Teach Languages in Public School

A Wall St Journal letter to the editor suggested that computer programming languages be taught in the public schools, just like we no teach foreign languages. This actually is a very good idea. In addition to the obvious employment benefits, knowing how to program gives great insight into how computers work and what they can and cannot do. A citizen today has to interact with computers in daily life. Knowing programming gives the citizen an useful edge in navigating the murky currents of cyberspace. Now that most students own computers, the school would be spared the the expense of setting up a computer lab.
Un fortunately the public school faculty, ed majors, are incapable of teaching programming, and few of them are capable of learning. So it won't happen unless enormous pressure is brought to bear upon the school systems. I don't see much sign of that happening.

All we got was a barograph trace

My barograph shows a dramatic dip, bottoming out a full inch down, around 6 PM last night. Other than a lot of rain, that was it, no wind, no lightening, zippo. We did have some flooding on rivers, but I'm up a thousand feet in Franconia Notch, so the rain all runs down hill away from my house. Except for the Cannon Cloud I'd have sunshine this morning. Electricity stayed on, not even a blip all night. I can tell, when the power goes blip, my clock radio forgets everything, clock setting, alarm setting and station settings. Clock radio was right at it, only at 6:55 the NHPR station in Lebanon 91.3Mhz, was off the air. They recovered and were back on the air by 7:30.
Bottom line, Irene was more TV news hype than hurricane.

More Weather signs

As I write this, the eye of hurricane Irene is inside the city limits of New York, some 300 miles away. Up here we have steady heavy rain which started around midnight. No wind. Barometer dropped from 29.2 inches of mercury to 28.5 over the last 12 hours. Rainwater is pouring off the roof and down the driveway gutter. The Cannon Cloud is down to the top of Gremlin.

So much for weather signs

All day yesterday, a perfectly clear blue sky, gentle breezes, just the right amount of warm. Really nice day. Except for the TV you would never know a hurricane is coming. The TV has the projected storm track coming right up the Connecticut River valley and going over our heads on Sunday. This mornings Wall St Journal has about the same track, maybe a few miles to the west, and maybe not til Sunday night.

Your Tax Dollars at work.

Federal agents raided Gibson Guitar in Memphis and Nashville. They claimed that some rare wood purchased by Gibson to make guitars didn't have enough paperwork. Gibson did have paperwork but the Feds claimed it wasn't good enough. The Feds seized pallets of wood, electronic files, and guitars.
I'm sure that helped Gibson maintain their production schedules, what with raw materials, and finished goods swiped. This is part of Obama's plan to get the economy moving again.
Plus, musicians now worry that taking a wood instrument to a concert will get it seized. The Feds will seize an antique instrument made with protected species of wood unless the owner has paperwork proving that the instrument was made before the wood became protected.
Your tax dollars at work.

Tending to your knitting, Bankers version

American Home Mortgage files suit against Lender Processing Services, a paper pusher for hire. AHM charges that Lender Processing improperly signed mortgage documents in its behalf and triggered millions of dollars of lawsuits as a result. AHM said that it incorrectly processed 30,000 mortgages in all 50 states, causing a failure in the foreclosure[s].
Wow. Talk about farming out the core of your business to the lowest bidder. Mortgage is their middle name. Mortgaging means paying out large amounts of cash in return for the legal right to seize the property if the borrower doesn't pay up. Legal right is slippery and the paper work must be done just so or it doesn't work when you need it.
The suits at AHM were dumb enough to farm out this crucial part of the business to a third party, giving up control of the process to a hired gun. Dumb and Dumber. The key parts of your business ought to be done in house so you can make sure it is done right.
The suits probably laid off a few AHM back office workers and thought they were saving money. But it cost them foreclosure on 30,000 houses, worth $30 billion at a guess. I'm sure AHM is so glad they hired some MBA's to foul things up. Laying off those few back office workers didn't save them $30 billion.

Is it coming? Hurricane signs

Sky in Franconia Notch was crystal clear and blue yesterday morning. By evening a high thin cloud layer, and some cirrus clouds had moved in. Wind picked up so much I had to furl the sun umbrella on the deck lest it be blown away, and take in the flag. Today we have a solid overcast (the good old Cannon Cloud is back) and it's getting warmer and moister.
So much for junior Maine Guide weather signs. The TV shows a blizzard of computer predicted tracks making landfall any where from the Carolinas to Cape Cod. We are 150 miles inland from Long Island Sound, the most likely hurricane track to hit up here. After that much overland travel, it ought to be nothing more than a lot of rain.
So I took stock and went to the store. Hit the State Liquor Store and then Mac's Market, got enough to go til Sunday in case the weather gets really ugly. It's nice to sit back and watch the rain fall knowing you don't have to go out food shopping in it.