Russell Atkinson's Blog, page 32
November 12, 2021
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Redshirts by John Scalzi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This spoof of Star Trek is premised on the idea that the characters in the show somehow become real people in the future and their fates are controlled by the narrative of the original TV series from centuries earlier. The extras who normally are the ones whose minor characters often get killed in the TV show become real people dying horrendous deaths in the future. In the show, those characters usually wear red shirts, a well-known TV trope, hence the title. The central group of four or five characters in the future begin to realize that they are being controlled by the TV narrative and decide to do something about it.
Of course it’s a silly plot with nothing making scientific or common sense, but I knew that going in. The writing is fairly witty and the plot moves along rapidly enough. If you’re looking for serious sci-fi, or serious anything, stay away from this one, but if you’re open to passing some time for just a chuckle now and then, this will work. It really is just a one-joke act, though, so don’t expect too much.
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November 10, 2021
Elizabeth Holmes trial – more comments
I’m still not attending the trial in person, but I’ve read some detailed reports of the last few days. They spur me to comment on the prosecution’s strategy; in short, it’s risky. The government chose to indict both Holmes and Balwani on eleven counts. Two are conspiracy counts and the rest are wire fraud.
This means they have to introduce evidence on each of those counts more or less like a minitrial. For example, If Holmes held a meeting with investors A, B, and C the government must bring in A, B, and C, or their financial advisers, to testify what each heard her say and what documents or slides were presented and that they relied on those statements or documents. This means the jurors have to hear three different people, maybe more, verify the same twenty slides, emails or oral statements. This becomes repetitive.
Worse, the AUSA doesn’t just hand the document to the witness (while the jurors see a copy on a screen) and ask them if this is a display at that meeting. They have chosen to introduce every such document or statement by reading it into the record slowly. For example,
"Mr. Jones, you've already testified that this document was presented by Ms. Holmes.""That's right"
"Do you see the highlighted line in the middle of the page that says [blah, blah]"
"Yes."
The prosecutors apparently do not trust the jurors to actually read the thousands of documents, so they feel they have to force them to get every word by reading them out loud, including the same ones over and over. This is overkill. It is necessary to a point because the judge could dismiss counts if evidence is not represented on each element of each count. But the jurors are going bat shit crazy bored. That last dismissed juror was playing Sudoku during testimony. I’m sure many of the others have tuned out. They may resent the prosecutors for putting them through this, although the defense is just as wordy. The only bright note I see is that Judge Davila has finally decided to go five days a week. It’s about time. I’ll venture a guess that he’s going to have to sequester them before the evidence portion is over.
There is good reason to bring multiple counts; several reasons, in fact. For one thing, sentencing in white collar cases is very strongly determined by dollar loss (or ill-gotten gains). More victims means more money shown to have been lost. But once the scale of the largest three or four victims’ losses are known, the rest really doesn’t matter for sentencing. A more important reason is to give jurors a way to compromise. If there are jurors who think she’s guilty but harbor sympathies for her and are dragging their feet, the majority can persuade them by agreeing to convict her of only two or three counts to let her off easy, even though the judge has instructed them they cannot take into account sentencing. Jurors don’t realize that such a compromise doesn’t have the effect they think. The judge can take into account the total dollar loss or other factors (e.g. mental anguish to a victim) during sentencing for counts that did not result in a conviction as long as there was sufficient evidence introduced. In other words, the conviction may be for counts 1 and 2, but the sentence could be for all eleven counts. Yet another reason for the multiple counts is to make it clear that the misstatements weren’t just an occasional mistake but constituted a persistent pattern of lies. Even so, the prosecution should have culled its evidence more strictly as they realized this judge was going to drag things out. They’ve risked losing the jury both in the sense of loss of attention and loss of alternates that could result from more extensions. Every day that passes increases the chance that some emergency or misconduct could cause the loss of another juror.
