Signifying NothingSerious (and not-so-serious) commentary from Chris Lawrence.HRC on RFK- May 25, 2008 I dont really see what all the fuss is about, but then again Im not a Democrat so I dont hold the Kennedy fils (John, Bobby, and Ted) as the Holy Trinity of modern American politics either. Maybe its genetic; my mother, by her own account, didnt cry when she learned that JFK had been shot. All that said, the analogy is pretty stupid, not because its offensive but because its specious. Much like in NASCAR, where there is a useful division between prehistory and the modern era, there is no valid..http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4083 Wings! Beer! Sports!- May 25, 2008 I had a few beers this evening at Buffalo Wild Wings with Frequent Commenter Alfie and Frequent Facebook Correspondent Annie while watching the Ole Miss-Vanderbilt baseball game and various other sporting events, including part of a UFC contest. The onion rings were very good, as was the company, and even the beer wasnt that badly priced.http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4082 CECB mini-review: LGZenith DTT900- May 24, 2008 To continue the CECB mini-review series, I picked up an LGZenith DTT900 at Circuit City in Southaven this evening with one of my two digital converter box coupons (and $24ish of my hard-earned money at Sams Towns blackjack tables). With essentially the same setup and conditions (same television and el-cheapo VHFUHF indoor antenna) as the RCA DTA800B tested before, the initial channel scan found the same 17 channelssub-channels. However, the Zeniths ability to manually add channels meant that I..http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4081 QotD, how to bamboozle the public the right way edition- May 23, 2008 Hei Lun Chan, in response to American Airlines decision to charge $15 per checked bag starting June 15: They should have just raised prices by $15 then announce a $15 off if you dont check any bags!!! special. The ultimate irony is that if theyd just raised each-way fares by $15, it would simply be another the sky is falling because airfares are finally catching up to inflation for the first time since deregulation story, but now American is cast in the role of being this side of the ponds...http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4080 Pimp my insurer- May 23, 2008 Nick Troester extolls the virtues of renters insurance in light of his recent run-in with Durhams criminal element. Ive always maintained renters insurance myself (excluding the six years I co-owned a house, when I had home insurance coverage), along with a supplemental policy for my laptop and additional liability insurance, and while it hasnt paid off more than Ive put in it over the years it has saved my butt a few times, most notably with my policys refrigeratorfreezer power-loss coverage...http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4079 Money money, yeah yeah- May 21, 2008 The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling that the Department of the Treasury is required to make U.S. paper currency accessible to the blind; although the most recent changes to the higher-denomination bills have made various denominations of currency more distinguishable by people with limited vision, all the bills remain the same size and have no tactile features that distinguish the bank note denominations. Ill agree with the basic proposition that making...http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4078 Kill the MWF template, please- May 20, 2008 Andy Guess at Inside Higher Ed reports on the growing trend towards abolishing Friday classes at commuter campuses due to increasing fuel costs. Im sure there are a few college classes that lend themselves to the MWF, 50-minute patternI think foreign languages probably lend themselves to a more intense approach, which you wouldnt get meeting 12 times per weekbut I dont think Ive ever taught a political science class that worked very well in the MWF pattern. Killing the MWF pattern might lead to.http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4077 CECB mini-review: RCA DTA800B- May 19, 2008 Mom and I went to Wal-Mart today to pick up two digital converter boxes (specificlly coupon-eligible converter boxes, CECBs) as emergency backup for Comcasts frequently-incompetent cable service in Memphis. It took about 15 minutes for the assorted checkout staff figured out how to ring up the converters and use the government coupons for them, but eventually we escaped with two RCA DTA800B converters. I found the box relatively easy to use and hook up. The boxes included quick start guides in..http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4076 Two tangentially-related brief linky things- May 18, 2008 Viking Pundit links an Economist article on Saturdays election in Kuwait; one of my public opinion students this semester (a Kuwaiti) wrote an interesting paper on attitudes towards female candidates in that election. Said Kuwaiti was also one of the graduates today, although he is one of the students I dont remember crossing the stageI saw all three of my honors thesis kids and about a dozen or so other seniors, but not by all means all of them. I posted some photos over at Flickr; when they...http://blog.lordsutch.com/archives/4075 |