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Friday, December 31, 2004
The end of the year
Looking back at the end of the year of 2004 I find myself thinking a lot about many diverse things. On one level, this has been one of, perhaps the, best years of my life. For the first time in my life I have been in a relationship for an entire year, marking an important first for me, one that I treasure each and every day.
Business wise, while the beginning of the year was not particularly promising, the final quarter of the year was fairly decent, though I am still awaiting a major payment from one client, so that will make a big difference in the final reckoning for the year.
On another personal note, this year marked two of my best friends getting married, I made it to one wedding, but not to the other, so that is a minor note of sadness, but overall it was a great year and one that perhaps marks a new phase in my life and that of my friends. It is also notable that while in previous generations this might have meant our twenties, in this generation it means our thirties (all of my friends who have gotten married were over 33, I am 30, my girlfriend 34).
In the upcomming year I expect to have many complex challenges professionally, I hope that I will have a good year from a finacial perspective, but it is always a challenge as a small businessman to predict what my future will hold. In the upcomming year I hope to expand considerably my consulting business, to hold MeshForum successfully, and to, I hope, expand in a few other interesting ventures. On the non-financial front I hope that my contributions to various groups and organizations which I believe in will continue and expand, that each group I support will grow and further their mission, with my contributions help as much as I can.
On a personal front I hope that my relationship with Julia continues and strengthens, that no matter what the upcomming year may bring in our professional lives that we continue to grow closer to each other and get to know each other more deeply and in new ways. Her smile inspires me, her laughter helps me, I only hope that I can help her, that my quirks and idiocyncracies amuse her.
While we start out this year here in Chicago it is not impossible, indeed it is somewhat probable, that we may end the year in a new city (perhaps even a new country). While this is exciting, it is also a bit nervewracking, if I thought that small moves within Chicago were complicated, what might a move to another city (let alone to another country) entail. A challenge we will face when and if it comes.
My goals for the year, in no particular order and by no means a complete list are:
1. Clean and organize my home, especially my papers, placing the last decade into a bit more order.
2. Catch up on the pile of unread books, which means reading books at a higher rate than last year, probably 3-4 books a week which would be the pace I read at for most of my life, but not the past few years.
3. Expand my business, adding at least three, but ideally more like 6-10 new clients for JigZaw. Ideally by this time next year I would like to have 3-4 employees at JigZaw whom I am keeping busy on a nearly full time basis (i.e. nearly fully billable at a level that compensates them well and keeps JigZaw's clients very happy)
4. Continue this year's travels, perhaps even at a higher pace, with a visit potentially planned for Brazil, ideally with other visits to NYC, San Fran, LA, Santa Barbara, Washington DC, London, and who knows, perhaps other parts of the globe (a return to India would be great but may not be financially in the cards)
5. Write. Write. Write. Both here on this blog and elsewhere on the Internet, but ideally for publication in multiple places. I have a number of non-fiction topics I would like to expand upon and turn into articles. As well I hope see some of my fiction or poetry published somewhere and to try to finish at least one of my novels in progress.
6. Network. Attending a number of good conferences, as well as monthly local networking opportunities, as well as increase the number of new people I meet with each week. People I know have a goal of meeting with (in some form at least) 4-6 new people a day - not sure if I can match that, but I should make an attempt to do so - it can only be a good thing for me in the long run.
Above all, I should and will enjoy life - I am blessed by love of family, of Julia, of friends. In the upcomming year I should and will concentrate on returning that love, on remaining close to those whom I hold dear.
12/31/2004 05:58:00 PM
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Some Notes on India
Ideas for India trips
1. Have friends (or at least friends of friends) to call and ideally visit
2. Get a cell phone, program it with friends' numbers (and your hotel etc)
3. STAY IN FIVE STAR hotels or with friends
4. If you find a great cab driver, keep using him
5. Try to get cabs early in the morning as the better (and English speakers tend to be there).
6. Bring energy bars, vitamins, and some other snacks - useful for days when you can't easily find a safe looking place to eat (or are on a long journey)
7. If possible avoid all "Cottage Industries Emporiums" and other related tourist traps - ideally have local friends show you where to shop for what, and even help you a bit with the bargaining (see #2 above for note on cell phone - do use it to get a Hindi speaker on the phone to talk to someone about prices, quality, directions etc)
8. Arrange for travel inside of India early in your stay - i.e. don't leave until the last minute complex tasks such as buying train tickets or arranging for long trips.
9. Investigate alternative options such as trains vs. buses vs. hired cars for long trips (such as a day trip to Agra, the train is a viable option, but better yet might be planning on sleeping the night in Agra)
10. Don't be reluctant to ask local friends for advice LONG prior to your trip - i.e. don't neglect to share with them before you commit to anything what you are looking at doing - in our case we might have saved some hassle had our hostess known of our plans.
11. Wherever possible call hotels ahead and/or talk with friends who have stayed there to determine whether or not what is listed as a "five star" truly is (we found at least one that was severely lacking heat - not good in the winter)
12. Bring layers - evenings, especially in Dec. can be cooler than you expect - layers are very helpful.
13. Where clothes with extra pockets and/or carry sealed bags - having space to important items such as wallets and passports which can be sealed are helpful in preventing theft - whether by monkeys or people.
14. Don't be afraid to say NO to touts, peddlers and beggars, but also don't be afraid to just keep on walking past, or to ignore them while they rattle the windows of your car. Spend your money where and when you choose.
15. Money changing fees and rates can vary considerably. If at all possible seek our your own bank (or the bank your business uses and change money there - fees typically will be waived and the rate far closer to international exchange rates than if you change money at your hotel or in a shop. We found one hotel offering a rate that was very low as well as charging a 3.5% fee - while another hotel offered a higher rate (a full .5 rupee better against the dollar) and which did not charge a fee. But both were beat by the bank my girlfriend works for, who exchanged money for us (they have retail operations in India) at a rate nearly that of the international exchanges and for no fee.
16. Realize that as a foreigner you will be paying higher rates than your friends who are Indian (whether they are natives or not) deal with this and accept it, but also don't worry too much on the small things - save the worry and effort for when it matters (big purchases for example) - small purchases of less than 1000 rupees are less critical. Keep in mind the exchange rate - on a dollar basis 10 rupees is about a quarter while 100 rupees is about $2.25. Tipping a cab driver you got you where you wanted to go, dealt with your changing mind and varying needs/schedule and didn't try to steer you to too many tourist only shops an extra 100 or even 200 rupees is Karma that will come back to you in spades. On the other hand, don't arbitrarily spend money if you don't have to (see #2 - use your cell phone and local friends, or your hotel in the worst case, for help avoiding problems)
17. Be sensible in what you do - from what and where you eat, to where you try to go when, to how you go, to where you shop. If it doesn't feel right, listen to your instincts and say no, back away, change plans etc.
18. For your first trip don't try to do too much, even on return trips, building in flexibility in your schedule and plans is crucial - India operates on "Indian Time" - so trains will be late, deliveries will occur hours, perhaps days late, even International Flights often can be delayed - roll with the punches and keep your plans flexible and adjustable. Build in contingencies into your planning - asking for a late checkout from your hotel for example can give you an afternoon's grace period when you need it most.
19. Whatever you forget at home or don't have time to deal with you can probably get in India. See #3 - Five Star Hotels get there on the basis of services they offer - when you realize what you have forgotten or that which you need - USE THE SERVICES of your hotel - get that adapter you didn't have time buy, or get a space toothbrush - whatever it is that you require. For critical things, such as water - don't skimp either - saving a few rupee is not worth your health.
20. Bring BIG suitcases, wherever possible with expansion capacities. That said, realize that you have a weight limit of about 32-33 kilos on your checked bags. If you need it, use the scale most 5 star hotels provide in your room to check the weight of your bags and adjust accordingly. Expect to be bringing back to the US more than you arrived with - so pack accordingly, leave extra room, pack items you will use up/leave behind, bring gifts etc.
21. We brought more money back with us than we planned (about $50 in rupees - approximately 2000 rupees). Spend it before you get to the airport (though leave some money in your pocket for services at the airport such as shrink wrapping your checked bags, tipping attendants in the bathroom etc. See if you can find a way to donate it (many hotels will offer you an envelope for this very purpose). Technically it is illegal to leave the country with rupees (I think - check this) so take steps to avoid it in large extremes.
22. You can use visa/mastercard/am ex in many shops (though typically this is a sign of higher prices, sometimes also higher quality) - but for every day tasks in India - transportation, snacks, tips, admission to tourist attractions you will need money. Tourists will pay more to get into many sights. If you can and have a great driver, bring him with you - in most cases he will suggest this and it offers you a very easy way to avoid "guides" who will try to get you to spend money - sometimes as much or more than the admission fee for their services - which are highly variable and while generally informative can also intrude on your contemplation of many monuments. Allow time for exploration of sites that may not from the guidebook sound like they will take very long - some of the coolest things I saw were in the odd corners of sites I had not initially planned on getting to.
23. Bring your camera and keep plenty of batteries charged and handy (or packed if your camera uses regular batteries). A digital camera means no need to buy film but don't neglect to have lots of memory available.
24. Be open to talking to people - especially families you are traveling with - say on a train, or to groups you encounter while out and about in the city. Avoid, generally speaking, individuals you approach you on the street and try to befriend you - more often than not it is a tout/scam of some form. Groups, on the otherhand, often (though not always) are what they appear. We spent a wonderful and highly enjoyable afternoon taken around by a group of college students on holiday who were hiking up to the same temple we were hiking to - great fun and at the cost of a few photos.
25. Bring business cards or alternatively consider getting receiving cards printed while you are in India (it can be done very cheaply at a multitude of places, especially in the Old City of Delhi). Very handy to hand to people in lieu of writing down your details.
