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[2009-11-30 10:17:23] - Xpovos: I agree that it's basically impossible to conclusively prove anything regarding FDR and the Great Depression, I just think it's funny that the majority of people assume that all of this government spending/intervention and regulation (which I thought most people agreed was generally bad for an economy) helped to end the depression... it just took 5+ years. -Paul
[2009-11-30 10:07:50] - The whole FDR/Great Depression debate is an old chicken and egg issue. There are so many competing interests that it's really hard to correctly identify any true causation amongst all the coorelation. Unfortunately, that tends to result in spaghetti wall solutions gaining favor. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-30 09:53:34] - a: Are you talking about FDR as president or his stances before he came into office? Because as president, he was definitely very active in terms of trying to fight the depression. -Paul
[2009-11-30 09:49:36] - a: What specifically about fair use? I would say that on the concept of Intellectual Property as a whole, I'm relatively torn. -Paul
[2009-11-30 09:46:29] - a: Honestly, I don't think there is any definitive answer anybody can give as to how long is too long to end a depression... I just find it odd that the assumption is that FDR's policies helped end the depression even though it took so long for it to happen. -Paul
[2009-11-29 22:49:32] - a: http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson258.html the meat is towards the end. - mig
[2009-11-29 15:03:57] - wait wait two terms? the "increased regulation and government intervention" didn't start up until the end of the depression. in fact, one could argue that the increased intervention brought on the end of the depression. FDR was a proponent of doing nothing for the whole beginning of the depression. ~a
[2009-11-29 14:51:39] - i sometimes wonder if this would be easier if you were able to debate my father directly. what ends up happening is he thinks i've gone of the right deep-end and you think i'm a dirty left-wing hippie because in both cases i'm interpreting facts that i heard from each of you when talking to the other. let me ask you, what is your opinion on fair-use? ~a
[2009-11-29 13:47:46] - paul: well these are all good points. do you think two terms is too long to end a depression? i'm not sure there's much precedent in the US, but i feel like some countries are in a perpetual depression. ~a
[2009-11-29 13:32:29] - a: I just think it's interesting that history remembers FDR's policies for helping to end the Great Depression when his administration was in power for almost two full terms before things started to turn around. -Paul
[2009-11-29 13:24:00] - it's probably just the center of your zip code, but who knows? ~a
[2009-11-29 13:23:27] - amy: "oh yeah i also check my gmail and ymail daily as well as the weather: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Fairfax&state=VA&site=LWX&textField1=38.8537&textField2=-77.2982 -amy" ~a
[2009-11-29 13:16:28] - a: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-1920-depression-because-government-didnt-do-anything-2009-10 There's also the story of the Depression of 1920 where the government hardly did anything and the economy cleared up within a year. -Paul
[2009-11-29 13:13:58] - a: Basically, it boils down to the fact that I think that increased regulation and government intervention tends to be generally bad for a (supposedly) free market economy. A lot of FDR's policies were increased government intervention and regulation. -Paul
[2009-11-29 13:11:37] - a: Regarding the FDR thing, that would be difficult to get across in a format such as the message board, but there are plenty of articles about it on the internet (I won't link you to lmgtfy). -Paul
[2009-11-29 12:27:18] - a: yeah, i don't know what you're talking about at all ^_^; -amy
[2009-11-29 12:26:26] - Paul: heh at first i thought you were talking about the ziploc bags for food. Vin's Mom has one of those things for that and I believe she said it keeps the food fresher longer. -amy
[2009-11-29 10:24:21] - cool, thanks guys. I have something like three comforters to store when it's not winter and I think those devices will do nicely. Now I just need to find them... -Paul
[2009-11-29 02:05:15] - oof. ~a
[2009-11-28 21:33:56] - Paul: Dee has used them as well and has been happy with them. Except for cat claws apparently. -Dewey
[2009-11-28 15:33:22] - - Stephen
[2009-11-28 15:33:17] - Paul: I've used a more low-tech kind (i.e. no vacuum, but the bags are designed in such a way that you can compress things). They work really well, it's amazing how much more clothing you can fit into a suitcase. - Stpehen
[2009-11-28 14:21:13] - paul: (regarding the random-message) what makes you think the economic policies failed and how do you come to the conclusion that he extended the great depression? the reason i ask is that i was just having a conversation with my dad about FDR and he seemed to have a very different perspective on how that went down. ~a
[2009-11-28 14:07:52] - it just seems unnecessary. i'm just not that pushed for saving space and if i was, i'd solve that problem differently. ~a
[2009-11-28 12:28:53] - Has anybody here used those storage bags that you suction the air out of with a vacuum to compress things like comforters? -Paul
[2009-11-28 01:57:25] - amy: 38.8537,-77.2982 do you think that's a little specific? . . . it does seem like a good place to do something elicit. ~a
[2009-11-26 14:31:28] - aaron: I guess I should have sent basshunter along. I found him about a year and a half ago. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-26 13:03:20] - Happy Thanksgiving! - Stephen
