Dan's (Sometimes) Link of the Day

Somali Rescue

2012-01-25T05:24:00.000-08:00

Outstanding work. There will be no controversy about the military going in to a Somali pirate stronghold to liberate hostages. There's even an upside to the fact that the soldiers apparently killed their way out. The next Somali guy who gets hired for guard duty will be wondering when the Americans are coming. Maybe he'll take up farming instead. For his sake, I hope so.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone from President Obama to everyone down to the folks who really matter, the soldiers who executed this mission.

Happiness Behaviors

2012-01-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

Pretty tough to argue with this list of behaviors that happy people share. Especially that last one. OTOH, forgiveness is difficult for me in two cases.

Chicken or egg? Are folks happy because they practice these behaviors or do they practice these behaviors because they are happy? I think it's both but leans heavily to the behavior begetting happiness.

Class Act

2012-01-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

You may have caught the article in the GB or Milwaukee papers about the add Mark Tauscher took out in the Journal Sentinel. What a classy thing to do.

2012-01-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

“To me, I don’t see a state divided, politically… . In Madison it’s overwhelmingly that way, but around the state I don’t see that.”

You know why that is Governor? I think it's because your staff rents public spaces making them non-public and sends out invitations to only your supporters. To those of us who didn't write you a check, volunteer on your campaign, work to recall a Democrat and don't belong to the Republican party-- you know, the majority of Wisconsinites-- you are totally inaccessible.

Bubble anyone?

Sick Kids? - Green Bay Environmental Polution

2012-01-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

I didn't look at the whole list but I don't see a single school within Green Bay or even the Green Bay Area School District that isn't in the top 20% of polluted schools. Many are in the top 1%. How depressing is that? The entire city is a high pollution, cancer causing area it seems.

Of course, the devil is in the details and the report methodology is a computer simulation based on pollution estimates. There are more details in the FAQ. It is possible that the reason we're on the top of the list is that our companies are honest in their reporting and everyone else underestimates. On the other hand, we do have a coal plant and some pretty serious industrial facilities right near down town so it seems very plausible.

We need to actually gather and test air quality samples to get the facts. I wonder what a test like that costs? I wonder if there are EPA, WI-DNR, or other grants the city, county or citizens could go after to get that done. I wonder a bunch of things...

But here's one thing I know. I know it's election season and that means it is a good time for everyone-- that's YOU-- to call your local candidates to press the issue and get commitments to act. Call your candidates and get them to commit to getting air quality tests done. If you don't know who your candidates are, call the Green Bay City Clerk at 920-448-3000, the Brown County Clerk at 920-448-4000, or your local municipal clerk.

Guy Hit

2012-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

I saw this article in the Press Gannett today. Then another article on the same story came through my reader and it had an addition.

Yes, it is now common knowledge that Guy Zima fathered a kid who is now a teenager while being married to someone other than the kid's mother. Yes, Guy throws his cronies and stooges under the bus for no apparent reason other then to politically beat them up. Yes, if you ask around, you'll find people who say they have witnessed Guy treating his wife horribly in public. It's even easier to find people who have first hand experience with Guy's racism. Yes, Guy picks his nose and digs ear wax when sitting in council meetings. Yes, Guy seems to treat people good or bad based on what he needs from them. Yes, Guy stole bratwurst and Joe Heller won't let him forget it. This stuff is all fair game.

But this anonymous web page just seems way, way over the top. A few comments:

Unless she's behind it this is very unfair to Eliane Zima. True or not, there are some very personal things in that rant. I think she is the true victim of this hit piece.
Someone has gone very negative and on the attack. But who? Maybe someone wanting revenge. My guess was Wery might want revenge for the Weary of Wery stuff.
Guy will once again get his constituents to believe that this is a conspiracy and he's the victim.

Organizing and Influencing Field Metaphors and Privacy Consequences

2011-12-14T07:10:00.001-08:00

From best to worst:

Grass Roots - When an effort is made up of volunteers who believe they are doing good for a common purpose.

Advertising - When one entity pays another entity to present a message.

Astroturfing - When an effort to influence and organize appears to be Grass Roots but is actually incited and financially or otherwise backed on the down low by some organization with a vested interest. This happens all the time when organizations with money want to make something happen politically.

Crowdturfing - When an effort influence is hidden and appears to be made up of individuals offering unbiased comment and endorsement via comment sections, social networks and other free means. This has always occurred on a small scale, of course, but now it's been named and gone corporate and companies are selling it as a service. Some folks think that a major portion of comments on all major online shopping sites are generated this way. I think those folks are probably right.

But here's my biggest fear:

SocialTurfing? RelationshipTurfing? FriendTurfing? - Pushing a message by systematically modifying content over what appears to be a netural common carrier. I fear Facebook will do this if they aren't already. There's a ton of money in manipulating which friend's messages appear at the top of each other's walls. Your friends influence your opinions more than any add can. Imagine you are a political moderate and Facebook sells the list of folks who appear as suggested friends on your wall. We all know folks who grind out endless posts at both ends of the political spectrum. I believe you are, in large part, who your friends are and the ideas you are exposed to. I don't know what kind of clever "turf" name this will end up with. I am quite sure it will be effective and very profitable.

While CrowdTurfing is made up of hundreds of one to one lies to try and get you to act, FriendTurfing slants the entire system to try to change your belief system/world view.

Don't think Facebook and their train wreck of a privacy record will do this? Consider Facebooks well known privacy abuses and the news that came out this week:

Facebook already collect unbelievable amounts of data, including shadow profiles for people who never even signed up, they delete nothing and claim that data about individuals is their trace secret even when requested by those individuals.

I wonder if we need a European style open records policy where individuals have the legal right to find out what a corporation knows about them. We shine sunshine on government all the time with open records laws. Why can't I know what Domonos pizza and my grocery store and, yes, facebook know about me and who they have sold it to?

2011-12-09T12:14:00.001-08:00

I have often thought that I'd like to find a health insurance cooperative to join.

WPS Health Insurance (Wisconsin Physicians Service not Public Service) is a health insurance non-profit that seems to offer a whole spectrum of individual plans with optional dental coverage and two different drug options. Even the best plan seems reasonable compared to COBRA.

Anyone in NE WI used them? If you have, I'd love to hear your experiences!

Packer Stock Sale Observations

2011-12-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

The packers are selling stock to pay for facilities improvements.

First off, it's $250 per share plus $25 per transaction meaning, effectively, it's $275 for most buyers.

Second, as an NFL team owner, you have some restrictions. Here's the text from the offering document with the obvious stuff removed and the interesting stuff emphasized by me:

"The NFL Rules prohibit conduct by shareholders of NFL member clubs that is detrimental to the NFL, including, among other things, ... publicly criticizing any NFL member club or its management, employees or coaches or any football official employed by the NFL... If the Commissioner of the NFL (the “Commissioner”) decides that a shareholder of an NFL member club has been guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL then, among other things, the Commissioner has the authority to fine such shareholder in an amount not in excess of $500,000 and/or require such shareholder to sell his or her stock. In addition, if the Commissioner determines that a shareholder has bet on the outcome or score of any game played in the NFL, among other things, then the Commissioner may fine such shareholder in an amount not in excess of $5,000 and/or require such shareholder to sell his or her stock. If the Commissioner requires a shareholder to sell his or her stock, then the Corporation may have a right to repurchase the stock at $0.025 per share. See “Transfer Restrictions.”"

In other words, if you smack talk the NFL or a club or even a coach or player you can be fined up to half a million dollars and you may have to turn your $250 share in and get 2.5 cents for it.

Well, I have two things to say to that. All the refs need glasses and the Bears still SUCK!

Horse Slaughter Legal Again

2011-11-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

This is a tough one. Americans love our horses almost as much as our dogs. (Dogs get the edge in my book because I've never seen a lap-equine.) It's a good thing that horses won't have to be exported to countries without standards anymore. There will undoubtedly be price benefits for consumers on certain products. On the other hand this will also likely make it again more profitable to raise horses with the intention of slaughtering them.

If you are interested in helping horses stay away from the slaughter houses, there appear to be many organizations dedicated to horse welfare.

Beer and Cultural Advancement

2011-11-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

Who knew? Civilization is built on beer.

Political Pledges

2011-11-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, took a step in that direction earlier this month when he announced he would not sign anymore pledges, such as the anti-tax document that painted him and his GOP colleagues into a corner earlier this year.

This is clearly an improvement over signing absolutist pledges last election cycle. Of course, it would have been clearly way, way better if he hadn't signed such pledges in the first place. Those surveys aren't hard to navigate but you always have to go in to the organization's interview room after make sure they know that you don't believe in absolutes.

I'm a firm (but not absolute!) believer in putting your ideals and reasonable goals out there during the campaign but picking over-simple policies to get there sets you up for failure. Taxes should have been raised to pay for these wars, Medicare taxes should have been raised to pay for the Medicare expansion, there should at least be a plan to pay for things when programs or policy will obviously cost money.

