A Philosopher's Blog

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Archives for March 2009

College & Convenient Death Syndrome

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When I first started teaching, I would generally believe students when they said they missed class do to a death in the family or some other dire circumstance. Sadly, I soon found out what should have been obvious: people will lie about terrible things for rather small reasons (like making up a test).

Since my grandfather died when I was in college, I understand how that can affect a person and hence I am sympathetic. However, like most professors I have noticed the convenient death syndrome: near relatives dying right around test dates and paper due dates. While death is a serious thing, I have often joked that professors should send out warnings to students relatives about our exam and assignment/paper dates and the alarming correlation between these dates and deaths.

My policy on excuses involving deaths (or alleged deaths) has been to express sincere sympathy and then request documentation. I still feel a bit bad about asking for this (“oh, someone you love died…well, prove it…”). But, I’ve found that good students who suffer a death in the family generally show up at my office and have the documentation already on hand.

For students who lack documentation, I have a “mercy” policy: each student gets a “mercy” that can count as a “no questions asked” excuse for a missed exam or late paper. I did this mainly for two reasons: 1) students do sometimes have legitimate reasons for missing class that cannot be documented and 2) I feel bad when people lie to me.

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Banks & Cars

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The Obama administration recently began holding at least some corporate leaders accountable for their failing companies. Of course, by “some” here I mean “one”, specifically Rick Wagoner of GM.

The fact that the Obama administration requested that Wagoner step down has struck some as a bit odd. While it is sensible and ethical to remove a failed leader, it seems a bit odd to single Wagner out. After all, while GM has taken some taxpayer money in the form of loans and GM is not doing well, the company seems to have had no roll in the massive economic meltdown. Strangely enough, the corporate folks who bear the greatest responsibility for the meltdown have been untouched by any punitive actions. In fact, some of these folks have been paid bonuses (although some decided to return the money).

Naturally, there is speculation about why the Obama administration has not been as severe with the financial folks as it has been with the (once) Big Three US automakers. The more cynical have suggested that the key difference is that the financial folks bought the politicians. For example AIG seems to have donated generously to both Obama and Dodd in the past. While the Big Three (especially GM) once wielded considerable influence in Washington, those days seem to be over. Perhaps it is because the Big Three no longer have the money to give generously to the politicians. A truly cynical person might see the folks in government acting a bit like a mob: “pay us, and you’ll be fine; don’t have the cash for us…well, some things might get broken…”

It has also been suggested that some of the folks in the Obama administration are just a bit too closely connected to the financial folks that are being bailed out. This, one might contend, would bias the Obama administration. This is, of course, well worth considering. For all the talk on the right about Obama’s administration being socialist, they all seem well connected to capitalism. But, I could be mistaken about this.

Of course, perhaps it is the case that the Obama administration is yielding to the public desire for CEOs to be punished and Wagoner just happened to be th unlucky fellow to be dragged up on the alter to be sacrificed. But, this merely raises questions as to why he was selected.

Are Gaming Consoles’ Days Numbered?

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OnLive, a new startup company, plans to offer the gaming world streaming games. The idea is that just as people now stream videos (mostly porn) and music to their PCs, gamers will be able to stream games to their PC or TV. The current hype is that OnLive might doom gaming consoles.

The OnLive system, image from Onlive
The OnLive system, image from Onlive

Using the service on a PC will most likely involve installing client software. For TV use, a hardware box (the OnLive Microconsole) will be needed. OnLive claims that it will offer the latest PC titles to gamers.

The service is supposed to offer numerous advantages. First, the hardware requirements are alleged to be moderate. The reason is that the servers are supposed to do the “heavy lifting” while the user’s PC or MicroConsole displays the images and sends output (game commands). If the service becomes a reality, this could appeal to many gamers-especially those who would like to play the high end games without buying a high end system. Second, OnLive will handle the patches and updates on their end. While patching games is easy enough, this would make keeping up with the latest patches and bug fixes effortless. Third, OnLive might be cheaper than buying games. I say “might” because the service is still in closed beta.

While the service sounds appealing, there is the question of whether it will doom consoles or not.

One obvious factor is the fact that Sony, Nintendo and (most especially Microsoft) swing some big sticks in the industry. If their people think that OnLive is going to be a major competitor to their consoles, they will no doubt use their considerable influence with the game companies. Platform specific games (Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3) are nothing new and the same sort of tactic could be used against OnLive.