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November 8, 2021
Anagrams on the News
I used to post anagrams on the news here pretty regularly, but since I was recruited to be a regular reporter for The Anagram Times, I usually just post them there. It has higher circulation. Here are a few I’ve submitted there in recent months. Links to the original published news story can be found on the Anagram Times pages. Those are worth visiting for the graphics. Anu Garg finds some quite funny or illustrative ones.
No toilet, SpaceX crew using diapers = XO: “We use nice rectal disposing trap”
The racists next door: Odinshof = So ex-Nordic host finds hate. Rot!
Astronauts made space tacos = Man cuts aerospace tostadas
Kyle Rittenhouse trial opens = a protest, intense hour likely
Trump’s TRUTH Social = Trump’s lost haircut
Human remains found in Laundrie case = Maniac louse finished? A man run under?
California mom hosted teen sex parties = Pederast minx, i.e. “social” mother, not safe
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November 3, 2021
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This exploration of what happens to human cadavers is both grisly and entertaining. At least at times it is interesting and educational, although it is not for the weak of constitution. Roach approaches the subject by visiting a wide variety of institutions including morgues, hospitals, medical schools, mortuaries, research facilities, and military bases. She’s interviewed people at all of those and well beyond including transplant surgeons and highway patrolmen. She also explored much of the literature on the subject going back as far as the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The scientific and medical part wasn’t hard to take; neither was the mortuary and funeral business end. But when it got to accounts of medical experimentation in centuries past that could only be described as torture, it got to be time to skip a chapter or two. Roach is often witty with a dark sense of humor, though mostly respectful on the subject, but some, especially those of a religious bent, will find it offensive at times. It’s not all on human cadavers, either. Animal experimentation is included and is among the most stomach-turning. Be warned.
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October 28, 2021
Elizabeth Holmes trial – week 7
I have not attended the trial for the last two weeks. Instead I have been following primarily through the excellent coverage by Adam Lashinsky of businessinsider.com and Erin Woo and Erin Griffith of the New York Times as well as local television news reports. I have concluded that attending the trial is largely an exercise in self-punishment, primarily due to the very poor trial management by Judge Davila. More on that in a minute. So my reporting is second-hand, but I have my own perspective on it.
The last ten days or so was the best yet for the prosecution. This is because it brought out evidence that is more relatable to the jurors. It introduced a recording of Holmes so the jurors could hear her in her own words for the first time. Even better, after a legal skirmish over admissibility, it introduced a television interview of Holmes so the jurors could see her “up close” and without a mask as she made false claims. In particular she claimed that the Theranos machines could perform over 100 blood tests. Previous testimony by others made clear the devices could not. She also asserted confidently that she was the CEO and fully responsible for everything at Theranos.
Great. So what’s in store for this week: nothing! Why? Because of Judge Davila’s incompetence. I do not use that word lightly as I respect the judge and feel he is a reasonably bright fellow. But he is obviously cowed by the spotlight on this trial and so afraid of reversal, or possibly even bad press, that he is being overly cautious. He has made bad decisions that force the trial to be much longer than necessary, e.g. holding the trial only three days a week and dismissing at 2:00PM or 3:00PM. He has reversed both those decisions, realizing that he is risking losing more jurors to boredom or simply attrition, resulting in a mistrial. The latest bad decision happened yesterday when he dismissed the jurors for the rest of the week because the water was off in the courtroom due to a water main break. Soon after he did so, the break was repaired and water restored. Why send them home for the entire week? Did he even send someone down to check with the nearby workmen to get an estimate of how long it would take to repair? See my previous posts for how he mishandled the juror dismissals. By the way, yet another one was dismissed for playing Sudoku.
Even more troubling is his handling of the testimony portion. The prosecution has been extremely repetitive, asking the same question in a dozen different ways, or even the same way of the same witness. Recapping testimony from an earlier part can be useful and valid, but too much will bore and alienate the jury, and in this case, risk losing too many jurors and causing the mistrial. The judge could have, outside the jury’s hearing, instructed the AUSA to “move along.” A good judge does. There’s no risk of reversal because the prosecution can’t appeal an acquittal. I served as a judge pro tem, running criminal trials (okay, they were only traffic cases, but trials nonetheless), and I’ve litigated enough to be confident this can be done. Of course, the prosecutors should have been more disciplined and bear much of the responsibility.
