Stephen Cleary's thoughts

Global Warming: An Example of Cargo-Cult Science

2010-05-24T12:58:00.000-04:00

Just finished reading Feynman's classic talk on Cargo-Cult Science. It seems to me that the information and data hiding that has plagued global warming "science" out of purely financial and personal interest is an absolutely perfect fit for what Feynman calls "Cargo-Cult Science."

Here's a few excerpts:

... if you're doing an experiment, you should report everything that you think might make it invalid - not only what you think is right about it...

Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you know them. You must do the best you can - if you know anything at all wrong, or possibly wrong - to explain it. If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it, or put it out, then you must also put down all the facts that disagree with it, as well as those that agree with it...

In summary, the idea is to try to give all of the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another...

We've learned from experience that the truth will out. Other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right. Nature's phenomena will agree or they'll disagree with your theory. And, although you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good reputation as a scientist if you haven't tried to be very careful in this kind of work.

And it's this type of integrity, this kind of care not to fool yourself, that is missing to a large extent in much of the research in Cargo Cult Science...

And his parting words:

I wish to you... the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain this kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.

Reading his talk has actually made me feel sad for the global warming scientists. They have fooled themselves into believing that hiding the measurement data is a good idea. They were probably originally motivated by greed (for nice government funds) and/or personal recognition (published papers and Nobel "Prizes"), so they established complete control over all the measured data.

However, they are now trapped in their own webs of deceit; as more and more scientists are turning against their cargo cult practices, they are starting to feel desparate. When the truth comes out (and the actual data is finally published), they'll lose their entire careers, so it's only natural for them to continue the ruse and delay the inevitable.

NCIS is done

2009-12-18T16:24:00.001-05:00

Well, well...

Turns out NCIS' Christmas episode was complete trash. A Christian performing an "honor killing" of his (Marine) Muslim brother, airing just a few weeks after a Muslim member of the U.S. Army gunned down innocent U.S. soldiers and bystanders in the name of his religion.

Yet, NCIS laid on the "Muslims good, Christians bad" rhetoric with a sickening amount of impossibilities. A Christian pastor (with an offshore bank account, no less) pays other Marines to beat up his Muslim son - which the Marines are happy to do because, hey, he's Muslim and they're prejudiced. The Christian wife of the Muslim cheats on him while he's abroad. The Christian brother of the Muslim kills him. Ducky's monologues - usually a high point of the show - are all about how the Christian God and the Muslim god are really the same, and it's such a pity that all Christian soldiers are so bigoted, and the poor Muslims are just so persecuted... A Muslim chaplain was thrown into this episode, explaining in detail how Muslims are entirely peaceful, and hold the same exact principles as the Marines, and that it is the ignorance and hatred so ingrained in the Christians that causes all this strife. Ziva - supposedly an Israeli - sympathizes with the Muslim chaplain, and doesn't ever seem to bring up the fact that Muslims keep attacking Israelis even during ceasefires.

Let's have a little interjection of reality, here. How many Christian "honor killings" have you ever heard of? None? Me, neither. Let's see... what's the most recent event where one soldier killed a fellow soldier on the basis of their religion? Oh, yes, the Fort Hood shooting, where a MUSLIM psychiatrist shot 43 people, killing 13 of them (including a pregnant female officer), after shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("Allah is the greatest!"). The Muslim reaction to this has been mixed; some have claimed it was wrong because the consequences could be bad. Other Muslim groups rejoiced at the news, saying that more Muslim U.S. soldiers should "follow in [his] footsteps" and that "fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty."

The only logical explanation for NCIS' reversal regarding Muslims is political. Last year, NCIS suddenly reversed their portrayal of Muslims; up until then, Muslims were sometimes innocent and sometimes suicide bombers, just like in real life. Starting last year, Muslims were always innocent, and it was usually the prejudice of non-Muslim soldiers that was the problem. This year, Christians are the suicide bombers and murderers, and Muslims are the innocent pacifists being massacred.

