June, 2009 archive
Tinysaurus? 0
From the UKofGBandNI Daily Mail via the Huffington Post: The formula used to calculate dinosaur size was flawed:
Other dinosaurs were also brought down to size by the new calculations. They included Styracosaurus, reduced by 21% from 4,200 kilograms to 3,300kg, and Diplodocus, which shed 27% of its weight and fell from 5,500kg to 4,000kg.
As for me, at one time I could do logarithms, but I don’t think I ever actually understood them.
Twits on Twitter 2
Phillygrrl was teasing me most politely the other night about my refusal to twit. Frankly, a lot of it is a tendency I have to resist hype. I have never been, am not, and probably shall never be an “early adopter.”
Will Bunch takes on the hype about Twitter and Iran:
The larger reality is that Twitter is a medium, but it’s not the message. If change really does come to Iran, it will not be cause of 140 characters but because of the character of millions, who are literally risking death to march for the things they believe in. It was like that in Massachusetts in 1775, when the news traveled at the speed of horse, and it is like that in Tehran in 2009. Same as it ever was.
“Ask Not for Whom the Cookie Tolls . . .” 0
I toll someone I could not resist that title . . .
Nestle USA on Friday voluntarily recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after a number of illnesses were reported by those who ate the dough raw.
. . . but it has taken a toll of its own.
(Yeah, I know. I’m really cooking here.)
Confusing Headline of the Week 0
Reader’s Digest Denies Move “In Decidedly Conservative Direction”
Here’s a link to the Toimes story that prompted the denial.
Full disclosure: I have been an off-and-on reader of Reader’s Digest all my life (right now, I’m “off”–subscription lapsed). The main trends I’ve noticed is to shorter articles and more abridgier abriged books.
When has it been not conservative?
I sure don’t remember any drift towards the center, let alone the left.
Google Camera Trikes 0
When their vans don’t fit, it’s back to people power:
Follow the link for a picture of their high-tech trike.
Dustbiters 0
You can’t bank on them, not no more:
First National Bank of Anthony, Anthony, KS
Cooperative Bank, Wilmington, NC
Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, GA
The Internet Is a Public Place 0
And Bozeman, Montana, is determined to make it more so. It is demanding that applicants for public jobs surrender their user names and passwords to social networking sites:
Giving up your user name and password violates the terms of service for most social networking sites.
As my three or four regular readers know, I regularly point with derision at those whose think what they do in cyberspace is somehow secret or private. But Bozeman is out of line here.
I have been to Bozeman. It’s probably not a good idea for them to artificially narrow the pool of prospective public employees.
Disengaged 0
El Reg:
(“Grumble flick” apparently is Brit for porno film. The bride decided that her fiance was a bad actor, since he seems to have been a good, that is, skilled, actor.)
Light Bloggery 1
Travel day. Going south for the weekend.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Without additional comment:
Police say a man with an Uzi submachine gun has robbed five West Philadelphia businesses this week
.
The Washington Posthole 3
It cut Dan Froomkin loose.
Supposedly, his column didn’t “work” any more.
Mr. Froomkin just had a consistent history of getting things right.
My three or four regular readers know that I have quoted him frequently and that his analyses just as frequently turned out to be spot on.
Apparently, being spot on doesn’t fit with the Post’s editorial policy these days.
All they have left in their stable of regular writers who’s worth a damn is Gene Weingarten.
It’s one thing to watch a newspaper die. It’s quite another to watch one kill itself.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Just like my neighbor.
There may be some signs of improvement that it could have been much worse.
This dovetailed well into a Federal Reserve report on manufacturing in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic area, where activity contracted in June for the ninth consecutive month but much less severely than anticipated and far less than the previous month.
Surprise, Surprise. 0
Racism turns a lot of persons off:
Twice this week Republican activists have apologized for racist humor.
What astounds me is that, after over half a century of the Civil Rights struggle, some white folks still haven’t figured out what kinds of words hurt other persons.
This is not an issue of “political correctness.” This is an issue of rude and bigoted behavior.
Bigotry is evil. Rudeness is, well, rude.
I say, “Keep it up, Republicans.” The better persons of good will know you, the less they like you.
ARMs Race 2
They’re gonna blow, Cap’n!
The Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages, that is:
The bulk of outstanding option ARMs — a product no longer available to homebuyers — were issued between 2004 and 2007. Monthly payments on these mortgages are due to reset to a higher lending rate between 2009 and 2012.
In related developments, I listened yesterday to a discussion of Mr. Obama’s proposals for financial consumer protection. From the website:
One of the guests, the one from the American Enterprise Institute, mouthpiece of the Ayn Rand school of business regulation, wiggled like a worm to blame the current financial situation on “predatory borrowing.”
The other guests did not let him get away with this. Neither did the callers. One caller who had worked for a mortgage broker called in and described the tactics the broker used to pressure persons into whifty mortgages. Another called to describe how, when he wanted a 30-year straight mortgage, his mortgage broker dragged the process out for weeks trying to sell him one anything but a 30-year straight.
Follow the link to hear the show or click here to listen (Real).
Customers didn’t create this mess. Bankers did.
Twits on Twitter, Republican New Media FAIL Dept. 2
Josh marshalls the evidence. (Follow the link; it’s a hoot.)
