Saturday, August 09, 2008
I Spend Four Days in Canada and the World Changes
by Ken Houghton
In short, he's supposed to do for Scatterplot what I'm doing for AB.
I believe this only leaves Kim here. Or have I missed something with you as well?
Lego and family pictures should resume eventually.
Drek has invaded Scatterplot, starting with the claim that he can write posts "generally beneath the dignity of sociology."
In short, he's supposed to do for Scatterplot what I'm doing for AB.
I believe this only leaves Kim here. Or have I missed something with you as well?
Lego and family pictures should resume eventually.
Labels: blogging, Meta, Scatterplot, Social Science, Total Drek
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Angelica Sings!
by Ken Houghton
For those unfamiliar with Battlepanda, here's an atypical introduction.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Flashing Back to the 1930s
by Ken Houghton
I got an 8. Surely someone can do better.
Via Mochi-tsuki, as I gradually return to life between multi-day medical tests.
I got an 8. Surely someone can do better.
 | 8 As a 1930s husband, I am |
Sunday, May 18, 2008
PSA: APL back to Active status
by Ken Houghton
Lots of posts about clipping coupons and other recession-fighting techniques (recession-talk seems to be a trend now), none of which discuss opportunity costs or retail loyalty cards.
Not that that's a bad thing.
Angry Pregnant Lawyer has returned to blogging (semi-)regularly.
Lots of posts about clipping coupons and other recession-fighting techniques (recession-talk seems to be a trend now), none of which discuss opportunity costs or retail loyalty cards.
Not that that's a bad thing.
One Great Thing about Blogging
by Ken Houghton
Case in Point: Ann Wilmer's blog Cake for Breakfast, in which she talks about caring for her mother, who is in the later stages of her life, and Alzheimer's.
I too wish she had started the blog sooner, but the elegiac ending—not to mention the notes on sources for help with Alzheimer's and, especially, for information on how to get help keeping parents at home with you—are not to be missed.
This has been said better than I, ad nauseam, by others but it always bears repeating: blogs prove to people that You Are Not Alone.
Case in Point: Ann Wilmer's blog Cake for Breakfast, in which she talks about caring for her mother, who is in the later stages of her life, and Alzheimer's.
I too wish she had started the blog sooner, but the elegiac ending—not to mention the notes on sources for help with Alzheimer's and, especially, for information on how to get help keeping parents at home with you—are not to be missed.
Labels: blogging, Health Care, Meta
Monday, May 05, 2008
Kathryn Cramer performs a useful service
by Ken Houghton
Just to be clear: this announcement (which is not in the order of importance of the poster) doesn't mean anything has changed here.
She doesn't specify her method, but I'm certain the guts-of-the-Internet-savvy can figure it out.
Just to be clear: this announcement (which is not in the order of importance of the poster) doesn't mean anything has changed here.
Labels: Angry Bear, blogging, Meta
Saturday, April 12, 2008
A Plea to the Blogsphere
by Ken Houghton
Five years? My brain hurts, a lot.
If you're going to read people (such as David Brooks) so I don't have to, could the excerpts please be shorter??
Five years? My brain hurts, a lot.
Labels: blogging, Brad DeLong, Journamalism, Meta
Thursday, April 03, 2008
If anyone cares, we Scored 17.4%
by Ken Houghton
And the addition, "This is 149% MORE than other websites who took this test," belies reality.
When Lee Papa can't even break 50%, they must be using a log scale.
But our reputation as a "family blog" is endangered, so I promise not to mention Christopher Cox for the rest of the week.
Which is absurd, in context.
And the addition, "This is 149% MORE than other websites who took this test," belies reality.
When Lee Papa can't even break 50%, they must be using a log scale.
But our reputation as a "family blog" is endangered, so I promise not to mention Christopher Cox for the rest of the week.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
In Case You Missed It
by Ken Houghton
Tom tends not to update the time of his posts at the end, and I've thrown a couple of cans of paint at the wall today, so go thee hither for a discussion of the other "upside-down" market: automobile financing.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Geeky Economists 4 Life
by Ken Houghton
YouNotSneaky! returns with a long post on utilities and, worse, a foray into the Buffyverse that should not go unpunished. Or unembellished.
Labels: blogging, mass media, Meme-A-Riffic, Meta
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Even Citizenship Demand Curves Slope Downward
by Ken Houghton
The term "gouged" seems somehow more accurate than a discussion involving the title of this blog, since the price increase provided no promise of better service or higher quality.
