tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60167052024-03-12T23:50:02.038-04:00PolySciFi BlogRandom musings on political science, science fiction, and anything else that strikes our fancy.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comBlogger1123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-84094710951953295912009-04-30T22:02:00.003-04:002009-04-30T22:06:15.277-04:00Maybe I don't understand child labor lawsThere was an interesting labor on a package <a href="http://www.crtwireless.com/">CRT</a> received from Nu Horizons yesterday (a Xilinx JTAG cable).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq9veWrTT9DI5PqrhZk6M_NXxTbqlKkxGKdmAP-cPJR6et7KDIDlwAjJPzaeyAlTVOikxvPqs9WgCRIS_jduOnELZc3FOtzcOOOb0qE25cwPPxO3QW-W4HPPeQ1CIJ8FQMG4cvg/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330670245418091810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq9veWrTT9DI5PqrhZk6M_NXxTbqlKkxGKdmAP-cPJR6et7KDIDlwAjJPzaeyAlTVOikxvPqs9WgCRIS_jduOnELZc3FOtzcOOOb0qE25cwPPxO3QW-W4HPPeQ1CIJ8FQMG4cvg/s320/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>If that's somehow not legible, it says, "Adult signature required for residential delivery only" That implied to me that adult signature is not required for delivery at an office (work). So it looks like kids aren't authorized to sign for packages at home, but they could at work. </p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-16589592675882160472009-03-15T22:40:00.002-04:002009-03-15T22:44:00.675-04:00Yahoo tourney pickemLeague: polyscifi (Group ID #100531)<br />PWD: polyscifi<br /><br />You know what to do. Taunting (of me) to ensue beginning Thursday.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-66232389645226298972009-03-13T08:08:00.003-04:002009-03-13T08:15:57.968-04:00House Construction and Blog IronyOne of the reasons I've been blogging less is I've been spending an hour or so every day out at the site where we're building a house. (The other is the business is still growing, but that's not important right now.)<br /><br />So for that very small number interested in what's keeping me away from blogging, I started a .... blog. It's called "<a href="http://pbj-house.blogspot.com/">Jody and Preethi Make a House</a>" and there's currently pics up spanning from initial lot clearing to the footers being poured (yesterday).<br /><br />There won't be any new posts to that site over the weekend as it's supposed to rain the entire weekend (and is actually snowing now) which will hinder construction.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-62658998957551568832009-02-20T09:24:00.004-05:002009-02-20T10:38:40.400-05:00Sports Stadiums and the Stimulus MultiplierI'm not a fan of demand-side stimulus efforts (in my best case scenario, you get inflation which might help with sticky prices / wages) so you can imagine my dislike for the stimulus bill, which seems to be best summarized as "throw a lot of money at pet Democrat projects and see if it helps the economy" and I've been looking for the best angle to convince my liberal friends that this is a *really* bad idea.<br /><br />So I was happy to see this <a href="http://www.cafehayek.com/hayek/2009/02/evidence-against-the-multiplier.html">connection from Russ Roberts</a> (both sets of facts I was well aware of, but I had not made the connection) as the first point is something that I think most liberals acknowledge so maybe the rest of the steps will follow.<br /><br />1) Spending on construction for the Olympics / sports stadiums are net money losers for a local economy. (The Knoxville World Fair of 1982 is a notable exception to this rule as it netted $64.00 to go along with its wigsphere). Sometimes they're justified as a luxury good for the city (like a park), but they're not certaintly not money makers.<br /><br />2) Further, the actual # of net jobs created by these construction projects has been shown to be 0. (see the <a href="http://www.cafehayek.com/hayek/2009/02/evidence-against-the-multiplier.html">cafe hayek post</a> for a summary or<a href="http://www.aier.org/ejw/archive/do-economists-reach-a-conclusion/doc_download/3626-ejw-200809"> this paper</a>). Once you grant that there's not a net positive economic impact from the government building a new stadium, that's pretty easy to see as the government is just shifting funds around (robbing Peter to pay Paul, as such) and that's what the empirical surveys have shown.<br /><br />3) So clearly, not all government spending has an associated multiplier that is greater than 1. Personally, I would expect that new spending with a multiplier > 1 to be the exception rather than the rule. Government funded research projects that transition to the private sector (ala the Internet and some drug research) and some infrastructure such as the interstate system (its multiplier is actually decreasing with time due to increasing maintenance costs) are the examples I can think of. But their payback is not immediate, i.e., doesn't satisfy the timeliness goal of a stimulus package.