marv's blog

I have to admit, I always did like Powell's ability to speak, his open-mindedness, and his clarity. I fondly remember him talking about pre-marital sex on MTV, where I was shocked to learn that a Republican candidate could support anything other than abstinence. Anyway, take 7 minutes of your precious time and check out who Powell will vote for in the upcoming election. ... Right, I gave it away in the title already, but I promise you: He is still very much worth listening to. Video after the jump.

Yep, it's that time again, so put on your Steve-o-visions and tune into your favorite gadget site tonight at 7p.m. Berlin time. On the menu: New MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and possibly an LED display. The rumor mill has really been grinding this time, and if you want to feel a hint of surprise tonight, you should probably move to a deserted island for the time being. Honestly, I must say, that given we're talking about a laptop update here, I am amazed by the level of anticipation for this event: MacRumors has well over 5,000 event-related forum posts! I think I stopped reading after page 50 or so... As for me, well, although I've tried to avoid spy pics and the sorts, I have failed. So in case you have been living on a deserted island, I can give you this advice: Do not go online until 7p.m. However, do tune in, the new MacBook Pros look stunning! :D

Oh boy, Sarah! There you were back in July getting all maverick-y on your brother-in-law, who was in an ugly divorce settlement with your sister. But rather than sit down and talk with the enemy (like some other certain "unpatriotic" weirdo would do), you decided to take that soccer-mom energy and show him who's in charge. Commissioner Monegan would surely fire that son-of-a-bitch, if you asked kindly... and if not, well then you'd just fire him instead! After all, you're just an ordinary American mom (with a hint of too much power) trying to protect your family. Not that "there-you-go" Joe Biden could ever understand that. I mean, he's a dude!

So, imagine the surprise when a panel today found you, Sarah, guilty of abusing your power! Abusing? Isn't that what power is there for? Does that mean a president actually has to apply ethics to actions? And there we all thought that being a Maverick was enough!

So it seems that McCain and Co. aren't even creative enough to come up with their own slime campaign against Obama. For inspiration it seems they have turned to the man himself. ...That, or Obama is friggin Nostradamus. Have a look:

Anyone watching MTV in the 80s will remember this amazing (especially for the time) video. However, for the few of us who were too awestruck by the graphics to be able to follow the actual plot, there is finally a version for us geeks! Here it goes: Take On Me: Explained:

As the elections near, and the news are flooded with Obama and McCain, I find it interesting to hear some voices outside the political main-stream on current issues. Recently, this scene has been largely dominated by Ron Paul. Another political figure, that has been mostly absent from the media, also has quite a bit to say on the current president, the tasks that await the next one in office, and how corporate America should be treated. Here's Ralph Nader's (Independant) take on the matters:

For those who haven't seen it yet: Below is the video to the full one and a half hour debate of Senator Biden and Governor Palin. Plus, if you've made it through the whole thing you can treat yourself to an SNL retake (click Read More) of the whole thing. It features a spot-on Tina Fey (from "30 Rock") as Gov. Palin. It's really only funny though, if you have seen the original. Enjoy!

So, you may have read it this morning. The bailout plan has passed the Senate during the second attempt. While I don't feel I have the knowledge to condemn or justify this move, I am a bit surprised as to why exactly the bill passed now. Again, Senator Ron Paul gives some personal insight into this:

BTW, if anyone finds a good video of a Senate member opposing Paul's view, feel free to post it here.

As my buddy, Meck, wrote before, it seems McCain is getting nervous about the economic crisis, even going as far as putting his campaign on hold. Watch below for a not-so-thrilled David Letterman on McCain canceling his appearance on the show at the very last minute:

As I am currently interviewing for jobs, I felt it best to review some basic algorithm development. One of the problems I worked on turned out to be quite ideal for analyzing the pros and cons of various techniques and so I thought I'd share them with you here. (I hope this also inspires me to publish more of my theoretical and practical work, that I often write down tediously, but never manage to post anywhere). I assume you know how to program in Python and have a basic understanding of algorithm development and complexity analysis. If you find any of my hidden errors in the following, please let me know.