Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Inside the OLPC Project

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You may have heard of the ‘One Laptop Per Child‘ project founded by Nicholas Negroponte. The stated purpose of the project was, essentially, to develop a $100 laptop to be provided to children in poor countries. The first product of the OLPC organization, a tiny, rugged laptop featuring an innovative Linux-based operating system for children, comes in a bit over $100, but gets the idea across.

Unfortunately, the OLPC project appears to be going off the tracks. Many of its high-ranking officials and sponsoring organizations have resigned or pulled out for various reasons and Negroponte, who has publicly stated that the OLPC project will always be based on open software, has raised the ire of the open-source community by announcing his intention to put Microsoft Windows on the OLPC.

Well, no biggie if you ask me (even if I don’t really get the point of offering Windows on the OLPC). But a fascinating article by Ivan Krstic—a former OLPC employee—points to more serious problems in the organization. Their whole approach to providing low-cost laptops to children may be flawed, and Negroponte and his organization might be driven more by petty politics than by spreading education. Give it a read.

Not Hot on HOT Lanes

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The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is pursuing the curious specter of High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes on Interstate 495—the Capital Beltway. HOT lanes are very similar to High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes already present on many roads in urban areas of the United States. HOV lanes require that you have a certain number of people in the car to use them, while HOT lanes give you the additional option to buy access if you don’t have enough people in the car as-if you’re on a toll road.

I have many objections to HOV lanes, some to state toll roads, and even more to HOT lanes.

First and foremost, governments realized a century ago that a reliable road infrastructure is a public good. As a result, private roads and turnpikes were taken under the control of the states and provided freely to the public. Roads are a primary conduit through which our economy operates—allowing the transport of individuals to employers, goods to retailers, and so on. Without them, the economy doesn’t work (or doesn’t work as well, anyway). It is for this reason that the transportation infrastructure became the responsibility of the state and, later and to a lesser extent, the federal government.

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Trying Out the 2nd Amendment

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Unfortunately I spend most of the weekend under-the-weather, and while I felt a bit better yesterday afternoon I felt bad again this morning and decided to stay home from work. Hopefully I’ll be up to going in tomorrow.

The good news though was that I felt good enough (just barely) yesterday afternoon to participate in Blue Ridge Arsenal‘s introduction class for pistols. Melissa and I spent roughly three hours in the classroom learning about gun safety and the basic functions of revolvers and semi-automatic handguns, complete with practice loading, ‘dry firing’ (shooting real guns with no bullets), and unloading both main types of handguns. Then we spent about an hour on the range actually firing various common handguns (from .22s all the way up to .45s).

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I Am Not a Cat Bed

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I came down with a pretty bad cold (like usual, on a weekend) that had me laid-up most of yesterday. Luckily I’m feeling better today.

After getting Melissa situated at her art show yesterday, I watched some BBC America and then dozed off on the couch. I woke up to the feeling of paw-steps on my side. Apparently, Mei Mei thought I would make a good place to curl up for an afternoon nap.

The Myth of Occupied Gaza

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Great column in the Washington Post this morning by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey regarding the occupation status (or rather, the lack thereof) with Israel in relation to the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip has been militarily controlled by Hamas, a terrorist group, since 2007 following Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza territory in 2005. Many continue to point to Israel as an ‘occupying power’ with responsibility for the welfare of the people in Gaza—but contradictorily demand Israel withdraw (!?).

But the fact is that Israel, under centuries of precedent in the international relations arena, is no longer the occupier of Gaza. Thus, they have no responsibility to the people of Gaza. Furthermore, Israel has a nearly unlimited right to use military force against their neighbor—sovereign, belligerent Gaza—that continues to launch missiles at them and remains under the military control of an active anti-Israel, anti-Semitic terrorist group.

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Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.