paci.blog

Link Soup

2011-08-22T08:00:00.015-04:00

I always come across articles that apply to where I work in a Dilbert-esque way. Since I always seem to mis-place them or can't find them before I share them with a larger audience, I might as well post them here so I can find them again.

Forecasting Misunderstood

Scott Adams interview from 1999

Interesting Word of the Day

Tufte. Need I say more?

I need to find a different career, maybe?

Multiple Choice Question

2011-08-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

From George:

"We have started a petition to Sesame Street and PBS Kids asking them to
allow Bert and Ernie to get married on the show. If done tastefully,
this would greatly help put an end to ______"

A. Homophobia
B. World Hunger
C. The Belgians
D. PBS subsidies

Please vote in the comments section below.

Lose the Bafflegab Already!

2011-08-19T13:11:00.001-04:00

I've seen enough corporate strategies to choke a polar bear but could never really put my finger on what was wrong with them. Then again, I am not the one to create these things either. Criticism is always easier to do than create, and it's a lot more fun.

Strategy is not what many people think it is. It is not a fill-in-the-blanks mission statement blathering about how XYZ Corp. will ethically serve its stakeholders by implementing best-in-class integrated sustainable practices to grow as a global leader while maximizing shareholder value. Such bafflegab is “Dilbert“-fodder that generates cynicism and contempt. It is, at best, a big waste of time.

Neither is strategy a declaration that the ABC Co. will increase sales by 20 percent a year for the next five years, with a profit margin of at least 20 percent. Strategy is not the resolve to hunker down and try harder -- what Kenichi Ohmae of McKinsey criticized in a 1989 Harvard Business Review article as “do more better.” Effort is not strategy. Neither are financial projections. And neither are wishes.

A strategy “is a way of dealing with a high-stakes challenge,” Rumelt told me in an interview. “It’s a way around the obstacles or problems in a difficult situation.”

Every good strategy, he writes, includes what he calls the kernel: a “diagnosis” of the challenge (“What’s going on here?”), a “guiding policy” for dealing with that challenge (the core idea often called a strategy), and a set of “coherent actions” to carry out that policy (the implementation).

Egypt vs. Extremism

2011-01-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

There is no way I can do justice to this opinion piece by Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Just read it.

On Jan. 6, the eve of Coptic Christmas, thousands of Muslims showed up at Mass to act as human shields and show their solidarity with the beleaguered Christian community.

Amy Chua's Chinese Parenting Style

2011-01-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

I know I should have something to say about this but many others have weighed in. So, in typical fashion, I will reduce all of the thoughtful commentary on both sides of the issue contained in the links above to the creative, anonymous ramblings of an Internet meme.

It's been a long time...

2010-12-16T09:43:00.004-05:00

I don't know why I stopped blogging right around the time Rob and George stopped blogging here. A lot has happened since the last time I posted something in November of 2008 -- I have two daughters now, Pilar (21 months) and Pasqualina (4 months), more gray hair, the same job, a lower interest mortgage (twice), and a new desire to start blogging again.

There are a number of topics I could wax poetic on from politics, to music, to child rearing, to computers, to zombies, etc. However, being the ADD person I am, I can't seem to settle on a topic. Even if I were to settle on a topic I don't think I could settle on a sub-topic. In fact, I prefer just rambling on and on and on and on.

I could write about work but that would just get my blood boiling and then I'd shut down again. I need a creative outlet, someplace where I can be creative. This might be the place.

That's Rob on the left, me in the stroller (and awesome pink diamond-plate-pattern-pants), and George on the right. Yes, the woman in the picture is our mother. This shot was taken in 1975 I believe. The 70's were awesome.

That's little Pasqualina Maribel just after she was born. Well, ok, sometime is the past three months, OK?

That's Pilar Penelope in Hoboken, NJ back in May. She wanted to go to Hoboken, so we took her.

Those two people? Those are our parents, Bob and Catherine. This photo was taken on their latest cruise.

So, that's about all I got for the blog for today. I will try to think up some topics that will bring traffic to the site and people clicking my Amazon links so I can earn a penny or two in 2011.

--Mike

Noteboek

2009-05-05T09:23:00.003-04:00

(Not a typo: it's Dutch.)

A Dutch artist has made a video of her and her notebook that you won't want to miss.

Hat tip: Dubious Quality

Pay Toilets in Space

2009-04-10T11:55:00.002-04:00

So it seems like the governments on the ground are getting antsy about other nations' astronauts using their stuff, and have started charging for the use of toilets, among other things.

Interesting that the shift from sharing everything in common to paying for use was initiated by the (hopefully ex-)commies....

Can't even trust his own brother

2009-03-26T17:30:00.002-04:00

WOBURN - The half brother of Dane Cook has been ordered held on $1 million bail on charges alleging he stole millions of dollars from the comedian.

(More)

The real crime here, of course, is that Dane Cook had millions of dollars in the first place.

Collecting from the Bereaved

2009-03-09T11:05:00.001-04:00

Wow. This is just so, so wrong. (And, yeah, linking to the NYT feels wrong, too.)

It's kind of quiet around here...

2008-11-20T07:15:00.003-05:00

I am quite surprised that Rob didn't have anything to post during the political season or that George didn't have some amusing story. I've mostly been over on Facbook taunting liberals and making a complete jackass of myself. That's to be expected, I guess.

I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands as I've been working, running, and not much else -- Manuela will affirm that, in fact, I don't really do much anyway. All my vacation days are gone so I will be in the office Black Friday, Christmas Eve, the day after Christmas and every other day the stock market is open. It's ok, it'll be quiet and I have a lot of paperwork to do.

That's all for now.

Something a bid odd about these mascots?

2008-09-18T07:46:00.000-04:00

Knife amnesty results

2008-08-25T14:01:00.003-04:00

British police conducting a knife amnesty (sic) program were quite surprised at one item. Lacking the cultural sensitivity of us Americans, they overreacted and probably offended a population that you really, really shouldn't.

Geek points to anyone who can name the weapon (and spell it correctly). Extra geek points for cartoon links.

