"Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome." -- Chinese Proverb

Wireless number portability: Isn't it about way past time for this? And for keeping your number no matter which wireless carrier you use?

"The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge." -- Victor Hugo

Bloggies voting still open: I'm late on this, but the nominations are in and the voting is open for the Bloggies, the third annual weblog awards.

A politician with a heart: Sen. Bob Graham of Florida was going to throw his hat into the ring, but instead will have surgeons throw out a piece of his heart (he will have aortic valve replacement). Your host, fkaJames, is also facing this surgery at some not-too-distant point in the future (though the projected date keeps slipping by a couple years with each visit to the cardiologist -- apparently the ol' ticker is able to compensate for its shortcomings better than anticipated). I don''t know what Sen. Graham is planning, but I've always felt that there were two songs that would be appropriate for the operating room during this surgery -- All of Me, and Piece of My Heart. Yes, I've given it some thought.

"We have a Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities." -- Bill Maher

McDonald's wins this one ... maybe: The judge threw out the "McDonald's food made me fat and sick" lawsuit, but said it could be reinstated under certain circumstances. This one should just go away.

Forget flat taxes -- let's make 'em progressive again: According to this Slate piece, taxes (in total, i.e., federal, state, local, etc.) are basically the same percentage of income, no matter how rich or poor you are. Back atcha, Steve Forbes.

Eldred FAQ: Here's a good idea to stem the tide of troubles emanating from the Supremes' ruling that copyright can continue for ridiculous periods (Volokh Conspiracy has a good overview of the outcome), courtesy of Larry Lessig, who argued Eldred.

This is brilliant: David Post argues that abortion is a local issue, like civil unions. How about like gun control? Let the municipalities decide what they want to do with abortions, with civil unions, and with guns -- don't make it an issue of national import. Sadly, the NRA has used the 2nd Amendment to keep the issue national in scope, thus making the debate, to take Post as my text, "completely unreasonable, on both sides, with otherwise sensible and decent people heaping contempt and hate upon those on the other side."

That Sen. Collins gets around: Another investigation instigated by Sen. Collins (R-Maine) turns up fake schools generating fraudulent requests for student financial aid.

The toothbrush?: Yes, the toothbrush has been designated the most indispensible invention among these 5: toothbrush, automobile, PC, cell phone and microwave. Not the most stellar crop of indispensible inventions (consider vaccines, electric light, the printing press, invasive surgery, pasteurization, and many others). Interesting to see both what MIT folks and CNN readers think is important.

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you, never excuse yourself." -- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Bush administration = in pockets of corporate lobbyists?: This sounds pretty mundane, but even the appearance of conflict of interest is just stupid. Plus, Ms. Victory comes off, at best, sounding like a cheapskate (i.e., a corporate attorney who can't afford to pay for her own party?) and a nincompoop (you know you're headed for a public position with disclosure requirements; why risk the appearance that you're in the pocket of lobbyists?).

Will the Segway fly?: Business Week says maybe not, joining a rising chorus.

Diplomas and transcripts are for framing & display only: This is not the most amazing piece of hoohah I have ever seen, but it's close. Here's what the index page says:

Avoid Phony Diplomas and Fake Degrees

Get a real college degree in 7 days, based on your life and work experience. Three years experience in a field qualifies you for a degree.

Our diplomas are printed on parchment paper. Both the transcripts and the diplomas carry an embossed seal.

Then, click on the link and you're taken to an order page, where it appears you can make up a diploma. You can even "[c]hoose the field of study and year for your Bachelors diploma." You can also add honors, if you're feeling really smart. In addition, you can purchase up to 8 semesters of transcript, complete with GPA! Then, way at the bottom, here's the disclaimer:

Diplomas and transcripts are for framing & display only

These college diplomas are being distributed to boost your confidence and esteem. By ordering a diploma or transcripts, you are certifying that you will not misuse the diploma, the listing in the Universities records or any other improper use. The Inter-Collegiate Joint Committee on Academic Standards and the accrediting agencies listed on the transcript forms are controlled by College Services Corp.

Please carefully review the information that you have entered, to make certain that there are no errors. When approved, this order form will be the source document that is used for the preparation of your diploma and other documents. We will E-Mail confirmation of receipt of your deposit within eight hours of receiving it. The E-Mail will confirm the total price and the amount to be paid upon delivery.

Degrees may not be obtained by residents in states where prohibited by law, including the states of MO and NV.