Yeah, right.

It makes me wonder how much money Commie Obama paid to CBS. I can tell you this much, CBS has lost this viewer of NCIS for good. They've lost many others over this episode, too. So, CBS, was selling your soul worth it?

More info: NCIS Goes Pro-Muslim for Their Christmas Show 2009 - Unbelievable! If you want to voice your opinion, here's the CBS contact form.

Obama

2009-07-28T19:35:00.003-04:00

If you voted for Obama because he's black, then you're racist!

Somebody had to say it!

mBank? Fifth/Third? No contest!

2009-06-29T17:44:00.003-04:00

I've been a regular patron of Fifth/Third for 15 years, at least. Back then, they were Old Kent, and they helped my mom get a mortgage for her house (back when her income wasn't the greatest). Old Kent was so helpful, our whole family became loyal customers. When I started my business, there was no question about who would get my business checking account.

However, when Old Kent got bought out by Fifth/Third, everything changed. Their customer service became an absolute joke. They offered me a wonderful "special rate" of 19% for a small business loan. They started charging (without warning) fees on every debit card usage. They mistakenly added finance charges to my 5/3 MasterCard (when I hadn't bought anything). They added overdraft protection to my checking account, when I had explicitly stated I didn't want it on there. They warned me that they would charge me fees if I ever spoke to a teller instead of using the ATM. They would send statements to the wrong address after I made absolutely sure they had the right address, and then refuse to reverse the late charges.

I started using mBank. Just a little at first. I couldn't help but notice how nice their tellers were. They remembered me - and I only go into the bank once every other month or so! I've never had a problem with them charging me ridiculous fees caused by computer errors, and then hassling me when removing them. It's been like a breath of fresh air. I am always, always impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of their employees. Their web site doesn't look as pretty as 5/3, but it actually works better.

Last week, I took my leave of Fifth Third, permanently. I will never, ever do business with them again. I stood by them over the years; I still remember a whole slew of people leaving when they pulled the debit card fee stunt, but I stuck it out. My last experience with them, however, was the last straw. According to my estimates, I've lost about $65 from fraudulent charges by Fifth Third over the years. This last episode only accounts for $11.35 of that, but I've had it.

Fifth Third: you're fired.

mBank, welcome to the family. You just got my business.

Unresolved BSOD

2008-08-02T12:14:00.002-04:00

This morning, one of my development machines died unexpectedly from a BSOD. I haven't been able to find any information from Google, so I'm posting my experience here for others to find.

The culprit seems to be ipnat.sys, which is interesting because even though I have a complex network setup, Windows doesn't handle the NATing. I'm running XP SP3 on this laptop, with ipnat.sys 5.1.2600.5512, modified Monday, April 14, 2008, 12:27:16 AM. The OCA failed because I had the minidump open in WinDbg at the time (oops).

Detailed network setup at the time of crash (10 adapters total):

1394 (FireWire) port - disabled
Builtin wireless - disabled
Dialup connection via physical modem - enabled but phone line not plugged in
USB wireless - active, with Internet access
NIC - active, local access only
PCMCIA cell tower wireless ("dialup") - enabled but not inserted
VMWare VMNet1 for virtual machines - enabled but not active (no virtual machines were running)
VMWare VMNet8 for virtual machines - same
VPN virtual adapter for OpenVPN connections - disabled; no longer used
VPN virtual adapter #2 for OpenVPN - same

VMWare and OpenVPN both handle their own NAT, and adapter #4 is *not* shared over the network on #5, so I don't know why Windows was doing something with NAT.

