Instapundit has an interesting bit of speculation about the financial viability of releasing a second season of Firefly on DVD, bypassing the usual television distribution entirely. I'll state for the record right now that my wife and I are totally hoping against hope that this happens, tho it isn't likely. Time to whip up a blogstorm about this, folks. See if we can't get Joss Whedon to see the genius behind it. Sort of fits in with my previous post on cable TV.
h/t to Slublog.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: blogging, movies, scifi, television
Technorati tags: science fiction, Serenity, Firefly, Joss Whedon
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Cable TV a la Carte
The new head honcho at the FCC seems to be a friend of free market communications. He actually has the audacity to suggest that allowing consumers to put together cable packages by the individual channel might not be too much more expensive for cable providers, and would help families keep content out of their homes that they find objectionable.
Imagine if you went to the grocery store, and could only buy three assortments of groceries. The basic assortment included eggs, bread, milk, cereal, some fruit, veggies, anchovies and okra. Now suppose you didn't like anchovies, and their inclusion in the package were wasteful for you. Tough luck. If you want groceries, you've got to take the anchovies.
If you tried to change the law to allow yourself to buy only the foods you needed or wanted, the anchovy canners would get in a snit, saying their industry wouldn't survive if people were allowed to choose whether they got anchovies with their basic groceries.
Well, as silly as that argument would be, it somehow has been the prevailing model in cable television. When I lived in places that had cable television, I never understood why the subscriber couldn't get SciFi and take a pass on ESPN. (Actually, I understood that the cable monopolies were spreading channels that certain people might want across different tiers of service to maximize revenue; I just didn't understand why cable television was allowed to be a monopoly in the first place.)
I suspect that, in a few short years, cable television packages will be antiquated. Already, folks like me wait a year to see series TV on DVD. We are on the verge of on-demand programming for most "broadcasts" (and that term may have to be retired, in favor of "downloads").
Peace,
Tor
Categories: government, television
Technorati tags: FCC, cable television
Imagine if you went to the grocery store, and could only buy three assortments of groceries. The basic assortment included eggs, bread, milk, cereal, some fruit, veggies, anchovies and okra. Now suppose you didn't like anchovies, and their inclusion in the package were wasteful for you. Tough luck. If you want groceries, you've got to take the anchovies.
If you tried to change the law to allow yourself to buy only the foods you needed or wanted, the anchovy canners would get in a snit, saying their industry wouldn't survive if people were allowed to choose whether they got anchovies with their basic groceries.
Well, as silly as that argument would be, it somehow has been the prevailing model in cable television. When I lived in places that had cable television, I never understood why the subscriber couldn't get SciFi and take a pass on ESPN. (Actually, I understood that the cable monopolies were spreading channels that certain people might want across different tiers of service to maximize revenue; I just didn't understand why cable television was allowed to be a monopoly in the first place.)
I suspect that, in a few short years, cable television packages will be antiquated. Already, folks like me wait a year to see series TV on DVD. We are on the verge of on-demand programming for most "broadcasts" (and that term may have to be retired, in favor of "downloads").
Peace,
Tor
Categories: government, television
Technorati tags: FCC, cable television
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Patriotic & Idiotic
Patriotic & Idiotic is this week's tenant in the BlogExplosion "Rent My Blog" space. Do go see what a soon-to-retire truck driver is up to.
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Monday, November 28, 2005
Ads Not Meant for Public Consumption
An unanticipated consequence of federal anti-corruption laws is that contractors trying to win billion-dollar contracts will blanket the D.C. airwaves with ads intended to reach a handful of people. I think this is great for several reasons. Even if the ads are jargon-laden and nearly incomprehensible to the average listener, they raise public awareness of large projects that are about to cost the taxpayers beaucoup bucks.
Also, I think most people tune out ads anyway. I know I do. But the ads keep the radio stations in business, and keep the money from becoming part of a legal "soft money" bribing scheme.
Now if we could just keep the government from coming up with so many projects that require billion-dollar contracts......
Peace,
Tor
Category: government
Also, I think most people tune out ads anyway. I know I do. But the ads keep the radio stations in business, and keep the money from becoming part of a legal "soft money" bribing scheme.
Now if we could just keep the government from coming up with so many projects that require billion-dollar contracts......
