Armed and Famous Reprise

Following a post by our Knight-Protector, I had some questions about the new reality series, Armed and Famous. If you haven't seen the ads, the show is about four celebrities becoming real life cops. I don't plan on watching it, but it raised some interesting points. Here's some of what our Defender of Yarn Balls had to say.

As to what situations I wouldn't put them in: I wouldn't put them in any high-risk situation. For example, if we were going to serve a warrant at a known drug house where the suspects are known to be armed. Those situations are dangerous enough as it is. I might use them later to transport the subjects to lockup but definately wouldn't be part of the take down.

Given the right training and mentorship, they should be able to handle anything the regular rookies can. I got tossed into traffic stops, domestics, burglary, etc as soon as I graduated the Academy. The celebs should be able to handle it as well.

I was surprised that newbies get thrown into domestic disputes. I had thought they were considered very dangerous.

My initial intel said the stars had completed the ENTIRE police academy curriculum. As it turns out, they didn't even do HALF. Further information indicates neither "Wee-man" nor Latoya would have made it through the full Academy (Wee-man because of his height and Ms. Jackson simply because she apparently doesn't have what it takes).

He's got a lot more. Sounds like the cops in Muncie are unhappy with the show. Read the whole thing.

I Wish We Had Net Simplicity

This is a pay per post ad. But I would have been interested in the product anyway. Here's why.

This week I was stopped in the hallway at work by a fellow looking for a RF digitizer. This is a device which tkaes a signal from an antenna and turns it into a computer data file. You can then do all kinds of interesting analysis on the data. Prior to computers, we used to record these signals on analog tapes, but each time the tape was played back, part of the signal would be lost.

I'm digressing into a history lesson. Sorry.

The things are expensive and have a long lead time if you want to buy them. They are not off-the-shelf pieces of gear. I felt pretty certain we had one somewhere, but I couldn't think of how to find it. I wish we had bought Scheduling Software from NetSimplicity.

When you go to the NetSimplicity website, you see how they help you use Outlook to schedule meeting rooms and do all kinds of cool things like that, but it's their Visual Asset Manager that hooked me. When you work with expensive test gear, it helps to know where all of it is in real time. With some difficulty we could track down people who owned RF digitizers, but we buy them so rarely and they get loaned out here and there that the chances of finding it are pretty slim. It would take a lot of detective work.

If we'd had NetSimplicity's Visual Asset Manager, there would have been a lot more of working with this


and a lot less of running around like this.

Geological Basis for Rockhounding

A friend at work got me interested in rockhounding. In San Diego, there aren't many places to find interesting specimens. You need to drive a minimum of 90 minutes into the desert to get to a good place for collecting. I started studying geology as a hobbyist recently to try and figure out just why this was. Thanks to the blogosphere, I have access to experts like our Keeper of the Catacombs. Here's a question for him.

Take a look at two nearby spots where you can collect large scale crystaline minerals. One is Shell Canyon near Ocotillo Wells. The other is Wiley Wells. Here's what they look like in Google Earth.

Wiley Wells
Shell Canyon
They look pretty similar to me. Exposed rocks jutting out over a sedimentary layer. Here are their positions.

Wiley Wells 33°27'5.87"N, 114°53'36.11"W

Shell Canyon 32°46'31.94"N, 116° 0'31.22"W

What's going on here? Why is it that the crystals are so big here and not in other places? Is this a batholith that has been exposed by erosion? I haven't been to Wiley Wells in person, but in Shell Canyon you can easily find quartz pieces in sizes almost too big to lift.

Since different minerals solidify at different temperatures, my first thought is that here the magma cooled slowly, allowing the quartz to crystalize in huge lumps while the remaining rock remained liquid. Does that make sense?

Let's see what our Keeper of the Catacombs has to say...

I Wasn't Fired

Some wide receivers who shall remain nameless, but who go by the initials "T. O." have fired their publicists. I just want you all to know that my main man, Marques Colston, has not fired me as his unofficial publicist. We're still tight. Want to know why? I work hard.