Anyway, here's the WinDbg analysis:

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.9.0003.113 X86
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cleary\Local Settings\Temp\WERe5f9.dir00\Mini080208-01.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: SRV*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols;C:\Work\RAC\RAMDisk\Project\debug;symsrv*symsrv.dll*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is:
Windows XP Kernel Version 2600 (Service Pack 3) UP Free x86 compatible
Product: WinNt
Built by: 2600.xpsp.080413-2111
Kernel base = 0x804d7000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x80553fc0
Debug session time: Sat Aug  2 07:35:32.341 2008 (GMT-4)
System Uptime: 0 days 20:28:21.531
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................................................................................................................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
...............
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck D1, {3a003e, 2, 1, ed878886}

*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: nt!_KPRCB                                     ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: nt!_KPRCB                                     ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
Probably caused by : ipnat.sys ( ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high.  This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If kernel debugger is available get stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 003a003e, memory referenced
Arg2: 00000002, IRQL
Arg3: 00000001, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
Arg4: ed878886, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------

*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: mssmbios!_SMBIOS_DATA_OBJECT                  ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: nt!_KPRCB                                     ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***                                                                   ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Your debugger is not using the correct symbols                 ***
***                                                                   ***
***    In order for this command to work properly, your symbol path   ***
***    must point to .pdb files that have full type information.      ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Certain .pdb files (such as the public OS symbols) do not      ***
***    contain the required information.  Contact the group that      ***
***    provided you with these symbols if you need this command to    ***
***    work.                                                          ***
***                                                                   ***
***    Type referenced: nt!_KPRCB                                     ***
***                                                                   ***
*************************************************************************

WRITE_ADDRESS:  003a003e

CURRENT_IRQL:  2

FAULTING_IP:
ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce
ed878886 894804          mov     dword ptr [eax+4],ecx

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xD1

TRAP_FRAME:  f78b6dac -- (.trap 0xfffffffff78b6dac)
ErrCode = 00000002
eax=003a003a ebx=8a4eef58 ecx=e75b94c8 edx=00000000 esi=8a4260e8 edi=8a4260e8
eip=ed878886 esp=f78b6e20 ebp=f78b6e30 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na pe nc
cs=0008  ss=0010  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=0030  gs=0000             efl=00010246
ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+0xce:
ed878886 894804          mov     dword ptr [eax+4],ecx ds:0023:003a003e=????????
Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from ed878886 to 80540683

STACK_TEXT: 
f78b6dac ed878886 badb0d00 00000000 ed52b35c nt!KiTrap0E+0x233
f78b6e30 ed87d965 8a4eef58 8a4260e8 8a4eefb8 ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+0xce
f78b6e44 ed87f601 8a4eef58 fdfd0128 ed87f266 ipnat!NatDeleteTicket+0x2f
f78b6e88 804ffd88 ed887da0 00000000 df47447e ipnat!NatTimerRoutine+0x39b
f78b6fa4 804ffe9f 99893074 000000ab ffdff000 nt!KiTimerListExpire+0x122
f78b6fd0 80541b8d 80552da0 00000000 0047f961 nt!KiTimerExpiration+0xaf
f78b6ff4 8054185a ba43e9c8 00000000 00000000 nt!KiRetireDpcList+0x46
f78b6ff8 ba43e9c8 00000000 00000000 00000000 nt!KiDispatchInterrupt+0x2a
WARNING: Frame IP not in any known module. Following frames may be wrong.
f78b6ffc 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0xba43e9c8


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce
ed878886 894804          mov     dword ptr [eax+4],ecx

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  1

SYMBOL_NAME:  ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: ipnat

IMAGE_NAME:  ipnat.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  48025786

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0xD1_W_ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce

BUCKET_ID:  0xD1_W_ipnat!NatDereferenceAddressPoolEntry+ce

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Some excellent math jokes!

2008-07-04T21:49:00.006-04:00

Why did the chicken cross the Möbius strip? To get to the same side!

Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.

There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

92.734587% of all statistics claim a precision of results that is not justified by the method employed.

Let epsilon be less than 0.

He thinks he's really smooth, but he's only C^1.

One day, Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x squared plus 8x minus 9." Peter remarked: "Ah, another one of His parabolas."

A polar bear is just a rectangular bear after a coordinate transform.

Integral z-squared dz
from 1 to the cube root of 3
times the cosine
of three pi over 9
equals log of the cube root of 'e'.

Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them.

My love for you is a monotonic increasing function of time!

Telemarketing

2008-04-14T14:06:00.004-04:00

Well, I have an admission to make. I had to work for a little more than a month at a telemarketing position. While that was not the most enjoyable job in the world, I did get to learn all about the legal ins and outs of telemarketing. One of the most common questions people have about telemarketing is how to stop it. It is not really as difficult as it seems. There are four Do Not Call (DNC) lists that telemarketers abide by:

The Direct Marketing Association (costs $3.00, and also implicitly places you on a Do Not Mail list as well)
State DNC list (probably free)
National DNC list (free)
Each company usually has their own private DNC list as well; when you ask a telemarketer to be placed on the DNC list, you go on their private DNC list. Of course, that won't prevent you from getting calls from other companies.

However, there are two facts about DNC lists that people usually don't know:

They're only good for five years. For example, if you get on the National DNC list, you'll have to get back on it every five years.
The following telemarketers are not affected by the DNC lists:
1. Non-profit companies
2. Politicians
3. Surveys
4. Companies with whom you have an Established Business Relationship (EBR)

Now, have a guess at how your mortgage holder or bank can bypass the DNC lists. That's right, you have an EBR with them! But all is not lost - you can prevent calls from those companies, too... Every company that can subject you to telemarketing calls is required to send out a Privacy Act Notice twice a year. You know - that thing you just throw away. Well, if you were to actually respond to it stating that you don't want your phone number and address contacted by salespeople, then that company won't legally be able to telemarket you. So, to prevent telemarketing, just do two things:

Get on the National DNC list.
Respond to Privacy Act Notices.

Too much of a pain? Well, you can settle for just getting on the private DNC lists. Here's some tips on what to say to telemarketers:

Never say "not interested." This is the most common response, but they'll just call you back in a few weeks with a different offer.
Explicitly ask to be placed on the "Do Not Call" list. They are then required to read this paragraph confirming your name and address, apologizing, letting you know it may take up to 30 days to take effect, phone number of the company they're representing, etc. Let them finish.
Be nice! There have been situations where people were... ah, accidentally... placed on the Spanish callback list... and it's just coincidental that these people were absolute jerks...

Well, that's it for today! Merry Christmas! ;)

Continuing my tradition of yearly blogging...

2007-08-10T22:58:00.000-04:00

Ah, my mind is filled with beautiful music! "Her voice enters my heart... and makes me a better man." "Sweet hope and cold fear are battling in my heart."

I just got home from attending Bay View's presentation of La Cenerentola. What an incredible production! I'm not normally a huge fan of opera, but after reading about this one and seeing a preview in the park downtown, I decided to go.

All I can say is: wow.

What was truly incredible about this production is that they added so many little things to keep it interesting. The most noticeable is that when the valet dressed up as the king, he actually dressed up as The King. Yes, Elvis was large and in charge. This setup helped add a lot of spice throughout the opera. Whenever Dandini would sing a long solo piece, he would always keep it interesting by trying out a few of Elvis' moves. In an ordinary opera performance, he would just sing out his rather repetitive song; in this performance, he was constantly moving and - while I'm sure this detracted from his ability to sing to the utmost - it enhanced the audience's enjoyment considerably.

This pattern was repeated all througout the opera, especially during the repetitive, repetitive, repetitive songs. There was one additional fellow who kept showing up (dressed as a Blues Brother, I believe). He was credited as "supernumerary", which is just a fancy word for an extra, and I doubt if he's actually in the opera proper. Clorinda's solo near the end of the opera involved her and the unnamed extra sitting at a table, with a constant joke of not quite smoking and him drinking out of her glass.

Another memorable little item was when Alidoro was proclaiming Cenerentola's arrival at the ball; the other four characters in the room all ask him questions (over and over again). This was handled in a very creative fashion: as they were repeating their questions to him, they would step closer and closer until (just at the moment they all start singing together), they are all literally just inches from his face singing right at him, and his voice is breaking through the wall around him "No one knows..."

