Sometimes, we observe many things.
At times, it is prudence that leads to keeping those thoughts to ourselves!
At times, it is prudence that leads to keeping those thoughts to ourselves!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
A Thought to Ponder
Tommy Lee Jones in MIB to Will Smith:
paraphrased:
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals."
paraphrased:
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals."
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Static Course of Change
Funny how some things never change when one thinks everything has changed.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
NBC, Pull Your Head Out of Your ( blank )
I was disappointed in how NBC covered Tyson Gay.
On the 10th of August, Gay says he is injury free.
On the 14th when he misses out on the Men's 100m dash, one of the first questions out of the reporters mouth was about whether Tyson's old injury hampered his performance. Tyson emphatically made the point that he is injury free and he just did not perform as well as he could have.
Yet after that "live" coverage, every time Bob Costas covered Gay's failure at qualifying, he kept saying due to the old injury.
I get adding drama. I even get dealing with being live, of sorts. But to not know 4 day old information covered by your own network, or blatantly disregarding the facts to pump up an on-air piece just frustrates the crap out of me.
On the 10th of August, Gay says he is injury free.
On the 14th when he misses out on the Men's 100m dash, one of the first questions out of the reporters mouth was about whether Tyson's old injury hampered his performance. Tyson emphatically made the point that he is injury free and he just did not perform as well as he could have.
Yet after that "live" coverage, every time Bob Costas covered Gay's failure at qualifying, he kept saying due to the old injury.
I get adding drama. I even get dealing with being live, of sorts. But to not know 4 day old information covered by your own network, or blatantly disregarding the facts to pump up an on-air piece just frustrates the crap out of me.
I'm Glad China Can Stop Rain
In the beginning of the Olympics, China made some sort of claim they could stop rain so the games could go on.
They never said anything about the horrid smog that encases the city.
I'm thinking, (sarc), if they can defend from rain, thank god. Because I have to wonder how much harder the rain would have fallen Wednesday if they didn't have this magical ability!!!
They can probably put their rain stopping gear in the same sequestered zone as their overweight cab drivers and little child singers with imperfect teeth.
You know they filter the internet content over there too? Eh, no shock.
UPDATE 8/23/08: Came across an article backing my belief in China's internet censoring.
As they state on SEO Blackhat:
They never said anything about the horrid smog that encases the city.
I'm thinking, (sarc), if they can defend from rain, thank god. Because I have to wonder how much harder the rain would have fallen Wednesday if they didn't have this magical ability!!!
They can probably put their rain stopping gear in the same sequestered zone as their overweight cab drivers and little child singers with imperfect teeth.
You know they filter the internet content over there too? Eh, no shock.
UPDATE 8/23/08: Came across an article backing my belief in China's internet censoring.
As they state on SEO Blackhat:
Big Brother IS watching.
I can’t get to around 20% of the sites I want to visit. Other sites take 2-3 mins to load, presumably while someone checks the content? I don’t know.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Olympic Time Delays
So the time delays in the telecast have been pretty interesting while watching the Olympics.
Here on the West Coast, it says LIVE in the upper right corner of the screen and yet my growing impatience in leads me to run off on the internet and find out the real live results somewhere on the order of 2.5 hours before it hits my screen.
You'd think they could figure out how to pull the live label off the screen... It ain't live folks. It's memorex!!
Here on the West Coast, it says LIVE in the upper right corner of the screen and yet my growing impatience in leads me to run off on the internet and find out the real live results somewhere on the order of 2.5 hours before it hits my screen.
You'd think they could figure out how to pull the live label off the screen... It ain't live folks. It's memorex!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Bigfoot Press Conference - An Update on the Noise
After distributing blurry photos and offering up results of DNA evidence the stalwart party of Tom Biscardi, Matthew Whitton, and Rick Dyer held to their claims.
The DNA samples were human and possum. The conjecture was the one DNA sample came from the stomach of the dead creature they claimed they found. (Popular legend, lore, what have you have always leaned towards this being a herbivore, like the great apes. Only of late have some hair brained bigfoot hunters been claiming it's a meat eater.)
About the press conference, Jeffrey Meldrum, an anatomist from Idaho University who's studied the Bigfoot phenomenon said that, "Today they should have produced a physical piece of the corpse if not the corpse itself. Until they produce the body, it doesn't matter."
Ya think. You need to present the evidence, not talk about it in person, just like it was on the internet. Give me a break.
Instead, we have unnamed scientists working at an undisclosed location. I've seen the National Enquirer have better sources that that!
Biscardi is known for another Bigfoot claim from 2005. Then, he claimed that he had captured a Sasquatch, but like this event, no beast or body ever materialized.
