Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ianrandalstrock's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, November 5th, 2009
11:58 pm	Election post-mortem Been meaning to post, but kinda too busy: it seems I was right in my predictions as to who would win the city-wide elections in New York City (not the men I wanted, but those I predicted). The big surprise was that Mayor Bloomberg got only 51% of the vote (compared to Bill Thompson's 46%). Pundits are saying Bloomberg spent about $175-$200 per vote he received with his massive, personally financed campaign. In other words, if he'd paid everyone who voted (whether they voted for him or against him) $100, he would have spent less money, and more directly affected the economy of New York City for the better. Oh well. Polls had Bloomberg running 15-20% ahead in the weeks and days before the election. For him to win by such a slim margin (after outspending his less-qualified opponent by like 15-to-1) is a very loud signal from the voters. Originally, I'd planned to write this post saying "Now that he's won a third term by such a large margin, it's pretty clear that we the people are probably willing to overturn term limits, and we ought to put the question on the ballot." But now, seeing that he won by such a slim margin, it tells me my fellow citizens really do think term limits are a good idea (I so disagree with them on that point). In the end, I'm glad Bloomberg won (I really didn't think I'd get enough votes to take it), because he was the best choice of those on the ballot. But now, I'm just a little worried: what's the next law he'll decide he can ignore? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
5:16 pm	Remember, if you want to complain, don't vote. I just got back from voting. See previous post for how I voted. But something I've been hearing frequently today (well, other than the avalanche of "Vote Bloomberg" ads: I really, REALLY hope the printers and recording studios he used are all in New York City) is the refrain "Remember, if you don't vote, you can't complain." They're wrong! If you vote, not only are you expressing your opinion, but you're agreeing to accept the outcome of the election, whether your choice wins or not. It's just like buying insurance: if you kick in your money, you have the right to take some out under given circumstances (you might not get any back, but you might). But if you don't kick in, you're not part of the pool, and you're not bound by its strictures. If you don't vote, you're saying "I disagree with the whole system. I'm going to complain about it because I want something different." If you vote, you'll have to abide by the will of the majority. Oh, and my predictions for the election? I predict that not one of the candidates for whom I voted will win election. I expect Bloomberg to be re-elected, Bill de Blasio to win the race for Public Advocate, and John Liu to be elected Comptroller. We'll see… (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
7:11 pm	Election suggestions Tomorrow is Election Day here in New York City (and many other places, as well, but I've been kind of focused on the local stuff). For my NYC readers, here's my attempt to influence your vote. Earlier in the year, I talked a number of times about Mayor Bloomberg's despicable ignoring of New York City's term limits law (adopted by public referendum, twice). And even though I disagree with the concept of term limits, I'm even more worried by a politician who ignores laws adopted by public referendum. Michael Bloomberg has campaigned on a platform of "re-elect me, because I can help the economy get better." In that, he was mostly right: he's been spending on the order of a million dollars a day on his re-election campaign, and if he's been spending that money in New York City, his campaign really has been good for the economy (heck, I got two phone calls and one in-person visit from his campaign today). And of all the announced candidates, he really is the most qualified for the job, but I just can't trust that he'll decide to step down in four years if we elect to him a third term tomorrow. On the other hand, I don't think any of the other announced candidates would be good mayors (although I have to give comedy points to Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Francisca Willar, who says the most important issue she'd address as mayor is "The billionaires must pay for the economic costs. A 5 percent tax on all wealth over $100 million would alone raise over $8 billion a year from the city's 55 billionaires alone; if they try to leave the city, their property and wealth should be confiscated."—I read that campaign statement and laughed at her apparently tenuous grasp on reality in favor of "the world is what I want it be"). So I'll be writing in my own name for mayor tomorrow. Feel free to join me: Ian Randal Strock for Mayor of New York City. For Public Advocate, I'm going to vote for Jim Lesczynski, who says the most important issue he'd address as Public Advocate would be to "eliminate the position of Public Advocate". For Comptroller, I'm voting for Joe Mendola. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