A minor concern is that the service requires reliable, fast broadband. While this is not a major issue (most gamers already have broadband), OnLive faces the same challenge as online gaming with the additional challenge that OnLive will presumably have no offline play. After all, offline play with OnLive would just be normal computer gaming-why pay for a service that would let you do what you already do? Of course, online only games have been successful. Just consider World of Warcraft.

A more serious concern is that OnLive will need to provide the service at a reasonable price (after all, gamers with plenty of money for gaming will just buy high end rigs and the games) while still being able to purchase and maintain high end servers capable of doing something that servers generally do not do (that is, play PC games).  To get companies onboard, OnLive will also have to offer them the opportunity to make more money dealing with OnLive than they will lose from not selling games directly to consumers. This might be feasible. A game going out via OnLive would not need to be shipped to retailers on physical media, thus eliminating those costs.

Since some gamers are into mods, they might find the service unappealing. After all, I doubt that OnLive will let customers mod programs on their servers. Of course, OnLive could offer modded versions. Also, many gamers do not mod, hence this will not be a concern for them.

One rather significant reason that OnLive will not doom consoles is that consoles already co-exist with PCs. Unless OnLive can offer the content and experience that keep people buying and using consoles, the console is most likely safe from the threat of OnLive. There is, of course, some concern that OnLive could be harmful to retailers. Of course, this is the same worry that retailers who sell music and videos have had to deal with for years.

I’ll no doubt look into OnLive. However, to appeal to me it would have to be a significant improvement over how I currently game. I suspect that I won’t become a customer, though. I tend to get one game and play it through for a month (or months) rather than playing many games each month. But, for gamers who consume multiple titles each month, OnLive might be a good deal.

The Curse of Springtime Strikes Again

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While I know better than to be superstitious, I somehow believe in the curse of Springtime. Here is the tale of the curse.

One of the premiere races of Tallahassee is the Springtime 10K. It is part of the larger Springtime Tallahassee events (or rather, the events are part of the 10K-we runners think we run the world). Every year I have had something bad happen right before or during the race. Some examples: one year I had a horrible sinus infection. Another year I pulled a muscle. First time. Ever. Yet another year I was kicking the kickstand of my Yamaha, slipped and fell-thus injuring my back.

So, what dire curse befell me this year? The worst ever. My skylight started leaking, so I (stupidly) went up to fix it. When I was coming down, the ladder just shot out from under me. I landed badly and did horrible things to my left knee. Weirdly, I took the main impact on my right leg-which was just fine. Of course, my left knee has been injured several times (including a few pre-Springtime injuries).

Fortunately, the X-rays (first time getting non-dental X-rays in my life) showed nothing broken. My knee is swollen up and the doctor prescribed some nifty pain killers. I did get the prescription filled, but will most likely do what I always do with pain meds-let it sit in the cabinet until it expires. Why do I even bother getting them filled? Well, I figure that if my pain tolerance should suddenly be overcome (normally it is set at “death”, but perhaps something less than death can break it) I’d want some drugs on hand…so I can run through the pain.

I really shouldn’t try running for a while, let alone racing. But, I am crazy as hell in regards to running.  But, I’m a bit less crazy than I used to be-so if my knee isn’t working Saturday, I won’t be racing. That would make me…sad.

Now some philosophy: yeah, there really is no curse of Springtime. I just do stupid stuff and it really sticks out in my mind when I have a big race.  I have bad stuff happen at other times, but don’t attribute it to any curse.

But, it makes for a good story. Weirdly, it gets better each year-something bad always happens right before Springtime. Now, let me add a bit more-it almost always happens on a Thursday. Spooky stuff.

Mexico & the War on Drugs

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As Mexico continues to be plagued by drug violence, that same violence threatens to flood across the border into the United States.

Since this is a complex problem, there is no simple solution. Well, actually there are two simple solutions. One is wildly improbable, the other just a bit less so.

The first solution is for  drug users to stop buying  illegal drugs. Without a profitable market for drugs, there will be little incentive for those involved in the Mexican drug trade to continue in the business. Of course, the chances of drug users giving up their drugs is close to zero-even if doing so meant a reduction in murder. I suppose that it is easy to ignore all that blood on one’s hands when one is high.