The stand-out character (and the one who made me want to see the opera) was Don Magnifico, whose acting was absolutely incredible in every way! Enough cannot be said about this one! He totaly stole the show.

Another running joke was the instant camera. When the sisters are introduced to the "prince" (actually Dandini dressed up as the king, er, The King), during that piece each of the sisters took a turn getting their picture taken with Dandini. Then, Don Magnifico had to have his moment in the spotlight and got his picture taken with him too. All of this action is done while they are all singing their parts without missing a beat. The camera returned at the end of the opera; at the close of the final song, Mr. Extra returned and took a picture of them all striking a pose.

The singing, of course, was excellent. Cenerentola had an awesome voice, with the sisters close behind. Some of the ensemble got a little off during the sextet in the second act, but c'mon, it's not like I could sing it any better! Almost flawless music throughout.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the opera tonight, though, what I took away was the intermission.

I stepped outside the Crooked Tree Arts Center for some fresh air and stood at the corner of Division and Mitchell. There, I saw a single star a little above the new stately library building. Polaris, beautifully situated. And I started thinking.

Some people exclude others, leaving them alone. Just like that star is alone. I am like that star.

But the star is not alone. There are other stars there waiting; I just cannot see them now. Millions of others will follow the first star into the night, where their light will shine more brightly because of the darkness.

It is only needful, for a time, that the star appear alone.

For one must lead.

A good quote about being a man of good character where women are concerned

2006-08-19T21:11:00.000-04:00

Found a good quote today. This is Professor Henry Higgins on why he is not a man of good character as far as women are concerned:

"I find that the moment I let any woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a ****** nuisance. And I find that the moment that I make friends with a woman, I become selfish and tyrannical. So here I am, a confirmed old bachelor, and likely to remain so."

If I Was A Terrorist

2005-07-22T12:19:00.000-04:00

The recent bombings in London have got me thinking: why do terrorists always wait for a while before claiming responsibility?

One possibility is that the groups claiming responsibility may not actually have done it. Consider this: there are several independent terrorist organizations. One of them bombs London, but doesn't want to be hunted down so they don't claim responsibility. Al Qaeda (actually their European division of Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade) is already in trouble with the free world, so they claim responsibility instead. Maybe there's some understood "grace period" among terrorist groups after which anyone can claim it. Really, how much more trouble could Al Qaeda get in? It makes sense they would take a fall, allowing a different terrorist group to remain unknown.

Or, it could just be incompetence. Maybe they're afraid of failure enough that they have to wait until the act of terrorism is complete before claiming responsibility. And if they're going to wait that long, they may as well put it off for a while longer, because there is a psychological edge to not knowing who your enemies are. Remember: the objective of terrorism is not killing people; it's causing terror. Purely psychological. Long term goals - e.g., controlling the foreign policy of another country - require a state of continuous terror for a large portion of the population, which is difficult to achieve. Terrorism attacks have to maximize the effect on the psyche, not maximize the damage done.

Still, I don't think waiting so long to claim responsibility is a good idea. There's a better way to achieve the objective of terror.

Let's assume I run a terrorist organization, and I wanted to cause terror in a particular country. I would not have a surprise bomb go off, and then let everyone wonder who was responsible for a few days before I announced "um, yeah, that was me... wait, let me check... ok, yup, it was me."

I would announce it ahead of time.

Not the specifics, of course. First, specifics would just help the police catch me. Secondly, the terror is increased if people are aware of impending danger but don't know where it is. For example, it would be bad to say that I will bomb a New York subway next week - too specific. I would say instead that I will set off a bomb in New York one week from that announcement. Let the populace of New York wonder where the bomb will be.

