Curiouser and Curiouser!

Curiouser and Curiouser! on american-culture http://matt.blogs.it/ RSS feed for topic american-culture Copyright 2006 Matt Mower Squib/0.1 self@mattmower.com self@mattmower.com en-gb American Mile Markers Sat, 05 Oct 2002 09:15:37 +0100 One picture per mile from the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge all strung together in a beautiful interface.  I really loved Matt Frondorf's <A href="http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/corp/features/onTheRoad/index.shtml">American Mile Markers</A>. <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> I wanted what I did to be seamless and moving like me, east to west. So I mounted the camera upside down, which allowed the contact prints to be oriented in the proper east to west, left to right orientation. He set the camera with an automatic exposure that would hold the shutter speed (4000th of a second) constant and adjust the aperture as the daylight changed. Using a little trig, he figured with the 63 degree field of view afforded by the camera lens, each exposure would produce a frame with a mile-wide view at a point 0.82 of a mile from the road. This gives uniformity to the frames and helps to create the panorama aspect. When Matt got to San Francisco and shot the Golden Gate Bridge at mile 3,304, he celebrated with a pizza and a beer. It was a Friday, six days after he left New York. He dismounted the camera, drove home, and was back in his office on Monday morning. "</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000639.html Greed not for the few Wed, 09 Oct 2002 09:24:51 +0100 <A href="http://www.salon.com/tech/books/2002/10/08/bryce_enron/index.html?CP=RDF&DN=310">In greed we trusted</A>. Robert Bryce's Enron book entertainingly chronicles fraudulent excesses and office sex. But was Enron a fluke -- or capitalism taken to its logical extreme? [<A href="http://www.salon.com">Salon.com</A>] <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » Don't worry.  When Bush is proclaimed Emperor by the Senate he'll be able to root out all the people talking about these kind of abuses and excesses.  Now back to your regular programming...</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000687.html A 40MPG SUV? Why would you want that then? Wed, 16 Oct 2002 12:17:59 +0100 Technology review have an <A href="http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/fischetti1102.asp">interesting article</A> about fuel efficient technologies that could deliver a 40MPG SUV by the end of the decade, based upon existing technology (i.e. not hybrid engines or advanced fuel cells). Here's a summary of the main points: <UL> <LI>To get a sense of the auto industry's progress in fuel efficiency, look no further than the 2002 Chevy Blazer.</LI> <LI>The model with automatic transmission, six cylinders, and four-wheel drive gets 18 miles per gallon (mpg), two miles less than a comparably equipped Blazer did in 1985.</LI> <LI>Indeed, in those 17 years the average fuel economy of the entire fleet of U.S. cars and light trucks declined from 26 mpg to 24 mpg---in part because of the rising proportion of gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).</LI> <LI>Yet in March, when auto industry lobbyists claimed that building more fuel-efficient cars would be "too difficult," the U.S. Senate once again killed legislation that would raise the country's Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.</LI> <LI>It's not that automotive technologies haven't improved; it's that the improvements have been geared toward delivering power, not efficiency.</LI> <LI>"Each year Americans want a little more space inside, a little more power."</LI> <LI>But is it really too difficult to build a reasonably priced SUV that can get 40 mpg and still provide the performance, comfort, and reduced emissions consumers expect?</LI> <LI>The gains would come largely from emerging technologies such as improved control systems that minimize energy losses in the engine and transmission, as well as efficient electrical components---from water pumps to engine valves---that could replace belt-driven mechanical systems.</LI> <LI>Such improvements in gas mileage would have a huge impact on U.S. oil dependence and the environment.</LI></UL> So why won't this happen?  Look no further than: <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> Each year Americans want a little more space inside, a little more power.</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000741.html $0.25/barrel Sun, 20 Oct 2002 07:43:42 +0100 We need corporate oversight, not war, to rebuild the economy The New York Times <A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/19/business/19SEC.html">reports that President Bush has authorized a 27% reduction</A> in the new funding he approved with great fanfare and moralizing about 90 days ago. Claiming the the War on Terror and Homeland Security require funding more urgently than the clean up of the vast corporate scandals, his administration was apparently never serious about corporate ethics. It is hanging Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt out to dry: [<A href="http://www.ratcliffe.com/bizblog/">RatcliffeBlog: Business, Technology & Investing</A>] <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> » Really?  Was it ever in doubt that Bush had no interest in cleaning up corporate America?  I'm shocked. Come on, wake up!  He and his cronies are probably as guilty of malfeasance as any of the people they claimed they were cleaning up.  Did you ever really believe this horseshit? As Bush knows so well, the American public will go back to sleep when they can fill their new 2003 15MPG SUV with Iraqi oil at $0.25/barrel. Well you will, won't you? Each year Americans want a little more space inside, a little more power.</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000756.html How do you mice feel? Thu, 28 Nov 2002 10:18:59 +0000 <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <A href="http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2002/11/27/environment/index.html">Kiss it goodbye</A>. With industry henchmen in complete control of Washington, the Clean Air Act, wilderness preserves and environmental enforcement are all endangered species. [<A href="http://www.salon.com">Salon.com</A>]</BLOCKQUOTE> America is turning into a gigantic socio-economic laboratory.  Has there ever before been a country so close to rule by corporation?  If Bush manages to get another term it will really give him and his buddies a chance to insinuate themselves, it will also give them a mandate to disassemble more and more of the American state.  Who knows where this will lead?  