Saturday, July 14, 2012
Even in 1890!
Snopes says this is for real. Read the message in the last photo (click to enlarge). Via my lovely bride...
Worst Job Evah!
The toshers of Victorian England. There are a lot of candidates for the worst job ever. This is certainly amongst the top tier, if not the outright winner...
Modern Olympics Started in ... England?
Read about the father of the modern Olympics: Dr. William Penny Brookes of Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, England...
Intellectually Stimulating Web Sites...
Starting with:
Many more listed in the comments...Videos and Lectures
Learn New Things
Testing Knowledge
Teach Yourself Something
Youtube Channels
EDIT:
Subreddits
Fear...
Via McSweeney's...
Reasons to Fear Canada.
BY Sean Carman
- - - -
Ninety percent of population is massed within 100 miles of northern American border.
Seems not to mind that one of its provinces has turned almost entirely French.
Excessive politeness only makes sense as cover for something truly sinister. But what?
Citizens seem strangely impervious to cold.
Decriminalization of marijuana and acceptance of gay marriage without corresponding collapse of social institutions indicate Canada may, in fact, be indestructible.
Has infiltrated entertainment industry with singers, actors, and comedians practically indistinguishable from their American counterparts.
Consistently stays just below cultural radar yet never quite disappears.
Parliamentary government and common-law judiciary appear to function acceptably yet remain completely inscrutable.
Never had a “disco phase.”
Seemingly endless supply of timber, donuts, and Scotch-plaid hats with earflaps.
Keeps insisting it “has no designs on America” and “only wants peace.”
Plays a mean game of pond hockey.
We Are the Hopeychange!
Mark Steyn at his best:
Thus, in 2008, Barack Obama, being the preferred choice of America's youth, was, by definition, the candidate of progress and the future. In humdrum reality, his idea of the future doesn't seem to be any more futuristic than the pre-Thatcher statist wasteland of Britain in the Seventies, but that didn't stop the massed ranks of fresh-faced youth chanting "We are the Hopeychange!" in adoring if glassy-eyed unison behind him at every campaign rally. Four years later, half of recent graduates can't find full-time employment; Americans' college debt is now larger than credit card debt; the number of young people with summer jobs is at a record low; and men in their late twenties and early thirties trudge upstairs every night to the same bedroom in which they slept as a kindergartner.He goes on to talk about the youth in the “Arabian Spring” – read the whole thing...
And that's before they're permanently buried by interest payments on the multitrillion-dollar debt and unfunded liabilities from Medicare. Yet in 2012 the rubes will still vote for Obama and be congratulated by the media for doing so. Because to be young is to vote for hope and change.
What a Waste!
But the dominance of drug-related “crime” is actually much worse than this chart depicts. Why? Because a significant fraction of the non-drugs crimes at right were committed by drug users to fund their habit. Depending on whose numbers you want to believe, something between 25% and 60% of all property crimes committed in the U.S. are indirectly drug-related. The main reason drug users commit crimes to fund their habit is because of the extraordinarily high price of the drugs they crave. Those drug prices are high only because they are illegal. Precisely the same thing happened with alcohol during Prohibition. It's happening here, too.
Many people aren't aware that drug regulations are a relatively recent “innovation”. The very first law of any kind regulating drugs in the U.S. was passed in 1892, to regulate opium use (restricting it to designated “opium dens”. This was aimed mainly at Chinese immigrants, and driven by widespread American disdain for Chinese culture. Very little else happened in the way of regulation until the 1920s – before that, any American who wanted any drug – coffee, alcohol, opium, cocaine, heroin, hashhish, marijuana – was free to purchase and use it. Drug stores kept opium, cocaine, and heroin on the shelf. Marijuana was readily available, especially in the American south. Alcohol and coffee were available nearly anywhere. There were users of these drugs all across the U.S. Some abused those drugs (like some abuse alcohol today). Most did not. American society didn't fall apart. In fact, one could make persuasive arguments that our high incarceration rates today (10 times what they were 100 years ago) are more damaging to our society than drug abusers were when drugs were completely unregulated.
I'd sure like to see us going back to our former libertarian approach to drugs: let the use of them be by personal choice, and punish only those that through their irresponsible use of drugs cause harm to others. In other words, let's treat all drug use the way we treat alcohol use today. If we did so, we'd “repatriate” tens of thousands of productive citizens, and likely cut our prison populations by two thirds (some think more!).
This is one topic where I'm 100% in agreement with the libertarians (and there aren't many like that!)...
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Blond and the Ventriloquist...
Via my mom:
A young ventriloquist is touring Sweden and, one night, he's doing a show in a small fishing town. With his dummy on his knee, he starts going through his usual dumb blond jokes.
Suddenly, a blond woman in the fourth row stands on her chair and starts shouting,"I've heard enough of your stupid blond jokes. What makes you think you can stereotype Swedish blond women that way? What does the color of a woman's hair have to do with her worth as a human being? It's men like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community, and from reaching our full potential as people. Its people like you that make others think that all blonds are dumb! You and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blonds, but women in general ... pathetically all in the name of humor!"
The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologize, and the blond yells:
"You stay out of this! I'm talking to that little shit on your lap.."
Ya Think?
Via my mom:
THE HILLBILLY VASECTOMY
After their 11th child, a South Carolina couple decided that was enough, as they could not afford a larger bed.
So the husband went to his veterinarian and told him that he and his cousin didn't want to have any more children.
The doctor told him that there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem, but that it was expensive..
"A less costly alternative," said the doctor, "is to go home, get a cherry bomb, (fireworks are legal in South Carolina) light it, put it in a beer can (COORS), then hold the can up to your ear and count to 10."
The man said to the doctor, "I may not be the smartest tool in the shed, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer can next to my ear Is going to help me."
"Trust me," said the doctor.
So the man went home, lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can.
He held the can up to his ear and began to count!
'1'
'2'
'3'
'4'
'5'
(you'll love this...)
At which point he paused, placed the beer can between his legs and continued counting on his other hand.
This procedure also works in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and parts of Georgia, Missouri, and West Virginia and...ALL of Washington DC.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Fourth Time...
I just finished reading The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the fourth time in my life. The last time was about 15 years ago; the first time in the late '60s. It was just as fresh and enjoyable to me this time as it was the first time, and just as terrific an escapist piece. This is the first time I've reread the books since I first saw the Lord of the Rings movies, and finding the differences between the movies and the books added another bit of interest.
Mozilla Persona...
Another attempt at a universal online identity. This is one of those easy-looking problems that is awesomely difficult when you start looking at the details...
One Web Site to Rule Them All...
Some months ago, I was taken completely by surprise when Amazon rather suddenly stopped battling with various states (including California) over the collection of sales tax, and instead started signing agreements to phase in sales tax collection. I couldn't figure out what Amazon would voluntarily give up the enormous advantage they had over brick-and-mortar stores.
Now I know, thanks to this article. Amazon realized they had another opportunity, and one that they didn't share with every other web store: they have achieved the scale (or at least, they believe they have) required to put the infrastructure in place to enable them to make same-day deliveries to most of their U.S. customers.