Turns out Senator Susan Collins doesn't agree that diploma mills should be in business and asked the GAO to investigate. Here's what the GAO had to say about degree mills. [via Volokh Conspiracy]

Now, it's personal: Verizon was ordered to turn over personal information about a file-sharer on its network who allegedly downloaded 600 songs in a single day. Score another one for the bad guys. (That means you, Hilary Rosen.) Will they ever get it? Also, I'm sick of all this "piracy" mumbo-jumbo spouted by the RIAA. You're a "pirate" if you buy a CD, burn copies, and sell them on eBay. If you buy the CD and "trade" what you have through a file-sharing network, you may be a swapper, but you're no pirate -- you gain no financial advantage from the swap. There may be an opportunity cost to the recording industry (I doubt it, as I personally have purchased more CDs in the past year than in any of the previous ten and -- not coincidentally -- I began using file-sharing services in the past year or so), but there is no definitive financial cost.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

"I was in shock": This story of the messed up mastectomy is pathetic -- a ridiculous mistake that should never, ever happen. The pathologist who made the mistake should face disciplinary action and have his or her work regularly checked. However, I'm troubled by the implicit idea of the woman's attorney, Chris Messerly, that some unlimited amount of damages should be in play. What are two breasts worth? What is brain damage worth? What is death of a spouse or loved one worth? Well, for starters, if your anticipated lifetime income is, say, $1,367,750 (that is, the national average annual income times your number of years worked, in this case 50, indicating you start working at 17 and retire at 67), I would think that would be the maximum amount you could sue for. Why should a medical mistake (admittedly, a terrible, stupid mistake, but not one that renders you incapacitated or in a vegetative state) be a financial boon beyond what you otherwise would have likely earned?

Further, I posit that the average annual lifetime earnings test would be reasonable no matter who is involved in a medical malpractice case like this. If Bill Gates went in for laser eye surgery and came out blind, he should be able to sue for up to $1,367,750 -- not $56 billion, or whatever his lifetime earnings will be. The award shouldn't be different based on the individual's income; rather, it should be based on the average person's income. Otherwise, the wealthy have the opportunity to sue for more based on their income than a lifetime McDonald's employee with exactly the same medical malpractice claim. I'll go farther with this another time.

Social Security fix: Nobel laureate and famed security market line guru Franco Modigliani has a better solution in the Sloan Management Review than any coming from the Bush administration.

Make it with an avocado: Here is more than you wanted to know about avocados. And here's still more.

"Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word." -- Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970)

This one gets it: Ruben Navarrette Jr. gets the conscription proposal of Charles Rangel. Caspar Weinberger's take on it is so disingenuous as to be laughable.

Heard it for myself: This Rumsfeld atrocity is a couple days old, but I just heard it this morning on NPR. Completely amazing! Here are some opinions on it from local Minneapolis-St. Paul readers of the Strib, as published today:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says that the lack of evidence found by weapons inspectors in Iraq means "they could be hiding something." Does that logic then also dictate that the obstructionist nondisclosure of the participants and agenda of Vice President Dick Cheney's secret energy plan meetings could mean that an orgy of oil company executives met to plot the military domination of the world's supply of oil instead of coming up with a comprehensive plan to wean our nation of its dangerous oil addiction? -- Dan Brown, St. Paul.

Before weapons inspectors were sent into Iraq, the White House promised to go to war as soon as weapons of mass destruction were discovered in that country. Lately though, the talk has changed. The White House now promises war if Iraq cannot prove that it is weapons-free. Guilty until proven innocent. Just what would it take for Iraq to unequivocally prove its innocence? -- C. Turner, Mounds View.

Here's one last one, with a terrific conspiracy theory:

I'm surprised our leaders in the intelligence community haven't been able to put two and two together. Fact: U.N. weapons inspectors have been unable to uncover evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Fact: There is a mysterious hole in the ice of North Long Lake north of Brainerd. Surely these two phenomena are connected. Any true-blooded American with a minimal level of cultural literacy knows that cartoon villains such as the Joker, Lex Luther and Saddam Hussein possess a diabolical genius capable of carrying out such an evil plan. Where better to hide military contraband than in our own back yard? Perhaps our leaders will mistakenly assume they are part of our own arsenal. Why then, one might ask, have the divers been unable to locate this hoard? Clearly this further illustrates the level of Saddam's cunning. The only other explanation for the mystery at North Long Lake is that Dick Cheney's hideout is about to be revealed. -- Chuck Viren, Minneapolis.

Miss Drunk: This is stupid on so many levels I don't even know what to say.

The Bush Administration gets Boing-Boinged: Courtesy of a mysterious scarlet pimpernel, a fun way to catch up on stuff you didn't know (or maybe you did) about our pals in the highest levels of the current administration.

"All virtue is summed up in dealing justly." -- Aristotle

"Wait, it is rocket science!": This is another reason why I'll always be a satellite TV subscriber. Of course, the primary reason is that I acquired a deep distrust of cable companies when I worked (long ago) for a premium subscriber satellite provider now merged into the largest U.S. satellite television provider.

