The Professor's Notes

Sharing Steve :: New Stuff

I had pointed to Steve Martin’s blog once before, in reference to banjos. You see, as many of you know, I recently retired from the Air Force (Where I served in academia) and am now in a civilian institution as a professor. As a retirement gift, my parents fulfilled a long-time dream of mine–to have a banjo (I am now working on the other part of that long term dream–learning to play it!) By the way, just think how many parents actually get to see their son’s retirement, let alone give em a gift…

Anyway, I digress. Steve Martin is quite an accomplished banjo player, although I remember reading that he points out all things, especially banjo playing, require one to stay in practice, and he had gotten rusty. I was pleased, though, to learn that he still has an affiinity for the banjo.

This brings me to his latest entry concerning his new movie, the Pink Panther. He worked to not copy Peter Sellers. I find that to be quite an interesting challenge, since so much of my life I find myself quoting Sellers.

How many of you remember Peter Sellers as the Pink Panther? Yes…. I thought so…. most of you in the class. Now–how many of you can name the role he played in Dr Strangelove? Oh, okay… yes… he was Dr Strangelove… Yes, yes, he was also the President (and for you trivia buffs–what was the President’s name, AND what does the name “mean?”) He also played the british Wing Commander that helped break the code.

While not imitating Peter Sellers I believe Steve Martin has more in common with Sellers than not. Both are highly skilled, not only as actors, but as artists, and citizens. In fact, Martin perhaps transcends all, with his work as serious and comedic author as well.

One final note: I was watching an interview with either Mel Brookes, or Reiner, who recently wrote a book. The interviewer asked if he was trying to copy Martin, and the response? “I wrote a novel in (the 50s sometime) back when Martin was still just playing the Banjo.”

That hurt. “JUST”???

Steve–from one Steve to another, if you read this, Thank you.

WILLisms.com: Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 271 — Happiness.

Okay, so I had to blog on this. Apparently Republicans are just happier people! As are church-goers, and suburbanites.

I am not sure if I am happy or not right now, since I should be writing a research proposal for funding, but I certainly thought this was worth sharing!

As I mentioned in a comment hre on the blog, I am a huge fan of Steve Jobs and the Apple Industrial Design. in fact, it seems all my favorite books about corporations have one thing in common–Steve Jobs. That being said, they are often quite good books in their own right.

I have decided to start reviewing some of my “favorite” books. More often than not, they will be about Corporate America–and about the way it works (or doesn’t.) It turns out I am as intrigued as the next person at how firms develop new products, how leadership shapes a company to develop the products that it does, and the like. I am also quite interested in how ideas are shared, and how “we” as humans arrive at conclusions. All that being said–these are the general themes you will find in the books I read and review.

The first book out of the gate is “Code Name Ginger” by Steve Kemper. (Released now in paperback, it is re-titled “REINVENTING THE WHEEL: A Story of Genius, Innovation, and Grand Ambition”)

You may remember a few years back when the Segway transportation device was introduced. It’s the two wheeled personal transportation device that “senses” how you want to move, and just goes, maintaining balance for you–on only two wheels. I have had the opportunity to ride on one of these, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, even setting up a slalom course in the middle of a conference’s exhibition hall to have timed races.

This book is about the creation of that vehicle. It chronicles the evolution, from idea, through many phases of development, and through product introduction. What makes this book so interesting is the way the author pulls the curtain back, and reveals the way the key players think. In many instances, he puts in words what many people sense–for instance, engineers and managers and marketing folks don’t get along. He also brings out, however, how failing to recognize the value that each bring to an endeavour will be harmful, and perhaps even catastrophic.

Dean Kamen, the genius behind the Segway, did not want to listen to industrial design folks. He didn’t want to listen to manufacturing experts, and he certainly wanted nothing to do with “marketing” folks. Kamer documents a genius who was so secretive he wouldn’t let his marketing folks do a marketing analysis, who didn’t trust the manufacturing experts to take the design and translate it into a produceable product, and didn’t like the design engineers who spent time transforming the product from an industrial idea into a sleek, and safe, product.

At risk of sounding like a “Reading Rainbow” book review, I don’t want to reveal the exciting conclusion. This book has a few interesting twists, and turns, and features a cast of the most recognizable names in finance and technology. Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs were two of the first to buy into the product, and invest. They saw the vision, and the hope for this product. Unfortunately, when the rich elite see the value in a $10,000 toy, and feed the ego of the creator, it’s hard to listen to the voices of the marketing folks who told Dean Kamen it was over priced, and not that practical.