That makes for a very compelling online shopping experience. While drinking your morning coffee at your kitchen table, you can browse Amazon's enormous “catalog” for something you need, order it, and have it delivered to your door in a few hours – or the next day at worst. At the same time, you're going to get it at an excellent price, and you're going to get Amazon's famous customer service (including return privileges). Why would you shop in a brick-and-mortar store, if that experience was available to you? The reasons for doing so just got significantly fewer.
Then think about what Amazon did to its online competitors with this move. First, by “capitulating” to the states with regard to sales tax collection, Amazon establishes a precedent that will make it enormously easier for the states to go after all the other web sites for sales tax collection – thus leveling the playing field for Amazon on the price front. Second, damned few of Amazon's competitors – quite possibly none of them – have the ability to put up competitive delivery infrastructure. The existing retail chains might be able to pull off a reorganization around that theme, but that will be very challenging even for them. One could imagine someone cobbling together a consortium or cooperative effort – perhaps even something akin to an open source effort – but such will not be easy. Amazon will be starting off with a huge, huge head start.
If Amazon manages to pull this off, it will be brilliant. Simply brilliant...
Now I know, thanks to this article. Amazon realized they had another opportunity, and one that they didn't share with every other web store: they have achieved the scale (or at least, they believe they have) required to put the infrastructure in place to enable them to make same-day deliveries to most of their U.S. customers.
That makes for a very compelling online shopping experience. While drinking your morning coffee at your kitchen table, you can browse Amazon's enormous “catalog” for something you need, order it, and have it delivered to your door in a few hours – or the next day at worst. At the same time, you're going to get it at an excellent price, and you're going to get Amazon's famous customer service (including return privileges). Why would you shop in a brick-and-mortar store, if that experience was available to you? The reasons for doing so just got significantly fewer.
Then think about what Amazon did to its online competitors with this move. First, by “capitulating” to the states with regard to sales tax collection, Amazon establishes a precedent that will make it enormously easier for the states to go after all the other web sites for sales tax collection – thus leveling the playing field for Amazon on the price front. Second, damned few of Amazon's competitors – quite possibly none of them – have the ability to put up competitive delivery infrastructure. The existing retail chains might be able to pull off a reorganization around that theme, but that will be very challenging even for them. One could imagine someone cobbling together a consortium or cooperative effort – perhaps even something akin to an open source effort – but such will not be easy. Amazon will be starting off with a huge, huge head start.
If Amazon manages to pull this off, it will be brilliant. Simply brilliant...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Bird Feeders and Progressivism...
I bought a bird feeder. I hung
It on my back porch and filled
It with seed. What a beauty of
A bird feeder it was, as I filled it
Lovingly with seed.
Within a week we had hundreds of birds
Taking advantage of the
Continuous flow of free and
Easily accessible food.
But then the birds started
Building nests in the boards
Of the patio, above the table,
And next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop. It was
Everywhere: on the patio tile,
The chairs, the table ..
Everywhere!
Then some of the birds
Turned mean. They would
Dive bomb me and try to
Peck me even though I had
Fed them out of my own
Pocket.
And others birds were
Boisterous and loud. They
Sat on the feeder and
Squawked and screamed at
All hours of the day and night
And demanded that I fill it
When it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even
Sit on my own back porch
Anymore. So I took down the
Bird feeder and in three days
The birds were gone. I cleaned
Up their mess and took down
The many nests they had built
All over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like
It used to be ..... Quiet, serene....
And no one demanding their
Rights to a free meal.
Now let's see.
Our government gives out
Free food, subsidized housing,
Free medical care and free
Education, and allows anyone
Born here to be an automatic Citizen.
Then the illegal's came by the
Tens of thousands. Suddenly
Our taxes went up to pay for
Free services; small apartments
Are housing 5 families; you
Have to wait 6 hours to be seen
By an emergency room doctor;
Your child's second grade class is
Behind other schools because
Over half the class doesn't speak English.
Corn Flakes now come in a
Bilingual box; I have to
'press one ' to hear my bank
Talk to me in English, and
People waving flags other
Than 'Old Glory' are
Squawking and screaming
In the streets, demanding
More rights and free liberties.
Just my opinion, but maybe
it's time for the government
To take down the bird feeder.
If you agree, pass it on; if not,
Just continue cleaning up the poop!
Governor Awesome...
...being, well, awesome once again. Via my brother Mark, who resides in New Jersey and who cites Governor Awesome as the singular sign of hope in the blight that otherwise plagues his “Garden State”...
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Calm in the Storm...
I've done my share of risky things, and then some. But I would never have done what the guy in the video below did – and if I got in that position somehow by accident, I certainly would not have been as eerily unaffected as he was. Pay attention to the phone conversation, and think about how the person on the other end of the call must have been feeling...
Doctors Don't Like ObamaCare...
Now a report says that 83% of all doctors have considered leaving their practice because of ObamaCare. This jibes with what I've heard from doctors I know, every one of whom is wondering what their future holds under ObamaCare, and whether that future will be in U.S. medicine. Some are considering leaving the country, to practice where they can make more money. Others are considering changing careers. None – not one – believes that they have a viable career as a doctor being paid under ObamaCare.
This flight of doctors to higher-paying careers is actually not new – it began years ago with Medicare and Medicaid, two government programs that pay fixed (and very low) fees to doctors. That flight, though, was to private medicine: an increasing number of doctors, over the years, refuse to take Medicare/Medicaid patients for the simple reason that they don't pay enough. Under ObamaCare, however, that choice is removed – and now to make more money, they have to make a more drastic career change.
I would like to live out my years in a country where I at least have the choice to obtain the services of a great doctor, even if I have to pay for that choice myself. If our great doctors tend to switch to another career, or move to another country, that's going to get a lot harder. It's going to make options like traveling to India, Estonia, or Brazil for medical care look a lot better. Some countries are already thinking about encouraging “medical tourism” like this as a major policy effort, most especially Israel, China, and India. To them, ObamaCare is an enormous opportunity. Good for them! But not so good for us...
This flight of doctors to higher-paying careers is actually not new – it began years ago with Medicare and Medicaid, two government programs that pay fixed (and very low) fees to doctors. That flight, though, was to private medicine: an increasing number of doctors, over the years, refuse to take Medicare/Medicaid patients for the simple reason that they don't pay enough. Under ObamaCare, however, that choice is removed – and now to make more money, they have to make a more drastic career change.
I would like to live out my years in a country where I at least have the choice to obtain the services of a great doctor, even if I have to pay for that choice myself. If our great doctors tend to switch to another career, or move to another country, that's going to get a lot harder. It's going to make options like traveling to India, Estonia, or Brazil for medical care look a lot better. Some countries are already thinking about encouraging “medical tourism” like this as a major policy effort, most especially Israel, China, and India. To them, ObamaCare is an enormous opportunity. Good for them! But not so good for us...
Sounds of the Aurora Borealis...
For years scientists believed that reports of sounds accompanying the aurora borealis were mistaken, or possibly the result of too much alcohol (this was actually posited as a cause!). But then some scientists heard them, when not drunk. Oops. So then they had to figure out where the sound actually came from, because the lights of the aurora borealis are clearly too far away to hear. Now they have: the sounds come from just 70 meters (about 220 feet) above the ground...
