coupla things

thing1: IBM's "Watson" just crushed Ken Jennings & Brad Rutter on Jeopardy.

thing2: As loyal readers may have noticed, my postings have become ever-more infrequent.
Other things are consuming my time for now, and I think it time to formally announce an intentional period of inactivity.
So - I'll be taking a few months off.

See ya later.

Branding: "the radical Christianist agenda"

"Far-right", "religious right", even "Christian right" have lost their punch, and their meaning.
What's needed is a good, catchy brand for the drivel currently being spewed by the GOP.
I propose, "the radical Christianist agenda".
- matches their "radical homosexual agenda"
- uses word-formation analogous to "Islamist"
- avoids tarring all Christians... just the Christianists

The elements of this radical Christianist agenda? A good start can be found in recent headlines from Think Progress:

In First Month Of Legislative Session, GOP Lawmakers In Five States Seek To Eliminate, Criminalize Abortion

GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy Says Being On Medicaid Is ‘Actually Worse’ Than Having No Insurance

Rep. Fred Upton On Global Warming: ‘I Do Not Accept That It Is Man-Made’

Tim Pawlenty Refuses To Say Whether Gays Should Be Allowed To Serve In The Military At All

Alabama State Senator Advises Politicians To ‘Empty The Clip’ To Stop Undocumented Immigrants

REPORT: At Least 13 States Have Introduced Bills Guarding Against Non-Existent Threat Of Sharia Law

GOP Rep. Rehberg: Federal Judges Should Be ‘On The Endangered Species List’

Subjecting all so-called scientific "truths" to Biblical exegesis (preferably based only on a literal reading the King James version of the Bible); extreme and violent xenophobia; extreme and violent homophobia; extreme and violent attitudes toward government - particularly towards the FEDERAL government; extreme and violent anti-feminism - outlawing any and all forms of contraception (after all, God has commanded us to "be fruitful and multiply", and God slew Onan!); and, of course, denying that any so-called 'religion' has a right to be called such if it's not a "Bible-based" Protestant sect that accepts the inerrancy of the KJV as God's Own Words.

... I probably ought add 'contempt for the poor', and 'worship of Mammon', but the list above is a decent start. (Feel free to add your own suggestions in comments!)

These are the positions and attitudes that characterize the radical Christianist agenda.

"The more things change..."

Woodrow Wilson on Senate filibusters, 1917:

"A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible."
- quoted in Edmund Morris's Colonel Roosevelt

If nothing else, reading political history helps me realize that current political mess is not new, but has been a constant in American history.
There has never been a Golden Age...
... tho' today's Gilded Age has clear precedent.

[Just for fun: Wilson was a Democrat, the "little group of willful men" the minority Republican senators.]

Here's a good idea!

From friend PENolan over at Menopausal Stoners:
Turn off Fox

Just for fun: it's REALLY COLD!

This looks like a picture from the sci-fi movie The Day After Tomorrow... but it's a satellite photo of current massive winter storm over U.S.!

Currently in Albuquerque: 4°F.

I put the sweater on the dog before walking her today.

I turned off the pond pump - figuring keeping water OUT of the line would be a good thing (I'll learn if this was a good decision tomorrow).
The pond has a small 'donut' heater that keeps a bit of water (about one foot in diameter) open.
Last I checked - a coupla hours ago, when I unplugged the pump - the pond was frozen.

This is in ALBUQUERQUE.
I'm guessing northern U.S. is a bit chillier.

"American Exceptionalism" - then and now

A couple of nights ago I watched a program on PBS: Panama Canal.
Part of the American Experience series.

Anyway, the U.S. began construction of the Panama Canal in 1904.
The canal opened in 1914.
Ten years.
Cost? Something under $400Mn in 1904 dollars, equivalent to something under $10Bn in today's $$$.

So, in ten years, for less than $10Bn, we built a canal that continues to serve the world... and makes $$$ with every ship that passes through.
The investment paid for itself long, long ago!

Today?
Ten years later, we're still in Afghanistan, estimated cost $374Bn.
What have we got to show for it?
In 100 years, what will this "investment" have produced???

What the hell has happened to us???

... and, oh yeah: even after so-called 'healthcare-reform' legislation passed, we're STILL the ONLY DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD without some form of UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE!

1 pic = 1000 words

From C&L:

I've got a sneaking suspicion ...

