It looks like they have found a buried parachute in Southwest Washington state, and the FBI is investigating.
I went to high school in the Pacific Northwest, and like most people from Oregon and Washington, there is a bit of interest there.
Year: 2008
ISO Looks to Reject OOXML Again
Mouthful, huh?
The short version is that the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) are having a vote as to whether to adopt Microsoft’s Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) format for its office suite as a formal standard, and Cuba and India just voted no.
Microsoft had this voted down before, largely because there already is an ISO standard format out there, Open Dcument Format (ODF).
Microsoft, of course, uses OOXML, which is a proprietary format, notwithstanding its name, but with increasing numbers of users, particularly in government, demanding open formats to prevent vendor lock in, they want to be adopted as a “standard”.
Microsoft’s whole business model, of course, is vendor lock in.
Furthermore, as is made clear here, OOXML was written around the specific internals of Microsoft products:
Here is the Microflaccid office way of making text red:
Word: <w:color w:val=”FF0000″/>
Excel: <color rgb=”FFFF0000″/>
Powerpoint: <a:srgbClr val=”FF0000″/>
Here is a standards compliant way.
ODF text: <style:text-properties fo:color=”#FF0000″/>
ODF sheet: <style:text-properties fo:color=”#FF0000″/>
ODF presentation: <style:text-properties fo:color=”#FF0000″/>
Why Yes, I did Work on This!
I came across this article on the USMC putting prognostics on its vehicles, and it turns oout that it’s yet another field of study that I’ve applied my engineering skills to.
Specifically the Marines are installing the Embedded Platform Logistics System (EPLS), which works by determining the actual condition of the equipment, as opposed to implementing a fixed maintenance/replacement schedule by using sensors on the equipment and computer algorithms to determine when components are wearing out.
When I was working on the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV), now called the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), it was primarily on a prognostics demonstration for the landing craft.
It was a nice job, with a nice boss (Hi Dave), but it was the commute from hell (75 miles through the heart of DC), and the scope of the program was being increasingly reduced, and I figured that it was not too long before I would be de-scoped, so I found something with what was then United Defense.
Parents Putting Children, and the Community at Risk
The facts are quite clear, there is no tie between vaccines and Autism*, and this has been conclusively proven.
The doctor who came up with this cockamamie theory had his ticket yanked. The removal of Thimerisol (which was an independent good regardless of the non link to Autism) made no difference in the trajectory of the disease.
Vaccines represent the greatest success in public health in the history of…well..history.
When we see reports like this one the Neanderthal† anti-vaccination movement, the basic points which need to be made are as follows:
- There is no evidence that vaccines are listed are linked to any disease.
- The idea that there is a link to Autism is false and has been completely disproven.
- This puts the entire community at risk, because unvaccinated children spread the disease.
- It puts holes in herd immunity.
These basic points were not made in this article, though it was hinted at when the writer quoted Sybil “I’m a Moron” Carlson saying that vaccines caused “immunology”.
Let’s be clear. Vaccines do have risks, I know someone who is in a wheelchair because of a vaccine induced case of polio, and my mother had an allergic reaction to the horse serum used in the tetanus vaccine, but they are less than that of not being vaccinated, and they are acute, not chronic.
The anti-vaccine movement is based on two things, stupidity and ignorance involving the science, and a blithe disregard for for the effects of society.
That’s why we are getting outbreaks of measles, mumps, whooping cough. Because these people are creating reservoirs of disease out of their children, and it affects the vaccinated too, because no vaccine is 100%, and some vaccinated children are put at risk.
*Full disclosure, my son is on the spectrum, diagnosed with Aspergers.
†In deference to the GEICO cavemen, I wish to apoliogize for any offense to true Neanderthals.
Tet in Iraq Update
Well, when we look at the straight news stories, we have the New York Times saying that the, “Iraqi Crackdown on Shiite Forces Sets Off Fighting“, and CNN Reporting that Maliki is offering an “Ultimatum” (AFP says the same.)
There are two possibilities here:
- Maliki wants to take out a more political opponent before the provincial elections.
- The US Military demanded this, because they want to show “Iraqi military progress” for the upcoming congressional hearings.
My money is on the second. Even a hack like Petraeus knows that the Iraqi military is not ready for this.
Additionally, the reports that Maliki is “personally supervising” the operations in Basra, seems to indicate a ploy by Maliki, not by the members of the Bush military-political complex/
Spencer Ackerman makes a very good point when he says that the US role in all of this is that of a hostage:
As long as Maliki is in the prime minister’s chair, and as long as we proclaim the Iraqi government he leads to be legitimate, Maliki effectively holds us hostage.
Eric Martin asks if Bush and His Evil Minions™ are backing the wrong horse.
I agree with his concerns. While Sadr is looking for a stricter theocracy, he is the most outspoken Shiite Iraqi nationalist in the game, while the other two main Shiite factions, (ISCI/SCIRI and Dawa) are firmly committed to Iran, possibly near-puppets of Iran.
The reason that the US does not make nice with Sadr is because he opposed to the US’s Iraq forever plan, which Bush is irrevocably committed to.
