Comments for unFocus http://www.unfocus.com/blog Allow your mind to wander. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:42:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 Comment on What are rights in America? by lilmizzmuffet http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/11/10/what-are-rights-in-america/#comment-36 lilmizzmuffet Mon, 14 Nov 2005 19:44:20 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=26#comment-36 Interesting Perspective Steven. At my previous position I was privy to some of the ridiculousness of the New York State legislature. The number of bills that flow through the Assembly and Senate are too numerous to describe the silliness of all in any kind of detail, and the representatives or their aides do not read though them nearly as thoroughly as they ought to. There was a bill proposed to require ATM's to have self-sealing envelopes. Now I can see how this might be a good initiative on the part of banks, but is it really necessary to make this a law? The legislator who was listed as the sponsor of the bill had no idea either about of his endorsement or the bill itself. There was also the case of a fellow worker of mine (not a political figure) joining a group that wanted to require three point seatbelts on school buses. He asked me to look into the rate of accidents involving school buses (very few), the rate of injury in those accidents (not surprisingly few as well, if buses don't crash, it is logical that people aren't getting hurt), and if the seatbelts in questions would actually make buses safer. Now, wouldn't this be three pretty big questions you would ask yourself before you form a commission to try to file another bill in the volumes of bull that are already smothering us? Why is it that we are so regulation happy? Are we that bored? Maybe we need some entertainment or interaction with others (like say, some form of social space and feeling of community. But that is a rant for another time). Interesting Perspective Steven.
At my previous position I was privy to some of the ridiculousness of the New York State legislature. The number of bills that flow through the Assembly and Senate are too numerous to describe the silliness of all in any kind of detail, and the representatives or their aides do not read though them nearly as thoroughly as they ought to. There was a bill proposed to require ATM’s to have self-sealing envelopes. Now I can see how this might be a good initiative on the part of banks, but is it really necessary to make this a law? The legislator who was listed as the sponsor of the bill had no idea either about of his endorsement or the bill itself.
There was also the case of a fellow worker of mine (not a political figure) joining a group that wanted to require three point seatbelts on school buses. He asked me to look into the rate of accidents involving school buses (very few), the rate of injury in those accidents (not surprisingly few as well, if buses don’t crash, it is logical that people aren’t getting hurt), and if the seatbelts in questions would actually make buses safer. Now, wouldn’t this be three pretty big questions you would ask yourself before you form a commission to try to file another bill in the volumes of bull that are already smothering us?
Why is it that we are so regulation happy? Are we that bored? Maybe we need some entertainment or interaction with others (like say, some form of social space and feeling of community. But that is a rant for another time).

]]> Comment on What are rights in America? by Steven http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/11/10/what-are-rights-in-america/#comment-35 Steven Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:24:10 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=26#comment-35 you have articulated, quite well I might add, exactly how I feel regarding our oppresive and intrusive government. You may want to read my "Misdirected Rage" on my blog site and I'm sure you will agree that we are of one mind on this subject. Keep up the great work!! you have articulated, quite well I might add, exactly how I feel regarding our oppresive and intrusive government. You may want to read my “Misdirected Rage” on my blog site and I’m sure you will agree that we are of one mind on this subject. Keep up the great work!!

]]> Comment on permalinks on IIS by bali vacation http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/06/11/permalinks-on-iis/#comment-34 bali vacation Thu, 13 Oct 2005 07:19:35 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/06/11/permalinks-on-iis/#comment-34 i'm tried this idea, but my website still have good permanent link. Can you tell me step by step to install this idea? thx, i’m tried this idea, but my website still have good permanent link. Can you tell me step by step to install this idea?
thx,

]]> Comment on My Message to the Progressive Movement by Deb http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/09/02/my-message-to-the-progressive-movement/#comment-33 Deb Fri, 02 Sep 2005 17:21:49 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/09/02/my-message-to-the-progressive-movement/#comment-33 I see no reason to hold back on pointing fingers. Since I can't be in New Orleans to help....my contribution is to try to bring light to wrongs done. I don't feel like being particularly polite or proper right now. I'm outraged. I've BEEN outraged. And let's not forget the in-the-streets protest planned for September 24th, either. See y'all there! http://www.unitedforpeace.org I see no reason to hold back on pointing fingers. Since I can’t be in New Orleans to help….my contribution is to try to bring light to wrongs done. I don’t feel like being particularly polite or proper right now. I’m outraged. I’ve BEEN outraged.

