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September 2004
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Gongol.com Archives: September 2004
(9.29.2004)
North Korea Reprocessing Fuel Rods
That's the story in a South Korean news report. Still no word (but a great photo) on what Canada's going to do with 44 asylum-seekers in Beijing.
(9.29.2004)
Indonesia's Survival As a Nation
"As a Muslim who lives in a predominantly Muslim country, I can no longer bear the shame of seeing my country labeled the most corrupt nation in Asia, although the corrupt are not just Muslims."
(9.29.2004)
Socialized Medicine Isn't More Efficient
Some support staff in Ontario hospitals make 60% above prevailing wages in their markets
(9.29.2004)
To Find Temperature, Count Cricket Chirps
Chirps in 15 seconds plus 40 equals temperature in Fahrenheit
(9.29.2004)
Iowa Gets a Primate Sanctuary
Starting with two orangutans, later adding bonobos, chimps, and gorillas
(9.29.2004)
To Those Who Say Economics Can't Prove Anything
We've heard your tired arguments. And you're wrong. Within the economic world, there's certainly disagreement. The same holds true within all sciences.
(9.29.2004)
Refugees Scale Wall of Canadian Embassy to Beijing
They dressed like construction workers to get their ladders near the wall of the embassy. Looks like they're seeking asylum.
(9.29.2004)
Pilots Suffer Head Injuries in Axe Attack
Passenger did it on a 20-seat flight in northern Norway
(9.29.2004)
They're Pretty Sure Mount St. Helens is Going to Blow
The lava dome has moved by an inch and a half
(9.29.2004)
First of Two X-Prize Flights Goes Right
One passenger was a stuffed animal. Looking to secure the prize with a second flight October 4th. Consider the X-Prize (a private endeavor) a model for how the government should conduct and encourage research and development: Offer a large reward for the successful completion of a difficult task, then let the private sector spend its own resources on the development. Those who think they have the best chances of success will bet their resources accordingly, and the winner is likely to emerge as the one who achieved the task with the most efficiency. Whomever offers the prize doesn't pay anything until the goal is complete, so there's no chance of loss. As an additional bonus, it also forces the party offering the prize to honestly assess what the goal is really worth and then say it out loud. Note that Scaled Composites, the firm that looks like it's going to win the X-Prize, is a small company. GE or Boeing could have won. But they didn't. The same sort of prize put Lindbergh across the Atlantic.
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