Saturday, May 21, 2011
'Microsoft is the new Wang,' Part II
Here's some evidence that Steve Blank might be right in saying we're entering a new boom period for high-tech. ... The growth of high tech jobs in the Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner and Providence-Fall River areas are impressive. ... Link via Reader No. 1.
Here's some evidence that Steve Blank might be right in saying we're entering a new boom period for high-tech. ... The growth of high tech jobs in the Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner and Providence-Fall River areas are impressive. ... Link via Reader No. 1.
Friday, May 20, 2011
'Microsoft is the new Wang'
Silicon Valley guru Steve Blank thinks Microsoft will start its crash descent within six quarters. Not six years. But six quarters. Blank:
For locals, that’s a big “ouch.” But it's a bigger ouch, obviously, for Microsoft. ... Blank also thinks we're entering another boom-time bubble period for high tech.
Silicon Valley guru Steve Blank thinks Microsoft will start its crash descent within six quarters. Not six years. But six quarters. Blank:
Microsoft is the new Wang. Remember Wang? It was a dedicated piece of word processing hardware. Or they're the new Data General or the new DEC. The wings fell off but their trajectory kept them going for a couple years until they plummeted to earth because there was nothing underneath them anymore.
For locals, that’s a big “ouch.” But it's a bigger ouch, obviously, for Microsoft. ... Blank also thinks we're entering another boom-time bubble period for high tech.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Was the 1918 World Series fixed?
Some are asking. If true, it would mean the Red Sox actually went 88 years, not 86 years, without a legitimate World Series win, assuming 1916 wasn't fixed too. ... Well, we always have 2004 and 2007, minus minor distractions.
Some are asking. If true, it would mean the Red Sox actually went 88 years, not 86 years, without a legitimate World Series win, assuming 1916 wasn't fixed too. ... Well, we always have 2004 and 2007, minus minor distractions.
The T's warped idea of privatization
The MBTA: Government of the hacks, by the hacks, for the hacks. ... Think about it next time you're stuck on yet another delayed commuter-rail train: They're not there to serve you first. They're there to serve themselves.
P.S. - Now if we could only find the revolving-door over at the the Red Line.
The MBTA: Government of the hacks, by the hacks, for the hacks. ... Think about it next time you're stuck on yet another delayed commuter-rail train: They're not there to serve you first. They're there to serve themselves.
P.S. - Now if we could only find the revolving-door over at the the Red Line.
Friday, May 13, 2011
'Romney: It's All Over But the Losing'
Brutal. But it's a representative sample of the reaction on the right to Romney's big speech yesterday. ... There's a part of me who respects Romney for sticking by his guns on the health-care bill he signed. I thought he'd cynically, cravingly distance himself from it. The fact is the state's universal health-care program isn't working as badly as critics assert. It hasn't cost the state as much money as feared. The program preserves a free-enterprise (non-single payer) approach toward health care. Tens of thousands of people have signed up for private health insurance, removing them from the ranks of health-care freeloaders. True, the system hasn't reduced escalating health-care costs, but that's not what the first stage of the program was supposed to do.
Still, no amounts of facts are going to persuade some critics that the Massachusetts system is anything less than a disaster. ... Thanks to Reader No. 1 for the VodkaPundit tip.
Brutal. But it's a representative sample of the reaction on the right to Romney's big speech yesterday. ... There's a part of me who respects Romney for sticking by his guns on the health-care bill he signed. I thought he'd cynically, cravingly distance himself from it. The fact is the state's universal health-care program isn't working as badly as critics assert. It hasn't cost the state as much money as feared. The program preserves a free-enterprise (non-single payer) approach toward health care. Tens of thousands of people have signed up for private health insurance, removing them from the ranks of health-care freeloaders. True, the system hasn't reduced escalating health-care costs, but that's not what the first stage of the program was supposed to do.
Still, no amounts of facts are going to persuade some critics that the Massachusetts system is anything less than a disaster. ... Thanks to Reader No. 1 for the VodkaPundit tip.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Did Celts inspire LeBron and Wade to join forces?
Sounds both plausible and patronizing at the same time. From Reader No. 1: "Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Or a kind of inverted disrespect? Hard to imagine DWade giving this kind of interview if the series were tied at 2. Will our big three see this as 'bulletin board material' that it is?" ... I have a somewhat good feeling about tonight's game. If they can only get it back to Boston.
Sounds both plausible and patronizing at the same time. From Reader No. 1: "Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Or a kind of inverted disrespect? Hard to imagine DWade giving this kind of interview if the series were tied at 2. Will our big three see this as 'bulletin board material' that it is?" ... I have a somewhat good feeling about tonight's game. If they can only get it back to Boston.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Celtics: Approaching the end of an era
The turnovers. The turnovers. They killed us last night. ... Reader No. 1 on the heartbreaking Celts OT loss last night:
The turnovers. The turnovers. They killed us last night. ... Reader No. 1 on the heartbreaking Celts OT loss last night:
This hurts. Maybe not as much as Rondo's elbow, but...
- 17 points in the last 17 minutes... I can't find our shooting stats in Q4 and OT but maybe I don't want to see them. We missed a lot of shots.