(PS: "Knife amnesty"? WTF? Did the NRA make this up? What's next, baseball-bat -- I mean, cricket-bat -- amnesties?)

The only Red Sox related item you'll ever see me post...

2008-08-18T13:31:00.003-04:00

This is one of my co-workers' kids.

Not to mention he's also a recipient of a lot the Jimmy Fund has to offer. If you met this kid in person you'd immediately be taken over by his engaging personality.

--Mike

You thought it was bad that your Tivo was wrong about you...

2008-08-07T14:27:00.003-04:00

Now you can see what your browsing history says about you.

--Mike

A picture is worth 1,000 words or pounds or donuts...

2008-08-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

Now THIS is pretty cool

2008-08-06T10:46:00.001-04:00

Take a look.

--Mike

Oh why is the "I" capitalized in English

2008-08-04T15:03:00.003-04:00

NYT Magazine writed waxes poetic as to the derivation of the capitalization of English's first-person-nominative-pronoun. Is it because of some odd sense of self-importance? Is it associated with our collective greed as a culture? Doubtful. I think it's another hook thrown in there to confuse foreigners -- see all of the -nyms and -graphs in our language.

Calvin and Jobs

2008-08-04T09:57:00.002-04:00

I found this gem through Digg. What I won't let happen here is my disgust for Digg bleed through into this post. It's not like I actually READ Digg on a regular basis, I just happened to have it in my RSS reader. What I really don't like is that I cannot just go from RSS directly to the topic, I must go through the discussion page first. Why can't they be more like Daring Fireball?

(Yes, DF is off my shitlist as I finally received BOTH of my t-shirts.)

Laughing Gas

2008-07-21T12:58:00.002-04:00

Don't ask me why I was looking up nitrous oxide on Wikipedia, but check out what I found about its history.

Gee, remember how easily dented whipped cream cans were at Superfresh, guys?

What if it's blue and fried?

2008-07-08T11:48:00.002-04:00

It's tough being a caterer at the Democratic National Convention: you're bound by regulations.

Robo-Pong 2000

2008-06-27T08:07:00.000-04:00

It's an automated ping-pong practice partner.

And as far as I can tell, it's for real.

It's the Robo-Pong 2000 (and successors).

Death Rates

2008-06-25T15:54:00.002-04:00

5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Which one of these statistics belongs to the U.S., and which one belongs to the country we invaded five years ago?

Sine Qua Non

2008-06-20T14:00:00.001-04:00

I know Styx was never exactly loved by the critics, and sometimes it seems like only Adam Sandler ever sticks up for them, but:

If you don't like "Renegade," you just don't like rock.

Bumper stickers --> Road Rage

2008-06-19T16:30:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I don't like the term "Road Rage" (or "Aggressive Driving", either: what's wrong with saying plainly "Don't Speed or Tailgate, Asshole"?), but apparently you can predict it by how much people personalize their cars.

So... Any studies on Mac Rage?

Subway Shots

2008-06-12T15:16:00.002-04:00

I don't normally link to such mass-media sites as ABC, but they have some nice photos of subways around the world.

Bristlebot

2008-06-09T12:18:00.001-04:00

Take a toothbrush, a battery, and a pager motor, and you've got a Bristlebot.

(Kinda reminds me of Abe Simpson: "A fax machine is nothing but a telephone and a waffle iron!")

One proton torpedo?

2008-05-15T10:15:00.002-04:00

Do you really believe the Death Star was destroyed by a single proton torpedo? Or are you ready to ask uncomfortable questions?

Slate on Being Vegetarian

2008-05-08T18:50:00.002-04:00

Before los bros. Paci email this to me, here it is.

Though I do wish more restaurants would go to the tremendous hassle of having two meat-free dishes. That way I'd visit them more than once a year.

Quote of the day

2008-05-08T09:23:00.001-04:00

"Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something."

Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love -- US science fiction author (1907 - 1988)

CNN Supports Clinton

2008-05-01T06:36:00.003-04:00

Ok, well maybe not. But the hatched job they're doing on Michelle Obama makes it seem that way! Evidence? I need evidence?

OK, here's all the evidence you need...

She looks like a freakin Muppet. Is there a better picture of her out there somewhere? Well, she might have been raised by her Muppet Grandmother. Maybe it's not a hatched job after all.

Oh well, I can be sensationalist too, you know.

--Mike

NPR Silliness

2008-04-30T15:08:00.003-04:00

The other day on NPR, they were doing a story about a real-estate bubble bursting in a foreign country (probably somehow still Bush's fault), and interviewed a guy named Martinez.

The reporter did the sensitive-worldly-NPR-correspondent thing and Latined up the "t" and rolled the "r", so the name came out "Marrrdtineyz".

The thing is, the foreign country in question is Spain, so the "z" should sound like the "th" in "speech therapy", not like the "z" in "fuzzy-headed liberal": "Marrrdtineth". Dumbass.

Busy next few days

2008-04-17T14:30:00.003-04:00

In about an hour I will leave the office and go home. From there I will fly to Chicago for my cousin's wedding and fly back on Sunday morning just in time to pick up my number for the Boston Marathon. (#23238, in case you're interested)

However, I won't be going home from picking up my number. Instead I will take the train out to my buddy's house in Hopkinton so I can stay there the night before the Marathon.

Wish me luck.

It's going to be a decent day.

--Mike

Romney does have a sense of humor...

2008-04-17T14:27:00.002-04:00

Romney came up with his all by himself I am told.

Top 10 Reasons Romney Dropped out of the Race
10. There weren't as many Osmonds as I thought.
9. I got tired of corkscrew landings under sniper fire.
8. As a lifelong hunter, I didn't want to miss the start of the varmint season.
7. There wasn’t room for two Christian leaders.
6. I was upset that no one had bothered to search my passport files.
5. I needed an excuse to get fat, grow a beard and win the Nobel prize.
4. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.
3. I wanted to finally take off that dark suit and tie, and kick back in a light-colored suit and tie.
2. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn't win, my fundraising dried up.
1. There was a miscalculation in our theory: "As Utah goes, so goes the nation.”

