is to forgive all.
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown's.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
On the list of things I never expected to see
Get your Bob Dylan Christmas album now at Amazon
I wonder if Bob will sing the title track naked like the aging pop star in Love Actually?
I wonder if Bob will sing the title track naked like the aging pop star in Love Actually?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Go for it high schoolers
Can we now admit that TV and Radio sports analysts, almost all coaches, and the general wisdom of millions of fans across the country are often flat out completely wrong about some of the things in sports because they base what they know on history and its anecdotal evidence?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_wertheim/09/17/no.punt/index.html
Now that you know that your high school team was completely stupid, and I don't like to use that word often, stupid, when it punted the ball; can we now make that admission?
We have numbers now, sign up and help us welcome the modern era of smarter sports. The next time you see Gardy bunt a runner from second to third with no outs before the 7th inning, know that he just lowered your chances of winning every time.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_wertheim/09/17/no.punt/index.html
Now that you know that your high school team was completely stupid, and I don't like to use that word often, stupid, when it punted the ball; can we now make that admission?
We have numbers now, sign up and help us welcome the modern era of smarter sports. The next time you see Gardy bunt a runner from second to third with no outs before the 7th inning, know that he just lowered your chances of winning every time.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Zoom is now part of American history
I give you pg.66 of America the Book: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy in Action.look closer
keep reading
Bing! Haugen
In my opinion there is now an Official Pi Sig Book
To go along with official poet Pablo Neruda
These five words I swear to you: Jon Bon Jovi can't count
I'd like to point out that "I'll be, therefor, you." is only 4 words. Count 'em, 4.
If you want 5 you have to count the contraction as 2 words, which ain't write. And if you do that it doesn't fit with the melody anymore at all, "I will be, therefore you."
And neither of them are philosophically sound statements anyhow, just because you exist doesn't mean I will. Its the fact that you might exists that necessitates that I might exist; not the other way around. Go back to Philosophy 101 Jon, you need it.
Sincerely,
I Think Therefore I Blog
If you want 5 you have to count the contraction as 2 words, which ain't write. And if you do that it doesn't fit with the melody anymore at all, "I will be, therefore you."
And neither of them are philosophically sound statements anyhow, just because you exist doesn't mean I will. Its the fact that you might exists that necessitates that I might exist; not the other way around. Go back to Philosophy 101 Jon, you need it.
Sincerely,
I Think Therefore I Blog
Friday, October 2, 2009
The speech will be streamed live online (and will not be archived)
And now after seeing Karl Rove speak at St. Olaf I now know why. Because it would give you the opportunity to fact check everything he said against a balanced perspective. I went to this with Drew and Kevin and we were all hoping for a more disarmed Rove, one who wanted to discuss something. What you got instead was Rove selling a very conservative agenda using cherry picked facts as he does on TV. The thing about cherry picking facts is that its not lying, and Rove is an expert at it and feels no remorse in presenting only one side of an argument using only facts that help justify it instead of the complete set.
I had a question in my head for Karl. What I would ask is the same thing John Stewart once asked of Tucker Carlson (CNN bowtie guy). "John Stewart had a somewhat famous clip last year of you saying 'Tim Kaine is not a good vice presidential candidate because he was mayor of Richmond which is not very big (1 million people).' He follows that with a clip from the following month, 'Sarah Palin is a good vice presidential candidate because she was mayor of the second largest city in Alaska.' John Stewart then points out that Wasilla, AL is actually the 5th largest city in Alaska and has 10,000 people. My question is, aren't you making it harder for a voter to choose a candidate who matches their values when you present the facts in this manner? When you use them in whatever way best helps make your point, independent of what they really say."
The man can stand up there and speak about patriotism, but he will also imply but not state that Al Gore purposely violated the 14th amendment in an attempt to steal Bush's first election. He is careful not to say that Gore did it intentionally. Only to state that it was ruled that his campaign had ended up doing that. The classic "I'm just saying is all" fallacy.
The only thing he said that I believe was an actual lie was that Reagan's Star Wars program bankrupt the Soviet Union. That very morning I had read in the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan's book that, "It turns out the Soviets wouldn't even try to keep up with Reagan's program." They were too far gone already. And Greenspan was given a statistical tour of the Soviet economy before and after its fall including meeting with the head central planners themselves. He was asked by Reagan to analyze if Star Wars would have that effect on the USSR. But again quoting him, "We never had a chance to get the answer because Gorbachev came to power and began reforms."