... that if I were to meet Atrios, I'd like him.

From 27 Jan 2011


Today?

Mathematical Constant Challenge
Which is your favorite: e or pi?

Not a good headline!

As Egypt Clashes Continue, Fear of Islamists Paralyzes the U.S

Paralyzes???

C'mon, folks.
Despite all the political & economic problems we now face, we're still THE dominant country in the world.
Yeah - we could be stronger.
Yeah - we could be better.
BUT: ... are we really "paralyzed" by fear of Islamists???
If 'yes' I'll retract comments regarding 'strength'.

Ought we be world's police force?
NO!
... and maybe it would help if we didn't in knee-jerk fashion glom onto whatever tyrannical power happened, at the moment, to support our interests.
... that is, if we, in fact, purport to be THE bastion of Democracy.

Let's all just read the Preamble, and move forward.

"Fear of Islamists"???
Give me a break!

A modest proposal

It sometimes is difficult to cut through all the political rhetoric.
Perhaps it would help if our elected leaders began EVERY policy discussion with a return to basic principles.

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
[Preamble, U.S. Constitution]

There you have it - our six national strategic objectives:

to form a more perfect union
to establish justice
to insure domestic tranquility
to provide for the common defense
to promote the general welfare
to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity

Would it be too much to ask our Representatives, Senators, Candidates, and others in the political arena, to begin ALL policy discussions from this foundation?

Yes, we may not agree on the meaning of these strategic objectives, but we should all at least be able to accept THESE as the appropriate objectives which every bit of legislation ought be designed to pursue.

Peace.

SOTU tonight...

... let me know what I missed.

bye, Keith...

Olbermann and MSNBC: a failing relationship

Confession (said to be good for the soul): I've not watched Keith or Rachel since the elections.

What have I missed?

Oh, yeah:

Lieberman Makes It Official: He's Retiring

HOORAY!!!

Healthcare repeal passes House

Dumb Bastards!
... I'll ignore Palin for the moment... BUT: When 'Palin for President' committee forms, please let me know - I'll happily send 'em $$$.

In Memoriam

Dwayne John Erks
17 Dec 1928 - 16 Jan 2011
Husband, father.
Farmer, printer, artist.
My father-in-law.

Irrational and transcendental

... continuing 'math fun'...

Numbers are fun.
Basic: natural numbers - 1, 2, 3, ...
... also known as positive integers.

I think I was 4 when I learned to count to 14. This was a huge achievement.
Apples, oranges, cars, fingers, toes, ... you can count 'em: 1, 2, 3, ...

In 3rd or 4th grade fractions come into play:
You have 2 apples and 2 friends.
How do you divide the apples among yourselves so's everyone gets an equal share?
... ah!
2/3 (two apples = 2; you + two friends = 3).
2/3 is a rational number: the ratio of two integers.

Sometime in the 6th century BCE, folks figured out that there were numbers that weren't rational.
This discovery is attributed to Pythagoras - he of the Pythagorean Theorem.
He noted that given a square with side = 1, the diagonal of that square (based on his famous theorem) was equal to √2...
... and he further deduced that √2 could NOT be represented as the ratio of two integers.
Irrational numbers were born.

A fellow named Georg Cantor - in the late 19th century (just over 100 years ago) - deduced that there are a WHOLE LOT MORE irrational numbers than there are rational numbers!
In fact, just about EVERY number is irrational.
[... there have been nay-sayers. Another 19th century mathematician famously declared, "God made the integers; all else is the work of man"... For Leopold Kronecker, irrational numbers did not exist!]

Still it was believed for a couple of thousand years that any number must be the solution of an algebraic equation.
-: 1 is the solution of x - 1 = 0
-: √2 is the solution of x² - 2 = 0

Then, sadly, Gottfried Leibniz, deduced that for at least some values of x, sine(x) is NOT the solution of an algebraic equation.
... and our friend Leonhard Euler was the first to define a transcendental number as a number that is not the solution of a polynomial equation with integer coefficients.

Turns out - as Cantor proved - there are a WHOLE LOT MORE transcendental numbers than there are algebraic numbers. (For what it's worth: there are just as many algebraic numbers as there are rational numbers... tho' not every algebraic number is rational!... and, oh yeah - there are just as many algebraic numbers as there are integers!)