A little late for New Year's Resolutions

2008-03-31T15:37:00.002-04:00

However, I will make a promise to myself that I will post more often to this blog and it will be more than a simple link aggregation blog. Really, I swear!

The main reason for my not posting is that I simply forgot that I had a blog in the first place. Pretty, bad, eh? The second reason is that when I remembered I had a blog, I was at work and work doesn't really want me posting to my personal blog when I should be maximizing shareholder value or some crap like that. However, now that I am a shareholder at the company I work for, I kind of understand where they're coming from.

Why, do you ask, am I then posting this during normal business hours? I took a much needed day off, thankyouverymuch.

--Mike

One hell of a duet!

2007-12-30T19:57:00.000-05:00

Christmas Post

2007-12-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

So it's Christmas. I'm sitting here in my PJs and my Yankees cap at 11:00 AM typing a blog post. It's supposed to be this way, right? Manuela and I opened our presents last night. Santa brought me a new, extendable car broom/scraper (much appreciated), a new shirt (I only have 32 dress shirts), and some other small stuff. Manuela got some tea and some perfume. The kitties got Greenies.

Oh wait, I also got a cool little weather station that has a remote sensor that you put outside.

Merry Christmas!

--Mike

It's been a while

2007-12-21T07:13:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a while (4 months, to be exact) since any of the Paci Brothers Three has posted a thing on the blog. To tell you the truth, I really don't know what I will be posting today.

For the moment, until I feel creative enough to write up some long and winding complaint about something you really don't care about, I will leave you with a new blog: The Daily Sentence of Dave. Have fun trying to figure this guy out...

Marathon Training and Fund Raising

2007-08-21T08:18:00.000-04:00

Here we go again. The mileage is starting to stack-up. This past weekend I ran a 15.75 mile out and back course from Watertown, MA to the Longfellow Bridge in Cambridge, MA. It was supposed to be a 17 mile course but it wasn't but who cares. I felt great after the run -- the weather was pretty awesome and there were actually water stops. Next Saturday will be an 18 mile course (yet to be determined) but it will probably be the course listed above with an extra leg around the Science Museum to the Boston side of the Charles near MGH.

I purchased a new pair a shoes (which will be my official Chicago Marathon Shoes) and started the painful process of breaking them in this morning on a 3 mile run. October 7th is approaching quickly.

Wish me luck, or at least click the title link and donate some money to my cause...

IT'S A LION

2007-07-23T20:45:00.000-04:00

Schadenfreude! (There's a reason Greed is a sin)

2007-07-02T10:58:00.000-04:00

Queue Nelson voice...

HA! HA!

Free iPhones for Apple employees!

2007-06-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

Too bad I'm not an Apple employee. Also, too bad I am locked in to Verizon Wireless until the end of days.

I've been talking about this for forever...

2007-06-28T16:21:00.000-04:00

A single line feeding into multiple registers at a store is far more 'fair' than multiple lines at multiple registers. For people's comments on this see here and here. This also fixes the Jackass-at-the-back-of-the-line-rushing-to-the-next-opened-register problem that makes me want to scream.

The RIAA is stupid for different reasons

2007-06-19T09:10:00.001-04:00

I don't like the RIAA's legal tactics anymore than the rest of you. It's almost like they took the old James Watt joke and used it as their legal strategy. Can't say it's working for them.
That said, follow this link to Ian Campbell's blog post about why the RIAA's tactics don't really make financial sense.

Awesome

2007-06-07T09:12:00.000-04:00

One thousand, six hundred eighty-three guitar players can't be wrong. Or if they are, I don't wanna be right.

Dvvvv, dvvvv, dvvvvvvvv / Dvvvv, dvvvv dvv-dvv......

Chicago Marathon Fundraising

2007-05-23T14:19:00.000-04:00

I am writing to tell you of a personal challenge I have taken on. It's a challenge of physical endurance -- a challenge of making a difference in my community. I will be running for the Arthritis Foundation as a member of the Joints in Motion training team. Our team will be joining Arthritis Foundation teams from across the country to support arthritis research and community-based education programs for men, women and children affected by arthritis. We hope that you will help.

Please visit my web page to join my team or make a secure, online contribution to help me reach my fundraising goal. Arthritis doesn't discriminate -- it affects one in three people, including men, women, teens and even children. People turn to the Arthritis Foundation for information, support and resources -- you and I can help. The Arthritis Foundation has made it easy!

Your generosity ensures that the Arthritis Foundation continues leading the way toward prevention, control and cure of the number one cause of disability. Contributions through special events are vital to providing these services. Together, we can make a difference.

Thank you for your support!

--Mike

The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!

2007-05-23T08:47:00.000-04:00

Well, not really. Mr. Gruber over at Daring Fireball is now 50% off my shit list. Why? I have received 1 of the 2 t-shirts I ordered back on January 8th. The quality of the t-shirt kind of sucks -- it's no Beefy-T.

I know, I know, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Wait!!!! I paid for this horse. I can bitch all I want.

--Mike

This is a tear jerker just like...

2007-05-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

...the US men's hockey team beating the commies in the 1980 Lake Placid games.

Kids on Apple ]['s from early 1980's

2007-05-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

Tell me that the second kid who speaks (the girl) isn't a freakin' hoot!

Carter is irrelevant

2007-05-21T08:59:00.000-04:00

I've been saying this for years.

I just got carded buying beer!

2007-05-15T20:51:00.000-04:00

I'm almost 35! I couldn't find my license I was so flabbergasted! I don't know for sure why I was made to flash my ID, but it probably had to do with a combination of the following - most likely all of them:

I have very short hair.

I was buying Natural Light.

I am dressed like a teenager - wife-beater, button-down-wrinkled-short-sleaved J.Crew shirt, shorts and flip-flops.

I am stunningly handsome and the girl at the counter just wanted my name and address.

--Mike

Price stability and Coke

2007-05-14T14:38:00.000-04:00

How long did the price of a Coke stay the same? Guess. You'll be surprised.