[2009-11-26 04:49:26] - a: yeah the video has her listed as @Anna^ in the IRC channel - aaron
[2009-11-25 17:42:29] - (music video) ~a
[2009-11-25 16:04:30] - the person who came in was named @anna? did the lyrics contain the @ symbol? ~a
[2009-11-25 15:57:51] - oh no amy wondered the same thing as me. so much wonderen! ~a
[2009-11-25 15:57:21] - aaron: that is a crazy good story. i wonder if it's a true story. ??? (this is me wondering really hard) ~a
[2009-11-25 14:31:06] - amy: i didn't put it up so someone else must have liked the song too - aaron
[2009-11-25 13:48:45] - also the subtitle and random quote today are hilarious to me. current title is pretty funny too .D -amy
[2009-11-25 13:47:59] - aaron: also lol at bot anna story, i'm assuming it's a true story? i used to write IRC bots back in the day ^_^; -amy
[2009-11-25 13:47:19] - aaron: that's the perfect icon for that. i didn't realize we even had a blushy embarrassed face haha. that is really sad... i'd love a song about IRC in english. maybe i need to make one. -amy
[2009-11-25 13:43:05] - i was sad too that apparently they both got released to US charts with bland english lyrics like "you're all i've ever wanted, you're all i've ever needed, etc"
what, americans aren't cool enough to have lyrics about IRC and DotA? - aaron[2009-11-25 13:42:05] - amy: one other really good song by him is called "boten anna" and it's about his friend who ran an IRC channel, and was going to add a bot, and someone nammed @anna came in the room, and basshunter thought assumed it was his friend's bot, and talked to it like it was a bot for 3 months - but it was actually the guy's girlfriend - aaron
[2009-11-25 13:40:00] - amy: hee hee! mine too. also he uses fruity loops - aaron
[2009-11-25 13:39:00] - paul: yes, to xpovos! - aaron
[2009-11-25 13:36:45] - aaron: lol i was wondering why your station was called that and why so much basshunter comes up. and also what it all meant. he's a rock star and a dork! my new idol <3 -amy
[2009-11-25 12:27:43] - popeye has a nephew named poopeye. what a world! - pierce
[2009-11-25 11:51:48] - no, he's sitting on ventrilo. ~a
[2009-11-25 10:40:17] - aaron: are you predicting the rest of the game to Xpovos? -Paul
[2009-11-25 02:19:43] - my favorite part of the song is the dancing
~a[2009-11-25 00:07:17] - i love the song, heard it through pandora, although since it was in swedish i didn't realize it was so dorky - aaron
[2009-11-25 00:05:31] - Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA (music video) is a song by swedish dj basshunter, off of his third album LOL <(^^,)>. the lyrics (in swedish) are about using ventrilo and playing the warcraft 3 map "Defense of the Ancients" - aaron
[2009-11-24 22:10:20] - but i was pretty sure about those two hunches, the stab because i didn't think paul would want to work with either turkey or sam past 1902, and E/R because Lvn S Nor -> Swe made really good strategic/diplomatic sense - aaron
[2009-11-24 22:08:05] - stephen: alright i've locked my diplomacy predictions in the xpovos vault. i wish i had done it last season since it would have been cool to be on-record for predicting Spring 1902 E/R, and the anti-turk stab. - aaron
[2009-11-24 17:58:42] - well, YOU FIGURED WRONG
[2009-11-24 13:58:44] - yeah, I figured gmail went without saying. - pierce
[2009-11-24 13:53:44] - oh yeah i also check my gmail and ymail daily as well as the weather: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Fairfax&state=VA&site=LWX&textField1=38.8537&textField2=-77.2982 -amy
[2009-11-24 13:35:17] - Aaron: You are nefarious. - Paulphen
[2009-11-24 13:13:08] - paulphen: for the record i could have held venice this turn with ion -> apu, but i chose not to - aaron
[2009-11-24 08:49:14] - oh and http://gmail.com first and throughout the day, if that's even worth mentioning - vinnie
[2009-11-24 08:48:26] - http://livejournal.com http://dailymtg.com http://aporter.org/msg http://achewood.com http://ocremix.org pretty much in that order - vinnie
[2009-11-24 08:20:43] - http://aporter.org/msg http://slashdot.org http://diplomacy.ca http://eventhubs.com http://mmo-champion.com http://thedailywtf.com http://lewrockwell.com/blog - mig
[2009-11-24 07:07:19] - Oh, I forgot WotC's MtG page, I don't actually get to read that one daily though I try. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-24 07:06:41] - I can't possibly post them all. Majors include... comics: xkcd, QC, OotS. Blogs: Calculated Risk, Twenty Sided, TDWTF. Assorted other: Woot.com, Amazon.com, Machine Man, and a plethora of cheezeburger sites. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-24 01:12:12] - things that update daily (or thereabouts) that I check about that often: avclub facebook failblog fivethirtyeight googlefinance lifehacker metafilter msgboard notalwaysright photoshopdisasters questionablecontent ugliesttattoos woot wowinsider - pierce
[2009-11-24 00:48:23] - pierce is back! yeah, sure, flatten your rss feeds. ~a
[2009-11-24 00:10:49] - is this meant to include RSS feeds? because I check a bunch of stuff through google reader several times a day, but there are only a few sites I actually go to every day. - pierce
[2009-11-23 21:50:52] - a: http://www.facebook.com/home.php http://ocremix.org/ http://aporter.org/msg/ i only check xkcd on sun, tues, and thurs nights after midnight when it gets updated -amy
[2009-11-23 20:45:48] - a: http://notalwaysright.com/ http://digg.com/ http://slashdot.org/ http://aporter.org/msg/ - aaron
[2009-11-23 20:33:06] - my answers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Watchlist http://slashdot.org/ http://finance.yahoo.com/p?v&k=pf_1 http://www.xkcd.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ ~a
