Michael Shields blogMichael Shields blogYellow 5- (Found July 15, 2008 ) It's fun to say, but why do we have this word quadrilateral Why don't we call a four-sided figure a tetragonhttp://www.msrl.com/blog/2003/02/25#quadrilateral Pay no attention...- (Found July 15, 2008 ) What you see someone on TV at the New York Times Washington bureau, you think they are here, but actually they are here.http://www.msrl.com/blog/2003/02/25#bureau Kite aerial photography- (Found July 15, 2008 ) The question that I&8217;m asked the most when I&8217;m out flying my camera rig is: &8220;What&8217;s that thing up there&8221;http://www.msrl.com/blog/2003/02/24#kite Airline security choice- (Found July 15, 2008 ) A company called Indigo Airlines is offering four flights daily between New York (Teterboro) and Chicago (Midway) using Embraer 135 sixteen-passenger jets. What&8217;s different is that they operate as a charter, so they don&8217;t take away your nail clippers. Congressman Steve Rothman is explicitly trying to shut them down. from AOPA&8217;s newsletterhttp://www.msrl.com/blog/2003/04/18#indigo Crime doesn't pay, except for upper management- (Found July 15, 2008 ) In An Economic Analysis of a Drug-Selling Gang's Finances, Levitt and Venkatesh analyze the business of a local crack gang with revenues of a few hundred thousand dollars. An individuals rank within the gang is of critical importance for his personal remuneration. The local gang leader is the residual claimant on drug profits. As shown in Table II, the gang leader retains between $4,200 and $10,900 a month as profit, for an annual wage of $50,000130,000. This value is...http://www.msrl.com/blog/2003/08/31#crack The break-up- (Found July 15, 2008 ) For several years now, I been getting out of conversations with I cant hear you; Im going into a tunnel. (This is most useful when obviously not going into a tunnel, for example when you are talking in person.) However, I have now invented a better phrase: I cant hear you; Im going into a coma.http://www.msrl.com/blog/2007/03/16#break-up Briefly noted- (Found July 15, 2008 ) You often ask what I am reading. Here are ten books Ive read recently. These are not the ten best or the ten most recent, just ten books and my terse commentary. Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis (Knopf, 2005) Ellis takes unreliable narration to clever new places in this book, a novel that masquerades as a memoir. In the second act it disintegrates into a horror story and blends in characters from his own work, blah blah. Maybe watch Adaptation instead. The Golden Gate, by Vikram Seth...http://www.msrl.com/blog/2007/02/20#noted Looking sharp- (Found July 15, 2008 ) This is the Freud D0724X Diablo circular saw blade. Compare it with the market-leading framing blade, the Irwin Marathon. The Diablo is a lot easier on the eyes, no The thing is, it didnt have to be. No one really cares if a circular saw blade looks good or not, but they made it look good anyway and without adding any cost; both these blades are printed in only three colors. Please lets have more like this. The world has enough designs for artsy clocks and chairs. What we need is...http://www.msrl.com/blog/2007/02/12#sharp Quand il n'y a plus rien retrancher- (Found July 15, 2008 ) Many people who look at this page are surprised that I broke a 27-month blogging fast to post about swimming animals, instead of the usual blog subjects: Republicans, Internet fads, and whatever it is that you and your friends do all day. But after that important animal feature, I went back on blog hiatus. So I've had several conversations approximately like this one: Hey, Shields, why don't you post to your blog more often One post in three years What's that about Well, 92% .http://www.msrl.com/blog/2006/12/30#silence |