Author: matthew

Found a superb piece on CNN outlining why trying to “talk things out” with your husband can be a really bad idea, and make your relationship take a nose-dive: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/09/26/o.improve.your.marriage/index.html

John LaBruzzo recently proposed that low-income women be given $1000 if they are willing to have themselves sterilized, and a tax-incentive program to encourage college-educated people to have more children.

I see a few sides to this.

From a statistical perspective, LaBruzzo may be on to something. The highly-controversial conclusion made by the Freakonomics authors that the Roe V. Wade decision had a profound impact on US crime statistics supports this outlook. If fewer babies are born into high-risk environments, there will be fewer demonstrating behaviors that are a result of that high-risk environment.

From a common-sense perspective, I have to say “WTF are you doing proposing a law like that?” It’s unethical and immoral to target a specific socioeconomic group for cleansing from the gene pool. Personally, I think I’d oppose this measure on these grounds alone. We’re not offering more choices to people this way; we’re taking choice away from them for the prospect of a quick buck.

From an evolutionary perspective, my principal worry is much more about what modern medicine can do to cause people to reproduce who otherwise would have died before reproduction. I see a future in which humanity requires medicine and surgery to simply survive due to propagation of genes which were inhibited under millions of years of selective pressure. I believe the solution will be widespread gene selection, though, not sterilization-based eugenics.

What do you think?

It turns out we didn’t have President Gore in 2000 by only 269 votes:

https://www.msu.edu/~sheppa28/elections.html

In a country of 300 million people, that’s certainly a squeaker. It also makes it the Presidential vote with the smallest total number of popular vote differences between winner and loser in history.

What if we’d had President Gore? Well, I predict that 9/11 would have still happened, we’d never have invaded Iraq, but we’d still be suffering through the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Possibly exacerbated because the capital-gains tax would have remained at 20-25% rather than being reduced to 15%, resulting in more pressure to perform for hedge fund managers, real estate loan officers, and insurance salesmen.

For those of you, like me, who have been somewhat mystified about the series of financial bailouts that don’t really appear to be stopping the financial giants from toppling, read: http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1221672153.php

This came into my inbox today. I thought I would share it, but not in the way my fellow American apparently intended. It’s not a sober commentary on how much money $85Bn is. It’s more of a commentary on American math skills. Can you spot the problem?

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I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in

a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000

bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman

and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a

We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college – it’ll be there

Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car – create jobs

Invest in the market – capital drives growth

Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks

who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company

that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out

a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion

We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned

instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Birk T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic ; PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it’s either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

I’ve been doing a little programming in Python lately, and have had the limitations of using my favorite text editor — Vim — highlighted repeatedly. So I went digging on the Internet to see what it would take to turn Vim into a really decent Python editor. And whaddya’ know? Some helpful soul has already put together all the pieces on my behalf:

http://blog.sontek.net/2008/05/11/python-with-a-modular-ide-vim/

Trying it out now, and the integration of all these various pieces really makes it much easier to program in Python. In particular, being able to pull up pydoc for an object you are placing is a huge benefit.

If you’re a Vim fan who does some Python development, check it out. So far, I’ve only been using the combined tips a few hours, but I’m impressed with how the keybindings and better Python parsing improve my experience.

Found this clip on KSL. What’s eerie to me is how much this lady looks like a particular vice-presidential candidate if she were carrying an extra 20-40 pounds… http://clips.ksl.com/kickapps/_Everything-Moms-Say-in-24-Hours/VIDEO/90475/5124.html

I applaud you, unknown man interviewed on television regarding a fire:

Write up here regarding this legend of Internet infamy.

So I’ve been using KDE4 on Ubuntu Linux, and recently came across an irritating error. It refused to start with an error that it could not run “kdeinit4”. Once I burrowed into the error logs, I found KDE4 was reporting a “symbol lookup error” in “libkdeui.so.5”.

A quick “dpkg -S /usr/lib/kde4/libkdeui.so.5.0.0” reported that the package “kdelibs5” supplied this package. Assuming some other package erroneously overwrote it, I issued the following command:

“sudo apt-get install –reinstall kdelibs5”.

That sorted the problem out.

I’m archiving this in case there are other users of Ubuntu or Kubuntu that have encountered this problem. It’s a simple fix, but difficult to figure out.

This is an automated email sent from Dell Chat. The following information is a log of your session. Please save the log for your records.

Your session ID for this incident is imaluzer.

Time Details

09/11/2008 10:24:06AM Session Started with Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789)

09/11/2008 10:24:16AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Support, my name is Durka. How can I help you?”

09/11/2008 10:24:22AM Matthew Barnson: “Good morning, SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789.”

09/11/2008 10:25:01AM Matthew Barnson: “I have been hearing grinding noises from my hard drive for some time, and today ran the Dell Pre-boot System Assessment; it failed with error code 1000-0146 and 1000-0141”

09/11/2008 10:26:34AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Ok. Let me look up that error.”

09/11/2008 10:32:04AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Looks like one error is due to there being nothing to read in the optical drive.”

09/11/2008 10:32:24AM Matthew Barnson: “Right, that’s the 1000-0141.”

09/11/2008 10:32:34AM Matthew Barnson: “The 1000-0146 is the important one 🙂 IDE unit 0 failed.”

09/11/2008 10:33:07AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “let me check to see if we can get this replaced on the basis of noise alone.”

09/11/2008 10:36:00AM Matthew Barnson: “Cool. I am reminded of the sound when they set the phaser on “overload” on the old Star Trek series. “Get out of there, Scotty!” “But captain, I need more TIME!””