Me, working at top speed.
I never forget who's The Man. Marques is. This weekend he's going to have a huge game against the Eagles as the Saints romp to victory. You'll see.

For more furiously functioning furries, visit this week's Friday Ark.

Art by Christel

This is a pay per post ad. And it was a lot of fun to do!

Christel is an artist. Her work is cheery and whimsical. You can find it at ArtbyChristel.com. She's got plenty of images posted on her flikr galleries. Here were some of my favorites.

I've had a thing for buddhas for quite a while. This would be great in my bedroom.

If my daughter was just a little younger, I'd put this one in her bedroom.
OK, I have to admit. I'm laughing as I write this. I love her work! So much of it is perfect for this blog. That address again was ArtbyChristel.com. Check these out.

Maguro!

Send more minions to the tuna mines! I've eaten everything we have.

Maui no ka oi.
Once again, that was ArtbyChristel.com. Click now, automated software agents are standing by!

Great stuff, Christel. I think I'll steal one of them to use on my blog sidebar. With a link to your site, of course!

Near You

Our Maximum Leader used to be an aggressive young lady. She would hide behind doors and leap out at your ankles, clawing and biting and then running off. She still likes to play rough from time to time and runs around the house at top speed sometimes, but these days she's more interested in just being around us. She doesn't want to sit on your lap, be petted constantly or be fed treats. She just wants to be in the same room.


It reminds me of the Andrews Sisters song, Near You. Here are some of the lyrics.

If my waking hours could be spent while near you
I would be content, wonderfully content, just to be near you
Make my life worthwhile
By telling me that I'll
Spend the rest of my days
All of those happy, happy days
So near you

For more felicitous felines, visit this week's Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats.

Quick, We Need Your Help!

It looks like this will be the first day since the start of the new year that we will be below 100 distinct visitors at The Scratching Post. Quick, before the stroke of midnight here in San Diego, run over to your neighbor's house, chloroform them and surf over to The Scratching Post on their computer. Run to another neighbor's house and do it again!

What? You don't have any chloroform? For the love of ... OK, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. Bring along Mr. Shovel. Run up behind your neighbor and give them a good SPANG! on the head with Mr. Shovel. Then run inside their house, commandeer their computer and immediately surf over to The 'Post! It will look something like this.

This is really important. I mean REALLY IMPORTANT! If we don't get past 100 hits, then...then...then...er...um...

I don't have time to explain. We just have to. Trust me!

After you do this, sell your house and move. Tomorrow we may need you to do this again and I don't think you'll be able to surprise this particular set of neighbors two nights in a row.

See also: the Carnival of Satire.

Armed and Famous

Our Knight-Protector and Defender of Yarn Balls has a professional's take on the new pseudo-reality series, Armed and Famous.

I watched the pilot episode tonight. I was surprised at how well most of them did. Eric Estrada had the advantage I think. After playing Ponch on CHiPS, it was easier for him to get into the mindset. Some of the others I'm not so sure would have made it if they hadn't had a lot of help.

I don't think I'm going to watch the series, but I thought of him when I saw the ads on TV. Here are some questions for our Knight-Protector. How far are these guys going to go? What situations would you absolutely not put them in if you were in charge? What do you think they could handle?

When I saw the ad for the show with the little dude working on martial arts, giving the knee to a practice bag, all I could think was that I would kick his butt. He's got no range at all. He'd be smacked a dozen times before he got close enough to do anything. He can't use those knees, either, since he can't get any higher than your thigh. I guess if it was me, I would teach him Tai Chi and not waste my time with anything else. His only hope would be to use his opponent's momentum and his own leverage to bring the guy down.

Having Fun Again

Around the beginning of the year I laid out the plans for The Scratching Post for 2007. Now that I'm posting whatever I want whenever I want, I'm having a lot more fun. I've got posts pre-written and scheduled in advance now. I used to have problems some mornings writing just one per day.

