Beaconite.com & Beaconite.net
Public Forum

Mr. Gebman,

I appreciate your taking the time to respond and post it here. I am particularly fond of your analysis of my name, but I think you may have missed, or ignored, the significance of our changing understanding of π, while continuing to place far too much importance on what is ultimately an editorial choice.

It has not been my intention to attack the messenger, and feel some distress that you feel attacked, as I have focused my energy on attempting to receive a coherent message from you. Perhaps this is a misguided effort. If I typed significantly slower, I might consider this all a waste of time.

I find great humor in your mention of Vassar. I have had a relationship with the institution. There was a time when my appearance on campus would precipitate action by the PPD to remove me. And I have, indeed, provided my services to certain Ivies. I have far greater respect, however, for the teaching and learning happening at the community colleges across the country than any of the behemoth private and public institutions. You may see this as paradoxical, but its my bias and I'm sticking by it.

I was not in the least offended by the profanity in your post. I enjoy dropping the occasional well-timed F-bomb (better, by far, than A- and H-bombs). I prefer my adversaries make an effort, and I am not unwilling to coach them to higher levels.

It saddens me greatly that you see these as personal attacks. I try to be probing, and think I have asked some very good questions which go unanswered.

So here is one, and everyone is welcome to answer: What kind of Patriot are you? Jeffersonian, Palinist, Beck Tea-bagger, militia McVeigh-ite (who, deluded, thought he was fighting tyranny), PATRIOT Act, free-market, compassionate conservative, fiscally responsible liberal, socialist, etc.

The rhetorical point being: claims of patriotism really detract from the substance of the conversation. While I do not embrace all of the diverging views of my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, I wholly embrace their rightness in possessing them and any friction that develops as a result we try to keep healthy and productive. Wrapping oneself in the flag is weak justification.

Me? I am a fan of the idea of no government, but find representative democracy adequate. I find the dynastic trends, the false fiscal conservatism, and the lack of compassion of the FoxNews-Republican Party abhorrent. I object strongly to the two-party system, though think it is significantly better than a one-party system. Politicians are scoundrels, not in the good Han Solo way, but in the Dire Straits "Money for Nothin'" way.

I worked with someone in dotCom startup whose last name was "Holdsworth". I joked at the time that I was going to change my last name to "Addsvalue". What are you doing *now* to add value?

And where the F is JoeMelzingah? Drop some rhymes for us, Big Papa.

π

Edited by author 11-20-2009 12:15 PM
So you continue to rely upon the mechanics of a government that you claim restrains your right to free trade? You have this "evidence", and will require that people that want to better understand your position, have to go to the very institution that you mistrust so much?.

Maybe, since the courts (and the general public) have so far refused to hear you, it might be a good idea to flush some of your data into the public stream directly? You shouldn't worry about proprietary issues. The technology has certainly gone well beyond anything you could be protecting from a decade or more ago.

By the way, a copy of your "presentation" is probably no more than a few hundred megs max (probably much less). I can handle it.

"Man admits killing wife, dumping body in Beacon Reservoir"

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...1120/NEWS/911209994

re: /m31052 I would be interested in seeing the Glass Apple presentation, as well. Sharing this document with the community would lend a great deal of credibility to Mr. Gebman's arguments. Such an act of good faith would begin to assuage the nagging anxiety that your actions are grounded in fiction and are intended to screw your neighbors.

yours endlessly, etc.

N, wow I knew it was Vassar your post had a patrician quality to it rather than the rigid catholic dogma, but I had to hedge my bet.

I am techno-regionalist, which is a name I just coined for myself, not wanting to resort to ordinary labels.

I have only made it through half of Ron Chernow's book on Alexander Hamilton, so I am unsure if I am ready to adopt A.H. handle on what has become American Capitalism. Although if I did adopt AH many people would agree it suits me well, but not the kind of AH the kind of AH patriot but AH as in body part.:)

I am a romantic, so adopting the AH spin of free markets, debt and federalism that America embraced that could be claimed to be rooted in Beacon, has a warm feeling to it.

I mean these are magic lands, no doubt the majesty of the mountains meeting the water cannot be abused or under estimated. For many reasons the importance of the region in the days of our Nations founding are no less significant today.

I could list them, perhaps another day....

Back to techno-regionalism. I believe the rank order of geography has out lived its usefulness particularly in the context of the historical accidents that now to undo them will require hysterical announcements of doom and gloom.

So setting aside the Village, Town, City, County, State structure to regional cooperation is not likely to occur without a reshuffling of the deck so to speak.

Because the NYS Constitution has but 298 words out of 57,316 on education, and much is spent on the powers of the legislature to do as they please, the only evident directive is that their be a Board of Regents of not less than 9.

If the State were to be divided into nine regions of 2 million +/- 30% and all educational activities were administered by the regents with one regent in charge of each of the nine several goods things would happen.

1) The rape n pillage that almost occurred with the Legislature this past week would not occur as it has annually since about 1860, or since the advent of Lee K. agency since about 1856. To be less cryptic the Legislature came close to taking the school data runs of 700 districts and doing the cuts that always creates winners and losers. With nine districts and a regional academic structure the voters in the counties and academia would do better as each would have the tools to fend for themselves on the division of the whole 1/9 and within each region a County government could assure fairness across any region.

