All sorts of fun and craziness
February 25th, 2007
“A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a rule whom they consider god-fearing and pious [and] less easily move against him.”
“I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.”
- George W Bush, July 9, 2004
Hmmm, they both seem more interesting next to each other, especially the bit about illegal treatment.
Categories: Politics | No Comments
February 24th, 2007
I am getting very close to being done with traditional TV. I really think video entertainment is going to go digital very soon - time shifting/digital recording will soon be a non-issue as the ‘big’ content creators will understand that getting the video out is what gets the eyeballs on the advertising. And advertising will catch up.
Like I said, I’m getting close. There are a handful of shows I watch on traditional TV still. I like Mythbusters and some other shows on the Discovery Channel, That 70s Show, The Simpsons; but very quickly more and more of my video watching is on my computer - and when AppleTV comes out (and we get a digital TV) the shift will become even more complete.
One of the really great things about online/web based video is the lack of restrictions. There is no restriction on time - a show can be 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 90 minutes, however long the show needs to be. When you think about it, this is pretty cool - shows don’t need filler, don’t need to fit in to some artificial time block. To me, removing this restriction seems to offer shows more freedom to be good. Likewise, there are fewer artificial restrictions on language, politics, or what advertisers will like or not.
Today, I’m using iTunes (of course) as well as Democracy TV which is a really cool video application. Combining VLC with video RSS feeds and a ton of other cool features it is sort of a near on demand video service. You can even create your own channels based on RSS feeds and searches of popular video sites (such as YouTube. So, here is what I’m watching on Democracy:
I can’t say enough good things about Democracy, and I look forward to figuring out how to get it to work with AppleTV and really transform the video entertainment experience in our house. That is if we ever stop playing the Wii I found by accident at Target this week.
Categories: Science/Tech | 1 Comment
February 23rd, 2007
So, reading through Digg, I came across this interesting this if there are problems with original).
In essence, there is a bit of controversy at MSP over the cab drivers and some refusing to accept certain passengers.
“We’ve had several posts about the Muslim cab drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, and their refusal to accept passengers carrying alcohol and blind people with guide dogs, at the urging of the Muslim Brotherhood front group calling itself the Muslim American Society.”
In essence, a number of the cabbies out of MSP are Muslim - and that’s cool, but some seem to be becoming very strict and a bit imposing with some bits of their beliefs, to the point of refusing passengers - which means refusing $ believe it or not. But, the religion part, that’s not what’s interesting to me, what is interesting to me is the asymmetry of the information available to the buyers of transportation services. Looking at the article, there is a big to-do about the response from the MAC, public hearings and so forth. I think most readers will recognize this, but there is a huge expense; direct, transaction, and opportunity cost, among more I probably haven’t thought of. It appears the MAC is looking to impose penalties on these drivers.
Here is a much more simple solution, at least for Minnesota: require the drivers to indicate if they enforce Shari’a on the outside of their cab, and specify the requirements to ride. Those passengers who are able/willing to meet the requirements will hop in the cab, those who can’t will move to the next. Additionally, demand will drive the enforcement of these religious requirements. I may have too much faith in free markets, but I think it would work well, and there would be enough strictly observant Muslim cabs to serve the demand for very strict observance, and the rest of the drivers will become more flexible. Passengers will also have the option to change their behavior if they want a cheaper ride - a non-Muslim who happens to follow the right rules can probably get a cheaper ride home - there is likely greater supply than demand. There is also a deal for those of us who don’t care (either ideologically or business travel) about the driver’s beliefs.
It all adds up to information and utility. It is Econ 101; there are some people who receive utility out of following certain rules/requirements, there are others who don’t - and there is some equilibrium of suppliers of strict transportation requirements and consumers who find utility in it. The trick is, provide the demand with the information. If we provide the consumers with enough information to know which cabs they can get in (based on both the drivers’ and the passengers’ requirements) - probably directly on the cab, everyone is better off. The passenger doesn’t get turned down and the rates will be set appropriately (probably by the tip since the fare is set)
All the econ rambling aside, I take a taxi home from the airport all the time, and I have never had a driver who was less than polite and kind. I’ve had a few who weren’t the best drivers, but always polite and honest (unlike the cabbies in Thailand BTW). So, it’s Friday night, and I’m tired, but hopefully the point is clear - there is no need for specific regulation of anyone’s freedoms, we just need to insist on full disclosure and the market will handle the rest. At least in theory.
