THE VIEW FROM CHAOS MANOR View 127 November 13 - 19, 2000 |
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Last Week's View Next Week's View This is a day book. It's not all that well edited. I try to keep this up daily, but sometimes I can't. I'll keep trying. See also the monthly COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR column, 4,000 - 7,000 words, depending. (Older columns here.) For more on what this place is about, please go to the VIEW PAGE. If you are not paying for this place, click here... For Previous Weeks of the View, SEE VIEW HOME PAGE Search: type in string and press return.
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This week: | Monday
November 13, 2000 COMDEX If nothing else this proves I shouldn't go to shows when I'm not feeling well. I almost didn't come and if I hadn't been on the program I wouldn't have. So today I find the floor overcrowded and overwhelming, retreated to what I thought was a place of refuge, and ended up yelling at some poor lady who was in no way at fault over something so minor (until I got upset) that no one should have noticed it. I apologized at least, but I sure managed to make an ass of myself. I don't know what I've come down with but I sure shouldn't be inflicted on the public until it's over. I'll try to write up Gates's speech last night. It was interesting and I had a good conversation with Dan Bricklin afterwards, with some good observations. Last night turned out well but it wasn't a lot of fun, and I only went to one thing, missing most announcements and events. I guess this will be a different COMDEX. Tonight I have a couple of events and I'll try to act like a human being at them.
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This week: | Tuesday,
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This week: |
Wednesday,
COMDEX
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This week: |
Thursday,
HOME but recovering; action starts Saturday
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This week: |
Friday,
November 17, 2000 Home but swamped with cleanup.
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This week: | Saturday,
November 18, 2000 Back on duty. I've got a LOT of mail to catch up with. As to election observations, I have none. When Lincoln died, James Garfield proclaimed: "My fellow citizens, God reigns, and the government at Washington still lives." Whatever the outcome, I can't believe that the loser will appeal to force or try to destabilize the government. There will be a winner, and he will be President, and the Army will obey him. We have not yet gone that far down the road to Imperialism. We are further than I like. But there is still time. OR, if we must be an Imperial power, perhaps we can give thought to how to do that properly. The problem is this: the ruler of the world cannot be elected by the people of one part of it. If the United States is to impose the New World Order on everyone, then either they have to have a part in selecting our government -- or we impose our will by force. But if we do that we develop institutions for doing that. Call that The Army since that's what it must be whatever we call it. And when The Army realizes that rule depends on it alone, it will insist on having a say in what is done through its means. And -- but the picture is surely clear. And it has all happened before. That is why we must choose: Empire or Republic. We still have a choice. We may not have one forever. And see The Onion: http://www.onion.com/onion3641/nation_plunges_into_chaos.html From another discussion group: The Florida recount provision explicitly states: "A recount need not be ordered with respect to the returns for any office, however, if the candidate or candidates defeated or eliminated from contention for such office by one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast for such office request in writing that a recount not be made." The current crisis is all Gore's fault. He could put an end to this madness any time he wants by conceding like a man. (Bush could not, by the way. He can't stop it because he's not the loser: Gore is.) I have mixed emotions on this; but continual recounts until the result is to one's liking seems to me a dangerous practice. California law specifies what to do with one-corner, two-corner, three-corner, and "dimpled" chad: if one or two corners are attached the punch may be counted. Otherwise it is not. There are other specifications if counting the punch would invalidate an otherwise valid ballot. Hand counting can detect some voter intentions not found by machines. It is also inherently judgmental, and easily subject to abuse by continual handling of ballots. As to the statistical proofs showing that the Buchanan vote in one Florida county is anomalous, I have not seen a similar analysis done for the 1996 vote and third parties there. It seems an odd county, and certainly did cast a fairly large number of Reform votes in the primary. It seems as reasonable to me to suppose that Reform voters are protest voters, and that county collects a lot of them, as to suppose other "intentions" of the voters; but assuming they did "intend" to vote for someone other than the person they actually voted for, I would think the office of president should not be awarded on the basis of assumed intentions. What is really distressing here is that it matters so much. In a time when the Republic is not threatened by foreign powers, and the economy is booming, it would seem to me to be the time to make the office of President less important for individual lives compared to state governors, county sheriffs. and city mayors. I would love to live in a country in which who is President is less important to my life and welfare than who is mayor.
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This week: | Sunday,
November 20, 2000 Spent the day doing chores; Roberta was singing in a variety show fund raiser.
Angelica Micallef Trigona has sent a warning of a new "Romeo and Juliet Virus" not detected by virus scan software. It is described on that web site. I never heard of this, and I am not sure how real the threat it. I would appreciate advice from readers. I have a great deal of mail with many issues to address, but I am going to try to see a doctor today regarding this crud that plagues me. After the rather strenuous day yesterday I confess I did nothing but play a game or two last night; no mental energy. But I am dancing as fast as I can. Keep the letters coming.
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