Bluejay

blue_jay @ 2008-06-11T22:09:00

2008-06-12T05:11:22Z

W00t! They demonstrated macro-evolution in the lab: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn14094-bacteria-make-major-evolutionary-shift-in-the-lab.html

Not that this'll convince the more die-hard creationists, but it's another lever we can use.

Good election day

2008-06-04T06:03:28Z

Obama finished winning the nomination.
Prop 98 (which would kill rent control) lost. http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/props/59.htm
Prop 99 (which prevents cities from taking your house and giving it to WalMart) won. It's not perfect—if you're a small business they can still give your land to WalMart—but it's something and will hopefully kill the other eminent-domain-reform-plus-conservative-nastiness propositions that have been floating around since Kelo vs. New London.
SF's Prop G won, so redevelopment may finally start in the Bayview. http://www.sfgov.org/site/elections_index.asp?id=70719
SF's Prop F (which would require 50% of the Bayview development to be "affordable", with no subsidy) lost, so development won't be killed off the bat. We really should have more affordable housing, but it deserves to be subsidized by the city. Prop F looked like just an attempt to prevent anything from being built.

Burning man

2007-08-26T00:09:39Z

Well, I haven't posted here in a long while, but I figured I'd let y'all know that I'm going to Burning Man. For anyone else going, I'll be camping with the Scorpions
See y'all there.

blue_jay @ 2005-07-27T20:30:00

2005-07-28T03:32:11Z

Two Parties

2005-07-08T17:19:26Z

Posting here as well as here (subscribe to jyasskin) so more people see it. I'm having two parties celebrating my departure to accommodate both people who work on weekends and people who work on weekdays. Both will be at Aphrodite’s. The first will be Monday, July 11, starting some time in the afternoon, and continuing until around 1:00. The second will be Saturday, July 16, after the priest salon. If you only want to come to the party, I estimate it'll start around 8-9, and again continue until around 1-2.

blue_jay @ 2005-07-07T14:30:00

2005-07-07T19:47:36Z

The Priest Salon will be on Saturday, July 16 at Aphrodite's, starting at 3:00 in the afternoon and continuing until people get bored some time in the evening, at which point we will begin a party to celebrate/mourn me leaving. We will order dinner, and people are welcome to bring snack-type foods.

Doc and Bran are scheduled to speak. Some possible topics are:

Becoming a priest
What priests do
How priests are the same and different from priestesses
Any other questions you can think of. If you'd like people to think about them ahead of time, you can post them in the comments.

Please invite anyone, male or female, who you think might get something out of the salon or have something to contribute. See you guys there.

Trying out a beard

2005-05-28T05:29:39Z

Downside: can no longer itch my hands on my stubble.

Upside (maybe): look like a hippie. (Now where's that digital camera?)

Warrior isn't in the female progression

2005-04-20T05:58:06Z

The traditional female life cycle is Maiden, Mother, Crone. Some wymyn want to add a fourth "Warrior" stage. This is silly. According to the CMA Beltaine ritual, the stages of the male life cycle are Warrior, Chieftain, and Sage. I've heard some disagreement about Chieftain, but Warrior seems pretty standard. Now, take Artemis — the "virgin huntress" — as the archetypal female Warrior. What's wrong with saying that she's acting in a male life-cycle stage? It doesn't make her any less a woman; she's just acting outside her gender's "natural" roles.

Women can be Warriors and Chieftains just as men can be Maidens and Fathers. All of these roles are worthy, whatever the gender of the person playing them. But if you're going to say that some things are inherently female, then some things must also be inherently male.

Ave Hermes

2005-04-02T20:35:54Z

Last night, we went over to gypsydragon's to make banners for CMA. I noticed something on her altar and asked what the "neat magnifying glass with ears" was. She replied that it was Hermes' symbol, a mirror with wings, and that it was there to try to avoid trouble from the current Mercury retrograde. Oops.

Later that night, it fell to me to pick up opheliasavalon and funny_lil_loser and bring them over to the movie night Aphrodite's was hosting. So I started driving over to their place. I noticed that I was hitting all green lights, which never happens on that drive. Hermes is a trickster god who rules travel and communication, among other things, so at this point I started getting nervous.

