Peter's RSS Unblog

Harper's Index October 2006

Thu Dec 14 14:58:26 2006

Highlights:

Minimum amount of USDA farm subsidies since 2000 that have been paid out to people who do not farm: $1,300,000,000
Minimum value of "small business" contracts given out by the U.S. last year that went to Fortune 500 firms: $1,200,000,000

Energy, in megawatt hours, saved over thirty-five years by a bicycle rider who does not drive a car: 109
Portion of these savings that will be used up over the extra years the biker will live: 9/10

Ratio of the estimated number of tigers living in the wild to the number living as U.S. pets: 1:1
Amount the Alaska Zoo paid last year to build a treadmill for its 8,000-pound elephant: $150,000
Number of times the elephant has used the treadmill so far: 0

Estimated amount that tourism will add to Rwanda's economy next year: $26,000,000
Number of "genocide sites" that the country has opened up to visitors: 35

As a side note on Harper's Index, interesting that in the HTML code for the page you can get a lot of the citations for the different statistics, but they aren't displayed on the page at all when you view it normally in Firefox.

Statistically Mainstream Art

Thu Dec 14 13:49:11 2006

As I have just been conducting an overnight experiment at work, I have listened to several episodes of This American Life in rapid succession (mixed in with early 90s Radiohead bootlegs from ETree).

Thus, my new favorite thing: America's (statistically) least favorite song, from the TAL episode Numbers. Basically these enterprising folks did a survey of what people like and dislike in a song and then composed the ultimate "most wanted" and "most unwanted" songs.

Predictably, the "most wanted" song ends up sounding like a collaboration between Kenny G and Barry White with lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber only not as inventive (sic). It makes me want to stab myself in the eardrum with a pencil and then stab myself in the eye for good measure. Maybe up the nose too; I dunno, I'd probably do it all really fast and out of control in a desperate, doublehanded stabbing frenzy. And yet it is strangely fascinating.

The "most unwanted" song, on the other hand, is completely awesome, at least it seems that way if you listen to snippets rather than the whole 25 minutes. Least liked music styles: opera and rap. Ergo: an opera singer rapping (about coyboys, Wittgenstein, etc.; think "Pierrot Lunaire" only way better). Least favorite vocal style: children's voices. Least favorite subjects: holiday and religious music. Ergo: children singing songs about Christmas, Labor Day, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, etc. ("Yom Kippur/Yom Kippur/Self reflection and atonement!"). Because people don't like abrupt changes in style, tempo, tessitura, etc., the whole "unwanted" song is more like a series of short, disconnected movements, each featuring different weird combinations of unlikely elements.

I recommend just listening to the This American Life episode; there's also a good discussion of the "most wanted" and "most unwanted" paintings project. If you really feel the need to hear the most wanted and unwanted songs in their entirety, you can find them (and other weird crap that) on David Soldier's website.

Primary Sources: The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

Thu Nov 16 17:55:23 2006

Animal rights activists are up in arms over the rapid passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. We can safely assume that Bush will sign this bill into law without objection. I have mixed feelings. There are a number of problems with the bill, but most are minor. The most substantive argument against the bill is that it is redundant, and legislates intent. All the crimes mentioned in the bill were already illegal, so all this bill does is relabel the crimes "terrorism" and increase penalties, much like hate crime legislation, but with less justification.

There are also a number of minor problems with the legal language of the bill. These problems are addressed in this letter from the ACLU, but note that overall "the ACLU does not oppose this bill".

What I really want to do is encourage you to read the actual legislation (text, PDF) if you are interested in these issues. PETA and similar groups have released statements objecting to the bill, but I feel their criticisms are largely offbase and misleading. Even the ASPCA has made statements that seem at best misleading.

Ski San Francisco

Mon Nov 13 01:39:51 2006

I'm bummed I missed this, but seriously could any city possibly be more awesome?

Birthday Wishes

Thu Nov 2 15:08:10 2006

Here we are: November 2nd; it's the day of the dead. It's also my birthday. But this isn't about me (exactly...); I wanted to share my enthusiasm for my discovery that today is also Cookie Monster's birthday. Awesome.

