No doubt the dirtiest thing most people touch on a regular basis is a gas pump. I think they should provide sanitary wipes like Wal-Mart now supplies.
On second thought, watch your ATM, too.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Early cancer detection
NYT: All of a sudden, early screening for cancer is not a good idea anymore. That includes prostate, breast, and cervical cancer. I'll bet it's the cost. I know I'm charged an obscene amount for a PSA test, which of course my insurance does not pay.
Herman Cain in Arkansas
Herman Cain has made a recent appearance at a Lincoln Day dinner in Arkansas. Apparently very successful.
Political parties are breaking down
Walter Russell Mead: "The decay of American political parties continues as the real money and
power in politics shifts inexorably away from party organizations to
informal and ad hoc groups. The combination of citizen grassroots
movements, decentralized party structures and the vast sums of money
short-circuiting the official party structures is changing the way
politics works."
Okay, then, let them go.
Okay, then, let them go.
Meet the Press and reality distortion
Ann Althouse has a post about Tom Brokaw's appearance on Meet the Press. Brokaw seems to take over from Walter Isaacson in a dueling books program. The comments are hilarious when they discuss Steve Job's reality distortion field. It seems that Brokaw is the one caught up in distorted reality.
Ann Althouse: On Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer goes on and on about the Herman Cain ad showing the "smoking man." I don't like smoking, but why belabor the issue in a campaign interview? Just looking for something, Bob?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Social Security is cash negative
Social Security went "cash negative" last year. Instead of loaning money to the government, it is sucking money out of the treasury. The cost of benefits exceeds tax collections. Sure, there's the $2.6 trillion trust fund, but the government has already borrowed every cent of it. Despite what politicians tell you, the program is not flush. Nor can the fix wait for years.
The summa of Malthusianism
Somewhere on Monday, the world's population will reach 7,000,000,000. So the media will dish out another handwringer about the population explosion. Hopefully, it will last only one day. Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb, was a smash hit in the 1970s. But since then global fertility rates have fallen fast, and soon the world population will start to shrink. This has been foreseen for some time. But it's also bad news. How will we pay for our welfare states? The global population control lobby was a lot like the global warming lobby today. See Matthew Connelly's Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population.
Siri, voice recognition
Siri, a voice-recognition application that comes on the iPhone 4s, is a killer app, apparently. It's value may be underestimated right now, according to this article. The new iPhone 4s commercial features people speaking into the phone as they hold it in front of their faces. Note: the version you will find in the App Store is not the same as the one on the new 4s.
I've installed two apps of this genre on my iPhone 4 and like them so far: Vlingo, and Dragon Dictation. Dragon Naturally Speaking has been around for a long time.
I've installed two apps of this genre on my iPhone 4 and like them so far: Vlingo, and Dragon Dictation. Dragon Naturally Speaking has been around for a long time.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Medicare premiums for 2012
Medicare premiums will rise in 2012, but not as much as feared. The Part B premium will be $99.90 next year. That's an increased of $3.50 a month instead of $10.20, which had been forecast.
Established religion on campus
John Leo: "This is an old story on our campuses. Colleges and universities enact
severe budget cuts, dropping programs and letting teachers go, while
unapologetically expanding their already swollen diversity bureaucracy.
This is because diversity now has the status of an established religion
on our campuses, while actual teaching deals only in mere learning."
Have more sex
Why sex is so important!
Sex is designed to make you feel good. Really, really good. To start, consider...
Sex is designed to make you feel good. Really, really good. To start, consider...
- Men who have sex three times a week can decrease their heart attack and stroke risk by 50 percent.
- Women who enjoy sex tend to live longer than those who don’t. Great sex makes your body feel about two to eight years younger! This is the same for men who have 150 to 350 orgasms per year (compared to the average of once a week).
- Orgasms appear to help decrease general pain.
- When you increase sex from once a month to once a week, it’s the happiness equivalent of adding $50,000 to your income for a typical American.
Get the chainsaw ready
Vox Popoli: We need to cut the federal budget not with a knife or a scalpel, but a chainsaw.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Roman Colosseum of the TV debates
The WSJ reviews the GOP presidential debates. This entire process is all wrong, and it can't produce anything good. We are missing the real people behind the debates.
Beebe on the 2012 election
Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas says he will "probably vote" for Obama. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Hope and distrust
Glenn Reynolds: Why do so many people distrust the government, when they were so hopeful back in 2008?
Drinking at home up, consumer confidence down
During the recession, Americans are increasingly drinking their Jim Beam at home.
According to analysts at our sister company Bloomberg Industries, at-home alcohol consumption tends to move inversely to consumer confidence, which had a huge decline in August. They also explain that "craft beers and flavored spirit-based beverages are likely to benefit from higher at-home consumption as cash-strapped consumers search out products that they view as affordable luxuries."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Pooper-course
After 52 years of marriage, Pat Shoop thought she'd shared every intimacy possible with her husband, Bob.