February 19th, 2007
I have to be honest: when I think about my dearest friends Kostja and Jamie moving away, I want to cry. However, that did not stop us from hitting the party scene hard this Saturday night.
Just 24 hours after a crazy-fabulous Girls Night (Genya already posted the only photos that can be shared with general audience), we were off yet again on a night on the town.
It started with some drinks with friends– please pay close attention to my fuzzy slippers! Don’t they make me look sexy? In the meanwhile, John is protective of his beer.
A super-host, Kostja is in the middle of everything– thanks for having us over!
This is what the girls think about letting Jamie go to Boston.
Now, on to the Lounge! Giancarlo is being his fabulous self at the decks.
Genya and I are firing up the dance floor!
Categories: Uncategorized | No Comments
February 18th, 2007
If you’re thinking of stopping by at our house in the next few days, bring snacks! After a very party-heavy February full with dinner parties, a girl party, and a couple of after-bars at our house, we’re out of cheese, crackers, and most of our booze. The shenanigans were definitely worth it but I think I will not be entertaining for a couple of weeks.
To be honest to our friends, most of the food and wine that was consumed this month was brought into the house by them. However, when the bars close and a few people are too drunk to drive home, my pantry becomes the victim. I am considering signing up for Sam’s club. Velveeta anyone 
?
Categories: Random/Funny | No Comments
February 13th, 2007
A few weeks ago we saw the British Advertising Awards at the Walker. Here is my favorite from the the show.
As an added bonus, and on a totally unrelated topic, here is Lewis Black on Fossils, which is a really good bit of smart, relevant stand up, unlike so much of the stand up you see on the likes of YouTube.
Categories: Random/Funny | No Comments
February 11th, 2007
As anyone who lives in Minnesota will tell you, it has been cold. Really friggin’ titty-shattering cold. We woke up to negative digits for 10 days in a row now. It’s getting a little bit old and I haven’t felt really warm in weeks. So, when I walked outside this morning, I did the following crazy things:
This is just a temporary break in the action– we’re back to single digits by Wednesday. That’s highly unfortunate as my running season is about to begin and building up base mileage inside on a dreadmill or track is REALLY REALLY SUICIDALLY boring.
Categories: Uncategorized | No Comments
February 4th, 2007
Despite Minnesota’s deep freeze, we have been out on town all weekend. While Friday night was moderately mellow (had guests over, cooked Thai food, stayed up talking till 2 AM), Saturday was off the hook.
It all started innocently enough when Jamie and Kostja came over at about 7 PM…
Then we moved over to the new hot restaurant The Temple (my micro-review: pretty good food, but for $25 a plate it can be better. I’d recommend sticking with Azia if you’re looking for Asian fusion). Somehow, we ended up taking vodka shots– please note one of the glasses doesn’t have any ice– we Russians don’t mess with our vodka.
As the night progressed, we headed over to the Red, White and Fucking Blue lounge in Chambers hotel where festivities endured till about 2 AM
Then the invisible has moved us and we invited people over for an afterbar. The result: lots of consumed booze, bread, and cheese, twisted nipples and bedtime of 4 am.
Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
February 4th, 2007
This has been one of those long and stressful weeks - so there haven’t been many postings - and they are all saved up here.
First, we have Patrick’s colorful description of the candy G brought from Thailand for the team at work. Apparently they were, uh, interesting.
Next is another one through Patrick - totally work the listen.
Then there is Idiocracy which is one of my new favorite and it got some pretty good reviews. It is a little depressing that the premise (the least intelligent people have the most children, and thus we are devolving) seems all too realistic. While the plot device behind the film is a little far out, it is very funny, and well written. Some of our favorite economist bloggers seemed to enjoy it as well - here is Tyler Cowen with a quick - I can’t find the others……..anyway, see the movie on DVD, very good stuff.
Categories: Uncategorized | No Comments
