Curt Doolittle

Form: Short Note

  • it into the middle class

    http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/who-makes-it-into-the-middle-class/Making it into the middle class.

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-20 23:30:00 UTC

  • TESTOSTERONE Never had my levels checked before. Turns out my ex was right. Absu

    TESTOSTERONE

    Never had my levels checked before. Turns out my ex was right. Absurdly high lol. I mean. Close to having the opposite problem. Near the upper limit. Wonder what it was when I was 19… No wonder.

    Vitamin D is a serious problem though. Is that the cause of my energy problem? I mean I basically don’t have any. Wtf?

    Is it the synthroid?

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-19 20:29:00 UTC

  • I LOVE LIBERTARIANS Really. I mean. They’re interesting. And they aren’t interes

    I LOVE LIBERTARIANS

    Really. I mean. They’re interesting. And they aren’t interesting at someone else’s expense.

    Libertarians and progressives are closer than libertarians and conservatives. Both are more attracted to new experiences. But libertarians desire experiences that they can create voluntarily. Liberals desire experiences whether obtained voluntarily or not. The difference between these world views is caused by the difference in false consensus bias. Libertarians don’t make that error. Progressives are defined by it.

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-19 15:26:00 UTC

  • ICED TEA SECURITY Backpack. Heavy laptop lock. Cable from laptop, through backpa

    ICED TEA SECURITY

    Backpack. Heavy laptop lock. Cable from laptop, through backpack, to immovable object.

    Ability to run to the restroom in coffee houses without having to find someone seemingly trustworthy to watch your gear: Priceless.

    ( This is serious. No, really. )

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-19 15:07:00 UTC

  • EFFECT: DECLINE OF WINTEL DESKTOPS AND LAPTOPS AS THEY ARE REPLACED BY HANDHELDS

    http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-personal-computing-platforms-2012-9SUBSTITUTION EFFECT: DECLINE OF WINTEL DESKTOPS AND LAPTOPS AS THEY ARE REPLACED BY HANDHELDS

    This chart’s making the rounds again.

    But, why do I care about pointing out the obvious? I care because the Seattle to Redmod region is a ‘green zone’ of concentrated wealth that has an expiration date engraved on Mount Si.

    And while the transition will be painful. And you can already see it in the composition of the stores and other businesses. The reason the region will survive is that for a generation, that wealth will remain, and the large number of engineers are plastic enough to start new businesses. See what happened to Rochester and Xerox by comparison, for precisely the same reasons. And unlike Rochester, Seattle is on a coast, has a port, cheap electricity, a temperate climate and as yet, few racial and social problems.

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-15 16:33:00 UTC

  • IS IT WRONG TO ENJOY REFACTORING? I guess it’s essentially the same activity as

    IS IT WRONG TO ENJOY REFACTORING?

    I guess it’s essentially the same activity as knitting, sudoku and crossword puzzles. But it’s relaxing.

    Sketch it in comments – it makes your work self documenting.

    write the minimum necessary to make it work.

    add error handling

    extend the feature set.

    now you have a working function, feature or application

    make it pretty

    refactor it until it’s the best it can be.

    Philosophy follows the same process:

    Draft an essay.

    Edit and expand it for clarity.

    Add defenses to all possible criticisms.

    Add refutations of prior works.

    At which point you have a book that addresses a single idea.

    Add character to engage the reader.

    Edit it for clarity, until it’s the best it can be.

    The only real difference is that running unit tests on syllogistic statements can’t be automated. 🙂

    (Yet.)

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-14 10:47:00 UTC

  • Catalans rally for secession. One can only hope

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-12/thousands-turn-out-for-autonomy-rally-in-barcelona/4256036SECESSION

    Catalans rally for secession.

    One can only hope….

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-13 19:18:00 UTC

  • OF THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS Thanks to Ashtad Bin Sayyif for the pointer

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8776880HERITABILITY OF THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

    Thanks to Ashtad Bin Sayyif for the pointer.

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-12 12:11:00 UTC

  • THE DEMAND CURVE FOR COCAINE Thanks to the irrepressible Robert Murphy. A humoro

    THE DEMAND CURVE FOR COCAINE

    Thanks to the irrepressible Robert Murphy.

    A humorous way to teach a basic idea: prohibition increases price and demand, and by means of artificial scarcity, distributes vast amounts of money to producers of banned substances. One of the best ways to make money is to provide something that people want, and are willing to pay for, but it subject to extraordinary tariffs.

    Oh, to be a pirate on the seas. 🙂

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-08 21:58:00 UTC

  • “REALITY BY CHANTING” What a great name for a company that produces marketing re

    “REALITY BY CHANTING”

    What a great name for a company that produces marketing related software. lol

    Done. .com, and .net. Trademark submitted. 🙂

    Not divulging the product name yet. But it’s related. 🙂

    Source date (UTC): 2012-09-07 15:42:00 UTC