When I got close to their apartment, I called to have them come down and meet me in the parking lot. "We're at Hyde Park Grill and just ordered. You were supposed to call us from Aphrodite's." Of course, I was in the car when those arrangements were made, just not listening. Things worked out in the end: they were able to get their food to go and come to the movie anyway. Hermes isn't a malicious god, but he plays excellent practical jokes.

blue_jay @ 2004-11-23T16:05:00

2004-11-23T22:12:45Z

From Neil Gaiman's blog: http://www.theliteracysite.com/. Go give books to poor children.

blue_jay @ 2004-11-21T13:50:00

2004-11-21T20:10:54Z

"Yet the shills are more welcome than ever in the nation's television newsrooms. That's because the big networks have chosen to be fair instead of objective. The reason for their choice? Being fair is easier. Rather than digging up facts and seeking out expert analysis, the newshounds can call in a couple of shills from either side of an issue to shout at each other. Doing it that way saves a whole lot of time and hard work. What's more, the anchors don't ever need to think about the issues for themselves."-- Daniel Altman on October 13th

Daniel Altman (incidentally, the author of Neoconomy: George Bush's Revolutionary Gamble With America's Future) agrees with Jon Stewart's point on Crossfire and has given it a name: "fair" versus "objective". This lets us see that Fox's tagline, "Fair and Balanced," is actually correct. They are fair and balanced, presenting someone from each side of an issue to respond to issues framed in a clearly non-objective manner.

My response to Microsoft

2004-09-29T16:49:10Z

Recently, Microsoft asked me if I would be "interested in considering [them] for Full Time opportunities." This is the reply I sent back:

I probably ought to say that I am interested in Microsoft for a full time job and that I'd love to fly up to Seattle on your expense account and then string you along for weeks, using your offer to bargain with other potential employers. But I'm not that dishonest. Instead, I'll simply admit that, while Microsoft may be a very nice place to work, it's simply on the wrong side of too many issues I care about (patents, open source, competition), and until Microsoft becomes a better participant in the software ecosystem, I can't work there.

I'm putting this text in the Public Domain. That means you can copy it, modify it, or do anything else you like with it.

I realize that not everyone feels as strongly as I do about Microsoft. But if you do, when Microsoft comes asking to hire you, I'd appreciate it if you also sent them a response in this spirit. Maybe if enough of us do it, they'll finally change their ways.

blue_jay @ 2004-09-17T01:37:00

2004-09-17T06:51:46Z

Recently, I've seen several blogs, most recently this one, claim that the forgery of CBS's memos will cost Kerry the election. I tend to think that's premature. Even if a Democrat forged the memos and intentionally sent them to CBS, I think Kerry can get out of it. Bush has managed to completely avoid any fallout from the Swift Boat attack ads after all. Of course, that assumes that Kerry can run a competent campaign, an assumption I am increasingly worried about.

blue_jay @ 2004-09-03T13:37:00

2004-09-03T18:41:40Z

To all you English teachers out there.

"Every person I've talked to while writing this essay seems to have felt the same about English classes-- that the whole process seemed pointless. But none of us had the balls at the time to hypothesize that it was, in fact, all a mistake. We all thought there was just something we weren't getting." —The Age of the Essay by Paul Graham

A more substantial update should follow within a few days, I hope.

On licenses

2004-07-17T04:51:39Z

I haven't really been thinking about OSS licenses any more lately, but my thoughts seem to have gelled recently, as much as I think they ever will.

I think wasted energy is wrong, probably in a moral sense. If anyone puts an effort toward doing something that could have been accomplished more easily, something is wrong with the world. I don't mean to imply that things like raking sand gardens are wrong: their purpose is not to make pretty patterns in sand. Also, wasted effort isn't a huge evil; certainly smaller than avoidable pain or death. Now, if I want to accomplish something with software (and I frequently do), and someone else has already done the same thing, I'm wasting energy if I write it again. Similarly, if I write a library, and someone wants to do the same thing, I am morally wronging them if I deny them the use of it.

