The Rogers News

Category: Commentary

  • Cell Phone Improvement

    I want a cell phone company that allows me to access the content on my phone from the internet. For example, I want an online repository of my text message, phone numbers, photos, etc. I like to save some text messages, but it’s a pain in the ass to remember which ones and to copy them to a file on my computer, etc. And if I lose my phone, it would be nice to have an automatic backup copy that I could access.

    Basically, the cellphone market should (and probably is) do its best to copy the Web 2.0 trend and the move of vital application online. Considering that you can now email, share photos, IM, maintain a calendar, and create word documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations online, I think I’m not asking too much with phones.

  • Subway Systems to Scale

    This is really cool…subway systems of the world, presented on the same scale.

    The San Fransisco subway looks the biggest, but it isn’t very “dense.” London’s on the other hand is large and a lot “denser.” And it looks like Marseille is the smallest system. My favorite is the Beijing subway, which is just a straight line with a square that intersects it. I look forward to traveling on it this summer.

    It would be interesting if someone would animate the construction of each system against time and include some socio-economic data regarding whether the subway system drove development of suburban areas or if it responded to it.

    WMATA, the subway system that serves Washington D.C. and the surrounding area, is planning to extend the Orange Line further west as far as Dulles International Airport. I used to work beyond the reaches of the Orange Line, and I and my many co-workers who lived in D.C. would have used the metro everyday if it had reached our office in Herndon, VA. As it is now, the metro goes about half-way out. There is huge growth along the route of the proposed Orange Line, and the traffic was always horrendous both to and from work. So it seems the extension would supply vital demand for metro transport.

    Here’s another version.

    Some subways I’ve traveled on:

    * NYC – MTA
    * Chicago – CTA
    * Paris – RATP
    * Wash DC – WMATA
    * Los Angeles – MTA

  • Movie: Spider Man 3

    I saw Spider-man 3 last night and was disappointed. Not because the movie wasn’t good, but because it failed to capture my imagination. I wasn’t drawn into a state of disbelief to a point where I actually thought a man in a spider suit doing flips around NYC was entertaining.

    I left questioning whether action hero movies can still entertain me, which makes me sound lame. I want to be entertained by superheroes. I want to want to play ninja like I did after seeing the original TMNT movies years ago – jumping around in the woods with a stick hitting things and screaming, “Cowabunga.”

    I’m hoping there isn’t a sequel, and I will think a lot harder about paying to see another action hero movie. Sad, but true.

  • University of Michigan Admissions

    In 2003, three years after I had been admitted to the University of Michigan, the constitutionality of the points based admissions process was challenged. The case, Gratz v. Bollinger, reached the Supreme Court. The admissions process was held to be unconstitutional because it was not narrowly tailored enough to not violate the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the United State Constitution.

    You need 100 points to be admitted.

    Academic factors (100 points):

    • 80 – High school GPA
    • 12 – ACT or SAT score
    • 10 – Quality of high school
    • 8 – Strength of high school curriculum

    Non-academic factors (40 points):

    • 10 – In-state resident
    • 4 – Alumni relationships
    • 1 – Outstanding essay
    • 5 – Personal achievement
    • 20 – Other, including
      • Socioeconomic disadvantage
      • Underrepresented minority
      • Athletic recruitment
      • Provost’s discretion

    Looking back, I spent way too much time on my essay.

  • Academic Cred?

    Robin Hanson posits that we go to school both to learn and to get credentials for learning. Depending on the type of person you are, the value of either may vary.

    The basic assumption is that credentials indicate how much you’ve learned, however I believe there is a flaw in this reasoning. Credentials (grades, test scores, etc.) may indicate how much you have learned, but more likely they indicate how well you are able to learn. And from my experience the later is as important as the former. I read somewhere that education exists to teach us to tolerate undertaking tasks that we abhor. That’s a bit pessimistic, but there is some truth in it.

    Are we hired for our knowledge or for our ability to acquire knowledge? It probably varies based on the position. High skill positions will likely require you to implement the tools acquired while in school, however a firm often requires you to reformat your knowledge. In other words, if you’re better able to adapt and learn their process you will excel.

    Hanson suggests to grad students that they focus on content instead of format. That is great advice that I wholeheartedly agree with, however my personal experience is mixed. Compelling content was vastly more important that the format it was presented in when I worked at a digital entertainment company. Whereas in law school there is a huge amount of emphasis on format and structure – it’s suffocating at times, yet it is in the interest of clarity and efficiency.

    The balance between learning for the sake of learning and learning to excel often conflict, and that has proved to be one of the most difficult things to cope with in law school. But the pursuit is rewarding and keeping the big picture in mind helps when you lose focus of the content and get stuck in the format.

  • Fickle Baby Law

    5th century:

    Mommy, where do unbaptized babies go?

    Hell.

    Last week:

    Mommy, where do unbaptized babies go?

    Limbo.

    This week:

    Mommy, where do unbaptized babies go?

    Heaven.

    (If I was a newborn, I would be happy.)

  • Best President of My Life

    The other day someone asked me how I would rank the US Presidents during my lifetime? At first, it seemed like an easy question. Only four guys to put in order. But the more I thought about it, the more disoriented I became. Look at who I have to choose from: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William Clinton, and George W. Bush. Although all four of these men are deserving of the respect that should be granted to a president, they are by no means great presidents. Not like Washington, Lincoln, or even Roosevelt.

    Further clouding my decision is the fact that I don’t remember a single thing Reagan or the elder Bush did. I was far more interested in Cheeze Whiz and Voltron than politics. And Clinton, I couldn’t vote for. Although he was entertaining and the economy did well during his terms (more likely a coincidence than a causation). And while the current president has had a lot to deal with, he’s brought some of it on himself.

    There is no clear winner, but here is my list from best to worst:

    1. Reagan
    2. Bush I
    3. Clinton
    4. Bush II