<br /><br />4) While some infrastructure has a positive RoI, clearly lots do not (such as the stadium, but see also the bridges to nowhere in Japan and almost in Alaska).<br /><br />5) With the default position that most govt spending will not have a multiplier effect > 1 (which generally follows the rule 90% of all new ideas are crap, though my personal assessment of the ratio for govt plans is higher), what's the likelihood that a hastily slapped together plan patched together from things that had not independently demonstrated their value enough to otherwise receive funding will have a multipler > 1?<br /><br /><strong>Random asides</strong>:<br />The Keynesian idea that government spending has a multiplier > 1 is motivated by the assumption that money flowing through the government has a greater velocity than money flowing the private sector (enough to offset the implicit inefficiency that comes from x spending y's money on something that y likely would not have bought). When people saved money in mattresses, this was true.<br /><br />But since people now save their money in banks which can and do loan out multiples of every dollar saved (fractional reserves) and government treasuries are 1-to-1 (1 dollar borrowed / spent comes from 1 dollar invested) the velocity argument actually cuts against government spending, and even more sharply when you consider the long appropriation cycles now used by the government (case in point see the stimulus bill allocations out beyond 2011).<br /><br />Further, if you buy the theory that the problem with the economy is insufficient credit availability, what will be the effect when the government soaks up $1 trillion in investment capital? Even if it's financed from overseas, that's still investment capital not invested elsewhere which decreases the (world wide) aggregate credit supply.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-36448807986221562032009-02-19T23:24:00.003-05:002009-02-19T23:34:13.942-05:00God Bless You, Elton JohnComing soon to a theater near you - perhaps the most awesomely bad movie ever made...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000187.html?categoryid=13&cs=1">Pride and Predator</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote><p>Elton John's Rocket Pictures hopes to make the first Jane Austen adaptation to which men will drag their girlfriends.<br /><br />Will Clark is set to direct "Pride and Predator," which veers from the traditional period costume drama when an alien crash lands and begins to butcher the mannered protags, who suddenly have more than marriage and inheritance to worry about.</p><p></p></blockquote>In what seems like related news to me, two iPhone app makers are in court arguing over who has the rights to the phrase "Pull my finger" to advertise their farting iPhone app. (<a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/02/pull-my-finger.html">link</a>)<br /><br />Also I hear that I may have to go to Chicago in June for some tea or some party or something. (I could tell you more, but I don't practice Santelli and I ain't got no crystal ball...)Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-65355878935701139982009-02-14T13:16:00.003-05:002009-02-14T13:46:34.880-05:00How things changeThose who knew me in undergrad as that guy who never came to class and played StarCraft all day (or Civ or WarCraft or one of several other games) might find <a href="http://wireless-at-vt.blogspot.com/2009/02/synergy.html">this post </a>surprising, but those who've interacted with me over the last several years (and /or seen the blogging rate drop off) won't be.<br /><br />Me, I think I'll have to appropriate "work-a-holic force-of-nature" to my sig.<br /><br />And for a little context to that post, on the day I met with Ashwin, I (in approximate order of completion):<br /><ul><li>finished up and delivered a 125 page report I had started Monday night (only about 40 pages were brand new as it drew heavily on intermediate reports though getting in all the required formatting was the most time-consuming part)</li><li>put together a 1 hour presentation (but cut down from a previous 2 hour presentation with about 15 minutes of new material)</li><li>reviewed that report and presentation with a sub for about 30 minutes (they didn't write any of it, but while they're a "sub", they're a much much bigger / experienced company and they were willing to give me feedback prior to submission based on an earlier draft).