Check out this site that I found via Andrew Sullivan.
This past week has been incredibly busy with work, but I had a few minutes to read the paper and couldn’t help but read the story about Traviglini’s comments on Patrick. My first reaction was an angry one. I want Patrick to succeed. I’m still skeptical that he can succeed, but I want him to. Key quotes from the story:
Travaglini said: “I told the governor-elect, if you’re willing to share and you care and you prepare and are ready to deliver, then everything will work out. If not, I have senators across the state who share my vision and my approach and if forced to choose, I’m comfortable with whom they’ll choose.”
and
Legislators have also been concerned that Patrick may move to cut earmarks, money that is directed by legislators to local projects. “They are not pork,” DiMasi said earlier this week. “They are legislators’ priorities.”
My second reaction was delight (I’m not proud of that reaction, but it is there). I have long thought that the state legislature was part of the problem in Massachussets. It’s nice to see the arrogance so clearly displayed. If Patrick is the foil that makes the legislature’s (and legislators’) failings visible, I think that’s great. Maybe that is the way that Patrick mangages to change the culture on Beacon Hill.
Neither the second nor first reaction went away. One didn’t overwhelm the other. I’m still of two minds about the whole thing. And, as I mulled reaction one and two, reaction number three popped up: Is this being totally blown out of proportion? Is this just the Globe making a conflict out of nothing because it makes a good story? What about story quote:
The audience members who described Travaglini’s remarks said they appeared to be designed to dispel the idea that because Democrats will control the House, the Senate, and the governor’s office next year, the state will return to lavish spending.
It’s not juicy controversy, so it’s not the lead. But if you frame the other quotes in this context, Travaglini’s comments are almost innocuous. He might be saying, “don’t worry, if Patrick tries to go off the budgetary rails, we won’t let him.” While that isn’t Travaglini’s usual role, it’s a role that someone has to play these days. In that context, this is a giant non-story.
Regardless, Traviglini recognized that the story was making him look like an ass. He had a press conference with Patrick and apologized to Patrick, saying that he misspoke. Patrick accepted the apology.
The press conference doesn’t change my thoughts about the first story. Travaglini’s somewhat ambiguous apology successfully numbs the sting of the original controversy. Whether he was right or wrong, he was taking a beating, and the sort-of apology mitigated it. Patrick could theoretically have played hardball, but it seems silly to alienate the Senate president on such a thin issue. It’s a no-brainer for him to stay on the high road, do a small favor for Travaglini, and work with Travaglini as far as he can. You can’t learn anything from their actions because the press conference was pretty much a foregone conclusion, given the original story.
Where’s my conclusion from all this? I don’t have one. We’ll just have to see how the next two years turn out.
I often marvel at how screwed up the T is. From purchased trains of the wrong size, to flooding, to “switch problems,” to handicapped turnstiles at stations with no elevators, they always find a way to impress me.
Yesterday’s Globe: “A $466,000 revamp of the MBTA website debuts this morning . . .”
Today’s MBTA.com: “The MBTA apologizes for the slow response-time [sic] users experienced on our new website. We are currently doing everything we can to improve performance, and the new site will be re-released soon. In order to give customers the content needed, we are offering our former site while we work out the problems. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”
Back to the Globe: “RDVO, a small Web design firm in Somerville, revamped the site while helping upgrade the MBTA’s Web servers, which they said are now four times faster. The web site sees an estimated 500,000 visits per day.”
Now, I’m not saying that building a website to handle 500,000 visits easy. But I will say that when you know that you have 500,000 users, you probably should test it with 500,000 visits before you issue your press release.
We made a neat new release today at Tabblo. You remember that we launched our book product a couple weeks ago. Now, you can make your book public and have it viewed on line!
For instance, all of you Lambda Phi’s out there wondering what to get your big brother for Christmas. . . . Why not get them a 4×4″ book in celebration of Decade 3? I already did the work for you, and it’s only $9.95! Click the tabblo to get a preview of the book.
Today is your last day to buy the big books (8 by 9.5″). But, you can buy the 4×4″ into next week. If you want to know what the actual physical product looks like, one of our customers took pictures and wrote a review.
Thirty Years of Lambda Phi … See my book
I was pointed to this wicked funny article about the 10 most dangerous gifts of the last few decades.
I’m sad to say that I never owned any of them. My neighbor had Jarts, though, and I loved them. Then I sent a Jart through the neighbor’s pool cover. No more Jarts for me.
Boston Globe reports on college endowment returns. MIT earned 23% on $8.4B. I don’t really wish I had $8B, but it would be nice if I earned 23% on what I do have.
Over at xkcd, he’s mapped the internet. Here’s your map guide. He mapped the IP space of the internet to a fractal. On a piece of paper.
Kofi Annan on UN Ambassador John Bolton in the NYT:
Mr. Annan paid his final visit to Washington as secretary general last Tuesday when President Bush gave a dinner in his honor at the White House. One of the guests was John R. Bolton, the American ambassador who had frequently criticized the secretary general and who had announced the day before that he was resigning.
Asked the next morning at the United Nations whether he and Mr. Annan had made peace at the farewell event, Mr. Bolton said, “Nobody sang ‘Kumbaya.’ †The reference was to a song celebrating fellowship.
Told of Mr. Bolton’s comment, Mr. Annan said, “But does he know how to sing it?â€
Ouch.
Oh, the price of passion. $4k due December 15th.