So Long Sashimi

Thu Nov 2 13:36:39 2006

It's always nice when we get the opportunity to update some quaint old adage to reflect our bustling modern age. Thus: "Give a man a fish... and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish... and pretty soon there are no fucking fish left shit shit way to go assholes!" (original research article, DOI)

The one heartwarming thing about this is that whereas on most environmental issues we Americans have to hang our heads in shame when facing the international community, in the case of overfishing everyone else is fucking things up just as bad as we are or worse. Europe and Japan and Canada and Chile and Lake Victoria I'm looking at you. We're still richest though, so vote with your wallets. Looks like gobo-maki for me. Please check out the seafood watch from Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Actually, the main point of the original research article is that maintaining biodiversity is an important part of preventing fishery collapse. So aside from just overfishing, there are plenty of other things impacting biodiversity and hence contributing to the problem (e.g. global climate change hint hint).

Let's Paint TV

Wed Nov 1 17:26:00 2006

My new favorite TV show is Let's Paint TV!, a cable access show apparently from the greater LA area. I've only watched about half of the first episode on YouTube (Let's Paint, Exercise, and Blend Drinks) so far, but it is f'ing hilarious. More about the artist.. OMG I am seriously laughing my f'ing ass off.

(via my friend Mike's del.icio.us)

Lost year in Iraq

Fri Oct 27 12:16:08 2006

Caught a good bit of the PBS documentary "The Lost Year in Iraq" detailing the missed opportunities in the first year after the invasion (3 years ago!). Here's some quotes from the script that I find just mind boggling.

Describing the hiring process for sending administrators to Iraq:

THOMAS E. RICKS: It was this children's crusade, especially of former Republican campaign workers, White House interns, Heritage Foundation people.
NARRATOR: They were vetted by the White House liaison to the Pentagon.
RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN: The hiring process involved questions that would have landed a private sector employer in jail. They asked people what their views on Roe versus Wade were, whether they believed in capital punishment. A man of Middle Eastern descent was asked whether he was Muslim or Christian. People were asked who they voted for for president.
Amb. JAMES DOBBINS, Fmr. Asst. Secretary of State: The CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] operation became an exercise in heroic amateurism, in which hundreds of dedicated, courageous Americans went and filled positions for which they had not the slightest preparation.
NARRATOR: At the Ministry of Interior, there was a new staff person handling planning for the prisons and police.
Col. THOMAS X. HAMMES (Ret.), Counterinsurgency Adviser, CPA: The plans counterpart, who I had to work with in the Ministry of Interior, was a 25-year old. It was his first job after college. So I asked him- I said, "That's pretty interesting. How big a plan cell do you have?" He said, "I have four guys." I said, "That's pretty small." He said, "Yes, but we're really tight because we're frat brothers." I never in my life thought I would encounter "frat brothers" and "strategic planners" in the same sentence.

Really makes me sympathetic to the military branch that this was the civilian authority they had to work with.

100% awesome

Thu Oct 26 17:08:54 2006

Scientists may be incredibly arrogant, but at least they have a sense of humor about it.

Harper's Index

Thu Oct 26 16:43:04 2006

Harper's Index is usually worth a read. Gems from September 2006:

Estimated number of Americans who get degrees each year from nonaccredited "diploma mills": 100,000
Number of Pentagon employees who had such degrees on their resumes, in a recent congressional study: 257

Months that an Idaho man has checked out his library's copy of The Joy of Gay Sex, to prevent others from seeing it: 7
Number of additional copies that the library has received unsolicited since this was first reported: 7
Minimum number of different vertebrate species that have homosexual sex: 300
Typical length, in minutes, of all-male dolphin orgies: 20

Chance that a British veterinarian says he or she has treated a drunk dog: 1 in 4

Ouch

Thu Oct 26 11:06:19 2006

Well, let's try not to forget this next time the government wants to spread democracy by force.

We own half the world, oh say can you see?
And the name for our profits is De-mo-cra-cy.
So like it or not you will have to be free-ee-ee,
Cause we're the cops of the world, boys, we're the cops of the world!

- Phil Ochs, "Cops of the World", c. 1966

Possible TV -> Autism Link

Tue Oct 17 14:07:26 2006

The analysis is indirect because the available data are indirect, but the statistics sound like they were carefully done considering the current data. Getting more directly relevant data seems like an important priority.

Via ScienceDaily story
Source article

I knew it

Fri Sep 15 21:34:37 2006

Booze == $$$

Technological Gender Bending

Wed Sep 13 15:58:03 2006

So this may seem like just a timewaster, but I actually think it's pretty interesting. Get an idea of what gives a singer their individual sound by making them sound like a different singer.

The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Wed Aug 23 05:06:31 2006

Free from Slate, a chapter a day.

We cannot allow a Frodo-sword gap!

