Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Your Tax and Tuition Money: Building Hotels

Posted

So, let’s say that you run a publicly-funded state university . . . you know, a university like George Mason University. The school is a public institution—owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia—that receives much of its money from state tax revenues and the rest from ‘use fees’ (tuition, etc.). If you could obtain, say, 30 million dollars for this school that you run, what would you use it for?

Dorm buildings? Parking lots? Academic programs?

Well, if you’re Alan Merten—the GMU president who presided over bank-breaking tuition increases (115 percent over the four years I attended)—you wouldn’t waste 30 million dollars on supporting the mission of the university or the needs of the tax- and tuition-paying public. Heck, he doesn’t even intend to waste it on the sports program. No, the Washington Post reports that GMU leadership wants to use our money to build a for-profit hotel and conference center.

Read more . . .

Numb the Face, Numb the Brain?

Posted

I’ve never much liked the idea of the cosmetic use of ‘Botox’, given that the drug is—essentially—the same toxin that causes botulism, which causes damage to nerve function and paralyzes muscles and kills people. Yeah, that sounds like a good, friendly drug to inject into one’s face to smooth out some wrinkles. Good thinking.

Regardless, there may be some medical backing to my gut rejection of the use of Botox. As reported by Bloomberg.com, the Botox neurotoxin can move from a muscle injection site to the central nervous system, including the brain, in tests with rats. Granted, rats aren’t people, but it might be a good idea to check this out a little more carefully before we use a potentially deadly neurotoxin for such a superficial purpose as smoothing wrinkles.

10 Steps to Less Painful CMMI Procedures

Posted

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is used by many businesses in an effort to improve their internal processes and, particularly in government contracting, to become eligible for contracts that require appraisal at a certain CMMI level. CMMI procedures, while beneficial, are often poorly implemented by small and mid-sized companies and require a disproportionate amount of time and effort on the part of middle-managers filling out duplicative paperwork. Poorly implemented CMMI policies result in managers taking shortcuts, undermining the otherwise positive benefits of CMMI and putting companies at risk of failing CMMI appraisal audits. There are ten simple steps that an organization—whether CMMI appraised or seeking such appraisal—can follow to make CMMI less painful and more effective.

Read more . . .

Announcing Website 20: Switch to WordPress Brings Better Navigation, Comments, and More

Posted

I’m happy to announce that today I have launched a major revision to my web site. Version 20 marks my shift from the Joomla content management system to WordPress, which makes possible a much smoother navigation system, a return of item-by-item comments, and lays the foundation for this website for years to come. Read on to learn more details about what’s new.

Read more . . .

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.