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Archives
The Recording Industry’s Poor Use of Statistics
So, first the attention grabbing conclusion: people that download music are more likely to shoplift and cheat. Now let’s see how well their statistics support the conclusion.
The illegal downloading has cost retail music stores more than half a billion dollars in lost sales since 1999, a study by Pollara for the recording industry estimates.
I [...]
Positive Uses of Involuntary DNA Testing?
After reading Damon’s comment about DNA testing, it occurred to me to wonder: what are some possibly beneficial uses of DNA testing as a condition for something? Obviously, it’s easy to come up with negative uses. So are there any positives?
Here are a couple of hypotheticals that came to mind. I’m not [...]
Getting Freaky…Econ Style
I just finished reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. I’d highly recommend it. Freakonomics reminded me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point (which is also a great read).
The basic idea of Freakonomics is that a University of Chicago economist goes through some case studies based on [...]
Genetic Privacy
I think this will become a much bigger issue in the near future…dwarfing any of the current privacy issues in the digital realm. How much should people be allowed to know about your DNA and how can they use it? Here’s a story from ESPN that demonstrates some of the implications:
Nearly six [...]
Confessions of an Engineering Crybaby
Here’s an article about how we can “solve” the insufficient engineering enrollment.
The United States contains a finite number of smart people, most of whom have options in life besides engineering. You will not produce thronging bevies of pocket-protector-wearing number-jockeys simply by handing out spiffy Space Shuttle patches at the local Science Fair. If you want [...]
How to Save Social Security and Then Some
Turns out that the Bush administration could solve the Social Security shortfall almost two times over if he’d just repeal the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Guess he forgot to mention this Social Security reform option when he was touring the country earlier.
By contrast, Social Security is in great financial shape and nowhere near the [...]
The Miller Family Grows
( Our Life )
Congratualtions Lisa and Eric!
Matt’s brother, Eric, popped the question to his girlfriend, Lisa, tonight and she said yes! They’ll be getting married sometime August 2006. We are very happy for them and excited to have Lisa as part of the Miller family. Matt will be Eric’s Best Man for the wedding. [...]
Federal Guidelines for Bird Droppings but Not the Treatment of Prisoners
Here’s a reprint of the letter by Capt. Ian Fishback asking why the leadership refuses to specify clear guidelines for prisoner treatment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead of resolving my concerns, the approach for clarification process leaves me deeply troubled. Despite my efforts, I have been unable to get clear, consistent answers from my leadership about [...]
Al Michaels Should Stick to Football Commentary
Last night on Monday Night Football, ABC had Geena Davis in the booth promoting her new TV show. To introduce her, Al Michaels referred to her as, I kid you not, “one of the most accomplished actress of a generation”. Nothing against Geena and her film achievements, but does anyone honestly believe that [...]
Tom Delay Flip Flops on Spending
Several days ago, Tom Delay declared an “ongoing victory” against wasteful government spending. Now, however, he found the need to write an op-ed about how Republicans plan to address rampant spending. Guess the problem all of a sudden manifested itself again since he declared the victory. My commentary on the article:
We will [...]
Supreme Court Commentary
A round-up of commentary on John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court:
In Newsweek, Eleanor Clift writes:
Roberts wasn’t forthcoming in the hearings, and Republican committee chairman Arlen Specter pointed that out, to his credit. But in fairness, no nominee has said anything of consequence since Robert Bork, and who can blame them? As for Roe v. [...]
Academic Presentation Observation #29
When the moderator tells the presenter to skip ahead to the conclusions/summary slide in the interest of time, almost without fail, the presenter will then just talk faster and continue to present their results slides. The moderator must tell the presenter to skip to the end a minimum of three times before they will [...]
Pay No Attention to The Secretary of Gas Prices Behind the Curtain
Here’s a rebuttal to an odd piece of writing by Bill O’Reilly where he evidently believes that there’s some mystical, secret Secretary of Gas Prices that is responsible for setting gas prices in the US.
O’Reilly: “Every time I ask who sets the price I get ‘the market’, ‘the Merc’, ‘OPEC’, and on and on. Well [...]
Economic Integration of Public Schools
Here’s an article in the NY Times about how Raleigh, NC public schools have improved their test scores by integrating schools economically:
Over the last decade, black and Hispanic students here in Wake County have made such dramatic strides in standardized reading and math tests that it has caught the attention of education experts around the [...]
Dave Edwards: CS Poster Boy
The other day, I stumbled across Utah’s CS website and was surprised to see Dave Edwards (a friend that we met at UIUC who later moved to Utah to finish his PhD) right there on the front page:
(Here’s a closeup of the image with Dave)
This was particularly surprising to me, because I think that there [...]
College Football Perspectives
We went to see the Illini play Michigan State this morning. Pretty much the worst beating I’ve ever seen live, I think (61-14). We were gone at halftime.
Saw the fourth quarter of the Ohio State-Iowa game on TV. Pretty much the first time I remember seeing a Tressel-led Buckeyes team beat a [...]
Pelosi More Fiscally Conservative Than Republicans?
Here’s another good article about government spending in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Will Congress ever come to a realization that sacrifice may be necessary to prioritize spending?
When Americans give their money, they give from what they have and they do with a little less. Those donating do not intend for their children or [...]
Picking a Supreme Court Nominee (Daily Show Style)
This article, focusing on the diversity issues for the next Supreme Court nominee, reminds me of a passage that I recently read in America (The Book) from The Daily Show:
When selecting a nominee, presidents take into account a wide range of criteria: a lifetime of public service and scholarship, a thorough understanding of the day’s [...]
Together Again
Just to let everyone know who’s been keeping up with Leigh Ann’s trip…she made it home safe. A blog post detailing her last day in Bangkok and pictures will follow sometime in the near future .
Climbing Down the Hatch
So, unless you’ve been stranded on a tropical island recently, you’ve probably heard about Lost, the winner of the Emmy for the best drama. Last night was the season premiere for season two and it didn’t disappoint. Within the first five minutes, you already learn what’s down the hatch yet there’s still about [...]