Unions Spend a Lot on Politics...
Well, that's not really a surprise, is it? But today's Wall Street Journal is reporting that unions actually spend about four times more than what was generally believed...
Dancing Matt...
Matt Harding travels all around the world, and dances with folks he meets. He takes video of these “events”, then edits them into short videos like the one below. This one has some places I'm familiar with: Tallinn (Estonia), St. Petersburg (Russia), and the Sibelius monument in Helsinki (Finland). Watch it – it will put a smile on your face:
Kinda Says It All...
Via my lovely bride, who's taken a new interest in politics now that she understands how it's going to hit us directly in the wallet:
Riddle Me This...
Via my lovely bride:
Queen's Riddle
Barack Obama met with the Queen of England. He asked her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?"
"Well," said the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."
Obama frowned, and then asked, "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"
The Queen took a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy; you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle."
The Queen pushed a button on her intercom. "Please send David Cameron in here, would you?"
Mr. Cameron walked into the room and said, "Yes, Your Majesty?"
The Queen smiled and said, "Answer me this please, Mr Prime Minister, your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"
Without pausing for a moment, the Prime Minister answered, "That would be me."
"Yes! Very good," said the Queen.
Obama went back home to ask Joe Biden the same question. "Joe, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"
"I'm not sure," said Biden. "Let me get back to you on that one."
He went to his advisors and asked everyone, but none could give him an answer.
Finally, Biden ran in to John Boehner out eating one night. Biden asked, "Mr Speaker, can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Representative Boehner answered right back, "That's easy, it's me!"
Biden smiled, and said, "Thanks!"
Biden then, went back to speak with Obama. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's John Boehner!"
Obama got up, stomped over to Biden, and angrily yelled into his face, "No! You idiot! It's David Cameron!"
Monday, July 9, 2012
The World Isn't Ending...
Reading the lamestream media news reports about the recent East Coast heat wave, you'd think that the world was coming to an end. Headlines trumpet things like “3,000+ Records Broken!”, and the text of the articles implies that nothing like this has ever been seen before.
Hogwash.
The graph below is courtesy of the indispensable Watts Up With That?. It shows the number of heat records broken for each year since 1892. This year isn't even going to be close to the top. The early part of the last century (before all those carbon-emitting SUVs!) is clearly far “hotter” (at least in this limited sense) than the most recent decade.
Get a grip, folks...
Hogwash.
The graph below is courtesy of the indispensable Watts Up With That?. It shows the number of heat records broken for each year since 1892. This year isn't even going to be close to the top. The early part of the last century (before all those carbon-emitting SUVs!) is clearly far “hotter” (at least in this limited sense) than the most recent decade.
Get a grip, folks...
The Trouble With Models...
Computer models of real-world phenomena all have the same weakness: the value of their output depends completely on the validity of the data and assumptions incorporated in the model. Business folks are very familiar with this weakness, as it plagues the world of financial forecasting. Climate models, I (and others) have long argued have the same problem – they're dependent on data and assumptions that have not been verified.
Today comes news of yet another such assumption: how heat is transported from inside the Sun to the outside (where it is radiated to the Earth). This matters intensely to climate models, as their primary energy input is solar radiation – and if the models use the wrong assumptions, in particular, about variability of solar radiation, then...they'll just be wrong...
Today comes news of yet another such assumption: how heat is transported from inside the Sun to the outside (where it is radiated to the Earth). This matters intensely to climate models, as their primary energy input is solar radiation – and if the models use the wrong assumptions, in particular, about variability of solar radiation, then...they'll just be wrong...
Summer of Recovery: NOT!
This pretty much says it all, doesn't it? If you're not familiar with EMRATIO, it's sometimes called the “participation rate” – the percentage of the civilian population who are working at any given time. This is (to my mind, at least) a far more useful indicator than the “unemployment rate” trumpeted in the media – that number is “adjusted” for all sorts of things, and doesn't really tell us very much. EMRATIO, on the other hand, is the raw data.
So what does this chart tell us? Let's look at January 2005, when the EMRATIO was 62.3%. Now let's look at January 2012, when it was 58.5%. That's a drop of 3.8% in that 7 year period. Doesn't sound like much? Consider this: the U.S. population in January 2012 was about 310 million people. If the EMRATIO were the same in January 2012 as it was in January 2007, then 3.8% x 310 million more people would be working. That's almost 12 million more people who would be working.
Obama and his fellow Democrats have cost us 12 million jobs....
So what does this chart tell us? Let's look at January 2005, when the EMRATIO was 62.3%. Now let's look at January 2012, when it was 58.5%. That's a drop of 3.8% in that 7 year period. Doesn't sound like much? Consider this: the U.S. population in January 2012 was about 310 million people. If the EMRATIO were the same in January 2012 as it was in January 2007, then 3.8% x 310 million more people would be working. That's almost 12 million more people who would be working.
Obama and his fellow Democrats have cost us 12 million jobs....
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Jupiter and Venus and the Moon, Oh My!
We slept in until 4 am this morning, so I didn't get the dogs outside until the sky was starting to lighten in the east. As we walked down the driveway, the moon was high and to the right behind us, and to the right and in front of us was Jupiter (up high) and Venus (a bit below and to the right of it). Between the impending dawn and the bright moon, the rest of the stars were pretty much washed out.
The dogs didn't care about any of this, of course. They were intent on reading their “pee-mail”, which apparently contained some exciting news...
The dogs didn't care about any of this, of course. They were intent on reading their “pee-mail”, which apparently contained some exciting news...
Quantum Rhetoric...
Iowahawk is back with another satirical take on Washington. The lead:
WASHINGTON DC - Jubilant scientists at the DNC's High Speed Word Collider (HSWC) announced today they have conclusively disproven the existence of Roberts' Taxon, the theoretical radioactive Facton particle that some had worried would lead to the implosion of the entire Universal Health Care System.But do go read the whole thing...
"I think it's time to pop the champagne corks," said HSWC Director David Plouffe. "Then blaze some choom."
The landmark experiment in Quantum Rhetoric began early this week after legal particle cosmologist John Roberts published a paper in the Quarterly Journal of Tortured Logic that solved the long-debated Pelosi's Paradox in Universal Health Care Theory.
Free USGS Topo Maps...
You can now download free electronic versions of the standard USGS topographical maps, the ones that are familiar to any serious hiker, four-wheeler, hunter, etc. In many ways these electronic versions are superior to the paper version: you can magnify them to any level (they're vector-based, not rasterized), and they have layers that can be switched on and off. Furthermore, the few that I've tried include photographic coverage (also in a switchable layer) – not satellite photos, but aerial photos of quite high resolution. Nice!
What Happened?
Defense Attorney: Will you please state your age?
Old Lady: I am 94 years old.
Defense Attorney: Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened the night of April 1st?
Old Lady: There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening, when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.
Defense Attorney: Did you know him?
Old Lady: No, but he sure was friendly.
Defense Attorney: What happened after he sat down?
Old Lady: He started to rub my thigh.
Defense Attorney: Did you stop him?
Old Lady: No, I didn't stop him.
Defense Attorney: Why not?
Little Old Lady: It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Albert died some 30 years ago.