</li><li>had a 40 minute meeting with Ashwin to loosely scope out 3 different proposals, </li><li>had a telecon debrief for an hour with a project sponsor (and some subs)</li><li>met with my business partner for about 15 minutes</li><li>met with another guy at VT to discuss a different set of proposals and general interactions with a funding agency, </li><li>met with the PI on a project CRT is funding at VT to clear up some contracting paper work (more accurately VT is a sub to CRT on a project)</li><li>and got a quote from VTIP on officially licensing back some of my IP</li><li>then some other random phone calls while I was driving (e.g. setting up the schedule for a trip next week)</li></ul><p>Of course, other stuff was also done (like dropping in on Thason, driving for 3 hours and shopping some). But that day started at 5:00 AM and finished by 8:00 PM, which is a bit lax as I could've gotten some more stuff done (patents to file, papers to write / review) before I went to sleep at 11:00.</p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-51353698705133340412009-02-13T15:44:00.003-05:002009-02-13T15:47:46.636-05:00Wherein I ruin your weekend productivityBehold, <a href="http://www.casualcollective.com/games/DesktopTD">Desktop Tower Defense 1.9</a>. (0.4 better than 1.5, plus with sequential missions, multiplayer and stuff!)Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-20661912461167539492009-02-06T20:19:00.002-05:002009-02-06T20:27:37.557-05:00Tomorrow's News TodayI was in a Subway today, and its owner told me that starting Monday the original $5 footlong deal would resume (i.e., all subs, not just the subset that happens to normally be less than or just over $5).Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-32213136463883159942009-02-03T21:08:00.002-05:002009-02-03T21:15:36.737-05:00More plagiarismBut not of me this time.<br /><br />This time it's Indiana University that was plagiarized. By Southern Illinois University. Specifically, SIU plagiarized IU's ... plagiarism policy. (<a href="http://www.siude.com/siu_accused_of_copying_plagiarism_policy-1.1318397">read more</a>).Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-91005207090795853602009-02-01T13:50:00.004-05:002009-02-01T14:43:51.425-05:00What Jody Sees When He Listens to MusicPretty much my whole life I've gotten my jollies out of reinterpreting lyrics to songs to tell a radically different story which then gets vividly played out in my mind everytime I hear the song.<br /><br />For instance in 7th grade I used to go around and tell the other kids that "<a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com/yesterday-lyrics-beatles.html">Yesterday</a>" was actually Paul's lament about suddenly losing a testicle which drove away the woman he loved ("Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be..." "Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play...") though as Matt and Mike may be able to attest, I would also change "Oh, yesterday came suddenly" to "Oh, castration came suddenly" as I thought it added to the effect.<br /><br />So now whenever I hear Yesterday on the radio, I flash on a younger Paul McCartney lying in a hospital bed (now half the man) breaking down in tears while a stunning brunette walks out the door.<br /><br />To ruin more music for you, here's what I think about / see when I hear a few other songs.<br /><br /><strong><u>You're a Woman, Izer</u></strong><br />(<a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com/womanizer-lyrics-britney-spears.html">link</a>) Britney discovers her female friend nicknamed "Izer" on the dance floor and confronts her because Izer likes to dress up like a man, seduce women, and then spring the "surprise" on them back at Izer's place. Nonetheless, because of her latent bisexuality, Britney wonders if Izer and her could be a couple, but because of the world's homophobia, it could never be.<br /><br /><strong><u>Dolores O'Riordan's Stinky Coma Boyfriend</u></strong><br />(<a href="http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/cranberries/linger.html">link</a>) Dolores's boyfriend was in a near fatal car accident which left him blind and deaf, and completely paralyzed except for his anal sphincter and some sensation in his finger. She now communicates with her boyfriend via a form of Morse code where she tugs on his finger and he farts.<br /><br />Yesterday, however, Dolores came into his room to see him communicating with his ex - a fact that disturbs her so greatly she confronts him (as best as someone can be confronted via finger pulling, farting Morse code). He, however, is confused about who he should be with (the age-old current versus ex dilemma holds even for coma-boy), so he somewhat passive-aggressively tries to drive Dolores away by letting them "linger".