… don’t have to show off embarrassing pictures from it.
Those who forget the past …
… don’t have to show off embarrassing pictures from it….
… don’t have to show off embarrassing pictures from it.
Month: April 2003
News flash
I know this may be a difficult concept, but in the middle of a war zone, shit happens. If you’re staying in a hotel in downtown Baghdad, you may find…
I know this may be a difficult concept, but in the middle of a war zone, shit happens.
If you’re staying in a hotel in downtown Baghdad, you may find your building targeted. Especially if there is fighting in the area. Especially if there are visible lenses atop the building, which may or may not (to approaching forces) look like spotters for enemy fire.
If the tank commander who fired on the Palestine Hotel was really the sort of war-crime-committing, gun-happy, blood-thirsty sort that he’s being accused of by some folks, it would have been more than one shell.
Of course, the same could be said for the US military in general. If our goal was, as ANSWER puts it, to destroy Baghdad and kill tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, we would have done it by now. If the US military wanted to kill the unembedded journalists, the Palestine Hotel would be a pile of rubble under air and ground assault.
The loss of life is to be regretted. But let’s not make more of this than it is. At worst, this was a tragic error. As currently described, though, it seems to have just been one of those things that happens in war, without malice or even negligence. That the news media in the Palestine Hotel have been magically thinking that their status would create a force field around the building says something about their own sense of importance; that they assumed that it was Iraqi fire at first should say something about what the record shows about the US military actions to date.
(via Command Post)
Swords into plowshares
I like this picture. I really do. After seeing so often this particular avenue full of the proud, marching, Moscow-on-Mayday ranks of Iraqi military forces on review before Saddam, this…
I like this picture. I really do. After seeing so often this particular avenue full of the proud, marching, Moscow-on-Mayday ranks of Iraqi military forces on review before Saddam, this shot of Charlie Company Task Force 1-64 of the 3rd Infantry Division brings it on home.
eFauxPas
An interesting article here from Bill Howard in PC Magazine on how to Save Yourself from E-Mail Faux Pas. I don’t agree with all his points, but by and large,…
An interesting article here from Bill Howard in PC Magazine on how to Save Yourself from E-Mail Faux Pas. I don’t agree with all his points, but by and large, he’s on target.
Send one complete e-mail, not two partials.
In other words, wait until you have the answer before you reply. Don’t reply with “I’ll tell you later.” Maybe. It depends on how long it’s going to take to respond.
Use clear subject lines.
Amen. For God’s sake, use subject lines of some sort, at least!
Cover one topic per message.
Probably good advice. At the very least, don’t slip in something off-topic way at the very end of a long e-mail.
Make the subject line work for both sides.
If subject lines are supposed to inform, make sure they don’t assume a particular point of view. An e-mail titled “Meeting with Dave” is not terribly helpful to Dave.
Append to the subject line when responding.
I agree in principle, that a given discussion thread should use similar or evolved subject lines as side discussions start up. Easier to sort that way. I also think it’s possible to make a subject line too long, and try to convey too much info.
No unnecessary attachments.
If I receive an e-mail message that is simply a container for a Word doc which is a memo — which content could have been in the e-mail message — I’m going to scream.
Don’t include previous messages.
I disagree. While it’s useful, over a long discussion, to truncate the original messages being automatically included, it’s still useful to be able to refer back to previously discussed points, especially over time. It’s also useful (if sometimes hazardous) if you invite a new person into the thread.
Write short — for PDA users.
Not many people I know use Blackberries or similar devices for e-mail, except in extremes. Staying succinct, though, is always good advice (even if I rarely follow it myself).
Check the cc: list.
Make sure that the people receiving the message are all still germane to the discussion (or should even hear about it).
Use addressee auto-fill cautiously.
Duh.
Angry? Save it to the drafts folder.
This can’t be repeated enough.
Beware the tone.
An old netiquette rule, especially true in a business setting where smilies might be unprofessional.
Give your kids grown-up e-mail addresses.