Defense Attorney: What happened next?
Old Lady: He began to rub all over of my body.
Defense Attorney: Did you stop him then?
Old Lady: No, I did not stop him.
Defense Attorney: Why not?
Old Lady: His rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. I haven't felt that good in years!
Defense Attorney: What happened next?
Old Lady: Well, by then, I was feeling so "spicy" that I just laid down and told him 'Take me, young man. Take me now! '
Defense Attorney: Did he take you?
Old Lady: Hell, no! He just yelled, "April Fool!" And that's when I shot him, the little bastard.
How Do You...
Via my lovely bride:
Q: How do you tell a Romney voter from an Obama voter?I'm afraid there's more than a little truth in this...
A: Romney supporters sign their checks on the front; Obama supporters sign 'em on the back.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Destination Descanso...
Larry Himmel (a local TV reporter) just filed this brief report that mentions one of our favorite places: the Descanso Junction Restaurant. Two people we know well (Tammy and Joanne) are seen in the video. Fun!
Opportunity's Latest Panorama...
The Opportunity rover, still working hard on Mars, took 817 photos between December 2011 and May 2012 (the latest Martian winter). These were stitched together to form a panorama that stretches nearly 360°, showing incredible detail around the site where Opportunity spent the winter. Awesome! Be sure to click to see it full size (original image here).
 |
| The Greeley Panorama... |
The Gate Rule...
Peggy Noonan's lead this week:
There's something Haley Barbour reminded me of called the Gate Rule. The former Mississippi governor said it's the first thing you should think of when you think about immigration. People are either lined up at the gate trying to get out of a country, or lined up trying to get in.It's a rather upbeat and hopeful piece – read the whole thing...
It says something about the health of a nation when they're lined up to get in, as they are, still, with America. It says, of course, that compared with a lot of the rest of the world, America's economy isn't in such bad shape. But it says more than that. People don't want to come to a place when they know they'll be treated badly. They don't want to call your home their home unless they know you'll make room for them in more than economic ways.
Big Bay Boom...
 |
| The “Big Bay Boom”... |
The backstory to this has a slight personal connection. It turns out that the firm responsible for both the equipment and the operation of the fireworks show was Garden State Fireworks, of Millington, New Jersey. I hail from the state of New Jersey, growing up on what was once a farm east of Trenton, but which now is the parking lot for a Walmart store. I left (or fled) New Jersey in 1971, and after discovering that nearly everywhere in the world outside New Jersey was a better place to live, I never returned. My wife and I settled in the mountains of San Diego County, California, where we've lived for almost 15 years. Poking fun at my “homeland” of New Jersey has been a sort of hobby of mine for a long, long time. This incident makes it almost too easy: the New Jersey firm wins the contract for the San Diego fireworks display, then screws it up in a spectacular and very public way – and because they won all the key aspects of the contract, there is utterly nobody else to blame. Ah, yes...New Jersey has covered itself in glory this time :-)
Iconic Trees...
 |
| The “baobab” tree of Africa... |
Its bark is fire resistant. Its fruit is edible. It scoffs at the driest droughts. It shrugs, and another decade has passed. It is the baobab, one of the longest-living, strangest looking trees in the world. Several species exist in the genus Adansonia, mostly in the semi-deserts of Africa and southern Asia. They can grow to be nearly 100 feet tall—but it’s the baobab’s bulk and stature that is so astonishing; many have trunks 30 feet in diameter. The Sunland Baobab of South Africa is far bigger still and is reportedly more than 6,000 years old. Its trunk, like those of many old baobabs, is hollow and—as a tourist attraction—even features a small bar inside. Baobab trees are leafless for much of the year and look rather like an oak that has been uprooted and replanted upside down. Numerous legends attempt to explain the bizarre and awesome appearance of the baobab, but if you visit the great Sunland Baobab, just let your jaw drop—and go inside for a drink.I was disappointed to see that the author left out the koa tree of Hawai'i, one of my personal favorites. The koas at altitudes of roughly 8,000 feet and up on Mauna Kea (the middle volcano on the Big Island) are amongst the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. But despite this omission, it's an interesting collection...the tallest, strongest, and most iconic trees in the world.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Seen Around...
Via my lovely bride. I don't know if they're real or they're photoshopped, but I like the sentiment:
 |
| Seen on the back of a U.S. Marine's Jeep... |
 |
| At the intersection of Highway 59 and Highway 43 in Hutchinson, Kansas... |
 |
| Along Highway 61, also in Hutchinson, Kansas... |
Race in Action...
A photographer captured this beautiful shot of Race (our border collie who competes in agility) cresting an A-frame obstacle. Most dogs (in fact, every other dog I've seen) clambers over the A-frame, some more quickly than others. Race, on the other hand, simply leaps over the top!
 |
| Race, leaping over the apex of the A-frame... |
Five Stars...
Via my lovely bride:
The kids filed into class Monday morning. They were all very excited. Their weekend assignment was to sell something, then give a talk on salesmanship.
Little Sally led off. "I sold Girl Scout cookies and I made $30" she said proudly, "My sales approach was to appeal to the customer's civil spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious success."
"Very good", said the teacher.
Little Debbie was next. "I sold magazines" she said, "I made $45 and I explained to everyone that magazines would keep them up on current events."
"Very good, Debbie", said the teacher.
Eventually, it was Little Johnny's turn. The teacher held her breath. Little Johnny walked to the front of the classroom and dumped a box full of cash on the teacher's desk. "$2,467", he said.
"$2,467!" cried the teacher, "What in the world were you selling?"
Toothbrushes", said Little Johnny. "Toothbrushes", echoed the teacher, "How could you possibly sell enough tooth brushes to make that much money?"
"I found the busiest corner in town", said Little Johnny, "I set up a Dip &Chip stand and I gave everybody who walked by a free sample." They all said the same thing, "Hey, this tastes like dog poop!" Then I would say, "It is dog poop. Wanna buy a toothbrush?" I used the President Obama method of giving you some crap, dressing it up so it looks good, telling you it's free and then making you pay to get the bad taste out of your mouth."
Little Johnny got five stars for his assignment.
Preconditions for the American Revolution...
Dave Carter over at Ricochet looks at current conditions to see how they map onto the Declaration of Independence. He concludes with this:
The hour is late, and the moment urgent. Moderates didn't risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor by signing the Declaration of Independence. The men who signed that document went, as they say, "all in." The weak of heart didn't storm the beaches at Normandy. There was no compromise at Iwa Jima. Liberty isn't cheap, and can be lost much more easily than earned. Do we have the heart to reclaim liberty in America? The answer lies in the heart of the free man, if there are enough of us left. Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, …these are the gifts of "Nature's God," and nature has unyielding determination.Read the whole thing...
Obama's Autobiography...
What does it tell us when we discovery that our President simply made up large and important parts of his autobiography?
Mostly it makes me distrustful of him, and that in turn makes me very uncomfortable. I'm now even more skeptical of anything he says or any position he takes, than I was before. In other words, I now assume he's a dishonest man.
Yet another way in which Obama reminds me of Tricky Dick...