Do I sound skeptical of this shenanigan? I do believe in bigfoot possibly existing. Despite the fact that the only evidence we ever seem to have at our disposal is anctedotal at best. I'd like to see it.
As for today's announcement, in Palo Alto CA, far from the Northern Georgia location where this has been concocted: My cat says, "pfft".
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bigfoot-press-conference-biscardi
The DNA samples were human and possum. The conjecture was the one DNA sample came from the stomach of the dead creature they claimed they found. (Popular legend, lore, what have you have always leaned towards this being a herbivore, like the great apes. Only of late have some hair brained bigfoot hunters been claiming it's a meat eater.)
About the press conference, Jeffrey Meldrum, an anatomist from Idaho University who's studied the Bigfoot phenomenon said that, "Today they should have produced a physical piece of the corpse if not the corpse itself. Until they produce the body, it doesn't matter."
Ya think. You need to present the evidence, not talk about it in person, just like it was on the internet. Give me a break.
Instead, we have unnamed scientists working at an undisclosed location. I've seen the National Enquirer have better sources that that!
Biscardi is known for another Bigfoot claim from 2005. Then, he claimed that he had captured a Sasquatch, but like this event, no beast or body ever materialized.
Do I sound skeptical of this shenanigan? I do believe in bigfoot possibly existing. Despite the fact that the only evidence we ever seem to have at our disposal is anctedotal at best. I'd like to see it.
As for today's announcement, in Palo Alto CA, far from the Northern Georgia location where this has been concocted: My cat says, "pfft".
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bigfoot-press-conference-biscardi
Sometimes, Having No Internet Is A Good Thing
If you have a secondary job like hobby that keeps you attached to the internet,
it's nice to have a place to go to every now and then...
I have a place like that.
No TV, no internet... some radio, but extremely local...
and yes, it's a rather relaxing place to be.
To just get up, watch the sun rise over the tall pines,
catch the morning breeze shift from the highlands to the lowlands,
watch the grass grow, the raccoons steal my trash, the bears trying to claim the yard as theirs,
then in the evening, catch the diurnal breeze of the day cooling off around me...
No media, no keyboard, my wrists healing up from no typing...
ahhhh.....
hmm,
OK BACK TO THE FRENZY ... NICE BREAK~!~~!
it's nice to have a place to go to every now and then...
I have a place like that.
No TV, no internet... some radio, but extremely local...
and yes, it's a rather relaxing place to be.
To just get up, watch the sun rise over the tall pines,
catch the morning breeze shift from the highlands to the lowlands,
watch the grass grow, the raccoons steal my trash, the bears trying to claim the yard as theirs,
then in the evening, catch the diurnal breeze of the day cooling off around me...
No media, no keyboard, my wrists healing up from no typing...
ahhhh.....
hmm,
OK BACK TO THE FRENZY ... NICE BREAK~!~~!
Friends and Emails
It's odd how email can be sometimes.
On one side of the "email coin" (e-coin), if you meet someone or find lost, extended family - try to feel out how they treat their email. I had located some extended family recently and over zealously shared one of my email addresses with them so we could communicate. Woops.
I now get about 30 "jokes", "warnings" and other e-paraphernalia now each day, minimum.
A near life long friend tends to also send me similar things, and they support their action with a message about how people care enough to forward things. I'm thinking that when one 'selects all' to forward stuff, it's a rote habit, not a function.
~~~
The other side of my e-coin is when you switch email providers.
AOL puts footers in their emails, even if you pay for it. It's f*d on their part that they still treat the paying customers like that, but switching emails seems to be painful for some.
I've left the majority of my family and friends on my AOL side of life and check that once every day or so. But of those whom I have sent my new email address to, I don't get how it can't sink in, but it doesn't.
Tell me if I'm being too ambiguous with this message:
Was that vague? It must be. Because every time they send me an email at the old address, I keep reminding them. Oi!
OK, that's my rant for today.
On one side of the "email coin" (e-coin), if you meet someone or find lost, extended family - try to feel out how they treat their email. I had located some extended family recently and over zealously shared one of my email addresses with them so we could communicate. Woops.
I now get about 30 "jokes", "warnings" and other e-paraphernalia now each day, minimum.
A near life long friend tends to also send me similar things, and they support their action with a message about how people care enough to forward things. I'm thinking that when one 'selects all' to forward stuff, it's a rote habit, not a function.
~~~
The other side of my e-coin is when you switch email providers.
AOL puts footers in their emails, even if you pay for it. It's f*d on their part that they still treat the paying customers like that, but switching emails seems to be painful for some.
