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Population: One

Bachelor chow

January 25, 2003
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Warning: this may be disturbing to real cooks. Or not. I really have no idea.

My aunt, blessed be her name, gave me a rice cooker for Christmas. It has a no-stick pot so it’s super easy to wash. You don’t have to pay attention to it while you’re cooking something. It rocks. I made rice and put some beans in and it was great.

So then I decided to try something else. There’s a rumor floating around out there that you can cook meat in it. Mmm, steamed chicken! So I cut up some chicken and some sausage, and put some olive oil into the bottom of the pot, and turned it on. When the oil heated up, I threw in the chicken and sausage and stir fried it a little till I got bored. Then I dumped in a bunch of rice and some water and a can of black beans and a few random spices that were probably past their expiration date, and closed the lid, and made myself go into the living room to read comics.

When I came back, it was done cooking and had switched over to “keep the stuff warm until Bryant wants to eat it” mode. I opened it up, kind of assuming that the meat would be undercooked. Not so! Perfect! Nice moist tender chicken, tasty bits of sausage, all around goodness.

And cleanup was just rinsing out a non-stick bowl. Aw yeah.

More of that sauce stuff

January 24, 2003
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This article is about the funniest parody I’ve read in some time, and makes it mercilessly clear why you can’t just invert protest numbers to determine the number of people who support the status quo.

It’s pretty obvious, by the by, that the numbers of people protesting are important. You can tell, because people who support whatever’s being protested generally aim for the low end of the possible range. Nathan Newman makes an interesting argument against mass protests (link via Electrolite), but I don’t think the math is as simple as he does. A really sizable protest makes it psychologically easier for those who might support the cause but be uncertain of themselves to come out the next time; humans have a lot of herd animal in them. It’d be nice if it were otherwise, and perhaps someday, but right now? Perceptions of numbers matter.

Thus, protestors will always estimate high, and anti-protestors will always estimate low.

Aha moments

January 23, 2003
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OK, I think I figured this one out. And you thought I’d forgotten all about it…

Without further ado, the Population: One two axis predictive political graph.

Axis one is still freedom vs. safety. Which matters more in your personal calculus? Will you give up safety for freedom, or vice versa?

Axis two is privileged position vs. one among many. Do you think that your club/state/nation/special interest group has a privileged position vis a vis the rest of the world, for whatever reason? If so, perhaps you think God granted said status; perhaps you think it’s been earned by means of a sterling diplomatic record. The question is whether or not you think it exists, not why it exists.

The inspiration for the fine-tuning of axis two was Glenn Reynolds, who with a straight face recently commented on the resentments California arrogance engenders elsewhere. I think the parallel he’s making works in both directions, though.

The really important question

January 23, 2003
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Eric McErlain thinks Tampa Bay’s gonna win the Super Bowl. Might as well get my pick up to be mocked: it’s gonna be the Raiders. I even think they’ll beat the line.

Why? Because they have the team of destiny patina. They’re pissed off about the playoffs last year, the veterans know they need to get it done now or perhaps never, and the team is tight. Contrast this to the distraction Keyshawn is capable of causing. Check out his ESPN diary and tell me that isn’t someone who thinks he’s bigger than the team. Note that he didn’t mention his quarterback once. I hear Brad Johnson isn’t that bad a player.

That means that it’s up to Tampa Bay’s defense to make up for any problems on the offensive side, and that isn’t gonna be easy. Raiders win it going away.

Not Bruce Springsteen

January 22, 2003
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Al Sharpton is a demagogue of a fairly virulent sort, and I have little sympathy for him. However, the news that his offices burned down this morning is potentially very disturbing. According to Susannah of cut on the bias, it was a two alarm fire, which means it’s more than a cigarette in a trash can. It took out his civil rights group HQ and his presidential campaign HQ.

Five bucks says someone gets histrionic about this before all the facts are in. Ten bucks says the histronics get in the way of examining the facts.

Reform and relevancy

January 22, 2003
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It occurs to me that one of the large obstacles in the way of invading Iraq is the Security Council veto. It further occurs to me that the rationale behind the veto, that being the great power status of the Allied nations after World War II, is somewhat antiquated.

I don’t think any pro-war pundit can deny that the veto is tremendously frustrating. As so many have pointed out, it seems ridiculous that France can effectively stand in the way of UN action. That ability — the ability of one nation to unfairly stop debate in its tracks — prevents the UN from being effective. Again, many argue that the UN’s inability to press the issue of Iraq is ruining the UN as we watch.

OK. Let’s get rid of the veto. I won’t go so far as to recommend that the permanent members of the Security Council lose that status, but let’s get rid of the vetos and enable the UN to respond in a timely fashion without fear of being blackmailed by any single nation.

Nota bene: Russia has vetoed over 60% more resolutions than the next most frequent vetoer. Someone on NPR tonight was claiming that the US held the record. Incorrect; the link above has the real numbers.