<br /><br /><strong><u>The Chilli Peppers Come Out of the Closet</u></strong><br />(<a href="http://www.lyrics007.com/Red%20Hot%20Chili%20Peppers%20Lyrics/Other%20Side%20Lyrics.html">link</a>) Anthony Kiedis contemplates Flea's ultimatum that if they're going to continue to be together, Anthony is going to have to go beyond just backstage oral flings and move their relationship into the open and, ahem, "take it on the other side". More a bi-player than a gay homemaker, Anthony does not relish the envisioned side-splitting pain from anal or the potential lost female loves - the latter because he thinks that societal pressures will prevent him from effectively switching teams again. However, he does not want to give up Flea either. Confused, Anthony, repeatedly contemplates suicide.<br /><br />=======<br />Sure they may not all work perfectly, but I think they work better than the Dark Side of Oz, which I imagine a lot of you paid money to see. And with my shlock, the images indelibly burned into your brain came for free.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-17508604835536027732009-01-31T13:22:00.003-05:002009-01-31T13:35:17.552-05:00Your government form verbiage of the dayFrom W2 filing form for businesses provided online (<a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2.pdf">link</a>):<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><p>This form is provided for informational purposes only. Copy A appears in red, similar to the official IRS form. Do not file copy A with the SSA. The official printed version of this IRS form is scannable, but the online version of it, printed from this website, is not. A penalty of $50 per information return may be imposed for filing forms that cannot be scanned.</p><p>To order official IRS forms, call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or<br />Order Information Returns and Employer Returns Online, and we’ll mail you the<br />scannable forms and other products.</p></blockquote>Gee thanks. Wouldn't want to distribute forms in a way that minimizes costs, like just downloading them. And wouldn't want to create a situation that just begs for people to get fined by trying the obvious thing (like using the form provided online by the agency responsible for the forms).<br /><br />The way that is set up for getting them the required information is to fill out documents online, which after they're submitted can be downloaded and printed. And any transcription (such as from quickbooks to an online, multi-page form) has the chance for error, which is easier to catch when you can view the forms all at once, printed out. But (at least last year) you can't print them until they're submitted, and once submitted, corrections are quite hard to make.<br /><br />Fortunately, this weekend I'm buying payroll software for future . In theory, (I think) that shouldn't be necessary for a 2-3 person business, but I've gotten tired of the headaches so I've decided to start partaking of the government created market (tax software and professionals).Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-28469052352773386392009-01-29T23:48:00.002-05:002009-01-30T00:04:35.577-05:00Perhaps I fly too muchPreethi likes to brag that wherever she goes in Lynchburg, she knows someone. Right now I'm in the airport in San Diego where I've run into four people I know, only 1 of whom was at the event that brought me out to San Diego.<br /><br />Related note 1, For the second year in a row, I'll be traveling during the Super Bowl.<br /><br />Related note 2 (which is also related to Related note 1) [Gwar]We again need more minions.[/Gwar]. (CRT still has its <a href="http://polyscifi.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-minion.html">original minion,</a> but this trip has a very high probability of resulting in a need for at least 2-3 more minions) . So drop me a line if you want to work on some really cool stuff or just fetch me coffee, the latter of which is especially diabolical because I don't drink coffee.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-25075378956783104582009-01-18T17:57:00.004-05:002009-01-23T10:27:52.749-05:00New CRT logos (Update)I got a graphic artist to put together a more professional looking logo for CRT.<br /><br />Since the idea of the logo is to convey "professional, credible looking wireless company" to the public and since the blog's readership counts as the public, I thought I would try you guys out as a real-cheap focus group. (Read as, I'm not paying you guys, but I'll get the first round next time I'm out drinking with anyone who comments before Tuesday)<br /><br />Below, I've included copies of the 6 variations and the current design. Leave a comment saying which one you like and /or which elements you like and why.