you can fool some of the people some of the time

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

and I’ve fooled Bill Quick into calling me “well informed”. Tomorrow de vorld!

Posted in blogdom, me!me!me! | Leave a comment

do blogrolls matter?

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

Poll time: How often do you click on the column of “other blogs” links in other blogs?
I don’t; if I wanted a long list of cryptic links, I have my own bookmark file to go through.

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Tom, Dick and Harry II

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

Eventually it occurred to me that by publishing my conversation with ‘Tom’ (here and on several libertarian mailing-lists) I spoiled its evidentiary value. Dammit. I’ll never be Nero Wolfe (though I surpass him in one respect).

I have the impression that, to the police, whatever they do to you is “no harm no foul” so long as you’re not wrongly convicted, no matter what inconvenience and discomfort you’ve suffered meanwhile. But that impression comes largely from television shows sympathetic to the police.

Posted in California, security theater | Leave a comment

need I say more?

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

Frodo Blackadder

Posted in arts | Leave a comment

not so fast

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

I am usually of two minds about capital punishment, but when a story like this comes along – and this is not the first – it’s a bit easier to decide where I stand.

I suppose it’s too much to hope that the hangman might simply refuse to do the job.

Update 2003 May 06

Posted in politics | Leave a comment

guns, butter

Posted on Thursday, 2002 February 21 by Anton

Steve White scores a good one:

Can someone explain to us why we expect the military budget to scale linearly with the GDP? Isn’t it the whole idea of a federal government that it will scale sub-linearly?

Are we just being mathematical and picky here, or do we detect an area in which it would be sensible for Big Brother to give us back some of our stolen lunch money? Hmm?

A scatter-chart of budgets around the world might be worth making. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find that the relation is super-linear at the high end, and sub-linear at the low end.

Posted in economics, militaria | Leave a comment

bhorh nazgu

Posted on Wednesday, 2002 February 20 by Anton

Lalaith offers:

Bhorh nazgu burdatuluk. Bhorh nazgu thrakatul.
Bhorh nazgu dupatuluk agh Lúthrongdush-shi krempatul.

Five Rings to lure them all. Five Rings to bring them.
Five Rings to dope them all and in Salt Lake City deceive them.

Posted in language, politics, prose | Leave a comment