Quorumless

2011-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Several Alders were no shows to the special Common Council meeting. Enough to block a quorum which means the body can't actually do business or vote on anything.

No shows: Theisen, Wery, Buckley, and Deneys

Keep in mind that the first two of those guys were active in the Recall Hansen effort, presumably because he stayed away from the WI State Senate to block a vote. Hypocrisy anyone?

Here's the video where several members express their frustration and more than one alleges that the move is done to block further work on redistricting.

Wow

2011-11-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

Thank god this U.C. Davis crowd showed such remarkable restraint. The video opens with an unbelievable act by an officer and ends with the crowd chanting peaceful invitations for the officers to leave.

If you'd care to let the police lieutenant know how you feel about his actions, his work email address and private contact information are available here. Or you can call the UCD cops. Obviously, be polite but firm. But please don't pile on with the morons who will ruin his credit, subscribe him to bulk paper mail and all the other things that certain elements on the net inevitably use to punish people. If the system works as it should, the life this guy had is already over. No job, no retirement, and a dozen assault convictions on his record.

The administration has a different take on it but I suspect that will shift.

It's bad enough that people use prods on cattle. Hopefully abusive cops learn before it's too late that using TASERs as people-prods and pepper spray without cause is unjust and criminal. Eventually some officer will do this sort of thing in to a crowd that forcefully react to a similar injustice and that's not good for anyone.

It may look like a video game...

2011-11-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

...but it's not. It think this is stunningly beautiful.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Truth in Parody

2011-11-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Three minutes and you get to hear many of the patterns that play out over and over again in those chambers. Brilliant Wendy. Thanks for posting it!

Brown County Map is Set!

2011-11-01T19:43:00.001-07:00

Press Ganette doesn't post a link but the new map is apparently, finally, done.

Happy Diwali!

2011-10-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

To my friends and former colleagues, happy Diwali to you!

Heroes

2011-10-26T05:38:00.001-07:00

When I lived in Silicon Valley I got to meet some of the computer pioneers. John McCarthy — known as the father of artificial intelligence and Lisp — is one someone who I would have liked to have met. The guy just looks smart and that hair is fantastic! Thank you for your contributions and rest in peace, Mr. McCarthy.

Green Bay Trick or Treating

2011-10-19T18:48:00.001-07:00

Halloween is on Halloween this year! "Trick-or-treating for the City of Green Bay will be on Monday October 31 from 4-7 PM."

Season Tickets

2011-10-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hopefully she'll be able to use them. Maybe her kids will. Maybe she won't even want em. It seems to me it is every parents responsibility to put their newborn on the list so that they have the option, right?

Irene E. Van Adestine

2011-10-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Irene E. (Bricco) Van Adestine, December 3, 1918 - October 12, 2011, Green Bay, WI, was welcomed into the arms of our Lord on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, surrounded by her loving family.

Irene was born Dec. 3, 1918, in Neva, Wis., and was the daughter of the late Leo and Mabel (Olesen) Bricco. Irene graduated from Bear Creek High School, Outagamie County Teachers College and Oshkosh State Teachers College. She taught in the one- room rural schools of Waupaca and Outagamie Counties. In 1967, Irene went back to teaching at St. Joseph Catholic School in Green Bay. Irene remains a member of The Brown County Retired Educations’ Association.

Irene has always been a staunch supporter of her husband's involvement in hockey and officiating on a local and state level. This interest had continued on through her son and two of her grandsons. Irene spent over a decade helping with her daughters Girl Scout troops.

As a young girl, during the depression years, Irene acquired the skill of sewing from her mother. She began by learning how to reuse and refashion styles that were popular at that time. Irene always dressed very fashionable through her high school, college and early teaching years. After she was married, with an ever increasing family, Irene happily spent the rest of her life making clothes, curtains and doing mending/ repairing for all of us.

She was an active member of St. Jude Parish, chairing many funeral luncheons, greeter for funerals and helping in the office. Irene was also a long time member of the St. Jude Women’s Club, bible study group and with her deep faith would pray her rosary daily. Irene was a Red Cross volunteer and enjoyed participating in exercise groups for over 30 years—well into her 90’s. She traveled extensively with her husband, family and friends throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Irene's love of family and history guided her to spend countless hours putting together books and memorabilia regarding our family stories and genealogy which has been enjoyed by many and for future generations.

Irene was a very energetic lady and always had a project going. We were told that while in school her teachers wondered if she ever sat still. Well, we can tell you that she rarely did! She was the life of many get-togethers and could always be counted on to get the fun going, whether dancing, singing or putting together the greatest costume.

She married Robert “Red” Van Adestine Aug. 16, 1944, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bear Creek. Robert preceded her in death April 29, 1987. They were blessed with six children, Bobbie, Donna, Renee, Sue, Margaret and Dan. Her family was her greatest pride.

Irene is survived by her children and their spouses, Bobbie and Tom Browne, Sue and John Piton, Margaret and Bruce Demerath, Dan and Jill VanAdestine all from Green Bay, Donna and Larry Morrow, Renee and Tom Werner from Luxemburg; her grandchildren, Michelle (Jeff) Wick, Matt (Sabrina) Browne, Jennifer (Neil) Schwartz, Jaci (Tony) Rocheleau, Joe Morrow, Mike (Michelle) Werner, John (Lori) Werner, Zak (Amy) Werner, Dan (Julie) Piton, Karen (Jeremy) Metzler, Derrick (Julia) Demerath, Lee Demerath, Marci Van Adestine and Brian (Darci) Van Adestine; her great-grandchildren, Sarah, Andrew, Emily, Alex, Melanie, Megan, Elizabeth, Olivia, Blake, Madison, Lilian, Ethan, Grace, Iris, Tyler, Ivy, Genevieve born Oct. 12, 2011; step-great-grandchildren, Skyler, Dalton and Sophie.

Irene is also survived by two brothers and sisters in-law, John Bricco of Green Bay; Loy and Lorraine Bricco of Bear Creek; Eunice Bricco of Clarkstown, Wash.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Robert “Red”; her infant grandson, Stephen Lawrence Morrow (6/16-11/5/1981); her parents; and her siblings and their spouses, Domain Bricco, Fern (John) Lorge, Leonard (Margie) Bricco, Gladys (John) Martin, Florence (Bob) Mathewson; brothers in-law and sisters in-law, Maurice Van Adestine, Sarah (Alfred) Clausen, and Alice (Frank) Binder.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the Blaney Funeral Home 1521 Shawano Ave., from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday. Visitation will continue Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011, at St. Jude Catholic Church, 1420 Division St., Green Bay, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the church with the Rev. Donald Everts officiating. Burial will be in Fort Howard Memorial Park. To send online condolences, please go to www.BlaneyFuneralHome.com.

Thank you Margaret and Bruce for the special care you have given Mom.

Irene lived her vibrant life to the fullest and was a true role model for her children and grandchildren.

We love you Grandma Van!

Downtown Development

2011-10-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

The next phase of the City Deck, an urban park that takes full advantage of the waterfront, is beginning. In addition to the mayor and the supporting cast, thanks to the alders who voted yea along the way.

Of course, next to that Watermark project which is remodeling the old Younkers building is underway. In the same project are the Green Bay Children's Museum and a restaurant/bar by the folks that own the ever popular The Bar. They will all make wonderful additions to N. Washington St.

Next to that is the gaping chunk of leaky concrete we all grew up with called Washington Commons, Port Plaza Mall, or just "The Mall". The Mall and some of it's old, tired friends are dead and it's going away so it can become a corporate headquarters. Thanks also go to Schreiber Foods for committing to downtown Green Bay.

And now, just to the north of the old mall and it's ramp, a KI Convention center expansion is in the works.

I believe that economic development sum of these projects is larger than the raw addition of the parts. I'm proud of each and every vote I took in support some of these projects. The other Alders, Supervisors, Mayor should also be proud of what they helped happen. It takes dreams and vision to make things happen. But in addition to the electeds let us not forget those who did and do so much to spur economic development, execute on that vision, and keep our city a great place to live. So my thanks to everyone who works to make our downtown and city a better place, leaders and workers alike.

Newspaper Week Editorial Response

2011-10-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

"The Press-Gazette has a proven record of providing what its readership expects and requires. We remain committed to our readers and this community, and we'll be here for a long time to come."

I appreciate those words and I still want timely news like this article stating that the Executive vetoed the latest county board proposed maps today. I'm grateful I can get it online. I subscribed to the weekend edition for two years because I wanted to support my local paper. I read that paper based content maybe three times in those two years. Almost all of them literally went from the paper box to the recycle bin.

