Steve Fischer's Random Blog

Random thoughts from a random technology guy

  • Take Back One Kadam

    Another title I never thought I’d write, on the topic of iWatch sales. From It’s a Very Nice Website:

    Now, it might seem ridiculous to try to predict how many of a thing we know nothing about will sell, but it’s simple, really. You just take the total number of watches ever sold ever, take the cosine (always take the cosine… take it AND RUN AND NEVER STOP RUNNING), adjust for inflation, apply the least squares method (because only squares wear smartwatches) and then — and this is the part people always forget — take back  one kadam to honor the Hebrew God, whose iWatch this is.

    Actually, the geek in me really likes the least squares reference…

  • Construction

    I’ve posted a few times about the garage across from my office that got knocked down and the construction currently going on. I now know that there will be 5 luxury townhouses built at a minimum price of $4.1 million.

    I don’t think I can afford this neighborhood…

  • Number Needed to Treat/Harm

    Two well explained videos on evaluating health treatment’s effectiveness, via Healthcare Triage. Watch them in order.

  • Crazy Brooklyn Filming Tonight

    No clue what is going on. Our block and two blocks either way are filled with film trucks. A store across the street that is currently vacant has crazy bright lights in front, with some older folks dressed up who look like you they might be famous but you wouldn’t remember exactly. Filming is clearly going on inside.

    The no parking signs mention UR&R Projects and Broken Record Productions, neither of which give me a clue on Google..

    So I went to the source, the guy running one of the trucks that does food for everyone.

    He said HBO, some rock & roll movie about the 70s, Woodstock, etc.

    They say if you want to know where a Google data center is, ask the pizza delivery guys. It’s all about the food…

  • Free Electricity

    This is in Australia, but still.

    Last week, for the first time in memory, the wholesale price of electricity in Queensland fell into negative territory – in the middle of the day

    To think that rooftop solar has had such an impact as to make the cost of electricity negative in the middle of the day anywhere is pretty amazing.

  • Glenn Beck–Voice of Reason

    With no sarcasm whatsoever…

    Glenn Beck plans to bring soccer balls and hot meals to migrant children this month, his career be damned.

    Through no fault of their own, they are caught in political crossfire, and while we continue to put pressure on Washington and change its course of lawlessness, we must also help. It is not either/or. It is both. We have to be active in the political game, and we must open our hearts.

  • The New Fourth Amendment

    Zach Weinersmith, of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal fame has a serious privacy blog post up.

    He states that the Fourth Amendment can be violated as gently as you please any time digital information enters or leaves your home. So, perhaps an amended amendment is in order:

    The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, unless we’re really totally subtle about it.

    It’s definitely worth a read. His final comment:

    I no longer expect to have a Fourth Amendment. I really don’t. But do I have to be a good sport about it too?

  • Controversial?

    This involves birth control so by definition is is controversial. But the headline seems like a big duh.

    Colorado offered free birth control — and teen births fell by 40 percent

    Duh.

    The teen abortion rate dropped by 35 percent

    Duh. According to the governor:

    This initiative has saved Colorado millions of dollars

    Again, duh.

  • Economics Trivia

    Kevin Drum has this one right, All That’s Left Are Fights Over Trivia.

    What does this say about us?  As near as I can tell, this is the most important domestic political battle in the country right now. That’s right: reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. Can you think of anything more trivial? This is a government agency that costs taxpayers nothing—in fact, it’s recorded a profit over the past decade—and, at worst, will cost us no more than a tiny amount in the future. On the flip side, although reliable figures are hard to come by, its impact on our export business is probably pretty minuscule.

    I was actually going to blog about this last week because it was a rare occasion where Paul Krugman and Paul Samuelson agree.

    But I thought it was too trivial…

  • There are other Religions?

    Well, this was predictable…

    Gitmo Detainees Cite Hobby Lobby in New Court Filing