I believe that each of us have a limited amount of psychic energy to spend each day. I don't mean psychic in an ESP sense, but in a cognitive sense. If you spend that energy worrying and fretting, you don't have it to spend being creative. I spent way too much time trolling for links and hits and didn't have energy left to be fun. The ironic thing is that now that I'm not worrying about content, my hit count has increased substantially.

One other thing I've done on the blog is to use my Feline Theocracy names for my friends and not worry whether anyone knows who it is. I used to write both names. It felt clumsy, but I worried that people might want to know just who this "Poet Laureate" fellow was. There's that energy being spent on worry again. Now that I just use the Theorcracy's titles, I think my prose is tighter and the blog is more thematically consistent.

Another thing I'm going to start is blogversations. Through the blogosphere, we have access to experts of all stripes. For example, our Knight-Protector is a cop and our Keeper of the Catacombs is a geologist. I'm going to write posts that ask them questions and start a dialog on our blogs. I want to learn from them and see how far it goes.

Blogging is fun again.

Scribbit is the Coolest

I don't feel like doing a Thursday Thirteen today, but our Nun of the Above did. She's got great suggestions for fun things to do as a parent. I'll be trying most of them soon.

Inc Paradise Blog Review

This is a Pay Per Post Ad.

Thanks to Beautiful Heather, our Holy Canadian Scholar, Eh?, we have now started doing some Pay Per Post (PPP) work. I'm being pretty picky about what I post, since this blog's integrity is very important to me.

Through PPP I've come across the Inc Paradise's Small Business Blog. It's good enough that I probably would have added them to my homemade portal under business blogs had I run across them naturally. Small Business Blog gives free business info for, what else, small businesses.

I've got a favorite post from the ones on his front page. It's about small business owners working themselves to the bone. Here's some of the data.

Nearly one in five managers admit to reading work-related e-mail and documents while in the bathroom and nearly half work while driving.
Nearly two-thirds of managers work well beyond a 40-hour week, and one in five work a double week, logging an extra 40 or more on-the-job hours.

My boss does both of these. It may knock off some of the urgent items on his to do list, but it doesn't contribute to strategic thinking or creativity. In fact, I would argue that it actually detracts from it.

As in other books dealing with similar subjects, Napolean Hill's Think and Grow Rich discusses the importance of the subconscious working on problems while you play or relax. When I see people working in a constant frenzy all I can think of is the conversation going on within the person's brain.

Conscious: Have you solved that problem for me yet?

Subconscious: How can I? You won't go away and leave me alone to work on it!

Think about this. If you were hit by a truck tomorrow, the world would keep turning. Those pesky emails on your Blackberry would go unanswered and...Armageddon would not commence! Get over yourself. The emails can wait. Let your subconscious work in peace for a while. Trust me, you'll make more profit that way. How? Well, the biggest drain on profit for an individual is a divorce. Your spouse is the most important component of your career. Put the Blackberry down and go have a pillow fight with the kids or go window shopping with your mate. You'll end up richer.

As a final note, the only thing I would change about that blog would be to add trackbacks. I'm linking to one of his individual posts and he can't accept trackbacks. Add that and you're golden.

Post Mog WOG Analysis

Today I did a World of Good (WOG) about Mog.

Since it was about Mog, that makes it a Mog WOG.

In corporatespeak, a Naturally Occurring Group is a bunch of people that get together normally and is called a NOG. That makes the readers a part of the Mog WOG NOG.

As important as they are, they are only part of the WOG machinery. A gear in the engine, if you will. That makes them a Mog WOG NOG cog.

When Bruiser or Kelly read it, they will each be a Mog WOG NOG cog dog.

As much as we love them, Bruiser and Kelly are still dogs. Being canines, they live in a constant state of bewilderment. You can tell this because they’re always tilting their heads to one side in confusion. They live in a Mog WOG NOG cog dog fog.

