Guess who’s got a new name!?

Well, not a new name, per se, but a new address. Misc. Asst. is now located at www.MiscAsst.com!

Where we were once an extra phantom limb on the driscocity.com site, we’re now our own entity, no longer tied down to the driscocity domain and free to be you and me.

Nothing much more has changed, yet. The upcoming four day weekend could promise a new layout and some added search features. But until then, be happy with the new site.

Update your RSS feeds as well: Misc. Asst. RSS feed

I took a trip to gnooks.com today - a site where you can get book selections. I had never heard of it before today, and it’s probably not the best place to get an accurate recommendation, but it’s the one stumbleupon threw at me.

I’ve always been curious how sites like this will inform me. As someone who knows a fair deal about books, literature and common authors, I assume that I can predict some of the authors I’ll like. Short stories come into play here as well - there’s not as much of a time commitment in reading a new author in these cases and recommendations pile up quickly.

So how accurate will the site be? And how is the information created?

I tested it to see. I entered John Steinbeck, Jonathan Safran Foer and Michael Chabon as some of my favorite authors. The first response? Nicole Krauss. I recognize her from shopping at Target, but that’s it. “I don’t know it,” I say.

Next: John Kennedy Toole. Love him and his one, Pulitzer Prize winning book. I like it.

Next: Gore Vidal. No thoughts either way; “I don’t know it.”

Glen David Gold. Joseph Mitchell. “Don’t Know.” Zadie Smith. Roddie (sp) Doyle. “I like.”

Here’s the inherent problem with sites like this. These authors aren’t actually recommendations. They are authors with similar fan bases.

Naturally - a cold, unfeeling computer can’t make a recommendation. It only knows data - it’s unable to ask follow up questions, and it’s unable to understand why you picked one book over another. It’s based not on themes or writing styles or anything specific - it’s simply saying “well, some people liked this, and they also happened to like this, so there you go!”

Each visitor makes connections between authors, and these connections are saved in the database. If I, for instance, enter the authors mentioned above, the database will make a connection between these three. If the program suggests Dave Eggers and I say “Yeah, like him,” then there’s another connection. The four authors are connected.

When the next person comes in and types in Michael Chabon, there’s already three authors connected to him. More connections equals a higher collaboration with readers.

I understand the concept, and it’s not a bad idea - it’s the entire basis of Amazon’s recommendations. What Amazon has going for it is information from millions of transactions. But even then, it’s the same concept on a larger scale. Sure, I like John Steinbeck, and I happen to like Michael Chabon, but it’s not necessarily the case that everyone who likes John Steinbeck will like Michael Chabon.

It’s the same for sites like Pandora. Music with the same fan base is listed as a recommendation. But it’s not based on your personal tastes, as a recommendation should be, but on a group of

When it comes down to it, sites like this are fun and interesting. But that’s it. Sure, you might learn a little bit about how the general public feels about an author or musician. But you can never get a real recommendation unless you talk to someone. A person. Who understands the connections not on a data analysis level, but on an emotional level.

Computers might be better data analysts than humans. But they’re not necessarily smarter.

For the past few months the subject of who will be the new manager for Englands soccer squad has been a huge topic. He has to be English say some. It doesn’t matter where he is from as long as he’s good, say the others.

For the past 18 months I have lived in England, one of the most soccer crazy nations in the world. I also happen to be one of the most soccer crazy people on the planet and England have just appointed an Italian as the manager for their national team. But, as befits a man who has spent his life between 4 countries, I have never really cared about a special identity. I will support the nation of my birth in sports but as the chances of them qualifying for any major sporting events are as big as Michael Vick getting a cuddle from Lassie. I’ll support the country that helped my family as refugees. My love for my country may take shape in many ways but as for pride, I’ll go with Bill Hick’s assessment: “I didn’t have a whole lot to do with it. My parents f***** there, that’s about it.”

