Geller's contact info...

Would anyone who has Matt Geller's contact info please send it to me in an e-mail? I have his business card somewhere, but it went into a box when I moved my stuff to CT in August, and now I'm not sure which box it's in. Now that I work within walking distance of the Brooklyn Bridge, I'd love to get in touch with him....

At Long Last...

...I'm sorry to knock Chris' post off the top, because I also think Departed is awesome and well-worth the price of a ticket, but...

I FINALLY HAVE A JOB IN NEW YORK!

I will be working on a long-term engagement with the NYPD for my current employer. 16 months, $5M, with options running out to five years. And, I will be leading a large chunk of the work. Oh, sweet relief!

I will begin on Monday, but will be back to DC at least once or twice in the next two weeks to wrap up my professional responsibilities in DC.

The next phase begins................

Must See Movie

I don't normally recommend movies to people - mostly because I really don't go to see too many movies - but for this crowd, The Departed is a must see. Great action, great one-liners. Recommend against taking your kids.

Go see it.

What Have You Done, YellowFever?

Have you broken the heart of some Guangdong warlord's daughter? Cause they're looking for you.

The Assassination Game Grows Up...

Check out this article. The Assassination Game is now being played on the streets of New York. Awesome.

In other news, no baby yet. Argh.

Minor Modification

There is to be a shindig in my honor on Friday night from 7 PM to 9 PM. (Those local to DC will be receiving emails shortly.) What say you? Drinking after 9? Or drinking on Saturday? Either way, Nanny's is the current selection. I am open to suggestion/ridicule/advice.

Of Logical Fallacies and Lazy Reporting

[Sorry for the long post – important info that Josh is coming to town is below.]

If there is one aspect of newspaper reporting that is almost always wrong, it is linking campaign contributions to legislative actions. And this story on the front page of the Post today does it once again.

Short version of the story: Members of Congress sponsor legislation suspending tariffs on certain imported goods. The beneficiaries of these suspensions are rarely identified, and the suspensions themselves rarely gain public notice.

Here’s the paragraph that riled me:

“Lawmakers usually introduce the provisions at the behest of companies in their districts. Many of those companies and their executives have given federal campaign contributions totaling millions of dollars.”

Well, if this isn’t a case of the logical fallacy “correlation implies causality”, I don’t know what is.

Basically, the reporter is arguing that because the companies and executives have given federal campaign contributions, the lawmakers introduced the tariff suspension bills. Do you think there could be another reason? I do. And it’s right in the same paragraph – “companies in their districts.”

Now I know there are jerkasses who might introduce legislation in return for campaign contributions. But, in my experience, the driver of an action like the one described in the article is almost always helping a constituent(s).

In fact, in each case cited in the article, a lawmaker is acting on behalf of a constituent company (even if it is ultimately owned by a foreign corporation). Show me an example of a lawmaker acting for no other reason than campaign contributions, then including campaign contribution data becomes relevant.

Including the above sentence and further data about campaign contributions in this article is not only a logical fallacy, but it’s lazy reporting that shows a reporter or his editor falling back on their own biases about how and why legislation is introduced and passed. It’s weak and should be called out.

One other thought: the more interesting article would have been about how long these tariffs that are being suspended have been in place and whether the rationale for imposing them in the first place still exists. I remember on the Hill working on an issue related to steel tariffs, some of which had been around since the early 90s. And the rationale for the imposition of some of those tariffs just no longer existed. But the tariffs were still there because tariffs and duties just rarely go away. I can only imagine how long and why some of the tariffs were in place that were cited in the article.

But when you’re busy impugning the motives of big corporations and Members of Congress, that kind of information just gets in the way.

Drinky Poo

I'm in town the weekend of the 29th through the 1st. Drinking Friday night?

Speaking of looking fetching...

I don't. But she does.

Happy Anniversary...

...to Matt Lewis, who 5 years ago today received a job offer from his employer. He still works there today!

... plus which, it enabled Matt and Amanda to support my unemployment for what turned out to be another 3 months with many meals of beef stroganoff and chicken parmigiana and other Atkins-friendly meals.