26. Expect to get asked questions that are unlikely to be asked in America (such as "are you married" by someone you nearly just met, or "What are your qualifications?" - meaning what degree(s) do you have for whatever career you have.
27. Expect to pay for quality - from hotel rooms to pashmina to custom suits to food - high quality usually means higher prices. Though the converse is false, high prices do not always mean higher quality - indeed in many of the tourist trap type places cab drivers will and do take you, high prices are just high prices. Asking a question such as "is that your best price?" usually can in most stores get a discount, though while books talk about up to 20% or higher, 50% or higher not uncommonly according to them - in higher end shops this may not be the case (or we don't happen to be good negotiators, but we found discounts of more likely 6-12% more common in higher end shops - but found discounts of 75% (or more) not uncommon in other places.
28. Paying a little bit higher than might be expected can make someone's day at very minimal cost to you - paying a porter 100 rupees when 20-50 might do doesn't really cost that much and can have a huge impact on them.
29. Expect to see what appears like dire and horrible poverty, working conditions, and lives all around you in India. That said, don't ignore the looks on people's faces, the kids who are playing and the smiles even in apparent desperate situations. Remember that this is a different culture - but also realize that there are many complexities to the situation (and that in much of the country at least temperatures and climate are such that large, modern buildings are not always the "best" solution to the climate. You will see goats, cows, and pigs across the street from 5 star hotels (indeed shanties may be built right up to the walls)
30. Relax, have fun, and leave time to just sit someplace peaceful and rest. This can be difficult perhaps - but many temples, mosques, even tourist sites such as the Taj Mahal which might be full of pressures and touts as you enter and leave, can be peaceful and quiet once inside.
31. If you are up for it, get out of the tourist only shops and hit "real" Delhi (Indian) markets and shops. Haggle a bit, negotiate, listen, observe and ask questions. After you find great shops and great shopkeepers, don't be reluctant to ask for their suggestions for places to go for other (best typically related) products. Or for brands to look for or quality clues, perhaps even pricing help. Realize that similar looking products can have prices ranging from a few hundred rupees to over 300,000 rupees (from acrylic/wool shawls to intricate, hand embroidered 100% pashmina of the highest quality with workmanship that took over 2 years to complete.
32. Even when paying small amounts for items - look for the best quality you can find for that price - why not get it (and/or use this to get discounts) We found identically priced goods most of the time with quality of considerable variability - carved items with cracks, other items with chips etc.
33. Check bills carefully - look for complex conversions in hotel bills (but sometimes you might get a major break - depending on conversion rate etc - we got a hotel for $51 instead of $250 for reasons we don't quite understand, but are not complaining about in any case.
12/31/2004 11:01:00 AM
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Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Back in the States
Quick update - long posts will be following before the end of the week and keep an eye here for a link (or more) to photos from where I have been these past few weeks...
Namely - I am literally just hours back in the States from a long trip my girlfriend Julia and I took to India for a very good friend's wedding. We spent two weeks in Delhi and in Shimla, with a day trip to Agra. The wedding was great fun, the touring fantastic and overall it was one of the best trips I have taken in many, many years - definitely a country I look forward to my next visit (hopefully even longer, perhaps with some work aspects as well).
In the upcoming days I will post a long set of comments and suggestions for future travels to India - both for myself and for anyone who might be venturing there in the future. Then I will also be posting links to photos from our travels, and likely many other years end comments (as well as hopefully an announcement or two about JigZaw and my plans for 2005.
If you are in my personal addressbook, you should also be expecting an email from me with a year's end summary, updates, and lots of other links and details - if you are not already - please contact me (or leave a comment here) and I will add you to my personal mailing list - about one email every three months so no worries about lots of mail from me).
Until then - Happy Holidays!
12/29/2004 01:28:00 PM
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Saturday, December 11, 2004
What is a the Web equivelant of a club?
Last night, for the first time in a very long time, Julia and I went out to a club here in Chicago. A friend of mine had invited us to the Chicago premiere of an independent film she had been the assistant director on and after the screening there was an afterparty a local club here in Chicago.
We left relatively early, around 11:45pm before the second DJ went on, driven out by the smokiness which bothered us, but as I thought about the club last night I wondered what the web equivelant was.
At the club last night (Dark Room here in Chicago) we sat at a table with my friend who was born in India but now an American citizen and her husband who is German. One of the actors in the film stopped by, he's from Zaire. His friend stopped by as well, he is from Malawi. Throughout the club people were clearly of all races and ethnic orgins. Dancing together, sitting together, flirting with each other. Relaxing and enjoying great djs and large, inviting space. Ages ranged from 20s to late 30's (perhaps even a few people who were in their 40's).
Where is such interaction, across races, religions, cultures, and borders occurring online? Where do people mix to talk politics, art, and work but also to pick up each other, to flirt, to relax with friends?
Online, many forums while open in theory to anyone, quickly become groupings of like minds, like passions. Some which are across all borders, but many which replicate borders in a virtual space. Where are there spaces that are connected by some common threads perhaps (great pulsating music and drinks) while remaining open and accomodating to great diversity to casual, friendly, non-judgemental interactions?
I am encouraged that Chicago has a club like Dark Room. Many other clubs which I have been to, though admittedly it has been a while as I have not been out clubbing much for the past 5+ years, have been much more narrowly targeted to a very specific crowd - rarely very diverse racially. Perhaps I just had been going to the wrong clubs.
12/11/2004 10:05:00 AM
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Friday, December 10, 2004
Google Suggest beta
Google Suggest Beta
How cool. Auto-completion for your searches. Not 100% accurate, but very useful nonetheless. (a search for meshforum showed no results in the autocompletion which indicates an estimated number of results, but there are hundreds of real results in the actual search)
That implies slightly different cuts of the index are being used and/or that not 100% of all search phrases are in the auto-completion index. Even so, it is highly useful and even insightful as by typing just one or two letters you can get a sense of what people may be searching for based on the ten suggested options.
12/10/2004 10:54:00 AM
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Wednesday, December 08, 2004
"Guard your Queen"
While watching the West Wing this evening on Bravo, President Barlett ends a scene playing chess with the line "Guard your queen". On hearing this I recalled a lesson I learned over 25 years ago when I first learned chess.
At the same time, I have been thinking a lot of late about my career, about who I am, about my own personal mental identification as a "geek" (nerd, 'gifted', etc.) Another show on cable of late is "My Greatest Years" a new show on VH1 about people looking back on their high school years. A recent episode had a bunch of famous people who were self-identifying themselves as having been "geeks" in high school, and admittedly they seemed to mostly have been.
At a bit older than 4, my family had recently moved to New York, to a suburb of NYC now famous for being where the Clintons bought a home. Later that year, I think either that summer or that fall, we were at my fraternal grandparents' home ourside of Philidelphia. There, in the living room, my grandfather taught me how to play chess.
He taught me how the pieces move, which pieces were more valuable than others, and showed me some of the basics of how to open the game and start playing. We then played a number of games, mostly with him starting without some of his pieces. But more than the technical points of how to move the pieces he taught me the mores of the game and what he taught me was subtly different from how the game is usually taught here in the US.
When you move a piece in chess to put the king in jepordy, you announce check. If your opponent has not options to move or remove the threat, then it is checkmate and you win. But my grandfather taught me to also announce check, or "guard the queen" when you place the queen in danger as well. This is not typically done, but it is how my grandfather taught me.
Years later, in my moment of high geekishness, as the captain of my high school chess team (from my sophomore year through my senior year) I had to unlearn this rule, it gave an advantage to my opponents, it was not how things were done. I played tournement chess nearly every week in high school, practiced with the team many nights after school, played chess many weekends.
Once I played two games to the full limit of the time control back-to-back. That meant that I played chess for 12 hours one day over a weekend, with more games to follow the next day. Perhaps one of the most stressful days of my life until then, and still ranks right up there.
By announcing check on the queen I was forced to be very aware of the most powerful piece on the board at all times - when I moved whether I was threatening my grandfather's queen and when he moved whether he was threatening mine. This taught me skills that helped me improve my game years later, but it also taught me a lesson about fair play and strong competition.
The last game I played with my grandfather, I finally won, however he had started the game a piece back and I still think that he may have given me, about 6 1/2 at the time a bit of a break towards the end of the game. But I still recall bits of that game 24 years later, and even more I remember being in my grandparents home, surrounded by family in the other rooms, all watching me play and finally win. I think it may have been a Thanksgiving or perhaps Christmas, we still (I think) lived in New York.
A year or so later, we would move here to Illinois, to Oak Park. I never got to play another game with my grandfather, a real game, all the way through, without him giving me any breaks. A piece of writing I wrote years ago I noted that one of my regrets what never showing him how far I had come, and by that I was referring to how I played the game in my senior year of high school, 14 years ago.
I have gotten better, much better since then. But I still have the same regret.
A book on chess is, perhaps, the most important book of philosophy, and one of the most important books in general, I have ever read. It is "Manual of Chess" by Emanual Lasker. It teaches chess, but more it teaches the philosophy behind how to play chess well in the process teaching lessons about how to compete and how to think in life.
Chess is a game without luck, it is between two people and mistakes made by one have to be seen and exploited by the other, if you lose, you have yourself to blame, if you win, you have yourself to credit. Against an oponent of similar skill you will generally end up with even results, lots of drawn games and a fairly even split of wins and loses. After a while, players exhibit styles and tendancies, types of positions and games which they are most comfortable in.