11:27 pm	Is it sports, entertainment, or advertising? And who's paying who for what? If, every time the newscaster mentions tomorrow's New York City Marathon, he calls it "The ING New York City Marathon", has he stopped reporting the news for instead broadcasting an advertisement? I find it a little annoying. Then again, I also don't like calling New Shea Stadium "City Field". It's kind of up there with the fact that what used to be "the Super Bowl" is now "the Big Game" everywhere except for companies that have paid the NFL enough money. The NFL gets pissed if someone hasn't paid them money but uses the term Super Bowl, but how would they respond if the news media said "You know what? This is entertainment, not news. If you want us to talk about it, buy an ad."? (Yeah, I've got the news on the tv while I'm sitting here editing.) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
5:39 pm	Ares flies. Why am I not completely excited? NASA launched the new rocket, which they're planning to use as the next-generation manned launcher, on Wednesday. The Ares I-X flew well, doing what it was supposed to, and I just watched the video on NASA's web site. Now I'm trying to figure out why I'm not nearly so excited by this launch as I've been for nearly every other rocket launch I've known about. I think it boils down to the fact that this feels like a step backward in terms of launch technology. We're going from the rebuildable Space Shuttle back to a disposable system. And we're going from a highly technical, broadly capable vehicle (the shuttle itself) to the older can for the human spam (just a capsule atop a firecracker). I guess it makes more sense: design a craft for each mission (one for people, one for cargo, etc.) than the "try to be everything for every mission" shuttle, but still… I just don't know. On yet another hand, NASA claims this vehicle will be able to take people farther out into space than the shuttle could, and that's a good thing. But again, just as in the 1960s, it seems like a vehicle designed for only one (or possibly two) purposes, but which can not be modified, or part of a larger program. If instead NASA was building an orbital transfer space station (something in an equatorial orbit, rather than the high-inclination the ISS requires to cover the Russian launch site), it could be used for in-orbit science (the claim for the ISS), as well as a staging base for much bigger manned missions to the Moon (one of the claims NASA is putting forth for the new launch system), as well as many other things. I guess I'm disappointed because Ares is, at best, just an incremental improvement in US space launch capability. Heck, even the current shuttle system could be so much more if political realities had allowed it to be. Nevertheless, it was a pretty launch, and I'm looking forward to the first manned flight, whenever that will be. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
5:46 pm	Improving competitive skating Kit was watching figure skating today, and at one point, the announcers said something like "We'll be back after this break with the final six skaters for the open skate." I wondered how much more entertaining the figure skating would be if all six were on the ice at the same time (as they were during the warm-up period, only more so). Since deductions are taken for falls and such, it would make figure skating much more competitive, wouldn't it? I'd watch it. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
7:31 pm	Baking darker The baking is coming along nicely at KitBakes.com, but we've realized (with a little help from our friends) that in order to really expand, really grow as a business, we need to stand out from the crowd. And we think we've found our niche. Dark Desserts will be offering "Sugar with an Attitude". In other words "It's not just sweetness and light." But to truly represent the new division of the baking business, we need a good logo to go with it. So we're running a "Design the Dark Desserts Logo" contest. Details are available here. Thanks for your support thus far. Do remember, please to tell your friends we're baking, and baking good stuff. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 19th, 2009
6:49 pm	We've started baking Quick update on the new business, which I announced in this post: Kit and I are gratified by your rapid response. We're by no means overwhelmed with orders, but we have received a few at KitBakes.com. I was surprised that the first order wasn't for brownies, it was for pumpkin bread. On the other hand, it took us only three orders to have at least one order for each of the four products (pumpkin bread, then brownies, and the third order requested mondel bread, cookies, and pumpkin bread). All the orders will be baked and shipped very soon (we're baking fresh to the order, so nothing sits around here), and looking forward to the business growing. We've also received some… interesting… suggestions from a friend that we're going to be looking at to expand the business in the coming days. More news when we make decisions. Thanks, again, for your support, and for telling your friends. Also, something that isn't mentioned on the web site: if you want a bulk order (perhaps to cater a party, or to give many gifts), and live in New York City, contact us to see what we can do about delivery. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 16th, 2009
8:33 pm	Kit bakes, and bakes, and bakes... They say the economy's improving, but not everywhere, and not all that fast. What we need, to really make things better, is chocolate! Those of you who've tasted Kit's brownies and cookies know that she can BAKE. And we've decided to run our own economic stimulus project. Thus, I present www.KitBakes.com. We're asking (all right, begging) you to take a look at the site (which is little more than a glorified menu), and then think of your friends and family members who would just love to get a shipment of Kit-baked deliciousness. If you're willing, you might also tell said family and friends to check out the site themselves. We're not asking for charity, not looking for donations: we're selling a product for which we've already received rave reviews. Thanks for your attention. We wish you happy holidays, and the warmest of gooey, yummy brownies… (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
