I've Got a Secret?

If you're looking for sensational revelations move along.

The other day someone told me about an incident which will put someone's career in jeopardy.  Almost nobody else knows.  Is it a secret?  What is a secret?  Is it a secret if it is just a matter of time before the whole world knows?  In the past "the whole world knowing" would certainly be hyperbole.  Now, anyone in the world of WikiLeaks, those interested enough to put a few choice terms in an Internet search engine can see your shame.

A campus security officer told the person who told me.  That implied that several layers of security already knew.  Legal probably got faxed a copy as soon as the complaint was signed.  By the time I heard it I'm sure Legal had briefed the President's office and PR had statements at the ready.

I, along with the person who told me, are morbidly interested bystanders in departmental dramas.  We have no input and won't be much affected by the outcome.  We are the bemused Greek chorus wondering how such bright, talented people can do such dumb things.

Will it be a scandal screaming from the headlines?  (Thinking in terms of headlines instead of making a buzz and going viral on the Internet marks my age.)  Perhaps, instead of a scandal, there will be a settlement. Not a cover up, but an agreement between parties, a monetary settlement, and another campus legend passed along in departmental small talk.

From one perspective the decision is clear: get rid of the malefactor.  (There's a pun for you.) From another angle, very good research notable publications and a sterling professional reputation with grants to match might compensate for a prickly personality.  The cynical view is that given the need for funds there will be some hesitation, but the school's reputation considered in light of its dependence on tuition will dictate a parting of the ways.  (The real cynical view is that there will be a new - and rare - job opening.)

A Quotes & a Stock Market Graph

That urgent push—"panic" is such an ugly word—to involve every single employee in acquiring and retaining customer also shows signs of driving down.
Kim S Nash, CIO, December 15, 2010, p34.

I thought this was an interesting graph.

The market's previous close was somewhat below 12,100.  The market is up 40 points.  Simple math says that something less than 12,100 + 40 should be something less than12,150, but look at the graph from finance.yahoo.com on February 8, 2011 about a little after 1 PM.

Ummm and then in the process of putting up this post I realized that I was looking at the previous day's graph.  Yahoo! hadn't  updated the image.  Is it odd that I expected the graph to be update without refreshing the screen myself?  It definitely was not odd that I would be so oblivious.  As I write (and finish my lunch in case anyone wonders if I'm slacking off at work), this is the current graph:

I'm guessing that the Dow text is updated continuously, but the graph isn't.  The 40 points shown in the first image represented the gain from the previous close near 12,160.

No mystery solved. 

John Sebastian's Folk Music

The local public broadcasting station played John Sebastian's folk music retrospective.  I was surprised to see that the music continued to appeal to me and struct by the performer's enthusiasm.  Any false notes eluded me.  Were they really that enthusiastic about their music?  Does the performer's earnestness strike those who weren't there as hoky? The show reminded me that the dismissal of the 50's as bland, ignored the passion for justice that exploded in the 60's.

Folk music became "protest music" with singers using a classic form for what was perceived as a new purpose, but some of the songs which defined the era, , were a political campaign song (the Kingston Trio's "Charlie on the MTA"), a call for justice ("If I had a hammer"), and woody Gutherie's populist "This land is your land".

At the end of the show, many of the performers seen in their earlier incarnations were shown performing at a folk revival in Pittsburgh.  It was reassuring to see the force of the Chad Mitchell Trio's singing belied their age.  Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" with only slightly modified lyrics still carried it's old punch.   Jesse Colin Young's "Get Together" sounded as sweet as the first time I heard it and Roger McGuinn, back from Rio, still looks cool singing Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages", an anthem to angry youth, and Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn".

It made me wonder if someone could write or, unbeknown to me, has written a contemporary song railing at Congress, the reactionary right, and others on my detestable s list wing echo chamber.