More than anything, chess is a mental exercise. When I play it regularly, I knock the cobwebs from my brain, I feel invigorated, rested. I also learn a great deal of the mind of the people I play against. A bit unfair perhaps, but I've concluded that only rarely should I employ anyone who can't at least compete strongly against me in chess (better still might be to try to mostly hire people who could even beat me, though taken to the extreme this might be problematic, as I'm close to the point where to be significently stronger than I requires someone to play chess nearly full time, to be above an Expert level).
I describe myself as a geek, and probably I am, but more than anything I was raised with an appreciation of and a celebration of learning and thinking. From time to time I neglect this, don't challenge myself enough, don't stretch and exercise my most important muscle, my brain.
In a week I will be traveling to India for two weeks, for a very good friend's wedding and then for a week or so of traveling and touring with my girlfriend, Julia. Together we'll see the Taj Mahal, explore Rajistan, do some shoping, spend a lot of time together, and I hope relax and recuperate. Besides fantasies involving Julia, which I won't write about here, my other fantasy, that which defines my idea of a real vacation, is to read a few great books - to rest, to spend time in a very comfortable, relaxing, calm place, with a great book and no commitments or deadlines, just a great book and some good food.
Until then, I will continue to "guard the queen", think of my next move and the next one after that - but even more, think about what I want to accomplish and work backwards from there to see how to achieve it - one of the lessons I learned from Lasker.
12/08/2004 10:19:00 PM
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Monday, December 06, 2004
www.FredHolstein.com
www.FredHolstein.com
My parents are folkies.
They admit this in public, heck they admit it live on the radio here in Chicago (and on cable stations nationwide) as they are one of the sponsors of Folkstage, a great program of live (well recorded live at least) folk music performed at the studios of WFMT here in Chicago.
More recently they have taken their love of folk music yet another step by producing their second album of Folk Music - in this case a double CD "Remembering Fred" which is the live recording of a tribute concert to Fred Holstein which was performed at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
Check out the website, buy the album and enjoy some great Folk Music.
(sometime next year I hope to get them to make a few of the tracks available online in some manner as well)
12/06/2004 04:16:00 PM
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Sunday, December 05, 2004
Transperency and Business of the future
Shel Israel emailed me a question in reaction to a comment I posted on his blog.
I really like your thinking on this one, Shannon. While technology
will change while we are writing this book, business is built on fundamentals
and evolves slowly. I am still having difficulties with writing the
transparent book. Do you think most businesses will pay the price for
total transparency? Their basic instinct is to keep competitors, publics and
even employees in the dark until shortly before taking a final action such
as launching a product. What are your thoughts?
Shel highlights a challenge that all businesses will face increasingly in the future, and many already do face today. Whether making physical or "soft" goods, it is increasingly possible for competitors to react seemingly immediately, so there are many incentives for attempting to keep future moves secret and/or strongly protected via copyright, trademark, and patents.
On the other hand, the counterargument is that in an increasingly connected world business is rarely entirely conducted internally, so someone "outside" the corporation has to learn about the plans fairly early on, whether it be suppliers, service providers, consultants, partners, media, regulators, select customers, even potential employees sooner or later people learn about future plans. And as soon as anyone learns, it is fairly likely that the information or at least hints about it can be "leaked" online. This can be seen whether you look at product company's new products, a car company's new cars, a movie studio's future releases, or a new game. The music and other industries that are essentially selling data have to deal with the expected full release of their product, not just news about it (bands changing release dates of albums in reaction to the album appearing on p2p networks was recently in the news).
Different industries are reacting to this reality in very different ways. The movie and music industries have, mostly, been reacting via increased legal action as well as preemtive attempts to make distribution of their content (or at times information about their content) illegal and perhaps physically prevented via changed to hardware. (new laws and actions to prevent videotaping in movie theaters, DMCA and follow on laws, both the various regional recordings of DVDs and the newer "broadcast flag" to prevent some actions with content recorded from TV etc.). In contrast the software industry is moving significently towards open source, where often not just the released product, but ongoing development of the product are available for anyone, including competitors to view and potentially use.
While the business model of open source is not 100% proven I think it is getting there. Further, I think that it points to an important distinction that may help resolve the issues that Shel raises with respect to both writing the book and towards corporations being "transperant" in general.
Even if all the tools and framework are out in the open, a corporation can still add considerable value with the data that those tools use, with the services provided by those tools, and with how the tools are configured and applied. Whether it be a car company which makes available all the information about the car - allowing other companies to build booming businesses selling parts and aftermarket upgrades - or a software company showing how their tools work, but still "selling" the tools as a way to access specific information and resources, configured specifically for a particular client real businesses can succeed even when relatively transperant.
In terms of the book, I think that many people will be engaged by and during the process of writing, but will pay for the completed work printed out, bound, and available in a very easy to read format (sure, Cleartype is nice but reading 100's of pages on screen is a different experience than curling up with a great book in bed). Likewise, blogging can open up how a company is making decisions even where they are planning on going in the future, perhaps even give a sample or a taste of what those directions will be, but customers will still pay for the finished result.
Further, the corporation (or in this case the authors) benefit by the potential for immediate and early feedback which can avoid many potential failures.
There is a danger that should always be considered, that of too much feedback, so the corporation (or authors) have to balance feedback with editorial control and creative license. People do not always have the words to express how they will react in the future when presented with something new or different (this is the entire subject of Malcolm Gladwell's new book Blink, out early in 2005 btw) so feedback whether on a new product or a new book has to be tempered with creative vision.
But likewise, in our increasingly complex and diverse world, few products are really the creation of just a few people - from movies to cars products and creativity are spread out amongst large teams (though in the best cases lead by just a few people exercising control and strong editing of the process). Blogging offers an opportunity for the voices at the corporation to document this process and to control (to a great extent) the level of transperency.
A fascinating issue which will be played out over future years on the pages of the Wall Street Journal as well as online.
12/05/2004 09:11:00 AM
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ItSeemstoMe: I?m Not Joining Scoble at MSN Spaces
ItSeemstoMe: I?m Not Joining Scoble at MSN Spaces
And yet another comment from me - not sure if I'll continue noting all of my comments or not.
12/05/2004 01:35:00 AM
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ItSeemstoMe: Scoble & Israel: an Odd Couple
ItSeemstoMe: Scoble & Israel: an Odd Couple
And my second comment on the upcomming book - looking forward to the conversation as it is written, and to the result when it is published.
12/05/2004 01:26:00 AM
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The Red Couch
The Red Couch
Scoble and Shel Israel are going to write a book on corporate blogging. I offered a few comments/thoughts (note - Scoble's blog appears to limit the size of comments or else I would have gone on longer.)
Here are my comments:
A few basics to add to your FAQ (just the questions, need answers I suspect) - not too difficult I hope.
Okay, this may seem very basic, but I suspect it gets a bit more complicated as you stare at it.
"What is a blog?" - i.e. when is a "frequently updated website" a blog and when is it "just" a website?
Are comments needed to make a "blog" a blog?
What about RSS feeds?
Does a group blog differ fundementally from a blog by a single person?
What about this thing called "WIKIs" how do they differ/compliment/contradict what blogs are? (note, I have some ideas of answers to these, posting these questions to spark conversations)
If a blog is published but rarely read, is it still a blog? More seriously, I think it can be argued that a blog, even without active readers, can still be a highly valuable tool for the individual or for a corporation. That is, the process of "blogging" can by itself add value - whether or not the posts that result are themselves ever read widely.
Shannon
12/05/2004 01:01:00 AM
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Thursday, December 02, 2004
Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel
Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel
Report sent to the UN with a large set of proposed changes to enhance global security. I find this report fascinating and generally speaking hopeful - it is a direction I hope will be adopted.
That said, as a realist, I realize that the chances are much of these proposals will get bogged down in the usual, slow, deliberative process of any large governmental agency.
I'm just one US citizen, but I hope that a world consensus is slowly emerging on global security.
12/02/2004 09:31:00 AM
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Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Piet Zwart Institute - Flowmaps, The Imaginaries of Global Integration
Piet Zwart Institute - Flowmaps, The Imaginaries of Global Integration
This is very much what I have been thinking a lot about in terms of economics - mapping the connectiveness of people (and countries) vs. the more traditional model of "assets" (which is a virtual world hold a very changing meaning in any case).
My instinct is that there are very new and major implications to be made via looking at and viewing the world and economics in terms of connectivity - something I hope to pursue in some long form in the future (perhaps a book if I ever have time).
12/01/2004 04:34:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Release 1.0 / Fresh Produce / Comment RE: What Money Buys
Release 1.0 / Fresh Produce / Comment RE: What Money Buys
My comment is up at Release1.0. Take a look - feedback/reactions welcome.
11/30/2004 05:07:00 PM
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An Ongoing, Erratic Diary - Advice to writers in MFA programs
An Ongoing, Erratic Diary
My friend Mary Anne (recently now Dr. Mohanraj having successfully defended her PhD earlier this month) writes some great advice to anyone who is in an MFA or PhD program in creative writing. Her advice I think is likely also relevant to any writer who is not in a formal program (though such writers, like myself, are unlikely to finish a book or set of short stories in as compressed a timeframe as writers in a formal program).
Mary Anne sold her PhD thesis collection of short stories, along with a novel to follow on the same characters, to Harper Collins for a very good contract. She does have the advantage over average academics of having an already established "name" - she's had a journal on the web since 1994 (making her online journal one of the very first "blogs") and has previously edited books which sold out multiple printings and did very well.
So, if you are reading this and are or are considering becoming an MFA or PhD student, go and read her advice.
11/30/2004 11:21:00 AM
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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
At Renaissance Weekend - email may be down
A quick blog post - am at Renaissance Weekend (which is off the record, so nothing here about what other people say, though I may post a bit about what I say/do if I get a chance).
My email at JigZaw may be down at the moment - if you read this, have emailed me, and have not gotten a reply by later this weekend - try commenting here or emailing me at meshforum.org.