Please start genuinely working toward getting beyond the paper based add and subscription sales model. Ditch the anonymous forums, the signal to noise ratio is unbearably low. Make folks use real names tied to their paid online subscriptions. Include your archives in an online subscription. Allow an online subscriber to order six paper-papers a year. Throw in some classified add words and automatically cross post them to online partners. Most importantly, offer the paper without advertisements to subscribers. (The technically savvy people already turned the adds off because they cause the page to load way, way too slow.)

In otherwords, if you want my money for your online content then you need to build value around your content. You also need to give me a way to give you money without having a dead tree delivered to my house. Thanks for reading!

Firefly and Bureaucratic Absurdity

2011-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah, looks like we may have found another type of bureaucrat. The moron. (Though it's hard to tell if it's the chief or some unmentioned rule writer. Either way someone is a moron.)

Phone Virii and Other Madness

2011-10-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I get this text message with a lewdly suggestive subject line. Since I know the from number to belong to a religious right women, I'm guessing her phone got infected with text virus and that virus sent copies of itself out to everyone in her address book. It used to happen with Microsoft Windows/Outlook emailing all the time back in the 1990s.

Today, I spot this article covering how any app running on an HTC with internet access gets access to much more private info. HTC needs to lock their version of Android down or I'll not consider them for my next phone. Especially after they caved in to Microsoft patent threats.

We all need to remember that these smart phones aren't just hard-coded firmware like your father's Nokia. Smart phones are are full blown computers and we all need to realize they can and do have the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It's only a matter of time until we see security and antivirus tools offered in the App Stores and Markets.

Two Motives- Two Kinds of People?

2011-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across the Iron Law of Bureaucracy today. In part, it states there are two types of folks in a bureaucracy. People who serve the organizational goals and others who serve the bureaucracy itself. I've certainly seen those qualities and loyalties in different people.

But here's the thing, I don't buy it. The over-clever simplicity of dually exclusive absolutes in this "law" doesn't allow for the shades of gray that most often exist in the real world. It doesn't allow for organizations where the people primarily executing on the mission keep the others in check. It implies that people looking out for the welfare of others is bad in a way that brings Ayn Rand to mind. Worst, it most certainly doesn't take in to account that one person can embody both motives simultaneously. It reminds me of "Balonium" the massless, frictionless element they use to teach physics in high school.

New Maps Already

2011-09-30T06:12:00.001-07:00

The board decided to ignore the Judge created districts I drew up for my last post. According to the Press-Gannette, Zima and the Brown County Board are taking another crack at growing the board by three.

Here's what this new map looks like in Green Bay.

This map appears to be almost totally about maintaining the status quo. It does put perpetual County Board and City Council candidates Rob Miller and Bernie Ericson who both serve on the board in the same district as Ned Dorff who currently serves on the council. Other than that, the incumbents-- including all of the double-dipping aldervisors-- appear get their districts to themselves.

Will the Executive veto this again? Will the city council adopt it unchanged?

Judge Drawn Districts and Incumbents

2011-09-28T12:23:00.001-07:00

Here's a map I threw together of what the judge proposed with the city and county incumbents marked. Note that the double dipping aldvervisors are brown circles with green star points.

Aside: I'm really enjoying this GIS stuff. It's a new direction in computing for me. Though, I would very much like to have a conversation with whoever designed the automatic label placement algorithm.

Here's the rundown:

* Theisen against Dorff
* Wery against Danzinger
* Ericson-- who was beat by Dorff last cycle-- is again handed an open district in this map

It's also worth noting that former Aldervisor and current Supervisor Vanderleest is put in the same district as Brunette and Danzinger. If Johnny wants back on the council it could be an doubly interesting race in the Judge proposed fighting 10th.

It may cleanly break the city up in to East vs West but it accomplishes the political goals favored by the naysayer too. In my view, it's a step back.

But the story is not yet over. The county board can still modify this. It'll be interesting to see if the county push for 29 districts resurfaces. If that doesn't happen, it'll be interesting to see if anyone on the council pushes for 12 districts after promising to do so for so long.

Voter ID Fallout, Upcoming Elections, or something else?

2011-09-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

I never understood how they could get along. I know one to be a sane, fact-based conservative who is motivated by helping others and knows how to build coalitions to get stuff done, my opinion of the other is an inflexible religious zealot motivated by pushing the party line with a very spotty employment record. I have always wondered what outside influence put them in the same office. Surely neither would be the other's first choice.

The representative who was once in charge of elections in Green Bay calls for public hearings about requiring ID for voters at the polls.

A few days later, a story about the staffer who quit his elected position to go to Madison who has publicly strongly supported the voter ID law has quit the aforementioned representative's office.

Related? Were the voter ID hearings the straw that broke the camels back? Maybe. Or it could just be what that the rumors mill says, the staffer's wife was really unhappy with Madison. Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see what district the staffer and his family move to. The spring election season is right around the corner, after all.

Google Plus

2011-09-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

They launched G+ without releasing an API meaning developers couldn't build third party applications on top of the platform.

Look out FB, it may be that the game changed today. It will be interesting to see how many third parties build applications and extensions for G+. Of course, it'll also mean that we're due for a bunch of crappy horoscopes and bogus surveys.

Coolest Science Ever?

2011-09-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Some researchers used HIV, the virus that causes aids, to inject Leukemia hunting DNA programming in to T-Cells from three patients. Totally experimental but it sounds like they were on the edge of death with no other options. There was a bit of a roller coaster after putting the altered T-Cells back in the patients but but the bottom line is two were apparently cured. Seriously. You want to know what point of the government investing in pure science is? It's right here. This was privately funded but there's no way this kind of stuff exists without building on the human genome project.

Criticism and Reaction...

2011-09-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

...will it lead to face to face criticism?

It could be a coincidence or it could be that a little bit of pants on fire criticism has gone a long way.

It's good, of course, that Rep. Ribble is interacting with the public in open forums in public places without an entry fee. It'll be interesting to see if the obnoxious from the left frenzy on him like the obnoxious from the right TEA partiers did on Rep. Kagen during the health care insanity. If the nutty left gets as loud as the nutty right did, there will be city halls across the district where no work is getting done.

Will there be questions about where he lived and lives? I hope not, it didn't get traction in the election last time when he rented a college kid apartment in DePere and frequently changed his stated home city at events based on the audience. It seems like a stupid place for the Dems to waste energy this time.

Message Coherency

2011-09-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe the person whose job it is to check message coordination was hungover. Who knows why it happened but the following two headlines appeared in the same day:

* Quad/Graphics completes acquisition of Mexican assets

* Quad cuts 20 jobs in engineering division

Seriously?

It doesn't matter that they are totally different kinds jobs. What matters is the perception that you are growing in Mexico and firing in WI. It looks heartless and un-American.

One does wonder why they had permanent employees doing short term work. Were these workers leftover from when times were better, has Quad gradually off-shored the new work like so many other companies or did management really hire full time for limited term roles?

Work Computer Use Appropriateness

2011-09-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time while sitting in a server room without a phone I sent a pop up stating, "Hey man, how's it going?" to every workstation in two very large geographic sites for a very, very large chip making company. Trust me, you know their name. The headquarters was in one of those geographies. Odds are at least some of the executive staff got it. The message was supposed to go to fellow contractor rpetrix who belonged to domain02. Unfortunately when I sent it to domain02\rpetrix it went to everyone logged in to domain02. Rpetrix later told me he saw and heard it popping up on screen after screen on his floor. I was very lucky I wasn't fired. I know it was discussed. I don't know why it never happened. I just kept working and felt grateful when the ax never came.

I was reminded of that when I came across a story that stated in part that, "A low-level state employee was fired Thursday after he sent an email to...all employees at the agency’s headquarters..." The story went on to say the employee was terminated within hours. I understand why some people think of their work email is theirs. It's simply not. Nor is it ever appropriate for a junior employee to send an unrequested email to the entire organization. Email is an employer resource and I think it's appropriate when management disciplines someone sending spam using work resources.

On the other hand, the sanction does seem rash and heavy handed due to the message. Especially since this guy undoubtedly thinks he was trying to do something good for his fellow citizens. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the spin doctors failed to mention that the agency HQ is five people or some other relevant point that makes the government provided talking points half true. Better to wait three weeks and can him for being late or some other civil service violation... why make a martyr? Or better yet, why couldn't someone sit down with this guy and have a chat about use expectations?

Regarding the government wanting people to pay for their IDs, is anyone surprised? That's revenue DMV collected in the past. Of course they want to keep collecting it.

Thinking of those we've lost

2011-09-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

One, the mother of a friend. Goodbye LoRita my thoughts are with your family.

Another, a hero of geeks and non-conforming idealists everywhere. He understood the social change of networking computers and invented eBooks before the word for them existed:

"For the first time in the entire history of the Earth, we have the ability for EVERYONE to get copies of EVERYTHING as long as it can be digitized and communicated to all of the people on the Earth, via computers [and the devices a person might need to make a PHYSICAL, rather than VIRTUAL copy of whatever it might be. . .