Twitter does have some saving graces

2007-05-14T09:26:00.000-04:00

To tell you the truth, I am really not interested in about 95% of the stuff on Twitter. I don't really care what other people are doing...OK, real people. Last year I stumbled upon Darth Vader's blog and couldn't stop laughing. That blog, however, is no longer being updated and I needed a new nerd-humor outlet. I recently found the dark lord himself keeps the universe updated through Twitter.

--Mike

Marathon, Part Deux: The Race

2007-05-09T15:38:00.000-04:00

As much as I would like to spout off about training for the marathon, it's just not very interesting -- just a lot of me bitching about long, dark, cold runs in January and February. Not Pulitzer Prize winning subject matter to say the least.

Race Day. OK, night before, strike that, week before, race day. I am all nerves. (Cue Italian Grandmother saying, "STOP acting like a jackass, you know what you're doing to my nerves? Roll up the window, you'll get an ear-ache!") Manuela wants nothing to do with me -- I am pacing around, not doing anything around the house for fear of getting injured (I milked that one to the bone) and being a general pain in the ass.

Manuela suggests that it would be better if I went out to my buddy Craig's house in Hopkinton the night before the race -- alone. Fine. So I go out to Craig's house and hung out with him and his wife and ate pasta and kvetched about what I was going to wear for the marathon. The weather forecast was for 20mph head winds, pouring rain, and the temperature was to be in the low 40's. I could deal with the rain and the temp, but not the head wind.

Anyhow, God steps in, stops the wind and the rain and raises the temperature to a balmy 45 degrees. Awesome. I mosey out of Craig's house around 8AM to walk the mile or so to the muster point in the pouring rain. I know I said it stopped, but it really hadn't, yet. Besides, I had a 30 gallon Hefty bag over me, so I was dry -- except for my feet.

Get to the muster point and am directed to the Middle School Gym where it's warm and dry. Wait, you say, weren't most of the people out in a field freezing and getting soaked? Why yes they were! You see, it pays to know people. I got my bib number from a friend who works at one of the sponsors of the Marathon and as such I was technically a VIP runner. One of the benefits of being a VIP was having a dry, warm place to hang out before the race starts.

I'll skip the bagel eating and water drinking and excess urination part and skip to the race.

It's a little daunting being with 20,000 people about to run 26.2 miles. I felt a little boxed in while moving from the gym to the starting line. Everywhere you looked there were people - fat people, skinny people, hot girls, not-so-hot girls, athletes, and people who were like me - first time marathon runners whose friends still don't believe they could run a marathon.

The pack moves forward toward the starting line. I cross it at about 10:41 AM and am off. Off to what, I don't quite know. It's hard -- everyone is jockying for position and there's nowhere to go.

The hardest part about running for a long distance is keeping your mind occupied. An unoccupied mind will taunt you, try to get you to walk, or worse, quit. I wasn't going to let that happen.

Here's a mini-diary of what my mind was doing at various points in the race:

Mile 1: WTF am I doing?
Mile 2: No really, WTF am I doing?
Mile 3: 23 more freakin' miles of this?
...
Mile 8: Framingham is a dump.
Mile 10: Natick is not a bad town...16 more miles.
Mile 12: Wellesley College... (each and every girl hot or not had a sign saying "Kiss Me" so I did.)
Mile 16: ouch. 10 more miles.
Mile 17: hey, that's my brother up ahead... (caught up with him and ran the rest in thus killing my time as he was a shell by mile 20)
Mile 18: the hills begin.
Mile 21: the hills end...Boston College has some hot girls...
Mile 23: Dooger jumps in and runs along with my brother and me.
Mile 25: Let this shit end!
Mile 25.69: Zoltan yells out encouraging words...sort of.
Mile 26: Manuela jumps in and runs the last .2 miles with me, dooger, and my bro.
Mile 26.2: The End

All in all it was an incredible experience. So much so that the next day after the marathon, I registered to run the Chicago Marathon on October 7, 2007.

Am I nuts?

--Mike

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...I still don't have my Daring Fireball T-Shirt. Mr Gruber is now officially on my shit list. (Unless, of course, he provides me with a non-cotton Daring Fireball T-Shirt to wear in the Chicago Marathon.)

I promised, now I deliver (part 1)

2007-04-23T21:18:00.000-04:00

I promised that I would write more about my marathon experience. Basically the key to running a marathon and finishing it is practice. Without getting the miles on the feet there is no way in hell to finish 26.2 miles and still be alive. I decided back in September 2006 that I would run the Boston marathon in April 2007 -- that's 7 months. Mind you, I don't think I had run more than 2 miles in 10 years, seriously. After a little research, I found a web site with a number of training regimens for beginner runners -- all of which seemed a bit, no extremely, daunting. Where was I going to find time to run 4 days a week?

The program was 18 weeks long, so I counted back 18 weeks from marathon day and found that my real training was to start in late December -- oh joy cold weather. However, before I could even start the real training, I had to get into shape. The key here is to start slow, really slow. I started by running 2 miles on the treadmill 2 times a week. Walking is ok. Walking is expected. Walking is welcome. A few weeks later, I decided to try and do 5 miles -- out to the Nahant circle and back. I got out there doing a walk run combo and came back all walk. I just kept at it until I could run the full 5 miles.

Take it slow, build on it and the next thing you know, 5 miles is nothing. However, you still dread the coming long runs. First long run was 8 miles. Then it was 10 miles. Then 15 miles.

At this point it becomes a mental game. There's not a lot to do while running except run. And think. And ignore the pain and that voice on your shoulder asking you what the hell you're doing. My longest training run was 21 miles and that was in March.

That's all for now.

Part 2 will come along in a while...

I really can't believe it!

2007-04-23T09:45:00.000-04:00

One week ago I was nervously walking around the middle-school gym in Hopkinton, MA waiting to be shuffled through the pouring rain to the start of the marathon. I promised back on 4/16 that I would write more about my experience and I will, just not now. I've got a sick kitty at home to take care of and my better half is leaving for France for a week and the Yankees got swept by the Sox.

I might as well provide a non-update on my Daring Fireball non t-shirt experience. The update is...there is no update.

--Mike

It's over...

