Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Quote of the Day...

According to Matt Latimer, George W. Bush said this:
If bullshit were currency, Joe Biden would be a billionaire.
Awesome!

Via Powerline...

Sub-Pixel Rendering...

I've run into this a few times before, but this is one of the best examples I've seen.  At left you see two YouTube icons in their natural, tiny state.  If you look closely, you'll see subtle differences between the two – and you'll probably agree that the right-hand version looks better.

At right are the same two icons in a magnified view.  The artist who created the right-hand icon used color to trick our eyes into perceiving crisper letters with better contrast – but without changing the color we perceive.  To the best of my knowledge this process has never been automated (though intuitively it seems like it should be possible); it remains in the realm of art.

To me the process seems almost like magic.  I wouldn't have the faintest idea what colors to try!

Some Healthcare Perspective...

Thomas Sowell has long been one of my favorite conservative commentators.  He happens to be black, and amongst blacks a voice like his is quite unusual.  I just read an excellent piece he did on Obamacare.  A teaser:
There was a time, within living memory, when most Americans did not have health insurance-- and it was not the end of the world, as so many in politics and the media seem to be depicting it today.

As someone who lived through that era, and who spent decades without medical insurance, I find it hard to be panicked and stampeded into bigger and worse problems because some people do not have medical insurance, including many who could afford it if they chose to.

What did we do, back during the years when most Americans had no medical insurance? I did what most people did. I depended on a "single payer"-- myself. When I didn't have the money, I paid off my medical bills in installments.

The birth of my first child was not covered by medical insurance. I paid off the bill, month by month, until the time finally came when I could tell my wife that the baby was now ours, free and clear.

In a country where everything imaginable is bought and paid for on credit, why is it suddenly a national crisis if some people cannot pay cash up front for medical treatment?
Now...go read the whole thing!

Dog Found! Update: Owner Found, Too!

Update:

Pam wrote to tell me that she found the owners of this poor, lost fellow.  Hooray!

Original:

One of our neighbors in Lawson Valley reports that she's found a Great Pyrenees dog that's in desperate need of being reunited with its owners.  Contact her at 619/659-9335 (Pam) or contact Steele Canyon Veterinarian after today.

The photo at right is another Great Pyrenees, not the one Pam found...