Gallup is out with another report on the unemployment rate. Unlike the government, they are not trying to make themselves look good in the face of bad news, so the numbers are not massaged to give a different result. What's interesting to note is how steady the rate has been for the last year, at a pretty constant level right around 10%.
Underemployment is running at 19.7% and has been holding pretty steady for the last year as well, which means there are a lot of part timers and people working below their training out there. The underlying problem with this is that in a lot of cases, if you don't keep your skills up-to-date, after a year, you become noticeably less employable in your preferred position.
I know in my line of work, employers always want 5 years experience using the current year version of the software.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
CPAC report
I'm not there, so all this is second hand. Sarah Palin isn't there either, and so far this is sort of looking like a smart move.
So far, Don Trump, erstwhile presidential candidate, has addressed the multitudes to the effect that Ron Paul, as a potential presidential candidate is unelectable. Big Deal. It's not like Mr. Trump is particularly electable.
Think about the characteristics you'd like to see in a President. For example, executive experience. Yes, Trump has that, but being a near absolute dictator in an industrial setting is not the same as being a successful big-city mayor or state governor. This is not to say that Bill Gates might not be a passable president, but somehow I just have a hard time seeing it.
So far, Don Trump, erstwhile presidential candidate, has addressed the multitudes to the effect that Ron Paul, as a potential presidential candidate is unelectable. Big Deal. It's not like Mr. Trump is particularly electable.
Think about the characteristics you'd like to see in a President. For example, executive experience. Yes, Trump has that, but being a near absolute dictator in an industrial setting is not the same as being a successful big-city mayor or state governor. This is not to say that Bill Gates might not be a passable president, but somehow I just have a hard time seeing it.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I Get Results
Following my complaint that the Republican party isn't really serious about controlling spending, the party has decided to up the amount to be cut from this years budget from some $32B to a whole #100B.
This sounds great until you look at the situation and conclude that if the government is planning to spent some $1,500B it doesn't have, over and above what it actually does have, $100B still doesn't amount to much. Still, for someone whose place on the internet food chain is probably somewhere near pond scum, it's a good start.
Keep those cards and letters and e-mails flowing to your congressanimals, and remind them that as long as there's ethanol in your gas tank, Daniel Schorr is still employed, or the BATFE still exists, they aren't done.
This sounds great until you look at the situation and conclude that if the government is planning to spent some $1,500B it doesn't have, over and above what it actually does have, $100B still doesn't amount to much. Still, for someone whose place on the internet food chain is probably somewhere near pond scum, it's a good start.
Keep those cards and letters and e-mails flowing to your congressanimals, and remind them that as long as there's ethanol in your gas tank, Daniel Schorr is still employed, or the BATFE still exists, they aren't done.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Caption Contest
Wizbang had a caption contest featuring this picture of traffic on Chicagos Lake Shore Drive:
Being the quick-witted fellow I am, and now that the contest is over it occurs to me that :
"The blizzard highlighted the benefits of mass transit, the passengers having a much higher survival rate due to a better food supply."
Being the quick-witted fellow I am, and now that the contest is over it occurs to me that :"The blizzard highlighted the benefits of mass transit, the passengers having a much higher survival rate due to a better food supply."
Sunday, February 6, 2011
See Something, Say Something
Hello, DHS? I'd like to report terrorist threats against a political speech.
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Yes, the organizers felt they had to cancel the speech, the threat level was so high.
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Yes, the speaker? Why Sarah Palin... Hello? Hello?
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Yes, the organizers felt they had to cancel the speech, the threat level was so high.
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Yes, the speaker? Why Sarah Palin... Hello? Hello?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Gun Stuff
Ever the optimists, the house Republicans have introduced a constitutional carry bill. There's a petition to sign to show support which will be submitted when the bill gets assigned to a committee.
Since the Senate is still under the control of the Dems, and the Governor is a member of Bloombergs anti-gun club, this has little or no chance of passing.
The way political maneuvering works, this could well pass the house, forcing the Dems there to go on record with a position which will be used against them in '12. In the Senate, while the Dems don't like guns, they also don't want to be seen opposing them, so the bill will be assigned to the Veterans Affairs committee where it will never see the light of day, and the Dems will be able to avoid actually having to vote on it.
Still, you gotta keep the heat on.
Since the Senate is still under the control of the Dems, and the Governor is a member of Bloombergs anti-gun club, this has little or no chance of passing.