And let’s not forget the in-the-streets protest planned for September 24th, either. See y’all there!
http://www.unitedforpeace.org

]]> Comment on Conspiracy Theory by Captain N. http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/08/18/conspiracy-theory/#comment-32 Captain N. Wed, 31 Aug 2005 16:43:00 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=18#comment-32 It’s all well and good to look at the causes of the price increases, and what can be done to reduce that increase - however, it is also important to look at the whole picture, taxes are only one piece. The oil companies have been making out like bandits (one company made 6 billion last quarter alone), because every time the price at the pump goes up, they make a larger percentage, but their cut also keeps getting bigger, not smaller as you would expect. As with most things, the taxes are only one part of the pie, large companies with unreasonable profit margins must also be held accountable – especially if they are engaged in illegal price fixing or other anti-trust violations. It is inappropriate to always pin the blame on the government, which does provide very important social, and infrastructure benefits to society, like public schools, roads and police departments – and could provide even more – like perhaps a police force for corporations, or cheap universal single payer healthcare – modeled after successful government/private sector based healthcare systems, like those of France and Germany, and not after under funded ones, like Canada’s or just broken ones like in U.K., but that’s another issue ;-). I agree that those alternative energy powered vehicles are very much needed as soon as possible, and look forward to using them. The exception may be ethanol, which according to at least one study may actually take more energy to produce ethanol than is gained from it. According to that report ethanol is only cheaper because of the huge farm subsidies that go partly into its production. Without those subsidies, it would actually cost more to create ethanol, than you could sell it for. That last thing about averaging out the gas is an interesting idea that I haven't heard before :-). It’s all well and good to look at the causes of the price increases, and what can be done to reduce that increase - however, it is also important to look at the whole picture, taxes are only one piece. The oil companies have been making out like bandits (one company made 6 billion last quarter alone), because every time the price at the pump goes up, they make a larger percentage, but their cut also keeps getting bigger, not smaller as you would expect.

As with most things, the taxes are only one part of the pie, large companies with unreasonable profit margins must also be held accountable – especially if they are engaged in illegal price fixing or other anti-trust violations. It is inappropriate to always pin the blame on the government, which does provide very important social, and infrastructure benefits to society, like public schools, roads and police departments – and could provide even more – like perhaps a police force for corporations, or cheap universal single payer healthcare – modeled after successful government/private sector based healthcare systems, like those of France and Germany, and not after under funded ones, like Canada’s or just broken ones like in U.K., but that’s another issue ;-).

I agree that those alternative energy powered vehicles are very much needed as soon as possible, and look forward to using them. The exception may be ethanol, which according to at least one study may actually take more energy to produce ethanol than is gained from it. According to that report ethanol is only cheaper because of the huge farm subsidies that go partly into its production. Without those subsidies, it would actually cost more to create ethanol, than you could sell it for.

That last thing about averaging out the gas is an interesting idea that I haven’t heard before :-).

]]> Comment on Conspiracy Theory by Sengoku http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/08/18/conspiracy-theory/#comment-31 Sengoku Wed, 31 Aug 2005 15:03:26 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=18#comment-31 There are three pieces to the puzzle, but first, you have to remember that gas, oil, and other consumables are priced based on the replacement cost. 1) If your local gas station got the gas that's in his underground tanks for $0.50/gal, the price he's charging is based on what he needs to shell out to refill those tanks, not what he paid for it to begin with. This is not unlike the function of any other supply-driven market. He needs to cover his costs of replacing the gas he is selling. Otherwise he is ultimately selling at a loss, because the inability to refill the tanks will push him out of business. 2) The second piece of the puzzle is how the energy markets function. The main price driver is the futures price. This is a very volatile market that can see dramatic shifts during the day. All you hear about is the closing price, but in a given day the price can easily vary between, say, $20 and $200 per barrel. Energy markets are similar to the stock market, but are much more volatile by nature. Again, a major driver of the futures price is replacement cost, driven by such variables as supply, geopolitical events, supply fears, refinery shortages, and so on. Basically, it boils down to supply, and therefore, replacement cost. 3) The final piece of the puzzle can be understood by examining the price breakdown of the resource (in this case, gasoline). There is an $0.184/gal federal tax. In addition, the state taxes very greatly. In NYS, we pay $0.426/gal, the highest in the nation (even higher than California and Hawaii, as far as I can tell). Those taxes add $0.61 to each gallon of gas. In addition, local governments can levy additional taxes. It's easy to see how just federal and state taxes make up 20-25%+ of the price. And yes, the electricity market functions the same way. The only insulating factor is that you pay monthly for your electricity, which allows your supplier to average out their wins and losses before it hits your pocketbook. Let's hope ethanol, hybrids, and fuel cells come sooner rather than later. :) What would be interesting is if someone did something similar for gas - say, you put the number of gallons each time you fill up on your card, and once a month you are given an averaged bill. Could end up saving a good amount of money. There are three pieces to the puzzle, but first, you have to remember that gas, oil, and other consumables are priced based on the replacement cost.