Finally, Matthew Yglesias makes a very good point about the nature of imperialism:
The would-be imperial power has to back the ‘less popular local elements.’ The key thing is to find groups that are strong enough to hold on to power with external support, but too weak to come to be in a position to kick the ladder of external support away.
Any politician in Iraq who could become popular enough to have a meaningful and independent power base is a threat to the US presence there, and thus will be opposed by the US.
Economics Update
The first two bits are easy to understand, New home sales are the lowest since 1995, which matches with the horrid existing home sales data that I posted yeaterday, and Factory orders fell off a cliff in February.
First, things are simply getting even weirder in the never-dull world of monoliner insurers, with the Federal Home Loan Banking looking at offering bond insurance for municipal infrastructure project bonds.
It’s a dull, but very profitable racket, because there has been some sort of freaky deal between the monoliners and the rating agencies for years that has them offering artificially low ratings to muni bonds, which pretty much forces said governmental agencies to buy bond insurance.
If it works, it kills the monoliners, because this business is the only thing keeping them afloat on a sea of collateralized debt obligations (CDO).
Additionally, we have monoliner insurer FGIC notifying regulators that due to some “dodgy” dept that it is ensuring, that it is insolvent under New York State law, “FGIC in notes to its consolidated financial statements said it plans to submit a plan to the New York superintendent to reduce its risk. FGIC also said it has voluntarily ceased writing new business to preserve capital.”
This means that, theoretically at least, regulators could seize the FGIC, though they are in litigation with the borrower of the aforementioned debt, and they are filing a recovery plan.
Tonya Harding Option? I Call Bull$#@&!
So we have Jake Tapper of ABC News reporting that a “Democratic Party official, who asked for anonymity”, which could be anyone from Howard Dean to the guy who gets the coffee, saying, “Her securing the nomination is certainly possible – but it will require exercising the ‘Tonya Harding option.'” and then adding “Is that really what we Democrats want?”
While I appreciate Tapper’s skills in parlaying a couple of dates with Monica Lewinski into a heavy duty “reporting” gig, first with Salon, and then with better paying media, he’s a still a wanker.
He spent all of 2000 hating on Al Gore, because he missed a flight because they did not hold the press plane for him.
First, if this were someone senior, say someone of my generation (I’m 45) or older, they would not use this term.
Second, he didn’t use the term “senior”, which he would have used if it were defensible.
Furthermore, notwithstanding the use of the quote by some of the hyperventilating elements of the blogosphere, what we have here is someone, and someone not particularly senior saying what has been the standard line for places like MSNBC for some time: that Hillary Clinton is “destroying the party”.
A lot of people are hyperventilating about a story with no “there” there, which I’m sure tickles Mr. Tapper no end.
Social Security Numbers Actually Getting Better
Paul Kurgman notes that the actuarial numbers for Social are better now than they were 15 years ago.
And that’s with the Social Security board being populated by Bush’s Evil Minions&trade, who are being as alarmist as they can.
Great Prank
This is a great way to protest, and an inspired prank, and I approve of this message.
Root beer keg party doesn’t amuse officials
By Brian Reisinger
Wausau Daily Herald
breisinger@wdhprint.comThe Zebro home in Kronenwetter showed all the signs of an underage drinking party March 1: cars blocking the road, dozens of rowdy kids and a keg.
And yet, every partyer’s breath test revealed an alcohol-free gathering.
Dustin Zebro, 18, and his friends said they threw the party after D.C. Everest High School administrators suspended their friends from sports.
….
Forest Service May Move From AG to Interior
Personally, I like the idea of moving the National Forests, but there may be issues with cultures.
The Forest Service is has very much the culture of the AG department, profits through harvest, with the National Forests having as their de facto primary purpose providing wood for the timber industry, and the Interior Department is about preservation of special places as an independent good.
To the degree that the Forest Service ends up more like the Park Service, that will be a good thing.
The Case for Partisanship
Matthew Yglesias, who I think is sometimes contrarian for its own sake, nonetheless nails it in this essay.
The best point for me is here:
For veteran Washington hands—wheelers and dealers in the lobbying game or at the major interest groups—the new system is worse than dull. It’s emasculating. This is why political elites find polarization so distasteful. In a polarized world, elections and procedural rules largely determine policy outcomes; there’s little room for self-styled players to construct coalitions on the fly, and enhance their own power in the process. The growth in the lobbying industry might seem to belie the point, but consider Tom DeLay’s post-1994 “K Street Project”—which pressured lobbying firms who wanted access on the Hill to hire more Republicans—or the swing of the pendulum back after the Democratic takeover in 2006. Power in Congress is firmly in the hands of the party leadership; lobbyists become less powerful, not more, in a polarized system.
The fact is that outside of the beltway, no one really cares what David Broder thinks, or what gets said at Sally Quinn’s parties, and if you have a political system in which party affiliation actually means something, neither do the members of Congress or the Executive branch.
They answer to the voters under those circumstances.
