anti-anti-bacterial soap

interesting

and a little scary.

Blind Hammer

bowls a perfect game to win league.

And he's 78. Apparently there's still time for me to improve my game.

Eco-adventurers should have brought a mechanic along

I thought this was just funny 'til I read that they actually killed a guy ....

So far the crew has enjoyed far better luck than it experienced during its first attempt, which ended when when Earthrace collided with a fishing vessel off the coast of Guatamala. One fisherman was injured and another lost at sea. Earlier voyages have ended with propeller failures and when the Colombian navy fired upon the boat.

They should probably find a new hobby.

I think

this is dead on:

As a product of the Korean GI Bill I can hardly denounce the concept. The problems really came when the intellectuals convinced people that "investment" in trade schools and such like wasn't as desirable as "investment" in higher education meaning universities. At the same time, the State Colleges became "State universities" and in the "upgrade" put more into graduate schools to the detriment of undergraduate education. We then poured more money into the "university" system which is quite unsuitable for education of more than about 25% of the population (I'd put that at a lower figure, but we can stay with that).

Now a lot of students who would do well at "college" level education can't get that; they have to go to "universities" and learn French Narrative Theory in Freshman Comp.

If investment is needed in "education" -- and it is -- it's in training in technical skills. Most of that could be done in high school. Of course the high school teachers don't want to work that hard and will stand in union solidarity with the college professors who want the large number of students willing to borrow money to go listen to foreign graduate students teach introductory math courses in incomprehensible dialects, but it's "world class" isn't it? Doesn't everyone deserve a "world class university education"?

So we continue to neglect the great majority of our citizens to benefit a handful of intellectuals. And they never catch wise.

                                        -- Jerry Pournelle

via the usual suspect
I don't pretend to know the history of it, but I completely agree that most of what I learned in college (the first time - for the BA) was useless. I had a lot of fun in college. But I didn't learn much that I've ever used again - except as answers to trivia questions.

crime and guns and stuff

The writer of this article from the BBC (via instapundit) seems to find it paradoxical that that the US - with it's legal guns and high rate of homicide - feels safer than the UK where guns are banned. Statistics showing the burglary rate for various countries might be relevant. The US sits at No. 17 on the list with a rate of 7 per 1000 people - well below the UK at No. 7 (13/1000) or No. 1 Australia with a staggering  21 burglaries per 1000. (Let me add now that I haven't vetted the site providing the stats, so consider the source)

It's true that our murder rate is higher than the UK's - 4 per 100,000 people (3.6 using guns) vs. the UK's 1 per 100,000. Hey that's 4 times the UK rate, it's 400% higher. That's what you'd see in the headlines, but look at the numbers 1/100,000 vs. 4/100,000. That's not much real difference, certainly not compared to the burglary rates.

Guns are dangerous - no question about it. And tragic accidents happen with guns all too often. And they always make the headlines.

Unfortunately, it's also true that there are bad people in the world. Guns provide a way for 'regular' people to defend themselves and their loved ones regardless of age or physical condition. They are equalizers. Criminals in the US have to consider the real possibility that anyone they might decide to rob may have a gun.

food into fuel

Does anyone take ethanol seriously as a fuel? As a replacement for petroleum? It just seems so obviously a political move to give money to farmers for pure political gain. It seems like such an obviously bad idea that it's hard to imagine how anyone could take it seriously.

And I know Prof. Reynolds is keen on using non-food biofuels like switch grass - whatever that is - which at least has the advantage of not taking grain out of our food supply. But I just don't see ethanol as a viable replacement. I think going electric makes more sense. I thought his advocacy to build more nucular plants for plug in cars was a better idea. If the French can manage to not screw up nuclear then we ought to have a fighting chance.

You mean natural processes also increase carbon ...

how can this be?

That was quick

Global Warming is over. Here comes the ice. And there's more to fear from global cooling than from global warming.

Global warming would increase agricultural output, but global cooling will decrease it.

Millions will starve if we do nothing to prepare for it (such as planning changes in agriculture to compensate), and millions more will die from cold-related diseases.

 And more chilling, still: (punny, huh?)

The bleak truth is that, under normal conditions, most of North America and Europe are buried under about 1.5km of ice. This bitterly frigid climate is interrupted occasionally by brief warm interglacials, typically lasting less than 10,000 years.

The interglacial we have enjoyed throughout recorded human history, called the Holocene, began 11,000 years ago, so the ice is overdue. We also know that glaciation can occur quickly: the required decline in global temperature is about 12C and it can happen in 20 years.

The next descent into an ice age is inevitable but may not happen for another 1000 years. On the other hand, it must be noted that the cooling in 2007 was even faster than in typical glacial transitions. If it continued for 20 years, the temperature would be 14C cooler in 2027.

I don't really like the sound of any of that. We need to boost our carbon dioxide output immediately.

I don't like the sound of

this. China selling counterfeit Cisco equipment to government agencies. Somebody call Tom Clancy.

hawking

Stephen Hawking is an interesting person, and I admire him. This quote, however, disturbs me a bit:

I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.
  - Stephen Hawking

I guess I still have a little more faith in Man and I don't think he's evil. I'm a little sad that Hawking apparently does.

Wikipedia not to be trusted on global warming

This article chronicles one writers experience trying to edit an article on Wikipedia that suggests that some scientists might not agree that global warming is proven from a scientific standpoint.

Sounds good to me ...

real lifestyles of the interesting and brilliant.

Really, it does sound good, I just don't think my boss will go for it. It's fine for world leaders and self-employed composers. Who's going to tell them they're 'wasting time' or 'not getting enough done'? Seriously.

Spitzer spitted

Gotta fiture Eliot's gonna be seeing this quote a lot:

""This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure," Mr. Spitzer said at the time. "It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring."

considering this. (Hat tip, Instapundit)

Hmmm

No cancer sounds okay. I wonder about the social affects of this sort of expiration. We deal with sudden death, of course, so I guess it wouldn't be much different in that regard. Interesting at least.

I guess it really is the new religion

USA Today: Saudi Arabia, U.S. named the worst 'climate sinners'

the magic bullet

Thank goodness! USA Today announces plan to save planet and stamp out obesity all at once. All we have to do is:

"Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving."

Oh, okay. Sure, that makes sense. Instead of driving all the way to work, I'll just park a couple of miles away and walk the rest of the way. Nothing to it.

Never mind the random cars pulled up on sidewalks or just sitting in the middle of the road a mile from someone's destination. 

Hey, it could work.

Our United Nations

Does the UN only hire sexual deviants and criminals? Cause I'd really like to get in on this.

I'm not saying we should quit funding the UN. What if we just charge all member nations the same flat per citizen fee? Let China and India pay for most of it.

Media favor Dems

Nothing really shocking about this. Investor's Business Daily reports on a Harvard study (okay, that's a little shocking) that media coverage - bias and volume - favors Democratic candidates over Republicans.

sign me up

I'm up for living for 1000 years ...
Love this bit at the end:

On Oct. 9, 1903, the New York Times wrote:

"The flying machine which will really fly might be evolved by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years."

On the same day, on Kill Devil Hill, N.C., in his diary, a bicycle mechanic named Orville Wright wrote:

"We unpacked rest of goods for new machine."

Am I cynical

to notice how quick the newspapers have been to label the Craigslist Murder? Who benefits if people come to fear Craigslist? Hmmm