But that was before she became so ill with a Clostridium difficile infection last year that doctors suggested that a spousal stool transplant -- yes, a dose of Bob’s feces -- might be the only way to save her life.
“I'd heard of intercourse, but I'd never heard of 'pooper-course,'" Shoop, 75, of Minnetonka, Minn., jokes now. At the time, though, there was nothing funny about it.
Hearing loop
If you have hearing problems you will be interested in a new technology called a hearing loop. It sounds amazing.
A hearing loop, typically installed on the floor around the periphery of a room, is a thin strand of copper wire radiating electromagnetic signals that can be picked up by a tiny receiver already built into most hearing aids and cochlear implants. When the receiver is turned on, the hearing aid receives only the sounds coming directly from a microphone, not the background cacophony.
What is the NYT?
Is the New York Times a news organization or a front for left-wing activists? They are a news organization the same way as AARP is an activist organization for seniors.
Tablet news
Tablet users don't want to pay for news. Well, no. I don't own a tablet but I read a lot of Internet news. I'd rather read news than watch it because I get to control it better.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Re-election model?
A history professor claims that Obama's re-election model is FDR. But Roosevelt was demagoguing businessmen throughout the New Deal period. I think this kind of campaign is something that Democrats just can't resist. By 1937, the New Deal was fast running out of gas, and after Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court in 1937, the Republicans took over Congress. Roosevelt's demagoguery didn't create many jobs, either.
Anti-Mormonism's history
Joanna Brooks asks, Why do Southerners call Mormonism a cult? The easy answer is that it is the residue of the anti-Mormon violence of the nineteenth century. But what this article does not mention is how the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 figured into the story. Many Mormons blamed the members of the wagon train, who were largely from Arkansas, for the death of Parley P. Pratt near Fort Smith. This tragic massacre still festers with some people.
Of course Mitt Romney's campaign for the GOP nomination raises the topic again.
Of course Mitt Romney's campaign for the GOP nomination raises the topic again.
Lost Colony
Paul Clayton's book White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke looks like an interesting read.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Isaacson's Steve Jobs book
Walter Isaacson's forthcoming book entitled Steve Jobs contains personal information based on many interviews over the years. For example, Jobs was a skeptic all his life. See Amazon.
A summary of the book that stresses Job's fight with cancer.
A summary of the book that stresses Job's fight with cancer.
Lecturing Obama
Steve Jobs told Obama he was headed for a one-term presidency unless his administration became more business-friendly.
Jobs also said, "Until the teachers' unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform."
Jobs also said, "Until the teachers' unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform."
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Close call
In 1883, according to a new report, a comet weighing a billion-tons may have narrowly missed the earth.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Social Security COLA
Social Security recipients will received a 3.5 percent increase in their COLA next year.
UPDATE: A new report says the increase will be 3.6 percent, but Medicare is going up too. So it's a wash.
UPDATE: A new report says the increase will be 3.6 percent, but Medicare is going up too. So it's a wash.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Lowe's stores closing
Lowe's is closing its 20 worst performing stores. Most of them have something in common. What is it?
NLRB loses support
In a poll, even Union households say that the National Labor Relations Board need radical reform. It really needs abolishing. It acts as judge, jury, and executioner.
iPhone 4S news
Bloomberg report the latest iPhone 4S sales figures. I saw these same prices advertised yesterday.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sybil Exposed
Sybil Exposed is a new book, perhaps as shocking as the original version in 1973.
Debbie Nathan’s “Sybil Exposed” is about psychiatric fads, outrageous therapeutic malpractice, thwarted ambition run amok, and several other subjects, but above all, it is a book about a book. Specifically, that book is “Sybil,” purportedly the true story of a woman with 16 personalities. First published in 1973, “Sybil” remains in print after selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone.See Amazon's link.
Going down?
Robert Samuelson: " A specter haunts America: downward mobility. Every generation, we
believe, should live better than its predecessor. By and large,
Americans still embrace that promise." But maybe not this generation.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Mothers over age 50
... What's it like? I don't think it can be good. The younger mothers will give you funny looks at the day care and the PTA. Besides, at that age you should be focused on living your own life.
Farmers working smarter
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Flight attendants
Megan McArdle: Why your flight attendants are not longer hot. Actually, I don't care anymore. I just want to get to my destination alive.
Friday, October 14, 2011
AP: Obama pulls the plug on part of his own healthcare overhaul -- a long-term care insurance plan. This provision is the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, which was a priority of Ted Kennedy. It was DOA from the start. No one could figure out how to "make CLASS both affordable
and financially solvent while keeping it a voluntary program open to
virtually all workers, as the law also required."
