Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

XCache for WordPress (Updated)

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

In my well-beyond-marginal-returns-to-scale effort to get the blog to run a little less sluggishly, I installed XCache for WordPress 0.6 this morning. It looks a little bleeding-edge (and doesn’t install through the usual plugin interface) but promises to take advantage of the Xcache service already running on this server. I can’t really tell the difference, though.

I have WP Super Cache running (now in version 1.0!). That means if you are not a logged-in user, you’ll get served a very fast page. (Everything is fast except the Clustermap and the Iraq Body Count, which seem to be the real drags on load time. I will probably remove the Iraq count when the US claims to have pulled out at the end of the year.) But, somewhat perversely, if you are a regular reader with a cookie, you’ll get the same slow page I get. The Xcahe addition promises to help some with that, though.

I also think and hope that I’ve ironed out the bugs on the mobile theme. It works on my Android phone, anyway. I’d love to hear from an iphone and an ipad user to know how that is going.

Do let me know if you notice any weirdness as to site performance. Weirdness as to content should proceed as usual.

UPDATE: I’ve disabled the XCache module object-cache.php, as server load went up quite a bit. Correlation is not causation, but you have to wonder.

Posted in Discourse.net | Comments Off on XCache for WordPress (Updated)

Rick Perry ‘Strong’ Parodies

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

tech president links to video parodies of Rick Perry’s homophobic and pandering TV commercial.

Posted in 2012 Election | Comments Off on Rick Perry ‘Strong’ Parodies

Religious Humor

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Slacktivist points us to Share Your Favorite Religious Joke! just in time for exam period, during which everyone needs a laugh.

There were some old favorites, and many which were new to me, including these:

Patrick was on his way to a job interview, but was running late as usual. As he was searching fruitlessly through the parking lot for a space, he prayed, “Lord, if you find me a parking spot I’ll go to church every Sunday, stop swearing, and give up me Irish whiskey!” Miraculously, a space suddenly opened up!

and Patrick looked up to heaven and said…

“Never mind, Lord. I found one.”

and

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB?

Charismatic: Only one. Hands already in the air.

Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

Presbyterians: None. Lights will go off and on at predestined times.

Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.

Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.

Episcopalians: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old bulb was.

Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb and four wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light bulb is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb or tulip bulb. A church-wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring a bulb of your choice and a covered dish.

Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review the church lighting policy.

Lutherans: None. Lutherans don’t believe in change.

Amish: What’s a light bulb?

Previously: Six! Yes, Six New Lightbulb Jokes and Canadian Jokes Anyone?.

Incidentally, for a long time that post about Canadian jokes was one of the ten most viewed posts on this site.

Posted in Completely Different | 3 Comments

Could a Top *Marginal* Tax Rate of Over 80% Be Efficient?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

It is somewhat counter-intuitive, but a lot of good economics has that property.

The top 1% of US earners now command a far higher share of the country’s income than they did 40 years ago. This column looks at 18 OECD countries and disputes the claim that low taxes on the rich raise productivity and economic growth. It says the optimal top tax rate could be over 80% and no one but the mega rich would lose out.

Piketty, Saez and Stantcheva: Taxing the 1% – Why the Top Tax Rate Could be Over 80% — guest posting at Naked Capitalism.

Posted in Econ & Money | 2 Comments

Annals of Wealth Distribution

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Just 6 Walmart heirs have as much wealth as 30% of Americans.

That works out to about six people having the wealth of 90 million people in the US.

Posted in 99%, Econ & Money | 3 Comments

Froomkin on Anonymity at the Surprisingly Free Podcast

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I just did my first-ever podcast, in which I was interviewed about online anonymity by Jerry Brito. He is not only a Senior Research Fellow of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University but also an important contributor to the Technology Liberation Front blog, which is an essential provocation for anyone interested in cutting-edge issues about online freedom.

Jerry’s podcast series, which seems to feature a who’s who of people doing internet scholarship, is called Surprisingly Free; here’s the direct link to Brito interviewing Froomkin, and here’s his summary of the interview:

Michael Froomkin, the Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Miami, discusses his new paper prepared for the Oxford Internet Institute entitled, Lessons Learned Too Well: The Evolution of Internet Regulation. Froomkin begins by talking about anonymity, why it is important, and the different political and social components involved. The discussion then turns to Froomkin’s categorization of Internet regulation, how it can be seen in three different waves, and how it relates to anonymity. He ends the discussion by talking about the third wave of Internet regulation, and he predicts that online anonymity will become practically impossible. Froomkin also discusses the constitutional implications of a complete ban on online anonymity, as well as what he would deem an ideal balance between the right to anonymous speech and protection from online crimes like fraud and security breeches.

(I have not had the courage to listen to this yet. If you do, please let me know how I did. Unless it’s awful.)

Posted in Law: International Law, Talks & Conferences, The Media | 2 Comments