When the snow melts and the rains come, Bruiser and Kelly will live in a Mog WOG NOG cog dog fog bog.

When the tadpoles grow up in the bogginess where they live, Bruiser and Kelly will be beset by their croaking which will confuse him further. They will be in a Mog WOG NOG cog dog bog frog fog.

Of course, both will tell you all about it, each in a Mog WOG NOG cog dog bog frog fog blog.

You’re welcome.

World of Good, Catblogging Style

The World of Good (WOG) is about the way the world really works. Small acts of kindness adding up to big progress for all of us. Here’s another example.

Laurence Simon is the originator of the Carnival of the Cats. It is one of the longest-running, most successful blog carnivals in the world. Every week it gives catbloggers like me a chance to share our furries. It wasn’t always thus. For a time, the Carnival had few participants and didn’t look like it was going to survive. Laurence considered shutting it down.

Mog is a catblogger. She does more than just post about her cats. She gives support to those who need it.

Keefe, snoozing.
When I first started out, Mog was one of the first people to link to my blog. It was a very big deal to me and I’ll never forget it. I had nothing to offer her, but she did it just the same. I had no idea who she was, but I felt the warmth of Mog from far away.

When the Carnival of the Cats looked like it was about to fold, Mog encouraged Laurence Simon to keep it going. Her support kept it alive to become the popular Carnival it is today. A small act, but a crucial one. That little bit of kindness from Mog has allowed catbloggers from all over the world to connect.

Think about that for a bit. Some kind words in an email have enabled us to meet once a week on the Internet and smile as we see pictures of each others’ cats. Our days brightened by this little interaction, we go on to treat the people around us a little bit better. A small act of kindness from Mog has had a ripple effect across time and distance.

Meowza, gettin some lovin'.
Mog has MS. Sometimes she blogs about it. Recently she had a flare up that put her in the hospital. Out of sick leave and short of cash, she is now struggling to find ways to cover her medical bills and get back to work. Laurence heard about this and took action. He is well connected in the blogging world and made sure that news of her problems circulated that she might get some help. Other bloggers took up the cause and posted about it because Laurence Simon, like Mog, has been a source of support and encouragement for many of us. Laurence suggested that Mog set up a PayPal account so we could send her support more easily.

Such is the way of the world. It is in these small actions of kindness that we all contribute to each other. We're all going to die someday, the healthy and the strong and the weak and the frail. One hundred years after that, no one will know which was which. Everyone will feel the effects of those who gave of themselves and loved and feel the warmer because of it. Karmic global warming, if you will. In this case you can see the little ripples spreading out from the warmth of Mog every Sunday when another Carnival of the Cats goes up.

Izzy, laughing at some secret joke.
Having corresponded with Mog by email, I can see that the Carnival of the Cats is just a single, small instance of what she has done. When I started writing this, I had no idea of the other things she has done with her life. That little act of warmth has been repeated throughout time and place in the people whose lives she has touched.

Although you’ve never met, it’s a good bet that you’ve been the recipient of Mog’s kindness reflected in someone you know. MS is a harsh master and her difficulties still exist. Maybe you could help.

Over at her blog she has a PayPal donation button on the right hand column. A few bucks would help.

Another nice way would be to visit her Cafe Press shop and pick out a trinket. It's not much money, but it would mean a lot. Here's my favorite.

The world is full of good people. After you visit Mog's blog, check out some more WOGs here.

For more feline fun, visit this week's Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats. Stop the ACLU has open trackbacks this weekend as well.

A Hamster Rethinks his Super Bowl Predictions

In a previous post, I gave my predictions for the playoffs and the Super Bowl. So far I've got all my picks right. However, after the Eagles-Giants game, I'm going to change my predictions for the NFC.

