At last, my promised theory on how to explain much of the strange goings on of Lost without resorting to (too much) mysticism.
The problem: there are too many random coincidences in the memories of the survivors to be explained consistently. How is it that the "numbers" and variations thereof turn up repeatedly in what would otherwise be meaningless minutiae? How is it that horse that Kate saw in a field in the middle of nowhere years ago is now on the island? How to explain the seemingly random encounters and relationships between the survivors months or years before they arrived?
We could assume that these are all coincidences, but that's dramatically unsatisfying and unrealistic. The same is true of assuming that some all-powerful force has manipulated the destinies of the survivors for years: Either it's a mystical or religious force (fate, God) that can never be explained, or we have to assume that the agency behind the island is nearly omniscient and omnipotent (and concerned with what looks like trivia for fans).
Instead, it's far more promising to assume that the "flashbacks" we witness are memories that are not entirely reliable, at least as reflections of what actually happened in the real world outside the island. Suppose the agency behind the island is playing with their recollections in subtle ways (either constantly or between when the crash happened and when they woke up on the beach). This isn't hard to imagine, given what the filmstrip discusses about the connections between the island and experimental psychology. With this manipulation in play, many "coincidences" become much easier to explain. I theorize that there was no horse in the field where Kate crashed, the memory was invented, so producing the same horse (by whom and for whatever purpose) was easy rather than magical. The same is true with all the trivial appearances of the numbers: injecting those false memories makes perfect sense if the goal is to ensure the residents of the island remember them and keep keying them into the computer. One could suppose that Hurley actually won the lottery with a totally different set of numbers, and had a string of bad luck, but now falsely remembers the numbers he used as "the numbers".
I suspect that none of this kind of memory manipulation is unheard of in today's psychology.
I don't know if this theory has been proposed before, since I don't read a lot of the speculation forums, but I think it makes a lot of sense. It's a subtle form of the "Cartesian Demon": the idea that you can't trust your perceptions because you have no way to distinguish between a genuine sensory experience and one created for you by a demon (or a holodeck, or the Matrix ... this idea has gotten a lot of pop culture play in the last decade).
Of course, what the ultimate purpose of all this manipulation is (assuming it's more than getting a bunch of total strangers to sit around typing numbers into a computer every two hours) I can't say, but at least it doesn't require suspending too much disbelief to suppose what's happening on the island could "really" happen.
12.01.2005
10.27.2005
Speed up OpenOffice startup
Reading Slashdot is not always a waste of time:
I use OpenOffice at work, mostly as a viewer for documents others send around in Microsoft Office formats. As such, I doubt I'm going to run into the limitations of OpenOffice when Java is disabled. The speedup is amazing: from 5-6 seconds on my 1GB, 3.4 GHz notebook to almost instantaneous. I like Java as a programming environment, but Sun absolutely has to figure out how to cut down the JRE startup time, at least for embedded applications.
I made the mistake of opting for x86-64 Gentoo for one of my desktop boxes ("upgrading" it to 32bit this weekend), meaning I have to use the 32bit precompiled OpenOffice binaries. But these need hooking into a 32bit JRE which x86-64 Gentoo doesn't have, since making 32bit apps available through Portage is seemingly something that Gentoo Won't Do Because You Should Be Happy With 64bit. So whenever you start OOo it spends about a minute looking for a JVM (and failing) before you can do anything. I could have manually installed Sun's 32bit JRE, but I can't be bothered.
Disable Java in the options and it starts in 1-2 seconds on the same machine.
By way of comparison, I tried the same trick on my 32bit box (similar spec but with slower HDD's) and OOo was as snappy as hell and opened like the proverbial soil off a shovel.
If there's any functionality I miss through disabling Java, I haven't encountered any yet. And please note I'm not saying that Java is slow to execute (it isn't), it's just appallingly slow to load.
I use OpenOffice at work, mostly as a viewer for documents others send around in Microsoft Office formats. As such, I doubt I'm going to run into the limitations of OpenOffice when Java is disabled. The speedup is amazing: from 5-6 seconds on my 1GB, 3.4 GHz notebook to almost instantaneous. I like Java as a programming environment, but Sun absolutely has to figure out how to cut down the JRE startup time, at least for embedded applications.
9.22.2005
Lost
I'm trying to decide if the persistent telegraphing of the "twist endings" on Lost is intentional. I think it has to be. I don't read spoilers and don't obsessively rewind and freeze frame with the TiVo, but I still rarely find myself surprised by the revelations. Wasn't it evident about a minute into "Walkabout"'s first flashback that Locke was handicapped? Every shot was framed to accentuate Locke's powerlessness, not to mention that he was never standing up. Was there any doubt that Sawyer was going to kill the wrong man in "Outlaws"? If he kills the right man, there's no emotional turmoil, and no surprise, and Lost is never without both.
Kate's doomed childhood friend... Locke's kidney stealing father... Desmond in the hatch... all obvious well before the "payoff".
Part of it must be Hitchcock's "Bomb Theory": if the audience knows what to expect, and the characters don't, the result is suspense. But that doesn't really explain spending so much time building up to the reveal of Locke's handicap. Maybe it was more subtle than I give it credit for, but it appears that Lost could be accidentally underestimating its audience's intelligence, or deliberately taking advantage of the typical viewer's desire to feel clever.
Of course, Lost could be brilliantly getting the best of both worlds: casual viewers are surprised, and regular viewers feel self-satisfyingly clever. The omnipresent "Easter eggs" of pre-island character connections (Hurley on Jin's TV, Locke's box company), and the inclusion of some "surprises", like Jack's future wife's miraculous recovery, that aren't surprises if you've been watching regularly, support this interpretation.
It's a tough balancing act: keep the twists from seeming like they come out of nowhere, but don't make them so obvious that the audience spends the whole episode anticipating the ending, ruining the suspense. Frequently (particularly in the case of the flashbacks), I think they err too far towards the latter.
This is all by way of praising with faint damnation. Lost is terrifically entertaining. The premiere was surprisingly satisfying, especially given the tendency of many shows to "wimp out" after building up to a suspenseful finale, premiering with:
Lost opened the hatch in the finale, and showed us what was in it in the premiere - and better still it wasn't another hatch, an empty room, or some other clichéd metaphor. Even though all of television history suggests the writers/producers don't have any idea where they're going (paging Chris Carter), so far everything has fit together so well that I have some faith there's a story being told here. Maybe I'll theorize in a later post.
Kate's doomed childhood friend... Locke's kidney stealing father... Desmond in the hatch... all obvious well before the "payoff".
Part of it must be Hitchcock's "Bomb Theory": if the audience knows what to expect, and the characters don't, the result is suspense. But that doesn't really explain spending so much time building up to the reveal of Locke's handicap. Maybe it was more subtle than I give it credit for, but it appears that Lost could be accidentally underestimating its audience's intelligence, or deliberately taking advantage of the typical viewer's desire to feel clever.
Of course, Lost could be brilliantly getting the best of both worlds: casual viewers are surprised, and regular viewers feel self-satisfyingly clever. The omnipresent "Easter eggs" of pre-island character connections (Hurley on Jin's TV, Locke's box company), and the inclusion of some "surprises", like Jack's future wife's miraculous recovery, that aren't surprises if you've been watching regularly, support this interpretation.