Of course, there are additional dangers when announcing terrorist attacks ahead of time. The entire city will be alert for danger on that day. However, it is just not feasable to be able to defend against such a general announcement. What are they going to do - shut down New York for a day? Even with all civil servants, including militias and other civilians, it would still not be possible to secure such a large target. This is due to a fundamental principle of security: it is much harder to defend than to attack. For good discussions of this principle, I refer you to Bruce Schneier of Counterpane Internet Security. He's liberal in his political views, but he understands security better than most people.

However, even though it is not possible (well, ok, not feasable) to secure a large city, there is still a greater chance of failure compared to a normal surprise terrorist operation (since they know it's coming). And that is something I could not allow. I would want my organization to become well-known in the psyche of the victim country; and the best way to do that is simple: keep my word. If I say a bomb will go off in a given city on such-and-such a date, it better happen. Or else next time people won't be terrorized. Even one failure would cause huge damage to the terror potential; it would be better to do it the way the current terrorists do rather than to fail even one time trying it this way. So, I would need to take extra precautions against failure.

The general idea would be to announce one bomb going off, and then dispatch about a half-dozen independent teams into the city on that day. "Independent" meaning that they have no contact with each other, or even have any idea how many other teams are in the city. Each team would be given a specific target and a unique time for detonation. However, I would only want one bomb to go off in that city. That way, no-one can ever be sure how many teams I had in there. So, if one team sets off their bomb, none of the other teams will. This requires some form of communication, which is not allowed since each team must be completely independent. So, they would also be given a small, portable TV. Any bomb going off in a large city will hit local news within two hours (more like ten minutes, but say a couple hours to be on the safe side). The procedure is simple: proceed to your target and watch TV. If you see a bomb on the news, return to base; otherwise, if your target time arrives and there is no bomb on the news, assume all previous teams have been captured and detonate yours. Simple.

Well, that's how I would organize attacks if I was a terrorist.

One final note: remember, the objective is to strike terror. Currently, it seems the terrorists only attack the day-to-day businessmen. Planes into office buildings; bombs on subway trains. If all you ever attack is subways, then that makes the defense a lot easier. I would branch out to a lot of other targets, while also keeping the classic subway/office building/restaraunt repertoire. I'm talking schools, supermarkets, day cares, nursing homes, churches, rock concerts and playgrounds. If you're going to play dirty, play dirty.

Vocal Master's Class Notes

2005-07-20T18:10:00.000-04:00

The last couple days I went to a vocal master's class at Bay View. I thought it would be way over my head, but I actually learned a lot that is applicable to church specials. So, here's my notes, in case anyone else finds these useful.

Day one (Monday):

Slide from one note to another or not depending on the composition and composer (e.g., never slide when doing Mozart).
If swallowing, or clearing your throat, or taking a breath, don't step out of character. Maintain your facial features.
Take your time. Especially during cadenzas.
Never take a breath without actively thinking about what you're feeling and what emotions you want to convey.
Have some parts with rhythm and some without.
Some songs are reserved; some are emotional, with hand gestures, etc. Let the words determine the feeling of a song.
Acting out the words of a song will give you the correct timing for parts with less rigid rhythm.
Identify the highest notes in the melody and change the timing and tone to make it sound difficult. Even if you can hit the note easily, make it sound like it's hard.
Analyze the melody to determine the most intense parts and important phrases.
Never sing something exactly the same way twice. Give it more emotion every time you repeat the same words and tune.
To make it sound hard, avoid taking "half-breaths"; re-do your breathing or hold notes out so that you must (or at least sound like you must) take full breaths.
Remember the meaning! Sudden changes in aspect are good (even required) if the words imply it.
Good method for high notes: tremulo piano underneath, without tempo.
Don't make your breathing the audience's problem; they shouldn't have to care when you breathe.