Then again, Jim Cramer argued this week [may be PDF link] that inflation at fast-food restaurants is a good thing ("This is a remarkable development—companies passing on costs with prices sticking and consumers accepting."), so maybe we should just consider this another aspect of creeping inflation—though probably one that will not appear in the CPI.
*Who is a great guy with a wonderful, brilliant wife. And I would be saying both of those things even if he hadn't once helped me to survive a homework assignment in DiffyQ that could have driven a Ph.D. candidate insane.
If I were Mr. Mochi-Tsuki* or Suzanne Johansson, I wouldn't even be amused:
The first is that the wait for citizenship and green cards is up — way up. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported in January that the average time to process a citizenship application had risen to 18 months, from seven, and that green cards would now take a year, instead of six months or less.
It was a sorry moment for the agency, which jacked up its fees last year with a promise to use the new money to end vast paperwork backlogs. The opposite happened: the agency is drowning in applications from people who filed before the increase to avoid being gouged.
The term "gouged" seems somehow more accurate than a discussion involving the title of this blog, since the price increase provided no promise of better service or higher quality.
Then again, Jim Cramer argued this week [may be PDF link] that inflation at fast-food restaurants is a good thing ("This is a remarkable development—companies passing on costs with prices sticking and consumers accepting."), so maybe we should just consider this another aspect of creeping inflation—though probably one that will not appear in the CPI.
*Who is a great guy with a wonderful, brilliant wife. And I would be saying both of those things even if he hadn't once helped me to survive a homework assignment in DiffyQ that could have driven a Ph.D. candidate insane.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Battlepanda Joins Yet Another 'Unity Movement'
by Ken Houghton
But I won't be adding it to my reading list. YMMV.
At least she's getting paid:
it's conceptualized as a site where the liberals, libertarians and even disaffected Republicans can come together on neutral territory and have productive conversations.
But I won't be adding it to my reading list. YMMV.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Blogroll Amnesty, or Someone Else's Problems are Always Worse
by Ken Houghton
So our thanks go out to those who have us there. And while we might like to be included on others,* we're happy, especially as Tom is overscheduled and I'm scattered.
So, for tonight, I'm just going to give a shout-out to blue girl's Skimmer, whose travails on the ski slope today makes me feel much better about my old one. As Warren Zevon (or Madeleine Martin in Californication**) said:
Blogging means never having to know you're alone. So click one of those links on the right—maybe one you never have before—and discover another new world.
*Not that we would name AngryBear, for instance.
**Though, iirc, this verse was dropped from her performance.
Apparently it's the anniversary of Blogroll Amnesty Week, as commemorated by Lance and Blue Girl, among many others.
So our thanks go out to those who have us there. And while we might like to be included on others,* we're happy, especially as Tom is overscheduled and I'm scattered.
So, for tonight, I'm just going to give a shout-out to blue girl's Skimmer, whose travails on the ski slope today makes me feel much better about my old one. As Warren Zevon (or Madeleine Martin in Californication**) said:
I thought of my friends
And the troubles they've had
To keep me from thinking of mine
Blogging means never having to know you're alone. So click one of those links on the right—maybe one you never have before—and discover another new world.
*Not that we would name AngryBear, for instance.
**Though, iirc, this verse was dropped from her performance.
Monday, February 04, 2008
In the Grand Tradition of Isadora?
by Ken Houghton
She didn't put a limit on it, so they can range from "Does Cleveland Rock?" to "How does it feel to live near a Ghost Town?" to "Have you ever met Lea Thompson, or the members of Cherry Bomb?"
Go ask Erin questions.
She didn't put a limit on it, so they can range from "Does Cleveland Rock?" to "How does it feel to live near a Ghost Town?" to "Have you ever met Lea Thompson, or the members of Cherry Bomb?"
Labels: blogging, Erin O'Brien, Meta
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Jessica Hagy Explains why I have trouble in Interviews
by Ken Houghton
Which is presumably why Hagy is a best-selling author and not an econometrician.
Another well-conceived Venn diagram, though I agree with commenter Andrea.
Which is presumably why Hagy is a best-selling author and not an econometrician.
Labels: blogging, Econometrics, Economists View
Saturday, February 02, 2008
We Remain a Family Blog, Jeremy Freese Edition
by Ken Houghton
Then again, the only videos I've been watching recently are Bruce Cockburn and Brad DeLong, and whatever Rory or Steve embeds at EoB.
UPDATE: I found out what it is. Have no bid to see it.
