tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38735462012-01-27T09:39:44.880-08:00PHOTON COURIER<br><br>
Politics, culture, business, and technologyDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comBlogger24341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-49124196382311173562012-01-27T09:07:00.000-08:002012-01-27T09:39:44.889-08:00ONE OF MY LEAST-FAVORITE POLITICIANS...out of a wide range of potential choices, is Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). I first became aware of this reprehensible individual after seeing the incredibly arrogant letter that she wrote to Kathleen Fasanella (of the blog Fashion Incubator) in response to Kathleen's attempts to call attention to the harm being done to many small manufacturers by the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-44205362433830554352012-01-27T05:34:00.000-08:002012-01-27T05:38:35.709-08:00PEOPLE WHO CAN'T TAKE CRITICISM...should not be placed in leadership positions--...not as captains of ships, not as commanders of infantry platoons, not as managers of stores or factories, not as principals of schools.Most especially, such people should never be chosen as national leaders.More here.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-6055301450838791532012-01-25T14:31:00.000-08:002012-01-25T14:39:57.770-08:00INTERESTING DATAA Flesch-Kinkaid analysis of State of the Union addresses says that Obama's speech last night was at a grade level of 8.4. By comparison, JFK's inaugural was at a level of 12.0, Richard Nixon was 11.5, George H W Bush was 8.6, and George W Bush was 10.4.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-70676326088838683332012-01-24T08:47:00.000-08:002012-01-24T08:51:31.668-08:00A TALE OF TWO COMPANIESTwo old rivals. One is in Chapter 11, the other is thriving. Why?Kodak and Fujifilmcross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-49079789064530070652012-01-22T09:29:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:38:12.110-08:00EXCELLENT NEWSThe wit and wisdom of Cassandra has returned to the Internet.Temporarily, at least...I see that she still has her notice that "you have reached a blog that has been disconnected or is no longer in service" up on the masthead. Maybe if we all clap our hands, she will stick around. It worked for Tinkerbell, after all.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-15197915954288283512012-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:002012-01-22T08:50:21.318-08:00NICELY PUTThe capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens but in bringing them within the reach of factory girls in return for steadily decreasing amounts of effort.--Joseph Schumpeter, 1942Quoted here: the high price economycross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-11558914219579687842012-01-19T07:21:00.000-08:002012-01-19T09:32:51.001-08:004004 PLUS 40Missed this by a couple of months....November 15, 2011, was the 40th anniversary of the Intel 4004, the world's first microprocessor. The history of this extremely influential device provides an interesting case study in innovation.Early computers were constructed out of discrete components, first vacuum tubes and later transistors. Early work on transistors was done at Bell Labs...Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-3650848820117868672012-01-18T05:06:00.000-08:002012-01-18T05:27:21.081-08:00PROTEST THE INTERNET CENSORSHIP BILLS TODAYAlthough public outrage has led to the "Stop Internet Piracy Act" in the House of Representatives being "suspended" until "consensus can be achieved," the Senate version, which is known as the "Protect IP Act," continues making its way through the legislative process. There is no doubt that numerous CongressCreatures, many of them in the service of the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-75727592078863301842012-01-14T05:58:00.000-08:002012-01-14T06:04:00.063-08:00"GREEN ENERGY," CRONY CAPITALISM, AND NICHOLAS NICKLEBY...an interesting piece here.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-74930395784727561402012-01-11T08:35:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:02:18.591-08:00THE IDEA THAT BIGNESS AUTOMATICALLY WINS IN BUSINESS...still seems to have a remarkable number of adherents.Business Insider has an interview with a 32-year-old Brit who is cofounder of Huddle, a startup aiming to compete with Microsoft's SharePoint. While I didn't read the comment thread, up toward the beginning there are at least 3 comments from people mocking the idea that a startup would be Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-86895792295927770982012-01-08T06:22:00.000-08:002012-01-08T06:41:22.736-08:00THE DANGERS OF DEMONOLOGYA writer at The Economist notes that hatred of bankers is one of the world’s oldest and most dangerous prejudices:Civilisations that have eased the ban on moneylending have grown rich. Those that have retained it have stagnated. Northern Italy boomed in the 15th century when the Medicis and other banking families found ways to bend the rules. Economic leadership passed toDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-83989303186209616592012-01-05T06:01:00.000-08:002012-01-05T06:31:37.103-08:00THE RAMPANT ARROGANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT CLASSES AND THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN LIBERTYA 16-year-old girl in Florida parked in the wrong space, had her car keyed, suspected another girl, and posted on her own Facebook page the following:oh so you keyed my car? well your karmas gonna be a wholeee lot worse that thatThe next day, school officials suspended her for three days--and a criminal charge of "Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-90559825921720703052012-01-04T13:59:00.000-08:002012-01-04T14:04:55.677-08:00TAKE A STROLL THROUGH DUBLIN...specifically, Harcourt Terrace, a favorite street of the Sibling of Daedalus.Google Street View really is pretty cool.