Improve This

For the sake of accountability

2011-05-15T11:11:00.004-04:00

Since I believe in accountability and I thought I would follow up with a prediction I made earlier on this blog. Yesterday, Mike Huckabee announced that he would not be running for president. Thus, he destroyed my earlier prediction that Mike Huckabee would be the 2012 Republican nominee for president. Oh well, can't call 'em all.

Even Fox News is Slamming the Supreme Court Decision

2010-01-21T22:53:00.004-05:00

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/01/21/ellen-ratner-supreme-court-mccain-feingold-campaign/?test=latestnews

This is a very good sign: even Fox News has an editorial up harshly criticizing the appalling Supreme Court Decision today.

The decision was 5-4, with the conservative wing entirely in the majority opinion. Anthony Kennedy, the semi-swing vote, obviously went with the majority on this one. The liberal wing was entirely in the dissent. A 90-page dissent was written by 89 year old Justice John Paul Stevens.

To have FoxNews opposing this decision as a sign of a deteriorating democracy is perhaps a ray of hope that it can be reversed.

Supreme Court sends us back to early 1900s

2010-01-21T21:48:00.005-05:00

The Supreme Court made an absolutely abhorrent decision today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/opinion/22fri1.html?hpw

This is brutal. Personally, I think that corporations should not be allowed to contribute at all to political campaigns. I think contributions should be limited to a representative's direct constitiuents alone. So if you're running from the 5th district, you should only be allowed to take limited donations from people residing and voting in the 5th district. No one from the 6th district or anywhere else should be allowed to donate to your campaign. And certainly, no corporation should be allowed to donate. Corporations already have more than enough power over the political process.

Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, asked that as a nation we dedicate ourselves, so "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

This decision is certainly going in the wrong direction.

Is Health Care Reform the new Iraq War?

2010-01-21T18:37:00.000-05:00

Is Health Care Reform the new Iraq War?

Nate Silver has a really insightful post up about how lies impact public opinion on public policy.

"Learning from Europe"

2010-01-11T23:41:00.001-05:00

I agree with Krugman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/opinion/11krugman.html

Test Graders Stink

2009-09-28T12:36:00.004-04:00

A very good piece about the high subjectivity of open-ended test grading, how we need to better standardize the graders.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/opinion/28farley.html?_r=1

I can hardly express how much I disliked the state writing tests. Maybe if I had learned to write good, I could express it better.

Obama's Health Insurance Reform Speech

2009-09-09T21:43:00.003-04:00

My gut reactions to the speech:

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. He touched on a lot of issues, cleared up some lies being spread, and made efforts to reach out to Republicans, like including McCain's campaign idea into the legislation and trying to bring tort reform into the legislation. I suppose the one thing that really turned me off was this:

"Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last."

This comment just sounds really arrogant and in particular aggravated me. Regardless of what happens this year, we'll still need health care reform in the future. It's inevitable. Whatever changes they may make now, our health care system will still be imperfect, and everyone knows it. It might be better, but there will still be plenty of room for improvement. I sure hope he's not the last president to take on health care reform. And then he repeated this exact comment in an email to supports just minutes after the speech. Ay ay ay.

That said, overall, I think he did a very good job of trying to address as many concerns as possible and citing examples of Republicans being involved in the reform process. I'll be reading more and more post-speech analysis as it becomes available and further digesting it in the coming days.

I followed the fivethirtyeight.com live blog of the speech and enjoyed it. I really agree with Nate Silver's point about the advantage of a congressional address:

The images of Republicans clapping alongside Democrats when Obama mentions something like pre-existing conditions is the upside to doing this from the floor of the Congress, rather than another venue like the Oval Office. Note, though, that many Republicans didn't stand up and clap when Obama said "no one should go broke because they get sick."

Anyway, my favorite solution so far to the health insurance crisis is from one of the professors at UNC, Jonathan Oberlander. He wrote about an "all-payer" system in a great article in the New England Journal of Medicine on September 2. By far, it seems the most effective at actually cutting costs, and seems more politically feasible than most other drastic measures.