I never thought of this one before. His advice here is good:
If the daughter of a neighbor I hardly know e-mails me asking which laptop to buy, using the screen name mustanggurl with the subject “Love your help,” I’ll probably figure it’s yet another porn message that deserves the Delete key.
‘Nuff said.
Not beyond reproach
A number of folks continue to criticize Dick Cheney for his ties to Halliburton, especially in view of that company’s awarding of government contracts in Iraq. This Newsweek article is…
A number of folks continue to criticize Dick Cheney for his ties to Halliburton, especially in view of that company’s awarding of government contracts in Iraq. This Newsweek article is an example.
The stock market may be suffering, but Operation Iraqi Freedom has sure been good for business at Halliburton, the Houston oil-services company famous for its former CEO, Dick Cheney. The vice president hasn’t entirely severed his financial ties to the big defense contractor. Even while Halliburton is scoring Army contracts that could top $2 billion, Cheney is still receiving annual compensation from the company he led from 1995 to August 2000, NEWSWEEK has learned.
But it’s not quite as damning as it sounds, even if you leave aside the premature comments on the stock market “suffering” from the war. The biggest flap is over Cheney continuing to receive compensation from Halliburton, even after leaving as its CEO. The distinction seems to be between an $800K lump sum he could have taken when he left, or a deferred disbursement of annual payments “less than $180K” between 2001 and 2005; he chose the latter, for tax purposes.
It’s also noted in the article that he has an insurance policy on the monies; whether Halliburton is wildly successful, or goes under, he still gets paid.
Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary was recently awarded a cost-plus contract from the Pentagon to fight oil well fires in Iraq. While the article notes that the contract “could be” worth $1 billion, I suspect it will come to far less than that, since there were far fewer well fires than had been feared.
The article also notes that KBR is out of the running on a $600MM Iraq reconstruction contract.
Still, I have no problem with a reasonable investigation of the relationship. While Cheney may have no direct influence on the awarding of Pentagon contracts, indirect influence is certainly possible. As the old saying goes, “Caesar’s wife must be beyond reproach.” Cheney’s personal ties to his old firm may fail that threshold, but it’s not clear that it’s anything more significant than that.
Will wonders never cease
Andrew Sullivan notes: More good news from Southern Iraq, where the Brits seem to be doing a fantastic job. One question: how did they manage not to collapse as a…
Andrew Sullivan notes:
More good news from Southern Iraq, where the Brits seem to be doing a fantastic job. One question: how did they manage not to collapse as a military force? After all, they allow openly gay soldiers in their units, thus undermining unit cohesion, destroying morale, wrecking troops’ privacy and making it impossible to fight. A miracle against all the odds, I suppose.
I don’t imagine anyone in the Pentagon will notice.
Sow’s ears from silk purses
Andrea points out a case where even a story like this … More than 100 children held in a prison celebrated their freedom Tuesday as US marines rolled into northeast…
Andrea points out a case where even a story like this …
More than 100 children held in a prison celebrated their freedom Tuesday as US marines rolled into northeast Baghdad amid chaotic scenes which saw civilians loot weapons from an army compound, a US officer said.
Around 150 children spilled out of the jail after the gates were opened as a US military Humvee vehicle approached, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Padilla told an AFP correspondent travelling with the Marines 5th Regiment.
“Hundreds of kids were swarming us and kissing us,” Padilla said. “There were parents running up, so happy to have their kids back.”
“The children had been imprisoned because they had not joined the youth branch of the Baath party,” he alleged. “Some of these kids had been in there for five years.”
… some folks are more than willing to spin it like this commenter…
Of course the thousands that have been killed, lost limbs, or lost family members would be alive, whole and have parents. But hey, at the very least, these 100 kids are now free to roam around the city and have a cruise missle land on their heads.
What a maroon.
Vertigo, Then and Now
For fans of the movie Vertigo — or of San Francisco as it was in 1958 and as it is now — this site has a number of photo comparisons…
For fans of the movie Vertigo — or of San Francisco as it was in 1958 and as it is now — this site has a number of photo comparisons between movie scenes and how those streets look at present.
Bigger trees.
A lot more one way streets.