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-72612180135831136652011-12-31T15:46:00.000-08:002011-12-31T16:20:02.166-08:00HAPPY NEW YEAR!Lots of people will be singing Auld Lang Syne tonight. A history of the song is here...note that the Burns version was apparently based in part on a much earlier ballad by James Watson. The lyrics of the Watson version (published in 1701) are here.Thanks for reading Photon Courier...best wishes to all for 2012.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-34212788501074268072011-12-30T05:58:00.000-08:002011-12-31T15:45:10.864-08:00VERY DANGEROUS LEGISLATION MOVING FORWARDTim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, writes:This week, a bill that would create America's first Internet censorship system is going to a full committee for a vote, and is likely to pass.He is referring to the "Stop Online Piracy" act and the related "Protect IP" act. Links to information and analysis concerning these bills, for which heavy Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-52827904371641128992011-12-30T04:56:00.000-08:002011-12-30T05:01:31.929-08:00WELL, WHY NOT?Admit Britain to NAFTA?The acronym even still works..."NA" could stand for "North Atlantic" as well as "North American."via Neptunus Lexcross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-17890006981146589852011-12-29T08:52:00.000-08:002011-12-29T09:01:19.988-08:00JUST BECAUSE I LIKE ITMinutes to Memories, John Mellencampcross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-62635975183423785422011-12-23T19:13:00.000-08:002011-12-23T19:26:29.026-08:00CHRISTMAS 2011A wonderful 3-D representation of the Iglesia San Luis De Los Franceses. Just click on the link--then you can look around inside the cathedral. Use arrow keys or mouse to move left/right, up/down, and shift to zoom in, ctrl to zoom out.Vienna Boys Choir, from Maggie's FarmChristmas photos from the 1920s Lappland in pictures, from Neptunus LexSnowflakes and snow crystals, from Cal Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-85239022401720224032011-12-22T18:34:00.000-08:002011-12-22T18:45:47.565-08:00BLACKBIRD AMONG THE STARSToday marks the 47th anniversary of the first flight of the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane. Which reminds me of this well-written article by an SR-71 pilot, especially the following passage.One moonless night, while flying a routine training mission over the Pacific, I wondered what the sky would look like from 84,000 feet if the cockpit lighting were dark. While Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-50655676835111333672011-12-22T08:19:00.000-08:002011-12-22T08:22:17.002-08:00STRANGLING SMALL BUSINESSSChicago Boy Lexington Green:One huge problem we have in America is that the millions of people who are struggling to start or grow businesses, or go solo through self-employment, have no voice. The people who talk and write — the chattering classes — do that for a living. The people who live off the public teat are often talkers and writers, and thus dominate the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-37759069852924981872011-12-19T05:26:00.000-08:002011-12-19T06:31:01.939-08:00IATROGENY IN MANAGEMENT REPORTINGIn medicine, an iatrogenic disease is one that is brought on by a medical treatment itself. An example would be when a physician treating a minor condition fails to properly wash his hands and as a result gives the patient an infection more serious than the original problem.It strikes me that iatrogeny also occurs in the management reporting and control systems ofDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-43919741035087761892011-12-18T11:48:00.000-08:002011-12-18T11:58:57.371-08:00BATTLE OF THE BULGE + 67A commenter at this Neptunus Lex post reminds us that Friday was the 67th anniversary of the desperate German assault in the Ardennes that began the Battle of the Bulge.Here is a remarkable set of photographs of the battle, including some in color, recently released by Life Magazine.There is also a Battle of the Bulge thread at Ricochet.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-61848811357445734832011-12-17T05:11:00.001-08:002011-12-17T05:25:50.138-08:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGPhotographs of Sikkim, a former independent monarchy which is now part of IndiaThe history of maple syrupHow NYC sold public housing in the 1930sWhy people micromanageThe assembly line, the $8 million scale, and the $20 electric fanThe decline of elephants and the rise of human intelligenceThe baby seal on the sofa60 years of network televisionDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-28593600630666319082011-12-16T08:10:00.000-08:002011-12-16T08:21:51.265-08:00CAN READING FICTION MAKE YOU A BETTER INVESTOR?In this post from last month, I cited a study which suggests that reading/viewing fiction can help to develop social intelligence and empathy.Here's someone who makes a similar argument about fiction-reading and investing.(via Barry Ritholtz)cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-91182554668680909922011-12-14T18:25:00.000-08:002011-12-14T18:37:29.484-08:00MORE THAN A LITTLE WORRISOMEAnyone who values American freedom of speech, and anyone who values American economic vitality, should be worried about the so-called "Stop Internet Piracy Act" which is now being considered by Congress. While Internet-based intellectual property theft is indeed a problem, the proposed remedies seem to me, and to many others, to be quite dangerous. If you're not Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-31657120305617573022011-12-11T12:55:00.000-08:002011-12-11T13:33:44.981-08:00WIND, WATER, ELECTRICITY, AND BUREAUCRACYThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ruled against the Bonneville Power Administration, which is itself a creature of the Federal Government. The case provides an interesting microcosm of the difficulties encountered in doing any kind of large-scale productive work in the increasingly rule-driven environment of contemporary America.BPA's mission isDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-15327281487012479542011-12-08T07:44:00.001-08:002011-12-08T07:48:46.880-08:00SOME OPTIMISTIC THOUGHTS ABOUT AMERICA...from Claire Berlinski, who lives in Turkey and is now visiting NYC.