It's a tough balancing act: keep the twists from seeming like they come out of nowhere, but don't make them so obvious that the audience spends the whole episode anticipating the ending, ruining the suspense. Frequently (particularly in the case of the flashbacks), I think they err too far towards the latter.
This is all by way of praising with faint damnation. Lost is terrifically entertaining. The premiere was surprisingly satisfying, especially given the tendency of many shows to "wimp out" after building up to a suspenseful finale, premiering with:
- a flashback episode - Battlestar Galactica almost went this route for season 2, and much to showrunner Ron Moore's credit, they recognized it was a terrible idea.
- a flashforward episode - The West Wing began heading toward the shark jump in season 3, when the premiere skipped ahead to months after the MS revelation, which something like the last 12 episodes of season 2 had intimated would be a huge ordeal. I think ultimately the payoff was one congressional hearing that focused on Leo.
- a left-field episode - South Park becomes Terrance and Phillip...
Lost opened the hatch in the finale, and showed us what was in it in the premiere - and better still it wasn't another hatch, an empty room, or some other clichéd metaphor. Even though all of television history suggests the writers/producers don't have any idea where they're going (paging Chris Carter), so far everything has fit together so well that I have some faith there's a story being told here. Maybe I'll theorize in a later post.
9.21.2005
Good advice for Microsoft
As it struggles to compete for mindshare and marketshare with Google and Linux, Microsoft would do well to take this anonymous minimsft poster's advice:
Read the whole thing.
There's actually a plethora of insightful comments (and the expected sour grapes) on the anonymous-MS-employee minimsft blog.
I actually interned for Microsoft in the Windows product group in Summer 2001 (working up to the XP release). The top-down direction criticized by the poster was very much in evidence. It baffles me why an organization which prides itself on hiring amazingly smart people would put a management structure into place that actively discourages small, exciting projects. Instead, the review-goals-uber-alles mindset means that if you're not polishing a spec for a dialog box or oiling a cog in a compatibility database, you're hurting yourself professionally.
At Google, it appears, a great idea can go from a glimmer in an employee's eye to a beta system used by millions in a matter of weeks. There's no reason Microsoft couldn't have the equivalent of Google Labs. If they don't start encouraging individual innovation, they're going to see those most interested in innovation go elsewhere.
Microsoft is way too focused on building the next billion-dollar business; there is no way for a team to start something that will be a great 50 million dollar business even with great profit margins. Why not create 100 teams like that? Some of them (with no way to predict which) WILL turn into billion dollar businesses. But if you don't let them start they never will.
Read the whole thing.
There's actually a plethora of insightful comments (and the expected sour grapes) on the anonymous-MS-employee minimsft blog.
I actually interned for Microsoft in the Windows product group in Summer 2001 (working up to the XP release). The top-down direction criticized by the poster was very much in evidence. It baffles me why an organization which prides itself on hiring amazingly smart people would put a management structure into place that actively discourages small, exciting projects. Instead, the review-goals-uber-alles mindset means that if you're not polishing a spec for a dialog box or oiling a cog in a compatibility database, you're hurting yourself professionally.
At Google, it appears, a great idea can go from a glimmer in an employee's eye to a beta system used by millions in a matter of weeks. There's no reason Microsoft couldn't have the equivalent of Google Labs. If they don't start encouraging individual innovation, they're going to see those most interested in innovation go elsewhere.
9.09.2005
Python
I'm finally starting to do some real work in Python. There are some small annoyances, like the weird nodelimiterlowercase built-in names, but generators are (a carryover from Icon, I believe) are terrifically useful. I'm surprised something like them didn't show up in other scripting languages earlier, since they're naturally suited to the sort of source/filter/sink piping you see often in scripts.
In this particular case, I'm using a generator to produce specification objects one at a time from Perforce, which conveniently gives you an option to get your command results in the form of marshalled Python objects. Generators let me open up one connection to Perforce for a whole set of these, and return them one at a time as requested. The generator "owns" the network connection, and keeps it up while waiting for future requests. Poor man's lazy evaluation!
In this particular case, I'm using a generator to produce specification objects one at a time from Perforce, which conveniently gives you an option to get your command results in the form of marshalled Python objects. Generators let me open up one connection to Perforce for a whole set of these, and return them one at a time as requested. The generator "owns" the network connection, and keeps it up while waiting for future requests. Poor man's lazy evaluation!
9.01.2005
I can't believe...
... that I missed Grilled Cheese Monday on Slashfood!
At least now I know what I want for Christmas. Ought to be perfect for making the delectable mozzerella, fig jam and prosciutto sandwich.
At least now I know what I want for Christmas. Ought to be perfect for making the delectable mozzerella, fig jam and prosciutto sandwich.
8.29.2005
Mmm... ham, cream cheese, and strawberry jam...
Stayed at the recently renovated Hilton Hartford this weekend with the girlfriend. Overall we were very pleased; the renovations are stylish and the room was comfortable. Our only real complaint was the (audible from the 12th floor) jackhammering in the parking garage at 8am Sunday morning, but the hotel was nice enough to refund us $20 for the annoyance.
The highlight was breakfast at Morty and Ming's. I had a grilled sandwich of straberry jam, grilled ham, and about a half-inch thick spread of cream cheese. Sinfully good, though it probably doesn't sound that way! She had blueberry pancakes with vanilla butter, also delightful. The hashbrowns on the side—shredded potato, the only way to do it right, crisped to golden perfection with onions and scalions—were the best I can recall.
Just enough energy to survive a trip through the New Haven Ikea...
The highlight was breakfast at Morty and Ming's. I had a grilled sandwich of straberry jam, grilled ham, and about a half-inch thick spread of cream cheese. Sinfully good, though it probably doesn't sound that way! She had blueberry pancakes with vanilla butter, also delightful. The hashbrowns on the side—shredded potato, the only way to do it right, crisped to golden perfection with onions and scalions—were the best I can recall.
Just enough energy to survive a trip through the New Haven Ikea...
8.22.2005
winterspeak.com
I've read half a dozen posts on winterspeak.com, found via link from Asymmetrical Information, and I'm hooked...
A representative sample (on the causes of the U.S. trade deficit):
A representative sample (on the causes of the U.S. trade deficit):
The key dynamic here seems to be that China, following mercantilist trade policy, is taking money from Chinese consumers and importers and giving it to Chinese exporters, who are in turn tying dollar bills to their exports. The rational thing to do in this circumstance would be to take the money and buy the Chinese exports -- anything else would be foolish! Thus the trade deficit. When the Chinese decide to stop taking from their local peasants and giving to American flat-screen TV buyers, then the trade deficit will go away, but until then American consumers should take the money and run.Great stuff.
8.16.2005
Reading List
Although almost no one actually reads this blog, I'm going to start taking note here of what I've been reading. At least it will give me a chance to take stock of my reading time, of which I never have enough. My reading could best be grouped into two categories: technical papers, articles and books running the gamut of computer science topics, and everything else. The former I typically read during my lunch hour, an old anti-social habit that I don't think I'll ever break, while the latter I try to find time for when I can, typically at night, but also during marathon sessions on vacation at Cape Cod during the summer.