Mostly it makes me distrustful of him, and that in turn makes me very uncomfortable. I'm now even more skeptical of anything he says or any position he takes, than I was before. In other words, I now assume he's a dishonest man.
Yet another way in which Obama reminds me of Tricky Dick...
A Hopeful Sign for America...
In general, businesses and individuals make decisions more rationally than governments do. An example from current events gives me some hope about U.S. politics, for reasons that will take a bit of explaining.
Airbus (the European aircraft manufacturer and only major competitor to Boeing) recently decided to locate a new plant in the U.S. to help it win future contracts with the U.S. government. But where would they locate that plant?
Would it be in Washington state, alongside Boeing, with tens of thousands of appropriately skilled workers nearby? No.
Would it be in California, with tens of thousands of high-tech workers readily available? No.
Where, then? Why, Alabama, of course.
What?!? Alabama? Why would any manufacturer in its right mind locate a plant in a state that epitomizes (to the legions of urban “progressives”, anyway) redneck hicks?
Perhaps for the same reasons that Mercedes and Toyota have already located plants there: business-friendly political environments, large and well-educated workforces eager for jobs, and low taxes. Alabama is a right-to-work state (translation: unions are constrained), has a top income tax rate of 5%, a sales tax rate of 4%, and some of the lowest property tax rates in the country.
So why does this give me some hope about my country's future?
The fifty states that currently make up our union are in competition with each other, and a significant component of this competition relates to the political environment. Good ideas in the political environment tend to win the competition. This has been happening in Texas for the past decade – business-friendly politics has resulted in Texas having a booming economy and being relatively unscathed by the housing bubble. It also has the largest rate of population growth of any U.S. state – our citizens are voting with their feet.
My hope stems from this: in the long term, the political marketplace afforded by the fifty separate states will reward the winners. And the winners are being chosen by people and businesses as they make decisions about where to live, or where to locate their business. Alabama looks like one of the winners right now. California lobbied Airbus hard to get that plant, and failed. Politicians and citizens alike took note. The more this happens, the less defensible the progressive economic death spiral becomes. In the end, we all win.
So...I takes my hopes where I can get them. And I'll take some here, with this news...
Airbus (the European aircraft manufacturer and only major competitor to Boeing) recently decided to locate a new plant in the U.S. to help it win future contracts with the U.S. government. But where would they locate that plant?
Would it be in Washington state, alongside Boeing, with tens of thousands of appropriately skilled workers nearby? No.
Would it be in California, with tens of thousands of high-tech workers readily available? No.
Where, then? Why, Alabama, of course.
What?!? Alabama? Why would any manufacturer in its right mind locate a plant in a state that epitomizes (to the legions of urban “progressives”, anyway) redneck hicks?
Perhaps for the same reasons that Mercedes and Toyota have already located plants there: business-friendly political environments, large and well-educated workforces eager for jobs, and low taxes. Alabama is a right-to-work state (translation: unions are constrained), has a top income tax rate of 5%, a sales tax rate of 4%, and some of the lowest property tax rates in the country.
So why does this give me some hope about my country's future?
The fifty states that currently make up our union are in competition with each other, and a significant component of this competition relates to the political environment. Good ideas in the political environment tend to win the competition. This has been happening in Texas for the past decade – business-friendly politics has resulted in Texas having a booming economy and being relatively unscathed by the housing bubble. It also has the largest rate of population growth of any U.S. state – our citizens are voting with their feet.
My hope stems from this: in the long term, the political marketplace afforded by the fifty separate states will reward the winners. And the winners are being chosen by people and businesses as they make decisions about where to live, or where to locate their business. Alabama looks like one of the winners right now. California lobbied Airbus hard to get that plant, and failed. Politicians and citizens alike took note. The more this happens, the less defensible the progressive economic death spiral becomes. In the end, we all win.
So...I takes my hopes where I can get them. And I'll take some here, with this news...
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A Holiday Trip...
Debbie and I did a little local four-wheeling today, on a road that was new to us. This doesn't happen all that often in San Diego County, as we know our local roads fairly well – so this trip was a bit of an adventure for us...
Our starting point was toward the north end of Pamo Valley, just north of Ramona. This valley's floor is occupied by the aptly named Pamo Valley Ranch, an unexpectedly large cattle ranch located surprisingly close to urban areas. Once you're in the valley, you could easily imagine that you're in some remote part of central California, as you're surrounded by hills, and the landscape is classic California riparian: oak and pasture. There's not a bit of urburbia or suburbia in sight. The last public turn off of Pamo Valley Road is on Forest Service road 11S01, otherwise known as the Lusardi Truck Trail. This “road” is a bit rough, probably too much so for an ordinary car, but easily handled by our LandCruiser. The photo at right shows 11S01 just after turning off Pamo Valley Road.
We were able to drive about 5.8 miles up the road. The two side roads that actually went anywhere were gated off, and just before we left the National Forest, we were stopped by a “Gore gate” (so called because rumor has it that Al Gore's cousin in Tennessee got a lucrative contract for these things nationwide) on our road (at left). It's frustrating to be stopped on public lands by these damned gates that started popping up about 10 years ago – it happens more and more these days. But the trip we could make was very enjoyable.
That stretch of road alternates between lush oak-filled creek valleys (some still running, even in July) and wide-open dry chapparal hillsides with nice views. Some of the creek valleys were wet enough to support willows, cottonwoods, and what looked like asparagus at a distance (poison oak kept us from getting close to these). We also saw two beautiful fern-filled glens, alongside a flowing creek and still under the oaks. There was a lot of bird life, including some cries that we couldn't identify; something new to us.
At one point, not far from the Pamo Valley side of this trip, we ran across a deposit of quartz chips. We first noticed a bunch of white chips in the road, but then saw an area roughly 6' in diameter that was composed of nothing but these chips...
Since we had to turn around and go back to Pamo Valley (thanks, Al – NOT!), we took another road we knew: Black Mountain Truck Trail. This leads out of Pamo Valley to its east, and winds up at Lake Sutherland, just north of Ramona. This approach has you winding around a hill until suddenly you're looking at the downstream side of the large dam that formed Lake Sutherland – quite impressive, and the biggest dam I know of in San Diego County. Here's a map showing our two routes today.
And of course there were flowers:
 |
| One turn off Pamo Valley Road |
 |
| Gore-gated again! |
 |
| Under the oaks... |
Since we had to turn around and go back to Pamo Valley (thanks, Al – NOT!), we took another road we knew: Black Mountain Truck Trail. This leads out of Pamo Valley to its east, and winds up at Lake Sutherland, just north of Ramona. This approach has you winding around a hill until suddenly you're looking at the downstream side of the large dam that formed Lake Sutherland – quite impressive, and the biggest dam I know of in San Diego County. Here's a map showing our two routes today.
And of course there were flowers:
Myths of the American Revolution...
One of the things that fascinates me about reading history is the way each historian casts his or her own filters on their telling of the tale. It's a rare historian who doesn't edit (especially by omission) the story to better fit their own notions and preconceptions. The omitted bits often relate more of the objective reality of any particular historical event than the celebrated and generally recorded bits. So I especially cherish those historical accounts whose very purpose is to relate those often omitted bits. This article is of that genre, though I know (from other reading) that some of the “realities” mentioned are not particularly well documented, and may not actually be true. It's still interesting reading, and provokes one to reflect about how history gets made...