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-88661896556004411492011-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:002011-12-07T07:56:33.167-08:00PEARL HARBOR + 70A date which will live in infamySee Bookworm's post and video from last year and her new post today; also, some alternate history from Shannon Love.Neptunus Lex has a video of FDR's speech, accompanied by relevant newsreel footage. See also his eloquent post from 2006.Jonathan worries that the cultural memory of the event is being lost, and notes that once again Google fails to Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-73094916093289060462011-12-04T10:57:00.000-08:002011-12-04T11:29:00.532-08:00KNOWLEDGE, STABILITY, AND BLACK SWANSThe sense of security more frequently springs from habit than from conviction, and for this reason it often subsists after such a change in the conditions as might have been expected to suggest alarm. The lapse of time during which a given event has not happened is, in this logic of habit, constantly alleged as a reason why the event should never happen, even Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-63514123037338392852011-12-02T06:17:00.000-08:002011-12-02T06:37:53.639-08:00JUST UNBELIEVABLEBarack Obama, a couple of days ago: I try not to pat myself too much on the back, but this administration has done more in terms of the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration.Barack Obama, quoted in a 2008 article:I think that I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. AndDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-4167394563662540362011-11-27T06:48:00.000-08:002011-11-27T07:15:43.181-08:00INTERESTING ASSERTION...it may be said that at any time when finance is under attack through the political authority, it is an infallible sign that the political authority is already exercising too much authority over the economic life of the nation through manipulation of finance, whether by exorbitant taxation, uncontrolled expenditure, unlimited borrowing, or currency depreciation.--Isabel Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-58113476083359426962011-11-23T18:51:00.000-08:002011-11-23T18:59:24.320-08:00THANKSGIVING AND TEMPORAL BIGOTRY(Basically a run of an earlier post)Stuart Buck encountered a teacher who said “Kids learn so much these days. Did you know that today a schoolchild learns more between the freshman and senior years of high school than our grandparents learned in their entire lives?” (“She said this as if she had read it in some authoritative source”, Stuart comments.)She probablyDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-32223687294783943702011-11-23T10:46:00.000-08:002011-11-23T10:53:45.351-08:00BRICKBATS AND ROSES...from Bill Waddell, who is in fine form. The brickbats are for Whirlpool, specifically their approach to manufacturing:Inventory doesn't turn at Whirlpool because their flow is a non-issue. Instead, their 'assets' meander from China in slow boats and ooze through their factories like so much primordial sludge....and the congressional Gang of Six, especially their lack of Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-33108123166383016952011-11-20T13:58:00.000-08:002011-11-20T15:38:53.786-08:00DRUCKER ON EDUCATION, 1969About a week ago Instapundit linked this Wikipedia article about the higher-education bubble, noting especially the point that William Bennett predicted the bubble back in 1987. The post reminded me of some interesting and rather prescient comments that Peter Drucker made about education even earlier, in his 1969 book The Age of Discontinuity. A few excerpts:Resources Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-56062047449776244492011-11-15T12:13:00.000-08:002011-11-15T17:33:02.438-08:00BIG PRESTIGE PROJECTS AND THE OBAMA WAYBarack Obama:"It makes no sense for China to have better rail systems than us, and Singapore having better airports than us. And we just learned that China now has the fastest supercomputer on Earth --- that used to be us." (Nov 3, 2010)"America became an economic superpower because we knew how to build things. We built the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-50179105457828331892011-11-14T08:36:00.000-08:002011-11-14T08:39:04.547-08:00WHAT AMERICA DOES BESTSome thoughts from Victor Davis HansonDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-23117279194542423742011-11-13T04:41:00.000-08:002011-11-13T05:27:07.704-08:00FICTION AND EMPATHYAn article by Keith Oatley, in Scientific American/Mind, asserts a connection between exposure to fiction and the development of empathy. It's not a new idea--IIRC, the idea that seeing plays and reading novels has tended to increase empathy throughout entire societies has been asserted by Harold Bloom, among others--but Oatley describes empirical research he's done to test Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-31991503204208168612011-11-11T04:37:00.001-08:002011-11-11T05:17:50.028-08:00VETERANS DAY 2011Neptunus Lex has some thoughtsDo not fail to follow the link to this music video: the war was in colorUpdate: Some photographs of WWI battlefields today...link via this post from Sgt Mom.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-40801226901870382242011-11-06T04:29:00.000-08:002011-11-06T04:53:43.088-08:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGMoscow in 1963...a collection of photographs taken by John Hinderaker's parents during their trip thereSunstone...did it make navigation for the Vikings possible on cloudy days?Should college degrees be required for fire chiefs?How people ruin their chances of ever achieving powerCincinnati in 1848....a Daguerreotype panoramaSome worrisome signs for the Chinese Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-1648557236497518082011-11-04T19:52:00.001-07:002011-11-04T19:53:31.268-07:00FREEDOM AND FEARA highly-recommended post from Chicago Girl Sgt Mom.