One summer selection was V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River. As a (purely hypothetical) regular reader of the blog might deduce, I'm exceedingly fond of Joseph Conrad. If the brooding prose of this book is any indication, Naipaul is the modern equivalent. The story is semi-autobiographical, and has a specific historical context, but like Heart of Darkness, there is just enough of a mist around the edges to allow both tales to dissolve the bonds that tie them to a particular time and place: The name "Africa" appears once in Conrad's story, and only in a list of continents. The name "Congo" appears not at all. Similarly, Naipaul never names the nation whose fate drives the story, nor its nominal leader, the "Big Man".
The resulting meditations on the nature of man thus take on a universality that I find quite appealing. The prose is brooding, as I said before, in the best possible sense: heavy and thoughtful, but only because the subject demands it.
Highly recommended.
On the CS end, I was thrilled to discover the collected notes of Edsger W. Dijkstra. The breadth of his interest in "Computing Science" is matched only by the strength of his opinions, resulting in forceful insights on a broad range of topics. From what I've read so far, I can particularly commend:
"My recollections of operating system design"
and
"Computing Science: Achievements and Challenges"
One summer selection was V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River. As a (purely hypothetical) regular reader of the blog might deduce, I'm exceedingly fond of Joseph Conrad. If the brooding prose of this book is any indication, Naipaul is the modern equivalent. The story is semi-autobiographical, and has a specific historical context, but like Heart of Darkness, there is just enough of a mist around the edges to allow both tales to dissolve the bonds that tie them to a particular time and place: The name "Africa" appears once in Conrad's story, and only in a list of continents. The name "Congo" appears not at all. Similarly, Naipaul never names the nation whose fate drives the story, nor its nominal leader, the "Big Man".
The resulting meditations on the nature of man thus take on a universality that I find quite appealing. The prose is brooding, as I said before, in the best possible sense: heavy and thoughtful, but only because the subject demands it.
Highly recommended.
On the CS end, I was thrilled to discover the collected notes of Edsger W. Dijkstra. The breadth of his interest in "Computing Science" is matched only by the strength of his opinions, resulting in forceful insights on a broad range of topics. From what I've read so far, I can particularly commend:
"My recollections of operating system design"
and
"Computing Science: Achievements and Challenges"
Battlestar Galactica
I came in a little late, knowing nothing about the original except that it had a reputation of being cheesy, but the new
Battlestar Galactica is easily the best SF show on TV in a long time. That's in no small part due to show-runner Ron Moore, who provided much of the creative energy that made the middle seasons of DS9 so much fun. BSG is a much darker show (figuratively and literally - I never understood why Trek always had to be filmed under kleig lights), and it's the better for it.
The toughest part for the writers and producers, I think, will be exploring the mythos. This is where, say, Babylon 5 fell down for me. The early seasons offered some real mystery, both about the characters and the universe they inhabited. But the "revelations," spread out over 4 years (season 5 doesn't really count), brought to mind the quote from Conrad about sailor's tales fitting within the shell of a nut. Ultimately there wasn't that much to the backstory that couldn't be summarized in a few sentences: Shadows = chaos, Vorlons = order, Sinclair = Valen. The characters were interesting for the most part, but because the story arc was so threadbare, almost every event of consequence had to revolve around them. This might work well for a medical drama, but you're sacrificing what makes good space operas: the sense of scale, of a huge universe you can only meagerly comprehend.
On the other hand, you can go too far the other way, and treat the mythos as an inexahaustible supply of new weirdness. X-Files fell victim to this. I don't think anyone can tell a plausible story that fits everything that was thrown onto the screen.
BSG will hopefully manage to walk the line here. I hope it'll be clear by the end of this season whether, for example, there's anything more than mysticism to the Cylon's God-talk and the President's prophecy talk.
Luckily, even if the mythos sucks, if the production quality shown so far continues, it'll at least be worth watching.
Battlestar Galactica is easily the best SF show on TV in a long time. That's in no small part due to show-runner Ron Moore, who provided much of the creative energy that made the middle seasons of DS9 so much fun. BSG is a much darker show (figuratively and literally - I never understood why Trek always had to be filmed under kleig lights), and it's the better for it.
The toughest part for the writers and producers, I think, will be exploring the mythos. This is where, say, Babylon 5 fell down for me. The early seasons offered some real mystery, both about the characters and the universe they inhabited. But the "revelations," spread out over 4 years (season 5 doesn't really count), brought to mind the quote from Conrad about sailor's tales fitting within the shell of a nut. Ultimately there wasn't that much to the backstory that couldn't be summarized in a few sentences: Shadows = chaos, Vorlons = order, Sinclair = Valen. The characters were interesting for the most part, but because the story arc was so threadbare, almost every event of consequence had to revolve around them. This might work well for a medical drama, but you're sacrificing what makes good space operas: the sense of scale, of a huge universe you can only meagerly comprehend.
On the other hand, you can go too far the other way, and treat the mythos as an inexahaustible supply of new weirdness. X-Files fell victim to this. I don't think anyone can tell a plausible story that fits everything that was thrown onto the screen.
BSG will hopefully manage to walk the line here. I hope it'll be clear by the end of this season whether, for example, there's anything more than mysticism to the Cylon's God-talk and the President's prophecy talk.
Luckily, even if the mythos sucks, if the production quality shown so far continues, it'll at least be worth watching.
Bring back the Grilled Stuft Chicken Enchilada Burrito
Sign the petition to bring back
the greatest Taco Bell burrito ever.
Why does Taco Bell insist upon rotating in these great new products, and then getting rid of them, never to be seen again?
They are the biggest tease in the fast food industry.
While they're at it, they should bring back the Chicken Stuft Caesar Wrap, which was likewise excellent.
the greatest Taco Bell burrito ever.
Why does Taco Bell insist upon rotating in these great new products, and then getting rid of them, never to be seen again?
They are the biggest tease in the fast food industry.
While they're at it, they should bring back the Chicken Stuft Caesar Wrap, which was likewise excellent.
8.01.2005
The new guru
George Lakoff is a clown:
After all the whining those on the left do about George Bush "dividing America", they make this guy's book a bestseller. He certainly seems interested in civil debate, doesn't he?
Oh well. I hope they keep listening to him instead of finding leaders who call this kind of talk absurd. Then they'll keep losing elections, and I'll keep getting cheaper goods through free trade, a growing economy through lower tax rates and less regulation, and a foreign policy driven by American ideals.
"'They found that choice wasn't playing very well,' says Lakoff, who's become an unofficial guru to beleaguered Democrats. He told the groups it was no wonder: 'choice' came from a 'consumerist' vocabulary, while 'life' came from a moral one. In one of his more controversial suggestions, he advised the activists to reclaim the 'life' issue by blaming Republicans for high U.S. infant-mortality rates and mercury pollution that can cause birth defects. 'Basically what I'm saying is that conservatives are killing babies,' he says."
After all the whining those on the left do about George Bush "dividing America", they make this guy's book a bestseller. He certainly seems interested in civil debate, doesn't he?