2007-04-16T20:10:00.000-04:00

I finished my first marathon in 4:45:47. Not too bad. I would've done better if I didn't wait for my brother to catch up all the time. All in all it was a fun time. I know, who thinks running for almost 5 hours could be fun? More later.

--Mike

Bib Number 21452

2007-04-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

That's right - I have an official number for the 111th Running of the Boston Marathon this coming Monday, April 16th. The weather should be downright CRAPPY. I am not too worried - it would be a lot worse for me if it were 85F and sunny as I have trained for this race in the freakin' New England cold. Running when it's 15F out kind of sucks.

For those of you interested, I will NOT be wearing my Daring Fireball T-shirt as I DO NOT HAVE ONE YET (and it's cotton so it would suck to run in anyway.) Jeez, K-Tel didn't take this long to deliver my hits of the 80's LP.

It's a good thing...

2007-04-11T10:44:00.000-04:00

...people are thinking about a code of ethics for bloggers (not really); it's even better we have a blog warning level scale now!

(shamelessly taken from a link on Daring Fireball. Oh yeah, John, WHERE THE HELL IS MY DARING FIREBALL T-SHIRT?)

paci.blog goes International

2007-04-11T08:25:00.000-04:00

If you look in the lower right hand corner of this blog you will see a badge from Sitemeter which gives me some idea of who hits this blog and a little info an how they get here. If you search for "GDP Density Map" on Google (click here) you will see that a post George made on this blog is listed as #3 on Google! Anyhow, Sitemeter tells me that someone in the Islamic Republic of Iran was interested in GDP Density Maps, Googled it, and then followed link #3 to my, er our, blog! I am so honored to have such an international audience.

Who am I kidding? It was probably Nancy Pelosi looking for ammunition to undermine US foreign policy in the Middle East when she was making her unscheduled (imaginary) appearance in Tehran.

--Mike

Twitter without friends is kind of boring

2007-04-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

Twitter without friends (or with very few friends as is my case) is just about as interesting as life without friends (or with very few friends as is not my case.) I know I am ADD, but I don't know if either I'm not ADD enough or too ADD to comprehend how I am supposed to pay attention to Twitter and forsake all of my other responsibilities. Maybe Twitter doesn't have the ADD draw that I need.

Anyone have any suggestions for either 1) making friends on Twitter or 2) approaching Twitter in a different way as to make it actually interesting.

I don't know why I am asking you out there. Jen is already on Twitter and understands it about as well as I do, though she has friends; Stefan is on it and he is one of my two friends (Jen is the other); my brothers might be too ADD to understand Twitter or it's on a completely different plane of thinking and they therefore cannot comprehend. Breedo? Nah, he's too mad at me to understand Twitter. Does anyone else out there read this freakin' blog? Maybe if I mention Twitter again it will boost my Google ad revenue. No?

--Mike

Will you be my friend?

2007-04-09T07:48:00.000-04:00

Ok. So in my last post I lamented that I have no time nor interest in building a friend list on Twitter. That has changed. I want to see what I can make of blogging for the ADD set. I also want to prove to myself that I am not, in fact, too old for the Internet.

Also, I'd liked to welcome a new reader to this blog. His name is Stefan S., he's from Washington State, wants a pink Zune, and comments more than anyone else on this blog.

Maybe I should be more concerned with getting regular readers on this blog before I get people reading my near-worthless Twitter feed.

--Mike

Twitter? I don't even...well, you get it.

2007-04-08T18:32:00.000-04:00

I don't get it. I really don't. Am I getting too old for this Internet thing? I get Digg - I don't like Digg. It's like a snarky Slashdot if you can imagine that. I hate the fact that when I read it in the RSS feed and click the article link it takes me to the freakin' comments and not the actual article where I can see what the blurb was referring to. Am I being old? I'm only 34, damnit! Now there's Twitter which is basically blogs for people who are ADD. I first heard of Twitter on TWIT (This Week in Tech, Leo Leporte and John Dvorak and Kevin Rose and some hot sounding chick and some British Guy, etc.) and don't really know if there's a relationship between the two. It sounds like there should be, but I don't think there is. Did I mention I feel too old for the Internet? I don't want to be, it's just that I don't have enough time to be up on the latest and greatest all the freakin' time. I hate MySpace because it insults my sense of order. I don't think I am alone on that. That said, I signed up for an account on Twitter just to see what all of the fuss was about. I'll probably forget I have an account there in a few days. I don't feel like publicizing my Twitter page and then feeling responsible to my friends to keep it up to date. Who has time for this crap?

Oh well. Off I go...

(I'll probably make mention of this on Twitter...)

--Mike

I know I am not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth...

2007-04-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

But what the hell am I supposed to do with this? I went to Microsoft's Vista launch event back a few months and dropped the 1 business card I had into one of those fish-bowl things. As I never win when that happens, I forgot all about it. So, this afternoon, Jerry from the mail-room drops by with a package for me. I have been eagerly awaiting my Daring Fireball T-shirt* and was thinking, "OMG! OMG! it's here!!!" only to be shocked to see a freakin' Zune in the envelope. I use a Mac at home. Zune doesn't work with the Mac.

Now before all 1 of my readers out there go, "Oooooo! GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!" the answer is "No."

--Mike

*John Gruber if you're reading this because you Googled yourself, could you please respond to my inquiry of where the hell my Daring Fireball T-shirts are that I ordered back in January. I wanted one so I could wear it while running the Boston Marathon, but that will probably not be possible since 1) I don't have my t-shirts which I ordered back in January, 2) you've been sitting on my money since January, and 3) running in a cotton t-shirt kind of sucks.

UPDATE: Apparently I am not the only one who has yet to receive their t-shirt. Look here and here. I know the links are to the same blog but hey, it looks better with multiple links to validate my claim that "others" are having this issue.

UPDATE 2: I knew there was another blog out there that would make mention of the mystery of the missing Daring Fireball T-shirts! I wonder if Mr. Gruber is reading up on his customer service gaffe. Come on, all we wanted was a freaking response to our inquiries. Is that too much to ask?