- LeBron for 35, I understand; he's great. B ut Bosh outscores KG 20-7... ouch. Not to mention losing to a team with an even crappier bench than we have (at least we can cite injuries)... ouch again.
- Dwayne Wade is good. Triple-ouch.
It ain't over til its over. But it's almost over. Reminds me of a late 70s Bruins playoff series when we ran out of players owing to injuries. The spirit is willing but the flesh (and elbow bone) is weak.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Ouch! Rondo's elbow
Check out the photo/video of Rondo's dislocated elblow during last night's Celtics game. The video actually isn't there, but there is a still photo. ... Can he come back? I don't see how he came back last night, for heaven's sake, let alone coming back tomorrow night. He says he will. I have my doubts. His elbow must be killing him this morning. ...
Check out the photo/video of Rondo's dislocated elblow during last night's Celtics game. The video actually isn't there, but there is a still photo. ... Can he come back? I don't see how he came back last night, for heaven's sake, let alone coming back tomorrow night. He says he will. I have my doubts. His elbow must be killing him this morning. ...
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Shark!
The Herald takes the early lead in this year's shark-sighting sweepstakes:
The Herald takes the early lead in this year's shark-sighting sweepstakes:
The monster was about 20 feet long and circling a dead whale as it turned toward their tiny center-console outboard, said captain Jeff Lynch of Chilmark.
“To see something that big was crazy. It was as big as my boat. It had to weigh a ton or more,” Lynch told the Herald. “It was following my boat around.”
“The girth of it was impressive,” said boat-mate Will Farrissey. “I’ve never seen anything that big.”
Friday, May 06, 2011
The new Birther line of attack... Part II
A friend writes in: "I would be careful about politicizing the photo decision; I think the President made the right decision for same reasons outlined here by James Bowman (who is a conservative), but (a) wish Obama had articulated as well as Bowman and (b) respect though disagree with impulse to see the photos."
I don't think I was politicizing the photo decision, only pointing fingers at certain individulas who were politicizing the photo decision. But the reader is right in general. The Bowman piece is short and eloquent. A sample:
Update -- Mitt agrees with Obama's photo decision. Good for him, though his reasoning is not the same as Bowman's. ... I'm officially flip-flopping. The president should stand firm on his initial decision and impulse, rather than caving to partisan cynics and conspiracy theorists.
A friend writes in: "I would be careful about politicizing the photo decision; I think the President made the right decision for same reasons outlined here by James Bowman (who is a conservative), but (a) wish Obama had articulated as well as Bowman and (b) respect though disagree with impulse to see the photos."
I don't think I was politicizing the photo decision, only pointing fingers at certain individulas who were politicizing the photo decision. But the reader is right in general. The Bowman piece is short and eloquent. A sample:
Those who would celebrate in a more exuberant fashion, even to the point of "spiking the ball," as our President put it in respect of publishing the photos of the dead man, may feel an understandable joy at (Osama's) demise, but translating that joy into public action has implications for the national honor. I may, of course, be wrong, but I think that honor is better served, as honor so often is, by understatement than overstatement in the expression of our joy.
Update -- Mitt agrees with Obama's photo decision. Good for him, though his reasoning is not the same as Bowman's. ... I'm officially flip-flopping. The president should stand firm on his initial decision and impulse, rather than caving to partisan cynics and conspiracy theorists.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
The new Birther line of attack: Show us the Osama photos!
Knowing they can't criticize the president for what most everyone agrees was a well-run operation to find and kill Osama Bin Laden, some on the right are now criticizing President Obama's decision not to release photos of the dead terrorist. The same president who effectively just ordered the assassination of a mass murderer is presumed to be a wimp until he releases the photos, damn it! ...
Sound familiar? Of course it does. It's right out of a Birthers playbook: The president is presumed guilty of some silly charge until he releases a long-form birth certificate/school grades/Osama photo etc. The Birther tactic, in turn, can trace its lineage to the Swift Boat assaults of 2004, i.e. attack a perceived strength, diminishing it as much as possible, regardless of the ludicrousness of the charges. This is what's unfolding now -- and will continue to unfold in coming days and weeks and months.
Another frustrating part of the ginned up post-raid drama: The president keeps falling for these tricks. Eventually, he's going to be forced to release the photos. We all know this. At the very least, they'll be leaked somehow. Though I understand the immediate rationale for not releasing the photos, they should be thrown out there to quash the arguments of hyper-partisan cynics and conspiracy theorists alike. End the silly dispute now. ...
As for the varying accounts about the raid coming out of the White House, it's mildly disturbing. The behind-the-scenes/get-the-story-straight PR component of the raid has been horrible. But I chalk it up mostly to the natural confusion associated with such intense events. As a friend recently wrote to moi:
Knowing they can't criticize the president for what most everyone agrees was a well-run operation to find and kill Osama Bin Laden, some on the right are now criticizing President Obama's decision not to release photos of the dead terrorist. The same president who effectively just ordered the assassination of a mass murderer is presumed to be a wimp until he releases the photos, damn it! ...