The way political maneuvering works, this could well pass the house, forcing the Dems there to go on record with a position which will be used against them in '12. In the Senate, while the Dems don't like guns, they also don't want to be seen opposing them, so the bill will be assigned to the Veterans Affairs committee where it will never see the light of day, and the Dems will be able to avoid actually having to vote on it.
Still, you gotta keep the heat on.
Advances in Medicine
Dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
No-brainer here. Anyone at Livermore can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria using lots of radiation or laser light to "mess with their genes".
The trick is to not mess with the genes of the host.
No-brainer here. Anyone at Livermore can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria using lots of radiation or laser light to "mess with their genes".
The trick is to not mess with the genes of the host.
Things You Don't Hear...
...surfing around the web.
Israelis to Egyptian rioters: "don't damage the pyramids, we will not rebuild"Found in an obscure corner of the Peoples Cube.
The National Budget
Here's where the rummer meets the road, or as we say in flyover country, where the tea meets the cup. The initial budget proposal from John Boehner proposes $100B in budget cuts. This proposal has to get through at least 2 committees before it gets to the house floor, and at least one of them wants to "prorate" this to $32B on account of 1/4 of the year having already passed.
Last I looked, 3/4 of $100B was $75B, so there must be some FICA withholding or something included in this calculation.
Frankly, I'm disappointed. In addition to the monies it actually has, the government is proposing to spend some $1,500B it hasn't got, and put this on our tabs. That would be an extra $5000 from every person in the country. But wait, everybody doesn't pay taxes. In fact, only the employed pay taxes, and the current employment figures suggest that only 64.2% of the population is actually employed. And that number is dropping.
At this point, I conclude the Republicans aren't really serious about the spending, being willing to play carefully around the edges, but avoid making any serious cuts that might offend their friends, the Democrats. Until I see cuts in the $750B range, I'm going to be losing a lot of faith in the party.
Last I looked, 3/4 of $100B was $75B, so there must be some FICA withholding or something included in this calculation.
Frankly, I'm disappointed. In addition to the monies it actually has, the government is proposing to spend some $1,500B it hasn't got, and put this on our tabs. That would be an extra $5000 from every person in the country. But wait, everybody doesn't pay taxes. In fact, only the employed pay taxes, and the current employment figures suggest that only 64.2% of the population is actually employed. And that number is dropping.
At this point, I conclude the Republicans aren't really serious about the spending, being willing to play carefully around the edges, but avoid making any serious cuts that might offend their friends, the Democrats. Until I see cuts in the $750B range, I'm going to be losing a lot of faith in the party.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Quote of the Day
"Obama: Future Egypt Gov't Must Respect the Will of the People"
--headline, Ha'aretz (Israel), Jan. 30
H/T Taranto
You can't make this stuff up.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Medical News
Went in to see the doctor the other day. He looked at my head and got all squinty-eyed and used big words like "Actinic Keritosis" which is doctor talk for "You been standin' out in the sun without a hat for too long".
Sheesh. Most of my friends could have told me that, in fact several of them have, and without charging me anything at all.
The doctor explained that what this really means is that it isn't skin cancer, yet.... So O.K. he's got my attention now, and gives me an innocuous cream to put on the affected region. I now look like an extra from the zombie apocalypse movie as an area on my head slowly turns red and goes through the stages of turning black and falling off. I'm pretty sure this won't leave me with a bare patch of skull showing, but you never know.
Sheesh. Most of my friends could have told me that, in fact several of them have, and without charging me anything at all.
The doctor explained that what this really means is that it isn't skin cancer, yet.... So O.K. he's got my attention now, and gives me an innocuous cream to put on the affected region. I now look like an extra from the zombie apocalypse movie as an area on my head slowly turns red and goes through the stages of turning black and falling off. I'm pretty sure this won't leave me with a bare patch of skull showing, but you never know.
Wasting the Crisis
The function of the State Department is to present to the world a collection of highly polished, well dressed, smooth spoken masters of nuance of the sort we know in this country as used car salesmen. It should also be true that this collection of smooth talking individuals understands that at the end of the day, they are working for the United States, and no one else.
To this end, they should develop an understanding of the countries they get sent to closely akin to that of a native so that when they wake up one morning to the sound of automatic weapons fire and the smell of burning tires, they aren't very surprised. At this point, they should not only have a pretty good idea who's shooting at whom, but who is expected to be the last man standing when the gunfire dies down.