UPDATE 3: I found another post on a blog about the great t-shirt debacle at Daring Fireball. We just want our freaking t-shirts. I bet Fake Steve Jobs got his ahead of the rest of us who've been waiting forever and a day...

Viking Kittens

2007-03-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

Viking Kittens is classic. Breedo, I am sure you'll enjoy this...

Ouch!

2007-03-07T08:38:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything to the blog, my bad. It's been just too hectic around here and blah blah blah. Anyway, click the title above and read away. Two things to note: the 1956 Jaguar is beautiful and the woman in the SUV is an idiot.

Remastering, or Remaking?

2007-02-07T18:32:00.000-05:00

I noticed something strange while watching a Star Trek (the real, original one) rerun a few weeks ago: the special effects seemed much more modern.

Well, it turns out they're upgrading the special effects as they remaster and re-release the old episodes.

Aesthetics aside (the CGI stuff they're adding is much darker and grayer than the colorful, downright 1960s palette of the rest of the show), I just have a queasy feeling about the enterprise.... Wuggedy special effects are, for me, one of the charms of the original series (as with Doctor Who).

Children's Hospital

2007-01-16T14:07:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm going soft or something, but this facet of a new children's hospital made me go "Aaawww...".

It's part of a much larger piece, made up of famous or smart people answering the question, "What are you optimistic about in 2007?" On the same page, Brian Eno has a very funny entry; unfortunately, the humor is unintentional.

GDP Density Map

2007-01-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

OK, it's a little nerdy, but I think this GDP density map is pretty cool. Even just eyeballing the US part led to surprises (and don't forget to check out Canada).

The following text talks about a somewhat-related natural experiment to see how much social institutions have to do with economic development.

Gift Suggestions

2006-12-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

The folks at Radar magazine have compiled a list of the most dangerous playthings of all time (though it really only covers 1950 or so onward; I'm guessing paleolithic toys would have bumped some current entries off the list).

As a parent, I'd ask all three of our readers to review the list to make sure they don't inadvertantly purchase any.

New New York Architecture

2006-12-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Got two million for a studio apartment? A. A. Gill tells you all about the unique, one-of-a-kind imported style you'll get for your money in New New York.

Yeah, the closing moral is lame, but the digs throughout rock. (If you're like me, you'll have to think about the Amish one for a moment.)

Unstoppable Filing System

2006-12-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

So I spend a fair amount of time over at 43 Folders, and can tell you what the Noguchi filing system is, and Molly makes fun of me listening to the podcasts — but it's interesting, and may even get me more organized.

Still, I'll never be as organized as this woman. (There are 189 more episodes, if you liked that one.)

Utterly Childish

2006-11-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

Horrible!

Ghastly!

Funny as shit! [no pun intended]

I haven't been reading many news sites over the past few days, so I have no idea how the Zune is selling. Anyone?

Slashdot says that sales are flaccid.

PC Magazine says that sales are slow.

I bet that's really what the marketing guys want to hear about the first days after a new product launch, slow and flaccid.

--Mike

Hello? This is 1996 calling, I want my poor web design back!

2006-11-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

I really don't know what to say, really. This is, how should I put it, hideous. If the music doesn't make your ears bleed, the horrid layout and cursor trails will make your eyes bleed.

ewwww....

--mike

USAirways/Delta Merger

2006-11-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

ScrappleFace has an insightful (if short) piece on the proposed USAirways/Delta Merger.
And by "insightful," I mean "hilarious."

Hold Music... but Good

2006-11-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

The American Music Center, being musical and all, decided to do something creative about a scourge of modern life: hold music. Now, I've heard a little variety in the sounds organizations make when my call is important to them, just not that important — hell, one place I worked used the Lord of the Rings music (which is what happens when you let the techies run the phone system). But these are pieces specifically commissioned to be used as hold music, and they're worth hearing.

Health Care Quiz

2006-11-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

In its rush to condemn a shortage of doctors at top beantown teaching hospitals, what has the Globe omitted?

What can the new Democrat congress (they probably won't, but let's try to be charitable) learn from the omission?

Maybe our occasional reader in the Globe management ranks can feed back to her reporters and editors the suggestions that I expect to see in the comments.

Maybe the reporter should have talked to Uwe Reinhardt.

Anyway, sorry about the blogging hiatus and the long block quote to follow, but I had to give a taste of the article and how long one can go on while COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT (and this is just the first 15% or so).

Most primary care physicians at Boston's top-tier teaching hospitals are so busy that they have officially closed their practices to new patients.
Callers to Massachusetts General Hospital's physician referral line, for example, are told that all, or almost all, of the hospital's 178 primary care physicians are not accepting more patients. All 42 internists at Boston Medical Center have had full lists since four months ago, and 108 of Brigham and Women's Hospital's 120 primary care doctors have closed their practices to new patients.
Determined patients, however, are getting in to see some of the city's best doctors through informal channels, from e-mailing doctors personally to asking family members and acquaintances to use their connections.
"There is a huge crisis in primary care right now," said Dr. Sherry Haydock, medical director of Internal Medicine Associates, a primary care practice at Mass. General. "If you have a family member already cared for at the hospital, you have a much higher likelihood that a doctor will take you. But as our [practices] have gotten to 150 percent the size they should be, a lot of us realize we have to say no even to family members."
Many doctors blame a national shortage of primary care doctors for the limited access, but the reasons are more complex and vary among hospitals. Many internists, especially women, are cutting back their hours to spend more time with their families. At the same time, the aging population and the increasing complexity of medicine mean that each patient requires more time and services -- reducing the number of patients some doctors can see.
At Boston teaching hospitals, patient demand appears to be growing dramatically, partly because primary care doctors sit at a crucial intersection -- when patients fall seriously ill, it's the primary care doctor who can get them seen by a top surgeon or specialist. And new programs that rate hospitals and doctors' groups on the quality of care they provide often award the highest marks to these institutions, attracting more potential patients.
But many teaching hospitals have trouble finding physicians to hire -- Mass. General averages fewer than two applicants for every opening, down from eight a decade ago. Or the hospitals do not have space to expand. Community hospitals, health centers, and doctors' practices in the suburbs also report difficulty hiring primary care doctors, but most can accept new patients.
Caught in the middle All of this leaves many doctors at teaching hospitals feeling caught in the middle and patients frustrated as they try any avenue to get into practices. About a dozen doctors interviewed by the Globe said that in the past few years, they have been fielding a growing number of requests from current patients, colleagues, neighbors, and friends asking whether they can squeeze in someone they know who needs a doctor. Many get dozens of requests a month. Occasionally, hospital executives also ask doctors to fit in major donors.
Doctors have to make uncomfortable decisions about which new patients to accept and which to turn away. The doctors say they turn down most because the more new patients they take on, the longer their current patients have to wait for appointments -- and the more hours they must work.