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1-c3tcZJb_EYB-tkex9BB1nX6OtoF6BeNajezpXjIo5t5J3cRmlNJFBJNhYQDqR2Ao9n4hXwFT3nrbWY8FqKGlwDA_WWsTgs-eIH2MzKSx8oS-ZCWOc3k4lvjxrxbaRj6XcA1A/s1600-h/CRT_logo_options.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292773400249136610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1-c3tcZJb_EYB-tkex9BB1nX6OtoF6BeNajezpXjIo5t5J3cRmlNJFBJNhYQDqR2Ao9n4hXwFT3nrbWY8FqKGlwDA_WWsTgs-eIH2MzKSx8oS-ZCWOc3k4lvjxrxbaRj6XcA1A/s320/CRT_logo_options.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><p><strong>Update</strong></p><p>Thanks everyone. Looks like I owe beer to quite a few people.</p><p>We went with the one in the bottom right (or (3,2) as Mike wrote) with the variation that we used the waves of the top right (sharper, more dynamic roll-off). Admittedly, that was what I had in mind before the little study (you guys and about 15 other people via email and in person). But I had intentionally mixed around the elements to see if people would come to the same conclusions. (Not everyone, but more than half, which seems real positive)</p><p>Since others gave their rationale, here's mine (as to why a new logo and why that one). First and foremost, I wanted something that looked "professional," which really means "like what everyone else does". Looking at various large, successful companies' logos, what I saw were logos that used the company name and/or acronym with minimal additional clutter. For example, <a href="http://www.walmart.com/">Walmart</a>, <a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/">McDonald's</a>, <a href="http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/home?currentBrandId=HI;jsessionid=55G1JM0HLXFFOCTGWA1CHPQKM0YBCIY4">Holiday Inn</a>, or closer in industry, <a href="http://www.cisco.com/">Cisco</a> or <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.google.com">Google</a> or even <a href="http://www.generaldynamics.com/">GD</a>. What I didn't want was something that tried to cram too much into the logo at once (like these <a href="http://www.i-a-i.com/">guys</a> - it's cute, but it's not "professional"). </p><p>That basically meant 1) a distinctive font, 2) a single, simple design element and 3) a dominant color or color pattern (that could also help brand). We also had to spell out Cognitive Radio Technologies because it's not the first acronym expansion that comes to mind for "CRT", though we need to have "CRT" in the logo because "Cognitive Radio Technologies" is just too long of a phrase.</p><p>I had decided that the current wave (or more accurately, the compressed fade formed from a misshapen N) was the wrong way to go because outside of folks involved in wireless circles, no one really knew what that curve was on the original logo (and even in the right circles, not a lot of them). However, lots of people apparently have become accustomed to associating symbolic radio waves propagating from an antenna with "wireless" and in fact, when I showed this logo around, no one asked, "what's that supposed to be?" And sorta like the Cisco logo, it can be taken in several complementary ways (e.g., the Cisco logo is both a stylized FFT and a stylized representation of the Golden Gate bridge which combines "technical" with their SF location). Likewise, our little design element (in theory) conveys that we're a wireless company, but also looks like a repeated C (sorta like the Golden Arches is an M) and with the blue color, it kinda looks like ripples (making waves, making a splash...). </p><p>So simple, distinct, clean and most of all, professional.</p><p>So was it the most fun logo that we played with? Nope. (We pre-screened a lot.) But hopefully, by adopting elements of the "big boy" logos, it looks like the logo of a company that signs million dollar contracts. (No, we've not done that. Low 6 figures, yes. But it never hurts to put things in place early.)</p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-89713501473338862282009-01-16T18:33:00.002-05:002009-01-16T18:39:09.774-05:00A Poll QuestionI have not insignificant self-employment taxes to pay on the money left over at the end-of-the year in CRT. The fun of a small LLC is if you want to carry over money across calendar years to pay salaries (and say, you made all of your money right at the end), you have to pay personal taxes on it. I would very, very much prefer to use the money to float employees between contracts.<br /><br />So, should I pull a Geithner?<br /><br />If it influences your response, I've paid taxes on everything that came home as it came home.