If there are multiple possibilities to that last equation, the U.S. diplomats should have a score card prepared in advance listing the relative preference for each party regarding benefit to the U.S. and a phone list to contact our favored winner. We should also have a list of actions we are prepared to take to help the eventual outcome fall in our favor ranging from quick diplomatic recognition to covert shipments of arms.
Unless there's something very subtle going on in Egypt right now, I would have to guess the diplomatic corps is staring out the embassy windows in slack-jawed amazement as the government goes down in flames.
Mubarik has spent the last 30 years or so putting down dissent so such as there was got pushed into the Mosques where he can't just march in and break heads. Inside the Mosques, the Muslim Brotherhood is the loudest voice. This outfit is the parent group for every terrorist organization in the middle east. Muhammed ElBaradi is a high-ranking figure in the M.B. and is telling everyone who will listen that they are not terrorists.
The army, in that part of the world, tends to be the more moderate force, and generally better armed, so they get listened to more closely. Having some Egyptian general or committee of generals come to power would be far from the worst that could happen.
My worry is that the U.S administration will stand in slack-jawed amazement while a committee of mullahs steps up to fill the power vacuum. Obama has never met a bloody-handed dictator he wasn't willing to bow to, and the State department has never convinced me that everyone there is, in fact, working for the United States.
To this end, they should develop an understanding of the countries they get sent to closely akin to that of a native so that when they wake up one morning to the sound of automatic weapons fire and the smell of burning tires, they aren't very surprised. At this point, they should not only have a pretty good idea who's shooting at whom, but who is expected to be the last man standing when the gunfire dies down.
If there are multiple possibilities to that last equation, the U.S. diplomats should have a score card prepared in advance listing the relative preference for each party regarding benefit to the U.S. and a phone list to contact our favored winner. We should also have a list of actions we are prepared to take to help the eventual outcome fall in our favor ranging from quick diplomatic recognition to covert shipments of arms.
Unless there's something very subtle going on in Egypt right now, I would have to guess the diplomatic corps is staring out the embassy windows in slack-jawed amazement as the government goes down in flames.
Mubarik has spent the last 30 years or so putting down dissent so such as there was got pushed into the Mosques where he can't just march in and break heads. Inside the Mosques, the Muslim Brotherhood is the loudest voice. This outfit is the parent group for every terrorist organization in the middle east. Muhammed ElBaradi is a high-ranking figure in the M.B. and is telling everyone who will listen that they are not terrorists.
The army, in that part of the world, tends to be the more moderate force, and generally better armed, so they get listened to more closely. Having some Egyptian general or committee of generals come to power would be far from the worst that could happen.
My worry is that the U.S administration will stand in slack-jawed amazement while a committee of mullahs steps up to fill the power vacuum. Obama has never met a bloody-handed dictator he wasn't willing to bow to, and the State department has never convinced me that everyone there is, in fact, working for the United States.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Fame
A division of the DHS has called the ACLU a terrorist organization. As of today, this means right next to nothing, as I notice no one is being arrested or anything. Rhetoric is cheap. To get an arrest warrant, you have to make a generous campaign contribution, at least to the judge.
In the future, everybody will become famous for 15 minutes. The DHS will put your picture up in the Post Office, declaring you to be a terrorist, and 15 minutes later, when you are picked up, your picture will be replaced by the next "celebrity".
In the future, everybody will become famous for 15 minutes. The DHS will put your picture up in the Post Office, declaring you to be a terrorist, and 15 minutes later, when you are picked up, your picture will be replaced by the next "celebrity".
In Search Of Accuracy
In a firearm, specifically. This is an interinting topic to search, as many people have opinions on it, but few have any hard data.
I have a varmint rifle that will shoot <1MOA all day long, and I guess I've gotten spoiled by it. I also have a Hi-Point carbine that shoots about 3 MOA. For this gun, that's probably not unreasonable, but why be reasonable if it presents a chance to tinker.
I found a thread in the Hi Point discussion group that mentioned that the barrels of H-Ps were not crowned. The moderator pointed that crowning cost money, and H-Ps were built to a price point, not an accuracy standard. This seems reasonable, as the easiest way to get a sum-MOA gun is to put about $3000 on the table, and wait for it to get built. Still, I know that some massaging will improve accuracy, and it doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive, so I looked into crowning.