Now here is the point: The English soccer team have recently been involved in a qualifying campaign for the European Championship and they failed to qualify.
The coach was English and was appointed after the dismissal of the foreign coach who had his place since 2000. This guy had taken the country to the quarter finals of 2 World Cups and 1 Euro Championship before being fired because of the notoriously sickening British tabloids. Just to let you know the level journalism; the man was fired after two tabloid hacks dressed up as Arab sheiks and had him on tape being a bit too honest about his players and his own ambitions (Thanks for using your power for important issues, you Fourth-Estate fucks). He got the boot and they had interviews with certain foreign coaches before they were scared off by the tabloid papers and the Association went after the douche bag assistant instead coach and claimed he was always their first choice. The papers weren’t too slow on taking a disliking to him either. After some dismal result they quickly dubbed him Second- Choice Steve and were pretty much campaigning for his dismissal. Rightly so, his post-game interviews and excuses were so dry they summoned their own sandstorms.

The last time England won a soccer tournament was in 1966.Ever since they have been made into genuine contenders because that year God Almighty himself set in stone that they must win everything post-1966. Unfortunately the players were to busy getting drunk, buying Bentleys and shilling products that they completely forgot about what they were actually paid for.
The new national coach is Italian and one of the most successful team managers in the world according to his merits. This has been big news so far which means that I’ve had to put up with the endless harping on about the decline of football in England. Listen, I agree with the decline bit because they have relied on their own greatness for too long but having a foreign coach does not have to mean that the whole country and it’s structure will fall apart. After all Greece never complained after winning the European Championship with a German coach, and neither did South Korea after reaching their one and only football success with a Dutch manager; the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. I’m certain that these countries are fiercely proud of their identities. I know that there are many failures as well but let’s not close our eyes to the successes either. If the managers available are not up to the pedigree then don’t mess up again and appoint a hack without a sense of tactics or charisma.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in being proud of your country. There is also nothing wrong in being sensible either.

What is this?! Hasn’t the Earth been PROVEN to be rotund?!

In Elementary School, we all learned that the Earth is spherical. There have been many experiments that have ‘proven’ this theory. But, have they really proven the theory of a rotund earth, or rather, disproved an older model of a flat earth (rectangular world)?

The Flat Earth Society is a group of people who believe the Earth is flat (so it’s not just a clever name!). This society originated around the time when Samuel Rowbotham (better known under the pseudonym ‘Parallax’) published Earth Not A Globe. Parallax believed that the Earth is flat and the continents lie on an infinite ocean (which somehow have a layer of fire beneath it). An infinite wilderness of ice and snow is believed to surround the planet (beyond the Antarctic Ocean). Furthermore, the planet is bordered by an immense (circular) ice-cliff, believed to be around 150 feet tall. So, you’re probably thinking that the Earth is now a flat plate, per se, floating around in space. Well, that’s sort of correct — the Earth is indeed a plate shape, but this ‘plate’ is placed upon an upside-down pyramid — together forming a top shaped object.

Many experiments have proven this theory to be true, but have been ignored and rejected because of the paradigm that Earth is round. Here are a few of them:

A boat, with a flag-staff, the top of the flag 5 feet above the surface of the water, was directed to sail from a place called “Welche’s Dam” (a well-known ferry passage), to another called “Welney Bridge.” These two points are six statute miles apart. The author, with a good telescope, went into the water; and with the eye about 8 inches above the surface, observed the receding boat during the whole period required to sail to Welney Bridge. The flag and the boat were distinctly visible throughout the whole distance! There could be no

there will be no difficulty in observing a length of ten to twenty miles, according to the altitude of the position; and this whole distance of twenty miles of sea horizon will be seen as a perfectly straight line. This would be impossible if the earth were a globe, and the water of the sea convex. Ten miles on each side would give a curvature of 66 feet (102 x 8 = 66 feet 8 inches), and instead of the horizon touching the board along its whole length, it would be seen to gradually decline from the centre C, and to be over 66 feet below the two extremities.