Rove railed on Health Care saying the same conservative complaints you see on TV. Some of which have some merit (more market forces in health care) but he would voice them in a manipulative way. Drew pointed out one instance were he said, "If you believe in the Constitution then...." and proceeded to give a logical fallacy of a second thing you must also agree with, when really, they were independent. I'm pretty sure he covered at least 5 of these fallacies in fact by the time he was done; Propositional fallacies.
He did have some nice stories about his family history and was recently inducted into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame in Minot, ND. A Norwegian ambassador presented him with letters of his great great grandfather refusing the offer from the King of Norway to give up his US citizenship and become an ambassador. There are many Olaf's in his family and the early generations came through and lived in Milwaukee, but the recent generations live in Texas.
I've seen Newt Gingrich speak without selling a one sided agenda using carefully selected facts, maybe Karl Rove will do that someday. Currently though, he's not worth your time.
Bonus Coverage! I Think Therefore's investigative journalists bring you a supporting little known fact. Props to St. Olaf for the quick response.
On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:17 PM, Joshua Wyatt wrote:
Hello Kyle --
Thanks for writing. The video was available for live viewing, but no archive was made available, per the request of Mr. Rove and his agency. A notice to this effect was posted with every listing of the event in our streaming system, as well as the video player window, and was included in all news stories and press releases from St. Olaf College. Hope this helps -- thank you.
-JDW
--
Joshua Wyatt
Operations Manager | Recording Engineer
Broadcast Media - St. Olaf College
(507) 786-8611
I had a question in my head for Karl. What I would ask is the same thing John Stewart once asked of Tucker Carlson (CNN bowtie guy). "John Stewart had a somewhat famous clip last year of you saying 'Tim Kaine is not a good vice presidential candidate because he was mayor of Richmond which is not very big (1 million people).' He follows that with a clip from the following month, 'Sarah Palin is a good vice presidential candidate because she was mayor of the second largest city in Alaska.' John Stewart then points out that Wasilla, AL is actually the 5th largest city in Alaska and has 10,000 people. My question is, aren't you making it harder for a voter to choose a candidate who matches their values when you present the facts in this manner? When you use them in whatever way best helps make your point, independent of what they really say."
The man can stand up there and speak about patriotism, but he will also imply but not state that Al Gore purposely violated the 14th amendment in an attempt to steal Bush's first election. He is careful not to say that Gore did it intentionally. Only to state that it was ruled that his campaign had ended up doing that. The classic "I'm just saying is all" fallacy.
The only thing he said that I believe was an actual lie was that Reagan's Star Wars program bankrupt the Soviet Union. That very morning I had read in the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan's book that, "It turns out the Soviets wouldn't even try to keep up with Reagan's program." They were too far gone already. And Greenspan was given a statistical tour of the Soviet economy before and after its fall including meeting with the head central planners themselves. He was asked by Reagan to analyze if Star Wars would have that effect on the USSR. But again quoting him, "We never had a chance to get the answer because Gorbachev came to power and began reforms."
Rove railed on Health Care saying the same conservative complaints you see on TV. Some of which have some merit (more market forces in health care) but he would voice them in a manipulative way. Drew pointed out one instance were he said, "If you believe in the Constitution then...." and proceeded to give a logical fallacy of a second thing you must also agree with, when really, they were independent. I'm pretty sure he covered at least 5 of these fallacies in fact by the time he was done; Propositional fallacies.
He did have some nice stories about his family history and was recently inducted into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame in Minot, ND. A Norwegian ambassador presented him with letters of his great great grandfather refusing the offer from the King of Norway to give up his US citizenship and become an ambassador. There are many Olaf's in his family and the early generations came through and lived in Milwaukee, but the recent generations live in Texas.
I've seen Newt Gingrich speak without selling a one sided agenda using carefully selected facts, maybe Karl Rove will do that someday. Currently though, he's not worth your time.
Bonus Coverage! I Think Therefore's investigative journalists bring you a supporting little known fact. Props to St. Olaf for the quick response.
On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:17 PM, Joshua Wyatt wrote:
Hello Kyle --
Thanks for writing. The video was available for live viewing, but no archive was made available, per the request of Mr. Rove and his agency. A notice to this effect was posted with every listing of the event in our streaming system, as well as the video player window, and was included in all news stories and press releases from St. Olaf College. Hope this helps -- thank you.