11/24/2004 11:03:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Jeremy Wagstaff's LOOSE wire: The Price Of Sleep: 70 Cents A Minute
Jeremy Wagstaff's LOOSE wire: The Price Of Sleep: 70 Cents A Minute
I posted a short comment on sleep pods - interesting idea, not sure I would pay it, but there have certainly been days when I would have considered it.
11/23/2004 02:19:00 AM
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Summation: Brown belt and black shoes -- why fashion is stupid and makes no sense
Summation: Brown belt and black shoes -- why fashion is stupid and makes no sense
I posted the following comment on Auren Huffman's blog about fashion, ties, design, and grammar online:
Well a few thoughts.
- "fashion" in the sense of the latest,
seasonal "in" stuff is indeed fairly foolish. But "fashion" in the sense of high
quality, comfortable clothes that fit well - that's not foolish at all.
Seperately from how it effects how others perceive you - for me, at least, it
effects how I deal with the world. When I am in a t-shirt from a tradeshow, worn
blue jeans, scuffed shoes, and a worn coat - I project a more casual, less
serious air to the world.
In contrast, when I am in a pair of pants that
fit, are well made, and clean, an interesting yet well fitting shirt, perhaps
with a nice sweater or a good jacket, polished shoes, and a clean outercoat - I
project an air of confidence and comfort that changes how I deal with others. It
can be a subtle thing - but by reducing minor aggrevations (slightly scratchy
fabrics, shirts that don't quite fit right, etc - there is less negative and
more positive surrounding me as I deal with the world.
I have clothes
that range from Italian designer to thrift store specials - when I spend the
time to care a bit about how I appear, it follows me into the rest of my
interactions that day.
Likewise, with respect to grammar and spelling -
especially online - I find it can be a proxy for context and seriousness of the
interaction. Casual, hurried interactions with little (usually) thought given to
them tend to also be full of grammar and spelling errors (SMS messages being the
perhaps worst case of this, though it might be argued that they are evolving
into communications in a new, pidgin language)
In contrast, a well
thought out and edited email or long-form blog post/webpage shows a different
level of focus and attention than the majority of blog or email communications.
This extra step communicates to me a greater investment in the communication -
and hence in the interaction.
For example - if someone sends me a
request to forward an introduction via a service such as LinkedIn or Spoke that
is full of spelling or grammar errors (or is even just to casual for the type of
communication) I tend to refuse to forward it for the very reason that the
communication appears unprofessional.
In contrast, a well written,
clearly written, concise email, even from someone I know only loosely is much
more likley to get read and acted upon - as their attention to detail is
telling.
My first screen in any mail or email I get is often right on
the addressing of the communication - anything sent to me as "Ms. Clark" or
"Mrs. Clark" is immediately significently negatively viewed (I am male -
something that anyone who meets me or spends a little time looking me up online
should easily be able to determine). It takes a great deal to get past that
initial gaffe should it be made.
If you think of Fashion as being
related to Design - perhaps you can also rethink its seemingly lack of purpose.
Good, classic, well fitting clothes do serve purposes - they employ various
tricks to hide/emphasize different aspects of the wearer. They change how the
wearer stands, sits, perhaps walks - all of which then, in turn, change how he
(or she) interacts with the world around them.
In part this may be a
West Coast vs. Midwest thing - here in the midwest, clothing besides being
comfortable/covering is also often functional. In the winter, especially, layers
offer great protection from the elements.
Shannon
(my rule of
thumb for ties - I try to wear only ties that random strangers on the street
might stop me and remark "cool tie" - that is a piece of clothing that goes
beyond "working" with my suit to commanding positive attention - usually works
pretty well, though it can be hard to find ties that fit this some years,
especially the past few)
11/23/2004 01:56:00 AM
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Monday, November 22, 2004
Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger
Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger
I commented on Scoble's post on ClearType - very nice feaure I had not been using.
I tried the ClearType tuner on my laptop (IBM T40 running XP service pack 2) and found the process painless and effective - may do a bit more tweaking, but definitely an improvement which will be useful as I tend to spend well over 12 hours a day, often more, looking at this screen.
I didn't download the downloadable tuner, so perhaps only that requires the CD and a reboot.
This is definitely the type of feature that should, but unfortunately is not, by natively installed and used whenever an LCD monitor is detected - definitely helpful.
Shannon
Shannon Clark • 11/22/04; 6:34:11 PM
11/22/2004 05:44:00 PM
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Sunday, November 21, 2004
At Holocaust Museum, Turning a Number Into a Name
The New York Times > International > Middle East > At Holocaust Museum, Turning a Number Into a Name(registration required)
Perspective is important. Somewhere in the lists at Yad Yashem are ancestors of mine, members of my family who remained in Europe while my immediate ancestors immigrated here to the US. Ancestors who should have lived. The roles may never be complete, too many people have died, too many died anonymously, but each were a mother a daughter a father a son, an uncle an aunt.
11/21/2004 10:44:00 AM
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UC DATA Home Page - Analysis of Election results in Florida for 2004
UC DATA Home Page
A scientific analysis of the voting results in Florida, which shows a statistical correlation between the use of electronic voting machines and gains in support for President Bush. I haven't yet read the full paper or the data sets, but looks very worth looking at.
11/21/2004 01:09:00 AM
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Saturday, November 20, 2004
FreshDB.com
A new site promising listings of what's new around the web:FreshDB.com
Looks worth further reading/investigation/use.
11/20/2004 05:58:00 PM
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Friday, November 19, 2004
Rebirth of the Nation
This past evening (Thursday Nov 17th, 2004) my girlfriend Julia and I attended a performance by DJ Spooky of his remix of Birth of a Nation at the MCA here in Chicago.
First, the show itself. A fantastic mix of visual and audio, mixed in a live demonstration of DJ and "VJ" skill DJ Spooky reinterprets an important, yet very troublesome film (if you are not familiar with Birth of a Nation is a 3 hour epic silent movie film which combines phenomenal skill and visuals with propaganda for KKK.
What DJ Spooky does is a demonstration of what creativity and software and a modern sampling perspective can create - art that works on many, many levels - is visually compelling and great to listen to, but also full of influence from the improvisation of great Jazz.
If copyright laws were modernized (and not seemingly infinite in duration) more amazing examples like this could be created. I know that I, for one, would love to see what someone like DJ Spooky might do with a film such as Apocolypse Now.
A project I am trying to work on might help - though not, alas, with respect to movies, but if it goes well I may help add hundreds of gigabytes, perhaps more to the commons for creative use and reuse. It may not be 100% free of restictions, but hopefully it will be quite open to experimentation, reuse, and creativity. Further, there will be a compelling (I hope) economic envelope around the whole project - ensuring that not only can people use the content in creative ways, they can - perhaps - see those uses rewarded.
11/19/2004 01:13:00 AM
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Thursday, November 18, 2004
Scripting News: 11/18/2004
Scripting News: 11/18/2004
I commented on one of Dave Winer's posts, he agreed with my comments (at least somewhat) and linked to them - kinda cool.
11/18/2004 11:19:00 PM
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RSS - discussion of ads
RSS:
I added a long comment to a post by Dave Winer on advertising in RSS feeds. I, for one, would welcome it, especially if it were to help me put the feed content in context, a large reason why I do not currently use an RSS reader.
11/18/2004 02:26:00 PM
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004
ParMedia: my comments
ParMedia: feature/82
I left a lengthy comment on this article - which I mostly agree with, but which was commented on in a way I disagreed with.
11/17/2004 02:45:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Barack Obama 2004 Campaign Weblog
Barack Obama 2004 Campaign Weblog
I posted a long comment to Barak Obama's blog in response to a call for suggestions for his agenda.
"As a Chicagoan and long time Illinois resident (and entrepreneur) I am very pleased with your election, though disappointed with the national results overall.
I think it is very important that Democracts offer constructive, positive alternatives to the proposals that Republicans (and especially the Bush Whitehouse) will try to get pushed through Congress. Without being "snowed" (as it appears may have partially happened with the 'no child left behind' bills) it is very important that bi-partisan alternatives are presented, and there are some moderate, centrist Republicans who might be swayed just enough to enact a few of them.
Priority issues for me:
- Progressive healthcare options, such as allowing small businesses to buy into group plans make economic, fiscal and political sense.
- Deep engagement with the whole world, not just one or two current hot spots - and looking for ways to use all the tools at the US's disposal, not just military force (and especially looking at ways to get greater involvement from other countries in the overall global security - steps such as getting the EU to accept Turkey come to ming, but also looking towards ways to change the framework of our relations with emerging global powers such as India and China - look at what Thomas Barnett has been writing about for some great ideas.)
- Work carefully on Tax Reforms. Steps to eliminate ALL special exemptions, especially from corporate taxes - perhaps in exchange for a lower (but harder to avoid) rate would help elminimate a significent portion of the pork, lower costs across the board and free up lots of resources and energy to work on more wide ranging methods. Agricultural subsidies, which here in Illinois the home of ArcherDanials Midland could be a hot button issue are a very critical part of this - and one with geopolitical importance as well as domestic.
- On that issue, subsidies such as Ethanol and protectionist steps around suger vs. corn syrup have a very wide range of global and domestic impacts. Ethanol is a mostly wasteful distraction (and major subsidy for a few large agribusinesses) compared with demands for higher fuel efficiency or steps to support dense urban development and public transit. Corn Syrup subsidies again support a few major agribusinesses (while hurting dozens if not hundreds of other US businesses that pay higher prices for sugar which they would prefer to use). They also likely contribute to domestic issues such as poor health and obesity since corn syrup digests differently than sugar (some studies seem to show that people sense that they are full more slowly - so they consume more soft drinks for example)
- Public Transit. A very critical issue here in Chicago - and one that is critical nationwide in the effort to get people out of suburbs and back into dense, urban areas. Especially if combined with fewer investments in poorly thought out and environmentally wasteful road development, public transit should be emphsized and celebrated.