Think about what you have just read for a moment, please, EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE..." - Michael S. Hart. Thank you sir for your contributions making the world a better place.

Discussion Guidelines

2011-09-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Robert's Rules are effective but a PITA and, as I and others have proven multiple times, them that know the rules best control the outcome of the discussion.

My friend Richard just posted this pointed discussion guide graphic. Probably more useful in a one on one discussion. I love the intent of filtering out folks who are disingenuously seeking discussion and intending to persuade instead. There are too many of those these days.

Sons of Anarchy

2011-09-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

The season 4 premiere episode of Sons of Anarchy is tonight. Each episode airs multiple times through the week.

There was a gathering during season at a local bar to watch it. Was fun to do. Unfortunately that bar changed hands and when I stopped in today the bartender had no idea what I was talking about.

I can't wait to see how SAMCRO gets along with Stahl and Jimmy O out of the picture.

Harold Greene Benefit

2011-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

It's a sad reality in our country that those who end up in the hospital too often also end up in bankruptcy. We're used to it at this point but other developed countries think it's unbelievably absurd that American families that have to hold fund-raisers to help with massive medical bills. In this country many folks with insurance are surprised when the bills pile up uncontrollably.

Unfortunately, this brushes up against nearly all of us from time to time and this time it's a stones throw from me and and my kin. Please consider coming to the party! The cause is good and it looks like it'll be a good time!

Dan's Cheesy Garlic Mash

2011-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

No secret or surprise ingredients here. You'll need:

eight potatoes

one stick butter (8 tbsp)

one tbsp minced garlic

a cup or so of shredded or finely cut up cheese

about a tbsp oil

dash salt

Wash potatoes off.

In large pan, cut potatoes in to 8ths or smaller and boil in water with oil and salt.
Microwave or heat butter until mostly liquefied.

Strain potatoes and combine hot with cheese, butter and garlic in large mixing bowl. Beat on slowest setting until thoroughly combined and creamy.

Eat!

Notes: The salt and oil in the boiling water is family tradition, never tried without. We don't peel the potatoes here, we like the occasional texture bits but if you want em smooth you'll probably want to utilize the peeler. Cheese is optional. I've been thinking about trying swapping out some of the butter with milk... but you just know that won't taste as good.

Of course, I still make them but don't eat them often these days but I'm told they still taste wonderfully good! But really, now could they not with a table spoon of butter per potato...

Fitness and Health

2011-08-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Methinks I'll embark on the couch to 5k journey. Sadly, with the extra weight I'm lugging around, it'll be a while before I can complete week one. It's back to working out and calorie discipline for me.

I mentioned this before on FB to one guy but I'd like to shout out to Jon and Dave for their frequent workout related posts guilting me in to getting my ass moving and minding my cals again.

This post automatically originally made at http://danslotd.blogspot.com. I mention this because I'll probably start posting health and fitness stuff at http://200pounds.blogspot.com again which doesn't automagically show up on the FaceBook. So if you care to follow along, then you'll probably want to point a feed reader over there.

Fake Political Postings

2011-08-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

I don't think this is real. My BS detector went off at, "Look, we suckered all those nutjob Christian fundies out of their votes and their money." That just looks to me like a lamely obvious attempt at trying to drive a wedge.

It seems to me that Rove is absolutely willing to tell half truths to motivate agreeable voters and demotivate opposition supporters. The memo starts out as a believable astroturf voter supression campaign but Rove is way, way too savvy to put a line like that in writing. Much less an email apparently distributed this wide...

That said, the memo could actually have been written by a staffer on Rove's behalf. If some idiot within American Crossroads actually wrote this I predict that there will be a firing that only the "nutjob Christian fundies" will hear about.

On a more local front, we have a tit for tat between spinmeisters Media Trackers and One Wisconsin Now. Seriously, both of you are a part of the problem. When we only have two parties, each side will grow organs whose purpose is to attack the opposition and, while they do raise the profile of important facts from time to time, most of what they publish serves no good purpose.

It's like we went from, "If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything." to "...then make sure someone else tries to make em look bad publicly for you."

Politics should be about ideas and solutions. All energy wasted on offensive positioning and half truths on both sides make me sad. Party proportional democracy anyone? I say it's worth a try.

Caring for Your Newborn

2011-08-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

The delivery and breast feeding classes were good.

Caring For Your Newborn was the first class I didn't think was worth the time or money. It went a half hour over. It covered stuff that grandparents are supposed to teach (if you didn't help with younger siblings) like bathing and diapers. The video about "the period of PURPLE" was interesting. I guess I knew that some babies sometimes cry for no apparent reason but this was good reinforcement. The CPR part of the 3.5 hours we sat in class was barely a half hour. Our needs would have been better served by taking a CPR class at the Red Cross, I'm thinkin'.

Fighting Racism

2011-08-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

A part of me wishes that something like this would happen in Green Bay.

Another part of me doesn't want it to happen because it's not the racist official that pays the price... it's the taxpayers.

Now, if you could make the people to voted for the racist pay... now that's starting to sound good but, of course, not possible with a secret ballot.

Sounds about right, scientifically speaking.

2011-08-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

“Aristotle … argued, you know, there sort of has to be a God. Of course that’s nonsense,” Corbett said according to a transcript of his lecture. “I mean, that’s what you call deductive reasoning, you know. And you hear it all the time with people who say, ‘Well, if all this stuff that makes up the universe is here, something must have created it.’ Faulty logic. Very faulty logic.”

He continued: “The other possibility is, it’s always been there.… Your call as to which one of those notions is scientific and which one is magic.”

“All I’m saying is that, you know, the people who want to make the argument that God did it, there is as much evidence that God did it as there is that there is a giant spaghetti monster living behind the moon who did it,” the transcript says.

Corbett told his students that “real” scientists try to disprove the theory of evolution. “Contrast that with creationists,” he told his students. “They never try to disprove creationism. They’re all running around trying to prove it. That’s deduction. It’s not science. Scientifically, it’s nonsense.”

It seems to me that James Corbett was spot on with these remarks in a classroom, especially if it was science class. If I were on that school board, I'd vote to fight.

Dan's Quick White Chile

2011-08-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you throw a hail mary om the kitchen and get lucky. When a pregnant woman tells you she wants white chili now, you find a way to make chili in a hurry.

- What you need -

46 oz Northern Beans
1 lb ground chicken
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin

- What to do -

1) Take the lid off the jar and microwave the northern beans for 6-8 minutes. (Obviously, if you are worried about using the jar in the microwave, put beans in microwave safe container. I was in a hurry, OK?)

2) While the beans are in the microwave, brown the ground chicken in a sauce pan or frying pan, break apart as much as possible. Add a dash of vegetable oil if the meat is lean.

3) Dump it all in a crock pot and stir until thoroughly mixed so it looks like it took all day.

- What's next? -

Well, I'm going to keep northern beans in the cupboard. This was too quick and good to not have it ready to go as needed. I will try it with half burger and half chicken and no oil when browning the meat. I'll also try swapping the onion or garlic powder with onion or garlic salt. Finally, if I'm up for cleaning the blender, I'm going to try liquifying 1/4 or 1/3 of the beans too.

Labor, Birth and Beyond Class

2011-08-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

It was long, but good.

The nurse leading the class mentioned early on to us that we should all have our bags for the hospital ready already. During the next break I asked the folks at our table if anyone had their bag ready. No one else did.

Next up, Breast Feeding Class.

Patents and Jobs

2011-08-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Mark Cuban is right: patents hurt companies and hiring. I suspect patents currently negatively impact our economy much more than 20% plus of our GDP going to taxes. Patents are supposed to be about creating incentive for research and development thereby making the world a better place for everyone and publicly documenting the invention so it's available for anyone to produce once the government granted monopoly runs out. Too often that is not what they do anymore...

"Patent trolls" are companies whose sole purpose is to acquire ownership of patents and "monitize" them either via licensing agreement or lawsuit. Legitimate companies that actually produce useful things are spending tons on lawyer hours and payoffs to defend themselves against these vampires. Money that could go toward hiring people, producing more stuff, inventing better stuff or just paying out bigger profits.

Even normal companies that do actually invent, create, and/or sell stuff use patents patents as weapons. These weapons are used for both aggressive and defensive business strategies. For example, technology in Google's Android phone platform is under attack by both Google and Microsoft right now. Google just bid on a bunch of patents from Nortel for 900 million dollars.

Monsanto is totally abusive in using the courts to crush farmers who don't want to pay for waht they don't want.. Others are doing the same evil but not on as large a scale. Monsanto has successfully prosecuted a farmer because the farmer's corn was cross pollinated by wind/bees/whatever carrying genetic information from neighboring fields. That's right, he didn't plant monsanto corn but the next generation included monsanto genes when he planted his own seeds. Pretty absurd.

