Still Budgeting Through Footnotes in FY 2011 | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

A few months ago, we pointed out that the Administration was cheating in its Mid-Session Review budget baseline. Essentially it was taking policies which President Obama had signed into law as temporary, under the stimulus bill, and assuming them as permanent. The implication being that, if the policies were a part of the baseline, they wouldn’t need to be paid for when enacted.

Well, the Administration is at it again in their FY 2011 budget submission, but this time they are doing a better job of hiding it.

via crfb.org

No bueno.

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The best and worst Super Bowl ads. – By Seth Stevenson – Slate Magazine

Frankly, I’m getting a little of sick of Google doing everything right.

via slate.com

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The Third & The Seventh

via vimeo.com

Scary good CG. Turn on HD and fullscreen.

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What *really* motivates workers?: – Barking up the wrong tree

Making progress:

Ask leaders what they think makes employees enthusiastic about work, and they’ll tell you in no uncertain terms. In a recent survey we invited more than 600 managers from dozens of companies to rank the impact on employee motivation and emotions of five workplace factors commonly considered significant: recognition, incentives, interpersonal support, support for making progress, and clear goals. “Recognition for good work (either public or private)” came out number one.

Unfortunately, those managers are wrong.

Having just completed a multiyear study tracking the day-to-day activities, emotions, and motivation levels of hundreds of knowledge workers in a wide variety of settings, we now know what the top motivator of performance is—and, amazingly, it’s the factor those survey participants ranked dead last. It’s progress. On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak. On days when they feel they are spinning their wheels or encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment, their moods and motivation are lowest.

via bakadesuyo.com

Nice.

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The Village – Porch Scene HD LOVE STORY!!

via youtube.com

“I do not worry what will happen. Only what needs to be done.”

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Gerard Alexander: Why are liberals so condescending? – washingtonpost.com

Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration. Indeed, all the appeals to bipartisanship notwithstanding, President Obama and other leading liberal voices have joined in a chorus of intellectual condescension.

via washingtonpost.com

I wish my opponents thought my views were “wrong” instead of “obviously wrong, and probably evil.” That is how I feel about theirs.

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Summation: five random secrets to being happy

Think positively about things

Get enough sleep

 Do at least a little physical exercise

Get at least a little sun

Smile a lot

via blog.summation.net

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Don’t Feed the Animals: Reading Report: The Road to Serfdom

Staring at the cover, I tried to predict the contents, imagining myself with a smirk as I flipped each page, acknowledging and disagreeing with every point. By the time I finished reading the second chapter, this was no longer the case.

via dontfeedtheanimals.net

I guess I should read it as well.

good ubuntu gone bad

Pretty unfortunate series of events for the xkcd writer. My favorite quote:

One of them looks, shakes her head, and says my system is like that guy in Star Trek after the transporter accident.

Plans

Part of the reason I haven’t been posting is I plan to move my blog. If you look through my archives, you’ll see lots of ‘plans’ I’ve had, so we’ll see if this comes to fruition.

Most people won’t appreciate the following link. It’s testimony by Dr. T.J. Rodgers to congress, on March 25, 1993. It comes out against President Clinton’s plan that would involve additional government investment in Silicon Valley.

A lot of it sounds familiar to investment in alternative energy now. I got it from a Paul Krugman essay. Here is the testimony.