Me, thinking.
NFC Divisional Playoffs

Saints over Eagles. The Eagles lost their top CB, Lito Sheppard, with a dislocated elbow. The Eagles might have been able to beat the Saints with him. Without him, forget it. The Saints will have Joe Horn back and my main man, Marques Colston, in top form. Expect the Saints to beat the Eagles and Drew Brees to throw for more than 300 yards.

NFC Chamionship

Saints over Bears. The Bears simply cannot score enough to keep up. As good as their defense is, it won't be able to stop Reggie Bush and company from putting points on the board.

Super Bowl

Ravens over Saints. As much as I love my Saints, I can't see them beating the Ravens. They won't be able to run against the Ravens defense and without a running game to keep them honest, the Ravense defensive line will tee off on Brees.

Bringing a Little bit of Venezuela into your Home

Leftists around the world rejoice in the direction that Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is taking his country. Today's Wall Street Journal discusses his latest plans to nationalize telecommunications and electricity. Glorious, comrade! It's worked so well in Cuba, let's repeat it in Venezuela. Go team!

My favorite parts of the article were the quotes from Mr. Chavez and his cronies henchmen fellow lunatics government officials.

Mr. Chávez, whom the ailing Cuban leader sees as the successor to his revolutionary mantle in Latin America, used a speech yesterday to his new cabinet members to flaunt his ties to Mr. Castro. He ended his speech using the Cuban's signature sign-off: "Fatherland or death, we will triumph!" Mr. Chávez's longtime ally, former Vice President José Vicente Rangel, chimed in at the ceremony with another signature Castro phrase: "Always towards victory, Comandante!"

If this works at the national level, why shouldn't it work at the personal level? I suggest that my leftist readers apply this at home.

On Saturdays when there is yard work to be done, exhort your kids to help with a mighty call of, "Weeding or death, we will triumph!"

When the dishes need to be done, your spouse should let loose a booming, "Always towards victory (and clean dishes), Comandante!"

What could be more inspiring than that? In the end, you will have achieved true leftist victory. You'll know you have reached it when your house looks like this.

Touching the Third Rail

Yesterday I was perusing the Wall Street Journal when I came across their Consumer Electronics Show blog. It had an article about a new cell phone that played music. It was pretty cool. It reinforced my concern about Apple as a good stock to buy so I wrote a short blog post about it. I just don't see their long term competitive edge, especially when they get into the phone business against people who've been doing it for a long time like Motorola.

Man, was that a mistake. I would have been better off suggesting the Pope had been swearing during Mass. My little post got referenced on an Apple discussion board and one of them left an insulting comment. They all had a good laugh at my expense. It turns out I'm an ignorant boob.

Like that's news.

Anyway, I had forgotten what a religious following Apple has. I've posted about my concern that Google is way overvalued, but I was never insulted for that. Dittos for the New York Times and others. Apple is a different beast altogether. At least the link on the discussion board got me a few more hits.

Weird.

Update: Our Missionary to the Frozen Wastelands tipped me off to the unveiling of the iPhone. You can read about it here. It will do all kinds of cool things, is controlled by a touch screen and will retail for $499-$599 depending on the amount of storage it comes with. I may be an odd sort, but $500 for a phone? I think my phone cost $50. That's an awful lot of cash for a phone no matter what else it can do. My bet is that they've priced themselves above the rest of the market.

The WSJ is running a discussion board on the topic as well. It is dominated by Apple supporters, but I thought this comment to be particularly trenchant.

The launch price is above the consumer mass market. Looks like the costs to make the product will preclude it falling below $300, and that will keep it a niche aspirational product.

The real eye opener to me is not the phone or the stock, but the audience. Apple supporters are fanatics. The reaction to this little post, one where I did not troll for links like I usually do, was way out of proportion to the content.

Update 2: The WSJ has a couple more articles on the topic. Here's one that gives a good summary of the situation.

However, whether the iPhone can match the success of the iPod remains to be seen. One potential stumbling block: The price tag is high for the U.S. market, where as much as 80% of handsets sell for $99 or less, Mr. de la Vergne said. Analysts say Apple is unlikely to lower the phone's price because it doesn't want to cannibalize its iPod business.