Peace,
Tor
Category: government
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Antivirus Freeware
Rob Pegoraro of The Washington Post has an excellent column about two freeware antivirus programs: Avast! and AVG. As a former user of AVG and current user of Avast!, I thought I'd add a little anecdotal information to his testing of the programs.
I used AVG for at least four years. It worked admirably. Then they released a new version of the program, and stopped supporting the virus database for the older version. The new version simply slowed my computer to a crawl (I'm using a 200mhz Pentium with 128meg ram), and sometimes locked it up, or provided the Blue Screen of Death.
I switched to Avast! at that time, and haven't had any problems since. But I do agree with Rob that the interface for AVG is much superior to that of Avast! My parents run AVG on their computer (600mhz Pentium, I forget how much ram), and it's working well for them.
Peace,
Tor
Category: freeware
Technorati tag: antivirus
I used AVG for at least four years. It worked admirably. Then they released a new version of the program, and stopped supporting the virus database for the older version. The new version simply slowed my computer to a crawl (I'm using a 200mhz Pentium with 128meg ram), and sometimes locked it up, or provided the Blue Screen of Death.
I switched to Avast! at that time, and haven't had any problems since. But I do agree with Rob that the interface for AVG is much superior to that of Avast! My parents run AVG on their computer (600mhz Pentium, I forget how much ram), and it's working well for them.
Peace,
Tor
Category: freeware
Technorati tag: antivirus
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Should Referenda in Maine Have More Requirements?
The Bangor Daily News reports that the citizen initiative process might be subject to a few new requirements in the near future. Some of them seem sensible enough: financial disclosures and other information should be made available on the internet. I'm always for transparency in politics and government.
One recently enacted reform got me thinking. Now petitioners must let potential signers know that it costs the state about $95k to put a referendum question out to voters. Why not institute an optional bond of citizen initiatives, in exchange for reduced signature requirements? Instead of requiring 50k or more signatures, the process could require 20k and a bond. If the initiative failed at the polls, the bond would be forfeit. If the initiative passed, the bond would be returned to the petitioners. Some European countries do this with their parliamentary elections, with good results.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Maine, politics
One recently enacted reform got me thinking. Now petitioners must let potential signers know that it costs the state about $95k to put a referendum question out to voters. Why not institute an optional bond of citizen initiatives, in exchange for reduced signature requirements? Instead of requiring 50k or more signatures, the process could require 20k and a bond. If the initiative failed at the polls, the bond would be forfeit. If the initiative passed, the bond would be returned to the petitioners. Some European countries do this with their parliamentary elections, with good results.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Maine, politics
Friday, November 18, 2005
Krauthammer on ID
Charles Krauthammer has an excellent rant on the current efforts of Intelligent Design adherents to push their way into America's biology classes. Definitely worth a read.
By the way, the current issue of Skeptical Inquirer is largely devoted to ID debunking.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: science, religion
Technorati tags: Intelligent Design, evolution
By the way, the current issue of Skeptical Inquirer is largely devoted to ID debunking.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: science, religion
Technorati tags: Intelligent Design, evolution
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Drugs and Corruption
The Washington Post is running an AP article on the arrest of Guatemala's top drug enforcement officer. You don't really need to read the article to know what he was arrested for.
It's time for this country to wake up and realize that interdiction is not working. Indeed, the more successful that interdiction is, the greater the market price for illegal drugs. The greater the price, the more new providers will emerge. Even our efforts to eradicate the opium crop in Afghanistan through defoliants has only forced the farmers to grow more efficiently on fewer acres.
Education and treatment, yes. Interdiction, no.
Peace,
Tor
It's time for this country to wake up and realize that interdiction is not working. Indeed, the more successful that interdiction is, the greater the market price for illegal drugs. The greater the price, the more new providers will emerge. Even our efforts to eradicate the opium crop in Afghanistan through defoliants has only forced the farmers to grow more efficiently on fewer acres.
Education and treatment, yes. Interdiction, no.
Peace,
Tor
Blogs and Money
Nic Duquette of Snarksmith has done some analysis of what blogs using the BlogAds service should be making, based on daily page hits. He posits the Daily Kos as being at the head of the heap, tho Kos subsequently dismissed the reckoning.