A few general observations from my perspective:

* The processes software defines are also expressible in mathematics. They, like any process, shouldn't be patentable.

* Software is a work of art. We already have a protection for that, it's called copyright.

* Living things should not be patentable. Seriously. Congratulations on your discovery. However, it was already there. It was invented by evolutionary pressure and/or God. Think this isn't a big deal? Just wait until the first court case where someone can't sell puppies or cows or bees. And what happens when someone isn't allowed to have children or has to pay royalties on their children because they were treated with a patented gene replacement therapy?

* Someone who holds a patent has a monopoly they can choose not to use. They are used to continue business models that should go out of business. Think about the oil companies allegedly buying fuel efficiency patents to make sure they don't get used.

* They are used and abused limiting supply in order to raise prices. Think about pharma selling new life-saving medications at high high prices and low volume. That's the most controversial example but there are others.

* Patents and the general class of laws called "intellectual property" are one place where the developed world is allowing laws and law enforcement to act across international boundaries. It weakens the sovereignty of all countries to join these treaties.

A few theoretical solutions:

* Make process patenting out of bounds. Invalidate all prior process patents.

* Add abandonment to patent law. If the product the patent covers isn't available at market for two years after initially offered or within five years of the patent grant date then terminate the patent allowing anyone to produce the covered invention.

* Patents should cover inventions not discoveries. Or, at least, if your patented item self propagates, your patent rights only cover the first generation.

* Pick a protection class. A patented thing shouldn't be copyrightable and vice-versa.

Perhaps if congress would take up reforming this broken system we could get some people back to work in this country. Sure, there would be severe disruptions in the patent troll business model as well as businesses who use patents as weapons. You know what? I'm OK with that. If done right the abusers who are the drag on the economy would cease to exist and companies producing invented items covered by patents would chug along unimpacted. Patents should make the world a better place in the now and in the future as was originally intended.

3/4 of the way there by medical reconning

2011-08-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

The first two weeks are just prep-time to fertilization-- pregnancy is actually 38 weeks. As far as weights and measures, the second ultrasound showed she's almost totally average. As far as Daddy is concerned, she rolled perfect 18s in intelligence, wisdom, strength, dexterity, stamina, and charaisma.

I can't wait to meet Nugeeta. I don't want to wait 10 more weeks and I'm quite sure momma doesn't want to wait 10 more weeks either. But I am quite sure we want her to finish cooking before coming out in to the world. So, Nugs, please take your time no matter how much we gripe at you to hurry up.

Funny thing is when momma is away for work and daddy isn't around she kicks like hell. When daddy's around, she is so restful that momma wonders if there is anything wrong. Then daddy leaves again and momma's tummy starts bouncing around on it's own again. Apparently it's become a spectator sport among the co-workers and volunteers. Don't worry Nugs, unless there is a recount you'll be home permanently Wed night and Daddy will come visit in the meantime.

Protest through humor...

2011-08-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

can be so effective. Thanks to my old friend Heidi for passing along these fabulous examples.

G+

2011-07-31T12:16:00.001-07:00

Ten million users in 16 days. That's impressive.

Hardly an accident:

* Apparently Google is paying minor celebrities to post and participate. Perhaps that's what's behind Linus and Wil posting so much?

* They also seem to be reallocating resources internally base on what I'm seeing in public employee posts. For example, Steve Yegge was apparently asked to work on social stuff.

* Google seems almost Microsoftesque in it's persistence in this area. GChat, Orkut, and Buzz come to mind and I think they are going to keep at it until they get it right. Unlike Microsoft, they seem willing to try totally new approaches instead of forcefully evolving their old products when they don't work or get uptake.

Be interesting to see if GOOG's application developer governance and user privacy enforcement will be less lazy and evil than FB's.

In any case, Google Plus is a smidge rough yet but it's growing on me.

Information Heroes

2011-07-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

There are people that are heroic in that they run in to burning buildings. There are people that are heroic in other ways.

Various MAFIAA member organizations have a business model that cannot survive in the face of current technology and market disruptions. Same goes for the academic publishing societies.

If this guy is legally posting this stuff, he is a hero because he's trying to change the world.

Government has begun to keep some few records online but that time will come too.

Truth in Headlines - Pretty Please?

2011-07-20T10:45:00.001-07:00

Wow, talk about swallowing one side's messaging whole.

He wasn't fleeing his job. That's just totally absurd and untrue. Senator Hansen was doing his job by using the rules to block a vote. Blocking a vote by denying supporters a quorum is a tried and true parliamentary move. Even Honest Abe tried to do it once.

"Voters say Hansen was Right, VanderLeest Wrong"? After all, it was VanderLeest who kept trying to frame this as a referendum. But then that doesn't tell the whole story either, does it. I suppose the chore of writing headlines isn't particularly easy in the understaffed newsrooms of today but could I ask that you please value honesty over attention getting in the future?

Run for the Middle

2011-07-17T08:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Governor,

Your recent run for the middle is way too little and way too late. A significant portion of the population believes you lied your way in to office and, frankly, they have a point. A not quite as significant chunk of the population genuinely questions your sanity. Yes, that is how far outside expectations you went and people are angry. Very angry.

Your political capital account is overspent in to dark red negative territory. I can imagine genuine acts of honest governing-- bold moves to the center that would help. I cannot imagine your base support would survive that. So, you'll undertake token actions and blow them up in the press. You've painted yourself in to an extreme right corner and now you'll have to live with it, Governor. I look forward to voting against you early next year.

These are big issues and the the ideas and alternatives should have been genuinely and honestly discussed in the public square. Had your rhetoric been even a bit closer to what you planned to do you might still be governor. But either way, had your campaign poetry actually had anything to do with your Governing prose, you wouldn't be losing your party's Senate majority and facing recall.

Sincerely,

Dan

G+

2011-07-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you, I like how G+ Circles work better than FB Friends lists.

That and I trust Google more, much more, as a company.

Won't you join me on Google Plus?

Goodbye

2011-07-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

Thinking

of

you

and your family. I'll miss you.

Lethal vs Non-Lethal force

2011-07-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

I have never been able to wrap my head around the situation where a handful of cops gun down a suspect brandishing a knife. You see it in the news from time to time. I understand that the police are trained to do it but it's always seemed absurdly excessive to me. Why doesn't one officer just tackle the guy from behind? Is it risky? Sure. Is killing the guy a better choice, NO!

It seems to me a camera in every pocket is going to force the police to become more nuanced in their responses. First off, people in authority are going to have to recognize the peoples rights to record them. Second, once this all captures the public's imagination-- and police abuse of wiretapping laws to supress their methods will eventually cause that-- the debate will begin. In fact, I think those helmet cams the London Drunk Police wear are fantastic. No matter who does the recording it will become the norm to more clearly document how situations go down. Many people will realize there are many options between cuff and shoot. There have to be more training options and tools made available to officers.

Bad Code

2011-07-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this looks familiar:


try { 
    DoProcessReceipts();
}
catch (Exception) { }

A C++ variant of this that drove me absolutely nuts was:


catch( ... )
{
  // Do nothing
}

This sort of weak programming gets the code past QA but invariably turns in to a cluster-frack of debugging later on. My experience debugging is that it almost always becomes more difficult to track down a bug when the code intentionally swallows related errors.

So, what's the solution? Well, you could make an empty control block throw a warning. That might help some people be more responsible but I suspect a greater portion would simply do something worse like this:


catch( ... )
{
   int x = 0;
}

At the end of the day I want to build stable tools that help people get stuff done. Most developers, even those in the field for money instead of passion, want to do a good job. But "doing it right" must be balanced against "getting it done" and there's the rub.

Not every exception needs to be captured and handled in the frame where it occurs but sometimes it does make sense. Look at the big picture in the code but also look at the business situation. Catch the error in the appropriate frame, catch the appropriate types, and record them every. single. time. Given the inevitability of bogus data from bad error handling on a long running process, it may better over the long run to simply crash and use a dump on the ab-end to fix the bug instead of leaving a process with fubar state running. It all depends on the business needs and technical situation. Please take a minute to think it through. It is better for everyone involved to talk it through with a colleague and build a better program in the short run. If you don't, I promise you that someone-- maybe you-- will be stuck picking back through that code trying to figure out what keeps randomly failing.

Lyme Disease in E WI

2011-07-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Be careful out there when you are camping!

I wonder if there is some sort of bird seed (additive?) that acts as a flea and tick repellent for birds and squirrels in the yard?

Redistricting and Recall Update

2011-06-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

A hearing on a proposed Brown County redistricting plan will be held at 9:30 a.m. July 20 before Judge Sue Bischel at the Brown County Courthouse.

But when will Judge Bischel rule? Until the districts are done done municipalities cannot draw their wards and those wards have always been used to draw the congressional districts. If that weren't the case you'd have to have more than one ballot in a given polling place and that's an administrative nightmare. Part of keeping elections clean is keeping the process straight forward and as simple as possible.