For you non-gunnies, the crown is the recess cut into the business end of the barrel of the gun. The form varies, depending on how fancy you want to make it. Most guns use a double radius, so the end looks like a donut, radiused into the hole, and out to the outside diameter. This is easy to cut, and not expensive. There was a discussion at Snipers Hide on the relative merits of crowning that was reminiscent of .45 vs 9mm arguments. There was one post there that cited some actual data, suggesting that the difference between a nice square crown, and a 30 degree hacksawed barrel was mostly to move the shot group, although it was noted that if you cut off your barrel with a chainsaw, you can expect your groups to increase from 1 MOA to 1.5 MOA. One could conclude that the primary function of the crown is to prevent damage to the inside of the barrel while the gun is banging around behind the seat of your pickup truck.
Bill Johnson has a more exhaustive piece on accuratizing that has the advantage of having reasonable extensive documentation, and the inclusion of a control rifle. His test rifle started out at 4.5MOA which is worse than mine, so I felt this was a relevant study.
Polishing the barrel using Dave Tubb bullets with abrasive embedded into the jackets took him down to 2.67 MOA which is an impressive drop for an easy job, plus the price is reasonable, and you get to go shooting in the process. Shooting abrasive bullets down your barrel sounds scary to me, but this seems to work.
A trigger job made more difference than I would have expected, but hey, whatever works. I suspect that most trigger jobs involve simply polishing the parts to get rid of the scratchyness and reduce the friction. To that end in might be fun to see what throwing a disassembled trigger group into a tumbler with metal polishing media would accomplish.
Bedding the action helped, but only on the looser of the two rifles. Once you get to a certain point, the return on your investment falls off rapidly. It helped for Mr. Johnson, whose 4.4 MOA gun now shoots <1MOA. I'm not sure what bedding the action might entail on a gun that the furniture comes in a left half and a right half held together by screws that pinch the halves together over the metallic innards, but I guess I could have a look while I'm looking into the trigger group.
Keeps me occupied during the winter, I guess.
I have a varmint rifle that will shoot <1MOA all day long, and I guess I've gotten spoiled by it. I also have a Hi-Point carbine that shoots about 3 MOA. For this gun, that's probably not unreasonable, but why be reasonable if it presents a chance to tinker.
I found a thread in the Hi Point discussion group that mentioned that the barrels of H-Ps were not crowned. The moderator pointed that crowning cost money, and H-Ps were built to a price point, not an accuracy standard. This seems reasonable, as the easiest way to get a sum-MOA gun is to put about $3000 on the table, and wait for it to get built. Still, I know that some massaging will improve accuracy, and it doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive, so I looked into crowning.
For you non-gunnies, the crown is the recess cut into the business end of the barrel of the gun. The form varies, depending on how fancy you want to make it. Most guns use a double radius, so the end looks like a donut, radiused into the hole, and out to the outside diameter. This is easy to cut, and not expensive. There was a discussion at Snipers Hide on the relative merits of crowning that was reminiscent of .45 vs 9mm arguments. There was one post there that cited some actual data, suggesting that the difference between a nice square crown, and a 30 degree hacksawed barrel was mostly to move the shot group, although it was noted that if you cut off your barrel with a chainsaw, you can expect your groups to increase from 1 MOA to 1.5 MOA. One could conclude that the primary function of the crown is to prevent damage to the inside of the barrel while the gun is banging around behind the seat of your pickup truck.
Bill Johnson has a more exhaustive piece on accuratizing that has the advantage of having reasonable extensive documentation, and the inclusion of a control rifle. His test rifle started out at 4.5MOA which is worse than mine, so I felt this was a relevant study.
Polishing the barrel using Dave Tubb bullets with abrasive embedded into the jackets took him down to 2.67 MOA which is an impressive drop for an easy job, plus the price is reasonable, and you get to go shooting in the process. Shooting abrasive bullets down your barrel sounds scary to me, but this seems to work.
A trigger job made more difference than I would have expected, but hey, whatever works. I suspect that most trigger jobs involve simply polishing the parts to get rid of the scratchyness and reduce the friction. To that end in might be fun to see what throwing a disassembled trigger group into a tumbler with metal polishing media would accomplish.
Bedding the action helped, but only on the looser of the two rifles. Once you get to a certain point, the return on your investment falls off rapidly. It helped for Mr. Johnson, whose 4.4 MOA gun now shoots <1MOA. I'm not sure what bedding the action might entail on a gun that the furniture comes in a left half and a right half held together by screws that pinch the halves together over the metallic innards, but I guess I could have a look while I'm looking into the trigger group.
Keeps me occupied during the winter, I guess.
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