[2009-11-23 20:29:54] - poll: what webpages do you check daily? ~a
[2009-11-23 15:50:17] - http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Starring-The-Admin.aspx and people wonder how large ecommmerce sites are able to get cc #s so easily. - mig
[2009-11-20 12:00:14] - "White House at odds with bishops over abortion". And in other news the sky is blue and gravity still works. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-20 11:05:28] - mig: I'm surprised the Bush administration would've released the memos at all, let alone with parts blacked out.
-Paul[2009-11-20 11:03:09] - subtitle: I can read you. *poke* -- Xpovos
[2009-11-20 10:49:08] - aaron: I believe what you are referring to happened during the bush administration. - mig
[2009-11-20 10:41:05] - paul: i can't remember, i remember there were a few issues where the administration withheld certain documents, or released other documents but blacked out the most important parts of them - aaron
[2009-11-20 10:15:11] - Aaron: Did they eventually release the CIA memos? I don't remember all of the facts, but I do remember there was a lot of controversy over memos detailing detainee abuse that the administration didn't want made public. -Paul
[2009-11-20 10:11:52] - paul: are you referring to how the obama administration released those documents but blacked out large parts of them? - aaron
[2009-11-20 09:01:33] - Aaron: It's possible that this administration is being more transparent, I just wish we would see some of that transparency in action when it comes to the Federal Reserve and Guantanamo Bay CIA torture memos and whatnot. -Paul
[2009-11-20 08:59:45] - Aaron: I have no idea, but my guess is similar to yours: They asked recipients how they spent it, realized the results were screwed up, and so now are investigating and following up. -Paul
[2009-11-20 08:56:36] - aaron: I would guess they have the ability to audit but that this data is just what was reported, kind of like what you report on your taxes - vinnie
[2009-11-20 08:53:22] - i'm not convinced the administration is being any less responsible with their money than previous administrations, but it seems to me like they're being more transparent (or at least, the media is portraying it that way, whether they're trying to or not) - aaron
[2009-11-20 08:51:45] - it sounds to me like the scenario is, the government gave out a lot of stimulus money, asked recipients to document how they spent it - and then told those recipients, "hey you fucked up, these numbers make no sense, how did you really spend the money" - aaron
[2009-11-20 08:49:14] - paul: hmm doesn't a federal audit imply the government is auditing their own report? that seems good, although it's kind of strange they would release a report before auditing it - aaron
[2009-11-19 17:33:02] - "There were 3,978 reports that "showed no dollar amount received or expended but included more than 50,000 jobs created or retained," said the GAO. It also found more than 9,000 reports that showed no jobs but said more than $1 billion had been spent." -Paul
[2009-11-19 17:32:55] - http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5AI5II20091119 Some more information about inaccuracies from the stimulus report. -Paul
[2009-11-19 15:31:55] - I think companies can show to some extent how many jobs were saved. you can show via financial records that this amount of money allowed you to spend this much towards keeping employees, and so on. it might be easy to fudge which is why I feel uncertain but I think some companies can show a hard number of jobs they save with a certain amount of money - vinnie
[2009-11-19 15:20:44] - vinnie: Im not sure what you are saying you arent sure of... Whether what can be tracked? The number of jobs saved - I doubt that can be tracked, the number of jobs the orgs claim to have saved - that can be tracked. Which is why I think there is incentive to lie. ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 15:12:50] - gurkie: I'm not sure. if it can be tracked, and I wouldn't be surprised if the govt has the ability to audit some of these things, then I'd say there's good incentive not to lie - vinnie
[2009-11-19 14:50:57] - I feel like polls are more likely to be correct when they dont tie the result to the person. And with the govt all the data you submit is actually associated to your organization. ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 14:50:11] - vinnie: do you think the people have an incentive to lie? I would think they do... it seems like they would want the govt to think the money was effective so that if they ask again they can get more money... ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 14:45:05] - I don't think the numbers are worthless, just that we have to take them with a grain of salt. if there is an incentive for the people reporting to lie about the numbers, it's probably worthless. but if not, it's pretty much like any poll - vinnie
[2009-11-19 14:29:12] - a: how sweet... maybe amy only hugged you to make vinnie jealous! ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 14:27:07] - gurkie: i was just trying not to make vinnie jealous. ~a
[2009-11-19 14:26:23] - paul: the answer to your second question is "yes". or at least that's my impression. so yeah, i agree that the "job creation numbers" are completely worthless and it borderlines on propagandizing . ~a
[2009-11-19 14:25:05] - I noticed that a didnt hug amy back... poor amy... ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 14:23:27] - a: Fair enough, but why weren't they using the "real" data on the website? Also, are the job creation numbers self-reported as well? -Paul
[2009-11-19 14:23:11] - amy: hehe.
