Philip Weiss

The web according to Phil 4-14-2010

Two from Bruce Schneier

Privacy and Control — To the older generation, privacy is about secrecy. And, as the Supreme Court said, once something is no longer secret, it’s no longer private. But that’s not how privacy works, and it’s not how the younger generation thinks about it. Privacy is about control.

New York and the Moscow Subway Bombing — [Movie plot threats] threats are infinite, and the bad guys can easily switch among them. … A far better strategy is to spend our limited counterterrorism resources on investigation and intelligence – and on emergency response. These measures don’t hinge on any specific threat; they don’t require us to guess the tactic or target correctly. They’re effective in a variety of circumstances, even nonterrorist ones.

A few on Virginia’s Confederate History Month declaration

McDonnell’s Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders — After getting criticized for a Confederate History Month declaration that didn’t include a mention of slavery, McDonnell says he didn’t include it because there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia.

Spelling “Free Black Labor” in Greater Britain and Virginia, 1866 — for reasons of my own, let me take you back to a particular corner of it that I’ve gotten interested in, white reconstruction as a model for the British Empire. Aaron Bady digs up excerpts from books about Reconstruction, published during Reconstruction.

Sons Of Confederate Vets Split On McDonnell Apology — Brandon Dorsey of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (his actual position isn’t stated) calls the apology and addition of slavery to the proclamation regarding Virginia Confederate History Month and insult.

The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not — The interns hired into our department at Expedia actually got to take on significant projects. We didn’t have them do drudgery so that we didn’t have to. Every time I see a place advertise for an unpaid intern that will be given all the crap work in exchange for contacts or the mere ability to list the employer on their resume, I seethe. The Stranger does the a lot.

Federal Air Marshal Service Has Taken Actions to Fulfill Its Core Mission and Address Workforce Issues, but Additional Actions Are Needed to Improve Workforce Survey — G.A.O. report from last year on the Federal Air Marshal program. Mostly boring stuff about employee satisfaction, but one thing that I noticed is that the program measures it’s success essentially by number of flights it sends marshals on. Not on whether or not it’s prevented any problems, not on arrests, not on anything else. Basically, how many flights were covered. Which is kind of like measuring the Seattle Police Department’s success by how many miles their officers cover. It’s bad if they are on no flights, but more flights doesn’t necessarily mean success.

I randomized the law, and the law won — Actual randomized experiments in policing to see what’s most effective. I wish we could do this a lot more, both in criminal justice as well as all sorts of other industries.

Demolition Dude — My time-waster today.

The Web according to Phil (4/2/2010)

Stuff I read read about today:

Seattle’s first technical book store coming soon to Capitol Hill: The bookstore is named for Ada Lovelace, a 19th Century pioneer in computer programming. She is celebrated today as a symbol of all the great women who add to the advancement of technology. a) Really happy we’re getting a tech book store. b) Really happy to see it named after Ada Lovelace. Women are way under-represented behind the scenes of tech, and a lot of that is because of attitudes that drive them away. Not that this will change a whole lot, but now everyone who goes to Ada’s Technical Books will hopefully have their curiosity piqued and know a bit more about women in tech because of the name.
Where are the Women?: NPR’s Ombudsman looks at gender balance in on-air staff, paid commenters, and interviewees, and finds the balance severely lacking in the latter two categories.
alikewise: Alikewise is a dating site that allows you to find people based on their book tastes. Anything from cooking to politics to yoga — we think we can find others who would like to talk to you. No, not on the market. But I totally would’ve used this a couple years ago. If nothing else, I know that the people using the site are actually readers! Very important to me.

Feminists are smart

I follow a lot more feminist blogs than your average clueless male, or at least I think I do. I am more often than not in agreement with the feminists who post there. But sometimes I disagree. Of course.

Anyhow, I just had an epiphany.

All of these feminists are smart, sun-blinding smart. They would easily shred 90% of anyone in debate. There may be 1% or 2% who would edge them out, but no more. And then only if those folks brought their A game.

Probably something I shoulda realized earlier.