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-7024829566607747172009-01-14T22:52:00.001-05:002009-01-14T22:54:18.940-05:00Ricardo Montalban is DeadMore information <a href="http://www.khaaan.com/">here</a>.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-54453280968506345562009-01-12T13:35:00.003-05:002009-01-12T13:38:10.940-05:00An argument for the BCS?Florida versus Oklahoma compared to Arizona versus Baltimore.<br /><br />The latter may not happen, but at this point, who would be surprised?<br /><br />And how much better would you have felt about a NYG (or CAR) versus TN (or PIT) Superbowl? (parenthetical allowances for computer / voter variation)Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-67135946626901814012009-01-07T21:15:00.002-05:002009-01-07T21:42:30.393-05:00Plagiarizing Whippersnappers2 days. 2 plagiarizers.<br /><br />1) Yesterday, a coauthor of a previous paper and now a conference organizer was reviewing a paper for said conference when he noted that about half of a paper was ripped off from one of our papers. Turns out, the other half was taken from another one of mine. For bonus fun, a third coauthor on our paper (twas a gigantic cross-layer survey paper) also noted that he had in the last two months strenuously rejected the paper for plagiarism (hadn't told us though).<br /><br />We only ended up informing the conference chairs. My normal M.O. (sadly, this has happened enough to have an M.O.) is to email the adviser. My next step, which I've never had to take, would be to the department chair.<br /><br />2) Some time ago (about 2 months) this random chick emailed asking if I would be willing to post an article of hers on the <a href="http://www.crtwireless.com/blog">CRT blog</a> in exchange for linking back to her site with a byline. She had no background in cognitive radio and I assumed it was some sort of SEO trick. Nonetheless, I told her if she wrote an interesting article, I would be happy to post it with her byline. Today, she sent me her article. It ripped off virtually word-for-word a fairly well-known magazine article on the topic.<br /><br />She got a nastygram rather than a post.<br /><br />Kids these days.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-20142850784385679502009-01-05T19:11:00.003-05:002009-01-05T19:29:21.091-05:00My minionI have a minion starting tomorrow. You might think, Jody really means "employee", and you may be right, but in my mind it's going to play out more like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcp0S4-VBg_ido9il1f6Xelih2K4r5phvBlTf2YipJhbL8gcNxtsIvs70ubTWYA-dfbHCG0-nSj86-XDzG0-eTfhM3SivpHn2u_etIKHALh1BPuzss3xjkeJLOSEhc243FFgCVHA/s1600-h/Franken_radio.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287969951557441298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcp0S4-VBg_ido9il1f6Xelih2K4r5phvBlTf2YipJhbL8gcNxtsIvs70ubTWYA-dfbHCG0-nSj86-XDzG0-eTfhM3SivpHn2u_etIKHALh1BPuzss3xjkeJLOSEhc243FFgCVHA/s320/Franken_radio.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a> Jody and his minion work in the lab to create "Frankenradio"</p><p align="left">I might even have another minion in the near future. Though probably not if they ever see this post. Unless they're down with immanetizing the radioschaton. Then game on man.</p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-33283292392979217282008-12-10T09:29:00.003-05:002008-12-10T13:13:31.246-05:00Bad instincts for Obama (Update)Assuming everyone knows the Blago details, here's my two cents:<br /><br />1) It looks like Obama is squeaky clean on the corruption (if Blago is taped cursing you for not playing ball, it's pretty likely you didn't play ball). If there's a failure to report, that'll blow over.<br /><br />2) What'll be a bad long term narrative (besides the associations, but everyone knew he had atrocious associations before he got elected) is his proclivity for unnecessary lies when there's the potential he'll look bad.<br /><br />Case in point his assertion that he's had no contact with Blago since resigning. That's just BS (1, see Axelrod and 2, it doesn't seem plausible as he had proposed a replacement) and it's unneccessary BS since he didn't do anything wrong in this case.<br /><br />Since he's lied badly when unbecoming things have come to light (Wright, Ayers, NAFTA / Goolsbee), I think it's reflexive for him.<br /><br />It's not that Obama lies. All politicians lie. A good politican gives believable lies that aren't contradicted in a recorded medium. And since I don't think he's used to the scrutiny he gets now, I don't think he takes adequate care with his lies (when to and how to), so I think this is going to be a continuing problem for Obama.<br /><br /><strong>Update</strong><br />Example of how dumb <a href="http://www.connecttristates.