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-7927531316076206112011-11-03T16:30:00.000-07:002011-11-03T16:42:51.256-07:00LIVE/WORK IN NYC?...or are you planning a trip there in the near future?If you're down around the financial district, you might stop in at the Milk Street Cafe.Here's why it's important.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-59741641612264794632011-11-02T05:09:00.000-07:002011-11-02T05:16:39.620-07:00THE DOWNWARD MOBILITY OF THE VIRTUECRATSA thoughtful piece by Kenneth Anderson.(Via Maggie's Farm, from whom the title of this post is lifted)cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-18119209522703025262011-10-31T15:09:00.000-07:002011-10-31T15:10:26.945-07:00HALLOWEENFrom the hag and hungry goblinThat into rags would rend yeAnd the spirits that standBy the naked manIn the Book of Moons, defend ye!That of your five sound senseYou never be forsakenNor wander fromYourself with TomAbroad to beg your baconThe moon's my constant mistressAnd the lonely owl my marrowThe flaming drakeAnd the night-crow makeMe music to my sorrowI know more than ApolloFor oft, Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-72443837202893806472011-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:002011-10-27T20:36:27.943-07:00BOOK REVIEW: THE POST-OFFICE GIRLby Stefan ZweigA remote village in Austria, shortly after the end of the First World War. The 28-year-old protagonist, Christine Hoflehner, is the sole employee at the town's Post Office. Her once solidly-middle-class family has been impoverished by the war, in which her brother was killed, and the subsequent inflation. Christine's days are spent working at her Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-65586181794499494032011-10-20T08:45:00.000-07:002011-10-20T08:54:09.263-07:00GOVERNMENT OVERREACH AND ETHNIC CONFLICTThe Austrian state suffered from its strength: it had never had its range of activity cut down during a successful period of laissez-faire, and therefore the openings for a national conflict were far greater. There were no private schools or hospitals, no independent universities; and the state, in its infinite paternalism, performed a variety of services Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-31446698128759394392011-10-19T07:20:00.000-07:002011-10-19T08:28:29.974-07:00ENCOUNTERING THE CAT FOR THE FIRST TIMEA Chicago Boyz discussion about cats reminded me of a passage in Robert Carse's book The River Men...I was going to post it but didn't have the book available. Now I do, so here it is belatedly.Brother Gabriel Sagard was a French missionary working in what is now Canada. In the winter of 1624, he stayed with the Huron Indians, and in appreciation of their Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-17662294316542981332011-10-17T11:32:00.000-07:002011-10-17T11:51:52.159-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGQuasicrystals--a Nobel-prize-winning discovery that was originally viewed as impossible by many prominent scientists...indeed, the first reaction of the discoverer himself was to say "Eyn chaya kazo", which is Hebrew for "there can be no such creature."A visit to the USS Carl Vinson by the blogger known as BookwormWhat happened to downtime? The extinction of deep Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-68133707385419531012011-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:002011-10-17T06:04:22.555-07:00THE BLAMER VERSUS THE PROBLEM-SOLVERThe poisonous nature of so much of today's political discourse is in large part due to the climate of blame-casting encouraged by Barack Obama. Given any difficult situation whatsoever, it is clear that Obama's primary instinct is to use it as an opportunity to demonize a selected group. The man has remarkably little interest in problem-solving. Despite his Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-25114658911823008042011-10-10T12:22:00.001-07:002011-10-10T12:33:43.600-07:00MINDS OF THE WORD PEOPLESigmund Freud and William Bullitt (who worked closely with Woodrow WIlson at the Versailles conference) wrote a book titled Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study. Excerpt:Throughout his life he took intense interest only in subjects which could somehow be connected with speech...He took no interest in mathematics, science, art or music--except in singing himself, a form ofDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-84511381063512924682011-10-09T07:21:00.000-07:002011-10-09T07:43:16.290-07:00MAKIN' IT IN SOUTH CAROLINAElevatorsOtis Elevator (part of United Technologies) is moving elevator production from Nogales, Mexico to a new plant in Florence, South Carolina. The company expects the move to cut its freight/logistics costs by 17%, and expect additional benefits from the colocation of engineers and toolmakers with the production operations. Otis also expects marketing benefits: it Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-17569586857549675812011-10-05T06:01:00.001-07:002011-10-05T06:05:44.520-07:00CAIN OR PALIN?For discussion:1)Who would be a better President: Herman Cain or Sarah Palin?2)Which of the two would be a more effective candidate?Comment at Chicago BoyzDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-2549219544188449922011-10-03T09:02:00.001-07:002011-10-03T09:32:59.111-07:00ADVICE FROM GOETHE ON HOW TO ATTRACT WOMEN(...at least, women in Weimar in 1828....possibly with broader applicability.)continued at Chicago BoyzDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-78923924076604331612011-10-01T06:52:00.000-07:002011-10-01T12:23:21.751-07:00POSSIBLY THE MOST NEGATIVE THEATRE REVIEW EVERSometime in the early 1800s, Goethe was walking a secluded, narrow path which led to a mill. There he met an (unnamed) prince, and the two fell into conversation about many subjects, including theatre and particularly Schiller's play "The Robbers." The prince's comment about this work