Of course, I have a few Google ads and an Amazon ad on this blog. At the rate I'm going, I might see a check from one or both of them sometime in 2007. That is, if they don't make me pay them.
If you thought my post on the Dalai Lama was a dite overcritical, check out Michael Weiss's post at Snarksmith. A sample:
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogging
Of course, I have a few Google ads and an Amazon ad on this blog. At the rate I'm going, I might see a check from one or both of them sometime in 2007. That is, if they don't make me pay them.
If you thought my post on the Dalai Lama was a dite overcritical, check out Michael Weiss's post at Snarksmith. A sample:
He sounds as featherheaded as his followers and sycophants, especially those in Hollywood and that other country called America.
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogging
Tor's Rants Renting Electronic Darwinism
Tor's Rants is renting a thumbnail space for a week at Electronic Darwinism, once again facilitated by BlogExplosion. I'd appreciate it if any of my regular readers would go over and check out his blog as a way of saying thanks. By the way, tho I say "renting," no money changes hands. It's all surfing credits at BlogExplosion.
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Get Religion: Dalai Lama
Get Religion has an interesting take on the Dalai Lama, for those who were interested in my own post on the issue.
Peace,
Tor
Category: Buddhism
Technorati tag: Dalai Lama
Peace,
Tor
Category: Buddhism
Technorati tag: Dalai Lama
Slots take in $12M in 11 days
The new Hollywood Slots "racino" in Bangor, Maine has taken in more than $12 million dollars in 11 days! If I've done the math correctly, the 22,000 visitors dumped an average of at least $545.00 each! You know that some of the visitors had to be just curious folks who wanted to pull the handles a few times for a lark. It would be an interesting project to find out what the median amount lost was, and what the largest amount spent by a single visitor was.
Peace,
Tor
Category: Maine
Technorati tags: Bangor Maine, gambling, slot machines, Hollywood Slots
Peace,
Tor
Category: Maine
Technorati tags: Bangor Maine, gambling, slot machines, Hollywood Slots
Blog Renter: The Anti - Bill O'Reilly Blog
Just a quick note that the current occupant of the "Rent My Blog" space in the left column is the Anti-Bill O'Reilly Blog. Do go over there and check it out. I don't get to see O'Reilly out here in the sticks, so I don't know if the criticism is warranted. But you have to admire the heaping helpings of vitriol on such a sustained basis.
Since I was ill at the time, I forgot to point out the previous tenant, Haunted House Dressing. Yes, I picked it as a tenant because of the seasonally apropos title, but the blog has nothing to do with supernatural items. Check it out.
The rentals are facilitated by BlogExplosion. If you've got a blog that you want others to see, or just want to expose yourself to a good bunch of non-spam blogs, head on over.
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Since I was ill at the time, I forgot to point out the previous tenant, Haunted House Dressing. Yes, I picked it as a tenant because of the seasonally apropos title, but the blog has nothing to do with supernatural items. Check it out.
The rentals are facilitated by BlogExplosion. If you've got a blog that you want others to see, or just want to expose yourself to a good bunch of non-spam blogs, head on over.
Peace,
Tor
Category: blogs
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Dalai Lama, Scientist?
The Dalai Lama gave a talk to the Society for Neuroscience on Saturday. From press reports, it seems that his talk was more about the philosophy or ethics of science, rather than about science or technology itself.
There was a movement to keep him from speaking at the event. An online petition garnered about 800 signatures of those requesting his invitation to speak be withdrawn. Although the Washington Post article doesn't mention it, I did read in another wire report that the preponderance of those signatures were Chinese, which suggests possible political motives rather than scientific.
It is of course entirely proper, and desirable, for people who are trained in ethics to dialogue with those who are trained in science and technology. In the big picture of humanity's progress, science unfettered by morals has visited enormous horrors on this earth. The best exposition of this that I have ever read is Michael Polanyi's essay, "Why Did We Destroy Europe?" I can't find an online source for it, but here's a work of his along a similar theme.
But there is always the danger of one's religious tenets blocking scientific or intellectual progress. We all know the example of Galileo, and now we have the contemporary example of Intelligent Design. In Buddhism, many adhere to a belief in reincarnation, tho it is not at all supported by science.
Indeed, within the Dalai Lama's own Tibetan brand of Buddhism, there is much mysticism and belief in minor protector deities and demons. H.H. the D.L. himself is venerated as an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of Compassion.