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=217582">the lie is</a>:<br /><blockquote>Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled.<br /><br />That's one of Obama's first priorities today.<br /><br />He's meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it.<br /></blockquote>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-35840552293004375932008-12-09T17:39:00.003-05:002008-12-09T18:28:38.372-05:00CRT doing wellWe're likely winning another major contract or two (just started negotiations for one and were told last week that another has been awarded, but we're subs on that to some folks I don't know well so I'm taking that with a grain of salt for the moment).<br /><br />This means I now have more work than I can handle on my own.<br /><br />So if you're a US citizen (a hint on the contract vehicles), think you're a kick ass engineer / programmer, and have interest in working for the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cognitive+radio&aq=f&oq=">leading research company in cognitive radio</a>, drop me a line.<br /><br /><strong>Update</strong><br />And just got another email that another proposal is likely going forward (completely unrelated other than most everything we do cognitive radio). However, it's an order-of-magnitude smaller as we're small-time subs on it. Would be a good night to celebrate, if I didn't have to stay up all night to finish up a deliverable for a customer.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-25048286427410820742008-12-08T13:13:00.002-05:002008-12-08T13:39:30.501-05:00An early New Year's ResolutionIf the Big 3 get bailed out, I won't be buying another car from them (new or used).<br /><br />To date, I've driven a Chevy (Lumina) and a Ford (Escort) and I previously had the intention of continuing to drive "American" cars (and will sometimes privately tout the quality of Fords over the last 10 years) and will likely buy a new car next year. This means that the resolution nominally has some teeth.<br /><br />Why do this?<br /><br />Besides the fact that the bailout (and all of the bailouts) pisses me off<sup>1</sup>, I figure the best way to prevent this from occuring again in the future is to hasten their demise and the only tool available to me is to not buy anything else from them.<br /><br />A consistency check of sorts - I also do not bank with any of the bailed out banks, as I do all of my banking via local banks. However, this move preceded the bail out.<br /><br />1. Besides the fact that it's a straight up wealth tranfer from productive uses to non-productive uses, this is a textbook <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Business_Cycle_Theory">Austrian recession</a> (popping of speculative bubbles created by an extended periods of too easy credit) and treating it like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics#Excessive_saving">Keynesian recession</a> (money irrationally sitting on the sidelines) is going to make things worse.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-90384902120466412542008-11-30T16:47:00.004-05:002008-11-30T16:59:03.312-05:00Rocky Top is little different from filtered noise?After a detailed study, I have revealed what many have suspected for years - that Rocky Top is little different from noise. See the figure below for the damning proof.<br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_7BBqJi1Qqj8ZlICLRQXpQUZV7arCmfAHTf6XAz6fRzX381bsNDIFSqMGevUkqSabqY2wO32J8aVOWqxoPFmAON2fUER2o5B2hOnhGKxzjzi0X36UNo1LUOpUuYlynfwIcgEJA/s1600-h/rocky_top_is_noise.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274571348758999026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 252px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_7BBqJi1Qqj8ZlICLRQXpQUZV7arCmfAHTf6XAz6fRzX381bsNDIFSqMGevUkqSabqY2wO32J8aVOWqxoPFmAON2fUER2o5B2hOnhGKxzjzi0X36UNo1LUOpUuYlynfwIcgEJA/s320/rocky_top_is_noise.bmp" border="0" /></a><br />Background: I needed to create a randomly generated "audio" source for a project. Spectrally, audio can be loosely approximated as filtered white noise (well actually, the PSD of just about any signal can be be approximated as filtered white noise, though the filter complexity changes). </p><p>As I was putting together this routine during the UT - UK game last night, I decided to use a wav of rockytop to verify my filter design (a first order IIR with the output resampled from 8 kHz to 30 kHz). And then I was struck by how else the graph could be taken and decided to poke a little fun at myself.