~a[2009-11-19 14:20:57] - gurkie/paul: i saw biden on the daily show (either last night or the night before). he basically said that the recovery.gov thing was the self-reported data, so it was full of people reporting the wrong data. he also said that the "real" accounting of the data is complete and correct . . . though it's possible he was lying. ~a
[2009-11-19 14:17:41] - http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/19/stimulus.district.errors/index.html Apparently they reclassified the bad data...~gurkie
[2009-11-19 14:06:18] - *** amy hugs a
[2009-11-19 14:02:33] - a: I didnt actually think you were frowning at me just wondering what was making you sad...
~gurkie[2009-11-19 10:13:44] - Whoever wrote the title reads QC. I know I do, and Travis does, but Travis doesn't post here anymore, really. So, by process of elimination, I must have posted the title. Except I didn't. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-19 10:08:26] - gurkie: oh i wasn't frowning at you sorry. ~a
[2009-11-19 08:45:33] - a: why are you frowning? ~gurkie
[2009-11-19 02:09:47] - ummm thanks.
~a[2009-11-19 00:46:44] - title!
[2009-11-19 00:03:41] - title?
[2009-11-18 17:25:49] - FYI: I will be attending the TJ reunion events... Most likely all three of them, but bailing if they are lame... So its your all job to ensure I have fun
~gurkie[2009-11-18 15:10:55] - does anyone here know much about WorkManagers? specifically the differences between Sun and WebSpheres? ~gurkie
[2009-11-18 14:31:54] - I'm interested in seeing TJ. But I'm a terrible bridge player. Also, I'm not available. But it would've been fun. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-18 13:10:43] - gurkie: Not really, sorry. I don't really want to go to three reunion-related events in one weekend, that's too many... - Stephen
[2009-11-18 12:43:42] - gurkie: sure, sounds like fun - vinnie
[2009-11-18 12:12:34] - vinnie: you, me aaron? We can have our own little picnic in our lunch corner!!! But we need a fourth for bridge. Erica wont be in town for TDay.... Stephen? Cmon you know you want to see TJ ~gurkie
[2009-11-18 12:02:04] - gurkie: I would go to the picnic if a few others wanted to go. I'm not even sure how many classmates I expect to see but I'd like to go back to see the school - vinnie
[2009-11-18 11:44:59] - aaron: I think I want to go to the picnic... I just remember us all talking about how we were going to meet up at our lunch corner at the reunion and have fond memories. Plus I havent been back to TJ in forever... Id like to take a look... Im still debating on the 2 evening activities~gurkie
[2009-11-18 11:25:30] - i think most people are going to everything EXCEPT the picnic. ~a
[2009-11-18 11:23:12] - is anybody going to the picnic? i have they might be giants on saturday and don't want to dress up. the club thing is friday? - aaron
[2009-11-18 09:16:44] - a: I assume not... I guess I could just ask him ~gurkie
[2009-11-18 00:23:09] - oh, for those who are curious, the $99 package deal does include the drink tickets friday night even though it's worded ambiguously on the site. - pierce
[2009-11-18 00:22:30] - gurkie: I'm going to the Friday and Saturday evening thingers. - pierce
[2009-11-17 21:08:13] - gurkie: I'll be at the nighttime events, but not the picnic. - Stephen
[2009-11-17 20:26:46] - gurkie: paul won't go? ~a
[2009-11-17 20:25:19] - gurkie: some people reach defeat easier than others. some welcome to admit when they've seen the light and others are stubborn. ~a
[2009-11-17 18:01:19] - Yes, RSVP due by this weekend for TJ reunion. I'm going to Friday nights thing with Dee. I work Saturday. -Dewey
[2009-11-17 17:56:52] - from the looks of it, dewey, pierce and myself. i do not know if they were attending all three things, but i was planning to attend friday and saturday night. - mig
[2009-11-17 17:38:20] - oops I missed part of that... I need to pay by this weekend if I am going... ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 17:37:46] - back to the reunion info... who all is planning on going and to what events? I am considering it... Despite apparently having to go stag... And I need to pay if I am going... Hmm Aar want to go and tell everyone we are married? ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 17:36:33] - plus I like to see people admit defeat! ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 17:36:25] - haha, yea some of the responses were amusing cause its like "fine ill concede that x and y have the same value.... in the circumstance where x and y are 2 " and it amuses me ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 16:31:17] - i was kidding. ~a
[2009-11-17 16:28:53] - a: Actually, nearly all of my results seem to be me conceding a point (unless I'm talking to Pierce, of course). -Paul
[2009-11-17 16:18:30] - gurkie: because when paul and pierce use it, it's usually preceded by "i would never" or "refuse to"? ~a
[2009-11-17 15:49:05] - Concede is an amusing search
~gurkie[2009-11-17 15:39:12] - a: Well, if it's the fed chair, then Greenspan was the greatest ever and Bernanke is horrible.
