Projects, interests, and pontifications of Joby Walker
A great video on efforts to reform one of the worst public schools in the US: Locke High. And of course in Washington State, there are no charter schools to act as an outlet for public school reform — though to be fair our schools are no where near as bad as Locke — but still unworthy of continued monopolization of education tax dollars.
Washington Policy Center has a list of the “The ten things you should know about “roads and transit”. While they are all good I like the bonus point at the end:
Bonus: It would be cheaper to pay Sound Transit’s new riders $100,000 each to not drive. The impact on traffic congestion would be the same and taxpayers would save more than $8 billion dollars.
I know this may be hard for the Sound Transit board to understand, but we don’t want our money taken from us to create a massive Corporate/Union welfare program that will ingratiate those businesses/unions to our local politicians.
Some bad news from Slashdot:
“James Oliver Rigney Jr, author of the long-running fantasy series The Wheel of Time and better known to millions of fans by the pen name Robert Jordan, died on 16 Sept 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. Jordan announced he had been diagnosed with the disease in March 2006 and vowed to beat the odds, but determination and gumption sometimes just aren’t enough in the face of a disease with a median survival time of just over two years. Jordan was in the process of writing the twelfth and final book in the Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light, but the book was not slated for release until 2009 and is still incomplete. While there is hope that the book will still be finished from Jordan’s notes, this is devastating news to all of us who have been reading the series since 1990.”
I have enjoyed The Wheel of Time — even though I think it became a bit too involved with too many plot threads — and I hope that the final book can be written according to Rigney’s plan and in a manner that would approve of. Authors like Rigney that can create entirely new worlds composed with such rich detail are a treasure. I have spent many hours exploring their worlds not only through their writing but imagining visiting them personally. James, thank you for the new worlds you have contributed to the universe.
President Bush on (hopefully soon-to-be-former) Attorney General Gonzales’ testimony to Congress:
The president said that Gonzales’ testimony before skeptical Judiciary Committee senators last week “increased my confidence” in his ability to lead the Justice Department.
Great. Next thing we’ll hear is that Sheryl Crow will be made the Global Warming Prevention Czar.
This certainly doesn’t look like a demostration against violence to me. But then I don’t have a journalism degree or the blessings of the MSM.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has finally acceded to the demands the families of Wiccan soldiers, and will allow these soldiers’ headstones to be engraved with a pentacle. The nine year delay on this matter is inexcusable, and I am glad that the families will get the proper headstones before memorial day. (seen at The Volokh Conspiracy)
Perusing the list of available emblems shows a remarkable disparity in quality. Much like with national flags, simplicity is best. The standard Christia cross (#1) and the Episcopal cross (#7) are quite good exemplars of a simple and elegant Christian design. The Christian and Missionary Alliance (#30) and Community of Christ (#20) symbols are just horrible because they include too many items which dilutes the message. Similarly the Atheist symbol (#16) is uninspiring and mundane, while the Humanist Emblem of Spirit (#32) is not only simple but has great meaning.
The Shoreline Romio’s (the relocated Lake City Romio’s at the location that was formerly Demetre’s) was destroyed by fire last night and the building is a total loss. The fire is considered suspicious. ACK! We regularly order pizza from them — including this past Saturday. Destroying a pizza place should be a “special circumstance” for criminal sanctions — “Death to Pizza killers!”
Update: It is confirmed — this is arson.
No matter how repugnant racism, sexism, religious bigotry, etc might be, there is no justification for criminalizing private expressions of hatred that are not threats. When a society starts criminalizing speech, writing, and thoughts that offend, no one’s expression is safe. The EU has now crossed that line:
The new deal specifies one- to three-year prison terms be available for incitement to violence or hatred “against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin”.
The text also notes that “member states may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting.”
So if your expression insults some one, you can go to jail for up to three years. Yeah that’s European “freedom”. Fortunately there are some sane people (in Britain):
“Attempts to harmonise EU laws on hate crimes are both illiberal and nonsensical,” European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham Watson said in a statement summing up the British opposition.
“The proposed list risks opening the floodgates on a plethora of historical controversies — like the crimes of the Stalinist regime or the alleged Armenian genocide — whose inclusion could pose a grave threat to freedom of speech. The EU has no business legislating on history,” he added.
Weep for the future. (via LGF)
Wizards of the Coast has not renewed Paizo’s license:
Paizo Publishing and Wizards of the Coast today announced the conclusion of Paizo’s license to produce DRAGON and DUNGEON magazines effective September 2007. Publication of DRAGON and DUNGEON will cease with issues number 359 and 150, respectively.
“Today the internet is where people go to get this kind of information,” said Scott Rouse, Senior Brand Manager of Dungeons & Dragons®, Wizards of the Coast. “By moving to an online model we are using a delivery system that broadens our reach to fans around the world. Paizo has been a great partner to us over the last several years. We wish them well on their future endeavors.”
“We at Paizo are very proud of the work we’ve put into DRAGON and DUNGEON during the past five years,” says Erik Mona, Paizo’s Publisher and Editor in Chief of DRAGON. “While we’ll all miss working on these venerable magazines, our talented editorial and art staff as well as our phenomenal team of freelance contributors will continue to produce high-quality, exciting, new OGL releases that are aimed at supporting our existing customers and beyond. We look forward to sharing useful and provocative new products that support our favorite hobby.”
Subscribers should visit paizo.com/transition to learn more about the future of their subscriptions. Multiple options will be available for customers whose subscriptions extend beyond the final issues of the magazines. The final issues will be DRAGON #359 and DUNGEON #150—both of which will contain special content commemorating the history of these incredible magazines. The Savage Tide Adventure Path will conclude as planned in DUNGEON #150.
This is pretty sad. Dragon Magazine has been around for decades — I still have my old issues from ~80 through ~150. I also had just recently started subscribing again and was very impressed with the content. The Core Beliefs articles are well written and useful color. And the venerable Ecology of articles are not only useful but engaging. Hopefully I’ll learn more about Wizard’s plans for an online resource soon.
So the litigation between the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI has been settled — with the Seattle Times buying out Hearst:
All litigation has been terminated, and the Hearst Corp. will give up its 32 percent contingent interest in the joint-operating agreement for the two newspapers. That 32 percent interest is what Hearst would have received if the P-I folded and the JOA continued.
As part of the settlement, The Seattle Times Co. will give Hearst $49 million to resolve all current claims and to buy back the 32 percent contingent interest, said Paul Luthringer, a Hearst spokesman.
In addition, Hearst will pay the Seattle Times $25 million in exchange for the Seattle Times to agree not to issue any loss notice until at least 2016, according to a Hearst news release.
So to sum up: The Times spent $24 million to have no consequences if the PI goes out of business, and the PI gets until 2016 before the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) can be used to shut them down. So instead of sabotaging the PI via eliminating the JOA, the Times is now free to just bury the PI and force it out of business the old fashion way.
The deal also calls for a Seattle Times Co. executive to work on P-I circulation and subscription issues, Luthringer said. The P-I, he added, will receive “equal treatment” with production, especially with quality and color capacity.
Newspaper delivery trucks will be repainted with both of the newspaper names, or “equal co-branding,” and Hearst reserves the right to take future disagreements to arbitration.
With newspaper circulation plummeting nation wide, I suspect that one of the papers will be gone before 2016…