By and large, a nicer looking city.
Cool stuff.
(via BoingBoing)
Records retention
Well, frell. I can’t find my CY2001 TurboTax files anywhere. I’m about 85% certain that I made a copy before I migrated to my new PC, but I can’t find…
Well, frell. I can’t find my CY2001 TurboTax files anywhere. I’m about 85% certain that I made a copy before I migrated to my new PC, but I can’t find the damned thing anywhere. Which means either (a) I’ve misplaced it, or (b) I didn’t make a backup copy.
It’s not a huge deal — I know I still have the hardcopy of the returns and everything (conjures up image of where they should be, crosses fingers), but TurboTax does a nice job of importing the previous year’s information to fill in form information, remind you of things which you haven’t keyed in yet, etc.
Annoying, annoying, annoying.
Small consolation
Here’s a charming obit of General “Chemical” Ali Hassan al-Majid. His death was far quicker than the many he inflicted. One’s only consolation is that, either by the religious beliefs…
Here’s a charming obit of General “Chemical” Ali Hassan al-Majid.
His death was far quicker than the many he inflicted. One’s only consolation is that, either by the religious beliefs of his countrymen, or my own, he’s in a lot more trouble now than he would have been before a war tribunal.
(via Command Post)
Festival! Festival! Festival!
Photos from Kanamara Matsuri, Japanese Festival of the Steel Phallus. (via Scott)…
Photos from Kanamara Matsuri, Japanese Festival of the Steel Phallus.
(via Scott)
Those who forget the past are doomed to reprogram it
A fascinating bit of computer history here, as one of the gents involved in programming VisiCalc (remember it?) relates details of the development, and the hardware of the day, which…
A fascinating bit of computer history here, as one of the gents involved in programming VisiCalc (remember it?) relates details of the development, and the hardware of the day, which are hard to believe now, just a few decades later.
Before discussing keyboards, it’s worth noting that back in 1979 people viewed the keyboard as an impediment to using computers. After all, only secretaries could type and the rest of us need to be able to talk to the computer. Hence the decades spent on trying to get computers to understand speech. It turns out that most people could type (at least those who used spreadsheets) since it was a basic skill necessary for getting through college. In fact, speech is a very problematic way to interact with a spreadsheet. In fact, the spreadsheet itself is used as a communications vehicle rather than speech.
The Apple ][ had a simple keyboard that only had upper case letters and only two arrow keys. There were no interrupts nor a clock. If the user typed a character before the keyboard input buffer was emptied it would be lost.
[…] In 1978 the Apple ][ was viewed as a game machine. In fact, it was intended to be a hobbyist game machine. It had up to 64KB (that’s kilo bytes) or 65336 8 bit bytes, or 2^16 compared with today’s PC’s which now have 2^29 (512 Megabytes) or 8000 (ok, 8196) times as much memory. We had no hard drive. Apple had cornered the market for floppy drives but they weren’t universal so we supported the cassette tape player as a storage device but, fortunately, few users even know about it.
There was no way to start or stop the tape drive. We had to leave gaps in the data on the tape to allow for processing of each chunk of data before we got the next one.
Cool.
Words fail me
I think someone ought to check the coffee in the school office for illegal substances, because that’s the only possible explanation for insanity like this: Sal Santana II, a 12-year-old…
I think someone ought to check the coffee in the school office for illegal substances, because that’s the only possible explanation for insanity like this:
Sal Santana II, a 12-year-old Magoffin Middle School student, said he stuck his tongue out at a girl who declined his invitation to be his girlfriend. School district administrators viewed the incident as sexual harassment, suspended him for three days and are considering placing him in an alternative school.
Words fail me.
The district, naturally, declines to discuss any part of the matter. The boy’s father, though, notes that Sal has not been in any trouble this year, but that what he was told happened was:
“The teacher said he stuck his tongue out and moved it back and forth and waved at her like you were patting someone on the back and that that constitutes sexual harassment,” Salvador Santana said. “She said the girl was upset and scared.”
Yeah. Right.
Y’know, there are times when home schooling looks awfully attractive.
