LockjawTheOgre's Xanga

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Wed, 25 May 2005 09:08:16 GMT

Tonight is the final performance episode of American Idol. Count me as a fan of Bo Bice for the winner, but I'm not putting a lot of stock in either tonight's performances or the voting when it comes to the outcome.

The reason for this is the method being used to vote for and decide the winner. Each of the finalists will have four phone lines assigned to them for a four hour period. Presumably, each phone number can handle more than a few telephone calls at once, but everything will be equal. Equal time, equal lines, equal call handling capabilities for each line.

For the next four hours, those phone lines will be jammed. Phone calls will be coming in to every available line as fast as they can be piped in, registering votes so fast it boggles the mind. Each person voting can vote as many times as they wish.

The result of all of this will be a very close result. In the end, I believe that the final tally will be decided as much by variances in the electronics making up the phone and voting circuitry as anything else. It isn't that the support for these two is so evenly divided. I believe that the support is actually quite unbalanced, by human nature.

How could we get a more accurate tally of who has the most support? We can change the system completely. Here are my basic ideas.

Use a single phone number for the voting and have each caller press a number to cast their vote. Have as many rollover lines as necessary to handle the votes, but everybody calls the same phone number.
Only accept calls from phone lines that allow Caller ID information to be transmitted, and only allow each phone number to vote once. Phones with Caller ID blocked cannot be verified as unique, and therefore must not be accepted.
Use a 1-900 number.

Let's propose an experiment. We get 50 people to line up in front of a ballot box labelled "Candidate A." We get 100 people to line up in front of a ballot box labelled "Candidate B." When we start the lines, each person takes a slip of paper from a pile and drops it into the box, then gets in the back of the line. For one hour, both lines will cycle as fast as they can, casting as many votes as they can. At the end of the hour, the number of slips of paper in each box are counted to determine the winner. What are the odds that the winner will be the candidate with the most people in line?

50:50

That's right, the odds that the candidate with the most voters will win is statistically dead even. That's pretty stupid, isn't it? That's the same system being used by American Idol.

In a real election, we use a single ballot box. Of course, we've replaced the ballot box with other voting systems, but each voter goes through the same line. Each voter also votes only once (theoretically). This allows each voter an equal opportunity for representation. Equal representation means a better vote, and it really is that simple.

Why should they use a 1-900 number? I believe that the 1-900 number represents a form of poll tax that is entirely appropriate in an entertainment venue. By charging a small amount to voters (say, $1), the fans who decide to vote will place a higher importance on their vote. If the vote is free, the voters do not have to take it seriously. If the voter has to pay a buck, they'll place a value on the ability to vote. Those who don't think voting is worth a buck just won't vote, and who needs them anyway?

By the way, I do think we should charge a buck to voters on Election Day, as well. As a "poll tax" goes, a buck is hardly oppressive. 99% of people who might find one dollar to be too much to pay would probably not hesitate to spend that same amount on a drink at the store, or as much as five times that for a day's worth of cigarettes.

Tomorrow night, I'll be watching to see who wins American Idol. I won't be fooled into believing that the vote is an accurate representation of the feelings of the fans, but I'll watch anyway. Maybe next year, the American Idol producers will institute a better system. Until then, I'll just have to enjoy the real world instead.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 22:01:12 GMT

Posted at http://www.lockjawslair.com/archives/2005/04/maggie_gyllenha.html
There's almost nothing worse than deciding that you really like a particular actress, and want to see her in more movies, only to discover she's stupid. It's not enough that she's stupid, but she's willing to openly display her stupidity publicly, too. Maggie Gyllenhaal has joined the club, following in the footsteps of Melanie "What's the Holocaust" Griffith, Cameron "If you think rape should be legal, then don't vote" Diaz, and Jane "commie" Fonda. She had this to say about her latest movie, which deals with the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City:

“I think what’s good about the movie is that it deals with 9/11 in such a subtle, open way that I think it allows it to be more complicated than just, ‘Oh, look at these poor New Yorkers and how hard it was for them,’” Gyllenhaal told the NY1 cable channel.

“Because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way and so I think the delicacy with which it’s dealt allows that to sort of creep in,” she added.

Cute may go away with age, but dumb goes on forever.

Nod to Say Anything.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 21:15:09 GMT

Here's one I found you might like. If you want 10,000 real visits to your site, you can get an account with HonestyHits. They allow manual and automatic surfing to earn credits in a trafficexchange. When you join, they give you 10,000 credits. Just join up and add your URL. Allocate all 10,000 credits to your URL and set it to only allow surfers to see it when they're using manual browsing. That's all there is to it. You can surf if you want, and earn more credits, but this is an easy way to get a bunch of people seeing your blog. 10,000 credits should last a while, too. It won't be an all-at-once burst of traffic, but will trickle in for weeks.

Give HonestyHits a try. It's free traffic that costs you nothing.

Yes, there's more to this site than just free traffic. They're trying to make a buck. They want you to surf for traffic, and maybe even buy credits or advertising from them. That's all optional. Getting 10,000 free credits is the gimmick they use to get you to use their service, and it IS worth it.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 20:23:09 GMT

Just a reminder. I'm only semi-regularly updating this site, as I've moved my site to here. So, if you want to read the latest by Lockjaw, click on over to Lockjaw's Lair and have a read.

For the sake of Google's search:
Lockjaw, Lockjaw, Lockjaw, Lockjaw, Lockjaw.

I've dropped to #6 in the search for Lockjaw on Google, so I figure a link or three can't hurt. I was #1. I want it back.