Still, there are some points that you could bring up to argue against a flat earth. What about the pictures taken from satellites in space? Some FE believes are convinced that they were staged in Hollywood, while others believe that light made our planet appear rotund. What about day and night? Our planet is believed to travel up and down, with the sun at a center point. When the Earth reaches the climax of its movement, it’s night, and when it is at the bottom of its movement, it is day time. When it is at the center (travelling up) it is sunset, and when it is at the center (travelling down) it is sunrise.

So, what do you think, Misc. Asst.? Is this some weird conspiracy theory? Do you still need more proof? Is the paradigm for a rotund Earth tricking your brain into automatically rejecting the theory? I, for one, believe that the Earth is undoubtedly flat. There is too much evidence that the Earth is not rotund. I may not believe all of the ideas of the Flat Earth Society, but I believe the general concept — the Earth is flat.

Source used: http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/za/index.htm

You can visit there for other experiments (it doesn’t include every experiment performed, but it does include 15 of Parallax’ proofs).

I like a pleasant little surprise from time to time. It doesn’t happen often these days but it’s all the sweeter for it, especially when it invloves one of your favourite things. This is about music.

Saturday just gone I went to town to commence my weekly raid in the record stores. I went with no list in hand and nothing already picked out, but simply to browse and purchase whatever record I felt like getting.

First stop was a small independent shop, one of those obscure ones that’s only open about two days a week and located above an antique store. It’s the best in town and we remain steadfast companions. It is absolutely cluttered with cheap and classic punk, rock and metal and since I was on my own it meant that I could spend as much time as I wanted in there.

Usually whoever I am with at the time finds this pursuit about as pleasuring as french-kissing Roberto Benigni but it wouldn’t matter now.
I found a few good bargains but this one record was an absolute fluke. The name sounded similar to a punk band from a rural Mid-Western town that I used to listen to a few years ago and it cost less then a bottle of Steel Reserve so I had to buy it.

The record sounded nothing like the band I remember. I realised it wasn’t even the right one. Loud, dissonant but melancholic pop emanated from the speakers instead and it was brilliant, after the initial confusion. A true gem.

I can’t even remember the name of band that I first thought it was but it matters not a jot. I hope to get more of these surprises again.

Sotheby’s is auctioning off a copy of the Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta. Commonly seen as the most important document ever created, and most certainly is to anyone from a country of British descent. It’s what gave us the right to, you know, not be imprisoned without doing anything wrong.

For sale. One world-changing document. $20-30M

From the New York Times article:

Written in Medieval Latin on sheepskin that after 710 years remains intact and legible, the 1297 Magna Carta was owned for five centuries by a British family that put it up for sale in the early 1980s.

From 1988 until a few months ago, it was exhibited in a custom-designed, gold-plated container at the National Archives in Washington, a few feet from its direct descendants, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

‘’As the only non-American document in there, many would love to see it go back'’ on display, said Redden, who will wield the hammer. He said the auction will be open to the public, but being a single lot sale, might not take longer than five minutes.

Again. The Magna Carta is for sale.

I’ll admit I know very little about auctions, and even less about famous documents. I couldn’t tell you the going price for, say, a copy of the Declaration of Independence or an original copy of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

But doesn’t it seem weird that a document so crucial to the way civilization has been developed over the past 800 years is for sale? To sit in someone’s hallway for ten years until it is sold again? To be treated as an investment, or an accessory - or even worse, a conversation piece?

Don’t get me wrong - I understand hat there’s a great chance that a museum or other public facility could bid and purchase the Magna Carta. I also know that, despite how odd it is to me that you can actually purchase something like this, I’d do it in a second if I had $5B in the bank.

Still. The Magna Carta. For sale, on auction, like a vehicle on craigslist or a Snoopy Sno Cone machine on eBay. Except a lot more expensive.

It’s a lot for me to get through my head. That’s all. Weird.