was: If I had been the Deity on the point of creating the world, Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-92082951436246821092011-09-30T17:35:00.000-07:002011-09-30T17:49:28.780-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGImages of our solar system created from astronomical dataSome foreign language equivalents of common English idiomsSoap operas and medieval epicsColor insanity in British schoolsNumbers versus informationSome paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, as selected by the Sibling of Daedalus''An unhappy anniversary: the Munich pact was signed on September 30, 1938NoDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-4641009026503031642011-09-23T05:23:00.000-07:002011-09-23T05:45:59.905-07:00MEDIA MALFEASANCE, MEDIA CREDIBILITYRex Murphy offers a summary of the ways in which the traditional media supported Obama's candidacy:Much of the Obama coverage was orchestrated sycophancy. They glided past his pretensions — when did a presidential candidate before “address the world” from the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin? They ignored his arrogance — “You’re likable enough, Hillary.” And they Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-68851564931771592512011-09-18T08:23:00.001-07:002011-09-18T09:45:17.164-07:00THE LOGIC OF FAILURE, REDUXDietrich Doerner is a professor (at Otto-Friedrich University, Bamberg) who studies the thought patterns that result in bad decision-making, resulting in outcomes ranging from lack of success to outright disaster. I reviewed his interesting book, The Logic of Failure, here.Comes now The Social Pathologist, who links my original review and adds thoughts of his own on Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-90727813822221960062011-09-15T05:05:00.000-07:002011-09-17T04:58:04.227-07:00OBAMA AND ISRAELDan Senor provides a useful summary of Obama's attitudes and policies toward that country. Excerpts:• February 2008: When running for president, then-Sen. Obama told an audience in Cleveland: "There is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you're anti-Israel."• July 2009: Mr. Obama hosted American JewishDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-50635051318506935052011-09-14T08:33:00.000-07:002011-09-14T09:08:23.300-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGChildren at work, 1908-1924: a photograph collection from the Library of CongressThoughts about fashion from Stuart SchneidermanFlying the Kfir fighter: a report from Neptunus Lex, who soloed one yesterdayTrust: an analysis by nationalityIsrael and the Dutch Republic: an interesting comparison of Israel's situation with that of the country which held off Spain and its Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-57791650399793327322011-09-14T04:52:00.000-07:002011-09-14T04:55:13.491-07:00SAD AND DISTURBING BUT NOT SURPRISINGAn attempt by leftists to use children's art in their war against Israel.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-34759621457273343752011-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:002011-09-11T05:24:47.128-07:009/11 PLUS TEN YEARSSimply evil: Christopher Hitchens suggests that sometimes the simple and obvious explanation for an event is more accurate than an explanation which relies on an elaborate structure of "nuance"A time bomb from the Middle Ages. Roger Simon explains how 9/11 altered his worldview and many of his relationshipsAn attack, not a disaster or a tragedy. George Savage explains why the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-47730594617189219722011-09-08T09:15:00.000-07:002011-09-08T09:16:59.027-07:00BOOK REVIEW: A FIERY PEACE IN A COLD WARby Neal SheehanThe American space program, like its Russian counterpart, was largely an epiphenomenon of the ballistic missile program. A great deal has been written about the space programs; regarding the missile programs theselves, not so much. This book remedies that gap by using the life of General Bernard Schriever, who ran USAF missile development Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-32182953120591069112011-09-05T05:20:00.000-07:002011-09-05T07:49:42.471-07:00THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY: CAUSES AND CURES
For many decades, Labor Day was a holiday on which Americans celebrated (and maybe even felt a bit smug about) our nation's economic prowess. This year, not so much. In our current economy, many people are suffering grievously. Moreover, an increasing number believe that the problems are permanent. Surveys show a significant proportion of the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-88499519051330113282011-09-01T05:06:00.000-07:002011-09-01T05:13:20.941-07:00HE REALLY DOESN'T LIKE US VERY MUCH
In my last post, I suggested that the phrase decline by design could be used in the upcoming presidential campaign to describe Obama's economic policies. Another useful phrase for repeated emphasis could be:
He Really Doesn't Like Us Very Much
...backed up by clips/quotes of Jeremiah Wright's "God damn America" line, Obama's crack about "bitter clingers," Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-86337837095932634782011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:002011-09-01T05:05:26.996-07:00DECLINE BY DESIGN
Peter Morici, a professor of International Business at the University of Maryland, used the phrase decline by design to describe the economic policies that are now crippling this country. (Googling, I see that the phrase has also been independently used by a few others.) It seems to me that "decline by design" could be used as a centerpiece for a very effective advertising Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-52635923986745436592011-08-28T06:41:00.000-07:002011-08-28T06:50:44.856-07:00SEX, MARKETING, AND ELECTRIC CARS, 1897-1913
A fascinating look at the electric car industry of the early 20th century and specifically the attempt to position these vehicles as particularly appropriate for women: Femininity and the Electric Car.