Linky linky

2009-05-24T11:21:00.003-04:00

Here is a Cleveland newcrew reacting to LeBron's crucial game winner in Game 2. You watch this and feel so bad for Cleveland fans. It's like they are expecting to be cursed forever and never win anything. They totally gave up and were looking to next year...already! via Bill Simmons

Check out the Study Ball and Chain:

http://trueslant.com/jeffhoard/2009/05/20/finally-now-your-kids-can-study-like-criminals/

Good reads

2009-05-12T11:52:00.003-04:00

A couple of intersting piecse of writing:

Annals of Innovation: Malcolm Gladwell writes about how David defeats Goliath, in basketball and in life. Very fascinating. Maybe I need to rethink my approach to life.

Vauban, a car free suburb of Freiburg, makes the NY Times. I've been to Vauban when I was studying in Freiburg, though it wasn't finished yet at the time. This article is mostly of interest to me since I've been there, but I also like the bike-focused culture. Freiburg is notably for it's incredible bike-friendly community.

I couldn't believe Detroit traded away Chauncey Billups for Iverson earlier this seaon. Now Denver is crushing teams. The more I learn about Chauncey Billups, the more I like him. Great piece on ESPN's Outside the Lines.

Interesting note: Rick Pitino comes up in two of the above pieces. Completely unplanned.

Cool Ideas

2009-05-08T18:57:00.001-04:00

Check out ideas of Stephen M Johnson.

Rep Price Introduces Legislation to Honor Heels

2009-04-23T00:10:00.004-04:00

Somewhat hilarious, certainly amusing. I'm certainly proud of the Heels, but doesn't Congress have very pressing issues to tackle right now? Maybe this sort of thing happens every year.

Conan The Librarian

2009-04-18T17:31:00.002-04:00

From Weird Al's movie UHF (1989).

via my Dad.

Extreme Sheepherding

2009-04-13T22:08:00.000-04:00

Impressive:

NBA Team Scouting Report

2009-04-12T10:42:00.005-04:00

Scouting out NBA teams for UNC's players:

Ty Lawson: Given Lawson's height and speed, I think he'd be best suited to a run-and-gun environment just like he had at UNC. I can see him wreaking havok in the open court with his usual coast-to-coast cruising, but plodding half-court set teams might not allow him to utilize his strengths. According to John Hollinger, the fastest NBA teams are Golden State (101.1 possessions/game), New York (99.2), Indiana (98.9), and Phoenix (98.3). The slowest NBA teams are Cleveland, San Antonio, New Orleans, Detroit, and Portland, and I think those would be the worst match for him. Of the good matches, I kinda like the idea of him on the Knicks because I hear Mike D'Antoni is supposed to be a great coach, and the other teams I'm not so sure about coaching-wise.

Wayne Ellington: I was pretty impressed with Wayne's performance in the second half of the season. I saw the Miami game where he found his shot, and since then, he's been fantastic. He hit 8 of 10 three pointers in the Final Four. And he was coming off of screens too, not just hitting open jumpers. As NBA shooting guards go, he's a little short at 6'4", so run-and-gun might be best, but if can he nail shots off of screens, then he'd probably be able to get enough separation to get his shot off in the half court set. I'd stick him on the Charlotte Bobcats for all of the Carolina connections, including coach Larry Brown.

Tyler Hansbrough: What stands out to me is that Tyler was 9 of 23 from 3-point range this year, a 39% hit rate. This is pretty impressive for a guy who isn't known for his perimeter play. I'm really happy he has built up this skill while at UNC. He also hit 84% of his free throws, so I think his three point percentage can continue to improve. I see Hansbrough working out well on a veteran team that needs some younger high energy players who will do all the little things and be selfless. I pick San Antonio for the team-first attitude and the great coaching.