So, what license do I have to use for my software? Closed source is clearly out. So I have a general choice between BSD and GPL-style licenses. BSD-style licenses tend to require that any copyright notice stay intact but otherwise put very few restrictions on how other people use the code. Here, I'm including the public domain under BSD-style licenses even though they're not exactly the same.

The GPL requires that anyone who uses my code also give everyone the same access to their code. This has the practical implication that many other people are forbidden from using my code. Again, I'm grouping other restrictive licenses with the GPL, particularly ones that also include some restrictions on patents. The GPL is just the best-known license in this class.

On the one hand, a BSD license allows everyone else to use the software, while GPL excludes some people, usually closed-source developers. On the other hand, the people the GPL excludes are those who are acting immorally anyway. This brings up issues of how much wrong I can do to fight wrong-doers. The purpose of the GPL is to coerce people into doing right. I'm generally doing less wrong than they are, since they can still see my code and incorporate my ideas; they just have to waste the effort of writing and debugging their code. But I'm still compromising my ideals in order to fight theirs.

On the third hand, some of the people who can't use my code are other open source developers, who have done nothing more wrong than to pick a different restrictive license that is subtly incompatible with my choice. Sure, I can't use their code either, so I'm just getting them back; but in this case, the GPL has completely missed its target.

In the end, despite this argument that seems to prove that I ought to always use a BSD-style license (or just dump my work in the public domain), I still lean toward using the GPL or LGPL. I guess the thought of someone using my work and then keeping theirs secret annoys me enough that I'm willing to slightly compromise my morals. Anyway, they can always release their code in order to use mine. And the GPL is by far the most popular restrictive license, so I'm not hurting very many people. (This may change in a year or two when the (incompatible) GPLv3 is released.)

Always, of course, I must work for the release of any corporate code I work on.

blue_jay @ 2004-06-19T12:13:00

2004-06-19T19:22:46Z

I just received an email from an aunt asking that I sign this petition. It asks the United Nations to adopt an "Anti-Semitism Resolution" that basically says, "We've already adopted all these resolutions prohibiting intolerance based on religion. They apply extra specially to Jews." Sounds pretty redundant to me. Possibly counter-productive: why are hate crimes against Jews worse than hate crimes against other groups? I have seen reports of rising anti-semitism, but I haven't seen any that say that law enforcement has been reluctant to prosecute those who commit anti-semitic crimes. That says to me that governments aren't doing anything wrong, and the UN doesn't need to get involved.

Instead, maybe we need to look at some root causes. And get a thicker skin. Criticizing Israel is not anti-semitism. Even comparing Sharon to Hitler isn't anti-semitic. (Sure, it's anti-Sharon.) It's pretty standard fare to compare war criminals to Nazis.

Saying that all Jews are evil because of Israel's crimes is anti-semitic, but this over-generalization is in good company. How many Jews have you heard saying that Arabs can't be trusted or are violent because they've seen some suicide bombers on the news? The World Jewish Congress's motto doesn't help: "All Jews are responsible for one another." Well then, they admitted it. I'm responsible for Sharon's and Israel's war crimes. Can we really be surprised when some street thug decides to punish me for them?

Well-put argument against DRM

2004-06-19T03:19:46Z

That's "Digital Restrictions/Rights Management" for the uncultured among you. Cory Doctorow of the EFF gave this presentation to Microsoft, of all companies. It's the best argument against DRM that I've seen. And it's public domain, so go ahead and copy it or pieces into your own rants.

What can be done with CSS

2004-05-30T21:47:49Z

The CSS Zen Garden is an illustration of how much can be done with just CSS. The HTML on the site is identical for all of the designs; only the CSS changes. Some of the designs are surprisingly pretty, so go visit even if you're not a web designer.

I even hear that mnemonic looks different in IE and Mozilla/Opera/Safari.

blue_jay @ 2004-05-22T17:28:00

2004-05-22T22:28:52Z

To all you recent graduates: Jon Stewart's commencement address

blue_jay @ 2004-05-17T01:22:00

2004-05-17T06:43:59Z

The New Yorker has an article on how and why the abuses at Abu Ghraib happened. The chain of responsibility leads all the way to Rumsfeld. http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?fact/040524fa_fact I'm not hopeful that these particular abuses are an impeachable offense for Bush, but they could lead to significant restrictions on black ops.

