Thursday November 04, 2004

re: purple haze

with some people pining to secede, I thought this map was interesting. The country isn't so divided as the red/blue maps portray. Someone did a red/blue by county, which I haven't seen. If you know the url for that, pass it on.

Update: here is the county map I referred to (via Crooked Timber et al). Interestingly Crooked Timber also shows a population map alongside/below.

Update 2: Another interesting map.
( Nov 04 2004, 11:53:01 AM ) Politics Permalink
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Saturday October 23, 2004

the best dead blog of them all

Browsing through my bookmarks I rediscovered Gary Hart's Blog. He stopped posting back on March 15th 2004, which is a real shame as he had many good things to say. I particularly liked Where's Bobby? (Kennedy), Democracy By Combat, and Where do we go from here?. They are all good, really, follow the first link (to the main blog page) and read them all.
( Oct 23 2004, 02:07:01 PM ) Politics Permalink
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Wednesday October 20, 2004

TCJUG: Advanced Hibernate

I attended the TCJUG meeting tonight. The presentation was billed as "Advanced Hibernate" but I noticed that the first slide said "Enterprise Hibernate". There were a couple nice (configuration) tips, but mostly it was basic hibernate and an example of how Hibernate meets the requirements of Scalability, Reliability, and Availability.

Afterwards I got to meet Kurt Wiersma and Will Gayther. Will, do you have a blog I just couldn't find? We had a nice chat. Maybe next time I should arrange for a beer gathering at the local Old Chicago?
( Oct 20 2004, 10:27:25 PM ) Personal Permalink Comments [1]
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Re: Push Me Pull You

Almost 4 weeks ago Greg Wilkins posted some interesting ideas. I want to think some more about them before I comment. But I've had precious little thinking time of late (meaning the last 4 months or so). Or perhaps my thinking apparatus is just seriously on the blink. In any case, I'm keeping this article high in my consciousness until I can produce some meaningful commentary on it.
( Oct 20 2004, 04:05:40 PM ) Technology Permalink
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An Aussie In Yank Clothing?

For quite some time now I've been wishing I could watch Australian Rules Football, and I'd like to check out Rugby and Cricket. I'm too poor (read 'cheap') to buy the high-end cable service necessary, and I hate watching video clips online (little tiny boxes where you cannot see the action). Any suggestions?
( Oct 20 2004, 03:28:09 PM ) Personal Permalink
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not acceptable

I particularly like reading blog posts from those who once voted for GW Bush but can no longer do so in good faith:

I can't stand to have blatant hypocrisy thrown in my face for another four years. I've never been afraid of the terrorists. But another Bush term makes me very afraid indeed. [daniels journey]

If Bush had done everything he promised (or not done everything he promised not to do) I think that our country would be in much better shape. Not that the Republican party has cornered the market on hypocrisy. But their blatant disregard for the rights of the average man, their obvious subservancy to corporate interests, all the while pontificating on morals and "safety"; it makes my blood boil and I find myself simmering in a constant heat of anger and indignation.

I like to consider myself an independent. There are parts of the Republican platform that I agree with (State's rights, less governmental interference), and likewise some Democratic planks I value (safety nets, permission to fail, privacy and personal rights). One thing I cannot stand is hypocrisy!
( Oct 20 2004, 06:38:28 AM ) Politics Permalink
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Tuesday October 19, 2004

lame feeds I checked out some Technorati Top 100 blogs that I haven't seen before (I live a sheltered life), culled from Kottke's list. Of the 10-or-so I think I'm still subscribed to 4: I hate title-only feeds. The title just doesn't incent me enough to find out what the post is about. A couple had summaries, about 50 characters. Useless.

The "amusing" thing is that a couple feeds were hosted by a site proposing to reduce your bandwidth by hosting it for you. But they only fed me titles. Argh.
( Oct 19 2004, 05:06:41 PM ) Personal Permalink
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Scare Tactics

The morning radio show I listen to (while en route to the park-n-ride) was railing on Kerry for scaring seniors (retirement and prescriptions). Then today Cheney raises the spector of nukes. Which scare tactic is worse?
( Oct 19 2004, 01:46:02 PM ) Politics Permalink
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