A few years ago, some Tibetan monks visited Camden, Maine. On one evening, one of the monks gave a talk on Tibetan medicinal practices. Several local psychologists attended, and gave him some well-deserved hard questions about his assertions that any disease in the body was ultimately a product of an impure mind. Indeed, as much as he was a spiritual authority, his knowledge of simple biology was dwarfed by my vague recollections from high school classes.
I can't wrap up this post with "the answer," as much as I'd like to. I do know that there has to be interaction between moralists and scientists to prevent scary outcomes. But when one side always gets the upper hand, look out. It'll be worse than having one party control the government.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Buddhism, meditation, science, pseudoscience, Maine, religion
Technorati tags: Dalai Lama, Michael Polanyi
There was a movement to keep him from speaking at the event. An online petition garnered about 800 signatures of those requesting his invitation to speak be withdrawn. Although the Washington Post article doesn't mention it, I did read in another wire report that the preponderance of those signatures were Chinese, which suggests possible political motives rather than scientific.
It is of course entirely proper, and desirable, for people who are trained in ethics to dialogue with those who are trained in science and technology. In the big picture of humanity's progress, science unfettered by morals has visited enormous horrors on this earth. The best exposition of this that I have ever read is Michael Polanyi's essay, "Why Did We Destroy Europe?" I can't find an online source for it, but here's a work of his along a similar theme.
But there is always the danger of one's religious tenets blocking scientific or intellectual progress. We all know the example of Galileo, and now we have the contemporary example of Intelligent Design. In Buddhism, many adhere to a belief in reincarnation, tho it is not at all supported by science.
Indeed, within the Dalai Lama's own Tibetan brand of Buddhism, there is much mysticism and belief in minor protector deities and demons. H.H. the D.L. himself is venerated as an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of Compassion.
A few years ago, some Tibetan monks visited Camden, Maine. On one evening, one of the monks gave a talk on Tibetan medicinal practices. Several local psychologists attended, and gave him some well-deserved hard questions about his assertions that any disease in the body was ultimately a product of an impure mind. Indeed, as much as he was a spiritual authority, his knowledge of simple biology was dwarfed by my vague recollections from high school classes.
I can't wrap up this post with "the answer," as much as I'd like to. I do know that there has to be interaction between moralists and scientists to prevent scary outcomes. But when one side always gets the upper hand, look out. It'll be worse than having one party control the government.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Buddhism, meditation, science, pseudoscience, Maine, religion
Technorati tags: Dalai Lama, Michael Polanyi
Monday, November 14, 2005
Meditate Your Way to a Better Brain
A very small study at Massachusetts General Hospital seems to indicate that Buddhist meditation not only alters brain patterns, but also actually thickens parts of the brain.
I'm always skeptical about studies like this, especially when they're so small. Since I haven't read the original research, I have no idea about the exact methodology. But I can attest from personal experience that meditation can change thought and emotional patterns. I've been a bit of a slouch for a while in this regard. Maybe this study will give me the gentle nudge I need to spend more time on the cushion.
By the way, thanks for all the well-wishes. I really feel much better now, tho some of the infection will take a while to clear up.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Buddhism, meditation, science
I'm always skeptical about studies like this, especially when they're so small. Since I haven't read the original research, I have no idea about the exact methodology. But I can attest from personal experience that meditation can change thought and emotional patterns. I've been a bit of a slouch for a while in this regard. Maybe this study will give me the gentle nudge I need to spend more time on the cushion.
By the way, thanks for all the well-wishes. I really feel much better now, tho some of the infection will take a while to clear up.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Buddhism, meditation, science
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Back from the Dead
Just letting everyone know that I'm on the road to recovery, but I'm still not really up to regular posting. I saw my doctor on Monday, and she set me up with some meds that should clear these lungs out. I already feel quite a bit better, also due to my manager's insistence that I take a couple of days off. So I'll just be lazing about, reading up on Ohm's Law and probably sleeping a great deal.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Thursday, November 3, 2005
General Blahs
Lack of posting over the last few days is only due to the lingering cold/fever alluded to in the Halloween post. More will come this weekend, perhaps. Do peruse the blogroll if you're dying for a good read.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
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