-Paul[2009-11-17 15:33:35] - paul: very true. the economy is largely controlled by billions of small uncountable factors. still the one man who has the most power over the us economy is the potus. or, maybe, arguably the fed chair. ~a
[2009-11-17 15:30:28] - a: For all we know, maybe the original TARP program by Bush was the most important measure that was enacted during the financial meltdown. -Paul
[2009-11-17 15:29:59] - a: My point was more that I don't feel like presidents should get credit for an economy because I feel like it's something largely outside of their control. I don't blame Bush for the financial crises, I don't blame Obama for 10% unemployment right now, and I won't give him credit if/when the economy recovers. -Paul
[2009-11-17 15:28:08] - a: Heh, I forgot about the whole little issue of 2002. Still, from 2000 until right before he left office, the DOW was up a pretty decent amount despite the dip in 2002. -Paul
[2009-11-17 15:22:49] - i concede. ~a
[2009-11-17 15:22:02] - gurkie: thanks for the link. i guess this is a pretty big clerical error. but yeah, here is the response i found: "Some recipients of Recovery Act funds entered incorrect congressional districts in their award reports. We are doing an analysis of what we might be able to do at this time to correct the problem." ~a
[2009-11-17 15:19:14] - a: I dont think it could be a minor clerical error, if its a clerical error its a major one. I heard about 2 states where its an issue and find its an issue in the only other state I checked.... So 3/3 there is bad data for. ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 15:18:05] - well I think with the number of reported "fake" districts that either the data is worthless or the government is really screwing up by spending so much in nonexistent districts. ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 15:17:42] - a: i just don't see how this qualifies as a minor clerical error, or even a clerical error at all. they said this is what was reported. if it is being used to show the money given and the jobs saved per district, it invalidates the whole breakdown IMO. if this is just to give us a broad picture per state, I'd say there's nothing wrong with the data at all - vin
[2009-11-17 15:14:46] - gurkie: well, I'm not sure I agree it's bad. if people report that and it's only their district that they are getting wrong, the data still has meaning. just that we can't read too much into it - vinnie
[2009-11-17 15:14:28] - vinnie: no, i'm saying it could be a minor clerical error. ~a
[2009-11-17 15:13:20] - paul: bush had 7.5 years of a good economy? ~a
[2009-11-17 15:12:36] - vinnie: yay you agree with me that doesnt mean Ive been converted to the Paul mentality! ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 15:09:09] - I don't get why they are saying this is a minor clerical error. either it's the data exactly as was reported (in which case there's no error) or it's a huge error if they were supposed to figure out where the money was actually going - vinnie
[2009-11-17 15:04:56] - also I want a job in the 7th congressional district 73 million for 45 jobs
SWEET I will get a million + ~gurkie[2009-11-17 15:03:26] - Virginia has 11 congressional districts... yet... http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=stateSummaryAllCD&statecode=VA ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 15:03:03] - also I dont know if its that I have been around Paul too much, but I dont think the errors that are mentioned on Reason should qualify as "minor clerical errors" spending that much money in districts that dont exist is bad. And its not just one district that doesnt exist... ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 15:02:26] - careful, channeling your inner pierce is the quickest way to sterility. open government initiative . . . try to see past the marketing hype to the actual meat. like recovery.gov, data.gov, regulations.gov, are just a few places to find datas. ~a
[2009-11-17 15:01:52] - Gurkie: Yeah, it's like inner peace, but more likely to google something for you. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:57:17] - paul: you have inner pierce? ~gurkie
[2009-11-17 14:56:56] - a: I think it's a little odd to be thanking the president for the economy turning around (assuming it is). Does that mean we should also be damning him for the economy still being bad or that we should give Bush credit for 7.5 years of good economy? -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:54:58] - a: "this administration is better because it's more open about the datas" Channeling my inner Pierce here... but can you cite some specific datas? The previous administration didn't really have a stimulus package to provide data on. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:51:05] - who should i thank, paul?