</p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-2790701858987205092008-11-22T14:32:00.006-05:002008-11-22T15:28:31.236-05:00Tech still controls its own destiny?!?With the Miami loss causing another bunching atop the Coastal (read as everyone but Duke is tied), I decided to check on the <a href="http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082105aad.html">tiebreaker</a>.<br /><br />Excerpting the relevant parts:<br /><br /><blockquote><p><strong><u>Two-Team Tie</u></strong></p><p>1. Head-to-head competition between the two tied teams<br />2. Records of the tied teams within the division.<br /><br /><strong><u>Three (or More) Team Tie</u></strong><br />(Once tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tiebreaker format is<br />used)<br />1. Combined head-to-head record among the tied teams<br />2. Records of the tied teams within the division.<br /></p></blockquote><br />Here's the current ACC records of the 5 (!?) currently tied teams:<br /><br /><blockquote>Georgia Tech 5-3<br />Miami 4-3<br />North Carolina 3-3<br />Virginia Tech 3-3<br />Virginia 3-3</blockquote>Georgia Tech is already done with ACC play, so they're assured a least a tie for first. However, they lost to VT head to head, so in a 2-team tie, VT wins.<br /><br />Now here's the records within the division<br /><br /><blockquote><p>Virginia Tech 3-1 (L=Miami)<br />Miami 3-2 (L = UNC, GT)<br />North Carolina 3-2 (L = VT, UVA)<br />Virginia 3-2 (L=Duke, Miami)<br />Georgia Tech 3-3 (L = VT, UVA, UNC)<br /></p></blockquote><br />So currently, if VT wins out (beating Duke and UVA for 5-1 in division), VT will have the best in-division record and will win the 2nd multi-team tie-breaker outright and holds the head-to-head if only GT and VT end up with 2 losses. But if VT loses, it's all over as GT is already done.<br /><br />And if VT wins out, they could play MD, FSU, BC, or WF depending on how their last two games play out.<br /><br />Parity / Mediocrity - it's FANtastic.<br /><br /><strong>Update</strong><br />UVA and UNC just lost. So it's now a 3-way circle of death between Miami, GT, and VT.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-19457963427836904032008-11-21T18:16:00.004-05:002008-11-23T10:26:21.479-05:00The Bismarck-Palin Connection (Updated)In the 19th century, Bismarck famously quipped: "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."<br /><br />For the 21st century, I think Palin would revise this to: "Laws are like Thanksgiving turkey, it is better not to televise them being made. And it's even better to not televise a discussion of law making while also 'making' a turkey."<br /><br />See <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-kjM1asH-8">here</a> for context.<br /><br />In related news:<br /><br /><ul><li>With Holder apparently as AG, it looks like an even better year to give shotguns for Christmas (fun for Dave). I don't think they make shotgun-sized stockings though. </li><li>And likely a shotgun for us as well, though that's mostly due to the need to potentially kill varmits (and / or bear) on the land we'll be building. Construction starts right after Thanksgiving.</li><li>I'm thinking of posting pictures of the process throughout. If you're curious, the plans are online <a href="http://www.frankbetz.com/homeplans/plan_info.html?pn=4046">here</a>. We're doing Plan C.</li></ul><p><strong>Update</strong></p><p>My God! Have the politicians no shame? First Palin gives an interview while another man drains the blood from turkeys and now it turns out that Obama, blessed be his name, gave an interview in which he tore the flesh off the bone of another bird. With his own teeth, no less! </p><p>See <a href="http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2008/09/chicken_thief.html">here for the damning evidence</a>.</p><p>While I'm thinking about it, does anyone else have a craving for turkey and chicken wings, or is it just me?</p>Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016705.post-36756511248679562912008-11-04T21:58:00.003-05:002008-11-05T19:32:07.405-05:00Obama winsWith Ohio called, it looks like my basic model was right (e.g., VA is still not called), but my model still only gave McCain a 30% chance of a win.<br /><br />That's all moot to the bet though (which is why I got 4-1 odds), so I'll be paying off Thason next time I'm in Blacksburg. [Do you want cash or a nice dinner?]<br /><br />In related news, Dave called me up and said he wants a shotgun for Christmas.<br /><br /><strong>Update</strong><br />Noted in the comments but promoted up, as more results have come in my "basic model" looks less and less right. Outright wrong really. In fact the based on this <a href="http://www.jasonpye.com/blog/2008/11/electoral_outlook_mccain_back.html">RCP map</a>, it looks like the aggregated poll model was right.Jodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16470033066493529625noreply@blogger.com