Sound familiar? Of course it does. It's right out of a Birthers playbook: The president is presumed guilty of some silly charge until he releases a long-form birth certificate/school grades/Osama photo etc. The Birther tactic, in turn, can trace its lineage to the Swift Boat assaults of 2004, i.e. attack a perceived strength, diminishing it as much as possible, regardless of the ludicrousness of the charges. This is what's unfolding now -- and will continue to unfold in coming days and weeks and months.
Another frustrating part of the ginned up post-raid drama: The president keeps falling for these tricks. Eventually, he's going to be forced to release the photos. We all know this. At the very least, they'll be leaked somehow. Though I understand the immediate rationale for not releasing the photos, they should be thrown out there to quash the arguments of hyper-partisan cynics and conspiracy theorists alike. End the silly dispute now. ...
As for the varying accounts about the raid coming out of the White House, it's mildly disturbing. The behind-the-scenes/get-the-story-straight PR component of the raid has been horrible. But I chalk it up mostly to the natural confusion associated with such intense events. As a friend recently wrote to moi:
I realize this is an enormously complicated and stressful situation. In my personal experience, the more powerful the individual, the more ambiguous and indirect the conversations - under conditions of stress, the opportunity for confusion and misinterpretation goes way up.
I think the President is clearly struggling with this, and understandably so. The stress in the situation room pictures, and in his remarks at the Monday night dinner, were obvious. This stress/struggle is surely one reason for the decision not to release the photos (aside from backlash, remembering response to the Saddam 'tooth inspection' photo).
On a separate, much less serious note - how many more shambolic press conferences before Jay Carney returns to the dreaded private sector?
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Seeing the future -- not
Reader No. 1 comments on this Megan McArdle post about predictions: "A great reminder of how randomness and regression to the mean persist in all walks of life."
Reader No. 1 comments on this Megan McArdle post about predictions: "A great reminder of how randomness and regression to the mean persist in all walks of life."
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
The hunt for Osama
The NYT has the best blow-by-blow account yet of the raid on Osama's compound.
Update -- From Reader No. 1:
The NYT has the best blow-by-blow account yet of the raid on Osama's compound.
Update -- From Reader No. 1:
Robert Wright wrote a superb book about Al-Qaeda and bin Laden, The Looming Tower, so his comments in New Yorker are particularly worth noting.
Some good thoughts and questions from Toby Harnden.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Curt Schilling upset at Osama's Muslim burial
He later backed off his rant. But he was only muttering out loud something most of us were wondering too. Why the hell did we dispose of the body within 24 hours in accordance to Muslim law? But Curt himself provides the answer to that question: If showing disrespect had led to the killing of even one American, it wouldn't have been worth it. ...
He later backed off his rant. But he was only muttering out loud something most of us were wondering too. Why the hell did we dispose of the body within 24 hours in accordance to Muslim law? But Curt himself provides the answer to that question: If showing disrespect had led to the killing of even one American, it wouldn't have been worth it. ...
Osama Bin Laden and the dog that didn't bark
One of the pieces of evidence used to determine Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts didn't physically exist: There were no phone or Internet lines to his mansion, raising curious-incident suspicions. ... If a movie is ever made about the Navy SEAL team that raided Osama's home (and, of course, there will be movies), Hub Blog has a suggestion: Start the flick with an old mood-setting film clip of the botched Iranian hostage-rescue mission in 1980. The Desert One debacle led directly to formation of SEAL Team Six, providing yet another Jimmy Carter-contrast angle to yesterday's events. ...
One of the pieces of evidence used to determine Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts didn't physically exist: There were no phone or Internet lines to his mansion, raising curious-incident suspicions. ... If a movie is ever made about the Navy SEAL team that raided Osama's home (and, of course, there will be movies), Hub Blog has a suggestion: Start the flick with an old mood-setting film clip of the botched Iranian hostage-rescue mission in 1980. The Desert One debacle led directly to formation of SEAL Team Six, providing yet another Jimmy Carter-contrast angle to yesterday's events. ...
Osama Bin Laden: Crime and punishment
As gruesome as it may sound, I'm glad he was taken down by human beings, not drones. His last views and thoughts were that of American soldiers finally bringing justice to him. ... But the punishment could have been greater: "They should have captured Bin Laden alive & and made him continually go through airport security 4 the rest of his life." ... That would have been cruel, unusual and probably unconstitutional.
As gruesome as it may sound, I'm glad he was taken down by human beings, not drones. His last views and thoughts were that of American soldiers finally bringing justice to him. ... But the punishment could have been greater: "They should have captured Bin Laden alive & and made him continually go through airport security 4 the rest of his life." ... That would have been cruel, unusual and probably unconstitutional.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Measuring happiness in the All-American City
Somerville is asking residents, via census questions, how happy they are in life. It's not a bad idea. But why do I have a hunch that responses will merely confirm the need for more standard playbook hipness? Bike paths, outdoor cafes, 'green' spaces, etc. etc.
Somerville is asking residents, via census questions, how happy they are in life. It's not a bad idea. But why do I have a hunch that responses will merely confirm the need for more standard playbook hipness? Bike paths, outdoor cafes, 'green' spaces, etc. etc.