To all the men and women who serve and have served in the military...

2006-11-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

...and to those who have given their lives in service of our great country:

Thank you.

Is it me...

2006-11-09T12:14:00.000-05:00

Or does it look like President Bush is about to back-hand Nancy Pelosi...

--Mike

Iran, Heavy Water, and... AIDS?

2006-11-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

Mohammad Sa'idi, international affairs deputy of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, claims heavy water (which Iran is now producing) is medicinal. He states in this Iranian News Channel interview that it's used to treat AIDS and cancer.

Yes, heavy water in high enough concentrations inhibits mitosis, stopping cell division. But if you drink it, it rapidly diffuses throughout your body, as opposed to concentrating at a tumor or infected T-cells; since your body is about 70% water, you'd need to drink only heavy water for a week or so to make any difference — and it would be a bad difference for you, similar to the effects of radiation poisoning.

As a general principle, nobody this nutty should be involved with nuclear anything.

Funny Stuff

2006-11-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

So Al Gore calls

When it rains...

2006-10-29T13:02:00.000-05:00

...you get wet. I know, it's been a long time since I've put anything on this blog. I mean, it's probably just easier to e-mail the 3 people who read this thing and send them what I want to send them. However, I am committed (and committable) so here I go...

There are two new Mac-related blogs that don't take themselves too seriously. The first is The Macalope - a ridiculous site with a odd take on current events in the Macintosh community. The second, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs is just plain ridiculous. So, give them both a whirl and let me know what you think.

--mike

It's been a while since...

2006-10-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

...I ranted. Not that one needs anything in particular to rant about. It could be something innocuous like bitching about the weather or as button pushing as bitching about the lefty Democrats who are going to ruin this country through their inability to understand basic economics and their propensity to spew vitriol-laden rhetoric anytime someone tries to use, get this, logic.

Nothing in particular is coming to mind for today's rant, so maybe I'll just go through my rant closet and write a little about each...

Where to start...

Red Sox fans? Nah, too easy.

Democrats? Nah, don't feel like writing "War and Peace."

Democrats and Gas Prices? By George, I think he has a topic!

Last Wednesday or Thursday, the Wall Street Journal ran a short editorial piece about gas pricing and oil pricing and Democrats and taxing wind-fall profits.* The basic gist of the editorial was that Ms. Nancy Pelosi and some of her other Democratic ninny friends believe, at least as shown through their actions, that shareholders of companies like Exxon-Mobil should be over-regulated and taxed into oblivion when times are good and thrown to the side of the road when times are bad. This all stems from "windfall profits" taxes that were being bandied about because Exxon-Mobile made a shitload of money. In fact, they made a metric assload of money a few quarters in a row. You know what I say? Good for them. Nobody really cared much about them when oil was $20 a barrel and we were paying $0.79 a gallon for gas.

However, now that the price of oil is up and consumer consumption is also up, the Dems want to punish these companies to taking advantage of the market. They're not actually taking advantage of the market. The market is just favoring them now. However, if, and this is a really big if, there is stability in the OPEC states and oil goes a dropping to $30 a barrel, a lot of these profits the oil companies are making will become a whole lot more modest. If they drop even further than that, earnings will look crappy. I really feel for the Exxon-Mobile shareholder...now where did I put my shares...

I actually saw gas on 1A next to Suffolk Downs for $1.95/gal for the 87 octane stuff. Too bad my car take Premium, that was around $2.30/gal - a whole lot better than the $3.20/gal I was paying 7 months ago. That hurt, that added like $14 to each fill-up. Wait, it only added $14 to each fill up? How often do I fill up? 3 times every two months? Shit, gas prices really don't directly affect me much. Now where did I put that Suburban...

--mike

* I actually clipped this particular editorial and pinned it to my cubicle wall along with a couple of other gems from the WSJ. I even made one of our Northeastern Co-Op Students read it. No, not to make her head spin...she's a righty, the only one on a college campus in Boston.

One-Man Stonehenge

2006-10-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

This guy Wally has figured out ways to move Stonehenge-sized blocks by himself. There's a good 6-minute news item on it here. I'd say moving the barn was the thing that most impresssed me.

Huh? The Onion couldn't even make this up...

2006-10-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

Parent criticizes book 'Fahrenheit 451' and admits to not even having read it. Read the article, then read, at least, the first comment.

*thump* <<-- sound of my head hitting the desk.

*UPDATE* - The comments on the site are LIFO, so the first post I was referring to isn't there. Below is the full text of the comment:

Ban the Bible while you're at it; it's a terrible influence.
If the parents of this 15 year old girl find the Ray Bradbury book a bad influence, they might want to reconsider letting her read the Bible.

Think about it.

Fahrenheit 451 is a book that uses bad things to teach good lessons. These bad things are what the family is protesting. Here's a list of what they stated were bad about the book:

- Filthy words
- Discussion of being drunk
- Smoking
- Violence
- Dirty talk
- References to the Bible
- Using God's name in vain

Now, the Bible is another book that recounts terrible things to teach good lessons. Here's a list of a few of the things the Bible includes:

- Filthy words
- Discussion of being drunk
- Smoking
- Violence
- Dirty talk (among other explicit sexual themes)
- References to the Bible (the Bible has many cyclic references)
- Using God's name in vain
- Incest
- Rape
- Sex without marriage
- Sodomy
- Murder
- War
- Satanism
- Magic
- Idol Worship
- Gay behaviour
- Adultery
- Anti-Governmental behaviour
- Genocide
- The list goes on.

