I’m looking beyond the usual Donkey/Elephant
games and at the balance of power between the Executive and Legislative
branches.
President Obama hasWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-85143425271027056912013-11-19T22:43:00.001-08:002013-11-19T22:43:16.894-08:00Playing with the New ToolWriting is one of those things that you either talk about doing or actually do. I have written in the past, both on this blog and in the full on novel sense. The novel writing includes having "won" National Novel Writing Month a couple of years ago. Having done that I no longer feel the need to repeat the experience now that I have stripped myself of the excuse.
What I intend to do is set myselfWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-56892201639289023232013-11-13T18:11:00.000-08:002013-11-13T18:11:04.422-08:00A Polite Suggestion to Peter JacksonDuring the course of expanding the Hobbit to three movies, Peter Jackson is drawing from various appendices and histories. As a fan who has seen much of the controversy over the ending of The Lord of The Rings, I wish to offer an ending scene for The Hobbit that might resolve the outcry.
Following a Council discussion that decides to send scouts into Mordor to see if Sauron has truly returned, Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-56913460929042826122013-01-03T13:55:00.001-08:002013-01-03T13:56:13.428-08:00A quick thought on resolutionsThis year I have resolved to exercise more. I had been on a calisthenics program that was working well for me (I was doing honest to God push-ups for the first time in my life) but I had let it slide for all the typical excuses. Yesterday I started back up again and today I have the anticipated soreness.
Something I did not do was resolve to diet. I won't be going crazy eating whatever, but I anWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0Mojave Air & Space Port, Mojave35.056236 -118.15784tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-61040157920213195822011-11-01T08:52:00.000-07:002011-11-01T09:03:01.909-07:00Origin of the Housing BubbleA question that friends of mine could not answer regarding the housing bubble was why weren't the banks in question so avariciously predatory before 2000? The typical answer was that a new generation of bankers had spontaneously decided to throw out decades of best practices in favor of taking short term profits and leaving the mess to be cleaned up after they took their severance packages.Those Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-66870645534850322432011-08-06T20:59:00.000-07:002011-08-07T09:28:47.752-07:00Is the Cyberpunk World Coming?I have been a fan of Cyberpunk sci-fi since I first read William Gibson's Neuromancer on the advice of a friend back in 1990. Back then all I was into was the cool attitude, lively characters and good suspense. Since then I have come to see more of the philosophy behind the punk with the works of Bruce Sterling and Neal Stephenson.All of the stories involved dystopian futures where the mass of Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-43818931008586724822010-09-17T17:46:00.001-07:002010-09-17T17:46:53.455-07:00Blame the VotersHeard a new sound bite from Jerry Brown. He claims that he won't raise taxes without voter approval. That's the dodge he used when he was called on the increases in city taxes on Oakland. Nothing heard yet on how hard Brown pushed to get those measures passed. In the same vein, Whitman is still running the Clinton Senate ad. Good call from where I sit, particularly compared with the ads Brown Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-63130911753633259352010-06-21T09:58:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:29:22.168-07:00Imminent Sleight of HandI wrote earlier that ads are running against Meg Whitman for not voting for nearly three decades. I saw the ad again this morning and caught that it was paid for by California Working Families for Jerry Brown. The link above doesn't really have much to it, which is good because it will automatically redirect to the official Jerry Brown for Governor site.The working families site only makes a Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-21510800857246879322010-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:002010-06-17T15:53:37.998-07:00Apprenticeships in LifeDebates about Abby Sunderland's attempt to sail around the world has started debates all around that same planet. Heck, it is starting one even here in my house.There's no argument about who should be paying for the rescue, or at the very least should be looking for a second mortgage to pay the costs. The source of contention is whether the parents were negligent in allowing Abby, and by Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-62738484197576025362010-06-15T10:09:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:29:43.510-07:00No Rest for the VoterJust when we thought is was over, commercials are coming on TV for the November gubernatorial election. The one I have seen the most so far has been the one that replays Meg Whitman's wholly non-responsive response to a question about her not voting over the past 28 years. While she was nominally taking responsibility for her record, not giving the reason is going to keep this an issue.My advice Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-32558013418312083292010-06-09T17:05:00.000-07:002010-06-09T17:13:57.612-07:00Reflections on a Bumper StickerI passed a car with a bumper sticker calling for the repeal of Prop. 13. First time I had ever seen one like that, probably because almost everyone likes the control on property taxes. It makes it quite easy to be able to count on politicians