I look forward to the next six years (and hope for many more great years to come from Barak and other new leaders like him)
Shannon
"
11/16/2004 11:57:00 PM
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Smart Mobs: What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers' Habits (NYT)
Smart Mobs: What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers' Habits (NYT)
I posted a comment pointing out that Walmart's 400TB of data is not, in fact, dwarfing the web's size and reach.
11/16/2004 09:02:00 PM
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Minding the Planet: Senate May Ram Ludicrous Copyright Bill
Minding the Planet: Senate May Ram Ludicrous Copyright Bill
I commented at length on Nova's thread on the upcomming terrible copyright bill as well as on the changing nature of business and content. My comment focused on the value of "good" ads - as well as on multiple types of ads which I recognize (though I note having already posted it that I missed the majority of "bad" ads)
11/16/2004 08:18:00 PM
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Malcolm Gladwell on plagerism
The New Yorker: Fact
A fascinating article by Malcolm Gladwell in the new issues of the New Yorker (and currently at least available online). I was about to read this in print when I first was pointed to the article by Anil Dash.
In it, Malcolm makes a great and I think rather persuasive, argument about the importance and complexity of the commons in creativity. On the complications and difficulties of art and news and music and other forms of creativity, how they are all built on the fabric of our predecessors, but are also now limited and bound by legal and cultural laws against "copying" or "plagerism".
Great article - I agree with Anil - go read it.
11/16/2004 07:46:00 PM
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Summation: Parmedia launches
?ummation: Parmedia launches
My comments on this - basically pointing to a few additional open-source journalism experiements, I know there are many more.
11/16/2004 07:20:00 PM
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Sorry Everybody
Sorry Everybody
Very impressive (and large) collection of everyday American's appologizing for the election.
What I appreciate, even more than the sentiments (which can be bittersweet and amusing) is how quickly and how large this could be - and how much of a new, network phenomenon this represents.
11/16/2004 09:28:00 AM
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Monday, November 15, 2004
Another attempt at a map
I'm Just Sayin': The Best Map Yet
Not as good as some others, due to mathematical presentation errors, but visually interesting nonetheless.
11/15/2004 12:38:00 PM
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Lead21 Blog: The Selfish party?
Lead21 Blog: The Selfish party?: "But note that there are issues both with the study itself (see their own site for a few, but also look online for more analysis) - specifically they only look at itemized tax returns, but then make assumptions about the levels of giving by non-itemizing taxpayers and divide by the total number of taxpayers. The assumptions seem extremely aggressive, but that is not the only problem with the study.
The other problem is that by using ONLY the IRS definitions for 'charitable giving' the study gives very high priority to donations to religious groups (mostly churches) which I think are 90% or more of the itemized tax donations in many of the red states (need to find the source for this, but I have seen it and intuitively it makes sense).
Leaving aside personal opinions about the 'charity' of many religious groups (certainly I personally many questionable - and past tax scandals, lavish lifestyles of some leaders, and heavy political activism are not quite what many people first think of as 'charity') this measure does not capture 1000's of hours of volunteer labor by many - red and blue states alike.
A final point that some have made is that on a state-by-state basis local taxes and the level of support given by that state to the most unfortunate in society differs quite widely. In a state such as Hawaii which provides universal health care, many reasonable people might conclude that if they want 10% of their income to go to charitible causes, that a portion of that might be 'covered' by state income taxes. Again something that reasonable people can disagree with - but there is a noticible difference in local state taxes and social support between 'red' and 'blue' states (in no small part because generally speaking, 'blue' states tend to be blue by the effect of large, urban areas - which tend as well to value and emphasize government support).
Personally I would find most urban areas' demands for public support very reasonable - and would further look for greater support for public transit and less for additional highways/roadways; more support for social safety nets such as early childhood learning and healthcare and less support for agricultural subsidies. But that's my, admittedly progressive (if centrist) perspective"
11/15/2004 09:27:00 AM
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Salon.com Technology | Anda's game
Salon.com Technology | Anda's game
A new fiction short story by Cory Doctorow is now up on Salon.com!
Yeah! Good fun reading for the commute tomorrow methinks.
11/15/2004 01:19:00 AM
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Fullcircle clothing: fashion: Full Circle
Fullcircle clothing: fashion: Full Circle
Earlier today I was in a resale shop, where I bought a few things, but where I also tried on two of the most amazing, but unfortunately not quite fitting, shirts I have ever worn in my life. They were both from a designer I had never heard of, Full Circle.
After some searching online I have found their website - mostly sold in Europe - they are in a very few stores here in the US (Blomingdales, but not all cities, it appears). I know that the next time I am in a location that stocks them directly I will be looking for them - and that I'll be looking for a distributer of them online as well.
The shirts I am now looking for were button down, longsleeve mens shirts - but what made them extremely notable was the fit and the fabric. Even shirts that were not the right size for me, actually fit better than many shirts that are the "right" size (fit in terms of how they hung on my and how the arms and shoulders - but both shirts were just a bit too small to button up completely - so not workable for me.)
In the mean time, I will also be looking at designer resale shops throughout Chicago, and at stores that might somehow manage to import these shirts - I doubt I'll find them for the $15 they would have been in the one resale shop (Recycle on Milwaukee in Chicago - if you are a medium or a small - go this week and pick them up - exceedly good shirts) - but I will gladly pay more regular retail shops prices - they are that good.
What is interesting for me is that there is such a dramatic and highly noticible difference in the quality. I have some very high end designer shirts - but more normally I wear whatever I happen to have on hand - random t-shirts from tech shows, 10 year old shirts from the gap, etc. The difference that truly high quality can make is dramatic and noticible when you encounter it.
A reminder that it is worthwhile to search out quality where it exists. Whether in shirts or in my more usual search, in technology.
11/15/2004 12:56:00 AM
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Sunday, November 14, 2004
Urban Archipelago
Urban Archipelago
And here is the article.
11/14/2004 11:18:00 PM
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Urban Archipeglo
Graphic referenced by Andrew Sullivan
yet another great post election graphic, one that shows fairly quickly and clearly "who is blue and who is not - generally speaking".
I think in large part this is a fundemental difference - between urban dwellers and non-urban.
11/14/2004 11:09:00 PM
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A longterm plan for a Progressive Party from Lazyweb
A longterm plan for a Progressive Party from Lazyweb
My lazyweb post (first try at one) - here is the link for comments.
11/14/2004 11:47:00 AM
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Thursday, November 11, 2004
Photo of me and Jerry
Conversations with Dina
Dina posted a set of photos from Poptech, including one of me and Jerry Michalski.
I found this post by looking at Blogpulse and searching for myself.
11/11/2004 09:48:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
I use this for the background image on my laptop, a single nike on the street in Old Town Chicago, late Summer 2004. 
11/09/2004 10:31:00 PM
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Rockwell El stop, late Summer in Chicago. I did not touch this - just snapped the shot, starting my quest for sureal moments.
11/09/2004 10:31:00 PM
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Lead21 Blog: Hysterics & Condescension Don't Win Elections
Lead21 Blog: Hysterics & Condescension Don't Win Elections: "As an independent centrist progressive (labels aren't too easy to come by - trying that out for now) I too found Michael Moore et. al. obnoxious - especially the note of 'abandon the world' / 'don't trade/do business etc'. That said, I didn't find Enimem's video offensive - I thought it was significently better than the vast majority of get out the vote efforts - something I do take away as encouraging from the past election - the sheer numbers on both sides who did come out and vote (though we still have 10's of millions of people who didn't bother voting)
On the otherhand, I did not vote for Bush or the Republicans exactly because, in large part, of their 'fringe' - the religious right scares me vastly more than the far left. For one, I am much less scared by a philosophy somewhat simplistically of 'live and let live' than I am of one rooted in a fundemental belief that there is a single 'right' view of the world (as an Atheist I find the insertion of God into politics and government fairly offensive, as someone from a part-jewish family, I am also painfully aware of the impact of a single, heaivly biased viewpoint running politics can have. Freedom of religion is one of the cherished bedrocks of the USA - however diversity is another.
For me, the religious right trumps Michael Moore. Then combined with fiscal mismanagement, geopolitical mismanagement, political appointees trumping science or experience on a repeated basis (initial positions in Iraq for example were awarded to former Republican volunteers instead of people with specific skills/experience in nationbuilding; many departmental appointees were even more political than in years past and had very deep ties to corporations managed by those departments - more than somewhat troubling) and deficit spending past necessity (first tax cut while the nation was at war for just one example, no vetos at all - even of pork laden bad bills).
So this year I found my fiscal conservative inclinations strongly opposed to Bush and the Republicans and I found my socially liberal views also in opposition (on issues such as abortion, gay rights, as well as more broadly the role and focus of government). Finally, my underlying view that science and experts should trump religion and belief when setting government policies or implementing them also lead me strongly away from George Bush.
"
11/09/2004 10:07:00 AM
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Monday, November 08, 2004
Google adsense and monetizing blogs
So, as of this evening I have added Google adsense ads to the left side of my blog. It is a bit of an experiment to see if anyone is reading, I hope over the next year it may earn a small amount for me.
In general I agree that the best way to "monetize" a blog likely is not advertising, but as well I am philosophically inclined to like Google Adsense - I like the concept of targeted ads based dynamically on the content of the page.