1:17 pm	don't you just hate it... This is so sad, and so true: the evolution of the marketing department in publishing. Read and groan: "Subject: Our Marketing Plan" by Ellis Weiner in The New Yorker. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
2:34 pm	Heinlein predicted it, again Just heard this story on WINS (though the link is to Fox News) about concerns over the new hybrid cars. Specifically, the National Federation of the Blind is warning that the new hybrids are too quiet, taking away a warning cue from the visually impaired and possibly endangering blind pedestrians who won't know to not cross the street. Discussions are now ongoing over some sort of auditory warning signal. It wasn't for the same reason, but in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Robert A. Heinlein had a modern vehicle without an internal combustion engine using a recording to sound like an old Tin Lizzy. (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
10:57 pm	Outta here Heading off line for the weekend. To Albany in the morning for Albacon. Hope to see some of you there. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
10:44 pm	Thomas Sowell's The Housing Boom and Bust: ignorance really would have been bliss The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell Basic Books, $24.95, 184pp, hc, 9780465018802. Economics. This is the type of book that is both exhilarating and frustrating to read. Exhilarating because it's wonderful to find other people who can think clearly and rationally, and cut through the political rhetoric and bullshit to get at the heart of the matter. It's frustrating because it points out just how screwed up we've allowed our economy to get by simply looking away and letting politicians do what they want (while they may say it's for the good of whatever problem they're trying to solve, they don't have a clue; but they do know how to operate the system to increase their own power and reach, and to maintain their offices). In this case, Dr. Sowell (a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution) looks at the recent housing crisis and boils down its causes, not to a simple "this action caused that", but to the less noticed, more important causes. Among them, land-use restrictions which caused housing prices to rise for no rational reason. He also points to the fact that the vast "crisis" of which the news media and government loved to speak was far more limited than any of them would have cared to tell us (how many times did you hear housing prices were skyrocketing in Idaho, or Oklahoma…). Even more riveting (though obvious after reading the book) is the recent religious drive for "affordable housing" and governmental pressure forcing banks to give mortgages to those who had no chance of repaying them. In short, Sowell says government inserting itself where it wasn't needed, putting pressure on banks, was a major cause of the housing/mortgage crisis (and the full economic mess that followed it), and once the crisis was recognized, governmental response was "we need to involve the government more in these decisions." Sowell is pretty even-handed in spreading the blame around—neither the Republicans nor the Democrats come out looking all that good—though he has special recognition of the work of Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd. He also reminds us that there's nothing better than a crisis for a ready government to insinuate itself even further into places where it isn't wanted or needed. It's difficult to read a book like this, knowing that the author is just the type of person we'd love to have involved making the decisions of the government, and knowing that there's absolutely no way such a person could ever get elected. If you've heard anything about housing in the last few years, or been affected by what happened in the economy, pick up this book and give it a read. It won't fix what ails you, but it'll help you focus and direct your anger where it ought to be. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 5th, 2009
10:16 pm	Albacon this weekend I'll be in Albany, New York, this weekend for Albacon. The schedule has been finalized, so I know what I'll be doing. If you're going to be there, look for me at: Friday at 5PM: "Self Publishing Pros and Cons" with Carl Frederick, Peter Huston, and Eugene Mirabelli. Saturday at 1PM: "Can Hollywood do thoughtful SF?" with J.A. Fludd, Allen Steele, Alan F. Beck, jan howard finder, and Ron Drummond. Saturday at 4PM: "Is SF Becoming Mainstream?" with David Hartwell, S.C. Butler, and Chuck Rothman. Sunday at 11AM: "The Future of Magazine Publishing" with Susan Hanniford Crowley, Carl Frederick, and Alan F. Beck. Sunday at 2PM: "Characters vs. Science" with S.C. Butler, Chuck Rothman, and Andre Lieven. I'll also be at the Ice Cream Social Friday at 8PM. And since I don't have a dealer table at this con, I'll be at loose ends the whole rest of the con. So look me up, entertain me, keep me company, and let me tell you about my business ventures, and how you (yes, you) can be a part of them. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
3:33 pm	Ian's words, in Polish For those of you who read Polish better than English (I can't imagine there are too many of you who read my blog and fit into that category), a review I wrote of Douglas Clegg's Isis on SFScope has been translated into Polish and published here, by Carpe Noctem. Any Polish speakers out there want to see if they did a good job? Thanks. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