09/11/2008 10:37:12AM Matthew Barnson: “<turns on iTunes, does the Macarena in cubicle>”

09/11/2008 10:37:55AM Matthew Barnson: “<starts the “How YOU feelin’?” “Hot, Hot, Hot” chant with co-workers>”

09/11/2008 10:39:00AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. Ok. I’m starting the documentation to replace the part now. To what address would you like this sent? If we need to contact you for some reason, what phone number would be best? Is there an alternate contact you’d like to include?”

09/11/2008 10:39:22AM Matthew Barnson: “Superb! Thanks, Tony. One sec while I type it up…”

09/11/2008 10:40:32AM Matthew Barnson: “Matthew P. Barnson | 27676 North 2087000 West | Salt Lake City, UT 84000”

09/11/2008 10:40:42AM Matthew Barnson: “Phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX”

09/11/2008 10:40:59AM Matthew Barnson: “No alternate contact, that phone goes with me everywhere :)”

09/11/2008 10:43:50AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “FYI 2009-06-29 is the system warranty expiration date on this LAT D620.”

09/11/2008 10:44:06AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Do you want a factory image on this drive?”

09/11/2008 10:44:50AM Matthew Barnson: “Sure, Anthony, that would be great! I enjoy deleting Windows XP prior to installing Linux almost as much as I enjoy skeet shooting!”

09/11/2008 10:45:18AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol”

09/11/2008 10:46:07AM Matthew Barnson: “I work in a data center with 10,000 machines, mostly Dell. You’re the first tech support rep that’s ever responded to my sorry attempts at humor :)”

09/11/2008 10:46:37AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol”

09/11/2008 10:46:47AM Matthew Barnson: “<applauds>”

09/11/2008 10:47:33AM Matthew Barnson: “So you work out of the call center down near Point of the Mountain, right? We’re up in Salt Lake City.”

09/11/2008 10:48:01AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. No. We are in Lindon.”

09/11/2008 10:50:28AM Matthew Barnson: “Right, I know Utah County about like I know, say, North Dakota. I’m from Washington DC originally; I’ve lived here a decade, but my knowledge of Utah geography is pretty much limited to how I get to work and back.”

09/11/2008 10:51:05AM Matthew Barnson: “So what’s next? Do I get to turn my head and cough, or are we just waiting for the computer to cough up an RMA number?”

09/11/2008 10:51:17AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “LOL. I’m a California transplant myself. Love the grid system for streets though.”

09/11/2008 10:51:28AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “You are just waiting for me.”

09/11/2008 10:51:29AM Matthew Barnson: “Makes it easier, for sure!”

09/11/2008 10:51:38AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Here is a little reading for you though.”

09/11/2008 10:51:45AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “In accordance with your service contract, we have setup a “Parts Only” dispatch. The part(s) will be shipped by next business day carrier based on parts availability.”

09/11/2008 10:51:48AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “If the dispatch is setup after 5:00 p.m. local time it may be deferred to the next business day. You should receive the part(s) in 1-3 business days.”

09/11/2008 10:51:51AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “You will find a return airbill in the box with the replacement parts. Please replace all included parts (including cables) and pack the old parts back into the box. Affix the included airbill to the outside of the box and call DHL at 1-800-225-5345 to have them returned to Dell Inc.

09/11/2008 10:51:53AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Please return the parts within 5 days of receipt of the replacement part(s). If Dell does not receive the part(s) back within 10 business days, you will be invoiced for the cost of the replacements.”

09/11/2008 10:51:54AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “If you miss the initial return window and receive the invoice, please perform the replacement as soon as possible and complete the above steps to return the parts. Please include a note with the parts that you were invoiced. Be advised that it will take a”

pproximately 10 business days for Dell to process the returned parts.

09/11/2008 10:52:34AM Matthew Barnson: “Dude, thanks for your help. I know you have to deal with people who are mad at you all day long; I hope I injected something resembling levity into your day :)”

09/11/2008 10:53:15AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “yes. I’ve got a new guy with me too. We are both laughing.”

09/11/2008 10:54:41AM Matthew Barnson: “I’ve done tech support before. Some days it’s like every customer has a cheese grater and thinks your danglies are the cheese. Good luck today.”

09/11/2008 10:56:38AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Sorry about how long this is taking. My tools are slow today…”

09/11/2008 10:57:21AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Almost there. I’ll need a couple of minutes while I get finally approval to dispatch this part.”

09/11/2008 10:57:58AM Matthew Barnson: “It’s OK. At this point I know the replacement is coming, so I’m just goofing around with my iPhone and pretending to work.”

09/11/2008 10:58:24AM Matthew Barnson: “Really no different than how I spend any other day ;)”

09/11/2008 11:07:29AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. Ok. here is the info you want. Case #123456789 Dispatch Reference #987654321”

09/11/2008 11:07:45AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “I’m sending an e-mail with the same info.”

09/11/2008 11:07:53AM Matthew Barnson: “Rock on!”

09/11/2008 11:07:56AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

09/11/2008 11:08:14AM Matthew Barnson: “Nope, that will do, thanks!”

09/11/2008 11:08:18AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “It’s been good talking to you. If you have any further questions, you can go to support.dell.com. Thank you for using Dell Hardware Warranty Chat Support. Have a great day!”

09/11/2008 11:08:32AM Session Ended If you require further assistance, please visit us at support.dell.com