Surgery

Gram has been losing weight for a year or so, mostly due to lack of appetite. Scans of her digestive system showed some abnormalities but nothing conclusive. A few weeks ago, Gram started bleeding though. This put in motion additional tests. Turns out she has uterine (or ovarian, I’m not sure) cancer.

It’s early stage. And essentially the choices are: surgery or slow death. Tuesday she goes in for surgery.

Since she’s so underweight, the surgery isn’t a slam dunk success. Getting the cancer is the least of the problem actually. She may see an extended amount of time recovering, and is at greater risk of complications. I’d be worried if I hadn’t already gone into do the next right thing mode.

Next week I’ll start fretting about Gramps’ upcoming surgery.

Moving day done

Yesterday was the big move for my grandparents. They were about as cranky as I’ve ever seen them. They had 62 years of accumulated stuff in the place they’ve lived in for 36 years, and they wanted to keep as much of it as possible despite moving into a place roughly 60% the previous size. They also felt like they were out of control since neither of them physically could help much with the move. On the roller coaster and not able to get off until the ride is over.

But we made it. Jennifer, Sharon, Jason and his dad John came and helped. My brother Joe and his former partner Mike took the day off and helped, despite Joe being under the weather. My aunt and uncle helped Gram and Gramps supervise, as well as drove and packed.

Jason and I got yelled at by the building staff. You can’t use that elevator! And then they sent someone outside to yell at us again. We thought God intended us to use that elevator because it came 5 times in 10 minutes but the other one never did. We were wrong.

I am sore. But oh my god I am so happy knowing their health is so much better taken care of there. After an emotional move and getting Sharon a vehicle, I just cried as I drove home. So happy to have all of this come together.

Thank you so much to the people who helped. I have no way to say how much this meant to me.

Need moving help

drum kit and furniture — Photo by artnoose

I need moving help.

Here’s the scoop: My grandparents are moving into an assisted living place. Originally Gramps wanted to hire movers, but he got back the estimate today and it was thousands more than he expected. The actual move is one bedroom and one living room worth of furniture. They are leaving the second bedroom and the kitchen out. I need 3 to 5 people to help with the move, either with loading or unloading. Pizza and beverages (at a minimum) will be provided. I’ll probably have a pie or two too.

Here’s the catch: It’s next Wednesday the 20th. Short notice and not a weekend. But even if you can only spare a few hours in the evening, we could use the help.

I’m expecting loading to be early afternoon (noon to 3pm) and unloading to be evening (4 to 6 pm ish).

So, can you help?

Edited to add locations: Moving from 6535 Seaview Ave NW (by Shilshole Marina west of Ballard). Moving to 12509 Greenwood Ave (Ida Culver House in Broadview).

Chicken and Almond Soup

I made this soup last week when I was staying over at my grandparents’ place. Gramps is supposed to be on a cardiac diet, so most boxed meals and canned soups are out. But soup made from scratch can be prepared without salt frequently, so I brought over The Ultimate Soup Bible to pick through. Nothing too fancy, cause my grandparents aren’t fancy eaters. And with a small kitchen and old equipment, I wouldn’t be able to complete a lot of fancy steps.

Recipe is what I made, not what’s in the book.

6 tablespoons margarine (I would have used butter, but that’s what they have)
1 medium leek
¾ teaspoon fresh ginger
¾ cup unsweetened almond butter
1 medium carrot
½ cup frozen peas
1½ cup frozen cooked chicken
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup cream

Melt the margarine in a dutch oven kind of pan
Chop the leek
Chop the ginger
Sauté the leek and ginger until it turns soft
Lower heat
Chop the carrot
Add almond butter, carrot, peas, and chicken, and ½ cup of water
Cook until everything is cooked/not frozen
Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes
Transfer mixture to blender
Add 1½ cups water
Process for about 90 seconds
Pour back into pan
Bring to boil while stirring
Lower heat
Stir in cream
Stir in chopped cilantro

This was super super tasty.

Easy as Pie Night!

With all the hullaballoo in my family, I haven’t gotten around to posting this to the blog yet. Most everyone will have seen it on Facebook, though. Next Pie Night will be Sunday, January 17th, nominally from 4 pm until 11 pm.