Oh well. I hope they keep listening to him instead of finding leaders who call this kind of talk absurd. Then they'll keep losing elections, and I'll keep getting cheaper goods through free trade, a growing economy through lower tax rates and less regulation, and a foreign policy driven by American ideals.
6.16.2005
The Downing Street Memo
Tim Cavanaugh joins the growing chorus of Iraq war skeptics acknowledging that there's no 'there' there in the Downing Street Memo.
Of course, all but the most wild-eyed Bush haters never thought the "revelations" in this memo would be a major scandal. After all, most of it was conventional wisdom when the memo was released: the Bush administration thought Saddam Hussein had WMDs and were unenthusiastic about the changes of a UN-mediated outcome.
The real reason the Left loves playing up this memo is the fortuitous use of the phrase "intelligence and facts were being being fixed around the policy", which in the context of the memo almost certainly means that facts and intelligence supporting the case for the policy were being found (as in "to fix upon") and emphasized, which is exactly what happened.
However, through the lazy anti-Bush (and I suppose even more pro-scandal) filter of the media, this phrase gets summarized (as I heard it this morning on WBZ) as "allegations that the Bush administration 'fixed' intelligence to justify the Iraq war". Who cares if this is a rude mis-translation? The meme is out the door, and soon the scare quotes around 'fixed' will disappear.
Of course, all but the most wild-eyed Bush haters never thought the "revelations" in this memo would be a major scandal. After all, most of it was conventional wisdom when the memo was released: the Bush administration thought Saddam Hussein had WMDs and were unenthusiastic about the changes of a UN-mediated outcome.
The real reason the Left loves playing up this memo is the fortuitous use of the phrase "intelligence and facts were being being fixed around the policy", which in the context of the memo almost certainly means that facts and intelligence supporting the case for the policy were being found (as in "to fix upon") and emphasized, which is exactly what happened.
However, through the lazy anti-Bush (and I suppose even more pro-scandal) filter of the media, this phrase gets summarized (as I heard it this morning on WBZ) as "allegations that the Bush administration 'fixed' intelligence to justify the Iraq war". Who cares if this is a rude mis-translation? The meme is out the door, and soon the scare quotes around 'fixed' will disappear.
5.12.2005
Fred Kaplan, Broken Record
As anyone (yes all two of you) who read this blog regularly know, I'm a big fan of Slate. They provide a great mix of politics, pop culture, and the sort of uncategorizable stuff you don't find anywhere else. Where else can you find a lighthearted regular column on Supreme Court arguments? Left, right and center, Slate's stable of writers sets a high standard, and it's one that Fred Kaplan hasn't lived up to for a while. Take today's predictable assault on John Bolton. Is there a single insight here that I couldn't get from wire service reports and Democratic talking points?
Wow, that last talking point was so thrilling it got in there twice. Did he intimidate, then remove those brave State Department analysts? By remove he can't mean fired. Has anyone in the State Department actually alleged that their careers were hurt by their disputes with Bolton? Shouldn't spirited disputes over policy, which many of these were, be welcomed rather than seen as disqualifying? Doesn't the run up to the Iraq war demonstrate that policy makers should question intelligence analysts more and not less?
Kaplan's columns have been like this for a while. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the administration or being contrarian, but he should at least acknowledge the other side of the argument, if only to dismiss it.
When I know everything I'm going to read in a Fred Kaplan column from the title, why should I even bother?
Finally, I'd be willing to wager that John Bolton will turn out to be at least a competent UN ambassador, thus putting the lie to Kaplan's claim that he's obviously not "truly qualified". Though if he does, will Kaplan acknowledge that perhaps his distrust of the Bush administration led to his own "enormous self-deception"? I'm not going to hold my breath.
...his intimidation of intelligence analysts who dared disagree with him, the dismal signal his appointment will send to the world...
...It takes enormous self-deception to believe that John Bolton is truly qualified...
...As an undersecretary of state in Bush's first term, he repeatedly sought the removal of intelligence analysts who dared to disagree with him...
Wow, that last talking point was so thrilling it got in there twice. Did he intimidate, then remove those brave State Department analysts? By remove he can't mean fired. Has anyone in the State Department actually alleged that their careers were hurt by their disputes with Bolton? Shouldn't spirited disputes over policy, which many of these were, be welcomed rather than seen as disqualifying? Doesn't the run up to the Iraq war demonstrate that policy makers should question intelligence analysts more and not less?
Kaplan's columns have been like this for a while. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the administration or being contrarian, but he should at least acknowledge the other side of the argument, if only to dismiss it.
When I know everything I'm going to read in a Fred Kaplan column from the title, why should I even bother?
Finally, I'd be willing to wager that John Bolton will turn out to be at least a competent UN ambassador, thus putting the lie to Kaplan's claim that he's obviously not "truly qualified". Though if he does, will Kaplan acknowledge that perhaps his distrust of the Bush administration led to his own "enormous self-deception"? I'm not going to hold my breath.
5.10.2005
5.02.2005
I love temporal mechanics
The Time Traveler Convention - May 7, 2005
It's things like this that make MIT the uhh... coolest place on earth... yeah that's it... cool...
It's things like this that make MIT the uhh... coolest place on earth... yeah that's it... cool...
4.28.2005
The deep thoughts of a galactic tyrant
4.04.2005
Why I am not a Libertarian
I'm only 2/3 of the way through this excellent Jane Galt post, but I can already say it articulates precisely why I'm pragmatically drawn to conservatism over more liberal (really libertarian) thinking. It's ostensibly about gay marriage, but you could, as Jane Galt suggests, apply her argument to many policy changes that claim to eschew social engineering, but end up doing dramatic "unintentional engineering" (oxymoron alert!) in the long term.
I've been reading AA posts occasionally for years (back when it was "Live from the WTC" if I recall), but it's to the blogroll with her now.
I've been reading AA posts occasionally for years (back when it was "Live from the WTC" if I recall), but it's to the blogroll with her now.
3.29.2005
Back from the Big Apple
I had a fun, tiring weekend in Manhattan. Went to a few places that were definitely worth the hype:
- Hotel QT - Still "under construction," but what's there so far is way cool. The rooms are "cozy" but stylish with lusciously soft beds. The staff is friendly and helpful. The pool would be a gem even without the swim-up bar.
- The new MoMA - At least a full day's activity. Obviously designed by people who love design, from the airy, sunlit interior to the ruthlessly efficient, yet delicious and relaxing Cafe 2.
- Una Pizza Napoletana - Perfect pizza. Well worth the wait and the price.
- Papaya King - They can't franchise fast enough for me.
3.01.2005
"The Crackers"
Via Crooked Timber, this art hits the spot for me, and almost makes up for traveling to NYC a few weeks late to see "The Gates" (pro: also orange!, con: less snackable!)
2.28.2005
Counterrevolutionary French Fries
McDonald's ran what seemed to me to be a pretty daring ad during the Oscar telecast tonight. It follows a pair of Chinese girls, the best of friends, from their youth in an idealized village, to graduation from a university (complete with a shot of diplomas featuring the visage of Chairman Mao!), to life in the big city. The jingle is something like, "Sharing was always so easy," until, that is, McDonald's french fries entered the picture.