I suspect that BlogAds may be better targeted at the readers of many blogs, and that sponsorship or the simple selling of personal consulting services, speaking fees, or other services and/or products will generally speaking be more valuable than any amount of ads, but as well it is painless and simple enough to implement - so I am going to try.
11/08/2004 10:07:00 PM
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A conservative think tank/blog
Lead21 Blog is a group a friend of mine, Auren and others whom I know started, based mostly in San Francisco, they are generally right leaning - many are Republicans, some are independants. What is interesting to me is that they are, like myself, generally critical of the current Republican party (and the president) on many issues - social as well as fiscal - but they are indeed loyal to their party of choice.
As a progressive, liberal, independent, I find it important and useful to read and follow the thinking of the non-religious right arm of the conservative movement.
Many of the people involved in Lead21 are somewhat my peers, fellow technology entrepreneurs (many of them are in their mid-30's, some are VC's, some are consultants, some are entrepreneurs). We have different views on the role of government and on the relative importance of social issues in our personal votes - but unlike many on the right, they argue intelligently and approach the world from a philosophy I can understand and even respect.
In short, worthy to understand and perhaps even debate, certainly also to engage and I hope at times work with.
11/08/2004 05:34:00 PM
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Everyday Matters: November 2004 Archives
Everyday Matters: November 2004 Archives
Sometimes it is important to read artists - Everyday Matters is one of my favorite blogs by an artist - great illustrations and overall look - a very good read, which I should read more often.
11/08/2004 05:24:00 PM
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Election result maps - University of Michigan
Election result maps
Another collection of election results maps on a national scale with varying methods of visualizing the data employed - what is interesting here is the final graphics showing a split into three main categories - "all blue"; "all red"; and shades of purple (mix of voters) shown proportional to population and at a county by county level.
Fascinating graphics, but not quite what I hope to pull together, which would be more on a scale level and would combine and show even more data.
(Thanks to Nurul for the link)
11/08/2004 10:01:00 AM
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Election result maps - University of Michigan
Election result maps
Another collection of election results maps on a national scale with varying methods of visualizing the data employed - what is interesting here is the final graphics showing a split into three main categories - "all blue"; "all red"; and shades of purple (mix of voters) shown proportional to population and at a county by county level.
Fascinating graphics, but not quite what I hope to pull together, which would be more on a scale level and would combine and show even more data.
(Thanks to Nurul for the link)
11/08/2004 10:01:00 AM
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Sunday, November 07, 2004
Popes & Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, etc.
Popes & Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, etc.
Sometimes google turns up reminders of how wide ranging, yet cool the web and people's personal passions and interests can be. This is an amazing site sumarizing the 2000+ year history of popes, patriarchs and other leaders of the various "ancient" christian churches - quite an impressive bit of history and summation.
11/07/2004 09:53:00 PM
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Viragelic 2.0 - naive experiments with generative sound
Viragelic 2.0 - naive experiments with generative sound
Random concert generator. Let it load and then run for a few minutes - it builds up and gets more complex over time, with additional voices and beats being added over time - pretty cool experiment - wonder where this will lead to in the near future.
11/07/2004 01:35:00 PM
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Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004
Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004
Another county by county map - even more useful however are his other data and resources. Good, well done site.
11/07/2004 09:10:00 AM
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The Mystics Online
The Mystics Online
While out today I wandered into a used record store in Lincoln Square (a very nice part of Chicago - highly multi-cultural, one of the few areas i might consider moving to - if only it was a bit closer to the rest of the city). Anyway, in the back they had used CD's 3 for $5. I bought "Remnants of a Lost Culture" by The Mystics, very cool CD, if quite different from what I usually buy or listen to. On their website, much of the album is available online.
11/07/2004 12:22:00 AM
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Saturday, November 06, 2004
Crooked Timber: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Crooked Timber: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Another good discussion of visualizing the electoral results/voting patterns (and a good site to boot).
11/06/2004 07:39:00 PM
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It was bound to happen?. and it did. - Blog Maverick - www.blogmaverick.com
It was bound to happen?. and it did. - Blog Maverick - www.blogmaverick.com
Occasionally I write or post on other random topics - here is a comment I made to a recent post on Mark Cuban's blog.
11/06/2004 11:38:00 AM
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Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog
Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: "because you can't create synapses that aren't there, just muscle up the ones the natural horizontal thinkers have but tend to under-appreciate."
A great quote - go and read the rest of Thomas' blog (and buy his book The Pentagon's New Map). I have been blogging about Thomas since his article in Esquire a few years ago. At PopTech he was one of the most talked about of the speakers - and did a great job. One of the few people I have met who are literally working to change how the world (and world leaders) see and talk about the world - very ambitious, very much a big idea, and quite important.
11/06/2004 12:46:00 AM
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Friday, November 05, 2004
Salon.com | Red state readers write
Salon.com | Red state readers write
I am not the only person with this observation or idea - lots of Salon.com readers (many "blue" voters in "red" states) writing in to suggest that rather than talk about seceding, or more seriously the talk about essentially abandoning / giving up hope of recapturing various "red" states - why not consider moving TO those very states and shifting the balance.
11/05/2004 03:01:00 AM
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Thursday, November 04, 2004
A comment I posted elsewhere
http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/comment/2372#2292
Well Illinois, while now seemingly a "safe" Democratic state has a long
history of electing Republicans - not clear to me by a longshot that Durbin's
seat if a safe one in 2008. (I'm an independant in Chicago)
Don't forget
that Illinois while currently having a mostly incompetant Republican party, a
Democratic governer, two democratic senators, and a major democratic mayor
(Daley) we also have the current speaker of the house (Republican Denny Hastart)
and his seat is a fairly safe one.
Something I am slightly surprised at -
has noone suggested the John Kerry be the next minority whip? I suspect in terms
of senority he is low on the totem pole, but I am also fairly certain that
Massachusetts will keep on electing Democrats for the foreseeable future.
Shannon Clark <http://searchingforthemoon.blogspot.com>
2004-11-04 06:36:03 PM link <http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/comment/2372>
11/04/2004 09:10:00 PM
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Black Box Voting -
A potential if highly detailed source of data for my proposal.
Though they are going to be collecting data at an even more granular level of detail than I suspect we actually need - but they may collect some very useful and important additional data in the process - specifically they may get the full voter rolls along with the data about who voted/did not vote - data that might be fascinating to analyze.
It may also contain data (if flawed potentially) about who are "new" voters and/or voters who registered on the day of the elections.
11/04/2004 08:24:00 PM
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Crooked Timber: Red Counties, Blue Counties and Occupied Counties
Crooked Timber: Red Counties, Blue Counties and Occupied Counties
More maps - thanks to Britt Blaser for the link.
Some links back to the same maps I have blogged about previously, but a few ones which were new to me.
11/04/2004 07:41:00 PM
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Democrats' Losses Go Far Beyond One Defeat
Democrats' Losses Go Far Beyond One Defeat
Especially take a look at the "Document" linked on the right of this article - it is a 1 mb PDF image of the breakdown of the election results by country nationwide.
A few positives.
1. I will go out on a limb - Mississippi is WINABLE by Democrats - take a look at how many blue counties are there in the heart of the south.
2. Maryland may also be winable, though the blue counties are clustered around the very democratic DC area.
3. Arkansas is also possibly winable.
4. New Mexico looks very competitive, evenly split.
5. Colorado could be won.
6. South Dakota, though more data is needed, might be swingable back to the Democrats (which could also be a route to look at for the senate - small population state, but still has 2 senators like any other state).
7. Nevada appears to be "Las Vegas" vs. the rest of the state (Las Vegas being democratic, the rest of the state red)
8. It appears that being near water TENDS to be an indicator for being Democratic, but this may better be understood as Urban areas tend to be Democratic - note that most of the Mississippi river area through the heart of the red states went Democratic (Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisianna)
11/04/2004 01:35:00 PM
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Another related image
Purple haze graphic from Jeff Culver (hosted by BoingBoing.net).
11/04/2004 11:15:00 AM
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Resources for my proposal
Dave Winer points to a great graphic from USAToday which shows the election results by county
11/04/2004 10:59:00 AM
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Wednesday, November 03, 2004
A longterm plan for a Progressive Party
Ideas for a Progressive Party
Many people, myself included, think that a Progressive party is a good idea. Perhaps it will be built out of the current Democratic party, or perhaps it will arise as a third party and pull from the center of each party.
This evening I had an idea for a few, fairly simple, tasks that could be done and started that might offer a direct approach to building a successful Progressive Party. It will involve lots of people making very serious commitments and investments, but it also can work and can help literally reshape the map.
But before any action, some research. Start with an underlying detailed analysis of the entire US electoral map.
The steps for this would be:
- Take ALL votes, from ALL states, break them down to as granular a level as possible,
overlay it with GIS software. - Next add in voter registration data - so high vs. low voter turnout areas can be
seen. - Now add in data from prior elections, including primaries (noting if primaries are
by party or open) and start to look at ongoing trends. - Combine with census data to get a measure of "possible" voters vs. registered vs.
voting. - Add-in economic data about households - how many children vs. parents; how many non
-citizens; what general income ranges (including if possible whether income is earned
or unearned.) - Combine with data from other sources, such as marketing data that might note car
ownership; gun ownership; shopping habits for each region; home ownership vs. rental,
size of home, attached vs. detached, level of property taxes etc.
Now comes the fun stuff. - Add-in available housing stock, homes for sale, businesses for sale.
- Look at infrastructure data - wireless cell phone coverage, DSL/Cable modem
availability, etc (i.e. can the area support high tech workers) - Look at and add in specifics about "time of residency before you can register to
vote" (and "time of residency before you can run for office, locally, statewide and
from that district nationally)
The goal is to identify areas of the country - ideally in current "red" zones - where with planning a group of people of voting age, acting together, could move in and literally "take over" that district and area.