My next comments may be more controversial if anyone bothers to read them. I think Davila just isn’t qualified to be a federal judge. I’m an unabashed elitist. Somehow it has become politically incorrect to say out loud that some people aren’t smart enough to do a job or that people who attended top schools are better in some way. Judge Davila graduated from Hastings College of the Law, a decent, but second tier, law school. It’s a school in the University of California system, but it ranks behind the one at UCLA and way behind Boalt Hall (now called Berkeley Law) in the grades and test scores required to get in. Full disclosure: I attended Boalt. I was accepted at Hastings, but it was my “safety school.” I believe federal judges should be trained at top law schools, not because the training is better, but because they are more selective and more demanding of their students.
It boils down to intelligence and industry. All those politically incorrect IQ test and SAT scores (recently abandoned by the UC system) actually mean something. Going from UCSB (where I started college) to UC Berkeley (where I finished) to Boalt Hall was like going from high school junior varsity to college Division I to the NFL. The superior level of ability of my classmates at each step was patently obvious. I feel federal judges should be top intellects. Sadly, politics is the more predominant reason for most judicial appointments. The fact is, the job of a trial court judge is not a pleasant one, and not all that well paid compared to what top lawyers can get. You seldom get top intellects wanting the position. Still, I will also admit that some of the best judges I’ve appeared before have gone to second-tier schools. Judge Davila just isn’t one of them.
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October 24, 2021
Fitcamx dashcam video
I recently bought a new toy: a fitcamx dashcam for my Volvo XC40 P8. It has an advantage over other dashcams in that it connects to the power supply feeding the anti-glare mirror. It snaps into place just behind the mirror and looks like original equipment. Other brands feed a cable around the header lining and across the dash to plug into a USB port. Installation was a bear for me and took over 30 minutes, but others I know claim to have done it in less than 10 minutes. I have arthritis in my hands, so maybe you’ll have no trouble.
For this post I’d like to focus on what it’s good for once installed. The main purpose for dashcams is generally to provide proof in case of an accident.
Here’s a car video I took yesterday in Los Gatos, California.
https://blog.ackgame.com/onwords/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Carvideo-edited.mp4The resolution on this video isn’t great, but that’s because WordPress won’t allow upload of the original file size (205MB). I had to upload the original to YouTube and then download it after it was processed there. YouTube limits the size. The downloaded version posted here is 16MB and is much lower resolution.
Native PC apps like Movies and TV and Movie Maker also won’t play the original file. I got an error message saying it was recorded using an unsupported codec. I followed the manufacturer’s recommendation and downloaded KMPlayer. It handles the original well with high resolution. Here’s a screen shot from their video, but WordPress has also reduced the resolution for this one. It’s sharper when viewed directly on my PC.
I’m sure there must be good video editing tools out there that can handle it, but Movie Maker only handles the low-res version. I found a free format conversion utility (Format Factory) that was able to accept the original and reduce the size and resolution enough so that the output file could be edited with Movie Maker. That file size was 40MB but other sizes could be chosen.
I’ve only had it for one day, so I have a learning curve ahead of me. When it runs out of space it overwrites the oldest files that haven’t been “locked”. The camera supposedly locks the video if there’s a sudden stop or impact so it won’t get overwritten. You can download to your phone using an app that comes with the camera. The app connects with the camera using wi-fi. I thought the camera ran continuously while the car was on in a loop, and saved every one-minute segment in a file. When I checked the camera “album” it appeared to me that there were gaps in the time sequence, so I’m not sure it is constantly recording, but perhaps I didn’t examine things carefully enough. I’ll post about it again if I learn more of interest or have misinformation here to correct.
The manufacturer in Hong Kong is very responsive. My first order got lost in transit. When I inquired of them, they immediately sent another one by express delivery. They’ve also replied to emails promptly.