I'm not even casually acquainted with the evolution of Chinese Communist doctrine, but the symbolism of the ad—a tempting product of the capitalist machine undermines cultural acceptance of communal property—is delightful, even if unintentional.
I'm not even casually acquainted with the evolution of Chinese Communist doctrine, but the symbolism of the ad—a tempting product of the capitalist machine undermines cultural acceptance of communal property—is delightful, even if unintentional.
2.22.2005
Endangered French Fries
The New York Times has a remarkably balanced article on the challenges facing the food industry as it moves away from transfatty oils. The main obstacle isn't industry greed; it's consumers who are used to their favorite products tasting a certain way.
The cycles of nutritional fads has had an unfortunate impact on many great American foods. Take the classic McDonald's french fry:
It's not to be, though, since the advantages of mass marketing make it impractical for McDonald's to produce them again, and trademark laws (and probably more than a few trade secrets) doubtlessly make it impossible for a competitor to create and advertise "McDonald's fries like you remember them."
As the digital age makes it exponentially cheaper to store all sorts of information practically forever, I think we'll more and more feel the loss of experiences we can't save and savor.
The cycles of nutritional fads has had an unfortunate impact on many great American foods. Take the classic McDonald's french fry:
McDonald's replaced beef tallow with partially hydrogenated soybean oil in 1990. In September 2002, the company vowed it would use healthier oil in its 13,000 stores in the United States by February 2003.The new fries are probably healthier than those fried in beef tallow, but boy I'd love to be able to taste those pre-1990 fries again.
It's not to be, though, since the advantages of mass marketing make it impractical for McDonald's to produce them again, and trademark laws (and probably more than a few trade secrets) doubtlessly make it impossible for a competitor to create and advertise "McDonald's fries like you remember them."
As the digital age makes it exponentially cheaper to store all sorts of information practically forever, I think we'll more and more feel the loss of experiences we can't save and savor.
2.18.2005
Rum Run
On a happier note, while taking a run down Mass Ave this evening, I did find a liquor store that sells the heavenly Pyrat XO Reserve rum.
A few years ago my girlfriend brought me back a bottle of Bacardi 8 from the distillery in Puerto Rico. Ever since I've been a big fan of aged rum. (And even more a fan of my endlessly thoughtful girlfriend!)
The ideal destination for rum drinkers of all kinds is the Cuban-inspired Naked Fish. During an after-work trip to the Faneuil Hall location a few weeks ago, the bartender recommended the XO, and I was instantly smitten. It's sugary without being too sweet, molassas-dark without being syrupy—everything you'd want in a sipping rum.
A few years ago my girlfriend brought me back a bottle of Bacardi 8 from the distillery in Puerto Rico. Ever since I've been a big fan of aged rum. (And even more a fan of my endlessly thoughtful girlfriend!)
The ideal destination for rum drinkers of all kinds is the Cuban-inspired Naked Fish. During an after-work trip to the Faneuil Hall location a few weeks ago, the bartender recommended the XO, and I was instantly smitten. It's sugary without being too sweet, molassas-dark without being syrupy—everything you'd want in a sipping rum.
Where to find Château Plissac-Bellevue?
Somehow my parents got a bottle of this 2000 vintage Château Plissac-Bellevue, Premieres Côtes de Blaye. Don't ask me what that means, I'm only an aspriring wine snob, but it was terrifically quaffable, and I'd love to get my hands on a few bottles.
Unfortunately, a Google finds me only European, Hawaiian and Hong Kong sellers, and until the U.S. Supreme Court overturns states' bans out out-of-sale wine purchases, like the one in puritan Massachusetts, it really wouldn't help me to find an Internet vendor, anyways.
Does anyone who happens to Google their way over here know where I can get some within 200 miles of Cambridge, MA? My eternal gratitude and a drink at the bar of your choice in Cambridge would be your reward.
Unfortunately, a Google finds me only European, Hawaiian and Hong Kong sellers, and until the U.S. Supreme Court overturns states' bans out out-of-sale wine purchases, like the one in puritan Massachusetts, it really wouldn't help me to find an Internet vendor, anyways.
Does anyone who happens to Google their way over here know where I can get some within 200 miles of Cambridge, MA? My eternal gratitude and a drink at the bar of your choice in Cambridge would be your reward.
2.16.2005
New web tools
My last post reminded me to mention two web apps I've started to get a lot of use out of, both of which are well-designed (and free!):
- Google Maps: gee-whiz scrolling and zoomable maps with street names and multiple "pushpin" waypoints. When can I get this on my cell phone?
- Ta-da Lists: the best designed web app I've used. Simple, elegant, fast, and most importantly, shareable.
Sourdough perfection
I'm sure there are lots of people who would claim you can't get good sourdough bread on the East Coast, but those people haven't tried Nashoba Brook Bakery's sourdough. My girlfriend picked some up a couple of weeks ago from the local market, and we enjoyed it over two nights with pasta and soup. Best I've ever had: crusty on the outside, flaky and buttery on the inside, and sour without being overpowering.
I see from the web site that they've got a café in Back Bay. I better add it to the to do list.
I see from the web site that they've got a café in Back Bay. I better add it to the to do list.
2.11.2005
Therapeutic cloning is creepier than it sounds
K Lo at The Corner is right to be indignant about the New York Times' editorial on MA Governor Mitt Romney's stem cell position. Governor Romney, who has every reason to take this issue seriously, endorsed a sensible compromise: embryos resulting from fertility treatments that would otherwise be disposed of can instead be used for research. Human embryos, however, should not be produced solely to be destroyed, without even a chance at life. This tracks closely to the president's position: we should not create a market in human life.
That's not good enough for the Times. They're unhappy with anything short of regulations that allow therapeutic cloning, as endorsed in NJ and CA. Of course, the Times won't even use the term "therapeutic cloning," which is a euphemism to begin with: all cloning works the same way, it's just the use of the end product that matters. Advocates of cloning for stem cells use the term "therapeutic cloning" to differentiate it from "reproductive cloning," a la Dolly the sheep. Reproductive cloning is supposedly creepy and unnatural, but who could be against therapy?
I think the reverse is true. Reproductive cloning, at least, produces a human being, with a chance to live his or her own life. We don't find identical twins unnatural, and ideally a clone would be no more so, typically being a different age from the donor anyway.
Reproductive cloning is also well-understood, thanks to a media fixation on the aforementioned Dolly and decades of science fiction.
Therapeutic cloning, on the other hand, is often just packed in with the stem cell debate. Media coverage focuses on the politics of the issue, with perhaps an abstract discussion of the technique:
Another issue worth pondering: Assume therapeutic cloning is deemed morally and socially acceptable, and proves wildly successful at treating a variety of diseases. As the description above indicates, to make it work you need a donor egg. Eggs are not exactly easy to come by: each female of the species is born with only so many. Given their rarity, and the cost involved in extracting them, could we see a sellers' market in human eggs? If they really do provide miracle cures, wouldn't their market price end up at least in the vicinity of a few thousand dollars? You could make a pretty good living, then, just dispensing eggs. I suppose there would be a serious incentive to develop an artificial egg, but until then an ovary could be an ATM. I have no idea what to think about that.
