Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz throws it down. We’re going to be paying for this for a long time–weak economic growth due to poor economic systems will cause more crises, and the loop may start anew.
God, I love it.
“3/27/2009, 6:23am: Never mind about the eggplants. Probably should find another hobby. Thankfully, a man in my retired position can afford to do that.
3/31/2009, 11:44am: Painting landscapes now. I did one of the Smoky Mountains. Not-half bad.
3/31/2009, 1:39pm: Improved Smoky Mountain painting by putting Brian Urlacher in it. He’s milking a cow.”
“As modern cosmologists rely more and more on the ominous “dark matter” to explain otherwise inexplicable observations, much effort has gone into the detection of this mysterious substance in the last two decades, yet no direct proof could be found that it actually exists. Even if it does exist, dark matter would be unable to reconcile all the current discrepancies between actual measurements and predictions based on theoretical models. Hence the number of physicists questioning the existence of dark matter has been increasing for some time now. “
I’m no physicist, but I have a pretty good grasp of the scientific method and of statistics, and if your theory requires massive forces that you’ve been unable to actually detect despite decades of trying, then it might be that your theory needs revision.
I know that the Einstein relativity-based model of the “large” things in the universe is incompatible with the quantum model of the “small” things, even though both have been tested and shown to work. I understand (somewhat) how string theory might bridge the gap between the two models, but I can’t recall what it says about dark matter. Regardless of whether string theory ever develops into a standard testable model, it’s time to dump this whole dark matter thing and start looking for better answers.
Sometimes stuff just builds up and I have to unload it somewhere. The following has been percolating for a few days.
“St. Obama” started in conservative circles as a snarky dig at the adoration given by some of his most ardent supporters. Funny thing is, this is true of most new presidents, except that this one actually seems to be more admirable, both professionally and as a person, than any recent predecessors. It also really doesn’t capture his personality.
I get the chuckles at every new criticism of him for being polite to foreign leaders or not rising to their bait. This is like some over the top kung fu movie come to life. They swing at him; he doesn’t take a step but seems to gracefully lean out of the way with no effort at all, making them look foolish. I thought his response to the Ortega rant was great. He let Ortega have his rant, knowing that Ortega was speaking for home-consumption of Ortega’s political base, didn’t make a big deal about it by walking out in a huff and dismissed it by saying “it was 50 minutes long.” I got what he meant, but it would have been a bit more effective and easier for the small minds on the right to understand if he had said “it was too long by 49 minutes”.
Similarly, why create a diplomatic broo-ha-ha by putting down Chavez by refusing to accept the book. Hey, you dimbulb nutwingers (sorry, that is repetitive), the title was in SPANISH, which Obama doesn’t read or write. The graceful thing to do was accept the gift and consider whether or not you want to read it later. Besides, if the cover was in Spanish, I’d guess the insides were, too. Thus, it probably ends up with all the other nick-nacks foreign leaders give President all the time. This is not a big deal and those who say it is are simply grasping at straws because they haven’t had a new idea policy-wise in 30 years.
Lastly, the English translation of the title of the book is “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent” Guess what, bozos, our country has only been around for 233 years! We didn’t even get involved with Mexico too much until the 1830s, let alone the rest of Latin America Thus, over half the book clearly has nothing to do with the United States, but rather the colonial exploitation of native peoples. No sane person denies what happened. That said, I’m not sorry for colonization. I wouldn’t be here if the Brits hadn’t colonized what is now the East Coast, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize the immoral things many colonizers have done over the centuries. The screaming bloody murder over this little thing makes it appear it isn’t liberals who have “white guilt.” Unless, that is, you care to go on record explaining how your version of Christian morals justifies the behavior of the colonizers.
Go ahead, I dare you.
Okay, I don’t know anything about beauty contests, and the only difference between Miss USA and Miss America that I can determine is the latter includes a talent contest of dubious value and somehow involves Donald Trump. But a Wilmington girl has won the former, and unlike Miss California she’s not a bigot (as far as we know, anyway), and…whatever, here’s the swimsuit shot:
More details have emerged about the F/A-18 crash in my neighborhood.
I don’t think many (especially me) are qualified to know what military pilots should or should not do when, in an emergency, their superiors are giving orders that conflict with their training and gut feelings. Having said that, and having actually gone through ground school, I know that civilian pilots have the concept that the pilot is the ultimate authority in an emergency situation repeatedly drilled into them. I suspect the same is true for the military. But this guy was green* and he was in an aircraft of questionable airworthiness. I give him a pass.
Submitted without comment, other than: This seems like the ideal Monday morning stepping off point.
OK, I know I’m not supposed to eat Chilean Sea Bass, or use plastic grocery bags, or leave the water running while I brush my teeth. I buy a lot of organic, drive a Prius, and even use sink and laundry water in the garden. But how could I possibly have known that buying seedless mandarins, the ones that are grown locally and organically, the ones the kids love so much and are easy to peel and go by the genius brand name “Cuties,” are threatening the livelihood of beekeepers? And why hasn’t someone told me that my favorite soft toilet tissue is destroying old growth forests? Next you’ll tell me that my laptop is made by indentured labor in China, or my compost pile is attracting West Nile Virus mosquitoes. Sigh. I guess I need to subscribe to more blogs.
I am waiting for my son’s bus to arrive so we can pick up his sister and go shoe shopping. I just watched a man drive his Audi 75 ft to pick up his mail then drive back into his garage. He does this everyday and is not disabled, and it’s 50 degrees and sunny so weather is not a concern.
Went by a Circuit City earlier for a little vulturing. Alas they are not serious about selling TVs or external hard drives yet. The place is about a week away from feeling like Beirut in the 80’s–desperation in the air, everything up for grabs. The store PA was playing the complete GnR Appetite for Destruction album and quite loudly.
I have tasted evil and it is named Slim Fast Capuccino Delight. I had one for breakfast today and it is the distilled shit of a chemo patient. Even worse is the aftertaste, which can only be described as having the half-life and metallic weight of depleted uranium. I could not face a future with 5 more cans of this stuff in it so I sealed it in concrete and threw it away.