-JDW
--
Joshua Wyatt
Operations Manager | Recording Engineer
Broadcast Media - St. Olaf College
(507) 786-8611
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Apple growers set to release Honeycrisp successor
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Long John(son) Willkomm
Amy wanted to name me Long Johnson Willkomm where the son is silent for talk like a pirate day but, being a modest man I said "No, while true we don't need to brag. Just call me Brown Beard." Fortunately, Melissa Two Hooks put aside her pirate pension for falsity and was inclined to acquiesce to my request. Here is my crew for the day.
Left to right: Self titled "Arrg Lucia", "Shark Bait", "Captain Darby", "Anna One Sock" and "Hairball the Pirate"
"Arrg Lucia" has trouble with lip curling.
"Anna One Sock" believes sticking your toungue out is very Pirate.
"Melissa Two Hooks" shows them how lip curling is done. Bonus points for the eye patch that doubles as a sleeping mask.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Reasonable
Some people like this quote. I've quoted it. But the more I look at it the more I think its simply not true.
"A reasonable man adapts himself to his environment. An unreasonable man persists in attempting to adapt his environment to suit himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable men."
Assertion 1: "A reasonable man adapts himself to his environment." Sure, but he or she may also sees places where their environment can be changed. Change the pairadigem, as they say. It also would mean that people can not intentionally be creative or imaginative. That they can not intentionally or randomly think outside their little box to see the edges of the real box. Which they have proven many times, they can. Discovery can happen by accident even.
"A reasonable man adapts himself to his environment. An unreasonable man persists in attempting to adapt his environment to suit himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable men."
Assertion 1: "A reasonable man adapts himself to his environment." Sure, but he or she may also sees places where their environment can be changed. Change the pairadigem, as they say. It also would mean that people can not intentionally be creative or imaginative. That they can not intentionally or randomly think outside their little box to see the edges of the real box. Which they have proven many times, they can. Discovery can happen by accident even.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Freemasons: mortar of the United States
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112884584&ft=1&f=2
"...when the group was organized from a stonemasons' guild in 1717, its members adopted the radical proposition that men of different faiths can agree on God's existence.
"They can agree that God compels them to do good in the community," Morris says. "And then they can stop talking about religion.""
And all before the US was even invented. Perhaps you can even give them partial credit for the notions of tolerance found in the Constitution. Also, its Constitution day!
"There were 9 founding fathers that were Freemasons. Benjamin Franklin, William Ellery, John Hancock, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, Robert Paine, Richard Stockton, George Walton and William Whipple. George Washington was also a Freemason. "
"...when the group was organized from a stonemasons' guild in 1717, its members adopted the radical proposition that men of different faiths can agree on God's existence.
"They can agree that God compels them to do good in the community," Morris says. "And then they can stop talking about religion.""
And all before the US was even invented. Perhaps you can even give them partial credit for the notions of tolerance found in the Constitution. Also, its Constitution day!
"There were 9 founding fathers that were Freemasons. Benjamin Franklin, William Ellery, John Hancock, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, Robert Paine, Richard Stockton, George Walton and William Whipple. George Washington was also a Freemason. "
Tell the moms...
...their baby name fears are even more crazy then originally thought.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/05/babynames/
"Fewer and fewer people are picking the very most popular names. In the early part of the century, one in four babies were given one of the top 10 most popular names. Now, the most popular name (Emma) will be attached to barely one percent of the year’s babies."
So yes, if you name them Emma, only every 3 years on the average you will have another Emma in the classroom. And people used to be fine with that. Only the "my kids are special" generation take issue.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/05/babynames/
"Fewer and fewer people are picking the very most popular names. In the early part of the century, one in four babies were given one of the top 10 most popular names. Now, the most popular name (Emma) will be attached to barely one percent of the year’s babies."
So yes, if you name them Emma, only every 3 years on the average you will have another Emma in the classroom. And people used to be fine with that. Only the "my kids are special" generation take issue.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Melody makes it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PxsFCuBXLY&feature=related
You can take the Beatles songs and sing them by yourself or strip the melody out to a lone instrument like guitar and you've still got something pretty.
You can take the Beatles songs and sing them by yourself or strip the melody out to a lone instrument like guitar and you've still got something pretty.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Should Santa's elves really...
Should Santa's elves really be called Santa's gnomes since their short and fat not tall and thin.
Powered by
. Mp3Friday, September 4, 2009
Childish things
When I was a child I spoke as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things...
some of the time.
some of the time.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Age of Turbulence
Currently reading Alan Greenspan's book. Book reviews and summaries are too big for a post so please look here.
http://sites.google.com/site/cogitoergoweb/books-1/the-age-of-turbulence-synopsis
http://sites.google.com/site/cogitoergoweb/books-1/the-age-of-turbulence-synopsis
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