(via Doyce, who relates some other parallel cases which are terrifyingly plausible)
The “assault on Islam”
British troops in Basra have hooked up a PA system, so that, for the first time in fifteen years (since it was forbidden by the Baath party), the local imam…
British troops in Basra have hooked up a PA system, so that, for the first time in fifteen years (since it was forbidden by the Baath party), the local imam can call the people to prayer.
(via Command Post)
Yahoos
People, it’s supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth, not a location to vent your jingoistic prejudices du jour. Fearing an anti-France backlash because of the French government’s strong…
People, it’s supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth, not a location to vent your jingoistic prejudices du jour.
Fearing an anti-France backlash because of the French government’s strong stance against the U.S. in the Iraq war, Disney is quietly increasing the security presence around the France pavilion at Epcot, and reassigning some of the young French nationals with French-speaking Italians and Canadians. Based on the behavior of some visitors to the area, unfortunately, park officials seem justified in having serious concerns. One MousePlanet staff member recently witnessed a group of rowdy American men storm through the pavilion as they shouted epithets and made obscene gestures at the cast members.
And we’re going to get those Canadians, too, because Chretien has been snarky about Iraq! And the German pavilion is next! And China? Free Tibet! Morocco! Dirty Moslem swine! Japan? Remember Pearl Harbor! Mexico? Remember the Alamo! And Norway? Um … er … well, we’ll think of something, so you just watch yourselves!
As ironic a dictate as it might be in conjunction with DisneyWorld, grow up, people.
(via BoingBoing)
Wince
We all wince when we see someone hurt, because we sympathize with the person’s injury. Well, maybe it’s the other way around — we sympathize because we wince. A child…
We all wince when we see someone hurt, because we sympathize with the person’s injury.
Well, maybe it’s the other way around — we sympathize because we wince.
A child falls from his bicycle and his father winces. A bride says “I do” and the maid of honor grins from ear to ear. A mother frowns with displeasure and her infant son frowns back.
UCLA neuroscientists using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are the first to demonstrate that empathetic action, such as mirroring facial expressions, triggers far greater activity in the emotion centers of the brain than mere observation.
But, then, why do we wince in the first place?
(via BoingBoing)
Flames
The Rocky Mountain News won the Pulitzer this year for breaking news photography. They’ve put together a Flash essay of the photos, on last year’s wildfires here in Colorado….
The Rocky Mountain News won the Pulitzer this year for breaking news photography. They’ve put together a Flash essay of the photos, on last year’s wildfires here in Colorado.
Eight years …
… and not a single itch….
… and not a single itch.
Whaddaya know — a real one
Most virus warnings I receive from friends and family through the mail are false alarms, as a quick Google will tell you. But this one seems to be legit: VBS_LISA.A….
Most virus warnings I receive from friends and family through the mail are false alarms, as a quick Google will tell you.
But this one seems to be legit: VBS_LISA.A. It comes as an e-mail with a subject
Subject: Click YES and vote against war!
This bad boy will delete .DOC files and various critical system files, as well as creating a huge number of bogus folders and text files. And, of course, it will send itself to everyone in your address book.
If you have up-to-date virus protection you should be okay. If you don’t — well, why don’t you?
(via Dave S.)
Rubble
I know it’s too early. I know it is. But I see a lot of pictures of Baghdad up on the screen. And I see a city. An intact city….
I know it’s too early. I know it is.
But I see a lot of pictures of Baghdad up on the screen. And I see a city. An intact city. A living, breathing, viable city. Some individual buildings and palaces are destroyed, sure, but the city is intact. I’ve seen earthquakes and hurricanes — heck, blizzards — do more damage.
And, by way of contrast, consider Berlin, 1945. And again.
War is hell. War is horrible. War is death, and destruction, and dead, burnt, crushed, torn, rotting bodies. Whatever the reason, no matter how good and noble and worthy, war is awful.
But I’m not seeing pictures like this. Or this. And I don’t think it’s because of military censorship. And I think that’s going to make a big difference, once the dust settles.