Anyway, come see me, Lockjaw, at my main blogsite. I'll keep cross-posting stuff here occasionally, but not much.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 23:00:29 GMT

I've used Blog Explosion for a while, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit. The concept is simple. You use their "surfing" tool to view blogs that belong to other members, and you earn credits. Those credits are used to send other "surfers" to your blog. For every two blogs that you visit using their site, they'll send one surfer to your blog. Simple concept, and it works fairly well. I've found a lot of good sites through Blog Explosion and had a lot of new users come to my site because of it. What a deal!

I've noticed another traffic exchange system out there. It's called Blog Clicker. Like Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker lets you browse member blogs and earn traffic for your own blog. It's a bit newer, and has a different look and feel, but works very similarly. If you're a Blog Explosion user, and are looking for a different batch of blogs to browse, give this one a try.

I've found one more traffic exchange system to give a try, too. It's called BlogAZoo. I haven't used it very much yet, but I thought it might be worth a try. At any rate, it's worth joining and surfing a bit, just to see a new batch of blogs. It looks like they've only got around 1600 members so far, so you can get in early.

That's my short traffic exchange entry for the day. If you've never used a traffic exchange system before, give Blog Explosion a try and see how it works. You'll find some new blogs to read, and some folks will find yours. If you're a Blog Explosion user, don't hesitate to try Blog Clicker and BlogAZoo for something new.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:21:45 GMT

Over at Town Hall, Mike Adams gives a nice list of books that you, your high school kid, or anyone else should read if they want to know what communism and socialism are really all about. It's a great list, with some great comments. Although I haven't read them all, I've got to say I'm right with him on those I have read. I'm probably going to have to fill some gaps in the list ASAP, too.

Adams starts his list with the #2 book on my list of books to read to learn about communism. I start with the Communist Manifesto. The manifesto is where you can discover what two of the founders of this evil system really think. Once you've digested this evil puke, you're ready to start learning WHY it is such evil puke. That's why you need to read We The Living by Ayn Rand. Rand gives the reader a semi-autobiographical look at the life of a young woman growing up in post-revolutionary Russia. We see "equality" in soviet terms as the tearing down of those who have succeeded in life. We see attacks on "speculators," and the training of youth in the false economics necessary to believe socialism will work. I think it very interesting that so much of this book could have been written 70 years later, with the subject being the Democratic Party instead of the Communist Party. The only difference is how much power they have to punish people for political disagreement. Today's Democratic Party is no less evil than the Communist Party of the 1930s. They just haven't completely taken over yet.

He also includes my #3 book, Animal Farm, which I believe needs a good historical prologue before it is read. That's why it is #3. Animal farm, through satire, tells of the early years of communism from the perspective of those in power.

There's much more, and they're all great. I especially loved reading Treason, by Ann Coulter. I loved it even more when I got my hands on the primary source material she used in writing this book. Democrats try to paint her poorly by calling her names, but she paints them poorly by documenting how they've ALWAYS stood with the enemies of post WW-II America, and backing it up with proof.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Wed, 26 Jan 2005 11:36:35 GMT

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:24:28 GMT

From FaithMouse

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:10:24 GMT

Powell, Rice and the Left

This post has been getting a lot of attention over at the main Lockjaw's Lair.com site so I thought I would post it over here, as well. As usual, if you're only reading my posts on this page, you're missing the bulk of my work. Click over and check out the big site.

Two weeks ago, Colin Powell was just another "Uncle Tom" black Republican to the left. Now that he's leaving the State Department, he's the next best thing to sliced whitebread. His replacement is another one of those black Republicans that the left calls a turncoat, the brilliant Condeleeza Rice. Bush is choosing from the absolute best people available for the jobs that need filling, and that means considering blacks and hispanics for the job. Given the same opportunity, Democrats have historically chosen the best white man for the job.

Sooner or later, the minority community has to wake up to the fact that Republicans don't hate them and want to keep them down. Republicans appear to want to reward minorities according to their abilities, treating them like human beings. Democrats are the ones that scream bloody murder when Republicans propose treating black people like they treat white people. Who's trying to hold whom down?

It's time we quit allowing the Democrats to hold minorities captive on their plantation, with special rewards for their house slaves like Jesse Jackson and Barbara Jackson Lee. Why do they give Powell and Rice a rhetorical lynching for being Republicans? It's because lynching is what they do to a slave who runs.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Wed, 10 Nov 2004 16:34:02 GMT

Free iPod?

We've all seen the "Free iPod" ads floating around the net. I've looked into them, and it all looks good. I've seen plenty of people posting pics of their new iPod, the packaging it came in, and so on. There've been a lot of success stories on it. My own skepticism at jumping on the offer came from the fact that there were just SO MANY people on the bandwagon that it would be hard to find enough people who hadn't done it yet.

Well, that's changed. Now that Apple has released a new iPod, there's a new offer to match. I've joined up for my Free Photo iPod. This is the new one that has a 40gb capacity and handles photos as well as music. I'm up for it. So, if you're interested in a "free Photo iPod" then click the link above, or the pic below.

[UPDATE] It looks like Infone is the offer to take. It gives you immediate credit for having joined, and they bill you for usage, not an upfront fee. Hope this helps. It's working pretty well, too. I already have one of my ten referrals completed, another pending completion, and a third signed up, but hasn't signed up for one of the offers yet (Go for Infone, Joe). That's 2-3 down and 7-8 to go in less than one day.