I've left the majority of my family and friends on my AOL side of life and check that once every day or so. But of those whom I have sent my new email address to, I don't get how it can't sink in, but it doesn't.
Tell me if I'm being too ambiguous with this message:
Hey X,
I've switched email providers and have a new email address at username@place.net.
Send stuff to that email address from now because I'm not checking my AOL (AO HELL) email anymore.
Bruce
I've switched email providers and have a new email address at username@place.net.
Send stuff to that email address from now because I'm not checking my AOL (AO HELL) email anymore.
Bruce
Was that vague? It must be. Because every time they send me an email at the old address, I keep reminding them. Oi!
OK, that's my rant for today.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Has BigFoot Been Found????
Not likely.
Two guys are going to have a press conference tomorrow, here in Palo Alto CA... (No, I won't be going) to show compelling evidence: a photo and what they claim is DNA evidencefrom the creature in the photo.
Give me a f*ing break.
If ya got yourselves a sasquatch in your freezer, call the right people and get the thing looked at. Don't hide it out in your backyard freezer and say you've got it.
WTH is a photo gonna prove?
The "press release" says the following:
FROM 12 N00N TO 1:00PM AT THE CABANA HOTEL-PALO ALTO IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
Then I got an idea while reading their Bulls**t.
Here's the BS post, well the post isn't BS, the people saying this crap is.... the link has "pictures" and the full press release.
http://www.inquisitr.com/2357/has-bigfoot-been-found/
NOTICE THE SITE: The inquisiter. OK,
So I thought I'd go over to the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Researchers Orgnanization) site, the authority on data sampling, press releases, news, sightings, the whole works. They try to take a practical approach the myth.
They've got an entry that states:
The Georgia "Bigfoot Body" story is a hoax, started by two fellows in Georgia. The "body" is a widely availabe Halloween costume stuffed into a large cooler, with some animal entrails laid on top. This ongoing hoax is now being orchestrated by a notorious hoaxer named Carmine Thomas Biscardi.
Check the article out at: http://www.bfro.net/hoax.asp.
They've collected videos, forum discussions and other info on the bullhoaxpoop. (Why didn't my spell checker catch that last word? I thought I was making something new up!)
Any how, there it is. It's crap, but now you have a cool website to check out a great collection of sightings, handled in a professional matter to try to filter through ALL the noise!
Two guys are going to have a press conference tomorrow, here in Palo Alto CA... (No, I won't be going) to show compelling evidence: a photo and what they claim is DNA evidencefrom the creature in the photo.
Give me a f*ing break.
If ya got yourselves a sasquatch in your freezer, call the right people and get the thing looked at. Don't hide it out in your backyard freezer and say you've got it.
WTH is a photo gonna prove?
The "press release" says the following:
FROM 12 N00N TO 1:00PM AT THE CABANA HOTEL-PALO ALTO IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as "Bigfoot" has been found in the woods in northern Georgia.
DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature will be presented in a press conference on Friday, August 15th from 12 Noon to 1:00pm at the Cabana Hotel-Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California, 94306. The press conference will not be open to the public. It will only be open to credentialed members of the press.Then I got an idea while reading their Bulls**t.
Here's the BS post, well the post isn't BS, the people saying this crap is.... the link has "pictures" and the full press release.
http://www.inquisitr.com/2357/has-bigfoot-been-found/
NOTICE THE SITE: The inquisiter. OK,
So I thought I'd go over to the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Researchers Orgnanization) site, the authority on data sampling, press releases, news, sightings, the whole works. They try to take a practical approach the myth.
They've got an entry that states:
The Georgia "Bigfoot Body" story is a hoax, started by two fellows in Georgia. The "body" is a widely availabe Halloween costume stuffed into a large cooler, with some animal entrails laid on top. This ongoing hoax is now being orchestrated by a notorious hoaxer named Carmine Thomas Biscardi.
Check the article out at: http://www.bfro.net/hoax.asp.
They've collected videos, forum discussions and other info on the bullhoaxpoop. (Why didn't my spell checker catch that last word? I thought I was making something new up!)
Any how, there it is. It's crap, but now you have a cool website to check out a great collection of sightings, handled in a professional matter to try to filter through ALL the noise!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bruce's Rules of Argument
I don't.
If I know I'm right about something, and someone insists on arguing with me about it, I'll give it one go.
If they insist on being wrong, I pipe down and let them discover they're wrong later on with someone else.
I won't get wound up in a bunch over someone else's misconceptions.
It's not my job. Is it?
Bruce
If I know I'm right about something, and someone insists on arguing with me about it, I'll give it one go.
If they insist on being wrong, I pipe down and let them discover they're wrong later on with someone else.