That's not good enough for the Times. They're unhappy with anything short of regulations that allow therapeutic cloning, as endorsed in NJ and CA. Of course, the Times won't even use the term "therapeutic cloning," which is a euphemism to begin with: all cloning works the same way, it's just the use of the end product that matters. Advocates of cloning for stem cells use the term "therapeutic cloning" to differentiate it from "reproductive cloning," a la Dolly the sheep. Reproductive cloning is supposedly creepy and unnatural, but who could be against therapy?
I think the reverse is true. Reproductive cloning, at least, produces a human being, with a chance to live his or her own life. We don't find identical twins unnatural, and ideally a clone would be no more so, typically being a different age from the donor anyway.
Reproductive cloning is also well-understood, thanks to a media fixation on the aforementioned Dolly and decades of science fiction.
Therapeutic cloning, on the other hand, is often just packed in with the stem cell debate. Media coverage focuses on the politics of the issue, with perhaps an abstract discussion of the technique:
The person who needed the healthy stem cells would provide a non-egg, non-sperm cell from which the DNA would be removed. That DNA, containing two copies of each human chromosome, would be inserted into a donor egg that has had its own nucleus and DNA removed. The egg with the introduced DNA would act like it had just been fertilized and begin to divide, forming an embryo. Stem cells from that embryo would be removed and cultured to provide the needed healthy tissue.I think there are some extremely troubling implications here that I've never seen teased out in mainstream reporting. Because you're providing your own DNA, the embryo being created is a genetic duplicate of you! That is, if it were implanted into a mother and came to term, it would be your clone. Not to put too fine a point on it, this technique involves destroying an embryo that is identicalto you at that stage of your development. Now, perhaps that doesn't bother you, the embryo is indeed "just a clump of cells" as the Times puts it. I think, though, that it would bother many people on all sides of the debate. For all the reporting on this issue, it's remarkable that this consequence isn't common knowledge, as it surely must be to the scientists and researchers who are always wringing their hands about falling behind in crucial, life-saving research. It's a great moral question that ties in questions of identity, medicine, morality and The Clonus Horror. I guess it's just easier to frame the issue as luddite Christian fundamentalists vs. brave pioneering scientists, which is too bad.
Another issue worth pondering: Assume therapeutic cloning is deemed morally and socially acceptable, and proves wildly successful at treating a variety of diseases. As the description above indicates, to make it work you need a donor egg. Eggs are not exactly easy to come by: each female of the species is born with only so many. Given their rarity, and the cost involved in extracting them, could we see a sellers' market in human eggs? If they really do provide miracle cures, wouldn't their market price end up at least in the vicinity of a few thousand dollars? You could make a pretty good living, then, just dispensing eggs. I suppose there would be a serious incentive to develop an artificial egg, but until then an ovary could be an ATM. I have no idea what to think about that.
2.07.2005
The boarding pass switcheroo
At Slate, Andy Bowers discovers a pretty basic hack of the airline check-in system.
The attack works like this: Before you can board a plane in the U.S., you need a boarding pass with your name and an airline-issued bar code, as well as a government-issued ID, with a name matching the pass. The ID and the name on the pass are matched at the TSA security gate, while the airline gate attendant matches the name on the pass with the name in the airline computer corresponding to the bar code. An attacker could fly under an assumed name by buying a ticket using a stolen credit card, printing out both his actual boarding pass (with the assumed name), and another boarding pass modified to contain a name matching his government-issued ID. It won't match the bar code, but that's OK, because at the TSA gate, they don't check the bar code. At the airline gate, they don't check the government-issued ID.
By flying under an assumed name, the attacker has rendered useless the "no-fly" list designed to limit the travel and opportunities for airplane-based terrorism of known or suspected terrorists.
This scheme had occurred to me as well. It's such an obvious flaw that the TSA must be aware of it, and if they wanted to fix it, they could order the airlines to stop issuing home-printable boarding passes, or to check ID's at the gate.
I think, though, that the TSA rationally concludes that while printing out a fake boarding pass isn't hard, buying yourself a fake ID to go along with your stolen credit card isn't that much harder.
So why have a no-fly list at all? I think the no-fly list is targeted not at the hard-core, professional operative terrorist: they're smart enough to beat any system the government is likely to deploy. Rather, it's targeted at the second-tier of known or suspected supporters (financially or otherwise) of terrorism. These folks are unlikely to try to travel under assumed names, and they're unlikely to pose an actual threat to the airplane. Instead, the no-fly list serves to keep the government notified of their attempts to travel, prevents them from easily moving into or out of the United States, and generally makes it easier for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to keep tabs on them.
Some of the second-tier no-fliers might graduate to first-tier status without being smart enough to try to fly under a stolen or otherwise disguised identity, as some of the 9-11 hijackers did. If the no-fly list catches them, terrific. But I suspect the chief utility of the no-fly list lies not in actual air travel security, but in aiding connect-the-dots style surveillance.
The attack works like this: Before you can board a plane in the U.S., you need a boarding pass with your name and an airline-issued bar code, as well as a government-issued ID, with a name matching the pass. The ID and the name on the pass are matched at the TSA security gate, while the airline gate attendant matches the name on the pass with the name in the airline computer corresponding to the bar code. An attacker could fly under an assumed name by buying a ticket using a stolen credit card, printing out both his actual boarding pass (with the assumed name), and another boarding pass modified to contain a name matching his government-issued ID. It won't match the bar code, but that's OK, because at the TSA gate, they don't check the bar code. At the airline gate, they don't check the government-issued ID.
By flying under an assumed name, the attacker has rendered useless the "no-fly" list designed to limit the travel and opportunities for airplane-based terrorism of known or suspected terrorists.
This scheme had occurred to me as well. It's such an obvious flaw that the TSA must be aware of it, and if they wanted to fix it, they could order the airlines to stop issuing home-printable boarding passes, or to check ID's at the gate.
I think, though, that the TSA rationally concludes that while printing out a fake boarding pass isn't hard, buying yourself a fake ID to go along with your stolen credit card isn't that much harder.
So why have a no-fly list at all? I think the no-fly list is targeted not at the hard-core, professional operative terrorist: they're smart enough to beat any system the government is likely to deploy. Rather, it's targeted at the second-tier of known or suspected supporters (financially or otherwise) of terrorism. These folks are unlikely to try to travel under assumed names, and they're unlikely to pose an actual threat to the airplane. Instead, the no-fly list serves to keep the government notified of their attempts to travel, prevents them from easily moving into or out of the United States, and generally makes it easier for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to keep tabs on them.
Some of the second-tier no-fliers might graduate to first-tier status without being smart enough to try to fly under a stolen or otherwise disguised identity, as some of the 9-11 hijackers did. If the no-fly list catches them, terrific. But I suspect the chief utility of the no-fly list lies not in actual air travel security, but in aiding connect-the-dots style surveillance.
Super Bowl in Foxboro?
Congratulations to the Pats on another huge Super Bowl win. Shouldn't this give Bob Kraft the necessary leverage with the NFL to bring a Super Bowl to Foxboro? Fans have been clamoring for a cold-weather matchup, Gillette Stadium is beautiful, and what's the worst that happens? They have to do the halftime show under a tent?