Fascinating. [Note: It required a real effort of will to unindent my comment and format it like this, without the little chevron] http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000881.html In case you'd forgotten... Fri, 29 Nov 2002 07:47:50 +0000 about domestic issues what with your upcoming war and it being thanksgiving 'an all... <IMG src="http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2002/07/09/tomo/story.jpg"> (posted with the kind permission of Tom Tomorrow) If you like Tom's work browse the <A href="http://dir.salon.com/topics/tom_tomorrow/index.html?ti=1">archives</A> or support the <A href="http://www.salon.com/">Salon</A>. http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000898.html Let the fear begin Mon, 09 Dec 2002 10:54:16 +0000 I accidentally deleted the item where I got <A href="http://www.2600.com/news/display/display.shtml?id=1441">this</A>, it probably wouldn't be too hard to find it again.  The summary is below but the details are not important, what is important is that the state of fear in the US is now beginning.  It will be impossible to establish beyond reasonable doubt the details of this or the incidents that are to come. <UL> <LI>An amateur photographer named Mike Maginnis was arrested on Tuesday in his home city of Denver - for simply taking pictures of buildings in an area where Vice President Cheney was residing.</LI> <LI>Maginnis, who says he always carried his camera wherever he went, snapped about 30 pictures of the hotel and the surrounding area - which included Denver police, Army rangers, and rooftop snipers.</LI> <LI>As he was putting his camera away, Maginnis found himself confronted by a Denver police officer who demanded that he hand over his film and camera.</LI> <LI>After being brought to the District 1 police station on Decatur Street, Maginnis was made to wait alone in an interrogation room.</LI> <LI>The agent told Maginnis that his "suspicious activities" made him a threat to national security, and that he would be charged as a terrorist under the USA-PATRIOT act.</LI> <LI>The Secret Service agent tried to make Maginnis admit that he was taking the photographs to analyze weaknesses in the Vice President's security entourage and "cause terror and mayhem."</LI> <LI>Rather than contacting a lawyer, he called the Denver Post and asked for the news desk.</LI> <LI>This was immediately overheard by the desk sergeant, who hung up the phone and placed Maginnis in a holding cell.</LI> <LI>He received no copy of an arrest report, and no receipt for his confiscated possessions.</LI> <LI>He was told that he would probably not get his camera back, as it was being held as evidence.</LI> <LI>Maginnis's lawyer contacted the Denver Police Department for an explanation of the day's events, but the police denied ever having Maginnis - or anyone matching his description - in custody.</LI> <LI>The new police powers introduced by the USA-PATRIOT act, in the name of fighting terrorism, have been frightening in their apparent potential for abuse.</LI> <LI>It suggests that a wide range of activities which might be considered "suspicious" could be suddenly labeled a prelude to terrorism, and be grounds for arrest.</LI></UL> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00000970.html Cotton? We don't want no stinkin cotton Mon, 17 Feb 2003 09:10:54 +0000 Just been reading a little about the history of another just war to bring freedom and democracy to an oppressed people. <A href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/wilson/wilson11.html">http://www.lewrockwell.com/wilson/wilson11.html</A> Which war is that?  Why, the American civil war... http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001166.html Doctorin the news Mon, 17 Feb 2003 09:20:03 +0000 <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <A href="http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-000575/">CNN doctors the news</A>. Dan Hon has done an excellent <A href="http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000411.shtml" target=_blank>analysis</A> of CNN's doctoring of the transcript of Hans Blix' report to the U.N. Friday. <BLOCKQUOTE>After grabbing the text from the two transcripts, correcting for where the BBC inserted a whole bunch of whitespace, there it was. A count in Word says that there's 866 words in one version that aren't in the other. At all. And they're, variously, about Iraqi moves towards compliance and partial refutation of the evidence presented by Powell to the UNSC.</BLOCKQUOTE> Get that. CNN deliberately left out the things Blix said about Iraq complying with the UN resolution, and the parts where he refutes Colin Powell's evidence from the week before. Look for yourself. BBC's full version is <A href="http://danhon.com/temp/bbcblix.txt" target=_blank>here</A> and CNN's fake version is <A href="http://danhon.com/temp/cnnblix.txt" target=_blank>here</A>. [<A href="http://ming.tv/">Ming the Mechanic</A>]</BLOCKQUOTE> Well I'd like to say I'm shocked by CNN doing this, but I'm really not.  And I'd like to say I'd be shocked that they won't get called to account, but I won't be. http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001169.html Don't ask questions. Do what you're told. Thu, 20 Feb 2003 19:49:28 +0000 <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <A href="http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000810.shtml">Cheney's Energy Task Force: Why We'll Never Know Who Was on It</A>. The Hill: GOP threats halted GAO Cheney suit. The controversy with Cheney came to a head in December after U.S.... [<A href="http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/">Dan Gillmor's eJournal</A>]</BLOCKQUOTE> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001184.html Lincoln's supreme lie Tue, 25 Feb 2003 14:30:51 +0000 At a time when the US government seems to be acting not entirely with the backing of it's citizens or necessarily in their long-term best interests I found the following article: "<A href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo41.html">Lincoln's spectacular lie</A>" quite interesting. Bill Bryson's book <A href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0552998052/qid=1046183410/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2_2/202-4218715-5390222">Made In America</A> speaks very eloquently about the war of independence and many of the myths that have grown up surrounding both it and the formation of the union.  I find the whole subject fascinating. http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001206.html De Vries Wed, 05 Mar 2003 11:08:16 +0000 <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <A href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes.php3?author=Peter+De+Vries">Peter De Vries</A>. "Nostalgia isn't what it used to be." [<A href="http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html">Quotes of the Day</A>] [<A href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0110772/">Seb's Open Research</A>]</BLOCKQUOTE> I loved Peter De Vries "The Mackeral Plaza" which I read about 8 or 9 years ago.  It was really an introduction to American humorist writers.  Sadly his books are not easy to come by (my copy of Plaza was quite an old 2nd copy). http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001257.html Sun, 23 Mar 2003 14:20:47 +0000 Testing id's http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00001314.html