Damn it. I hate taint.

Source: The Week

I was always angry that steroids tainted the competition of Major League Baseball to some unknown degree (I would definitely be less angry if the level of impact were known exactly), but it was always indirect for me--no important Red Sox player had ever been implicated (I say important because we did have the occasional visiting scumbag like José Canseco). Now steroids have tainted one of my favorite memories to some unknown degree as well, and there is nothing ever to be done about it. For the sake of both the quality of baseball and your (Katie and Chris, the only non-Boston baseball fans I know of who read this blog) own enjoyment of the experience, I hope that by the time the Cubs and the Cardinals next win there is a meaningful drug testing system in place.

Is this true?

A post over at The Atlantic says that the New York Times has not yet used the word torture when referring to any tactics used during the Bush 43 administration. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, what other major publications have avoided that word? Have any of them publicly stated why they do not use that word, or what, for them, would constitute torture?

One more thing: the post further says that the Times did use the word torture, but only in the obituary of an American who was tortured (using the same techniques as the Bush administration approved) while a POW in Manchuria during the Korean War.

A fascinating look at some banks.

Update: The link to the WSJ graphic is now included. Sorry about that.

The Wall Street Journal has posted a great "interactive graphic" that compares the 19 stress-tested banks on a number of criteria including new capital needed, tier 1 common capital ratio, and amount of TARP funding received.

A related aside: I love complex graphics along these lines and don't think that the value of such graphics can be overstated when one considers the graphics' ability to convey different depths of information for those of different intelligence and interest levels. Nate Silver does a great job with his graphics, for example "A Starry-Eyed Look at the 2012 Republican Field." The most cursory glance tells you nothing more than which candidates are present and which candidates might be similar to one another simply because there is little distance between them (basically the level of focus shown by someone who just wants to pretend to be smart around others, e.g. "I'd say Huckabee, Romney, Jindal, and Palin are the favorites."). The next level of information gets into actually looking at those axes and understanding what they imply. The third level takes into account the size of each bubble: the larger the bubble the greater the public support for that candidate. Finally, one can, as Nate suggests, consider the implications of the political 'gravity' exerted by each of these 'planets.' That is, one can imagine that when one politician gains support (that is, his planet grows) it must be pulling that support from elsewhere (that is, exerting a political gravity on the supporters of the other planets, pulling them away).

Honestly, this post did begin as a quick post only focused on that banks graphic; it spiraled out of my control once I started talking about the always riveting topic of graphics! I hope it all made sense.

The two worst weddings ever.

For the longest time I though that the Versailles wedding hall disaster (see video above) was probably about the worst way a wedding could end: 23 dead, 380 injured, one building destroyed.

As it turns out I really did not think hard enough about other awful ways a wedding might end. Sure, there are the obvious terrible outcomes like a no show on the part of the bride or groom, or the denouncement of the marriage by family members, or maybe a heart attack death caused by excitement. Then there is the unexpected: the wedding that re-ignites a decades-old blood feud and leads to an assault on the wedding by men armed with grenades and automatic weapons.

Known as the Mardin wedding party attack, this occurred in Turkey three days ago and led to the deaths of 44. "[A] combination of tribalism, love for guns, and tradition gone awfully wrong," the attack left the faces of the victims unrecognizable and killed six children. According to the AP (via Yahoo! News), "Two girls survived after the bodies of slain friends fell on top of them during the onslaught."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think this was way under-reported, and I have no idea why. I only found it because of Wikipedia's news section.

Anyone know of any weddings that ended in ways worse than this?

Crows may knock the great apes down a peg.

As some of you may know, it was shown recently that magpies are self-aware (this was done using the mirror test). This put the bird amongst the small group of animals that fall into this category: "great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, humans), bottlenose dolphins, Orcas, elephants, and European Magpies" (stolen from Wikipedia).

Now crows, a relative of magpies in the corvids family ("a group that includes crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays and magpies" (BBC)), are making a run for the title of smartest animal around. Check out this article by the BBC that discusses tool use and other evidence of meaningful thought within New Caladonian crow communities. If you look at nothing else, check out the first video, in which a crow picks up a straight length of wire, bends it to create a hook on one end, and then uses this newly created tool to reach a bucket of treats at the bottom of a small shaft.

And if you are still interested in finding out more about crows check out this TED talk on the subject of useful things we may be able to train crows to do.