Independence Day...
July 4th, our Independence Day, is normally a day I would quietly celebrate. I'm not feeling much like celebrating this year, for complicated reasons of which the recent ObamaCare decision is just part of. If I was to try to summarize how I'm feeling, it might go like this: it feels like the Progressive movement is destroying the country whose independence I would celebrate. My country. It would be a bit like celebrating the birthday of a cherished dog – who was busy gnawing at my leg. It's hard to celebrate under those circumstances...
But while I don't feel like celebrating, I haven't given up and I'm not feeling desperate. I want my country back, and I know it's possible to do it. This November is the big chance – not the last one, but the biggest evident opportunity.
I saw this video from Bill Whittle yesterday. It's the closest thing I've seen or read to my own position. I'm with Bill...
But while I don't feel like celebrating, I haven't given up and I'm not feeling desperate. I want my country back, and I know it's possible to do it. This November is the big chance – not the last one, but the biggest evident opportunity.
I saw this video from Bill Whittle yesterday. It's the closest thing I've seen or read to my own position. I'm with Bill...
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Senior Citizen Health Care Solution...
Via my mom, and attributed to the Maxine cartoon strip:
So you're a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no nursing home available for you, what do you do?
Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot four Senators or Representatives.
Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating, air conditioning and all the health care you need! Need new teeth?
No problem. Need glasses? That’s great. Need a new hip, knees, kidney, lungs or heart? They’re all covered. And, as an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now.
And who will be paying for all of this? It’s the same government that just told you that you they cannot afford for you to go into a home.
Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore.
Is this a great country or what?
It Really Works!
Try this little arithmetic puzzle – it will reveal your favorite movie of all time. I tried it, and to my absolute amazement, it really works! Via reader Simi L.:
MATH QUIZ : Reveals your favorite movie
DO NOT cheat and scroll down to the movies . Do YOUR math, THEN compare the results to the list of movies at the bottom.
1. Pick a number from 1-9.
2. Multiply that number by 3.
3. Add 3.
4. Multiply by 3 again.
5. Your total will be a two digit number. Add the first and second digits together to find your favorite movie ( of all time ) in the list of 17 movies below:
Movie List:
1. Gone With the Wind
2. E.T.
3. Blazing Saddles
4. Star Wars
5. Forrest Gump
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
7. Jaws
8. Grease
9. The Obama Farewell Speech of 2012
10. Casablanca
11. Jurassic Park
12. Shrek
13. Pirates of the Caribbean
14. Titanic
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Home Alone
17. Mrs. Doubtfire
Saturn, Titan, and the Rings...
APOD presents this beautiful photo taken by the Cassini probe, still orbiting Saturn and studying the Saturnian system.
Dinosaur Feathers...
Over the past year or so, more and more scientists are speculating that all dinosaurs had feathers, not just the few that evolved into today's birds. I'm old enough to have grown up with the “scientific consensus” that the cold-blooded dinosaurs had all gone extinct, with only fossils remaining. Then came the revelations of the last ten years or so that (a) dinosaurs were actually warm-blooded, and (b) that some dinosaurs had evolved into today's birds. That was shocking enough! Now the new “scientific consensus” is edging toward the notion that all dinosaurs had features – a kind of fuzzy thermal coat, much like mammalian fur. If this is correct, then really the reign of the dinosaurs isn't much different (in evolutionary historical terms) then the much later reign of large mammals (saber-tooth tigers, mammoths, giant beavers, etc.) – the ones we know as fossils were the branches of the family that didn't survive, and the ones we know as birds were the branches that did...
FLIP Ship Turns 50...
Way back in 1962, the FLIP ship first set sail. I first learned about it from a science newsletter in my school's library in that same year, then later read about it in National Geographic magazine. I've followed news about it with interest ever since. This year marks its 50th year of operation.
In the early '70s, when I was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Long Beach, California, I found out that the FLIP ship was based out of Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego – just a short drive down the coast. I called and discovered that it was in port, and I was able to arrange a visit through a friendly research assistant (the fellow my call was routed to). I spent an interesting afternoon going through the ship. After being used to the USS Long Beach (the nuclear powered cruiser that I was stationed on), the FLIP ship looked positively tiny to my eyes!
These days, the FLIP ship has its own home page on the web. I also found this short news story on it, with a video of the flipping action.
In the early '70s, when I was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Long Beach, California, I found out that the FLIP ship was based out of Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego – just a short drive down the coast. I called and discovered that it was in port, and I was able to arrange a visit through a friendly research assistant (the fellow my call was routed to). I spent an interesting afternoon going through the ship. After being used to the USS Long Beach (the nuclear powered cruiser that I was stationed on), the FLIP ship looked positively tiny to my eyes!
These days, the FLIP ship has its own home page on the web. I also found this short news story on it, with a video of the flipping action.
Guess Who Was President of the Slide Rule Club?
My junior high school (in central New Jersey) had a slide rule club, and I was a member. As I recall, the other members tolerated me mainly because I knew how to use the log-log scales, which mystified just about everyone else. I certainly wasn't elected to any exalted position in the club! But this fellow was: Michael Bloomberg. Yes, that Michael Bloomberg...
Modern Manufacturing: Yachts...
The short documentary-style ad below gives a fascinating look into a modern manufacturing facility that makes extensive use of industrial robots. The mix of human and robotic workers is typical, though the robots keep advancing into more and more “skilled” areas. The benefits of this kind of manufacturing are compelling, and well presented here. They include: precision, low waste, high speed, the synchronization that enables just-in-time manufacturing inventories, (much) lower labor costs, (much) higher “up-time”, and more. Watch:
Monday, July 2, 2012
Well, That Didn't Take Long...
The GOP is already planning to make some hay from the Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare last Thursday. Specifically, they plan to use the reconciliation process to fast-track a repeal of ObamaCare – because in the reconciliation process no filibustering is allowed, so they only need a simple majority (51 votes) to kill it. This is possible because the Supreme Court redefined the mandate as a tax, and the reconcilation process is open to any bill including taxes...
History of Rock 'n Roll...
...in 100 riffs. I recognized most of them until he got into the 60s or so. In the last 30, I only recognized one of them!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Volcanic Temperatures in Charlottesville, Virginia...
According to this weatherman on a Richmond, Virginia weather station, literally volcanic temperatures:
But I checked my mom's computer (located in her home near Charlottesville), and it's still up. So this must not be for real :-)
But I checked my mom's computer (located in her home near Charlottesville), and it's still up. So this must not be for real :-)
Victoria Arlen...
Just three years ago, Victoria's legs were paralyzed and she was in a vegetative state. But in 2009, she began an amazing recovery – and now, just three years later, legs still completely paralyzed, she is a member of the U.S. Paralympics swim team headed for competition in London. Victoria's story is an uplifting tale of determination and grit, well worth a few minutes of your time to get acquainted with. There's a two part (non-embeddable, dang it!) video story (part 1 and part 2), and more information here, here, here, and here...
Quote of the Day...