It should be possible for a relatively small number of people, acting together and taking a longterm view, could by shifting where they live and work change the electoral map to the point of electing anyone whom they might want to elect - starting at a local level but likely including state house and senate (perhaps even in some lightly populated states governers) and ideally House members (Senators might be more difficult, though possible perhaps in a few small population states. This is a long-term, many people, very high cost plan - but it could quite literally reshape and reorganize politics in the US. It is also not without precedent - people of similar interests have historically lived together - so why not do it specifically for a political purpose? Why not do it in a way that can shape and influence elections nationwide? How many progressives work in careers which they can pursue anywhere in the country
with decent infrastructure? How many people have careers which they can transfer to other regions (teachers,
police, firemen, clergy, restaurantuers, etc? How many people feel so passionately about the future of the country that they would be
willing to move out of comfortably "blue" states and into "redder" districts? Further, how many of those districts are so small and economically challenged that they would not welcome the influx of new home buyers (the key of course being to arrive enmasse - ideally in a way in keeping with the "new urbanist" movement - so my personal choice would be to do this in ways that might also have the side benefit of reinvigorating small cities and towns and discouraging urban sprawl, but that is my personal bias. This process might start by "taking back" some of the red parts of otherwise "blue" states (Part of New York, large parts of PA, some parts of New England such as Maine, etc) But clearly a focus of this should be two other critical parts of the country - the south and the west/southwest. The sparsely populated plains states might be one place to start. As well lightly populated parts of the south another. If this process simply started with people who already lived in a given state all moving to the same districts, to the same towns - gradually taking over local, state, and then nationwide elected offices in the process we could take over.
11/03/2004 09:41:00 PM
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My comments on what we should do next
From my comments to David Weinberger:
Mid-term elections - plus any interim elections next year - could be the difference in the Supreme Court if enough justices can hang around for a few more years.
Candidates, such as Barack Obama, who can pull votes from all demographics (sure it helped that Keyes is a lunatic, but still, Obama one the largest victory in Illinois senate race history, something close to a 50% margin which was about 20% higher than most early estimates) Consolidate the few gains & bright spots (California to a degree, Illinois, New Hampshire) and focus on supporting local officials - Texas shows how vital local, state officials are in deciding the ground rules and playing field for national races (gerrymandering meant that the democrats lost lots of house seats) Try to find ways to protect import national resources, such as wilderness preserves in Alaska, from likely attempts to drill into / destroy them. Support and if possible fund serious science - California's 3 billion dollar fund for stem cell research is a good thing generaly speaking - but research into critical issue
such as global warming is fairly critical as well. Attempt to help the remaining Democrats find ways to craft subtle and effect bills or ammendments that can help protect and preserve vital national issues and/or minimize the damage that the Republicans can do - this is likely not easy, but for example Barak Obama here in Illinois was able to get state bills passed in a bi-partisan manner that helped many people - the issue is in how they are framed, presented, and "sold". See also http://www.hopestreetgroup.org for one non-partisan group I work with that works on public policy issues, striving to find ways to work in a bi-partisan manner. Work with many, many other people to see if there is a way to create a viable, realistic, alterntative to the Democrats and the Republicans (or alterntively and perhaps more realistically, find a way to do a take-under of the Democratic party and shift it completely into a centrist, progressive position.
11/03/2004 01:05:00 PM
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More on elections
As I write this it is still up in the air who won the presidential election, however it looks promising for Bush. Which makes me very unhappy.
I am unhappy for a few reasons.
First, even if Kerry pulls out the political equivelant of the Boston Red Sox comeback and wins Ohio on the basis of provisional ballots (may be as many as 250,000 ballots which won't be counted for 11 days, plus military ballots that get counted in 10 days or so), he will have won the White House but lost the popular election.
Second, if Bush wins, we enter at least 2 and perhaps 4 years of Republican control of the executive, Senate, and House. With at least 1 and probably as many as 3 Supreme Court justices likely to resign (or more unfortunately die), a war in Iraq, and Republicans chomping at the bit to pass laws that will (I strongly feel) have the potential to ruin this country for decades if not longer - and certainly have a lasting impact for a very long time after these upcomming 4 years.
A few specifics:
- drilling in Alaska as well as refusal to look towards science in environmental matters especially global warming but also stem cell research etc. As a result, the world's environment and especially the US will be in worse shape in the future than it is now.
- a major increase in the influence (which scares and worries me) of fundementalist/ evangelical Christians on US public policy - in the US and abroad. From the "gag" rule around abortion tying the hands of NGO's around the globe from even mentioning abortion if they take US funds for family planning to judicial appointments to executive branch appoints (ala John Ashcroft).
- Tax policies that completely shift the burden from an attempt at balance to one where only work is taxed (generally speaking) and income from ownership (capital gains, dividends, etc) mostly not taxed - further shifting and expanding the divide in this country.
- Government spending (much of it pork) plus tax breaks etc which are mostly heavily focused on rewarding very large businesses (and only to a lesser extent small business). We are unlikely to see much reform here - and as deficits continue to grow innovation (which is the true engine of growth) will be restricted.
- Foreign policies that will continue to alienate and abuse friends and foes alike - from restrictive visa laws which reduce the number of students at universities to ongoing "go it alone" military policies (while not paying sufficient attention to real, pending threats to international security such as nuclear prolifferation, piracy, genocides (especially in Africa), etc)
- An overall moralistic tone from government appointees and elected officials alike with an assumption of some divine right as well as an inability to even acknowledge mistakes. I want a government that learns from mistakes and which is focused on using and supporting the best people - not on pushing a religious agenda.
Above all the countless ways in which I disagree with Bush and most of the Republicans on most issues a major concern for me is judicial appointments - especially the Supreme Court. Justices appointed for life will shape and influence the tenor of everything in the US for decades to come - if the court is stacked with right wing evangelical conservatives (though mostly "conservatives" in name only) much of the progress of the past century, as well as the direction I hope and think the country is moving towards will be put at serious risk From abortion rights to junk science.
More emotionally I feel that there is a large and to my mind scarily large part of the US voting population who are idiots. Not kind words perhaps but voting for George Bush is not something I understand other than there are a large number of people who are evangelical Christians - and frankly I wish I did not live in a country with them - and I fundementally think they are completely and utterly wrong, in nearly all respects, in how they view the world.
I respect many people of faith - but with a caveat - I do think that religious faith of all forms is a crutch, perhaps a valuable and useful crutch for many people, but a crutch nonetheless. Religion provides answers to complex problems and relieves individuals from a large number of choices and decisions. That said, I personally find that desire on most people's part to be a desire arising out of weakness and poor thinking. I am an existentialist, so for me choice and free personal choice is a core bedrock belief and issue. I hold decisions in great respect - but I think that the hypocricy of so many greatly weakens their moral position (though they seem many of them to have a belief that if they are "saved" then everything else they do is somewhat meaningless - look at the rates of divorce, drug abuse - especially of legal drugs etc.
I think we are also entering into a realm here in the US where there is a major divide between the Urban and the non-urban, between those who support and encourage diversity and those who find diversity (of any form) scary and risky. Between those who celebrate living close to each other, working near where we live and minimizing our impact on the environment (say be walking, cycling or taking public transit vs. driving) and those who drive sports cars, large trucks, or SUVs, live in "McMansions" and drive everywhere - living in communities with little to no diversity of any form (economic, racial, religious, sexual orientation).
My observation of my generation (I'm 30) and those who are younger than me is that we are increasingly open to diversity of all forms and that some of this attitude is even rubbing off the society as a whole. Interatial couples are not uncommon and cause little notice (at least in many parts of the country and even show up in movies and tv shows). Further, gays and lesbians once shocking and unmentionable in the context of national media are now quite common and even frequently appearing on national media (and even in case of shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy very successful ones).
In contrast to this, however, we are in a many channel media world (other than in radio where we are in a few channel world mostly) and with magazines and the Internet people around the country can easily live in a world of only those who hold views they also hold - which scares me.
(Watching ABC at the moment - Fareed Zakaria making a great point that the US is closer to Nigeria and Saudia Arabia than to the rest of the world - in terms of how many people here are ultra conservative religious folks)
If my worst fears do occur, I find myself giving serious consideration to what next steps can I take.
- can I do anything to defeat every Republican elected official in sight - luckily not many of them left here in Illinois, but what can I do to help defeat tons of them in the next interim elections at least giving the hope that a Democratic Senate (and/or House) might serve as a check to the worst impulses of the Bush administration
- what can I do to make sure that a non-Republican wins in 2008?
- Is there anything I can do to promote real, bipartisan, non-religious based legislation that could address the real issues facing the US (and the world) and also serve to check the Bush administration?
If not, do I want to remain here in the US and contribute, or do I want to seriously consider other options, at least for the next few years? (my girlfriend's current company is a Canadian bank, we've both talked about how we would like to live outside of the US and work sometime in our lives, perhaps the next few years would be the best time for us to do that).
Many commentors on TV have been noting that there is a divide between the religious and the secular in the US at the moment. I am firmly in the camp of secular - and I literally do not understand the mind of those who are religious. That said, there are plenty of religious people who do not support any of the Republican/Bush agenda - they reach a vitally different perspective on what aspects of their faith to emphasize and how to implement them into the world. My aunt, for example, who is a Catholic nun (for well over 35 years) has spent her life working on social justice issues around the world. Her focus of her faith is helping the poor and downtrodden - wherever in the world they are.
Very different from the evangelicals who seem to be focused on self-interest and on a narrow and highly specific view of what issues are important to them (i.e. abortion but not saving lives in Africa, being concerned about the death penalty or supporting research that can save 1000's of lives; or gay marriage but ignoring very high rates of divorce; tax cuts for the rich and corporations but ignoring issues of minimum wages or payroll taxes; etc.)