Interracial Marriage ... Gay Marriage ...

... what's next? Polyamorous marriage.
(I'm not sure if I used the right word)

Pakistan, anyone?

So, have I been watching too much right-wing TV, or do I have my story straight when I say that the Taliban's efforts to capture Pakistan (read: a country with a nuclear arsenal) have resulted in them so far capturing a city as close as 70 miles to its capital?

(Here's a really boring article)

Odd Day!

I can't sleep, so why not share trivia with the blog!

Today (05-07-09) is one of only six days this century in which the date (written in the form I used) is made up of three consecutive odd numbers! Odd Day even has its own website!

On a related note, check out square root day over at Wikipedia. We have to wait until April 4, 2016 for the next one of those (both the month and the day are the square roots of the last two digits of the year).

And the final two that I know of: Mole day and Pi day.

Way Back Wednesday

For reasons unbeknownst to be, I've decided today would be a good day for posting a few videos from that "oldies but goodies" category. Enjoy, I guess.

LMIRL.

Check out this hilariously out of touch list of "20 Internet Acronyms All Parents Should Know." One of the acronyms that seems least likely to be used in real life is above-I don't want to ruin the hilarious surprise of what this absurd acronym stands for. The expanded phrase (highlight it to see it) can be seen here: "Let's meet in real life."

Seriously, how many kids might actual use NIFOC ("Nude in front of computer") or TD2M ("Talk dirty to me")? I'd say the over/under line is 2.

Heh - Justice Gore

This article takes a fun little look, knowing that there's no chance, at Al Gore as a Supreme Court Justice ... not really notable except for the fun thought of Scalia et al sitting on a bench with the "loser" of Bush v. Gore.

Honorary Charlie Sheen award.

Some of us had quite a good laugh way back when we discussed Charlie Sheen's amazing life. Well, I would like to doff my hat to a newly recognized member of the Charlie-Sheen-founded "Surprisingly Popular Macho Assholes" club: Silvio Berlusconi!

Although he is known for his ridiculous lifestyle (ranging from plastic surgery to the appointment of models to important government positions), only this week did Berlusconi truly take his act to the top. After his wife publicly threatened divorce, Berlusconi demanded a public apology! In fact, he went so far as to say, "Veronica will have to publicly apologize to me. And I don't know if that will be enough." Well done, asshole.

A Jane Harman Update.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Your Government Not at Work - Jane Harman Scandal
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

Last week The Daily show aired a hilarious summary (see the above video) of a scandal involving Rep. Jane Harman (D.- California) in the segment "Your Government Not at Work." The simplified version goes like this: Harman, a supporter of the recent semi-legal wiretapping, was caught by that very same wire-tapping program as she told Israeli lobbyists that she would pressure the Justice Department to lessen the espionage charges faced by a number of Israelis if the lobbyists would in turn pressure Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman to better committees.

Though Harman denies that she actually lobbied for this result, it looks as if Harman's end of the bargain has been completed: charges have been dropped against the Israelis who may or may not have been acting a bit too liberally with state secrets. While it's clear that Harman does not have the pull to achieve this result (somehow I doubt any Representative could kill a Justice Department investigation single-handed), it is nonetheless a very entertaining addition to "Your Government Not at Work."

Jeb Bush will never be president

You almost have to feel sorry for the guy; he is, after all the less incompetent of the two famous Bush brothers, but the name has tarnished his political aspirations forever.

Well, now none of that matters. To be a Republican President you have to be a Republican nominee for president, meaning you have to win a Republican primary.

And if you say it's time to leave Reagan behind, you will never win a Republican primary.

There's no real reason for this post...

...I just wanted to point out that Bernie Madoff's son, Andrew (bottom), looks a lot like Bob Odenkirk.


(If you care about why a photo of Andrew Madoff was in the news (you don't, trust me), read here).

Jon?

I know I don't agree with all my friends on this issue (in fact, I may not agree with anyone more than Cliff May) but agree or disagree, is this not Jon Stewart at his douchiest? All the yelling and interrupting ... (besides being wrong, not to mention his comments on Truman, for which he apologized)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 1
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 3
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

A copycat science Friday

Thank you, Chris, for giving me an excuse to get rid of some of the tabs I have had open for the last week. Here are some of the most interesting science articles (and one video) that I have found recently. Though each is summarized, I do recommend you check out the articles because in some cases I have had to drastically simplify, or as in the case of the camera and the video, completely omit a meaningful explanation of the achievement.