~a[2009-11-17 14:50:59] - this administration is better because it's more open about the datas. i'll admit that i think spending a bunch of money "boosting" the economy is an extremely dangerous plan. on the other hand, either it is working OR it would have worked if we had done nothing. the economy is much better off than it was 12 months ago, and i'm not sure who to thank. ~a
[2009-11-17 14:50:36] - a: I think you're right about the stock market decline stopping around the time that the stimulus passed... which is interesting because I think it's common knowledge that most of the projects that the stimulus funds went to hadn't even started by that time. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:48:18] - paul: predicting the economy is very difficult. but i feel like the economic decline pretty much stopped in its tracks and we're seeing lots of signs of a healthy economy. which is exactly what the WH administration predicted: looking at my stocks no longer makes me feel suicidal. ~a
[2009-11-17 14:43:36] - a: Not because I think the last administration was a wonder of open-ness and efficiency... but because I don't see how this one is much better. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:43:06] - a: And at the risk of being accused of being a Republican apologist, I'm wondering what data you were looking for from the last administration that you didn't get. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:42:23] - a: This is not an administration that has been good with economic predictions do far. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:41:33] - a: I think you're giving far too much credit to a website which isn't as easy to audit as you think. These are just a few errors that were blatantly wrong. How do we know that the numbers for districts that do exist are even right? Don't you remember when Obama was claiming that if we don't pass the stimulus that unemployment might reach 10%? -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:36:23] - also . . . also . . . they link to the GAO, i'm not sure how unbiased the GAO is, but i was under the impression that the GAO was created to be less biased than your average whitehouse administration. ~a
[2009-11-17 14:33:23] - paul: you're putting too much weight into what is likely a minor clerical/typographical error. aaron is right, more objective data for the public is a great thing assuming the errors are fixed. will the data come with spin? sure! but i'd prefer data with spin versus what we got from the last administration: just spin. ~a
[2009-11-17 14:21:26] - Aaron: After all, if they can't even keep a simple website updated with the proper information, how are we supposed to trust that they can keep track of where all of the money is going properly? -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:20:40] - Aaron: I can kinda see your point, but I think our standards are too low if we're supposed to applaud the government for telling us how it's spending our money (and apparently not doing a good job at it). -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:18:15] - Aaron: I don't really see it as a tool to allow people to be skeptical of the government, I see it more of a propaganda campaign. The site has plenty of areas proudly proclaiming how many jobs were created or saved, I don't see any asking people to be skeptical of the numbers provided. -Paul
[2009-11-17 14:11:10] - paul: the government is giving people tools to allow them to be skeptical of the government. i don't know if it's unprecedented, i just think it's a cool process and i hope people can appreciate it for what it is, and not just bash the government for giving them faulty information - aaron
[2009-11-17 14:04:02] - paul: i agree that those are very good reasons to question the numbers that the government provided, although hopefully people were already questioning them anyways - aaron
[2009-11-17 13:49:01] - oops, i meant recovery.gov. ~a
[2009-11-17 13:48:32] - the "jobs created" is a subjective measure. the "money spent" is a little more objective and recovery.org does also list that information. hopefully the few errors that are pointed out are eventually fixed. ~a
[2009-11-17 13:46:38] - I agree these are probably simple data entry mistakes and aren't intentional fabrications, but I do think it's a good reason to question what are essentially made up numbers about jobs that were created or saved by the stimulus. -Paul
[2009-11-17 13:45:58] - aaron/paul: except that they do show the recipients of the money. ~a
[2009-11-17 13:45:18] - aaron: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/17/congressman-blasts-white-house-faulty-job-data-government-web-site-849363506/?test=latestnews Apparently there was also a claim that the stimulus had "had saved or created 5,000 jobs from only $42,000 in government money -- which would amount to $8.40 in annual income per job". Which is probably wrong. -Paul
[2009-11-17 13:39:03] - paul: that's true; if you can only fact check 1% of the information, and if 50% of that 1% is inaccurate, that's really rotten. hopefully they can offer more transparency than that... like which organizations received the $$$, how it was spent - so that interested individuals can really fact-check this stuff - aaron
[2009-11-17 13:38:03] - everybody, stop confusing aaron and me
~a[2009-11-17 13:37:16] - a: i was also suprised by sam's opening as well. - mig
[2009-11-17 13:28:44] - a: Except the only thing it's easy to check is that the districts that they claim they are sending money to are actual districts. We still have no idea if the other information is correct at all (just like you all would have no idea if I really donated to the Red Cross and Greenpeace in addition to the Human Fund). -Paul
[2009-11-17 13:25:29] - paul: yeah, if you were donating to one organization it would be a BFD, if you were donating to ~500 funds and two of them were bogus, i'd still raise the issue, but really if you were going to do something evil with the stimulus money, like adrian said, there would be smarter ways to be evil. - aaron
[2009-11-17 13:22:47] - paul: well if 99% of the information you gave me about your charity donations was correct, but 1% of the information you gave me was incorrect, i'd say that would be perfectly fine. especially, if like aaron said, you were able to easily fact-check the numbers and be sure that it was only 1% of the data that was incorrect. ~a
[2009-11-17 13:20:31] - Whoops, that comment was supposed to be directed at "a" and not "aaron" (about the Human Fund). -Paul
[2009-11-17 13:20:05] - Aaron: I'm just happy he's not coming after me.