In fact, just about EVERY number is transcendental.
... what's really weird is...
We can NAME only a couple of 'em.
π is transcendental (first proved in 1882 by Ferdinand von Lindemann)
e is transcendental (first proved in 1873 by Charles Hermite)

It's not known if π+e is transcendental!

Again: Numbers are fun!

The Pentagon's addiction to high-tech

F-35 looking more like white elephant

In addition to the issues noted in the article, the F-35 comes with a really cool, mandatory maintenance contract: when you buy the plane, you buy the entire logistics system needed to maintain the plane! (Sustainment, F-35 Lightning II)

If I were putting together specs for weapons systems, I'd include something along the lines of, "80% of parts must come from local AutoZone/Napa/Pep Boys/Radio Shack suppliers".

But - no.
If you buy an F-35 fighter, you are FORCED to buy the maintenance contract!
(Me? - I've never purchased a maintenance contract on any appliance in my life.)

Our addiction to high-tech weapons systems will...
- 1) bankrupt us
- 2) make us NO SAFER!

Recall:
- Timothy McVeigh blew up OKC Federal Bldg with fertilizer & diesel fuel.
- al Qaeda toppled WTC with hijacked planes.
- the U.S.S. Cole was crippled with a rubber boat laden with conventional explosives.

Our enemies are NOT addicted to high-tech.
IED's are the story of the day... and the Taliban are winning!

Stop the madness!

math fun...

Euler's identity:

e^iπ+1=0

Perhaps the coolest equation in mathematics.
It includes exactly once each of three basic mathematical operations:
- addition, multiplication, and exponentiation.
... and by way of these three basic operations links 5 fundamental mathematical constants: 0, 1, i, e, & π.
Finally, this linkage is represented by the fundamental equivalence relationship, "=".

For you math neophytes: I'm betting you're comfortable with "0", "1", "+", and "=".
... Most of us learned about π - the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter - somewhere along the way.
... and you've likely encountered 'i' = √(-1)... you know, those unreal 'imaginary' numbers!
That leaves only 'e' - the base of the natural logarithm.

The way I learned 'e'?
Plot the function f(x) = 1/x.
The area under the curve between 1 and e = 1.


... oh yeah: e = 2.718281828...
'e' is an irrational, transcendental number -
- irrational: e cannot be expressed as the ratio of two integers;
- transcendental: e is not the solution of any polynomial equation with integer coefficients.

(... in both these respects, e is just like π, which is also irrational & transcendental.)

p.s. thanks to loyal reader PM for teaching me how to get Excel graphs saved as pictures!

p.p.s. ... no, i've not a clue why i'm thinking about Euler's identity in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 12 Jan 2011.

My letter to Speaker Boehner

Office of the Speaker
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

First, congratulations on being named Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives!

Second, perhaps now that you are no longer a member of the Loyal Opposition, you would be willing to reconsider your attitude toward health insurance reform. I note that after passage of so-called healthCARE reform (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) the United States is still the only developed country in the world without some form of universal health INSURANCE.
This particular example of "American Exceptionalism" does not impress me.

The Congressional Research Service reports that the U.S. spends more per capita on health CARE and more as a percent of GDP on health CARE than any other developed country in the world, yet achieves at best middling results – in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, and quality of care (CRS Report for Congress, U.S. Health Care Spending: Comparison with Other OECD Countries, Order Code RL34175, 17 Sep 2007).

I note further that Americans with a government-managed, universal, single-payer health insurance system – the elderly on Medicare – are very happy with their health insurance and the quality of care they receive (“Keep the Government’s hands off my Medicare!”).

I realize that many in your Party were elected on the promise of revising or restricting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. May I suggest that you and your fellow Republicans would do yourselves a political favor not by emasculating this legislation, but by strengthening it?
In fact, revise it to provide truly universal health insurance to every American!

I remind you that the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution specifically states that one purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to “promote the general welfare.”
Not the welfare of big business, or Big Pharma, or Big Health, but the GENERAL welfare of “We the people”.
If timely access to affordable, high-quality healthcare doesn't count as "the general welfare" of "We the People", what does?

Sincerely,

Oops! Musta done something wrong...

... follower Lincon left me...
Sigh.

trying to be more uplifting

In the time of your life, live—so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.

Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart.

Be the inferior of no man, or of any men be superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret.

In the time of your life, live—so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.
- William Saroyan