McArdle on why a jobs program as stimulus isn't feasible. "Every so often I'll read some description of a project out of the olden days--the battle against malaria in Panama, the handling of the Great Mississippi Flood, or the creation of the WPA--and just marvel at how fast everything used to be."
A project that was supposed to have started in spring 2008 is finally having it's first kick-off meeting on Thursday. The problem was that the contract, after being 6 months late being awarded, was appealed twice by losing bidders. We need reform, but unfortunately, it's extremely boring reform that we need, and the only people who understand the system, the big federal contractors, don't particularly want it reformed, it's a great barrier to entry.
Most of what I've been doing over the past few laws has been implementing changes that were enacted by the HIPAA legislation in 1996. CMS barely got started on some of the changes until the year they were due, 2006. People, you're going to be old before federal health reform has remade the healthcare industry. Some important regulatory changes will be pretty fast, but the bits that involve the federal government doing things? Not so much.
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03:57:13 PM,
Tuesday 1 December 2009
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The Globe endorses Khazai.
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03:16:47 PM,
Monday 30 November 2009
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I think the outrage about this case, particularly among cyclists, is sort of fake, or at least wrong-headed. First off, he didn't get away with anything. In any sane world, 4 months in prison and a felony assault conviction is a serious penalty. And I'm just not convinced that contempt for cycling has anything to do with the sentencing. For crimes like this, which are basically pointless stupidity, you don't need such large penalties, because really, people who have road rage problems, they're not going to look at this and think, oh good, I can take potshots at people. They're going to think, man, he was lucky he missed, maybe I should leave the gun behind. I think the system is messed up and completely inconsistent and unjust on some basic level, but almost always in the other direction. I can't get upset about society deciding not to completely destroy this idiot's life. He shouldn't pay because someone ran me off the road once, or for why we think he fired. Everyone involved got lucky, and I'm okay with that.
I'm very glad I don't work for the Southern Appalachia Tourist Board.
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(2)
12:52:24 PM,
Wednesday 25 November 2009
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I have reorganized my keyring, so that none of my keys are on the central ring, but instead on one of three auxilary rings. I plan to find this an improvement.
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09:20:40 AM,
Monday 23 November 2009
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I just don't feel up to me job emotionally right now. It's just sometimes the data talks to me, I mean, basically, I work with a database of human suffering. and I mean, it's good that we put it in a database, in a way, it's good that it doesn't just get ignored, and it's people trying to help people who are suffering, and generally, since I'm working for the government, people are trying to make the system work better, patching leaks and chasing parasites away from the money pipes. But then there's a report like the one I just reviewed looking at lifetime caps, that are just about the systemic impossibility of limitless compassion, and about people who the medical system has just completely failed.
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02:36:50 PM,
Tuesday 17 November 2009
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user error.
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02:35:29 PM,
Tuesday 17 November 2009
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An old Coates article on World of Warcraft. I'm having fun, but I'm torn about it. In one way, it's just recreation and art appreciation. it's a fantastic game. And it really did help me de-stress. But I'm not sure whether it's something I can incorporate into a well-lived life. I hit 100 quests completed last night, and I thought, really? It's addictive for the same reason other great games are: you make plans, and try to carry them out, tell stories to yourself. But it's also just like staring into this vast abyss that swallows lives. And there's a profound dorito-ness about it, all these tiny little insubstantial accomplishment hits. And it isn't just a matter of free-time, it's psychic real estate. Too much of my attention is occupied by the prospects of Widgeon the gnome, his plans and ambitions, which, at the moment, revolve largely around finding tin.
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(3)
12:19:11 PM,
Tuesday 17 November 2009
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I have started a World of Warcraft free trial. This is my first MMORPG experience since Ultima Online many, many years ago. Keep me in your thoughts.
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(6)
09:21:08 PM,
Friday 13 November 2009
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Also: if the wind doesn't change direction soon, I'm going to have to either a) sabotage my neighbors windchime or b) speak to my neighbors.
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08:43:27 PM,
Friday 13 November 2009
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Lostwinds: Winter of Melodias is a very sweet little game for WiiWare. It's essentially a platforming / puzzle game in the tradition of Prince of Persia, but with gusts of winds drawn with the pointer instead of jumping, and without the constant tension of sudden death. The level designs are elegant: you keep crossing the same terrain, but with expanded powers and in different seasons, so the same area gets reused for an additional set of puzzles. Relaxing.
I feel a longing in my soul for an immersive JRPG type thing, for a Suikoden or a Dragon Quest or a Final Fantasy. I had decided I was going to try to play Go instead of video games, but I'm just not in a state for the hour of difficult abstract thought right now, and haven't been for some time. (Though should anyone ever want to play go online, let me know!) The RPG I've been playing is Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, on the PC, but it's buggy and combat is awkward and the plot is dull (I mean, seriously, satanic cults?) and everything takes forever. It just isn't japanese. (LostWinds wasn't japanese, but boy did it want to be) Getting back into Civilization would be a fix of a sort, but eh. I don't know. Maybe I'll just settle for the NBA, but watching the LeBron / Wade free-throw extravaganza last night kind of put me off basketball. I'm sure jumping into defenders is a skill and all, but it isn't beautiful.
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(7)
08:36:11 PM,
Friday 13 November 2009
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"DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. and it's related companies. Used under license." The world is a bizarre place.
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11:50:19 AM,
Friday 13 November 2009
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Just back from the DBSA meeting. Many of the things people tell each other about mental illness are benevolent lies, either wishful thinking or outright falsehoods that make coping possible. It's impossible for me to begrudge people who have suffered so much more than me their protective lies, that help them shut themselves off from the tragedy of it.
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(4)
09:37:47 PM,
Wednesday 11 November 2009
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site & script courtesy of Moss