-Paul[2009-11-17 13:17:16] - aaron: Because of a pretty big mistake, quite honestly. What if I told you I donated money to the "Human Fund" charity and then you found out such a charity doesn't exist? Wouldn't that make you suspect me anytime I say I donate to a charity in the future? -Paul
[2009-11-17 12:48:10] - is anybody but me impressed with sam's opening? totally did not see that coming! - aaron
[2009-11-17 11:55:17] - paul: yeah if anything else, i think it shows that the numbers that the administration is putting out can be somewhat fact checked. i'd be really glad if they said, "look, district 1 in arizona only actually spent $14 million, but they reported $17 million according to this report." it at least shows the administration is being transparent even if they're lying. - aaron
[2009-11-17 11:34:40] - why can't you rely on the numbers that the administration is putting out? because of one mistake? ~a
[2009-11-17 11:24:55] - a: I don't know if they were necessarily saying that it was an intentional deception, more like you can't really rely on the numbers that the administration is putting out. -Paul
[2009-11-17 11:23:35] - Aaron: Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. They're doing some webathon right now with a really annoying full screen banner ad. I think you have to click on "continue" and then click back. -Paul
[2009-11-17 11:13:35] - yeah if it was their intention was to deceive, they likely wouldn't have used non-existent districts to pad the numbers. they would have added fake jobs to real places. this is pretty clearly an honest mistake. ~a
[2009-11-17 11:07:28] - paul: i think it's pretty cool that the web site is detailed and specific enough that people can pick it apart and find errors. the fact that some errors exist isn't a huge surprise given the scope of the document, although it is still fishy. hopefully people aren't taking it too seriously though, it might just be a clerical error or somethin - aaron
[2009-11-17 11:04:54] - paul: huh it didn't happen. maybe their website just has a 10% chance of not working every time - aaron
[2009-11-17 11:04:23] - paul: i just got some huge "PLEASE DONATE" banner add and couldn't figure out a way to click past it, so i didn't read the article - aaron
[2009-11-17 10:33:31] - i wonder how quickly they will fix their error. ~a
[2009-11-17 09:31:38] - http://reason.com/blog/2009/11/16/that-stimulus-is-so-freaking-a Apparently the stimulus has created or saved jobs in congressional districts that don't even exist. -Paul
[2009-11-16 17:12:28] - Bryan: I'm not surprised. They all got over 20 points! That's a pretty good score for a running back or quarter back. It's REALLY good for a single wide receiver. It's mind-blowing that you got THREE on your team in the same week. -Paul
[2009-11-16 17:07:37] - Paul: Those 3 WR are better than my total score in my other league. -Bryan
[2009-11-16 17:03:49] - Bryan: You had three out of the top four highest scoring wide receivers this week. That's just sick. -Paul
[2009-11-16 17:01:41] - gurkie: Yeah, go 2-8! I wish I had won in my other league
-Bryan[2009-11-16 16:59:13] - Bryan: Nice win... =) No I am not talking Diplomacy... ~gurkie
[2009-11-16 15:52:59] - aaron: 69 made me laugh. ~a
[2009-11-16 15:28:02] - Bryan: Ah, is that what those things are called. Yeah, that one gave me fits for a bit, but I figured that I was on the right path, so I was finally able to work around it by a process of elimination because I had so relatively few moves left. The current one I'm stuck on is like the exact opposite, though I'm getting closer. It's #55. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 15:04:55] - xpovos: boo! not looking forward to 42 or 69 - aaron
[2009-11-16 14:52:53] - gurkie: The Paradox is when you try and move something 2 different directions at the same time... it creates a new unit. I got annoyed and gave up. I think it is like lvl 47-48? -Bryan
[2009-11-16 14:41:31] - http://www.viruscomix.com/page476.html Speaking of time paths. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 14:41:18] - a: Inherent problem with nonlinear time paths, I'm afraid. I don't know if Einstein made it better or worse, because time is a physical thing now. Fuck. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 14:30:03] - cause my brain got stuck on the first paradox. ~a
[2009-11-16 14:28:41] - maybe bryan is talking about primer
~a[2009-11-16 14:00:41] - Bryan: Paradox? I dont think I got there... ~gurkie
[2009-11-16 13:18:00] - xpovos: I got stuck on whatever one shows the first Paradox. -Bryan
[2009-11-16 13:02:05] - a: yea, the unix quick launch bar is probably better than the windows quick launch bar, which is a joke - aaron
