Quips: Quick commentary on politics, technology and life, I think.

Tuesday, September 30

A friendly new face

Congratulations go out to friends Mike and Sarah on welcoming a new face into the world.

Posted by jb, 9:27 PM :: :: #

Let the playoffs begin

Two of the more disturbing facts from a truly disturbing season. At least they plan to address the offense in the off-season.

• The Tigers became the first major league team since the 1969 expansion San Diego Padres to score at least 100 fewer runs than every other team in the league.
• With the bases loaded, the Tigers had 60 RBIs; opponents had 134.

Posted by jb, 10:40 AM :: :: #

Friday, September 26

How I've contributed to urban sprawl

"If you travel on most of the roads in Liberty Twp. now, there's very little farming activity. It's mostly lying in wait for housing development."
  — Longtime resident and township trustee Bob Shelley

A story in the local weekly addresses the phenominal housing growth in our part of the county. The local Sierra Club representative complains about sprawl (there's even a "challenge to sprawl" campaign) but they keep building the houses because the new construction can offer what people want:

• "You got more house for your money in Liberty Twp. than West Chester Twp."
• "There's a lot more space and not as many people here yet. It's the same reason we all moved (to West Chester Twp.) in the 70s and 80s because it's convenient. You've got interstate access everywhere."
• "We're maintaining a nice rural feel to everything out here. The lots are large, they're spacious."

We'll let you know how long all that tranquility lasts.

Posted by jb, 3:05 PM :: :: #

What makes a good school?

"A lot of parents see the name 'academy' and think it's Cranbrook. The name 'academy' doesn't mean it's a good school."
— Sheila Lafreniere, a teacher at Detroit's McFarlane Elementary School

Michigan is trying to figure out how to improve the schools in its largest city and how to pay for it. One proposal is to allow a philanthropist to build a lot of charter schools. This would invariably siphon students from the larger system, and the dollars that go with them. Those students would, more than likely, have motivated parents, since some work would be involved in getting the kids into, not to mention transporting them to, the school. Thus leaving the larger system fewer students with motivated parents. Since parental involvement is often cited as a great way to improve schools, how does this proposal help a troubled public school system? How does fewer students, and fewer state aid dollars, help a troubled public school system?
  On the other hand, a few decades ago people figured that if a school was in Detroit, it wasn't good enough for their kids to go to.

The other part is what Rochelle Riley articulates in a related column:

Teachers in urban schools have complained about the same problems for years: truancy, safety, children with broken spirits and parents they've never met. None of it is new; the shame of it is that it's still true.

Posted by jb, 12:33 PM :: :: #

Thursday, September 25

Motown nine draws nary a "blah"

These Tigers are mostly the cheapest, the youngest or most un-tradeable. It's hard to get into that.

Yeah, Mitch is probably right. It's hard to spend too many lovely summer days, or late summer evenings, at the ball park if the product is predictable and sometimes stupifying. A rebuilding project should have some excitement surrounding its youngsters.

Posted by jb, 6:15 PM :: :: #

Over at the Pen

Woods has a new item on Bush's environmental policy. Apparently there's a Time mag article with a line that seems to blame the Dems for Bush's inaction on global warming. I, who have just moved to an area with sometimes questionable air quality, was surprised to learn that "trends in regular air pollution are positive."

Posted by jb, 4:44 PM :: :: #

Wednesday, September 24

New Wing remodels well

"A happy, healthy West Wing is no better suited to drama than a happy, healthy marriage is. It was time for the Bartlet administration to suffer a setback."

The NY Times reviewer likes the work of the new regime at The West Wing, both the storyline and the work of the post-Sorkin team.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press has a story that's heavy with quotes from John Wells:

I'm very proud of my writing. I work at it. But it is a little bit of the feeling of trying to come in and live up to a world someone else created and who is remarkably talented . . . It's a terrifying experience because you're staring up at the talent of Aaron Sorkin. And that can be daunting.

Posted by jb, 10:01 AM :: :: #

Tuesday, September 23

Know thy audience

I don't want people to think of us as something for the TV generation who can't think long enough to eat a pretzel.
— Gary Hoenig, editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine.

Which becomes an interesting balancing act if your advertisers come to you because you reach the TV generation. If you're not interested in media economics, don't bother clicking. The comparison of SI (huge circulation, and more in those desireable demos) and ESPN (higher percentage of the coveted audience) shows how two publications can both serve advertiser needs. Not to mention the desires of their readers.

Posted by jb, 11:59 PM :: :: #

What happened to local control?

Republicans tend to be in favor of local control, smaller government, keeping Washington out of decisions. Right? The concept: those nearby know best. Right? No, the attorney general has decided differently. Seems he wants to cut down on plea bargins and get the harshest sentence possible.

The prosecutors on the ground who are most involved in the facts of the cases should be making these decisions. It shouldn't be dictated to them.
— Gerald D. Lefcourt, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Keep in mind that 96 percent of the 60,000 cases handled by federal prosecutors annually currently result in plea bargains. And now I get off the AG soapbox.

Posted by jb, 11:54 PM :: :: #

Friendly blog updates

Scott has posted a couple of wedding pictures. We keep pleading with him for more. Gerik has completed work on their latest "project". And I actually posted some pictures of all of our moving around. (link provided as a service to those of you who don't notice our updated home page :)

Posted by jb, 1:01 PM :: :: #

Friday, September 19

Useful, yet unused? Who's hysterical here?