Anyway not going to be a good 4 years I suspect and my annoyance with the US Federal government which started 4 years ago appears to be doomed to continue for at least 2 more years and likley 4.
11/03/2004 01:47:00 AM
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Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Voted - thoughts on campaigns of the future
This afternoon I voted, no problems though too many judges (some undeserving) on the ballot - hope efforts to get people to vote for the judges and to vote out incompetant ones worked.
I voted for John Kerry, not out of great love for the Democratic party (I'm an independent) but I am happy to vote for a centrist and for change, as well as for someone whose plans (and supporters) I back (mostly at least).
As I sit here in Starbucks listening to NPR, surfing the web, I had a few thoughts.
It makes me very pleased to hear about very high turnouts and that people are putting up with the lines and challenges to make sure that they get a chance to vote. I strongly suspect that this will help Kerry considerably, hopefully in at least a few surprising places.
One commentor suggested that next election cycle there may be an "Internet Candidate" not sure if that will happen as quickly as 2008, but it may. More importantly however I hope that if there is enough turnout and activity all around the country that in future campaigns many more states and much more of the country will be "in play" - and thus get real, serious attention by the candidates and elected officials overall.
Just some random thoughts - more as I watch what I hope turns into a clear victory with long coattails.
11/02/2004 06:08:00 PM
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Saturday, October 30, 2004
ItSeemstoMe: Bob Metcalfe, Acrimony & 3rd Parties
ItSeemstoMe: Bob Metcalfe, Acrimony & 3rd Parties
Shel Israel has a post up about conversing with Bob Metcalfe at PopTech on the subject of 3rd parties. I have contributed a long comment with my thoughts on the matter.
10/30/2004 03:22:00 AM
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Friday, October 29, 2004
stevenberlinjohnson.com: Full Disclosures
stevenberlinjohnson.com: Full Disclosures
I posted a rather long comment. Steven Johnson has announced his next book - a polemic on "Everything Bad Is Good For You: Why Today's Pop Culture Is Making Our Kids Smarter". As I greatly enjoyed his previous book Emergence, I look forward to reading his next book (and he has another book which I will be seeking out when I have cought up a bit with my current too large too be read shelf - okay shelves)
My comment is mostly to agree with his premise. I think that modern pop culture - both here in the US and globally, is increasingly complex and sophisticated. I also would add that the growing trend towards creativity being easy and rewarded, as well as a focus on text (email, IMs) over voice is a very good thing. As well the trend to time-shifted self-programmed (Tivo, iPods, napster, iTunes, etc) vs. earlier broadcast models is also a great and important trend.
The complexity of the future will be how we merge the best elements of the broadcast, common culture model with the 1000's of separate tribes model of the Internet and other connected media. That is, how do we consolidate and edit into selective summaries complexity - but also support and foster that complexity. I think current media may or may not figure this out, but I am confident that some of them will (MTV, Comedy Central perhaps faster than ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX).
10/29/2004 10:06:00 PM
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Supporting John Kerry
Presidential?Enblogments?2004 :
An experiment in "enblogment" - inspired by Larry Lessig and set up by David Winer.
I am an independent, but this election I will be voting for only the second time in my life for a major party candidate - for John Kerry. While I disagree with many of the Democratic base (specifically Unions in general but especially public sector unions and the teachers union whom I find in general serve a negative role. More on this follows) this year in particular I am very strongly in favor of many of John Kerry's positions (especially a number of them which are in keeping with Hope Street Group positions. As well I am very strongly against nearly all aspects of George Bush's policies - from how his administration has mismanaged the war in Iraq and anti-terrorism in general to domestic policies that reward the very very rich, penalize the poor, further divide the country, and seek to put one specific group's religious views enshrined into the Constitution itself.
Unions. My problem with unions, and especially the teachers union but also public sector unions, is that they serve as a very significent negative force on innovation, change, or achievement in areas of education and government which I think are the very areas where change and innovation are desperately needed.
In the 7th grade I had the major misfortune of having a teacher who was completely unqualified to teach, but who had his "choice" of classes because it was the school's local union representative. As a result I spent literally a year of school during which I did not learn anything in that class. Now as a kid I was always quite advanced, so my natural desire for learning and a great high school made up in part for his lack of skill and qualification, but I felt strongly then and still do that union contracts that reward only senority and perhaps to a lesser degree education (but generally only education in "education") are a major factor in the difference between public and private school education.
(Though I had bad teachers at the Catholic elementary school I attended prior to going to public junior high, so bad teachers will be everywhere).
In contrast, my high school was non-union. The teachers negotiated a very generous contract, but were not unionized. As a result I had a multiple teachers with PhD's, in the subjects they were teaching! They were attracted to my high school, which was a public high school, because it paid well, provided good resources, and had a large and good student body. Most of my teachers had a masters degree specifically in the field they were teaching, many of the teachers had been at that school for decades. It should be noted that while my high school was in a near suburb of Chicago, it was also highly diverse - ethnically and financially - to a degree rarely found anywhere in the US. (we actually had a speaker at graduation who noted that the "real" world would unlikely be as diverse as we had experienced in high school)
Anyway, that is one of my issues with the Democratic base. But irregardless, I am strongly supporting John Kerry and encourage you who are reading this to get out and vote on Nov 2nd. Also, if you are in one of the many states with constitutional ammendments or resolutions againsts gay rights I encourage you as well to vote against denying rights to one group of Americans on the basis of sexual preference.
10/29/2004 01:26:00 PM
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Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Salon.com News | Dems bash GOP on national sales tax plan
Salon posts a news article about Dems bashing GOB candidates over a proposed (very loosely it seems) national sales tax.
Salon.com News | Dems bash GOP on national sales tax plan
I wonder if there are lessons which could be learned from how other countries with a national sales tax implement it which might help the US? Personally I have long thought that a national sales tax of some form is a good counterpoint to other trends in federal taxes such as the seeming repeal of the estate tax, lowered income taxes, more other tax loopholes/credits etc.
However, I agree and understand that if just passed on all transactions, people who spend most of their earnings (or indeed more than they earn) will be most heavily penalized.
So a few suggestions:
1. Exempt education, healthcare, food, beverages (perhaps non-alcoholic ones only), public transportation. This covers a significent percentage of basic household purchases, but leaves out some critical areas - housing, school supplies and clothing being two obvious ones.
Say that a federal sales tax were 1% (another option is a graduated sales tax, something like 0.5% - or lower, on the first $100, then go up to 1% above 100. (sure, some very rich people might "break up" transactions above $100 into many smaller transactions but existing laws might cover this and in any case it would perhaps put the retailer at risk as well)
If everyone nationwide got a sales tax credit of $100 (and a true credit, refundable if you do not owe any federal taxes), this would more than cover the tax burden of most low income families.
I would further suggest giving "rich" people an option such as "donate your tax credit to ..." (presidential election campaign funds, paying down the debt etc.)
I do not have the exact sums, but it seems to me that if imposed on end use sales (retail sales, sales to businesses not for resale purposes) and if bound by existing sales tax exemption (but perhaps with greater audit/enforcement powers to limit abuse) such a sales tax could generate very significent funds while minimizing the impact on lower incomes, and only minimally impacting "the rest of us".
A few items would be controversial:
- gasoline (I personally think higher taxes/costs of gas are likely a net positive in the change in behavior they might impose on the economy but this is an arguable point as they may also raise costs across the board
- clothing - we all "need" it, however it seems ripe for abuse if exempted, instead I think the across the board credit approach is better
- tourists / non-filers - I think tourists should probably pay taxes, however could be handled in a similar manner to VAT refunds in Europe, especially on things such as hotels, airfare, rental cars etc.
- meals out vs. food at grocery stores - easiest I think would be to exempt it all, though perhaps impose the tax on alcohal which is perhaps viewable as a luxuary good.
- how to define "public transportation" "eduction" "healthcare" - especially optional items such as plastic surgery or over the counter medicines/supplements etc. On the otherhand I think this might be easiest if handled very simply.
- phone - i.e. when is a phone a phone vs. a computer? Again a case I think were simplicity should reign.
What would remain?
- Cars.
- Furniture.
- Jewelry
- art
- games and entertainment
- Housing (purchased only perhaps - exempt rent though may make some complicated tax loophold available)
- Investments - tricky, could be defended as having a value and separate tax cehicle (capital gains), often are also tax deferred/avoided entirely in any case.
Anyway, I think it is something worth consideration. The Democrat's points are valid, but not impossible to address in a way that still is a net positive (in a very significent manner) to the federal government, and which might also have some very serious other positives to the economy as a whole.
Why do I say that?
Well, for one, a simple, federal sales tax which is levied on corporations as well as individuals alike, and which is paid at the time of the transactions (and filed monly as current state sales taxes are filed) means federal revenues spread across the 12 months of the year vs. concentrated in April and quarterly.
More critically it is a way to collect revenues from corporations that otherwise pay very little in taxes at present (via tax shelters, creative accounting, and other means - though many do pay some state sales taxes and property taxes).
The process of setting up to collect this tax will impose some burden on many businesses (though no to little burden on individuals - though the issue of individuals selling such as via Ebay is a complicated one worth consideration). At the same time this burden might impose new investments in technologies to connect with the government and to collect and track sales tax, this in turn might create efficiences and cost savings.
Further, a common, uniform sales tax is one that could be imposed on online as well as offline transactions. Sure, we might all grumble, but it might point towards a way to greater parity on and offline, plus something like 1% is not a big difference in most transactions.
Anyway, bears consideration and further thoughts.
10/26/2004 07:16:00 PM
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