4th January

Just as we looked at the December entries, across four years, and picked a few to spotlight, we can do that off and on this year. However, since we're still in January, we'll not have one for 2011.

We'll start with 2008 and come forward.

• 2008 (4 posts) -- Transparency and truth -- Posturing seems to be the political way, yet these folks' doings affect everyone. Too bad that we cannot engineer it more. Trouble is, that would be worse than financial engineering (next bullet) in many cases. What are we to do? Well, no matter the effort, we cannot observe 100% of anything. Even CSPAN is only capturing some small portion of the reality and the beingness behind what is going on in DC. Now, at the same time, we need accounting. Like this, do you know where your feet are? Or, what is on your head? Somehow, finance, and money, issues seem to take on this separate existence. It's funny money, folks (see gab standard, et al). Truth, fiction, and finance -- Did we not see a two-year effort to find culprits boil down to a 6-4 political vote? 'Nuf said. (related material: wikipedia, naked capitalism, NY Times)
• 2009 (5 posts) -- Hype cycle -- Of course, today there are two games about which we've heard a lot of chatter. We expect fans to rah rah. In anything in life, attitude plays a large part. Yet, if we're to apply a scientific method, can we really prognosticate prior to realization and still be true to the process? Think about that. It's one reason that business cannot (I repeat this for those who are enamored of six sigma, and the like) be run scientifically. However, it can have some large percentage conduct that is science-like. Ever heard of management science, et al?
• 2010 (1 posts) -- Lordly prince trap -- There are many ways to cut the 'entitlement' pie. Too, hubris can probably be found more in business than in government work, that is, if the political aspect is removed from the latter.

Remarks:

02/26/2011 -- Added links to the months' archives. Another go.

02/08/2011 -- A topic of a year ago: there was a report today concerning a study on the SUA problem that has been going on quietly. More news will be coming later when the report is technically analyzed.

01/27/2011 -- The chimera shines.

01/24/2011 -- Here are a couple of related items.

• Turn the clock, and score, back by destroying the evidence.
• Chaos engineering is the ultimate Quant dream, in terms of conquering complexity (SOS and application -- we'll look at this closely).

Modified: 02/26/2011

4th December

We've been at it enough to have four last posts for a year. It might be interesting to look at these with some commentary, starting with the one for 2007.

• 2007 (5 posts) -- Extrapolation, calibration, truth -- Originally, this attempted to look at an ongoing technical problem. Those who tout operational definition are heading the right way. Too, see the 2010 last post below. Until the issues of undecidability and its consequences are understood, those who game will continue to wreck the lives of the innocent.
• 2008 (5 posts) -- Last post for 2008 -- This was written before the 'new day' and when much ink was being spilled about the bad guys. Then, for two years, they used our money to make money and to pay themselves bonuses. That is, those who could. A whole bunch of bankers are now facing doomsday (1000s?). We'll see more on this in 2011.
• 2009 (2 posts) -- Dead peasant -- Still find it hard to believe 1) that bankers are this gross and 2) that the insurance industry has to allow this type of obvious ethical malfeasance. The bank's initial payout was the policy payoff value minus the premium. Now, people, in what universe is this type of thing seen as a good business deal? Oh, by the way, is this how bankers are to make their living? Remember, folks, that we can run all this highly glorious stuff with a few smart people who know about simple living and who understand that entanglement means that everyone needs (actually, deserves) to not be entrapped forever in the debt being accumulated for us by the fat cats' actions.
• 2010 (2 posts) -- Software issues -- Needless to say, the uses of computing have accelerated far beyond what was seen just a few years ago. Who foresaw that 'apps' would become so embedded within the language? However, the problems remain in their eternal state which, then, implies that we can 'app'ly solutions, albeit they approximate only what would be ideal. That, folks, is our lot: to deal, within our limitations, what is essentially unbounded.

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Well, the issues remain the same. Recognition of bad thinking increases, though, with time. And, we're some type of higher-order, evolved, creature?

Remarks:

12/29/2012 --  Summary - 2012.

02/26/2011 -- Added links to the months' archives. Another go.

02/08/2011 -- A topic of a year ago: there was a report today concerning a study on the SUA problem that has been going on quietly. More news will be coming later when the report is technically analyzed.

01/27/2011 -- The chimera shines.

01/23/2011 -- Added number of posts by the month for the year. Also, we have a 4th January, to boot.

Modified: 12/29/2012