1.31.2005
Sister Howard
DemDaily wonders:
And it's not like Howard "I Hate Republicans and Everything They Stand For" Dean won't provide all sorts of great opportunities for the junior senator from New York to take the high ground.
It's so devious it just might be true!
Many people are also trying to read into Harold Ickes' endorsement of Dean on Friday. Does it signal which way the Clintons are leaning? And, if so, do they think Dean will make a great chair, or do they just want to make sure he's not a candidate in the 2008 race.Assuming you buy the theory that everything Clinton insiders do is part of a secret plan to get Hillary elected president in 2008 (I'm not sure I do... it's too easy to be a conspiracy theorist), I think there's a very plausible third explanation: With her liberal credentials pretty well sewn up, what better way for Hillary to appeal to the center than to trash the leader of her own party, who most voters (sorry, Deaniacs!) already see as a hyper-liberal mental case. A "Sister Howard" moment (say, right after she sows up the nomination) would be eaten up by the media--nothing's more fun than an intra-party fight--and establish Hillary's moderate bona fides more effectively than a dozen speeches recalibrating her position on abortion.
And it's not like Howard "I Hate Republicans and Everything They Stand For" Dean won't provide all sorts of great opportunities for the junior senator from New York to take the high ground.
It's so devious it just might be true!
1.28.2005
Yeah, about that flu vaccine shortage...
Remember those lines of seniors, shivering in the cold and waiting hours to get their flu shots? Well now they can't give the stuff away:
State unable to sell flu vaccine bought from Europe
Back in October, John Kerry and the democrats, with the enthusiastic help of the media, tried to make the flu shot "crisis" into a liability for the Bush administration. After all, if seniors are waiting in line for hours and clinics are running out of flu shots well before they can meet demand, something must have gone terribly wrong!
It was obvious to me at the time that, despite the media's breathless coverage, there was no serious problem and that everyone who wanted a flu shot was going to get one--without having to get on the flu shot tour bus to Canada, even! This is exactly what has happened.
So why the shivering seniors getting in lines of a length more commonly seen at the Red Sox ticket office? Actually, it's much the same phenomenon.
Tickets to Red Sox games sell out, and unless the ownership builds a new stadium, or Major League Baseball decides to play in the snow, there's always going to be the same fixed quantity available, a quantity that's smaller than the (huge) demand. So obsessed fans (like me) line up at 6:00am in the bitter December cold and wait all day for a chance to buy some.
By endlessly hyping the temporary shortage of available shots, the media created the impression that at some point all the shots would be gone, and if you hadn't gotten one you were out of luck. It shouldn't be surprising then, that seniors, legitimately concerned at the risk to their health if they didn't get a flu shot, jumped on every clinic like the Fenway Faithful on Sox/Yankees tickets. I bet a substantial number of these seniors didn't usually get their flu shots in October, months before the flu season started, just like Sox fans didn't used to buy their tickets in December, months before opening day, when there was a lot less demand. But when you create the impression of a scarce resource, the demand gets bunched up at the beginning, and you get long lines at the ticket office or health clinic. When the media broadcasts pictures of these lines, the impression of a severe shortage is reinforced, exacerbating the problem further.
Of course, flu shots aren't like Red Sox tickets: when there's demand, supply can go up, and it did. By December (the usual start of the flu season), just about anyone who wanted to get a flu shot could have one.
The media and the democrats should be ashamed that they fanned the flames of this story and scared a lot of the elderly and infirm just to get some good footage and campaign material.
State unable to sell flu vaccine bought from Europe
Back in October, John Kerry and the democrats, with the enthusiastic help of the media, tried to make the flu shot "crisis" into a liability for the Bush administration. After all, if seniors are waiting in line for hours and clinics are running out of flu shots well before they can meet demand, something must have gone terribly wrong!
It was obvious to me at the time that, despite the media's breathless coverage, there was no serious problem and that everyone who wanted a flu shot was going to get one--without having to get on the flu shot tour bus to Canada, even! This is exactly what has happened.
So why the shivering seniors getting in lines of a length more commonly seen at the Red Sox ticket office? Actually, it's much the same phenomenon.
Tickets to Red Sox games sell out, and unless the ownership builds a new stadium, or Major League Baseball decides to play in the snow, there's always going to be the same fixed quantity available, a quantity that's smaller than the (huge) demand. So obsessed fans (like me) line up at 6:00am in the bitter December cold and wait all day for a chance to buy some.
By endlessly hyping the temporary shortage of available shots, the media created the impression that at some point all the shots would be gone, and if you hadn't gotten one you were out of luck. It shouldn't be surprising then, that seniors, legitimately concerned at the risk to their health if they didn't get a flu shot, jumped on every clinic like the Fenway Faithful on Sox/Yankees tickets. I bet a substantial number of these seniors didn't usually get their flu shots in October, months before the flu season started, just like Sox fans didn't used to buy their tickets in December, months before opening day, when there was a lot less demand. But when you create the impression of a scarce resource, the demand gets bunched up at the beginning, and you get long lines at the ticket office or health clinic. When the media broadcasts pictures of these lines, the impression of a severe shortage is reinforced, exacerbating the problem further.
Of course, flu shots aren't like Red Sox tickets: when there's demand, supply can go up, and it did. By December (the usual start of the flu season), just about anyone who wanted to get a flu shot could have one.
The media and the democrats should be ashamed that they fanned the flames of this story and scared a lot of the elderly and infirm just to get some good footage and campaign material.
Composable memory transactions
This paper by Simon Peyton Jones and others seems promising. ACID transactions are one of the most useful formalisms to come out of database research, and it's long past time they worked their way down the stack to "lower level" languages and applications than SQL and databases.
A similar approach from an operating system POV is being taken by the Coyotos project, the descendent of EROS. Note their smart use of split phase (prepare/action) kernel invocations.
A similar approach from an operating system POV is being taken by the Coyotos project, the descendent of EROS. Note their smart use of split phase (prepare/action) kernel invocations.
1.24.2005
Firefox Cut and Paste
This is apparently rant day.
I am incredibly frustrated with Firefox's cut and paste. It's buggy and it doesn't reliably follow Windows conventions.
If I double-click on the address of a page to highlight it, and press Ctrl-C, it should be copied to the clipboard. But no, it isn't.
Right-click on the highlighted text, select Copy. Nope, still the clipboard is empty.
Go back to the previous page, right-click on the link with the URL I am trying to get, select Copy Link Location. Nope, that doesn't do it either.
It's basic stuff like this that should be automatic. When it's not, it's a major frustration.
Now I'm off to search Bugzilla to see if it's a known issue...
UPDATE: Yes it is. Seems I'm not the only one infuriated by it, either.
UPDATE 2: I should comment that despite the whining nature of this post, it is really terrific that such a great open source browser is available with an easy-to-browse open bug database!
I am incredibly frustrated with Firefox's cut and paste. It's buggy and it doesn't reliably follow Windows conventions.
If I double-click on the address of a page to highlight it, and press Ctrl-C, it should be copied to the clipboard. But no, it isn't.
Right-click on the highlighted text, select Copy. Nope, still the clipboard is empty.
Go back to the previous page, right-click on the link with the URL I am trying to get, select Copy Link Location. Nope, that doesn't do it either.