11:55 pm	Erte art gallery? I'm looking for a gallery that specializes in works by Erte (buying and selling), preferably in New York, and my google-fu is failing me. Anyone have any suggestions (actual places, or listings of such places)? Thanks, (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
9:44 pm	Some notes on my life I really wasn't fishing for them, but thanks for the sympathy posts. What I actually meant was the typical freelancer's lament: there's been a lot of things keeping me very busy, but almost none of them bringing in money. The rest of you freelancers know what I'm talking about. And those of you who aren't, well, this is one of the times when I envy those of you with regular 9-to-5s. But life hasn't been all bad, and there've been some nice things happening lately: The BWAC Art Show (which runs through the 25th of October) opened on schedule, and included my work. Kit took this photo of me with my PhototalesTM during the opening: A friend came into town (without giving me any advance warning), and we had dinner and spent a pleasant evening catching up. We went to the opening of the New York Public Library's show, Mapping New York's Shoreline, 1609-2009, which has some wonderful pieces on display (maps and documents going all the way back to 1609), and is laid out very well. It's impressive, and open to the public for free, until next June. Finally (or at least, most recently), I felt the urge for meringue cookies, but unlike when I usually have such urges, I googled a couple of recipes, found this one, and whipped up (literally) a batch of them. Really easy, and just what I wanted, at the moment. For those of you trying the recipe: the "flavoring extract" is vanilla (and I went heavy on the vanilla, as I usually do). I didn't have parchment paper, but just put right on the ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for three hours at 200 degrees, and the blobs of meringue cookies-to-be don't do anything: they don't spread, move, slump, change shape, nothing. They just sit there, getting harder (as they should). After the three hours, I let the tray sit in the open, turned-off oven for about 10 minutes to get down to room temperature, and then a spatula just popped them off the sheet. Yum! Well, I'm still busy, still looking for paying work (if you know anyone in need of a freelance editor, point them at me; anyone with a niche book to publish, I may be interested; anyone interested in hiring a smart intellectual synthesist, I'm available), but really, no need to worry about big unnamed scaries. Thanks. (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
5:07 pm	William Safire, 1929-2009 Another one to remember this Yom Kippur. Writer, speechwriter, pundit, linguist William Safire has died (see this New York Times obituary). One speech the obit doesn't mention was one that was never given: Safire wrote President Nixon's (unused) speech in case the crew of Apollo 11 had been unable to leave the surface of the Moon. The Smoking Gun web site has a copy of it at this link. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 25th, 2009
10:16 pm	Ertugrul Osman (1912-2009) Sorry to have been so quiet recently: it's been a difficult time here. I'm hoping to get back to my usual voluble self in a few days. In the meantime, here's a link to an interesting obituary in the New York Times: Ertugrul Osman, Link to Ottoman Dynasty, Dies at 97. Also, see this article published three years ago. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
1:30 pm	Tax increase, unfunded mandate, whatever Just saw President Obama on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He didn't say much of anything new, but then again, who really expected he would (he's said so much on his main topic—health insurance reform—that there isn't much else he could say about it). But what caught my ear this morning was George's question that "Isn't requiring people to purchase health insurance a tax increase?" And the President's reply that it's not a tax increase, because if an uninsured person needs health care, everyone has to pay. Then he went on to say "It's just like car insurance. Pretty much everyone has to have it, and we all know it's there in case we get in an accident." He said that, and I stumbled: you only need car insurance if you own a car. But there's no requirement to own a car, and without a car, you don't need to carry car insurance. I'm not saying it's a good idea to not have health insurance, but saying "okay, everyone is required to purchase health insurance" isn't reform: it's just the government saying "you have to spend this money." It's not a tax increase, but it's surely an unfunded mandate (yeah, yeah, "unfunded mandate" means requiring a smaller level of government to spend money, not people, but it feels the same). Later, in the discussion section, Peggy Noonan also made an interesting point: that the confusion over "health care reform" isn't racism or hatred, but confusion, because to most of the population, "health care reform" wasn't the key issue when Obama took office. We're worried about a bad economy, about job security or insecurity, about two wars, and several other major problems. Then, to quote Noonan, this new President comes along and says "No, the focus is health care reform. It's the most important thing we have to deal with right now," and to many people, it's a complete non sequitur. (Comment on this)