Day two (Tuesday):

Delay timing when hitting the highest note to make it sound harder.
You can be simple in your singing; just be theatrically simple (so people say "Wow, I've never heard anything so simple") instead of just drab.
Keep your runs clear; take more time if necessary
People remember endings; if piano or voice only carry the ending (not both), make it represent the piece and make it memorable.
Don't almost run out of breath.
You can slow down when crossing register adjustments.
Pay careful attention to the exact meaning of every word in your song.
In many songs, downbeats are the most important; everything after a downbeat is just leading to the next downbeat.
With a group hymn, you cannot take liberties; you have to keep the whole congregation together. With solos, you only have two egos (soloist and accompanist).
With vowel songs, lengthen your vowels and shorten your consonants. Vowel sounds are what singing is.
If the music shouldn't be harsh, don't make it sound harsh; legato should be able to hold a match in front of your mouth without blowing it out.
Sing with just vowel sounds (in rhythm, slower if necessary) to develop a good legato sound.
Focus on the vowels; don't land on the consonants. Don't shock your mind.
(The previous notes are for a vowel-based language; note that English is a consonant language).
Give your words shape; they're not just syllables.
During longer rests, do something. Resting just because the music says to rest comes across as artificial; take a long, slow breath instead.
For every style of music, you have to add yourself to what's on the page. Some composers tell you nothing regarding how to play and sing; others tell you everything.
Imagine emotions while you're singing. Each time you sing the same phrase, try it with different emotions. Don't start with the strongest emotion first.
Emphasize important recurring words (e.g., "Him").
On each note, know where the next note will be; see it in your head.
Give (or let) your voice out; don't force it out.
On cadenzas, let the syllable emphasis drive the tempo. i.e., longer notes for accented syllables.
Take enough time to make your words and notes perfectly clear (slender vowels).
If you have trouble with pushing (e.g., at end of the song and you're feeling fatigued), remind yourself at every breath to release that tension mentally.
There's a difference from singing to Someone and singing about Someone.
The accompanist must give the soloist confidence.
Whoever has the smallest notes (accompanist or soloist) leads.

Fun at Wal-Mart

2005-07-20T18:00:00.000-04:00

Well, the other day I stopped by the LBC teen car wash at Wal-Mart. After receiving my complimentary car wash, I was chatting a bit with Abigail when Pastor Biggs grabbed me and told me to hold a sign and shout at people. In a nice way.

I figured I didn't have much to lose, and it would be good practice for street preaching; and I was just headed into work anyway which could be done later. So, I decided to stay and yell at people. In a nice way. I ended up with a nice sunburn but had a great time!

Why? Because I got to yell at people. In a nice way. It was a lot of fun making up things to yell, because "free car wash" got rather repetitive. By the end of the day I had stolen quite a few ideas from standard TV commercials, and it seemed the more annoying I tried to be, the more people liked it... I mostly used various conflagurations of the following (spoken in an overbearing infomercial/car salesman style of voice):

Don't forget to get your free car wash as you exit Wal-Mart parking lot! (This is a good generic one)
(Like a cheap infomercial) How much would you expect to pay for this special offer? Seven dollars? Five dollars? Two dollars! No! It's absolutely free!
When I say "free", I mean one lump payment of nothing, or twelve easy installments of nothing!
(spoken to people in a van) Minivans are twice the price. Oh, wait! That's still free!
This is a limited time offer! Today only! If you come back tomorrow it will be too late!
Don't be the last one in the parking lot to get your car washed for free!
Nothing in life is free... except this car wash!
You can't find a deal this good on eBay!
Do you ever think to yourself "Boy, I sure need to wash my car, but I just don't seem to have the time." Well, let these crazy people do it for you for free!
I got my car washed for free today! Have you?
Why, if it was any cheaper, we'd be paying you!
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but there is a free car wash!
Remember: I'm not just a guy with a sign; I'm also a client! (This was supposed to be a takeoff of those hair loss remedy commercials, but I'm not sure if anyone got it)
(after someone drove by from the car wash) Another satisfied customer!

And, my personal favorite:

(falsetto) "Honey, you washed the car today!" (deep voice) "No, actually; I went to Wal-Mart and they had a free car wash!" (falsetto) "A free car wash! I'm so proud of you!" (announcer voice) Get your free car wash today!