Lots of other interesting content on the web site on which this article appears, The Automobile in American Life and Society.
cross-posted at ChicagoDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-27361587244828909892011-08-27T08:50:00.000-07:002011-08-27T09:19:51.912-07:00HURRICANES: IN LITERATURE, FILM, AND MUSIC
I thought it might be fun this weekend, especially for those on the east coast, to talk about books/movies/songs in which hurricanes and similar events play a prominent role. For starters:
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, C S Forester. Features not only a hurricane, but a Marine bandsman who faces execution on charges of willfully playing the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-50537463944234039052011-08-25T06:01:00.000-07:002011-08-25T06:13:16.681-07:00SLEAZE-e-DEMIA
On LinkedIn, there is a frequently-appearing ad that says “Learn Ivy League management at eCornell.” I finally clicked on it and got this page. Note especially the headline:
“Add an Ivy League credential to your résumé” (right under the “save 15% this August” line)
and, under “topics you will master”
How to Strategize for Success
Scenario Analysis
Executive Decision Making
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-44044541680232408742011-08-23T21:13:00.000-07:002011-08-24T05:16:58.526-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWING
Three posts from Bictopia: photos of Istria, girl with dog, a strange city above the sea (video)
Neptunus Lex is familiarizing himself with the Israeli-built Kfir fighter, in preparation from flying this airplane as an Adversary in air combat training
Volokh: The unbelievable growth of student loan debt
Walter Russell Mead: Obama's "green jobs" fiasco
John Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-32882283891107378012011-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:002011-08-21T10:22:40.451-07:00ABOUT THOSE 15% CAPITAL GAINS RATES
Warren Buffett has been talking virtually nonstop about how tax rates on "the wealthy" need to be increased, and of course the dinosaur media has been praising and amplifying this viewpoint. People who think this way are especially fond of citing the 15% capital tax gains rate and contrasting it with the considerably higher rates on ordinary income.
This Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-87239114623296236592011-08-16T13:21:00.000-07:002011-08-16T13:52:16.470-07:00THE RIOTS IN BRITAIN
Two quotes from Antoine de St-Exupery:
A civilization is built on what is required of men, not on that which is provided for them
and
If you would have them be brothers, have them build a tower. But if you would have them hate each other, throw them corn
Most liberals would probably argue that the British rioters did what they did because not enough had been done for Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-79282679567642107392011-08-16T13:17:00.001-07:002011-08-16T13:19:58.091-07:00COOL RETROTECH
Two Berkeley scientists have recovered the voice recording from an Edison talking doll, recorded in November 1888.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-84538190669097959242011-08-14T14:39:00.000-07:002011-08-14T14:40:53.599-07:00MAKIN' IT IN GEORGIA
Chopsticks, for China.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-29227360754615695092011-08-14T07:49:00.000-07:002011-08-14T14:37:07.126-07:00BRITISH CRIMINALS, THEN AND NOW
The British secret agent Odette Hallowes was awarded both the George Cross and the French Legion of Honor in recognition of her heroism during WWII. Some years after the war, a burglar broke into her mother's home, and among the items he stole was Odette's George Cross. A public appeal for the medal's return was made, and the burglar sent it back with the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-81539751543369303422011-08-13T07:47:00.000-07:002011-08-13T13:53:45.048-07:00CAREER CHOICE, POPULAR CULTURE, DESIGN, AND MANUFACTURING
Kathleen Fasanella, who runs the interesting blog Fashion Incubator, observes that the tv program "Project Runway" has led many people to pursue careers as designers--and that this is not the first time that such a phenomenon has occurred:
I’m troubled by the consequences of the fashion school bubble -350 designers at NY Fashion Week Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-64163374279236989122011-08-11T04:37:00.000-07:002011-08-11T05:09:53.205-07:00ANNALS OF IDIOCY
Many observers consider Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) to be the dumbest person in the Senate, perhaps in the entire United States Congress. Consider, for example, this 2002 Murrayism regarding Osama bin Laden:
We've got to ask, why is this man so popular around the world? Why are people so supportive of him in many countries that are riddled with poverty? He's been out in these Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-44219347427978988712011-08-09T07:22:00.000-07:002011-08-09T07:35:39.564-07:00COOL RETROTECH
A Ford assembly line for the Model T.
