Skip, Author at Granite Grok

RIP, Ken Olsen

September 26, 2018February 8, 2011 Skip

One of the things I ran across yesterday was a notice that Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corp ("DEC") had passed away on Sunday. He single handedly started what became the mini-computer revolution; when all of that period’s computers were housed in dedicated rooms with raised floors, miles of cabling, mag tapes, and … Read more

Data Point: A Lefty’s view of the Republican Prez 2012 universe:

September 26, 2018February 7, 2011 Skip

(H/T: Hugh Hewitt). From the NYT article he references: With that said, it is exceptionally important to consider how the candidates are positioned relative to one another. Too often, I see analyses of candidates that operate through what I’d call a checkbox paradigm, tallying up individual candidates’ strengths and weaknesses but not thinking deeply about … Read more

Tippy Jettiness – THAT was embarrasing!

September 26, 2018February 7, 2011 Skip

Gizmodo had a quick video of an F16 moving too close to a B-1B on a taxiway. Just like in Mythbusters where the taxi car, minivan, and bus are blown over by a commercial jet, this pilot learned a lesson as the jet….aw, heck, you’re smart… Doesn’t say what happened to the fighter jockey…. (H/T: … Read more

Data Points – just a lot fewer of them?

September 26, 2018February 7, 2011 Skip

From the American Spectator: This gem from Spain — Madrid’s mayor proclaimed massive air pollution reductions except, ah, "The state prosecutor’s office found that in 2009 the Madrid municipality had quietly moved nearly half its pollution sensors from traffic-clogged streets in the city centre to parks and gardens" — reminds us of the cheapest way … Read more

Civil Political Discoure – an interview with The Hippo

September 26, 2018February 7, 2011 Skip

Bumped and Updated:I sent an email to Jeff wondering if the piece had ever been published – it was in the
Jan 27th version of the Hippo.
Fairly well done; all that one can ask is that you get quoted correctly and fairly – I was. It was amusing that the person chosen to be my ‘opposite’ was NH State Senator Lou D’Allesandro. BTW, when the Hippo didn’t work too well, Jeff suggested this
one.
=========================================================================

Timing can be everything. Earlier yesterday, Jeff Mucciarone from The Hippo (weekly out of Manchester, NH) emailed me:

I’m taking a look at the political discourse in New Hampshire to see if folks think it’s changed at all in recent years. A lot is obviously being made of the tone of political discourse, particularly at the national level. I wanted to get your thoughts on how hostile or not the discourse is here in NH? Have you seen it change at all?

Certainly the "national pundit / political environment" is all abuzz about this. Indeed, here in NH is, at least on the R side right now, is a tad "heated" as well and I chuckled as I read the email. I responded "OK" but also informed Jeff that since The Hippo had not treated the ‘Grok all that well in the past, #1 ground rule was that I would be recording the conversation as a backup to what could be written. He said fine and we had a great conversation! Permission was also given to post it up, so here it is:

Summary and Links:

Like a large river, there are different currents of discourse depending on the level (e.g., national, state, county, or local), the issue, and the place (e.g., person to person, media, legislatures, or blogosphere) with different norms and customs. When they mix, problems happen.

While I don’t think that we are any more or less obnoxious than other eras, what IS different is the notion Political ~~Castration~~ Correctness which is nothing more than an attempt to:

become a victim
portray "the other side" as a Neanderthal, cold hearted, or stupid
win the argument, not by reason, but by demagoguery and shame

The discussion is much larger, I think as everyday life has become much more politicized. Why? As Government gets larger, and laws, rules, and regulations become more intrusive, there is more fighting as to what is right or not. My feeling is that if government was much smaller and played less of a role in everyday living, the level / amount of political talk would probably go down (as WE would get to decide what happens instead of some branch of Govt).

It is also a function of self-responsibility (or lack thereof). EVERYone can decide to use certain words, tone, or volume. It is a dodge to blame your actions on others – while there is truth in that some folks act different when alone than when in a mob, the decision to join the mob is still a core "ME" decision. We, as a society, are too apt to place blame on others and not on ourselves.

I had prepped a couple of links on…