I can safely state that I have no idea whatsoever what video is being discussed here. And it appears that whatever it is is not something YouTube is ranking (apparently, this will surprise no one).
Then again, the only videos I've been watching recently are Bruce Cockburn and Brad DeLong, and whatever Rory or Steve embeds at EoB.
UPDATE: I found out what it is. Have no bid to see it.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
My Seventh Post in a Row is a Blog-Pimping
by Ken Houghton
*From a quick glance, I believe they are all Angelica's posts, which implies that the posts might be slightly more common than 1 in 100, though close enough the Washington Post's purposes.
The long-MIA Battlepanda has posted her greatest hits.*
*From a quick glance, I believe they are all Angelica's posts, which implies that the posts might be slightly more common than 1 in 100, though close enough the Washington Post's purposes.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
We Are Tagged, and Tom Seems to be Away
by Ken Houghton
Cactus at AngryBear tries to get into the holiday season by continuing a meme. The problem is that he does it so well that my usual answers would seem pale imitations. So I'll try to play this straight.
1. Wrapping or gift bags? Gift bags are even more suboptimal use of resources than wrapping paper, plus they cost significantly more.
2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial trees are a far superior use of resources, plus they are reused and therefore economically efficient, even including the nominal storage cost. My personal preference for the Silver trees with the light from below with the tri-color (none of them green) filter shining up from below has been vetoed for the past several years.
3. When do you put up the tree? I don't; it goes up whenever Shira finds it in the attic (q.v. storage costs, above) and decides it needs to be on display. The relationship of this timing and the persistent requests of small children is left as an exercise to the reader.
4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as possible. I presume it will be down before Pesach this year.
5. Do you like egg nog? No, I'm human. And rather lactose-intolerant anyway.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably a bicycle, certainly not for Xmas.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Uh, no. What does that have to do with celebrating the Solstice anyway?
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The day off, since consultants don't get paid.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, of course. Have to keep Tom's consulting business going.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie? Anything other than Sophie Marceau is not Enough.
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I don't, though I did have a few years of sending holiday cards out annually on December 28th.
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? This is a family blog, so let's just leave the answer at "Food, Glorious Food!" Or, in honor of a Season One Torchwood episode, bananas.
(FYI to cactus: Pomegranates were still available at Costco in NJ a few weeks ago.)
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Whatever. Probably colored, since the tree is small.
14. Favorite Christmas song(s)? Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Xmas from the Family," which appears to now be available as a book and CD set.
If it has to be a "traditional" carol, then "I Saw Three Ships," since the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria arriving at landlocked Bethlehem must have been quite a sight.
15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I married into what is now a 20-year tradition of a party for "Jews and Orphans" on 25 December. So while I might prefer to travel, I cannot and stay married.
16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? No, and not just because the bit players and taxi squad are never named. By the way, now-F&SF editor Gordon van Gelder's first professional story sale was "Santa's Tenth Reindeer." Gordon was a teenager at the time.
17. Angel on the tree top or a star? I am told that Shira put a Star of David on top. The Eldest put an angel on top of that, so I suppose the answer is both. (The angel, in the TMI category, is as large as the tree itself.)
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Shira's birthday is December 27th. I really need to go shopping.
19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? End of Year donation solicitations to those of us not independently wealthy enough to have an equivalent of the Samwick Family Fund.
20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? See above answers, especially to questions 3, 13, and 17.
21. What do you leave for Santa? Nothing; I tried to file a restraining order, but couldn't get Shira to co-sign it.
22. Least favorite holiday song? If I can only pick one, I would follow the crowd and select "Last Christmas." But in trying to find the appropriate blog link, this one made it clear that, as with greasy, tasteless, potato chip, no one should pick just one. (Though I like The Kink's "Father Christmas," which at least captures the spirit of the season appropriately.)
23. Favorite ornament? Ornaments impede gas mileage, so I really don't have one. The discussion of the BMW ornament in Sean Connery's last great movie indicates some incidental value to them.
24. Family tradition? Good song, but I prefer the work of the Hanks on either side of Bocephus.
25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services? Usually during a pub-crawl.
Tom will tag people when he gets back.
UPDATE: Let's do this the easy way. Please feel free to Tag YOURSELF, and note it in comments.
Cactus at AngryBear tries to get into the holiday season by continuing a meme. The problem is that he does it so well that my usual answers would seem pale imitations. So I'll try to play this straight.
1. Wrapping or gift bags? Gift bags are even more suboptimal use of resources than wrapping paper, plus they cost significantly more.