1) If your local gas station got the gas that’s in his underground tanks for $0.50/gal, the price he’s charging is based on what he needs to shell out to refill those tanks, not what he paid for it to begin with. This is not unlike the function of any other supply-driven market. He needs to cover his costs of replacing the gas he is selling. Otherwise he is ultimately selling at a loss, because the inability to refill the tanks will push him out of business.

2) The second piece of the puzzle is how the energy markets function. The main price driver is the futures price. This is a very volatile market that can see dramatic shifts during the day. All you hear about is the closing price, but in a given day the price can easily vary between, say, $20 and $200 per barrel. Energy markets are similar to the stock market, but are much more volatile by nature. Again, a major driver of the futures price is replacement cost, driven by such variables as supply, geopolitical events, supply fears, refinery shortages, and so on. Basically, it boils down to supply, and therefore, replacement cost.

3) The final piece of the puzzle can be understood by examining the price breakdown of the resource (in this case, gasoline). There is an $0.184/gal federal tax. In addition, the state taxes very greatly. In NYS, we pay $0.426/gal, the highest in the nation (even higher than California and Hawaii, as far as I can tell). Those taxes add $0.61 to each gallon of gas. In addition, local governments can levy additional taxes. It’s easy to see how just federal and state taxes make up 20-25%+ of the price.

And yes, the electricity market functions the same way. The only insulating factor is that you pay monthly for your electricity, which allows your supplier to average out their wins and losses before it hits your pocketbook.

Let’s hope ethanol, hybrids, and fuel cells come sooner rather than later. :)

What would be interesting is if someone did something similar for gas - say, you put the number of gallons each time you fill up on your card, and once a month you are given an averaged bill. Could end up saving a good amount of money.

]]> Comment on Three Strikes, You’re Out by Captain N. http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/06/29/three-strikes-youre-out/#comment-4 Captain N. Fri, 01 Jul 2005 03:02:31 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=10#comment-4 Oh, here is a link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807023213/qid=1120186668/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-8789958-6307800?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Oh, here is a link to the book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807023213/qid=1120186668/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-8789958-6307800?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

]]> Comment on Three Strikes, You’re Out by Captain N. http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/06/29/three-strikes-youre-out/#comment-3 Captain N. Fri, 01 Jul 2005 03:01:51 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/?p=10#comment-3 That last paragraph about teaching kids to get along reminded me of an interview with the author of "They Don't Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom." She said that she uses conflict resolution techniques in her preschool class that leave a lasting impact on the children she teaches, and dares to say that if everyone learned these lessons at an early age, world piece would seem more pragmatic (well she said something like that, I can't remember exactly what she said, but it seemed like a good idea!) That last paragraph about teaching kids to get along reminded me of an interview with the author of “They Don’t Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom.”

She said that she uses conflict resolution techniques in her preschool class that leave a lasting impact on the children she teaches, and dares to say that if everyone learned these lessons at an early age, world piece would seem more pragmatic (well she said something like that, I can’t remember exactly what she said, but it seemed like a good idea!)

]]> Comment on Laura’s Cry by Pope Snarky Goodfella of the undulating cable, JM, CK, POEE, KOTHASK, DSOCPL, EOTHP http://www.unfocus.com/blog/2005/06/08/lauras-cry/#comment-2 Pope Snarky Goodfella of the undulating cable, JM, CK, POEE, KOTHASK, DSOCPL, EOTHP Thu, 09 Jun 2005 07:55:28 +0000 http://www.unfocus.com/index.php/blog/2005/06/08/lauras-cry/#comment-2 Hail Eris! Truly, truly sad. Is all utterly lost for this pitiful woman, then? Is there no hope? Alas, alack. I fear not. Snarky Hail Eris!

Truly, truly sad. Is all utterly lost for this pitiful woman, then? Is there no hope? Alas, alack. I fear not.

Snarky

]]>