It's basic stuff like this that should be automatic. When it's not, it's a major frustration.
Now I'm off to search Bugzilla to see if it's a known issue...
UPDATE: Yes it is. Seems I'm not the only one infuriated by it, either.
UPDATE 2: I should comment that despite the whining nature of this post, it is really terrific that such a great open source browser is available with an easy-to-browse open bug database!
Shovel as I say, not as I do
Like many other cities, Cambridge insists that residents shovel the public sidewalks in front of their dwellings or businesses within 12 hours after snow stops falling. It's a reasonable requirement, and keeps pedestrians off dangerously slippery roads.
Of course, it would be nice if Cambridge took responsibility for clearing pedestrian walkways that aren't in front of dwellings or businesses. This morning there was not a single route from the north side to the south side of Memorial Drive near the Longfellow Bridge that didn't involve trudging through 3-4 feet drifts. The newly paved sidewalk down the embankment to the pedestrian underpass was completely snowed under. As a result, pedestrians had to either go a quarter mile out of their way to Kendall Square, or share snow and ice covered roads with Memorial Drive's busy commuter traffic.
Of course, it would be nice if Cambridge took responsibility for clearing pedestrian walkways that aren't in front of dwellings or businesses. This morning there was not a single route from the north side to the south side of Memorial Drive near the Longfellow Bridge that didn't involve trudging through 3-4 feet drifts. The newly paved sidewalk down the embankment to the pedestrian underpass was completely snowed under. As a result, pedestrians had to either go a quarter mile out of their way to Kendall Square, or share snow and ice covered roads with Memorial Drive's busy commuter traffic.
Ways and Means chairman tries to sink Social Security reform
This is pretty clearly a stupid, petty attempt by Chaiman Thomas to create unnecessary controversy around Bush's social security plan. Nobody in his right political mind would suggest tying social security benefits to gender, let alone race! By creating this mess, Thomas hopes to sully Bush's plan before it's even introduced. It's no secret he's miffed Bush chose to push SS reform over his pet issue, tax reform. But instead of helping Bush get SS done, and move on to taxes, he's doing everything he can to get in the way. From Robert Novak's January 1 column:
Democrats are going to have a field day with this, as well they should.
Republicans from the White House on down need to excoriate Thomas, publically.
While President Bush always has planned not to tackle tax reform until 2006 after the Social Security change is passed, the most influential tax drafter in Congress has been quietly planning to put Social Security and tax reform together.Hey Chairman Thomas: how many votes did you get this November? I bet it wasn't 61 million. Maybe you should let the White House take the lead on their signature issue rather than concocting secret plans with no chance of passing, even without you making a fool out of yourself on Meet the Press.
Rep. Bill Thomas of California, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been working with fellow Republicans on his committee to combine the two massive reforms. Thomas keeps secret the details of his plan, but colleagues say it is a workable concept. The conventional wisdom has been that Social Security and tax reform are such complicated and difficult questions that they must be approached separately.
Democrats are going to have a field day with this, as well they should.
Republicans from the White House on down need to excoriate Thomas, publically.
1.19.2005
Turnaround at Au Bon Pain
I didn't really intend for this to be a foodblog, but given that I am obsessed with eating, I guess it's not surprising that the subject comes up frequently. My tastes run the gamut from fast food to gourmet, all of it horribly bad for me. Don't be surprised if I rave about everything I write about here; I'm very excitable when it comes to food, and I'm much more likely to be inspired to blog about something I found delicious.
I've run hot and cold on the Boston-based sandwich-maker Au Bon Pain over the years. They really do have terrific bread, and were serving creative café sandwiches long before Panera Bread was the darling of Wall Street. On the other hand, the quality of ingredients and service has been decidedly uneven, and for a long time the menu was stagnant.
Fortunately, four years after being acquired by the U.K.-based Compass Group, they've started doing a lot of things right: The new ordering scheme, with paper forms going directly to the sandwich makers, is a big improvement from trying to explain what you wanted to a cashier with 10 people waiting behind you. Service, at least at the Kendall Square location I frequent, has become friendly and capable. Delectable new meats and cheeses and their new "artisanal" breads have spiced up the menu. Every other week, it seems, there's a new sandwich to try, and my experimentation has been rewarded as they've been uniformly delicious.
The inspiration for this entry was their latest stroke of culinary genius, the "baked sandwich". Available premade in three varieties (the tuna with cheddar and red peppers is particularly scrumptious), they're rosemary foccacia rolls stuffed with ingredients and baked in parchment paper. They're a win-win for customers and the store: they taste great and are ready right away, and premade so they save work during the lunch rush. They've also resisted the temptation to load them up with spreads and other extras that would push the calorie count into the stratosphere.
The chain is still not all the way there: service at outlying locations (e.g. the Davis Square store in Somerville) is weak, and the newly redecorated Kendall Square location has the style of a bad airport lounge (and I like airport lounges), but they've made terrific progress.
UPDATE: I note from the referral logs that several people have hit this post while looking for nutritional information on these sandwiches. Au Bon Pain is one of the better fast-casual places in this area, and keeps their website pretty up to date with their latest options. Here's the info on the parchment-wrapped baked sandwiches. Luckily for me, the tuna is one of the healthiest!
BONUS UPDATE: Here's a BusinessWeek article on the trend and the chef behind these blockbuster sandwiches.
I've run hot and cold on the Boston-based sandwich-maker Au Bon Pain over the years. They really do have terrific bread, and were serving creative café sandwiches long before Panera Bread was the darling of Wall Street. On the other hand, the quality of ingredients and service has been decidedly uneven, and for a long time the menu was stagnant.
Fortunately, four years after being acquired by the U.K.-based Compass Group, they've started doing a lot of things right: The new ordering scheme, with paper forms going directly to the sandwich makers, is a big improvement from trying to explain what you wanted to a cashier with 10 people waiting behind you. Service, at least at the Kendall Square location I frequent, has become friendly and capable. Delectable new meats and cheeses and their new "artisanal" breads have spiced up the menu. Every other week, it seems, there's a new sandwich to try, and my experimentation has been rewarded as they've been uniformly delicious.
The inspiration for this entry was their latest stroke of culinary genius, the "baked sandwich". Available premade in three varieties (the tuna with cheddar and red peppers is particularly scrumptious), they're rosemary foccacia rolls stuffed with ingredients and baked in parchment paper. They're a win-win for customers and the store: they taste great and are ready right away, and premade so they save work during the lunch rush. They've also resisted the temptation to load them up with spreads and other extras that would push the calorie count into the stratosphere.
The chain is still not all the way there: service at outlying locations (e.g. the Davis Square store in Somerville) is weak, and the newly redecorated Kendall Square location has the style of a bad airport lounge (and I like airport lounges), but they've made terrific progress.
UPDATE: I note from the referral logs that several people have hit this post while looking for nutritional information on these sandwiches. Au Bon Pain is one of the better fast-casual places in this area, and keeps their website pretty up to date with their latest options. Here's the info on the parchment-wrapped baked sandwiches. Luckily for me, the tuna is one of the healthiest!
BONUS UPDATE: Here's a BusinessWeek article on the trend and the chef behind these blockbuster sandwiches.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)