Tue Aug 22 17:59:04 2006

This team from Sandia says they can detect nukes on container ships for a fraction of the price that the government is currently willing to pay. More importantly, check out how much this guy curses and how his team refers you to Lord of the Rings for the details of their detection system. I'm totally with these guys!

Why do you hate pluto?

Sun Aug 20 23:31:20 2006

Considering that the average person's reaction is "who cares?", there's been a surprising amount of media attention given to the debate on Pluto's status as a planet. This is my new favorite entry.

My new favorite photo

Wed Aug 2 22:40:16 2006

I'm going to print it out and put it on my wall.

"So large, so friendly, and so rich"

Mon Jul 31 11:44:01 2006

Thanks moron SUV drivers; I could use the extra cash! On the upcoming Britain/California CO₂ emissions market deal. My favorite part:

Blair has called on Britain to reduce carbon emissions to 60 percent of its 1990 levels by 2050. Britain also has been looking at imposing individual limits on carbon pollution. People who accumulate unused carbon allowances - for example, by driving less, or switching to less-polluting vehicles - could sell them to people who exceed their allowances - for example by driving more.

Greening of China

Thu Jul 27 15:06:23 2006

Good talk for you SF environmental types coming up September 8th.

Museum of Natural History, North American Mammals

Wed Jul 26 13:32:14 2006

This site is the awesomest. You can even create a printable field guide of mammalian species for a given lat/long, or even just pick the location on their interactive map. Don't miss the links to the issues of Mammalian Species, detailed PDFs put out by the American Society of Mammalogists. These have way more detail about the species, and can be browsed directly here, but the Smithsonian site is a much nicer interface to the data.

Only in San Francisco

Mon Jul 24 14:35:09 2006

http://www.archive.org/details/ssfMUDVID

This is what I'm talking about

Thu Jul 20 01:35:15 2006

Here it is in plain English. True, I like Peet's coffee better, but the real issue isn't whether Starbucks has bad coffee or overroasts their beans or anything else. The real issue is that they have basically followed the McDonald's strategy for successful franchise in America. It tastes good because it is bad for you. Plain and simple.

(Via Snarkmarket)

Instant Notoriety

Tue Jul 11 14:30:18 2006

Topical Googlefight (created by my coworker)

You're Fucking Kidding Me

Tue Jul 11 14:26:44 2006

What the hell Wired? You run a fluff article about fuel efficient cars, and the cars you pick get 14, 27, and 20 MPG?!? What the hell are you thinking? Just go buy a fucking bicycle.

Don't You Hate Pants?!?

Mon Jul 3 23:59:06 2006

Well, I was Googling for this and I couldn't find a sound clip or video clip anywhere on the whole internet. I'm pretty sure anyone Googling "Don't you hate pants" is looking for exactly this, so I encourage you to link to it with the words "don't you hate pants" so that in the future everyone will find their heart's desire.

Thailand, Vietnam

Sun Jul 2 19:23:49 2006

I'm back! "You were gone?" you might ask. Yeah dude, I was in Thailand for a week and a half for my friend Dave's wedding. Then I went to Hanoi and the surrounding area of Vietnam for a few days on my own. What an amazing trip. I don't even know where to begin. I'll try to figure out a way to post some stories either to the unblog or just on my website somewhere. For now, you can check out some of my photos here (Thailand) and here (Vietnam).

One Got Fat

Wed Jun 7 12:25:07 2006

Beating out even tRNA and Duck and Cover for most horrifying (and therefore best) "educational" film ever made. At first you're just saying "what the fuck?", until you get to 2:20 when it abruptly turns into Charleton Heston's worst opium-induced bicycle nightmare.
http://www.archive.org/details/OneGotFa1963

Why I Still Like the SF Chronicle

Tue Jun 6 23:21:17 2006

The San Francisco Chronicle is not a world class paper, but I have always enjoyed it's independent and sometimes cheeky attitude:

"The primary contest for state insurance commissioner was focused on the Democrats. With 17 percent of the precincts reporting, Bustamante, who has featured his campaign on his weight loss, had 66 percent of the vote. Challenger John Kraft, 65, of South Pasadena, had 34 percent."

tRNA!

Tue May 16 02:58:26 2006

It's really pretty painful, but I think everyone should see this at least once, so that we can all get a little insight into our parents' college days. The scariest thing is that they actually showed this video in my highschool Bio AP class. Way to go Palo Alto Unified School District.
http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/Micro/protein_synth102105.mp4