From Scott Adams, on today's Dilbert strip:
I am Mordac, the preventer of information services!In one mordant sentence, a perfect summation of how corporate employees typically view IS (or IT) guys. Fortunately for our collective sanity, there are exceptions to this (especially for enterprises using this), though even just a few years ago the exceptions were far fewer. Every IS or IT guy I've ever met is painfully familiar with this stereotypical way of how their fellow employees view them – and how that view has more than a little truth to it. The best work their butts off to avoid being viewed this way...
Twenty Groaners...
...via reader Simi L. Some of these I've heard before, but many are new to me:
1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.That's quite enough for now, don't you think?
2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."
3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.
4. A dyslexic man walked into a bra.
5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."
6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"
7. "Doc, I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"Well, It's Not Unusual."
8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning."
"I don't believe you," says Dolly.
"It's true; no bull!" exclaims Daisy.
9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
10. DejaMoo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.
12. I went to a seafood disco last week...And pulled a mussel.
13. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
14. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, "Dam!"
15. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Not surprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
16. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories.
After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and asked them to disperse.
"But why," they asked, as they moved off.
"Because," he said. "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
17. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named 'Ahmal.' The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him 'Juan.' Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."
18. MahatmaGandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him . . . A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
19. A dwarf, who was a mystic, escaped from jail. The call went out that there was a small medium at large.
20. And finally, there was the person who sent twenty different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least ten of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did?
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Is Universal Suffrage a Good Thing?
First a clarification: “suffrage” means the right to vote; “universal suffrage” means the right for all adult citizens to vote.
I've wondered for a long time about the wisdom of universal suffrage, and finally I read about someone else thinking the same thing. The linked post doesn't talk about any proposed alternatives, but does leave you expecting that any proposal would be to somehow limit suffrage to those who understood how democracy actually works.
I don't much like that idea (though I wonder if it might not be better than universal suffrage), but for years I've been thinking about a different approach: making some people's votes count more than others. I didn't have a name for it, but I coined one just now: “asymmetric suffrage”. There are many ways one could construct such a system, but here's an example (not a serious proposal, mind you, but just an example to give you the gist of what I'm talking about).
Every adult starts with 1 vote, but various kinds of life experience and accomplishments could be used to modify that. For example:
Multiplier When
----------------------
1.5 when you have owned a home for 10 years
2.0 if you honorably complete at least 4 years of military service
1.5 you obtain a college degree in engineering, medicine, science, or math
2.0 if you have been the owner of a business with 10 employees for 5 years
1.5 you reach the age of 40
2.0 you reach the age of 60
0.5 you are a public employee
0.5 you are on welfare
0.0 you are convicted of a felony (removed if pardoned or overturned)
For example, if you're a 45 year old engineer who has owned a business employing 50 people for 10 years, owned a home for 20 years, and served four years in the Army, your multiples would be:
1.0 that everyone starts with
2.0 for service in the Army
1.5 for your engineering degree
2.0 because of your business ownership
1.5 because you're over 40
-------
9.0 the multiple of all the above; your vote would count as 9
Whereas, if you're 25 years old, have a degree in French literature, are on welfare (because you can't find a job), then your multiples would be:
1.0 that everyone starts with
0.5 because you're on welfare
-------
0.5 the multiple of all the above; your vote would count as half a vote
Naturally there would be a huge debate about what the multiples should be. Surely there must be some that we could all agree on, though, no matter what our political, religious, and intellectual leanings might be. A multiple based on knowledge of how our democracy works (or doesn't!) might be an interesting addition.
Completely aside from the problem of getting anyone to agree with me that this is a good idea, there's another problem, a political one: this scheme couldn't possibly work without some reliable form of voter identification.
Thoughts, anyone?
I've wondered for a long time about the wisdom of universal suffrage, and finally I read about someone else thinking the same thing. The linked post doesn't talk about any proposed alternatives, but does leave you expecting that any proposal would be to somehow limit suffrage to those who understood how democracy actually works.
I don't much like that idea (though I wonder if it might not be better than universal suffrage), but for years I've been thinking about a different approach: making some people's votes count more than others. I didn't have a name for it, but I coined one just now: “asymmetric suffrage”. There are many ways one could construct such a system, but here's an example (not a serious proposal, mind you, but just an example to give you the gist of what I'm talking about).
Every adult starts with 1 vote, but various kinds of life experience and accomplishments could be used to modify that. For example:
Multiplier When
----------------------
1.5 when you have owned a home for 10 years
2.0 if you honorably complete at least 4 years of military service
1.5 you obtain a college degree in engineering, medicine, science, or math
2.0 if you have been the owner of a business with 10 employees for 5 years
1.5 you reach the age of 40
2.0 you reach the age of 60
0.5 you are a public employee
0.5 you are on welfare
0.0 you are convicted of a felony (removed if pardoned or overturned)
For example, if you're a 45 year old engineer who has owned a business employing 50 people for 10 years, owned a home for 20 years, and served four years in the Army, your multiples would be:
1.0 that everyone starts with
2.0 for service in the Army
1.5 for your engineering degree
2.0 because of your business ownership
1.5 because you're over 40
-------
9.0 the multiple of all the above; your vote would count as 9
Whereas, if you're 25 years old, have a degree in French literature, are on welfare (because you can't find a job), then your multiples would be:
1.0 that everyone starts with
0.5 because you're on welfare
-------
0.5 the multiple of all the above; your vote would count as half a vote
Naturally there would be a huge debate about what the multiples should be. Surely there must be some that we could all agree on, though, no matter what our political, religious, and intellectual leanings might be. A multiple based on knowledge of how our democracy works (or doesn't!) might be an interesting addition.
Completely aside from the problem of getting anyone to agree with me that this is a good idea, there's another problem, a political one: this scheme couldn't possibly work without some reliable form of voter identification.
Thoughts, anyone?
How I'd Like to See Our Healthcare System Work...
I read a piece by Holman Jenkins this morning in the Wall Street Journal. It introduces a new term I hadn't heard before that gave me a chuckle: “lip-commitment” – referring to politicians who have verbally committed to something, but haven't actually done it yet. He also proposes a solution to this country's healthcare problems, via a relatively small tweak to ObamaCare:
In response to a reader's question, here are the pieces of a reformed healthcare system that I'd like to see here in the U.S. A lot of these pieces interact with others, so they really need to be considered together. And before people start yelling at me, I know that the chances of these elements being enacted together at that national level are vanishingly close to zero. So shut up, already – it's my dream! The elements:
Now just modify the Affordable Care Act so buying any health policy authorized by the new charter, no matter how minimalist, satisfies the employer and individual mandate.I don't believe the solution is anything like that simple, but this is definitely a component of the reform I would like to see: a return to real insurance, instead of the all-you-can-eat prepaid healthcare pseudo-insurance we have today.
What would follow is a boom in low-cost, high-deductible plans that leave individuals in charge of managing most of their ordinary health-care costs out of pocket. Because it would be cheap, millions who would opt not to buy coverage will buy coverage. Because it will be cheap, companies will direct their low-wage and entry-level employees to this coverage.
