Garth Patil

I drive a clean car.

garth[at]tunnel19[dot]com (Garth Patil) — Feb 19, 2010 18:43:11

This is the way that most of us see the world. We need to always endeavor to see the big(ger) picture.

IndyMac numbers

garth[at]tunnel19[dot]com (Garth Patil) — Jul 19, 2008 20:26:17

Upon reaching 'Critically Undercapitalized' liquidity and reserve requirements status (less than 2%), IndyMac was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision and seized by the FDIC. At the time (July 11), this is what they looked like:

Total assets: $32.01B
Total deposits: $19.06B
Size of depositor bank run before reaching 'Critically Undercapitalized' status: $1.3B (6.8% of total deposits)
Projected uninsured depositor loss: $1B (5.2% of total deposits)

And some numbers from 4,004 banks that failed in 1933:

Combined deposits at all failed banks: $3.60B (Inflation adjusted to 2008: $54.23B)
Combined bank run size causing failure: $0.39B (Inflation adjusted to 2008: $5.96B) (11% of total deposits)
Total depositor loss after government intervention: $0.54B (Inflation adjusted to 2008: $8.13B) (15% of total deposits)

Rest in peace, Dungeon Master

garth[at]tunnel19[dot]com (Garth Patil) — Mar 4, 2008 11:13:43

Slashdot and sources all over the web are reporting the death of Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax, after an extended illness and several strokes. That game, and others in the roleplaying genre, had such a profound impact on so many people close to me.

My 10-year predictions

garth[at]tunnel19[dot]com (Garth Patil) — Jan 2, 2008 11:26:55

I'm not much for making new year's resolutions, but I like to make predictions around this time of year. I've been keeping these for the last 4 years, and Kirsten suggested that I start writing them down. Here they are:

2015 - Personal (Desktop) computers have a minimum of 64 processors (or cores on a die), and have largely abandoned a global shared memory architecture.
2016 - The first third party candidate since Millard Fillmore is elected to the Presidency of The United States.
2017 - At least 50 million deaths are directly attributed to climate change related environmental catastrophes.
2018 - It is legal to buy, sell, and smoke marijuana in the state of California.

Quotation of the century

garth[at]tunnel19[dot]com (Garth Patil) — Jul 9, 2007 09:54:08

I stumbled across this as a comment to a story here. I think it's an incredibly eloquent analysis of the intractable hopelessness of our moment in history.

"I evade my personal responsibility for the things I choose to do. I blame the government, the oil companies, George Bush, the economy, the wealthy and anybody else I can think of for the destruction that my lifestyle causes.
I put my comfort, my convienence and my conformity ahead of the lives and livlihoods of thousands of future generations, and I try not to think too much about my daily contribution to the destruction of the world that was left to me by thousands of past generations. I put myself far, far ahead of my ancestors and decendents and take from them for the most trivial of reasons.
I ignore the real human pain, suffering and death that my behaviour causes. I turn the page, switch the channel, and change the topic of conversation. I pretend that the science isn't definitive yet, or that there's no point in changing before others do, and I convince myself that 'scientists' will come up with a technological solution that will make my lifestyle and me OK.
I avoid, I deny, I justify and rationalise, I pretend, I project, I squirm and sqeeze and do whatever I can to maintain my concept of myself as a good person while still doing what I do. I evade my moral responsibility a day at a time in the hope that reality will somehow be different tomorrow morning.
I steal from those who live far away from me, and who I do not know because I see their pain as cartoon pain, and not fully real. I casally destroy what future generations will depend upon to live because they have yet to be born and it is only me, and my time and my normalcy that is important.
I am like those who, sixty years ago, did their jobs and lived their normal lives and didn't ask questions about where their jewish neighbours had gone. I am like those who participated in slavery and other atrocities, except that the effects of my crimes will outlast all those others.
And it is OK, because today I am normal, and busy, and have other things on my mind and, if what I do is really so bad so many people wouldn't be doing the same, would they?
But when, in the hours before I die, I think back upon my life and what it has meant, I must do one thing. I must hope and hope and pray and pray that there is nothing beyond life and beyond time and beyond myself, that there is no balance, no karma, no morality and no justice.
Because if there is, and I do what I do, knowing what I know....
Well, lets not think about that."