And then, another reaction.

Edit: Another very interesting article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28340-2004May14?language=printer If it asks you to register, please comment and I'll try to fix it.

On credit card offers

2004-04-30T22:44:13Z

What are you supposed to do with all those credit card offers you receive in the mail? "Tear them in half and throw them away," you say? No! Why should you go to the trouble (and use the trash can space) to throw away this paper that you didn't want in the first place? Let the credit card company throw it away instead:

Tear off the actual application that they want you to send back, tear it in half, and throw it away yourself, just to make sure that they don't "accidentally" sign you up.
Pack all the extra stuff that they sent with it into the "No postage necessary if mailed in the US" envelope, lick it, and put it in your mailbox.

You pay nothing; they pay the postage, plus some fee for privilege of throwing away the trash they sent you. If you're feeling particularly nasty, you can also include any other junk mail you have lying around to make the envelope heavier. If we all do this, perhaps they'll figure out that we don't want their offers.

Spread the meme!

Classes next semester

2004-04-30T21:02:26Z

Nice, pretty display of my courses. I'll be doing research on something, and I plan to go to the lab and get stuff done in that 9-2 block on TTh.

Click on the Home link to enter your own courses. Dan intends the interface to be intuitive and self-documenting, so there's no documentation. If you have troubles, reply here or email his Feedback link.

blue_jay @ 2004-04-26T23:40:00

2004-04-27T04:45:10Z

Abortion?:	Try to avoid it, but it needs to be an option
Death Penalty?:	Pro in theory, Anti in practice. It's too hard to be certain.
Prostitution?:	Require safe practices, then sure.
Alcohol?:	I like Europe's approach
Marijuana?:	Legal
Other drugs?:	Legal. If they may cause you to harm others, then only in special places (hospitals?) to prevent harm.
Gay marriage?:	Yes. And poly marriage. But perhaps the complexities should be handled by contract law instead.
Illegal immigrants?:	Undecided. Definitely prevent their exploitation.
Smoking?:	Stinks. But legal
Drunk driving?:	Illegal. This threatens others' safety. Driving on lots of other substances should be illegal too.
Cloning?:	Sure. It'll happen anyway. Make sure not to repeat the mistake of GATTACA.
Racism?:	Shoot all racists. (This blog does not advocate violence against anyone.)
Premarital sex?:	Sure.
Religion?:	Keep it to yourself.
The war in Iraq?:	For oil and imperialism. Should never have happened. Now that we're there, we're stuck. A democracy will go against our interests, but is essential.
Bush?:	Evil Evangelical Dictator-type. If re-elected, dangerously likely to repeat the failure of the Roman Republic.
Downloading music?:	Copyright should be 14 years long. They should sell the music for cheap online. Serves them right. But if they were acting morally, it'd be wrong.
The legal drinking age?:	See above about Europe
Porn?:	Whatever
Suicide?:	Big decision. But people should be free to make it.

What is your stand on..... brought to you by BZOINK!

In other news (back in December) ...

2004-04-04T23:27:36Z

Leftist rag proclaims end of American Dream through drop in social mobility! Read it all at http://www.businessweek.com/@@SV5bKocQnzhS3BUA/magazine/content/03_48/b3860067_mz021.htm.

(You may have to register. If you don't want to, it's reprinted at http://reclaimdemocracy.org/weekly_2003/american_dream_death.html)

1 year ago today

2004-02-15T05:46:14Z

Wow, it's been a whole year. One year ago today, around 11 million people around the world protested against the planned war against Iraq.

Rome, Italy (2.5 mil)

Antarctica (51)

Madrid, Spain (1 million)

Jakarta, Indonesia

Here's 180 more pictures, and a Google search that gets a lot of pages about it. Wikipedia has some context and numbers.

Of course, none of this made any difference to the outcome. Instead we spent between $100 and $166 billion, killed over 600 and wounded between 3000 and 10,000 "Coalition" soldiers</a> and killed 8000-10,000 Iraqi civilians to produce a colossal mess

But things aren't all bad:


Marriage is love.