Philip Greenspun’s Weblog

Folks:  Friends of mine are blessed with 13-year-old triplets.  Two of the 13-year-olds want to learn some computer programming.  They are non-nerds.  Their mom asked me what would be the best computer language for them to start with.  [As an aside, I should note that being asked questions like this is probably a sign that one needs to get out more…]

To start the discussion rolling, my first thought was Visual Basic.  The learners have Windows machines and VB will enable them to control what is happening on their desktops.

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A friend recently purchased a vacation house and is furnishing it.  He sent me an instant message: “I made up a nice AR15 and put it in the new house in a wall safe. A house is not a home until the rifle is there.”

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Some ideas for the Google millionaires… http://philip.greenspun.com/non-profit/

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/nyregion/24chambers.html is a story about Robert E. Chambers, the “preppy killer” who murdered Jennifer Levin in Central Park in 1986.  He is back in the news for a new brush with the law.  What struck me most was the line “Shawn Kovell, 39, who fell in love with him shortly before his trial for the Levin killing”.  The guy was convicted of murdering a teenage girl and served 15 years in prison, yet apparently is so charming that he was able to hang onto a girlfriend the whole time.

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Gentle readers,

I’m trying to write up a Christmas gift guide for photo.net.  I’d like to find a camera phone to recommend.  As our readers are photographers first and talkers second, I want a camera phone that looks just like a point and shoot digital camera.  It should have an optical zoom lens and 5-10 megapixel resolution.  Somewhere in there should be a phone so that photos can be mailed to friends.  I think Samsung has made some of these, maybe for the Korean market (e.g., SCH-B600).  Is there anything like this on the US market or possibly an unlocked GSM phone?  It doesn’t have to be the world’s best phone, just adequate.

Thank you in advance.

Philip

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Everyone I met in Turkey hates American foreign policy.  Nobody I met in Turkey hates Americans.  How is this possible?  It seems that George W. Bush is the Jesus Christ for our [American] times, taking all of our sins upon his shoulders.  The Turks with whom I spoke blamed George W. personally for all of the harm done by the 300 million people here in the U.S.  As far as I can tell, George W. never does anything except ride as a passenger from speaking venue to speaking venue.  Therefore, the things of which the Turks are complaining must have been done by at least some of the rest of us, yet W. personally gets 100% of the blame.

George W. does not simply follow Jesus.  He is Jesus.

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Ellis Vener sent me this BBC story that reports a claim about global shipping producing more carbon dioxide than airplanes: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7052037.stm

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Our high school here in Cambridge, Massachusetts made it into yesterday’s Boston Globe. Only 35 percent of students passed the biology exam (sample questions). We have the distinction of the lowest passing rate in the state, below towns such as Lawrence and Brockton that are blighted by poverty and challenged by immigrants who don’t speak English.

How much did it cost to produce this spectacular result? Our spending is among the highest in the state of Massachusetts, at $23,611 in 2004-5; presumably somewhat higher now (source).

[You might expect kids in Cambridge to be motivated to study for the biology test because most of the growing employers in the town are biotech.]

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Our host family in Turkey watched the TV news every night.  My father, who was a teenager during WWII has the same habit of taking news seriously.  Within the memory of our hosts and their 18-year-old son, Turkey has been through financial crises, military coups, more than 30,000 people killed by Kurdish separatists, and small wars that nearly turned into big ones (e.g., Cyprus).  What is currently keeping them glued to the TV are recent attacks by Kurdish separatists that have killed 15 Turkish Army soldiers and the idea that the Turkish Army may go into Iraq.

 [I pointed out that the last country to invade Iraq didn’t achieve very good results.  Upon further reflection, it occurred to me that maybe this is our solution for the Iraq problem.  We pull our troops out and give the country back, not to Saddam or his heirs, but to the Turks, who governed it as part of the Ottoman Empire.]

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One guide talked about the Turkish custom of giving substantial cash to newlyweds:  “I make between $500 and $1000 per month.  If I were invited to a wedding, I would have to give at least $200 to the couple or people would talk about me.”

We learned later that the president and prime minister of Turkey had taken advantage of this custom by inviting nearly 5000 people to their childrens’ weddings, raking in literally $millions from distinguished and wealthy guests (who could be expected to give $thousands).

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