Lip-reading computer: Scientists at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (UK) have developed a lip-reading computer that can automatically transcribe and translate silent videos of people speaking in a number of languages. One potentially important use for this computer is as an aide to police investigating crimes caught on silent CCTV cameras.
Quantum computers (and hackers!): Quantum computers and encryption are very slowly coming into use in the real world (the results of the State of Geneva election were secured using a quantum system), and (academic) hackers are doing a pretty damn good job keeping pace.
The world’s fastest camera: “[The] camera snaps images less than a half a billionth of a second long, capturing over six million of them in a second continuously.” Enough said.
Wolfram Alpha: Unfortunately this is not a person’s name (the developer’s name is Stephen Wolfram), but rather a web tool designed to answer questions that are asked in modern English. In Wolfram’s words, "Like interacting with an expert, it will understand what you're talking about, do the computation, and then present you with the results.”
”Anatomy of a crash”: In its efforts to improve the safety of the Ford Falcon, Ford engineers decided that to make the (economically, not absolutely) safest possible car they needed to first research crashes in more detail. Their results show, in milliseconds, the general progression of a car crash. Scroll to the bottom for the breakdown.
Dr. Quantum explains the double-slit experiment: This video is a great introduction to the basis of quantum theory, and goes into great detail explaining this experiment, which I can't even begin to summarize here.

Racecar-Driving Swedish Anti-Terrorist-Unit Busted!

[Credit for this story goes to my younger brother, Leland.] I have not finished this whole story, but it starts with the above well-known wreck of a Ferarri Enzo on the Pacific Coast Highway (check out the Wrecked Exotics page dedicated to this crash) and (so far) involves:

• Gizmondo, a failure of a videogame company;
• A bus company police force calling itself the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority and worked on counter-terrorism;
• Illegal gun purchases;
• Illegal car importantion;
• A mystery man named Dietrich;
  
• etc.

I have no idea how this story will end, but I think it will be worthwhile to get to the end. The story somewhat reminds me of the identity theft article that was posted a while ago.

Science Friday

The abilities of tapping/dancing to music and being able to mimic sounds are related in the brain say researchers. Here's a great video of a cockatoo rocking out to the Backstreet Boys. It's definitely worth a watch, provided you can handle all the high-pitched ear-wrenching screeching (not to mention the birds' wails).

In life, there are no coincidences

OK, so that's a really stupid title. But it's pretty interesting that the same week that the Dems secure their filibuster proof majority (almost - damn you, Coleman!), we have the announcement that Justice Souter is going to retire. So, on to the biggest story that isn't a story, as six months from now the Court will be exactly the same, just younger and woman-ier.

Politically, this is bad news for the Democrats. As laughably horrible as the Republicans were politically in last year's presidential campaign, the Democrats have gotten to just sit back and laugh as they top themselves in the incompetence department this year. As trite as the saying is, the Republicans are a party divided.

But if there's one issue that can unite (some) people under any circumstances, it's nominating people to the Supreme Court - namely, whether or not they are baby-killers.

This is likely to cause some unity amongst Republicans and is good for them in the short term (by short term, I mean possibly long enough to give them a boost in the 2010 elections). Unfortunately for them - and I can't believe I'm saying this - reigniting the culture war is not a good long-term strategy for them, at least until the economy warms up. (Morality is an issue best left for times of peace and prosperity - are no Republicans getting this memo?) And even then - they've got to be careful - (wow, I went to 538 to find an archived article, but it turns out there's Breaking News!) people are starting to get behind gay marriage (please, no jokes). And that's going to be hard to leave out of a culture war, but including it will only move their party farther to the fringes.

OK, I've been meaning to do a separate post on this for a while, but I'll never get to it, so here we go. Long story short, Newt Gingrich is talking about the possibility of trying to create a moderately conservative third party that would move in the Republicans' space (from the left). I can't believe I'm saying this, but Newt Gingrich and Meghan McCain are the best two political strategists on the entire right of American politics right now (they have the best ideas, anyway).

And I have to say - it makes me sad. I would really like to see a stronger Republican party, because one-party rule is never good, no matter who the party is. But I'd like to see a sensible Republican party as well. I guess I'll have to keep waiting ...