Looks like Brown County jumped head first in to the new voting rules. The election workers will ask for ID and you have to live in the district 28 days before voting. Was this mandated? Did it come from the Clerk, Executive, Board, where? I do appreciate the facts presented but there is zero background in this story.

I still don't get that last part, you don't have to live there 28 days before running for office-- it's pretty common that people move or rent a room in to districts to run like as Former Alder Sortwell, State Rep. Weininger, and U.S. Rep Ribble apparently did-- but at least at the local level you only have to live there for 10 days before running.

Guilty

2011-06-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

I have seen the enemy and it is me.

Unsplit Government

2011-06-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Collective Bargaining Law Ruling. Interesting and sad stuff.

Justice Abrahamson strenuously disagreed including this single sentence paragraph, "The legislature must play by the rules of the Wisconsin Constitution and the laws."

She banged on Prosser quite a bit. For example, "Justice Prosser's concurrence is longer than the order. The concurrence consists mostly of a statement of happenings. It is long on rhetoric and long on story-telling that appears to have a partisan slant. Like the order, the concurrence reaches unsupported conclusions."

Four to three just goes to show that, like football, politics and the resulting consequences are a game of inches. No one can say how Kloppenberg would have voted. It is probably fair to say that supporters choose their candidates because their views are in sync. 4000 votes different in a state wide race and this whole thing could have gone the other way.

It certainly appears to me that in this redistricting year the Republicans control all three branches of government setting them up to change the trajectory of our state government for the next decade without any check.

It also concerns me. Folks like WMC, ALEC, and the Chambers have valid perspectives that should be weighed by the electorate but something has gone tragically wrong when they can simply buy the government they want. All perspectives should be included while working to perfect our government and that just isn't going to happen right now.

Campaign Legalities

2011-06-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here's the law,
"To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."

From the FB Info page of Close2HomeWI, "Close 2 Home is a program of HERO, a 501c3 non-profit organization, dedicated to finding solutions to the challenges facing society at the most local level possible."

From the FB Wall page of Close2HomeWI, "CALL TO ACTION! Please those of you who can help Rob Cowles for State Senate please read the following as see if any of this is something you feel you can do.
What were looking for are people to man the phones in our office Tues, Weds, Thurs (5:30-8:00PM) and then on Saturdays at anytime (9AM-9PM). Also we need some people to walk with... Rob at the De Pere Memorial Day parade on Monday. The Line up is at 9AM at West De Pere High School and its starts at 10AM. The Parade wants us to not be too partisian, so just ask if people can wear patriotic clothes and we will hand out Candy and Stickers.

Again, my main concerns are the phone banks coming up. If you want to organize some people to come in and help us out that would be great! Our office is at 1915 S. Webster in Allouez. Its in the mini-mall at the corner of S. Webster and W. St. Joseph, next to the Cousins subs.

We could also use help with Yardsign locations in the DePere, Allouez, and Ashwaubenon areas.

May 25 at 7:45pm"

So when a non-political organization violates tax code, do they lose their tax exempt status? Who enforces this stuff? DoJ? IRS?

Schreiber Commits!

2011-06-07T14:29:00.001-07:00

This is good news. Port Plaza will be removed and Schreiber is building. Simply outstanding. Baylake gets their money back and the city can start collecting property taxes again.

There will be controversy about this though. The first thing I note is this:

"...met with council members today in small groups to lay out terms of the deal."

2.3.1. Walking Quorums. The requirements of the open meetings law also extend to walking quorums. A "walking quorum" is a series of gatherings among separate groups of members of a governmental body, each less than quorum size, who agree, tacitly or explicitly, to act uniformly in sufficient number to reach a quorum. Showers, 135 Wis. 2d at 92, quoting State ex ref. Lynch v. Conta, 71 Wis. 2d 662, 687, 239 N.W.2d 313 (1976). In Conta, the supreme court recognized the danger that a walking quorum may produce a predetermined outcome and thus render the publicly held meeting a mere formality. Conta, 71 Wis. 2d at 685-88. The court commented that any attempt to avoid the appearance of a ''meeting" through use of a walking quorum is subject to prosecution under the open meetings law. Conta, 71 Wis. 2d at 687.

Plus the money transfer from one TID to another is legal but it's going to make Guy go insane. He was always sniffing around for TIF transfers when I was spending time at city hall. I was wondering why the I43 TID wasn't being closed out, now I know... Can we start closing it now and get that money in to the general fund to help pay for the 5 cop structural deficit? I'm not sure how much revenue this will generate, but it seems to me that Jim's goal of a zero percent property tax increase again this year is far more reasonable.

I expect all of these issues will be overcome. Over the long haul, it's worth it to get that land back in private hands and generating property taxes again.

Fun with BARD and R

2011-06-05T12:50:00.001-07:00

I have a powerful computer... I have encountered the rare situation where I wish I had more processing power. Performing statistical analysis to generate district maps from census data is pretty darn heavy duty. One map generation process has been griding for 20 hours so far.

On the upside, it's fun learning a new and different programming language-- the R language was certainly outside my comfort zone. Once I got the hang of that, the Better Automated ReDistricting (BARD) package wasn't too difficult to get going. But then, I've been a programmer for some time, the learning curve would be steep for Joe User.

My thanks to the R and BARD folks. You did and do great work! This stuff is very powerful and I am grateful you put it out there for the world to use.

It'd be nice to see an end user useful version of BARD like functionality but, let's face it, there's no profit in building scientifically based, politically neutral district drawing tools and making it available to the general public. The parties and their consultants will hoard their abilities to maintain their power. Unfortunately, I underestimated the learning curve and don't think I dug in soon enough to make an impact on county redistricting. Perhaps this new found knowledge can be utilized at some later point.

Update: 52 hours of processing time later the createGreedyContiguousPlan function is done running. The results are pretty bad. The districts are barely contiguous and not compact and the population totals are outside allowable ranges. The computer chose to use unpopulated river and train track blocks to link unrelated neighborhoods in to districts... It *looks* gerrymandered to me.

Homeowner Forecloses on BofA!

2011-06-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

It's a shame the bank didn't just fix it from the get-go, but since they didn't this is simply beautiful.

Top 10 Cities for Individual Credit Scores...

2011-05-25T11:52:00.001-07:00

Green Bay wins!

Maybe it's because of the politically charged environment in these times but something about this list got my attention. It looks to me like all five cities out of the top five all tend to vote Democrat.

On a totally unrelated note... Happy Towel Day!

Veto! Districts aren't settled.

2011-05-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

In answer to the question posed in my previous post, yes, the County Executive Streckenbach did veto the increase of three county board supervisors.

It'd sure be nice if the districts weren't so bent out of shape to maintain incumbents. It'd be very nice if they didn't cut up (I could be coining a term here) sub-political entities like Neighborhood Associations as much.

From here it goes to the courts and it looks like anyone is allowed to submit a map proposal. I'm learning QGIS as we speak.

New Districts

2011-05-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

With some drama, the county board approved new district maps. I hate it when back room deals go down but that's the way some folks get things done.

The new layout seems a mix of 29c and 29d. It moves all of the incumbents in to their own districts. And reduces the previously recommended drastic shift of district six.

Will the Executive veto? If so, my understanding is this issue would go directly to the courts.

Once the county maps are settled, then it ball goes to the local municipalities. They cut the districts up in to wards and draw their own local districts. What will the city council do? My best guess is that the city will adopt the same districts and cut them up in to four wards each thereby enabling people to continue campaigning for two jobs in the same district.

Redistrictin' Rules in WI

2011-05-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here they are.

The role of the municipal ward in Redistricting is interesting.

New District Map Recommendation

2011-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Exec Committee recommends a map with two Alders in the same district. It's a slightly modified version of the previously proposed 29d. If you support Ned Dorff or Amy Kocha, be aware that they are the only two incumbents on the City Council or County Board in a city district (I didn't look outside) who are set up to run against one another.

A cynical person might observe that the new district three is crafted to give Bernie Ericson his own district on the council in the next election after losing to Ned in the last.

Here's a map of the old districts.

Here's the old city district map with the new districts as bold, black lines over it. You can draw your own conclusions but it seems pretty obvious to me.

While the proposed map passed Executive unanimously, the rumor mill is still buzzing about going with 26 districts. This would mean a smaller city council...

...unless the council finally breaks from this absurd tradition of duplicate districts. The jobs were split years ago. It's time to split the districts. Be it tipping fees or drug task force officers, most everyone who pays attention has seen County Supervisors lose site of what's best for Green Bay, in this case they seem to be going beyond getting lost in a larger picure to dictating the Green Bay City Council candidates.

If you care to let the board how you feel, Supervisor Andrews mentioned, "The Public Hearing on the redistricting proposals is on Tuesday, May 17th at 5:30pm, in room 200 of the Northern Building, which is located at 305 E. Walnut St."