Oh, and to my roommate, Zesty, who put up with me, and Cherie, and having Matt sleeping on the floor, all summer long.

Here's to you, boys.

Why Snyder, You Look Fetching...

...in the photo of you in the Class Notes section of the latest American Magazine.

And in other Class Notes news, the Bad Captain is sure to have his heart broken by the knowledge that Jenny Sublett is now Jenny Sublett Gavito.

Chaps

Your email is bouncing. WTF, mate?

Crocodile Hunter, RIP

Killed by stingray.

Does anyone know AU alum Michael Benny?

He's now a reporter with our local CBS affiliate.

e-mail me if you have knowledge of him...

Thanks.

Confirmed.

The bastard called me about it. Keiper insisted on photographic evidence. I present the following:

Exit polls indicate that...

...Stanley may have got hisself married in the last few days.

We'll update as the official returns come in.

Unmitigated spam (leavened with hostility)

Anybody want a CR-V?

I know, I know... all of you who've ever spent any time in ours have felt compelled to go out and buy one of your own. It must say something about what nice, capable, fuel-efficient vehicles they are.

In any case, ours is on the way out, to be replaced by a big goddamn evil fuel-sucking Chevy Suburban (with real cow interior and baby seal eye headlights). Reason? I can't haul enough decoys, guns, boats, or dogs in the CR-V to wreak the kind of havoc and mayhem I'd like to on the east coast waterfowl population. Plus the bloodstains come out of the stain-resistant, pewter-grey interior way too easy, I want something that really shows off the scarlet hues and chunks of viscera.

Any bleeding heart limpdicks that don't like my choice of vehicles or pursuits can kiss my ass.

NO, seriously, kiss it. Now.

The rest of you, take a look at this -- 2002 EX (the loaded model with all wheel drive, side air bags, traction control, keyless, sunroof, and all the other safety and comfort goodies). It's got 50K on it, new tires, in good shape, and for those who care, has lots of room for baby seats and groceries, strollers, and diaper bags. They sell locally for $15-18K, I've got it listed for $15,500, but I'll take less and deliver to DC for someone I know -- if you know anyone that wants one, lemme know.

Pardon the unmitigated spam. Now back to our regularly scheduled rage.

Freegans

I first read an article about "freegans" when I was in Colorado this summer. I had blocked it out until now. Thank you, Washington Post.

Heh.

The latest absurdity....

The (few) readers of this blog know that I work for a large consulting firm. It shall remain nameless during this post. You also know that from time to time, I encounter absurd and incompetent behaviors that I must share with you.

So it is today. I currently work on a project where my firm actually has two teams working on different contracts supporting two clients who play different, sometimes competing, sometimes antagonistic roles on this project.

The team I am NOT on produces a list of certain information that is updated on approximately a monthly basis -- some times it's updated more frequently. Every month, the same information gets updated in the same way. Somehow, when this other team tries to update its list, it always gets the list wrong. And I mean always -- since I took over the team lead role 9 months ago, it's never, ever been right.

Late last week, the latest list update came out...and was wrong. In a number of places. In a number of ways.

The role I play on this project requires me to look out for certain government interest -- including making sure that this list is done correctly.

So, yesterday, I was approximately the third person to point out to a government manager that the list was wrong -- for the 15th time in a row.

Last night, I got an e-mail from a manager on the other consulting firm team, complaining about my actions, telling me that I'd put them "on the defensive with the client".

I called this manager and said, "No. I didn't put you on the defensive. First of all, two government personnel reported this problem and complained about it before I got around to it. Second, your own actions put you on the defensive. What put you on the defensive is the fact that your team has had nearly a year to get this process down, and its product right, and it hasn't. As a result, you and your team have created a reputational problem for yourselves and the firm. The government believes that you do not exercise quality control over your products. And judging by the result, I would have to agree with them. Please, next time, don't shoot the messenger. Look to yourself before you come after me."

I hate incompetence.