being bound from jacking up taxes at a moment's notice.Sounds kind of like rent control. I wonder what bumper sticker owner thinks about keeping landlords Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-49465394400908640982010-06-01T19:25:00.000-07:002010-06-01T19:31:15.200-07:00This Would Truly be Ironic... I ThinkIt is really hard to know what exactly is ironic, but this situation would be if it happens.Imagine: a Category 5 hurricane is barreling down on New Orleans. The damage is expected to be devastating, to say nothing of the oil slick that the storm surge will bring ashore.Then, as the storm hits the site of the Deepwater Explorer fire. The oil slick, coating the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-1981933479019614052010-05-22T17:01:00.000-07:002010-05-22T17:03:21.047-07:00My Family HistoryWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-73347725167446229782010-05-18T09:44:00.000-07:002010-05-18T10:26:26.003-07:00There is a Certain Tactical AdvantageI can see some possibilities for a clandestine uprising in this story out of Saudi Arabia. Imagine a Virtue Cop stepping up to harass a woman, but said woman takes a gun out of her hijab and shoots the cop. Then she drops the gun mob style and disappears into a crowd of similarly concealed women.There is a certain flavorful irony in taking advantage of the rules the state sanctioned thugs are Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-6347994313192641692010-04-29T14:33:00.001-07:002010-04-29T14:34:12.788-07:00Bad ass clericWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-87317534538284987752010-02-25T10:17:00.000-08:002010-02-25T11:05:27.961-08:00Where the Cuts are FeltPowerline has an article referencing another poor care scandal in the government run hospitals in England. One part hit on a thought floating in my head:An independent inquiry found that managers at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust stopped providing safe care because they were preoccupied with government targets and cutting costs. ...Out here in California we voted down a series of tax Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-88828347541375693552010-02-10T21:48:00.000-08:002010-02-10T22:14:13.144-08:00An Intriguing Thought, But...Meg Witman is running for governor of California on the premise that she has been successful at establishing a large corporation efficiently and profitably. I think that she is setting herself for one hell of a culture shock.I would question the capacity for a successful executive to manage a government. My view is that a large corporation starts its slide and loses efficiency in direct Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-8732948009377300692010-02-07T18:42:00.000-08:002010-02-07T18:46:43.804-08:00Creepiest Ad From the Super BowlGranted there is a minute plus left, but I don't think this one will be topped:<!--Session data-->Are there any paranoid fantasies about environmentalism that they didn't use in this commercial? The worst part is that people are supposed to feel good about these scofflaws being punished. *shiver*<!--Session data-->Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-32847089511145588932010-02-05T15:40:00.000-08:002010-02-05T15:53:45.180-08:00Starting the CycleThe government is making noises that a sub $250,000 per year tax cut would lead to new jobs being created. How I see it is the cycle working like this:Step 1: Consumers have more money to spend.Step 2: Consumers purchase goods from corporations.Step 3: Corporations have more money.Step 4: Corporations hire more people.Step 5: Return to Step 1.Not too bad on the face of it, but there is one Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-62041014740072371702009-12-12T10:17:00.001-08:002009-12-12T10:17:45.350-08:00How to Make a Hockey StickHaven't finished reading this myself, but I plan on following the steps as an exercise in learning statistics.Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-91980212367925764032009-10-28T12:55:00.000-07:002009-10-28T13:01:41.696-07:00Poitics by way of the Football SidelinesLiberals vote for Head Coaches who will fire them up and lead them to victory.Conservatives want an Equipment Manager who will take care of the gritty stuff so that they don't have to concern themselves with it.Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-47463913395991747432009-08-21T10:13:00.000-07:002009-08-21T10:21:51.019-07:00I Thought Government Was All About Popularity"It's been a thrill to be part of the best economic news story in America," Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "Now we are working toward an orderly wind down of this very popular program." Just think about how well they will handle the popularity of affordable health care.<!--Session data-->Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-83240636140220734872009-08-21T10:04:00.000-07:002009-08-21T10:06:36.137-07:00The One Sign You NeedI might have added Amtrack but the point is made.Charlie Foxtrot<!--Session data-->Winston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6223076.post-79988265513774047442009-03-25T19:14:00.000-07:002009-03-25T19:26:38.783-07:00All of This Will Has No BackingKings most commonly, though strong in legions, are but weak in Arguments; as they who have ever accustomed from thir Cradle to use thir will only as thir right hand, thir reason always as thir left. Whence unexpectedly constrained to that kind of combat, they prove but weak and puny Adversaries.Milton, Preface to EikonoklastesVia Quicksilver by Neal StephensonI have been seeing billboards for theWinston (Ted) Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10136270466035927346noreply@blogger.com0