[2009-11-16 11:50:29] - aaron: though i find the quick launch bar to be adequate for my needs since i only rarely go get stuff that isn't one of those things. ~a
[2009-11-16 11:07:44] - aaron: my coworker uses gnome do but it uses csharp for some reason so it depends on libmono which is a pretty lame dependency imo. ~a
[2009-11-16 11:03:21] - aaron: nopes... Never heard of it before. ~gurkie
[2009-11-16 11:02:53] - xpovos: well now I have an evening activity while in Boston... Great! =) ~gurkie
[2009-11-16 10:54:47] - gurkie: It saved my progress! Guess it's flash and cookie based. Now I'm stuck on 48. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 10:48:50] - does anybody use anything like launchy at work? it's a fast way to launch programs using the keyboard instead of clicking start menu/desktop shortcuts - aaron
[2009-11-16 10:25:07] - Xpovos: did it save your progress or did you go back and refinish ~gurkie
[2009-11-16 09:36:06] - Phew, finally beat 43. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 08:20:06] - gurkie: Yeah, it was well worthe the $0.00 I paid to play. I got up to level 43 before I got stumped again, but I had to stop there due to time issues, and I don't think it saved my progress. So that's probably it for me. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-16 06:51:29] - a: Alternatively it could get more awesome? It means that you don't have to over-compensate for your baby years anymore into the average. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-14 13:16:58] - if history began in january 2009, my life just became a whole lot more lame. ~a
[2009-11-14 12:46:18] - http://www.credoaction.com/comics/2009/11/when_history_began.html history began on 2009-01-20 - aaron
[2009-11-13 17:27:24] - paul: looks cool, at least worth trying out the demo if i can find someone with an xbox to play it with - aaron
[2009-11-13 17:26:41] - Bryan: yea they want the gems to be a square... I thought they kinda killed it and made it more boring... ~gurkie
[2009-11-13 17:26:06] - xpovos: got bored around level 33... but overall I thought it was a cool game ~gurkie
[2009-11-13 17:25:14] - a: sorry, aitch - aaron
[2009-11-13 17:20:10] - aaron: haha awesome. "No! Wrong! Totally wrong! Where'd you learn this? Stop doing it!" love it. -amy
[2009-11-13 17:07:15] - I got to 23 and they started making me do stuff with gems so I stopped. -Bryan
[2009-11-13 17:02:34] - yay i got it! ~gurkie
[2009-11-13 16:59:31] - how am i supposed to move the green ball to the left????? ~gurkie
[2009-11-13 16:59:02] - oops that was me... ~gurkie
[2009-11-13 16:58:56] - xpovos: level 16 is going to make my head hurt
[2009-11-13 16:05:29] - Aaron: http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/104/1044086p1.html This sounded like a game that might interest you. -Paul
[2009-11-13 15:29:47] - aaron: aytche is not a word (neither is aytch) ~a
[2009-11-13 14:33:35] - is h's really gramatically correct? it looks ugly to me. sometimes i'll write out aytches, that doesn't typically go over well - aaron
[2009-11-13 14:31:52] - amy: i still prefer the classic bob comic, it's more condescending! also you can print it on one page. also, there's a poster! - aaron
[2009-11-13 14:03:34] - amy: montenegro? ~a
[2009-11-13 13:48:45] - amy: Needs to be mandatory reading. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-13 13:26:10] - guide to apostrophes. useful for many internet users: http://apostrophe.me/ -amy
[2009-11-13 13:14:46] - I was rolling until level 16. That one took me quite a while to solve. http://vadersb.deviantart.com/art/Paradoxion-Express-142389079 -- Xpovos
[2009-11-13 13:10:17] - Paul: That sounds like something my class in high school would have done, if we were 15 years younger. -- Xpovos
[2009-11-13 12:24:59] - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33895926/ns/us_news-weird_news/?gt1=43001 Principle Bans "Meep" in school. -Paul
[2009-11-13 09:55:04] - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/us/11foodfight.html?_r=1 food figthing is now a criminal act, at least in chicago. - mig
[2009-11-13 09:48:24] - dewey: interesting, also a very good lesson that eye-witness identification isn't as rock solid evidence as courts like to give it credit for. - mig
[2009-11-13 07:12:00] - dewey: lol, i love the facebook update he chose - aaron
[2009-11-12 23:01:04] - Another retweet, this one from Doyle Brunson. RT @TexDolly: Judge Judy to prostitute..."when did you realize you were raped?"....prostitute, wiping away tears:"when the check bounced."..LMAO -Dewey
[2009-11-12 22:02:58] - cnnbrk: Facebook posting provides air-tight alibi in robbery case. http://bit.ly/2b7Cko interesting tweet from CNN. -Dewey
[2009-11-12 16:31:03] - you ruined a funny joke, get out of my offive. ~a
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