One of the right questions.

A few weeks ago, I proposed that the question of big government vs. little government was the wrong question to ask about any aspect of government.  What's the right question?  I think there are several.  One is SMART government vs. STUPID government. 

I will address an area that I have a little expertise in, and that's battered women.  Experts estimate that about 25% of American women will be abused at some time in their lives.  From my experience, I think that estimate is way too low.  It's an epidemic.  When children are raised in that kind of environment, it teaches that violence is the way to get what you want, and perpetrates the problem to the next generation.  It keeps the jails full and the emergency rooms too busy. 

Battered women's shelters are terribly underfunded, which is nothing but stupid.  A small additional investment in more shelters will save much, much more money in the future.  Putting people in jail is very expensive.  But most states are too damn short sighted to act on these facts.  Even if we care nothing for the lives of the women, the best way to get the kids out is to get Mom out.  If the kids are out, the boys won't learn that hitting is the way to go, and the girls won't learn that love = pain. The next generation will have less of this, and hopefully, this will start a downward trend.  I have not read any stats on this, but I believe it will reduce illegal drug use, too, as people use drugs to escape a bad reality and an inner pain.  But, the money savings will take several years to materialize, and most state legislators can't see beyond the end of their nose. 

Easy Chili Recipie

This chili recipie is very easy, flavorful without being hot. 

1 package ground beef - 1 to 2 pounds
1 bag frozen sliced bell peppers (various colors)
1/2 to 1 chopped onion (optional)
1 large can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cans beans (black, kidney, or chili)
Salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 can or bottle of beer (optional.  Drink the other half while you are cooking.)

In a large skillet, crumble the ground beef, and add the bell peppers and onions.  Stir and cook. When the beef is brown, put it all in a large pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a slow simmer and cook for at least an hour, or longer if you can. You can add your favorite hot sauce if you like it hotter.

The wrong question.

Years ago, I learned about a tactic that salesmen sometimes use to close a sale.  Instead of asking "Do you want to buy X", or something similar, they ask "Do you want a red one or a blue one?"  Either answers implies a "yes", and the customer wonders later just when he/she actually said "yes." 

There has been a huge debate in this country ever since I can remember about big government vs. little government.  To me, this is like asking if we want a red one or a blue one.  It's the wrong question. 

Conservatives believe that little government is, in general, better than big.  This is a rather sweeping generalization.  I very much dislike generalizations, even if they are true, because they can blind us to the details and the exceptions. 

Every issue or item must be analysed separately and independently.  We must ask first - what do we want to happen?  Then we look to see what works.  Period.  If it's big government, little government, local government, federal government, private industry, or some combination, we should stick to what works. 

Let's look at function of the federal government that is huge, spends lots of money, and yet even conservatives (or especially conservatives) agree is in general, money well spent.  That's the military.  Yes, it's a function of the federal government.  Our military is the best in the world.  Recently, there have been scandles about private contractors working for the military and making complete asses of themselves.  In this case, was private industry better than the governement employees (soldiers)?  No way!  The private contractors were much more expensive and did a much worse job.  Blanket statements about how private industry is better than government just don't apply here.

So, what's the right question?  More later.

JOBS!

Just a quick note:  There are two major companies that I know of that are screaming for CS/IT people to hire, including college students for internships.  They are the Fargo, ND Microsoft office, and Hormel Foods in Minnesota.  Pass the word. 

Why can't we be friends?

Since I moved to this new community and new job, I have been very, very busy;  however, my new job is much less stressful than my old one, in spite of the long hours.  Therefore, in my time away from work, I have not been obsessing about work problems, and so I have had a little space to indulge in contemplation of current events, including my own political views. (The last 2 and a half years have been quite political!) In rethinking various issues, I have discovered that my political views are much more complex than I had previously thought.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am part libertarian and part liberal, and part my own unique views.  My father was a Goldwater conservative, and raised me to be the same, but events have conspired to cause me to re-think lots of things. 

Today, I want to start a series of entries that slowly, carefully, and logically, explore ideas and issues, in the spirit of calm and rational discourse, which seems to be sorely lacking in our political climate.  I believe that the current climate of extreme division, rudeness, lack of compromise, and animosity is doing FAR more damage to this country than any idea or policy by any political party.  This little town is friendly and polite, but a few weeks ago a total stranger came up to me in front of the post office and started calling me names because he took issue with a bumper sticker on my car.  That's just wrong.  The bumper sticker was poking fun at the "trickle down economics" phrase that was so popular in the 80's.  It was, I thought, more funny than anything else.  (It shows an elephant taking a leak.)  But this guy was just out of control.  I would never accost a total stranger (or anyone else) because of a bumper sticker. What's wrong with people? 

John McCain is a fine American, and a true gentleman, who has done far more for his conservative cause by just being who he is than any angry screaming people every could, including that jackass at the post office.  Let's all imitate his manners.

News about Microsoft's Bing

The local Microsoft office has been hosting live events via their live meeting software, broadcast to nearly every college in a 3 state area, including this one.  Today, the presentations were about Bing, (the search engine that is Microsoft's answer to Google) about what they do, what kind of people they want to hire, etc.  Just casually in passing, a couple of presenters talked about the "partnership" with Facebook, and how they were able to exploit that in deciphering the intent of a person's query.  Deciphering intent can be challenging.  For instance, if a person searches for "jaguar", do they mean the animal, the car, or the sports team? 

I was astonished when they described how they used Facebook, so during the question and answer session, I asked them to describe the interface more fully.  Yes, I had heard them correctly.  Essentially, if you log into Bing, and if you also have a Facebook account, they will search your interests on Facebook, and go out to your Facebook friends, and search their interests, also, to better determine your search intent. 

Does anyone besides me find this a little spooky?

The strange tale of Ralph the Eskimo.

This is a true story about my friend Ralph. 
Years ago, Ralph was a graduate student in a college in the southern part of the U.S.  He had to fill out an enrollment form that included those questions that are supposed to be for statistical purposes only, including one for "race or ethnic origin."  One of the options to check was Eskimo.  Ralph assumed that few people in that state would be checking Eskimo, so he did, just so their data would be more interesting. 

Then something happened that is not supposed to happen.  Someone used that data for other than "statistical purposes only."  Someone noticed that Ralph was a non-Eskimo kind of name, and that Ralph's surname was very German, and called him about his Eskimo indication.  (Please note:  the only way to ensure that computerized data is not misused is for it to not exist.) 

So what was Ralph to do?  I must give him credit for his ability to think on his feet.  He told the caller that his father was from Germany, and emigrated to Alaska to look for work, where he met and married an Eskimo girl.  He also said he spent his youth with his mother and her people, and so identified with his Eskimo heritage much more than his German heritage, although he had his father's name.  The caller was satisfied, and hung up. 

Of course, this tale was completely fabricated.  Ralph's family was all from Texas, and had never even visited either Alaska or Germany.  But it makes a great story.