Indirect Political Funding

2011-05-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Apples are apples.

When a union member pays dues (those do not go to politics, btw) or extra deduction to their union related political organizations, Republicans are outraged. They claim the taxpayer is funding Democrats. Total B.S. of course, it's the union member's money at that point and no longer belongs to the government.

When Democrats decline to do business with M&I or local businesses that fund Republican candidates, Republicans are also outraged. Outraged I say!

Either you can be offended by indirect funding or not. To be offended in one case but not another is hypocrisy. Sometimes both sides work harder on scoring points against one another than they do trying to get things done. That's a shame but it's also reality.

I have absolutely no objection to someone who lives in a district contributing to a candidate seeking to represent that district. Sometimes their views are not my views and that's OK. When a business directly supports a candidate who works against positions I support, they lose my business. (I'm talking to YOU shoe repair store on University Avenue and Chambers of Commerce!) It turns me off when a major shareholder or executive supports someone I don't but it's not the end of the world. Life is complex. Liberals, progressives and union minded folk are rightfully concerned about the agenda the Koch brothers are funding with profits from their business empire. What people don't think about is that same business empire has many employees who would be hurt by boycott and many of them are union employees.

Celebrating Assassination

2011-05-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

While the organization he grew will go on, I'm glad that bin Laden won't issue orders to hurt anyone else anymore.

There is wisdom to be found in Proverbs. (Thanks Jodi!)

I find myself wondering who #2 on the most wanted list was and how it felt when they realized they are #1 on the list now. My thanks to everyone who went after the old #1, may the new guy prove an easier catch!

Build the Fence!

2011-04-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

We're spending bajillions to build a fence to paper over the symptom of people sneaking in because of our broken employment laws. Personally, I'd rather the feds fix the root cause but that is off point.

The point is if you are going to build a fence, use a design different from the one highlighted in the two videos in linked to from this article. 18 friggin seconds to the top with nothing but hands and feet. Unbelievable.

Green Bay 2012 Districts

2011-04-21T08:25:00.002-07:00

Here are the initial proposals. New direction has already been provided to the county planners from what I'm hearing. My understanding is that the next iterations should start downtown and work out from there. None of these county supervisory map proposals include city council incumbent addresses. I mean, cmon, how hard is it to do that courtesy for the largest municipality within the county?

Alders from some districts are already run ragged-- especially in the near downtown districts where buildings are older, resident turnover is higher and education levels are lower-- there are weeks that Alders end up spending more hours on council work, constituent services, outreach and doing the necessary monitoring to stay on top of what's going on at city hall than they do or would do on a full time job. It happens in fits and starts but some weeks those with full time day jobs are doing pretty much nothing but work from morning til night. When done right, I'm positive that serving on the Green Bay City Council easily violates minimum wage laws.

The mayor apparently has a different perspective and sent a letter to the county board requesting that the city council be reduced to 11 districts. Consensus among the councilfolk I happened to chat with so far seems to be to increase the size of the council by two to 14 and bump the board up by three. People want to maintain the same districts for the city and county. Why? DeWane, Nicholson, Theisen, Haefs, Zima, Buckly, and VanderLeest both serve or have served on both and like the old way because you can win two jobs by campaigning in one district. I think it's stupid but it's a political reality and no one with the required political juice has the will or, in my view, wisdom to work to change it. Personally, I say who cares what the county districts look like the city should just draw it's own and the county can, if it chooses, adopt those.

Earth Week in Green Bay

2011-04-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Get out there and do something for the future generations who will use this little blue marble we all share. Maybe we'll see each other at an event.

Long Life and Sugar

2011-04-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Walter Breuning died the other day. According to Guinness, he was the oldest living person. Seems like he was an interesting fellow. One of his suggestions for long life was to eat only two meals a day.

I'd like to know how much sugar he ate.

Jim

2011-04-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Jim loves bicycle physics and teaches Engineering for U.W. Stout through NWTC. If you want to learn how to design and build physical things, Jim's the guy I recommend you talk to.

Patch Tuesday

2011-04-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the most recent occurrence of what has become known in the I.T. industry as Patch Tuesday. There look to be some pretty bad security holes plugged by today's release. If you are a Windows user a trip to windowsupdate.microsoft.com is in order.

Evolution of Cities

2011-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

A friend from the Detroit area once said to me, "We all say we're from Detroit but nobody actually lives, you know, in Detroit." I thought he was exaggerating. Maybe not, this is brilliant work. Think of those red areas where, "everyone left". Empty houses rotting. Billions (trillions?) of taxpayer purchased infrastructure going unused. While Green Bay isn't perfect, I'm glad that our city pays attention to and works to prevent downtown and near downtown abandonment.

Life can be hard...

2011-04-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

...even for the rich. Obviously different people focus on different perceived problems but everyone feels uncertainty and doubt. I suppose a given brain has a certain capacity for worry and suspect the focus of that worry generally moves along a hierarchy as more basic needs are met or unmet.

I find myself thinking of the Serenity Prayer.

Kindness and Honesty

2011-04-06T09:29:00.001-07:00

My mom shared a lesson with me she learned while serving in the USAF, "It's better to be kind than that right." Frankly, I agree. But what about when pressed and kindness and honesty there is a conversational fork in the road? My view is that honesty has to win out, no matter the hurt feelings.

This guy isn't dissembling away from being unkind, he's endorsing mass lying to tear down other perspectives. The culture wars are alive and well. Politics execution is built on finding common ground amongst the majority and move the legislative ball forward. You don't have to agree with other peoples perspectives, but it's simply intolerant to not bother to understand and appreciate why they hold those beliefs. There is a huge difference between honest grass roots activism and astroturf. Even the name American Majority attempts to imply that those who disagree are somehow less American. The rich are funding this crap and honest conservatives are getting sucked in to this movement to tear down basic economic stabilizers and supports for the poor.

Pickles and Peanut-Butter

2011-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone advises waiting a little longer but, but, but, I'm so excited! Aside from a pickle and peanut-butter sandwich or two the dietary shifts aren't so strange. Nugget seems to like what daddy likes, especially chocolate milk.

After 12.7 Years, Today is My Last Day at this Job

2011-03-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

After more than a decade working on the same product, I find that the current owner of Magic is done with me. The company has other priorities. I'm honored to have my name on the same list with the other folks who were let go this round. I'm happy to hear that they are getting offers to continue their employment. I'd work with any one of them again. Good workers, solid minds and good hearts. This company has been good to me. There is clearly work yet to do but it's no longer my work to do. I wish the company and my colleagues good luck. With rare exceptions, it has truly been my pleasure. What a wonderful, if trying at times, journey.

It's odd getting laid off. Of course, it is nearly inevitable as the general suction of programming jobs from the developed to the developing continues. It's a little amazing that I made it 12 years. That's an eternity in the software business.

There certainly aren't that many postings job postings with these enterprisey software companies in the USA any more. Next to none compared to the roaring nineties of the dot-com boom when I last looked for a job. I continue to work on my resume, references and interview prep. Back in the day we didn't talk to HR critters, we talked to development managers. So that'll be a new experience. Today I start to close my office and prepare my equipment to be shipped back. I wonder when the paperwork will arrive. I wonder when they'll call to pick up the computers. I need to sign up for COBRA and take a look at filing for unemployment though I expect I'll have a job in a week or five. Now is the time to look forward, to think about what I'd like to do and what service I can provide. Through it all I consider and look at the many opportunities out there that keep me home. Weighing and considering where to apply and what to do is fun but first there are a few more things to wrap up.

I will always remember the past but new adventures and opportunities have me truly excited!

It never ends...

2011-03-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

I had no idea this was coming and have no comment.

Libya

2011-03-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

...the U.S. has fired 161 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libyan territory since military strikes began...

Assuming they were the "cheap" Tomahawks that cost "only" 600k each, that's roughly a quarter per person in the USA. But you just know it wasn't the cheap ones, right? On top of that, the fuel, the parts, the maintenance, the combat pay. One wonders what this Libian civilian protection action will cost. And it's impossible to tally up the human costs including dead civilians and added strain on military families.

I don't know if it's worth it. In my view that's a difficult judgment to make until there is some sort of outcome and a tallying of the life, limb and resources. I'm reminded of that ending scene of Charlie Wilson's War where the CIA analyst tells Charlie the proverb that simply repeats "We'll see." Even if the immediate outcome is apparently good there always seem to be unexpected consequences down the road.

Given that we're still active two (other?) war zones not counting Korea I sure hope Nato, Europe and other allies do take it over sooner rather than later.