Section 215 may have yet to be used, but just how accurate will its harvest be and who will be tied to whom?
And if we defend it by saying we never use it, then why have it? ...
The attorney general may be serious about his work, but, when he calls us hysterical because we question whether he has considered our most basic freedoms, he insults all Americans.

George proves himself worthy again with a critique of Mr. Ashcroft's recent work.

Posted by jb, 11:12 PM :: :: #

Thursday, September 18

Change what's on your plate

We used to worry about kids eating paste at school. Now it's white refined sugar and simple carbs. CSPI makes a good point, albeit a hard one to swallow. That's because too many of us, kids and adults alike, will ponder it over a double-fudge brownie and a large Dr Pepper.

Thank you, George. Cheetos may always be a choice, but parents have to take the lead in teaching their kids what's healthy, and maybe how to work off the Twinkies.

Posted by jb, 5:27 PM :: :: #

Tuesday, September 16

When in doubt, just call it terrorism

They say they want the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, then, within six months, they are teaching their people how to use it on ordinary citizens.
— Dan Dodson, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys

Seems federal prosecutors are using the anti-terror laws against common Americans charged with common crimes. A meth lab now qualifies as a chemical weapons lab, according to one prosecutor.

The government is constantly trying to expand its jurisdictions, and it needs to be watched very, very closely.
— Tim Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute

Something that becomes more and more difficult in a era of secrecy to protect national security and a war without a price tag (which may or may not be part of the war on terror).

(via Gillmor)

Posted by jb, 11:42 AM :: :: #

Monday, September 15

Three articles from the Sunday Times

Put together, it's an interesting look at the future of the Republic:

• Bush Seeks to Expand Access to Private Data: Who needs judges watching over the Justice Department? Even a number of Republicans think it's still a good idea.
• Rewritten Citizenship Oath Will Get Another Revision: Turns out "modern" isn't always better.
• Democrats in Congress Ponder Dean: Governors, though unknown on Hill, have had success in party's nomination free-for-all.

Posted by jb, 4:52 PM :: :: #

Saturday, September 13

Knocking down the prairie

To be filed under: Joys of homeownership

I have mowed the lawn for the first time. The weeds have been defeated. And they were quite formidable, having been ignored in the backyard, aside from the weed-killer spraying.
  Other productive things: I have made bread, unsupervised. And we have made ice cream. (Thanks G)

Posted by jb, 9:48 PM :: :: #

Monday, September 8

The patriotic blessing of the pigskin

A (blogless) friend of mine emailed me a WashPost article decrying the celebration of football and rock music that took over the National Mall at the start ofthe NFL's kickoff weekend. A piece with a similar take was on NPR before the concert: Why did we allow the Mall to be taken over by this crass commercialism?
  I suppose there are many things wrong with American culture, some of them detailed in another WashPost article, which includes a telling photo: pop star removing pants... Hmm. Any choreography that requires two people to help you disrobe is probably ill-conceived.

Posted by jb, 12:49 PM :: :: #

Saturday, September 6

The All-Conventional-Wisdom Team

I told you I might bore with my fantasy football team. Well, here it is, but this is more about trusting the masses in evaluating talent.
  The site that keeps track of our scoring does so for many other leagues. This year it added something to the pages where owners can set their lineup: For each player, a look at what percentage of leagues that player appears on a roster and is named as a starter. So somebody who is a star is owned in like 98% of leagues and starts in 95% of leagues. (What the others are thinking is anybody's guess.)
  My thought was to add up those numbers to get an idea of the relative strength of teams in our league. Since starters are the only ones whose scores count, I think starting percentage is more important. But owning percentage might show depth. Here's two ways of sorting it before the first game:

So, what d'ya think? My team is about in the middle as far as overall numbers. (Because I drafted three rookies who won't play much right away, but could put up big numbers later.) But it's right at the top of the starters. Does this seems like a reasonable way to assess strengths and weaknesses? Might the masses know something?

Posted by jb, 11:45 PM :: :: #

Thursday, September 4

How free can big media be?

And is anyone informed out there?

FCC Chairman Michael Powell: "...I think you ought to believe in a free media, because even if there are downsides to private organizations, newspapers, media companies making those decisions, they're better than government making those decisions in our society because you don�t want political discourse skewed with the preferences of the people who have the guns and the money."

Yes, government control of content is bad. But if you want to listen to 9 Democratic presidential candidates tonight, PBS is your stop. If you want to find out about candidates in California, I don't know where you go. In the absence of requirements for use of the public airwaves, TV still seems all about entertainment. (Says the guy with a football game on...)

Posted by jb, 11:03 PM :: :: #

Wednesday, September 3

O.k., we're back

Yes, we completely skipped blogging in August. We were busy. And we've got photos to prove it.
  We're also getting things settled in the new house (photos to come). Our parents (both sets) came down over Labor Day weekend to see the place and drop off the gifts we had sent home with them, not to mention the ones that our friends and relatives had shipped to them.
  Just for fun, while we were getting an internet connection hooked up, we've added a new teaser box on the side. And drafted a fantasy football team, which I might bore you with on occasion.

Posted by jb, 12:00 PM :: :: #

 More in the archives.

 j b 7 n e t [ a t ] e x c i t e [ d o t ] c o m