I must say, the Bible contains MUCH more dangerous material than Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451. I would recommend that the family ban the Bible as well, if they really wish to prevent their family from being exposed to bad things.

Just a thought.
Christopher Steffen, Euless, TX

A reason for a non-Democrat to vote in MA

2006-10-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

Politics as usual in MA again. Didn't they bring out the same horsecrap when we won the right to buy booze 7 days a week here? The current law allows any single corporation to own only 3 liquor liceses state-wide. Who has the most to lose here? Not the consumer. Take a good, hard look at the statistics being bandied about in this article. While the 34 states that allow the consumer to buy wine in food stores have a higher drunk driving rate than MA, the 6 that have the same laws as MA have an EVEN HIGHER rate of drunk driving.

I'm going to the polls!

What Graphics Are For

2006-10-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

Check out this brief talk by Hans Rosling at TED. It'll give you quick insight into two things:

1) Economics and international development

2) What graphics and animation are meant for

Seriously. Rosling's visuals make up for any number of crappy, information-obscuring 3D ribbon graphs and pointless screen wipes.

Linkblogging

2006-09-29T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sigh. So it's come to this: linkblogging. OK, here goes.

We start with a stunning image of Manhattan.

Then we move on to an interesting statistical graphic.

And, finally, see if you can tell me what's surprising about this girl. (I'll give you the answer in the comments in a day or two.)

Climate Conference Heats Up

2006-09-16T12:12:00.000-04:00

There's not much I can say about this beyond the obvious.

Consider moving

2006-09-12T22:54:00.000-04:00

Mÿke might want to consider following our lead out of the Bay State. It seems some state troopers there lost half a pound of Semtex during a training drill when the pickup truck it was hidden on drove off.

A suggestion: don't let these guys use real planes in any future drills.

Dude, this is pretty f---ed up right here

2006-09-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

OK, so I used to think Fair Trade coffee was just some hippy-dippy thing that might actually coincidentally help some farmers while making people feel better about getting ripped off for a daily cup of coffee.

But say you're a small family coffee farm and want to sell your coffee to Fair Trade for that princely $1.26 a pound -- sorry, you have to join a co-op first. And if you've done so well that you've hired somebody year-round to help out? Bzzzt. You can't deal with Fair Trade at all.

No word yet on whether the co-ops are required to meet production quotas spelled out in Five-Year Plans. But there is plenty of bureacracy. More here.

Bomb or Not?

2006-09-09T14:43:00.000-04:00

See if you have what it takes to be a security screener here.

How Sweep it is!

2006-08-21T19:31:00.000-04:00

No link. No real need to post anything except for the following: this is the 4th time in history that the Yanks have taken 5 in a row from the Sox. Three times at Fenway, once in the Bronx. Just living the dream...

Skin sensing table saw

2006-08-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

Wow. Take a look at the video on the above-linked page. Pretty cool stuff. Now only if they had this when Mr. Franz was teaching woodshop...

Why buy the cow....

2006-08-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

....when you can comment on the milk for free.

Some of these are ridiculous but take a look anyway.

Sample:

Note: Not iPod compatible, August 10, 2006
Reviewer:
Belize042 (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Despite its pleasing white color, it seems Tuscan Whole Milk is not compatible with iPod products. Attempts to adapt iPod connectors to the Tuscan Whole Milk product resulted in failure, and required extensive clean-up. Why does the packaging not reveal this limitation, and when can we expect iPod-compatability from Tuscan Whole Milk?

As it so happens, Tuscan Dairies is located in my hometown of Union, NJ and all three Paci boys remember our grandfather taking us for walks nearby on the yet-to-be-opened I-78.

A Psychiatrist on Dermal Decorations

2006-08-03T14:21:00.000-04:00

This article is from a decade ago, but it's got some classics in it (including the "motto of the British service industries").

Also, by happenstance, it continues the "DIY in the UK" theme.

I remember what I did last summer (20 years ago)

2006-08-01T11:24:00.000-04:00

Here's something the Paci three have in common, although if you call us nerds you're likely to get a face full of fives. A decent look into how we spent some good times.

This summer, nearly 11 million children will attend summer camps in the United States. They will eat terrible food, learn a new sport, and sing songs by a campfire. For some—let's call them well-adjusted—this experience will be joyous. For others—let's call them nerds—it won't. As one such kid who attended a sports-oriented camp in Pennsylvania told The New Yorker, "I took boxing, and I was very afraid."

For such children, mercifully, there is nerd camp—also known as the summer programs sponsored by the Center for Talented Youth. At CTY, you don't learn to swim, or ride horses, or tie knots. Instead, you spend five hours a day in class, learning a semester's worth in a mere three weeks. After class, there is a 90-minute period of "Mandatory Fun," followed by dinner and a two-hour study hall. Mandatory Fun may be the hardest part of the day for most of the campers at CTY. I know, because I was once one of them.

No harbor? No problem.

2006-06-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

Since they couldn't count on capturing any harbors along the coast of France, Allied troops in World War II brought a couple along. At 600,000 tons apiece, they had to ship them in pieces (though this was before carry-on restrictions were really enforced).

Holy crap. With all the time I've frittered away watching the Discovery and History channels, you'd think I would have heard of this before.

Friday Afternoon Catblogging

2006-06-09T21:21:00.000-04:00

Funny that dad mentions this to me on the official catblogging day.

So I missed the afternoon by a few hours, but click on the title link to see why Jersey cat Jack is not an ordinary mouser.

Click the link below to READ why Jersey cat Jack is not an ordinary mouser.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1149831832170600.xml&coll=1

[Someone might mention to Newhouse, which owns the (nee Trenton) Times, Star-Ledger, NO Times-Pic, and several other newspapers, that its websites are horrible. Note that you can't find the pictures from the story or vice-versa. ]

The Bellagio Fountain, Reimagined

2006-06-09T17:53:00.000-04:00

If I ran the National Endowment for the Arts, this is what I'd waste the taxpayers' money on.