I won't get wound up in a bunch over someone else's misconceptions.
It's not my job. Is it?
Bruce
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A Nutty Space Alien Dog??
My dog is a little off I think.
When we go walking, she stops to smell the flowers... seriously. She's kind of taught me to slow down in doing so, so it's not a bad thing.
I 'think' I'm always in a rush to get somewhere, but no matter how fast I think I have to go, I always get there in about the same amount of time when I don't hurry and stay calm inside.
Go figure.
The other thing of note about her: She does not recognize any normal toys. No balls, sticks, or other playthings, so I don't know how the people who had her before us treated her, but I suspect not well considering her separation anxiety and excessive shaking the first (and last) time I raise my voice at her.
But, the odd thing about her is she likes to chase LARGE things.
Large as in trains, garbage trucks, the biggest fireworks that go off in the finale of 4th of July shows and roller coasters. I'm a little worried she's an alien black lab and if she catches one of these things, she'll toss it around like a rag doll!! That bill is gonna suck.
Go over to my home site, BruceSimmons.org and scroll to the bottom of the page... you'll see what I mean! I don't get it either but I treat her realll nice just in case.
When we go walking, she stops to smell the flowers... seriously. She's kind of taught me to slow down in doing so, so it's not a bad thing.
I 'think' I'm always in a rush to get somewhere, but no matter how fast I think I have to go, I always get there in about the same amount of time when I don't hurry and stay calm inside.
Go figure.
The other thing of note about her: She does not recognize any normal toys. No balls, sticks, or other playthings, so I don't know how the people who had her before us treated her, but I suspect not well considering her separation anxiety and excessive shaking the first (and last) time I raise my voice at her.
But, the odd thing about her is she likes to chase LARGE things.
Large as in trains, garbage trucks, the biggest fireworks that go off in the finale of 4th of July shows and roller coasters. I'm a little worried she's an alien black lab and if she catches one of these things, she'll toss it around like a rag doll!! That bill is gonna suck.
Go over to my home site, BruceSimmons.org and scroll to the bottom of the page... you'll see what I mean! I don't get it either but I treat her realll nice just in case.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Probability of Rumors Being True
This is just fun here-say that got started when a peer of mine, (Thanks Kofi) got me going:
If 30% of all rumors are "stupid",
And if one half of the remainder of the rumors turn out to be "close to true",
Then 70% of that half could be "closer to true",
Making 50% of 1/2 of those "more than likely true".
Uh...
What I just said was that out of every 17 rumors, 1 is more than likely true...
Some of the time. Trust me, I just piped the above equation through Excel.
I think I just hurt my brain.
If 30% of all rumors are "stupid",
And if one half of the remainder of the rumors turn out to be "close to true",
Then 70% of that half could be "closer to true",
Making 50% of 1/2 of those "more than likely true".
Uh...
What I just said was that out of every 17 rumors, 1 is more than likely true...
Some of the time. Trust me, I just piped the above equation through Excel.
I think I just hurt my brain.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Why Turn Left to Turn Right?
Why is it some people have to swerve to their left to make a right turn? It seems crazy, illogical and just reeks of complete lack of driving skill.
Instead of swerving to your left to make your right turn, just pull another foot or two up before turning-to-the-right. That way, you're not terrifying oncoming traffic or bicyclists trying to pass you.
Eesh!! Just trying to be helpful here!
Instead of swerving to your left to make your right turn, just pull another foot or two up before turning-to-the-right. That way, you're not terrifying oncoming traffic or bicyclists trying to pass you.
Eesh!! Just trying to be helpful here!
Ouch on Rental Increases
My landlord / owner just raised our rent by approximately 7.5% quoting how he doesn't want to get behind on the market.
He sends me a newspaper article supporting his decision, but all that did was show me he matched the highest 'average' increase in the region. Never mind that he's already $500, ... strike that, now charging almost $700 more than the unit that's almost identical next door.
Or that the rent he's charging is WAY over the average rents they're showing for the Bay Area in the article he sent me, so I'm not quite sure what that's about.
It's a bummer... but I should have seen this coming. He owns the place outright, so it's all profit for him. Pretty cool... for him.
He sends me a newspaper article supporting his decision, but all that did was show me he matched the highest 'average' increase in the region. Never mind that he's already $500, ... strike that, now charging almost $700 more than the unit that's almost identical next door.
Or that the rent he's charging is WAY over the average rents they're showing for the Bay Area in the article he sent me, so I'm not quite sure what that's about.
It's a bummer... but I should have seen this coming. He owns the place outright, so it's all profit for him. Pretty cool... for him.
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