Thursday, December 11, 2003

I am not expecting a landslide for Bush.  No American likes a Pesident that gets them into an optional war.  War is bad for business and by extension the American people.  Zealots like the current President have no place in the highest positions of American politcs.  We are pragmatists (to the extent that infuriates people, too bad), through and through.  We do what works and not what is theoretically satisfying.  You don't get to heavan through American elections. 5:19:30 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Slashdot.  Digital divide conference is closed to observers.  Nation-states continue the charade that they control the Internet.  This will be a big problem for them down the road. 11:01:53 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

What is the common thread here? 1) FBI admits massive cost over-runs and extensive delays for its new "Trilogy" system. 2) IRS admits massive cost over-runs and extensive delays for its new system.  Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC).  Imagine a custom set of applictions, built for the FBI by a company like CSC?  Yuk.  There is always a tendency to go for an expensive custom app instead of inexpensive tools that would do 90% of the job. 10:51:54 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

Rajesh.  Is brainpower a commodity that is globally interchangeable?  Is there now a "Moore's law" for brainpower?  Perhaps.  Commodization via computer communications could create a "race to the bottom" in pricing brainpower globally (rapidly increasing price performance curves until we hit a population limit).  At that point, computer-enhanced intelligence (IA) may take it on another ride (a substrate shift).  9:18:52 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

WP.  Rumsfeld bemoans squishy metrics as news of surging guerrilla ranks hit Washington.  Critics are on point: "The issue of quantifying success in counterinsurgency operations is a fool's errand," said one officer based in Baghdad. "It is great for business management, but not for the conduct of war. It is something that is questionable in conventional warfare and downright dangerous in unconventional warfare, simply because it will force you into taking actions based on that which is to be measured and not on what needs to be done." Bodycounts or the number of weapons seized aren't the metrics that matter.  Cells of guerrillas in an unstable occupation environment can replenish faster than any attrition visited on them.  Iraq has as many loose weapons as Afghanistan.  Moral victories are what matters and that is exactly what has not been appropriately planned for. 8:56:28 AM    Comment_ Trackback []