I have done a terrible dis-service to this book in my brief telling of the story, but I am sure of one thing–if you pick up this book, you will not be able to put it down. It is an exciting read, and certainly a weekend well spent.

Enjoy!

GMA STATEMENT ON ACRYLAMIDE AND CALIFORNIA’S PROPOSITION 65

This would be funny, were it not a real story. Hmmm… chemicals, naturally occuring in the process of cooking foods, to be banned by California.

My favorite quote?
“Acrylamide is present in food as a natural byproduct of the cooking process. Because it occurs when natural constituents of foods are cooked or heated, it has been present in the food supply and safely consumed since human beings discovered that cooked food tastes good and is often safer than the raw form. ”

Makes one wonder if there might really BE a hidden agenda. Note that the chemical occurs, not just in meats (so it’s not a Vegan thing…) but in all foods.

Sometimes I wish people would remember that life really is terminal. If you know you will die sometime, why must “they” make it so miserable here while we live?

WSJ.com – The Numbers Guy

I commend this article to you, and actually, the series that this author is doing. He lays out just how wrong the exit polls were, and possible explanations as to why.

Perhaps, for me, the most interesting reason for the innaccuracy in the polling is that Hamas voters intentionally refused to answer polling questions, to protect the sanctity of the elections. Not just worried that Fatah would get concerned, and come out to vote in greater numbers–worried that Fatah would burn ballot boxes. That intrigues me, since so many are convinced that exit polls are right, and actually, apparently believe “more right” than actual counts of votes (remember 2000, and 2004?) I am still amazed at that. Imagine, if you have coins in a jar, and I guess how many (even if I apply some methodology for estimating–counting the number visible… times how many one could fit in the diameter, or some such) and you count out, one by one, how many–which count would you hold as more accurate?

Now, the academic in me finds something else interesting in this article. Dr Said, one of the pollsters, critiques his decision to change his methodology, when it appeared that he was getting the “wrong answer.” Alas, researchers often fall prey to expecting an answer, and questioning their results when they don’t get that answer. In this case, Dr Said even questions whether his subconscious got in the way.

Imagine if US pollsters actually admitted that their results could, perhaps, have been biased by their own subconscious desires to see on candidate elected over another. Hmmmm….

» OS X users celebrate first wild worm | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

Okay, so this is a bit warped. Interestingly, I had just listed to an episode of TWIT (“This week in tech” by Leo Laporte) where someone in the gang of about 5 commented that the security in OS-X was quite weak, but that thankfully no one ever wants to attack it. Perhaps the worm-writer was a member of the TWIT Army feeling sorry for Mac users? While that seems far-fetched, the author perhaps understood that, as this article points out, they would be “gleeful” when it was “born free.”

Perverse pleasures may be pleasurable, but they remain… perverse…

I have had the pleasure of late to read a blog written by a Dean at a community college on the east coast. He has requested his readers to provide inputs on what the ideal, or “Utopian” community college would be like. I found much of the discussion interesting, often for what it did not include (expectations of performance of faculty, for instance–but I have a comment there about that…).

I also found a discussion about bias in academia to be interesting as well. It seems that academics do not believe that there is a liberal bias in academia. Now, one could comment about fish not perceiving water, pigs and mud, etc (the implication being, you do not notice that which surrounds you as being somehow “different.”) I, though, was struck by the similarity between the liberal argument, and the conservatives they argue about.

So, without any further ado, here is my comment and the others, regarding stereotyping by liberals.

Kimmitt:

Do you not notice the stereotyping and bias you yourself introduce? By writing “the conservative movement as a whole has a very strong “know-nothing” component which is inimical to the very concept of education.” you judge a whole group based on a pre-conception (and I doubt you can show research to support your view–besides anecdote.) Given this, you dismiss as “the exception” the few conservatives who point out they are in favor of critical thinking.

This really does sound as offensive to me as “well, you may be a smart woman, but most women…” or perhaps some other stereotype.

It is perhaps in our desire to descriminate, (sic) and stereotype, based on differences, that conservatives and liberals, pin-heads and enlightened, find their true common ground.