Alice Walton in jail
According to this morning's paper, Alice Walton, one of the world's richest women, was arrested on a DWI charge in Texas and spent the night in a local jail at Weatherford, Texas. See here.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The what-ifs of life
The creation of the modern-day single woman. Or the story of missed opportunities.
Ban Olive Garden
At Anniston, Alabama, Olive Garden banned the American flag because, they said, its display would disrupt the "dining experience." Well, I've never had a dining experience at Olive Garden that I want to repeat.
PayPal
PayPal Access is a new service that should help you make purchases online. Anything that reduces the amount of personal information you scatter around internet sites, the better off you are.
Train wreck: rescue teams searching for victims
Almost 8 of 10 Americans still see the country on the wrong track:
Somehow, 16% of likely American voters still believe the country is doing swell.
Rescue teams are out looking for them right now.
Sixteen percent is not much of a political base for President Obama to build a 2012 reelection campaign on. In fact, the right track number is down two more points just since last week and down 16 points since last October.
iPhone review says wait
If you have an iPhone 4 you may want to hold off on buying the new iPhone 4S.
But you do have three choices now: AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.
But you do have three choices now: AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
PSA tests in confusion
New studies have stirred up a lot of confusion about PSA tests and what they mean. This news is very unsettling.
Diane Sawyer miscounts countries
Diane Sawyer, Sweet Diane, reported that the Wall Street protests have "spread to more than a thousand countries." That's truly amazing since the U.S. State Department lists only 195 nation states in the world. Well, that's Sweet Diane.
Leaving the Democrat plantation
Herman Cain to Harry Belafonte: "I left the Democrat plantation a long time ago."
Dems defeat the jobs bill
The Hill: "President Obama received a slap from members of his own party Tuesday
as the Senate voted 50-49 to block his $447 billion jobs package.
The jobs plan, which the president has spent much of the last month touting on a cross-country tour, fell well short of the 60 votes it needed to proceed."
Note that this bill is the one that a day or so ago Obama claimed Republicans were holding back.
The jobs plan, which the president has spent much of the last month touting on a cross-country tour, fell well short of the 60 votes it needed to proceed."
Note that this bill is the one that a day or so ago Obama claimed Republicans were holding back.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
We can only speculate
Evolutionary Mystery: Why do women have prominent breasts even when not lactating?
Biased reporting
In this AP report, Senate Republicans are poised to kill Obama's jobs bill, but some Democrats are not planning to vote for it either. We need the whole story, not bias.
Teavangelical vote?
Walter Russell Mead: "Either a lot of Democrats have been slandering millions of American
voters as racist, or the Tea Party hasn’t gotten the word that Herman
Cain is African American. That is the only conclusion that can be drawn
after a slew of recent polls shows that Cain is picking up the
‘teavangelical’ vote as former favorites like Michelle Bachmann and Rick
Perry fade."
Hank on Fox & Friends
Hank Williams Jr.'s Fox and Friends interview that started the recent flap can be seen here.
Why argue about a holiday?
Walter Russell Mead on our celebrating of Columbus Day, our most confused holiday.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Don't take my Cadillac
Herman Cain: Republican presidential contender Herman Cain amplified his criticism Sunday of the growing Occupy Wall Street movement, calling the protesters “jealous’ Americans who "play the victim card” and want to “take somebody else’s” Cadillac.
Gmail without the internet
Google now has offline Goofle Mail or Gmail. So you're covered all the time, even when the Internet is hiding from you.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
He's got a few licks left
Glenn Campbell, who has alzheimer's, held a concert recently. I wish I could feel like he does:
Corn ethanol policy
How did we get into our present corn ethanol policy? See Ken G. Glozer, Corn Ethanol: Who Pays? Who Benefits?
I know what I want: real gasoline.
I know what I want: real gasoline.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
New diabetes treatment
New Scientist: Stem cells extracted from rats have been used to treat diabetes.
Government zombies
"Like Glenn Reynolds
says, government cheerleaders like to pretend that all of your tax
money goes to teachers, police, and firefighters. The reality is that
cities like San Jose and Vallejo are paying so much to retired
government workers of all kinds that they’ve had to lay off teachers,
police, and firefighters.
"That’s what happens when government becomes a pension fund that serves the unions instead of a civil agency that serves the taxpayers. The retired government workers become the zombies that terrorize the city."
"That’s what happens when government becomes a pension fund that serves the unions instead of a civil agency that serves the taxpayers. The retired government workers become the zombies that terrorize the city."
Friday, October 7, 2011
Whose movies not to see
Many people consider movie stars' politics before paying to see their movies. I know I do. I don't pay and I don't see it for free either. That includes listening to music too.