2) Higher education would be compelled to have a more useful and productive relationship with not only the pk-12 schools but with training to meet local job force schools.

3) An empowered region that shares its intellectual resources for the good of its region is far better off to compete for capital in its varying forms for job creation and infrastructure. In doing so private institutions already reliant on numerous public subsidies need not surrender its autonomy per se, but is empowered to partner on a legitimate basis with the mechanisms of government in an open fashion as a partner and not an object of political lobbying or political pandering.

I dare say that had the nine educational district of New York had the same access to the Federal Reserve Bank as Capital Investment Banks and Human Investment Banks (university of NY ?) then Bear Stearns would have been more usefully sold for two billion dollars to the University of New York for investment in NYS human capital as opposed to the predatory bank across the street.

I could wax on as for the calculations on why the sale would have been good for NYS, perhaps another day.

In simplest terms, the world map makers who in there infinite wisdom divided the Kurds into numerous territories Turkey Iraq, Iran and Syria to name a few ill-served humanity as well soon be felt as the Kurds control of water in Turkey becomes more acute in the next 20 year.

We all know the story of Israel versus it neighbors, N. vs. S. Korea Vietnam, China vs. Twain etc.

America in all its splendor has yet to offer the world a useful working structure, example if you will for local empowerment of regional common good. We have the capacity to do so in the Hudson Valley, our ability to endure the obstacles makes us stronger in the world that can benefit from our leadership and endurance. Among the obstacles is tenacity, to focus on the task at hand, tenacity is my leadership skill. This is my political orientation. Truth is not difficult to discern in the use of technology, and holding hands for the common good of neighbors can only occur with truth....and that is all I have ever want for myself ...simple freedom and truth from this and this alone we all become free.

That Sir, my friend n, is all I have ever sought.

As for your more probative question yesterday what would I do with Fifty Billion....I actually have an answer, and like much that I concoct...be prepared to be just a little bit surprised:).

btw i am sorry i did not edit this stuff, I don't have the time straight from the gut...sorry hit me over the head maybe i'll edit it later:)

**AH**BS**F**Bomb.....Me head is spinning.........

Edited by author 11-20-2009 04:55 PM
http://orbooks.com/

Sarah Palin...
Going Rouge: An American Nightmare

Wow, they must be scared to death of her. Meanwhile, the guy who's actually in office is a glass half empty: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1109/Sub50.html.

Uh oh!

Edited by author 11-20-2009 08:55 PM
Mild sleep-deprivation-induced dyslexia has had me reading the title of SP's book as "Going Rouge" since it was initially announced. Pure conjecture: the liberal cognoscenti are about as scared of Sarah Palin as I am of contracting small pox; that is to say, not at all. In writing essays in response to SP, they are consciously validating her and thrumming the chords to motivate the far-right lunatic fringe, further fracturing the GOP. Revenge on McCain staffers is a principle theme of the book. I would feel sorry for the Republican Party on a national level if they displayed a little more integrity and intellectual honesty. Glenn Beck isn't doing them any favors, either.

OP < G

I don't have any real love for Dems, either. Politicians are the American aristocracy. Any Cromwells in the house? Robespierres?

Mr. Gebman: Briefly, you misread my statement re: Vassar College. I look forward to reading what I hope to be an enlightened treatise on spending.

ridiculously,
πnoceros

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Samuel Johnson
English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

Daniel Tosh for President. Tosh.O rules!!

re: /m31061, I studied the transformations of the word with a Johnson scholar. We began with oral tradition, continued with "written" matter -- cuneiform, papyrus, movable type -- and finished at digital text, describing a parabola of permanence, of physical mass. Good times, good times...

Edited by author 11-23-2009 08:43 AM
   I'm so tired

Edited by author 11-23-2009 10:18 AM
N I would not disagree with you as to the historical utility of the Community College.

The links below suggest that trade schools are not real trade schools. Contextually, two year Community Colleges are or have been very useful to facilitate training for nurses, mechanics, electricians, or, generally technical education. Private trade schools have been equally effective in competing with public community colleges for a considerable amount of higher education student funding. Classically, the beauty schools teaching cosmetology and auto repair draw students who are unable to go to the next step in the trade school hierarchy, the public Community College. In sum at the Community College level the private school alternative is thought of as a trade school.

I would postulate there is another level of trade school that is more than a play or spin on the words “trade schools”. Thus I return to the subtle snobbery of liberal often elitists attitudes, a diminutive allegation which I no longer ascribe to you based on the more gentile nature of our written exchange.

None the less, it is no longer adequate that trade schools be thought of as described so far, in this context I offer the following links and ask, if IBM limits the utility of WR DUOPS workers to assembling main frames and imports the knowledge to run them from eastern Europe, then we must ask, are our competitors University networks stronger than ours? 433951.22236.52


http://www.uni-graz.at/zas1www_folder2010.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht_Network

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coimbra_Group

http://utrecht-network.multimove.nl/master-programme/map-search

Having confirmed the working status of the above links prior to this edit, I direct your attention to the first link top right panel and the brochure titled "The Americas When One Is Not Enough".

Thus, is the move afoot in Europe that America should be thought of as something different than a country? What impact does all of this have on the future of the Hudson Valley and New York State who current number one competitor for financial industry jobs is London?