I thought of that argument, too. Are customers going to buy both an iPod and an iPhone?

Another article goes straight to the heart of the matter. Price.

All of the product's features come at a steep cost for consumers, though, leading some analysts to question how big Apple's opportunity is to tap the mass market, as it has with the iPod. Mr. Jobs said Apple was aiming to sell about 10 million iPhones through the end of 2008, which would account for about 1% of annual global shipments of cellphones.

1%?!? You're reshaping the entire company to take over 1% of a new market? Just how many rules of business strategy does that break?

Update 3: I'm pretty much alone in my analysis. The WSJ as another article where industry analysts size up the situation. Almost all of them are bullish on the iPhone. I guess I'm just a cheap crank.

A Prayer Request

One of our Official Artist's dogs, Bear, is going through some tough medical problems.

Bear. How could you not love him?
A prayer or two for the fuzzy fellow might be nice.

Leading by example, our Maximum Leader spends time in prayerful meditation.

Why I Don't Like Apple as a Stock

Dig this little tidbit from the Wall Street Journal's Consumer Electronics Show blog.


This makes me want to avoid Apple (AAPL) as a stock. One of Apple's biggest products is the iPod. In the past your phone couldn't play music. Now many of them can. You have to have a cell phone with you these days. If it can play music as well, why carry around an iPod, too? Particularly if the phone can also access the web and the iPod can't.

Admittedly, these phones carry much less music than the iPod, but where's the break point at which the iPod is no longer necessary?

Update: Yes, I know these kinds of phones have been around for a while. And I know Apple is planning on releasing a phone product of their own. I just don't see this as iPod territory, where Apple is going to come in with something totally revolutionary and blow everyone away. This is the corporate strength of many large corporations and a new area for Apple.

I know quite a bit about telecommunications. Technologically, a multimedia player is nothing compared to a high data rate, wireless communications system.

I also blogged a follow up to this post.

Update 2: The WSJ has blogged about Cingular's plan to support Appple's new phone. Do you think that the other cell phone companies will go quietly into the night?

The stakes for Apple could be huge: While the company has shipped more than 70 million iPods over the past five years, more than a billion cellphone handsets are shipped each year.

Here's a larger WSJ article about Apple's foray into phones.

Apple has a lot riding on its next moves. While the Cupertino, Calif., company has enjoyed several years of fast growth riding on the back of its hit iPod digital music player, there is a growing sense in the financial community that Apple will soon need to enter potentially big new categories like cellphones and television set-top boxes to keep up the momentum started by the iPod. As a result, pressure is building on the company.

The final paragraph from the article echoes my sentiments.

There's the possibility, too, that Apple may fail to wow the digerati, many of whom have become accustomed to a steady stream of innovations from the company like the iPod, iTunes and stylish new Mac computers. Some financial analysts have begun warning that a no-show by an Apple cellphone, for instance, could be seen negatively by investors because of the feverish speculation surrounding the product.

More Bad News for the Networks

This story in the Wall Street Journal has to have the major TV networks reeling.

LAS VEGAS -- Sony Corp. says it will help users of its televisions watch video from the Internet, joining rivals as they aim to capitalize on the growing popularity of video clips online.

The Japanese electronics company plans to equip most of its televisions this year with an attachable module that can receive Internet video content with the touch of a remote-control button, company executives said as part of announcements pegged to the Consumer Electronics Show here.

What has saved them from facing the competition of the Army of Davids up to now has been access. Not all consumers had access to Web 2.0, but practically all had access to a TV. As the major TV manufacturers bring Internet TV into the living room, little Katie Couric and the rest will be just one more channel in a sea of millions and millions of channels.

Sounds good for content creators. Like bloggers.

The Wilbury Twist

Do not do this dance near any breakable objects.

From The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3.