World's worst financial crisis
Bank of England Governor: World facing worst financial crisis in history.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Steve Jobs tribute
A tribute to Steve Jobs. I myself am a late admirer of Jobs and Apple. Although my first computer was an Apple IIe, my computer world later focused on Windows and PCs, starting with MS-DOS. But when I was at the University of Texas, the Macintosh was brand new. In fact it was less than a year old. Near the dorm was an Apple store in a campus building. Of course it was not called that, but they were selling the first Macs to kids who lived on campus. I walked in one day just to see what was going on, and I was curious about what Macs were like. The place was packed. Macs were flying out the door like hotcakes. Unbelievable. A joke then was that a Mac was a black-and-white TV in a shoe box.
Most computer labs on campus consisted of terminals connected to mainframe and mini-computers. The personal computer revolution was underway, but still in its early stages.
Most computer labs on campus consisted of terminals connected to mainframe and mini-computers. The personal computer revolution was underway, but still in its early stages.
New level of disapproval
Andrew Malcolm:
In the accelerating chronicles of the Democrat's decline, Barack Obama has just achieved a new level of disapproval among American voters:
On the 990th day of his presidency, 52% of his countrymen disapprove of the Chicagoan, according to Gallup's latest three-day rolling average.
That means Americans now think as little of their own president as they do of Vladimir Putin, the former Russian spymaster and authoritarian tough guy who's expected to become president again over there.
Althouse on Jobs
Ann Althouse, a user of Macs, has a good post on Steve Jobs. I like this quote:
Mr. Jobs’s own research and intuition, not focus groups, were his guide. When asked what market research went into the iPad, Mr. Jobs replied: “None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”That is so true. Focus groups are a waste of time.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
iPhone 5: October 14
AP's review of the new iPhone 5: It comes out on October 14, but it's a modest upgrade, not the one many people expected. iPhone 5 has a faster processor, a better camera, and some improved software. But, AP says, you'll get the software as a free update on your iPhone 4. So I'll wait.
Arvest's good news
Arvest Bank is bucking the recent trend by assuring customers that it will not charge fees for debit cards. Free checking accounts remain available, too.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Government: Stealing You Blind
Amazon: Iain Murray's Stealing You Blind: How Government Fat Cats Are Getting Rich Off of You will probably send you into depression but we need to see government for what it is. I used to tell students that government that is big enough to do something for you is big enough to do something to you.
Who to thank for your new debit card tax
Defining Ideas: Why you are going to pay a tax on debit card purchases. See this on the Durbin rule.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Business vs Obama
Mort Zucherman: "Today it is not a stock market crash or a crash in residential real estate but a crash in confidence that will constrain the effectiveness of public policy and have long-lasting impacts on the consumer and the economy. The historic American optimism has dramatically eroded. The great American dream is no longer a house in the suburbs. It is a secure job, but almost any job will do."
Kodak bankruptcy?
Eastman Kodak's stock is down, the company may be headed for bankruptcy. You know, I've been looking at cameras, but did not even think about Kodak.
Enough with the race card
Rex Murphy: "Listening to this star [Morgan Freeman], a lot of Americans might raise the question:
"Just what do we as individuals and as a nation have to do to discard
this weary presumption of racism?""
Sunday, October 2, 2011
FDR goes to war
Burton Folsom has a new book that looks really good: FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America.
From the reviews:
From the reviews:
"FDR Goes to War is a page-turning tour de force -- and a scholarly one, at that -- of the politics and economics of America's involvement in WWII. Be prepared to rethink much of what you think you know about FDR, the war, and the post-Depression U.S. economy." --Don Bordreaux, Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason UniversityWhen I was in graduate school, we didn't think like that, LOL. But it's past time we had Folsom to read.
"In New Deal or Raw Deal? Burt Folsom exposed FDR's failed policies during the Great Depression. Now, in FDR Goes to War, he pulls the curtain back even further. Burt and Anita Folsom have produced a book that should be read by all Americans. This is the real history you do not find in textbooks." -- James P. Duffy, author of Lindbergh Vs. Roosevelt
"Few in the history profession have done more to shed light on the real Franklin Delano Roosevelt than Burt Folsom. With FDR Goes to War, Folsom and his wife Anita educate Americans on the facts we should have known but were never taught. You will find this book both shocking and refreshing." -- Lawrence W. Reed, president, Foundation for Economic Education
"A compelling look at a fascinating man in a devastating war. This is the FDR concealed for over half a century by liberal academics and biased journalists. You will learn a lot from this engaging and readable book." -- Paul Kengor, professor of political science, Grove City College, and author of Dupes
Herman Cain: contender
Michael Barone wants to raise Cain to the "contender status" of candidates.
Jennifer Rubin is cautious.
Jennifer Rubin is cautious.
What thieves steal
Five weird things people are stealing during the Recession: hogs, dogs, brass, coupons, and human hair. Of course copper is commonly stolen.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
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