This is why my preference for “diversity” in education is not race or gender, or even age based–it’s *idea* based. I want to encourage a diverse idea base, so that ideas can be freely exchanged, and debate encouraged, without stereotyping and dismissing from any group.

Just a thought.

More Questions Raised About Delay in Reporting Cheney Misfire

It’s not much of a surprise that people are wondering about the delay in the news, and finding a conspiracy in every line. I first heard the “breaking news” on the radio while driving back from the lake house on Sunday with my daughter. We actually laughed first, at how the “breaking news” was breaking about every 30 seconds–and the story was inevitably told each time to first lead you to believe Cheney was the one shot.

After that, we heard that the “breaking news” was 24 hours old, and yet the news station continued with the frequent updates. Go figure.

I was actually pleased that it was such a slow news day.

Now, on to the bit at hand-the delay in reporting the story. Sure–the Cheney office, and the White House, didn’t immediately hold a press conference. Does that surprise anyone? When one does something that is somewhat embarrassing, do you usually rush out and tell everyone? I would think not. “Hey, you won’t believe the really stupid thing *I* did today!” (okay, so SOMETIMES we tell the story–but usually not if it involves shooting someone!) It would be different if they had told a different story, or if they had at first denied it, or employed any number of other obfuscation techniques.

They didn’t. They just said “yup.”

Fires Reported at 4 More Ala. Churches – Yahoo! News

This story obviously has sinister overtones. What evil, anti-Christian conspiracy lurks in Alabama? It must be some concerted effort to drive out the Christians from the Bible-belt, and is symptomatic of a deeper running repudiation of the evils of Christianity.

Yeahhhhhh, Right. Or, perhaps, it is one sick puppy.

My bet is on option two.

The Prof.

PS: I found it somewhat interesting that at the end of the article they mention “The nine churches that burned included both predominantly black and predominantly white congregations.” if it was only predominantely black churches, that would of course have been the headline. Remember this story, the next time you read about how many “black churches” are being burned, and how it is symptomatic of the racism that still burns hot in the south, and recall that, when you look at the numbers (in this case, and actually in the FBI reports) the numbers of “white” and “black” churches burned usually run about equal… (DISCLAIMER: I haven’t done the analysis to evaluate what that works out to on a “per capita” basis… feel free to do that work, and report back!)

I felt the desire to actually tackle a “truth or Opinion” exercise. It seems that Leticia seems to think she is always CLEARLY identifying her opinions as such, and her facts are always soundly supported, while your dear professor constantly asserts opinion as fact… So let’s start some textual analysis of our own, shall we? Straight from what has been the posting with perhaps one of the longest comment streams…

Leticia Writes:

Gay Policy Biting The Pentagon on The Butt

I suppose the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy works to an extent, but once someone is outed and the military releases them it certainly calls into question ["certainly" a dogmatic statement, if not one asserting FACT] the rational for the policy, especially when we are at war. We are going through military left and right, either due to death, incapacitation or exhaustion. ["going through the military left and right" seems to assert this as fact. Just how many soldiers does it take to be going through them? Hmmm? Reads like fact--but is of course, OPINION] Recruitment is down and will probably stay low. [Assertion of FACT, but actually again opinion, or at least poorly researched. As Brother_Bones posted on the comments, most services are not having problems recruiting.] Safe to say that policy on gays in the military starts to sound a bit stupid all of a sudden, don’t it? [Sounding stupid--clearly opinion... right? No matter how "safe" she thinks it is to say]

Also, I never quite understood what the difference was between horny homosexuals chasing after each other, and horny heterosexuals chasing after the opposite sex in the military. The military is aware we are now co-ed? One of the best Iraq stories I heard was from a friend in the Army who in between casing empty homes in the area he was designated to cover, found time for some one-on-one with another female soldier right behind a huge cement wall in the Iraqi heat. Of course, the military will probably look at that and think it’s fabulous. [Anecdote--so perhaps factual, but certainly not sufficient data to form a valid opinion] (Maybe “fabulous” is the wrong word.) But the point is, if they are concerned about inappropriate behavior , does it really matter which two sexes are involved?

So what we have here, despite the protestations, and constant obfuscations from the perveyors of smoke, is a blog full of opinions asserted as fact, anecdotes put forward as arcetype, and *I didn’t write it!* (now THAT is Fabulous!)