Picture of A Slice of Lemon Meringue Pie — A Slice of Lemon Meringue Pie

Do you like pie? Then come to pie night! Friends and enemies alike are welcome!

You can bring a pie, but you don’t have to. If you do bring a pie, please make/assemble it yourself; purchasing a pie at Whole Foods is verboten. Feel free to bring beverages, whipped cream, ice cream, or other pie accoutrements.

Where? 2301 Fairview Ave E in Seattle. Ring WEISS on the call board.

Please note in the comments here or add yourself to the Easy as Pie Night Facebook event if you plan to come, and if you plan to bring pie. I need to know approximately how many pies to make.

Any last minute questions or need of directions? Call 206-607-9177.

Image A Slice of Lemon Meringue Pie by Daniel Greene used under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 2.0 License.

I Get So Emotional Baby

I’ve been known to cry in front of people before. Lots in fact. Any kind of public grief will have a decent chance of setting me off.

Last night, for the first time, I experienced nearly breaking down just because I was so overwhelmed. I’m good at soldiering through. I never once felt like I was going to lose it during mom’s illness. Tired, stressed, and very definitely broken. But soldiered through.

The last week and a half of Gramps being in the hospital has just been rough. Gram’s dementia is very serious, though she’s mostly lucid. But she can’t be left on her own, even though she thinks she’s capable of taking care of things.

The last two weeks I’ve been under a deadline for work. I was handed a broken project in a language I didn’t understand with no requirements and working with a service that has incorrect documentation. I had another project that possibly had to be done before the first of the year.

So I was driving Gram to and from the hospital. I talked with Gramps a lot. I worked from the visitor lounge on the cardiac ward. I’d work until 3 am as well.

I really wanted to go to Heather’s birthday party last night. But shepherding Gram through her medication took nearly an hour. I left their place around 10:15. Decided I was going up to the party anyway even though I knew the place closed at 10:30. On the way, I started losing it.

No vacation. Missing stuff I want to do. Work pressure. Laundry and cleaning undone. A best friend who stopped talking to me 9 months ago. Handling dad. Handling grandparents. Another night of working until 3 am.

It finally got to me.

I’m better now. Both projects aren’t needing me for a while. Gramps is home and my grandparents will be moving to assisted living hopefully within the week. My girlfriend Sharon, despite me being a Christmas grump, bought me an awesome Christmas present (pajamas that won’t get me arrested) and painted a card for me. Spent the day mostly on Gram and Gramps’ couch.

Last few years I’ve written a year in review kind of thing. I think this post about covers it.

Christmas 2010 at Swedish Medical Center

At 12:07 this morning I got a call from my grandfather. When he calls, I answer. He’d passed out in the hallway and had called paramedics. He assumed they would take him to Swedish like they normally do. There’s a “normal” course of events when Gramps has a heart attack. This is his 5th or 6th in 13 months and he has another 3 or 4 hospitalizations in addition during the same time frame.

So I did my normal course. Get dressed. Make coffee. Call Joe. Dawdle on the internet for 15 minutes. Then leave for the hospital. I got there 15 minutes before they did.

I am always fine when I get the call. Driving up Lynn is fine. I start to get worried this will be the last time I see him about the time I get on the freeway. By the James St exit I am a wreck and near bawling. But I pull it together while climbing James St. And I’m all business by the time I get to Swedish.

That is my “normal” progression.

My main concern is Gram. She has dementia and stress makes her worse. So this morning I walked to meet her at the ambulance and took charge of her while the paramedics wheeled Gramps into emergency. They thought I worked there and were surprised I couldn’t tell them the access code for the emergency doors.

Gramps was admitted overnight, though now it has stretched into 2. Gram cannot stay by herself though she thinks she is fine. So I am crashing on her couch for the second, hopefully less sleepless, night.

The docs who downloaded his pacemaker data confirmed a heart attack. Without the builtin defibrillator, he would have died. It’s the 3rd or 4th time it’s saved his life.