Related post: the automotive century and mass production
(video link via my mom)
cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are open
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-13126461502655462172011-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:002011-08-08T09:09:01.355-07:00THE COST OF "COST-FREE"
An Atlantic article by Jim Tankersley, on the subject of job creation, illustrates the way in which bad economic ideas drive bad policy choices. I have in mind specifically Tankersley's item #5, "Unleash energy companies' spending power," in which he proposes
...a "Clean-Energy Standard"--a mandate that a certain percentage of each utility's power generation come from Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-16272132401534408632011-08-06T04:06:00.001-07:002011-08-06T04:08:37.389-07:00CHARISMA VERSUS GLAMOURVirginia Postrel says that they are two different things, and that Obama has (had) the second but not the first.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-25610719260959822042011-08-04T12:59:00.000-07:002011-08-04T13:01:41.526-07:00STRESSES OF GLOBALIZATION (rerun)Unfortunately in the year XXXX the whole world was one large international workshop. A strike in the Argentine was apt to cause suffering in Berlin. A raise in the price of certain raw materials in London might spell disaster to tens of thousands of long-suffering Chinese coolies who had never even heard of the existence of the big city on the Thames. The Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-75743588688351638082011-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:002011-08-03T09:40:30.053-07:00CIVIL DISCOURSEIt's been reported that Joe Biden referred to Republican opponents on the debt issue in the following terms:They have acted like terrorists.Biden now denies that he used that phrasing. But there's no question that Democratic representative Mike Doyle, who was in the same meeting, said:We have negotiated with terrorists. This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-58115502970711692262011-08-03T07:31:00.000-07:002011-08-03T07:47:15.947-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGNeptunus Lex has a new officeDon Quixote writes about competitivenessSaving a baby woodpecker's life can make you a criminalBookworm visits BarcelonaSpeaking of Barcelona, here are some great aerial photos of the cityAnd here are some aerial photos of FranceDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-48431241435046306452011-07-31T08:16:00.001-07:002011-07-31T08:23:12.607-07:00INTERESTING DATAI've occasionally posted some thoughts on the ways in which people's political beliefs are influenced by their professions, and we've also discussed this topic at Chicago Boyz. Here is an interesting analysis of political contributions by various industries and interest groups.Link via a commenter at this post (7/30, 10:45 am), who somehow derived from this data the conclusion Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-2577850501433619372011-07-30T06:28:00.000-07:002011-07-30T06:46:34.841-07:00THE CORROSIVE EFFECTS OF MASSIVE DEBTA couple of weeks ago, commenter River, at Ricochet, put up a post with the above title. There's no point in linking it, since it's in the Member Feed section which is available only to paying Ricochet members, but I think it's important enough to excerpt some of it here.River quotes Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist, on the hidden costs of indebtedness: With Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-7470931181003723982011-07-28T04:48:00.000-07:002011-07-30T06:52:44.289-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGVia Newmark's Door, here's a seasonal ingredient map showing what's fresh in your areaThe above site reminded me of something I linked back in 2009: old water mills and the products they milledHillel Ofek asks why the Arabic world turned away from scienceA letter to Microsoft CEO Steve BallmerShould hospitals be run by doctors?Overcriminalization. The Advice Goddess Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-89294465843707844532011-07-26T05:01:00.000-07:002011-07-26T05:27:37.037-07:00KING OF THE WORD PEOPLEGLENDOWER: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.HOTSPUR:Why, so can I, or so can any man;But will they come when you do call for them?(Shakespeare, King Henry the Fourth)Yesterday, Andrew Klavan put up a post titled Just Words?, in which he describes Obama in these terms:The president, in short, has a problem with his mouth: words keep coming out of it that have nothing Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-41756152188462149232011-07-24T20:27:00.000-07:002011-07-24T20:36:26.596-07:00THE LONDON BLITZ, IN COLOR--CONTINUEDSeveral days ago, I linked some recently-discovered color photographs of the London Blitz. Sibling of Daedalus has posted a color video from the same era; she also linked some larger versions of the photographs.Although it's often probably subconsciously viewed as having happened in black and white, the war was in color.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-87767114650387786782011-07-22T04:07:00.000-07:002011-07-22T04:55:48.345-07:00BERNIE MARCUS ON THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE ECONOMYHome Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, talking to Investors Business Daily about the dismal state of the economy, was asked by the interviewer what advice he would give Obama about job creation. His response: I'm not sure Obama would understand anything that I'd say, because he's never really worked a day outside the political or legal area. He Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-57091481007905029272011-07-21T13:36:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:45:40.415-07:00THE LONDON BLITZ, IN COLORLink hereVia John Hinderaker at PowerLine, who says:We have written before about the fact that earlier historical eras seem remote from us in part because we see them (assuming we see them in photographs at all) in black and