Democratic Green Bay

2011-03-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

In an oddity of screen scraping and the recent Press Gannett website redesign, I ended up re-reading an article about former Aldperperson and current Supervisor Vander Leest's lawsuit that was thrown out last year. It brought to mind a comment John once emphatically made to me, "Green Bay is a CONSERVATIVE TOWN!" Well, let's check the truth of that statement for Green Bay's district 11 in this last election where Republicans won big:


Walker won:
42                     364     426
43                     358     457
44                     347     417
45                     354     340

Johnson won:
42                     342     457
43                     355     470
44                     348     421
45                     350     353

Ribble won:
42                     379     421
43                     377     450
44                     361     412
45                     360     344

After looking at two others, we come upon our first district that went Republican. Perhaps this helps explain Vander Leest's perspective. Interesting that the ward that borders Howard actually went Democratic in two races. What about previous years? Looking back to 2008:


Kagen won:
42                     575     482
43                     599     509
44                     591     486
45                     691     431

And Hansen won huge:
42                     703     337
43                     711     382
44                     708     348
45                     760     326

So, in the most blue of blue years, the district went to the Democrats and by a larger margin than the Republicans had in 2010. Perhaps some Democrats only come out for the presidentials, maybe it's a swing district, or something else is going on. What if we go back one more election to 2006, how did folks vote in district 11?


Doyle barely won:
42                     429     469
43                     445     485
44                     397     438
45                     514     369

Kohl won big:
42                     608     291
43                     648     269
44                     584     234
45                     640     227

Kagen won too:
42                     430     470
43                     463     484
44                     422     418
45                     497     390

Is Green Bay a "conservative town" as Aldervisor Vander Leest suggested? This series of posts entitled "Democratic Green Bay" should make obvious my views. So, I'll just point out that we live in the City of Green Bay. The Town of Green Bay is along the bay to the north-east on the other side of the Town of Scott.

As far as the views of the voters of district 11? Comparing 2006 to 2010 because they are both non-presidential years, it looks to me that the Replublican vote was about the same and Democratic voters turned out in 2006 but not in 2010. The 2008 Democratic blowout is consistent with this. In my view, even though the conservative Vander Leest family dynasty has won more elections than not, their views, values and attitudes are likely not consistent with the majority of the voters they represent.

Democratic Green Bay

2011-03-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today let's move to the East side of Green Bay, to a district where the current Alderperson/Supervisor is helping with the efforts to recall Dave Hansen. District 4's 2010 election results:


Barrett won:
14                     323     298
15                     424     302
16                     430     262
17                     221     153

Feingold won:
14                     331     295
15                     417     315
16                     447     255
17                     237     145

Kagen won:
14                     346     285
15                     440     304
16                     443     259
17                     239     145

Klenke took 14, but Soletski won:
14                     291     330
15                     397     340
16                     418     276
17                     224     159

The last time Senator Hansen ran was 2008, the year of the blue tide with President Obama at the top of the ticket. While citizen Theisen seems to have issues with the senator now, the people of district 4 sure liked the Senator back then.


Hansen won big:
14                     650     247
15                     749     299
16                     671     230
17                     452     185

Aldervisor Theisen is a good and honorable man. I worked with him on issues then there was common ground to be found between us when I served on the council. Many people talk about what an good representative he is while serving in local government. But I just wonder if the voters in his district understand how much further right his beliefs are than theirs?

Democratic Green Bay

2011-03-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

For example, in the face of massive corporate dollars smearing Democratic candidates, district 8 voters in the last election:


Barrett won:
30                     425     378
31                     208     152
32                     507     436
33                     469     442

Feingold won:
30                     431     385
31                     201     165
32                     510     452
33                     470     458

Kagen won:
30                     454     376
31                     217     146
32                     519     439
33                     501     431

I find it interesting how Republican the subset of spring voters has been over the years when Green Bay is undeniably a working class Democratic town. Both sides are energized right now. It'll sure be interesting to see how the district lines move with the new data and how that high energy might change the face of the council. Who knows? Maybe there will be an election before the new districts are drawn.

Insane?

2011-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Either way, it seems to me Glenn Beck went off the deep end on this one.

New Lines

2011-03-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

Let the gerrymandering begin!

But seriously, this is the data that will be used to draw the lines on the maps we all have to live with for the next ten years.

It's about the money...

2011-03-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

...oh wait it's not. TPM covers the blow by blow.

BizTimes was the first article to hit my feed reader.

Who are the Koch brothers?

2011-03-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Here's one perspective from August 2010.

It seems they are responsible for the Americans for Prosperity group that is currently trying to prop up Gov. Walker against the tide of public opinion opposing the no-compromise position for eliminating most current public sector collective bargaining rights.

Ouch and Thanks

2011-03-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Feelings of betrayal. Maybe I read more in to comments than were there, maybe people lied to me and in front of me. When Jerry moved with Amy seconding for the secret ballot, well, at that point I went from nervous to an ache in the pit of the stomach. That motion from those people... ouch. I expect it from the nut-job coalition but from my friends? I wish someone would have roll'ed that vote. Final special election result? Four votes out of ten does not a winner make. Congratulations to Alerperson Haefs.

Here's a bit of insider politics... I cut a deal with one Alderperson for a vote. He agreed to vote for me if I agreed to stay out of the mayoral primary. A high price on my part but this guy shifts between moderate right and far right depending on the day you catch him so I cut the deal on the spot. He also has a well deserved reputation for flip-flopping. So, an hour before the meeting, this guy starts texting and leaving VMs asking to be released from his obligation. Since I had to pre-pay my part of the deal I was getting dressed I didn't return. With a closed ballot, there is no way to actually know who voted which way but my best guess is that he kept his word.

The most interesting part of this experience? Two of the three most up front and honest guys told me they were not voting for me. Tony because of Dan's long experience and support in the district, Andy because he thinks our politics are too different. I genuinely appreciate the direct honesty where it was given and that includes Dan giving me a heads up that he was running.

Even the chair of a volunteer committee on which I serve showed up supporting another candidate. It just wasn't my night, I guess.

I am grateful for all the supportive calls, texts and emails both before and after last night. For the folks suggesting I run again, it's nice of you to ask. We'll see. Now is not the time to make that decision. Public service is rewarding, getting to know people is fun, solving problems is rewarding. Being a candidate who has to fend off half truths and and lies isn't either. Thanks for reading.

Righteous Rage

2011-02-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Yeah, this just about sums it up:

You can push through legislation you want when you are in the majority but it really should go through the process. Good for the Representative Gordon speaking up and good for the Senate Democrats for leaving if this exemplifies how the Republicans are running things.

Union Vote

2011-02-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

In the 2010 race for governor, Democrat Tom Barrett won 63% of voters in union households, Walker won 37%.

It'd be interesting to see how much the gap widens for government union households.

VOTE Tuesday!

2011-02-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

The Green Bay Mayor and Brown County Executive will propose our next local budgets. The current push at the state level is to eliminate the laws that enable local government workers to bargain benefits and stop sending shared revenue back to the local political entities. It seems obvious that the Governor wants to force local elected officials to unilaterally impose concessions on local labor.

Wisconsin Supreme Court - It's amazing how much the WMC candidate, Justice Gableman, has come up during this race. Many folks think he played good politics, others think he lied his way on to the court. Bottom line, he's not on the ballot and four others are.

Labrador Retrievers

2011-01-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

I'm probably way behind the curve on this but I found it pretty funny.

That guy in the lower right seems to be the happiest of the bunch!

Candidate Forums!

2011-01-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Right or left? Democrat or Republican? Conservative or Progressive? Statist or Teabagger? These labels may or may not matter to you. What matters most is who you think will be the best to serve our community when you cast your vote. Come and get informed!

The West side Green Bay Mayoral Candidate forum is Wednesday this week.

January 26, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Franklin Middle School
1234 W. Mason St. (Use entrance on Lore Ln.)
Green Bay WI

By way of the Green Bay TEA Party web site, the N.E.W. PATRIOTS (uppercase theirs, not mine) group are hosting a forum for County Executive during their regular meeting.

Tuesday, February 8th - 7 PM
Evergreen Bar & Grill
7075 Morrison Rd
Greenleaf WI

There was press at the last Mayoral forum, hopefully there will be again as well as at the Exec forum too. Ideally these things would be recorded and aired on PBS or channel 4 but methinks someone might show up with a cam and post on the web again.

Paying for AOL

2011-01-23T08:29:00.001-08:00

I knew a few folks still send money to AOL but had no idea it is this bad. Folks, please check with your friends using aol.com email addresses-- especial older parents and grandparents-- they may be wasting money on this. AOL email addresses are free and have been for a long, long time...

If I understand this right, AOL still charges everyone who started on dial-up a monthly subscription even though most of them are using a broadband provider now. They are charging folks for a service almost no one has used in years-- it makes all kinds of sense on spreadsheets and balance sheets but no moral sense what-so-ever. This company survives on an income stream it doesn't deserve that was initially built on what must be the single most wasteful diskette and CD based marketing campaign ever undertaken.