Doc Searls hits it on the head (as does John LeCarre): This juxtaposition of Bush's value system vis-a-vis human life is spot on. And LeCarre's article has already raised a "blogstorm" (that's my coining for a ruckus on blogs). What will the fallout be?

Thank you, may I have another?: Here's another great juxtaposition: Bush's stance on affirmative action vs. the way he became an Eli. Joe Conason is all over it.

"Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons." -- Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

Slate's BS-o-meter: Nice job in calling out both U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige and the Bush Administration as a whole on the Bush tax plan.

This is cool: Dave Winer (the Radio Userland guy) is going to Harvard to be, essentially, Harvard's "blogger-in-residence" (coined by Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit). He also links to a cool paper on Personal Knowledge Publishing. Blogging becomes a realm of (formal) academic attention.

"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" -- Edgar Bergen (1903 - 1978)

Another Dem in the ring: Lieberman jumps in.

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

Case closed: As expected by most, Steve Case resigned as chairman of AOL-TW. It was a good run, but doomed by hubris (the bane of the Internet bubble). Probably also doomed by internal culture wars and not effectively spreading the message down far enough (the guys up top weren't going to get it, but the folks at the front lines sure could've figured it out).

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong." -- Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

Busy day at work today. Whew!

They should pay us: A family apparently put itself up for auction on eBay; the auction was pulled by eBay officials. Why would anyone pay for what little they're offering? I'm sure they're nice people (insane, but nice). But they are the ones that need to buy lives.

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better." -- King Whitney Jr.

We March Ever Onward: This blog, formerly known as The Numbers Keep on Circling Me, is changing its name to M2C1 - Measure Twice, Cut Once. Though it is still in its formative period, I (fkaJames) have learned much about blogging and my own ability to continue blogging. The focus of this blog may narrow in the near future, but it will continue to reflect my thoughts, feelings and biases. As someone (Doc Searls?) suggested, a blog is basically a notepad for its creator to remember things for future use. That has been, is now and will continue to be the spirit of M2C1 and #s-O-Me.

"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right." -- H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Bushwhackin': I get great knowledge and enjoyment from reading John Robb's blog, and never more so than this morning, when I read the following:

I think it is fairly ironic that the majority of the Republicans I know are people that make below $150k a year. They liked the Republicans because they opposed unrestrained growth in social transfer programs. Now, when it comes time to cut taxes to give back some of the money that had been arrogated by the government, the Republicans don't even recognize that they exist. Bush is giving almost all of the tax cuts to people that make over $1m a year. I guess they think that the rank and file "working" Republicans are merely driven by social and defense issues and really don't care about the pocket book. Poor schmucks.

Great stuff, and even an implied criticism of flat tax rates and dumping the inheritance tax. Nice to read after having read Richard W. Rahn' s misguided "analysis" of what Bush needs to do in the WashTimes.

"The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech." -- Justice Anthony Kennedy (1936 - )

Don't get her (or me!) started: From an article on keeping resolutions over the long term in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis psychotherapist Margaret Churchill is quoted on another of my pet peeves: personal responsibility for obesity.

Don't get Margaret Churchill started on those lawsuits against fast-food chains. Those cases, she says, point to something many people have forgotten: What we eat has a definite relationship to our size. "There is a cause and effect, and somehow we want to be exempt," Churchill says. "Bodies don't become exempt, no matter how special we are." Not surprisingly, Churchill demands people take responsibility for what they eat.

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming: I'm back from my long holiday break, which was very low-key. A lot of interesting news happened while I was incommunicado, but I'm sure you managed just fine on your own. I hope your holiday break was as peaceful as mine! And now, back to the blog ...

Hmmm, surgeon or auto mechanic, surgeon or auto mechanic?: I love numbers, as the title of this blog suggests, and here are some good ones on what being a surgeon (in a state with no caps on damage awards in malpractice lawsuits) can pay. I'm liking my job more today just because of this! (via Doc Searls' excellent blog)

"...take small bites, chew well and drink a lot of liquid...": Six elderly Japanese New Year's celebrants died, and 25 were hospitalized, from eating rice cakes. "Every year, a handful of mostly elderly Japanese suffer after getting 'mochi' rice cakes stuck in their throats." What is it about the Japanese that makes them want to eat things that will kill them?

My own special pet peeve: The use (and misuse) of the spoken and written English language in the U.S. This nifty site is devoted to errors and non-errors of the English language. I have always battled inside myself over descriptive vs. prescriptive grammar, so the site provokes a lot of thought from me. I agree with most of the site's conclusions and recommendations. A few I have trouble with: preventive vs. preventative (how do you preventate something?), till vs. 'til (till is what you do to soil), and a couple others. A good site for the descriptivist.