white. The absence of color creates a distance that can be hard to bridge. Thus, it can seem revelatory when one finally sees in color views that Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-65919368704163523642011-07-21T03:57:00.000-07:002011-07-21T04:07:13.005-07:00OBAMA'S TOP TEN INSULTS AGAINST ISRAELNile Gardiner, writing in The TelegraphIt should be clear that many of the policies/actions mentioned represent not only threats to Israel, but threats to the United States and to the entire civilized world.cross-posted at Chicago Boyz, where comments are openDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-17938194365776850602011-07-19T19:41:00.001-07:002011-07-20T05:05:43.828-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGThe corporate culture of Netflix, explained in a presentation by CEO Reed HastingsDon Sensing visits the Time ShopThe problem with modern playgroundsA photo essay on BhutanSome photos of Washington DC which interestingly combine historic and modern pictures of the same placesDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-63813184472858907702011-07-19T06:12:00.000-07:002011-07-19T06:22:02.168-07:00COULD THIS COMPANY HAVE BEEN SAVED?In March 2008, I asked the question If you were the new owner of Borders, what would you do?...which sparked a fair amount of discussion.Yesterday, Borders announced that it would close all stores and liquidate. Something like ten thousand people will lose their jobs.In retrospect...given the state of the economic and the transition to digital books delivered Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-54238916462476825092011-07-15T08:39:00.000-07:002011-07-15T08:42:00.099-07:00GLOBAL WEIRDINGA thought-provoking post from Walter Russell Mead.(via Instapundit)Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-62445537828854158872011-07-14T05:17:00.000-07:002011-07-14T06:51:05.172-07:00END OF AN ERA?Future generations may read with amazement that there was once a time in America when people were allowed to select their own light bulbs without the choice being micromanaged by government. They will learn that that era ended in July 2011, when the effort to overturn the incandescent-bulb-ban failed in the House...if I were forced to choose the best lighting for residential overallDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-87027869223145426512011-07-11T13:29:00.001-07:002011-07-11T19:05:35.967-07:00WORTHWHILE READING & VIEWINGRobert Avrech on the Texas-Israel connectionMargaret Ball has been reading Edmund BurkeVictor Davis Hanson on the great madness of 2004-10Hanson, who among other things is a classicist, also writes about the demagogic style, using examples from ancient Greece as well as the present era.Bill Waddell suggests that one should beware of any company that has the word 'Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-79543623356295964212011-07-10T07:35:00.000-07:002011-07-10T07:46:56.714-07:00LET'S NOT FORGET THISSteven Chu, Obama's astonishingly arrogant (Nobel-prize-winning!) energy secretary, defends the Edison-bulb ban:We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money.Read the PowerLine post at the link, and continue to the Mark Steyn post....Steyn is, as usual, in fine form. But I'm mainly posting this because we need to remember Chu's comment at Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-78018109425215752102011-07-08T07:34:00.000-07:002011-07-08T08:06:15.187-07:00WHAT IF....What if there was a "shovel-ready" project that:**would create a significant number of American jobs**would require no government money and no government guarantees of private debt**would provide America with a secure new source of energy supplies and would reduce dependence on certain unfriendly regimes, such as the one in Venezuela**would benefit an important and trusted American Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-326673838136185132011-07-07T19:35:00.000-07:002011-07-07T19:50:05.804-07:00WHAT YEAR IS THIS?...because it increasingly seems that the first 3 digits must be one, nine, and three.In Australia, "protestors" blocked the entrance to a Melbourne chocolate shop which is Israeli-owned. (link via Glenn Reynolds)Who were these people? According to the report:This unruly mob was so stereotypical that could have been supplied direct from central casting. There were 'kafiyeh' Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-83177727308838867452011-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:002011-07-06T04:38:44.385-07:00EXCELLENT BOOK, SO-SO MOVIESeveral days ago, Michael Kennedy mentioned Neville Shute's end-of-the-world novel On The Beach. There were, of course, a considerable number of nuclear-war-related novels published during the Cold War era...one of the last representatives of this genre is Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau and published in 1983.The central character, Moreau, is a B-52 copilotDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-59628689960508285302011-07-03T14:42:00.000-07:002011-07-04T07:45:37.079-07:00IT SHALL BE SUSTAINEDOn July 7, 1941--five months before Pearl Harbor--Stephen Vincent Benet's poem Listen to the People, was read over nationwide radio.Narrator:This is Independence Day,Fourth of July, the day we mean to keep,Whatever happens and whatever fallsOut of a sky grown strange;This is firecracker day for sunburnt kids,The day of the parade,Slambanging down the street.Listen to the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873546.post-63472815090893170102011-07-03T05:33:00.000-07:002011-07-03T06:04:43.784-07:00BEWARE THE ATTRITION MILLThere is a type of machine called an attrition mill. It consists of two steel discs which rotate at high speed in opposite directions, crushing the grain or other substance being milled between them. In earlier posts, I have used the metaphor that our civilization is now caught in a gigantic attrition mill, with one disc being the Islamic terrorist enemy and the other Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.com