The Sacrifices We Must All Make in War
H/t Atrios
The KC-X Tanker, The Musical
It appears that we’ve got our first astroturf, Tankerblog.com, which has been anonymously registered, where they brethlessly reveal that A330 tanker cannot refuel the V-22, while the 767 could.
The blog describes itself as, “The blog is moderated by Mike Reilly who spends his days at the Center for Security Policy and a bipartisan group of legislative assistants who spend their days, and most nights, working on Capitol Hill.”
These “staffers” are from the Seattle no doubt, and the CSP has among it members, Richard Perle, Douglas J. Feith, , Frank Gaffney – Project for the New American Century, Monica Crowley and , Laura Ingraham. (You can get a line on their right wing nut supporters here)
No reasons given for why the difference, and in the real world, if refueling were needed it would be done by a KC-130 turboprop, since using a jet to refuel a turboprop that has to operate below 15k feet because it is not pressurized is just nuts.
A bit of humor at this “blog” though, they have a poll on whether congress should stop the deal, and the pro EADS sides in winning.Tanker War Blog, unnamed bipartasin staffers in congress, from Washington state, no doubt. http://tankerblog.blogspot.com/ look at their poll…good yucks.
The kicker is that Northrop Grumman says it can refuel the V-22, “said on Monday its aerial tanker based on the Airbus A330 could refuel the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft flown by the Marine Corps.”
Nice to see some defense procurement related humor.
In the meantime, we are starting to see people worrying that Congress will go xenophobic, and queer the contract which would threaten weapons sales in Europe. *cough* JSF *cough*
As to what Boeing is arguing about, it appears that a lot of this is the spacing between wingtips while parked. The USAF reduced this on the basis of what had actually observed.
Additionally, Boeing complained that the Combined Mating and Ranging Planning System (Cmarps) system which was used to develop operational scenarios for the bidding, was something that NG was more familiar with, but seeing as how the software is over 20 years old, I think that this is more another example of how Boeing was being petulant in the bid process.
Aviation Week (subscription required) also lists the following issues:
- The Air Force added a “receptacle credit” for the capability of receiving as well as offloading fuel. Should have been there from the start, but it’s a clearly a positive capability.
- Changed its assessment of the pavement thickness/strength at airports used in the mission modeling, allowing more A330s to be parked.
- There was a change in ground turnaround time, which was then, “fixed for both competitors at 4 hr., 15 min.
For what it’s worth, Airbus tanker is already in test, see picture:
There are 767 tankers flying, but they are substantially different from what was pitched to the USAF.
Bear Stearns Employees Already Financially Raped, Now Possibly Enslaved – Business on The Huffington Post
Jill Brooke is reporting that JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is now calling Wall Street firms and threatening them if they attempt to hire away curretn Bear Stearns employees. (The hed, btw is Ms. Brooke’s not mine).
He’s claiming that it’s “unpatriotic” to poach people before he fires them, and he also, “threatened to cut counter-party credit lines to firms that poach Bear stars before the transaction is completed”.
If I were on the jury, I would vote to acquit his murderer.
On a slightly more law abiding note, I believe that the Bear employees might have grounds for one hell of a class action lawsuit.
Passings
My Grandmother, Sylvia Saroff, died last night. She was 99.
I feel Left Out!
Bill O’Reilly calls everyone else fascists, but leaves me out.
I’m crushed.
Maybe I should write about O’Reilly’s bust for soliciting an underage prostitute a few years back.
Just kidding, but one wonders if how many readers this will pull in via “the Google”.
Iraq: Living in the World that Kafka Created
Because it appears that the Pentagon is claiming that the “new Iraq fighting arises from surge’s success“.
Maybe it’s not Kafka. Maybe it’s the Onion. I’m not sure, but it would be nice if the press called Bush and His Evil Minions™ on this heads I win, tails you lose crap.
FCC Auction Rundown
I can’t add much to Harold Feld's analysis. The short version is that it generated more money than expected, and unless you explicitly exclude the incumbents, they will tend to win.
People Who Should Be First Up Against the Wall When the Revolution Comes
Landlords, and banks who have foreclosed, who instead of going through a formal foreclosure, where the tenants have rights, they simply refuse to pay the water bill to force the tenants out when the water is cut off.
Bull%#&@!
Yes, Secretary Paulson is saying that we need to take immediate action to “fix” Social Security.
They are, of course, using the word “fix” much in the same way that my veteranarian does.
We are (run around and scream like a little girl) about 41 years from insolvency! Ten years ago we were 42 years from insolvency! Think about what this means?
Ummmm…that in 410 years we will be down to zero years? But what do I know about math…I’m an engineer.
I think that the earnings cap should be removed and a portion of the amount collected needs to be diverted to medicare, where there is a problem, but my main reason for wanting the cap raised is the same is Warren Buffett. We both find it completely absurd that his secretary pays more of her salary in taxes than he does.
The Republicans want to kill Social Security. There is no crisis, and it does not need to be fixed, but it is a Federal program, it does not kill people, and it helps ordinary people, so they hate it for philosophical reasons.
The response to Republican attempts to kill Social Security should be, “Over the Elephant’s dead rotting body”.