The second solution is to legalize certain drugs and get the tobacco and alcohol corporations involved in their production and distribution (after all, they have experience in selling harmful drugs). This would eventually erode the market for illegal drugs and reduce the violence significantly. That this will work is supported by what happened after the repeal of prohibition-organized crime largely got out of the alcohol business.

What will most likely happen is that the US and Mexico will continue to bicker about the problem, then the police actions will step up as more people die. Eventually, the violence will spread into America and then the US will take action on this side of the border. Then the problem will be reduced down to a level that most people are willing to tolerate and the US-Mexican drug situation will simmer away until the next time it makes the news. And thus the eternal war on drugs will go on and on and on.

Compensation

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While the Dow has taken an upswing, there is still plenty to worry about in the economy. Meanwhile, people are still upset over the AIG bonuses. On the plus side, the mystery of who allowed the exception that made such payouts legal was solved: Chris Dodd.

Dodd claimed that the Obama folks made him put the exception into the law. Two reasons are given for this decision by the Obama folks: 1) concern about the possibility of legal problems and 2) the view that such compensation would be needed to retain the top people.

I can understand the concern about legal worries. After all, breaking contracts after the fact does seem to be a rather thorny area-especially when the contracts are held by people who have access to some of the best lawyer (and politicians) money can buy.

As far the retention argument, that requires some consideration. The argument is that such exceptional compensation is needed to get top talent to stay with (and supposedly save) bailed out companies.

Is it the case that people will only take a job that pays exceptionally well? Clearly not-people routinely take jobs that pay very poorly. These people often work very hard at these jobs-witness the typical sweat shop laborer. Those folks work long, grueling hours for tiny amounts of cash.

Of course, most people who work such jobs do so because they have no choice. The top talent folks have a choice, hence they can demand more compensation or go elsewhere to get it.

Of course, people who do have choices often work very hard for less than exceptional compensation. One might wonder why these top talent folks should be entitled to such exceptional compensation when other folks would be glad to have such jobs even at a fraction of the pay. In other words, what justifies the claim that such folks should get that exceptional compensation? Why not just say “godd riddance” to these folks and get people in there who will do the job for less? After all, isn’t that what companies do to save money? For example, when companies outsource they are getting people to do the same job (or so they claim) for far less. Surely the same logic should apply all the way to the top.

It might be argued that the top talent cannot be replaced in this manner-that they are so top in their talent there are no other folks that can be hired to do the same quality of work at a lower price. Of course, given that many of these top talent folks were instrumental in wrecking the economy, one wonders about their talents and motivations.

Of course, there are top talent people that do earn their money. As odd as this might seem, a professional athlete or a top actor can be good examples. For example, if a star player or actor is paid $50 million, but she brings in $75 million in profits, then she has certainly earned her pay-just as a McDonald’s worker who gets paid minimum wage but whose labor makes a profit. The basic principle is that compensation is justified by contribution. So, exceptional contributions earn exceptional compensation.

In the case of athletes, actors and other stars, it is obvious that they can bring in massive profits and hence earn those massive paychecks. For example, a single star can significantly impact the box office take of a film. This is because people will see the film because of her and would not see the same film if it had not starred that actress.

However, is the same true in the case of the top talent in business? Does a top talent person really create wealth in proportion to their compensation? Prior to the economic disaster it seemed as if they did-top talent worked all sorts of “magic” that created money out of nothing. But, as it turned out, that money largely went back to nothing once again.

So, my view is this-if a person really does contribute exceptionally to the success of a company, then they have earned exceptional compensation. Such people would be well worth the price. After all, if paying $30 million in salary and bonuses gets a person whose efforts and ideas single handedly generates $100 million for the company, then she is a good deal. Unless, of course, you can get a person who would generate $80 million in return for $5 million and so on.

No doubt some top talent earn their keep and then some. However, I suspect that in many case, the “top talent” of corporate folks is somehow getting sweet bonuses in return for little or nothing.

I’ll also repeat an offer I made before: if I can get permission for a leave of absence from Florida A&M University, I’ll gladly be a top executive for a bailout company for that oh so pitiful $400,000 a year. I bet I’ll do far less damage than most of the current “top talent” has done.

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