2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial trees are a far superior use of resources, plus they are reused and therefore economically efficient, even including the nominal storage cost. My personal preference for the Silver trees with the light from below with the tri-color (none of them green) filter shining up from below has been vetoed for the past several years.
3. When do you put up the tree? I don't; it goes up whenever Shira finds it in the attic (q.v. storage costs, above) and decides it needs to be on display. The relationship of this timing and the persistent requests of small children is left as an exercise to the reader.
4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as possible. I presume it will be down before Pesach this year.
5. Do you like egg nog? No, I'm human. And rather lactose-intolerant anyway.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably a bicycle, certainly not for Xmas.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Uh, no. What does that have to do with celebrating the Solstice anyway?
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The day off, since consultants don't get paid.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, of course. Have to keep Tom's consulting business going.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie? Anything other than Sophie Marceau is not Enough.
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I don't, though I did have a few years of sending holiday cards out annually on December 28th.
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? This is a family blog, so let's just leave the answer at "Food, Glorious Food!" Or, in honor of a Season One Torchwood episode, bananas.
(FYI to cactus: Pomegranates were still available at Costco in NJ a few weeks ago.)
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Whatever. Probably colored, since the tree is small.
14. Favorite Christmas song(s)? Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Xmas from the Family," which appears to now be available as a book and CD set.
If it has to be a "traditional" carol, then "I Saw Three Ships," since the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria arriving at landlocked Bethlehem must have been quite a sight.
15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I married into what is now a 20-year tradition of a party for "Jews and Orphans" on 25 December. So while I might prefer to travel, I cannot and stay married.
16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? No, and not just because the bit players and taxi squad are never named. By the way, now-F&SF editor Gordon van Gelder's first professional story sale was "Santa's Tenth Reindeer." Gordon was a teenager at the time.
17. Angel on the tree top or a star? I am told that Shira put a Star of David on top. The Eldest put an angel on top of that, so I suppose the answer is both. (The angel, in the TMI category, is as large as the tree itself.)
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Shira's birthday is December 27th. I really need to go shopping.
19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? End of Year donation solicitations to those of us not independently wealthy enough to have an equivalent of the Samwick Family Fund.
20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? See above answers, especially to questions 3, 13, and 17.
21. What do you leave for Santa? Nothing; I tried to file a restraining order, but couldn't get Shira to co-sign it.
22. Least favorite holiday song? If I can only pick one, I would follow the crowd and select "Last Christmas." But in trying to find the appropriate blog link, this one made it clear that, as with greasy, tasteless, potato chip, no one should pick just one. (Though I like The Kink's "Father Christmas," which at least captures the spirit of the season appropriately.)
23. Favorite ornament? Ornaments impede gas mileage, so I really don't have one. The discussion of the BMW ornament in Sean Connery's last great movie indicates some incidental value to them.
24. Family tradition? Good song, but I prefer the work of the Hanks on either side of Bocephus.
25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services? Usually during a pub-crawl.
Tom will tag people when he gets back.
Labels: Angry Bear, blogging, Family, just life, Meme-A-Riffic
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Help Blogger During the Holidays
by Ken Houghton
Kathryn Cramer has more.
For those not clicking through, I borrow the most important sentence from her, and urge others to do the same (crediting Kathryn, please):
Pass it on. Do something positive for the holidays: make the Internet a little less ugly.
Not a blogger--though that's a good idea, too--but Blogger itself is in need.
Kathryn Cramer has more.
For those not clicking through, I borrow the most important sentence from her, and urge others to do the same (crediting Kathryn, please):
I link to THE WORLD'S MOST LOATHSOME BLOG so that you can all click on the FLAG BLOG tag in order to flag it for "objectionable content."
Pass it on. Do something positive for the holidays: make the Internet a little less ugly.
Labels: blogging, Utter Stupidity
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Holiday Season: Please Hit Blogger Tip Jars
by Ken Houghton
Please hit the tip jars of Gary Farber (who is in long-term need) and/or Lance Mannion (whose squeeze may be more temporary than Gary's, but is still a squeeze—and one that can also be ameliorated by using his Amazon store link, making both of you happier).
I'm slightly beyond tapped out right now, so the best I can do is make everyone else feel guilty.
Please hit the tip jars of Gary Farber (who is in long-term need) and/or Lance Mannion (whose squeeze may be more temporary than Gary's, but is still a squeeze—and one that can also be ameliorated by using his Amazon store link, making both of you happier).
