Notes of Intelligence

Two conservative commentators on MSNBC, after they’re off the air, caught saying what they really think about the veep choice.

Rio Flores — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:39:30 +0000

This is awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg

Photographic Evidence: RNC is a Bust Compared to Obama Rally in Same Venu

Rio Flores — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:03:55 +0000

Comparing the photos, the difference in enthusiasm is amazing. Both photos below are from Xcel Energy Center. The first is the Republican National Convention - this should pretty much be the largest republican event all year. The second is an Obama rally at the same venue on June 3, 2008.

Wow.

and

As Mark Welch put it:

As photographic evidence confirms, there were more empty seats even in prime-time than there are at the end of a Dodger game. At the Democratic Convention, if you didn’t take root two hours before anything important, the fire marshal wouldn’t let you in. Here, you walk right up and find a nice bar stool and table looking directly at the stage. A sign of flagging enthusiasm?

Comparison Republican Convention Soure [Wonkette]
Comparison Obama Source [flickr]

Is the Housing Market As Bad as Mainstream Media Would Have You Believe? Distorting the Numbers

Rio Flores — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:24:44 +0000

The headlines are bad. In May and in June.

May Foreclosure Rates" />

June Forclosure Rates" />

The U.S. housing situation is quite bad, one of the worst markets in history. It’s a complex situation that’s difficult to understand in aggregate. But rather than provide any real data or insight allowing readers can make their own conclusions, mainstream media wraps the most sensational data points they can find in a fear mongering fluff piece that provides no insight whatsoever.

This month, foreclosures were up 53% from a year ago. This means that from June 2007 to June 2008, foreclosures were up 53%. Last month, foreclosures were up by 48% from a year ago. Sadly, as most Americans are competely math illiterate, few understand what that even means.

On a month to month basis, from May to June, that’s actually not as terrible as the headlines would have you believe. If you look deeper into the data, it’s actually siginicantly improved. This month, “One in every 501 U.S. households either lost the home to foreclosure, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction.” Last month, it was one in every 483. That’s a significant improvement.

Even the source for this info, Realty Trac, Inc., agrees that this may be good news. What picture do they paint? “Foreclosure Activity Deflating or Just Deferred?”

“One could argue that this chart shows that the bulk of the properties that were at risk for foreclosure have migrated through the process and are now being repossessed by the foreclosing lenders. There is not a continued massive surge in defaults and auction notices, so once the lenders have disposed of their REO inventory, the real estate market can start to return to normal.”

America’s Insolvency Crisis.

Rio Flores — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:52:30 +0000

Generally, I am not a fan of Glen Beck, but this is a topic that desperately needs more attention.

[via TruthNews]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-16u9×3tfE

It’s worth noting that prior to Bush’s term we only needed $20 trillion to covery our debts, vs. the currently needed $53 Trillion.

Video: Evolution of Media

Rio Flores — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:31:48 +0000

This is a very cool video showing the evolution of advertising and media through the the past century. This was put together by some friends at whatisaggressive.com for use in a presentation by Grey Global Group (an ad agency).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMolkqBekA

Craigslist Having a Hard Time Registering Your Email Privately

Rio Flores — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:06:32 +0000

A friend of mine was registering for a craigslist account, but when he clicked to register, noticed there was someone else’s email address already in the registration field.

Personal Email on Craigslist" />

I looked for myself, hit refresh a few times and found several more email addresses

List of more emails" />

See for yourself: https://accounts.craigslist.org/login/signup

Ebay: The UI Experts

Rio Flores — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:53:06 +0000

What a sad and hopelessly unusable site, Ebay is becoming. I canceled my credit card account, and without any means to bill me, Ebay has now placed my account on hold. After clicking through 3 pages before getting to opportunity to log-in, I read the following message:

This account has been restricted and you will not be able to bid or list on eBay. To avoid further collections please pay your fees today by following these steps:

Log on to http://www.ebay.com

Click ‘Site Map’ at the top of the page

In the ‘My Selling Account’ section, click ‘Make a Single Payment’. Sign in if requested

Select a method to pay your eBay fees and follow the online instructions on page

Great. You couldn’t just give me a link to the “Make Single Payment” page?

The Most Foolish American: George W. Bush?

Rio Flores — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:18:28 +0000

[Via Crooksandliars.com]“Phoenix Fox 10 News runs a poll to see who is “the most foolish American” and the host proclaims—Britney Spears the winner! That wouldn’t be surprising except that the real winner of the poll was…..drum roll please……George Bush….”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g1O4LJNs94

This is surprising, given the traditional bent of fox news viewers. At first, I thought it might be a typo, but it looks legit. If you add up all totals, you’ll get 99%.

“No demographic segment, other than Republicans, was as united in supporting Bush. Conservatives, white evangelical Christians, gun owners, and supporters of the Iraq war all gave Bush fewer votes than did regular Fox News viewers.”

-University of Maryland Study, 2003

Teaching Evolution In the US

Rio Flores — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:18:31 +0000

An interesting, though dated, map from strangemaps on the teaching of evolution. It’s from the March 2002 issue of Scientific American.

And the Simpson’s take…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgPUiNSP69U

The Coffee Wars

Rio Flores — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:43:35 +0000

In a neat article from the March issue of Consumer Reports, the magazine conducted a little coffee taste testing[$]. Visiting two locations per company, Consumer report’s three testers tried coffees in basic black – no flavors, milk, or sugar. “You know what? McDonald’s beat the rest.”

The Results




McDonald’s	Starbucks	Dunkin’ Donuts	Burger King
$1.35	$1.55;	$1.65	$1.40
Decent and moderately strong. Although it lacked the subtle top notes needed to make it rise and shine, it had no flaws.	Strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open.	Weak, watery, and pricier than Starbucks. It was inoffensive, but it had no oomph.	Looked like coffee but tasted more like hot water. It was a little sour, with an unusual hint of chocolate.

CR’s take: Try McDonald’s, which was cheapest and best, or make your own coffee–just call it something special. The other three were all only OK, but for different reasons.

I feel vindicated. While I’m not a huge fan of McDonald’s coffee, I’ve always hated Starbucks in spite of my roommate insistence of it’s awesomeness.