Brian Gongol
(9.30.2004)
Like They Do On the Discovery Channel
Koalas being put on birth control
(9.30.2004)
Terrorists Kill Children at Baghdad Wastewater Plant Opening
There's just nothing good about people who do this. The old "terrorist"-versus-"freedom fighter" debate shouldn't be any debate at all. Children killed at a celebration. Destruction of a piece of basic infrastructure that keeps people alive. There's no excuse.
(9.30.2004)
There Could Be a Problem with Teflon
EPA thinks there might be a hazard from one production chemical. Also, Vioxx is being pulled from the shelves.
(9.30.2004)
Samuel L. Jackson Lager
(Video - includes cable-TV language) Dave Chappelle rocks
(9.30.2004)
When Nerds Get Drunk
High magnification gets Turnerized: Molecular Expressions tries to show the beauty of science. The Powers of 10 display is especially cool.
(9.30.2004)
September 27th Carnival of the Capitalists
A late review of some highlights: Why colleges should offer limited refunds for unsatisfactory classes, how red tape is hurting people in poor countries, and how to assess the average worker's body of work at the end of a productive life. On that last subject, it may be suggested that since most people can't collect a physical "body" of work, they instead derive their personal satisfaction and sense of meaning from the work they do to build institutions. Thus, there may be something a little bigger to the responsibilities of those who run firms than just making payroll: They might just be shouldering (possibly without knowing it) the self-actualization of their employees. If that's not intuitive, you might ask whether people sacrifice some higher wages just in order to work for big-name firms. They often do. (In fact, even economists do it, and they're trained to think about these things rationally. So do judges.) And it's likely because they trade-off a little bit of monetary compensation for a sense of institutional purpose.
(9.30.2004)
We Get It, But We Don't
Betting is suspended on who will be the finalists in The Apprentice after high wagers come in from a concentrated geographic area on two of the competitors. People running the betting site say this has only happened before when people knew the outcome. The AP wire report has warnings everywhere that reading the story might spoil the surprise and tell you who the winners will be before the season is over. In other words, we get it that markets can reveal information that's otherwise a secret. But when DARPA planned a wagering system for terrorist attacks, the left screamed bloody murder. Even though it could have blown the lid off terrorist secrets and saved lives. So maybe we don't get it after all.
(9.30.2004)
Europe Getting So Many Illegals, They're Thinking of Opening Camps
Opponents raise vague "moral" questions. About a thousand illegal immigrants have shown up just this week. Better processing would probably improve conditions for the immigrants by reducing the power of smugglers, but even more importantly, it could help provide additional security to Europe. Many of the immigrants come from North Africa, which is a known hotbed of terrorist activity.
(9.30.2004)
Big Brother Goes Clubbing
Implantable chip for people too lazy to carry their wallets to the club.
(9.30.2004)
Flurry of Threats Against European Airliners
British Airways today, Olympic Airways yesterday, and Olympic Airways on Monday. I stand by my wager (standing since February 2002) that Heathrow will be a major terrorist target soon.