In response to a reader's question, here are the pieces of a reformed healthcare system that I'd like to see here in the U.S. A lot of these pieces interact with others, so they really need to be considered together. And before people start yelling at me, I know that the chances of these elements being enacted together at that national level are vanishingly close to zero. So shut up, already – it's my dream! The elements:
- Either eliminate healthcare costs as deductible by employers, or make them deductible by individuals (or both). This would eliminate the tax bias toward employer-provided healthcare (this never was a good idea, and only came into being as an accidental side-effect of WWI-era wage controls). Employers could still provide healthcare, but it would cost them more. Most employers would drop healthcare benefits like a hot potato, and then most Americans would be shopping for insurance. Why do I think this is good? Because it would empower individuals to shop for healthcare and health insurance, choosing the right combination of benefits and cost for them.
- Eliminate all mandated features of health insurance products, both at the federal and state levels. In other words, allow health insurance providers the same freedom as car manufacturers – let them make high-end and low-end products, some full of glitzy features and others stripped down to the bare metal. Insurance providers will immediately start promoting high-deductible major medical policies – because they are dirt cheap compared with the feature-laden policies most states mandate today. Why do I think this is a good idea? Because then the insurance companies will fall all over themselves trying to find products that the marketplace finds compelling – just like car makers do today. This will include low-end products (like high-deductible major medical policies) and high-end products (like today's healthcare insurance, if enough people are willing to pay for them). The most important piece of this is that consumers then get to choose – and the marketplace does the rest.
- Eliminate all state regulations that have the effect of creating a separate market for healthcare insurance within a state. I can buy a Toyota in any state of this country. I should be able to buy a Brand XYZ insurance policy the same way. Why do I think this is a good idea? That's easy: increased competition always means lower prices and better products. No government ever produced a product like the iPhone, good service like Zappos, or low prices like Walmart – these all happened through the magic of competition in the marketplace – and the bigger that marketplace is, the better.
- Forbid denial (of high-deductible, major medical policies only) on the basis of pre-existing conditions – but allow insurance companies to recover as much of their costs related to the pre-existing condition as possible. The idea here is to allow anyone to obtain coverage, no matter what their medical situation – but when an insurance company is forced to accept someone with a pre-existing condition, they can come after all that person's assets to recover their costs, much the way student loans are treated today. I'm glossing over lots of troublesome details here, like determining what's actually related to pre-existing conditions, dealing with pre-existing conditions that predate adulthood, people uninsured for a short time (like between jobs), etc. All that would most definitely have to be worked out, and I suspect it wouldn't be pretty. But...what I like about this approach is that we'd end up in a situation in which two things are true: (1) anybody, with any pre-existing condition can get insurance, and (2) people who choose not to buy insurance until they needed it would be penalized, potentially severely.
- Remove all barriers to forming a robust healthcare reinsurance market. This has the effect of enlarging the risk pool, an unambiguously good thing for competition.
- Completely separate the welfare component and the insurance component of healthcare-related policy and regulation. Government programs like Medicare and Medicaid are part insurance, part pre-paid all-you-can-eat healthcare services, and part welfare. What I'm proposing is requiring that when the government provides (directly or indirectly) health insurance to a program beneficiary, they buy a private health insurance policy to do so. This has the effect of greatly increasing the size of the risk pools for both the indigent and the elderly, while still keeping it a competitive marketplace.
A Lovely Summer Brunch...
I just made this and had it for my brunch...
1 ripe tomato
1 ripe (but not mushy) avocado
1 chicken thigh and leg, roasted
2 tsp mayonaise
1 tbsp dried tarragon OR
2 tbsp minced fresh tarragon
If you're using dried tarragon, be aware that brands vary tremendously in quality. Around here, the best we've found is Archer Farms, which Albertson's carries occasionally (stock up!) and Target carries usually. Crush the dried leaves between your thumb and forefinger until they're almost powdered. Remove any obvious stem fragments.
Cut the tomato, avocado, and chicken into pieces, roughly a quarter inch in size. Put the tomato pieces and their juices into a bowl and mix the tarragon into them. If you're using dried tarragon, let stand for 10 minutes or so to rehydrate the tarragon. Then mix in the other ingredients and eat!
1 ripe tomato
1 ripe (but not mushy) avocado
1 chicken thigh and leg, roasted
2 tsp mayonaise
1 tbsp dried tarragon OR
2 tbsp minced fresh tarragon
If you're using dried tarragon, be aware that brands vary tremendously in quality. Around here, the best we've found is Archer Farms, which Albertson's carries occasionally (stock up!) and Target carries usually. Crush the dried leaves between your thumb and forefinger until they're almost powdered. Remove any obvious stem fragments.
Cut the tomato, avocado, and chicken into pieces, roughly a quarter inch in size. Put the tomato pieces and their juices into a bowl and mix the tarragon into them. If you're using dried tarragon, let stand for 10 minutes or so to rehydrate the tarragon. Then mix in the other ingredients and eat!
It's Just the Law...
An interesting and very different piece on the ObamaCare ruling by Jazz Shaw...
ObamaCare is Bananas...
Just watch this – it's the best short explanation of the major problems with ObamaCare I've seen yet, in language that anyone can understand...
A Cause for Celebration...
My father is the patriarch of our extended family, and of course he's even more ancient than I am. Friends and family alike fondly refer to his age as “older than dirt” to edge around any awkward need for a more specific reference. For him, waking up in the morning is reason enough for celebration – but he's got another reason just now: he's come through a minor surgery (hernia repair) in fine shape. Through long experience, our family has discovered there's only one way to reliably tell what condition my dad is in: whether he's eating. And he's eating his favorite food – chocolate milkshakes :-)
So we're celebrating!
So we're celebrating!
Mom's Flowers...
And Then I Read Mark Steyn...
...and was depressed all over again about the ObamaCare ruling.
This is definitely one of those issues upon which one can find any opinion one wants...and which defies rational analysis because of its complexity.
As far as I can tell, ObamaCare's impact on me personally, short term, will be tax increases – more money stolen from my pocket by the government and given to others in its inimitably inefficient manner. Longer term, I am very worried about the stifling effects of ObamaCare on medical research, innovation, and practitioner compensation. We currently lead the world on all these fronts, to the point where we dominate. What happens when we make it unprofitable (or much less profitable) for the businesses and individuals who currently turn the gears of this wonderful machine? They'll go elsewhere: either to other countries smart enough to take advantage of the bonanza we've handed them, or to other industries. Either way, innovation most likely gets reduced – or at least our access to it.
Sheesh.
We gotta repeal this pig!
This is definitely one of those issues upon which one can find any opinion one wants...and which defies rational analysis because of its complexity.
As far as I can tell, ObamaCare's impact on me personally, short term, will be tax increases – more money stolen from my pocket by the government and given to others in its inimitably inefficient manner. Longer term, I am very worried about the stifling effects of ObamaCare on medical research, innovation, and practitioner compensation. We currently lead the world on all these fronts, to the point where we dominate. What happens when we make it unprofitable (or much less profitable) for the businesses and individuals who currently turn the gears of this wonderful machine? They'll go elsewhere: either to other countries smart enough to take advantage of the bonanza we've handed them, or to other industries. Either way, innovation most likely gets reduced – or at least our access to it.
Sheesh.
We gotta repeal this pig!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)