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October 21, 2021
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
My low rating has nothing to do with racism, cultural appropriation or any controversy. I wasn’t even aware of the controversy before giving up on the book and starting this review. I learned about it only from reading other reviews moments ago. For the record, I’m white but my wife’s grandfather emigrated from Mexico and two of my grandchildren are Mexican, i.e. Mexican citizens living in Mexico, not just Mexican-Americans.
Having gotten that out of the way, why do I rate it at one star? Because the book is missing pages! That’s right. Pages 119 through 150 simply aren’t there. There was obviously some production error at the printer. A big chunk of the story is gone. Not only that, pages 151 through 182 are repeated, the second batch coming right after the first. I suppose I could return the book and try to get a better copy, but I wasn’t all that impressed with it. I found much of it implausible and the writing adequate but unexciting. What could have and should have been suspenseful and thrilling just wasn’t.
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October 16, 2021
Red state, Blue state, Yellow state, Gold state
There is so much in the news and pop culture about the political divide in America and the red vs. blue state dichotomy that I thought it would be nice to show how states can determine their color, and their fellow states’ colors, a different way. Every state has a state flower. Here’s how their colors are distributed.
Of course many, perhaps all, flowers have varieties in different colors, so no single color represents all flowers of that species, but for each I chose a shade that I thought best represented that type. All the roses, for example, are red, even though there are different varieties for different states. I lumped together types that aren’t related, but have the same general color, such as the goldenrod and the golden poppy. When you look at the map, we don’t seem so divided along political lines anymore. Perhaps this will allow you to view the common values you share with states on “the other side.”
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October 14, 2021
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I added this book to my to-read list when I saw it ranked #2 on a recent Goodreads mystery poll. I’d never heard of McManus and didn’t know she wrote exclusively Young Adult (YA) novels, i.e. books for teens. So I was taken aback when I began reading and was inundated with teens mooning and swooning over cute dimples and short skirts and obsessing over pimples and bad hair. I suppressed my gag reflex long enough to become engaged with the mystery at the heart of the plot. It’s actually rather well done. I did guess who the killer was before the end, but there were enough red herrings to keep it interesting. I can’t really recommend this to to adult readers, but we were all teenagers once, so if you allow yourself to put yourself back in that mindset and just go with it, you can enjoy the book.
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October 13, 2021
Elizabeth Holmes trial updates
This morning was almost entirely wasted by the judge questioning jurors in private about how they would feel if their juror questionnaires were released to the press. A consortium of press entities has requested that they be made public. I say this time is wasted because the judge eventually (hours later) said that he would have to hear legal arguments and authorities on the question in a hearing, which in view of the crowded court docket, couldn’t take place until at least five weeks from now. He could have ruled that way immediately and saved those hours for trial testimony. The trial may be over by the time he rules on the issue. If not, the jurors could always be questioned about it at that time.
According to my sources the government is expected to rest in early November, but estimates are in constant flux because of non-evidentiary sideline issues like this delaying the trial. I’ll be surprised if the trial ends before January.
When they finally got to trial testimony, Wade Miquelon, a former Walgreens executive, was questioned further by AUSA Jeff Schenk about the representations made by Holmes and her co-defendant Balwani that led to a deal between those two companies. It was rather plodding stuff with most of the focus being on Theranos’s claims that the tests would be using fingerstick blood, not venous blood draws, and that testing would be done by the Theranos Edison, not third party machines. The questions were highly repetitive, showing document after document with such representations. The judge could have limited this as cumulative, but he hasn’t shown any ability to keep things moving. In the early cross-examination the defense did little damage. They seemed to be helping the prosecution or just trying to bore the jury to death, but I didn’t stay through the questioning after lunch.
One tidbit that surprised me is that the main law enforcement presence, i.e. investigator, at least for this part of the trail, is an FDA agent, not an FBI agent. It makes sense in this case, of course, but it’s unusual in my experience. Another one is that the behemoth law firm Latham and Watkins had done the due diligence investigation of Theranos for Walgreens before the original deal was struck with the two companies. I’ll bet their malpractice insurer received a hefty claim. It’s amazing how many supposedly competent people were bamboozled by Holmes.
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