Danny Green: He's a solid 3-point shooter, and he collects a lot of steals and blocks, which is an unusual combination. As far as I can tell, one of his weaknesses is ball handling, so maybe if he's on a team with great ballhandlers, he won't be required to dribble too much and he can spot up for open shots. I'm having a tough time finding the perfect situation, but for some reason I keep coming back to Toronto. They've got a good point guard in Jose Calderon (8.8 assists per game, leads point guards in assist/turnover ratio at 4.16), they're a low turnover team, and they play at a medium pace. I'm not really confident about this choice, but hey, I don't get to choose anyway so what does it matter. He'd probably be good on a variety of veteran teams, like Boston, San Antonio, etc.

I hardly know anything about the NBA, so maybe I'm way wrong. Good luck to all the Tar Heels!

UNC: National Champions

2009-04-07T11:32:00.020-04:00

This UNC team reminded me of 2007 Florida team - they simply dominated and were never seriously challenged. If anything, I think UNC was much more overpowering. There was no way any other team was going to win.

UNC looked like an NBA team in the first half (well, a short NBA team). We were just making every shot. These were difficult shots too, but not out of control circus shots. We had balance. Lawson had 7 first half steals. The whole team played wonderfully. Between last year's player of the year (Hansbrough), this year's ACC player of the year (Lawson) and the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four (Ellington), our team is pretty much stacked. Any of those 3 are capable of putting up 20 points on any given night, and Green is known to do it from time to time as well.

I felt sorry for Michigan State. The television showed them all teary eyed at the end. We really crushed them. They had come so far against strong odds and the media played up their chances so much to hype the game. I mean, we beat them by 35 earlier in the season, yet the media pretended it was a fair fight, emphasizing the crowd impact, MSU's improvement during the NCAA tournament, etc. Their hopes were raised, and then they were clobbered. Seriously, this entire UNC team has never lost in Cameron Indoor and you think they're going to get scared in a semi-away game because of the crowd impact? I kinda wish it had been a little closer so MSU might not feel so bad. I hope they do well next year.

As Pat Forde pointed out, UNC didn't blow Michigan State out to the point of displacing Duke in the record book for worse loss ever in the NCAA championship. Duke lost to UNLV by 30 points in 1990. This was brilliant strategy by UNC, maintaining Duke's embarrassing record and not embarrassing Michigan State excessively. Long last that Duke record.

Speaking of which, I even almost feel a little sorry for Duke fans. They've been in a drought for quite a while. They haven't even made it to the Elite 8 in ages. They've been suffering while UNC has eclipsed them, dominating the regular season series and NCAA tournament since Roy returned. I think the struggle is good for them though. Surely, when they win their next title, which will probably happen sometime in the next 10-50 years or so, they'll be very appreciative.

And, lastly, I just want a little senior spotlight for Mike Copeland. He's on my all-time underrated team. What a hilarious guy. I love his personalized handshakes for each player on the team. I think it's good for team spirit and it's good for him because he gets on television. Loved how his handshake for Tyler Hansbrough was Tyler ramming into him and Mike collapsing backwards. He seems to be such a good-natured fun loving guy, though sadly this image was somewhat tainted by the fracas at NC State. Before his knee surgery, he was a one-man wrecking crew. He would always come in at the end of games, play 4 minutes and finish with 4 points and a rebound (or so my memory idealistically recalls). Anyhow, I'll miss him. There was one part of the championship game that I really didn't like. At the end of the game, Copeland was in and there was a fast break. He was wide open closing in on the basket, but the scrubby UNC guard selfishly dribbled it all the way up and tried to score for himself. He took a contested shot and missed. Copeland would have been open and likely dunked the ball. Instead, no one got anything.

MJ and Dean

2009-04-06T14:28:00.003-04:00

"There's no way you guys would have got a chance to see Michael Jordan play without Dean Smith" - Michael Jordon, upon his election to the Basketball Hall of Fame today

I'm just always amazed at the reverence that former players have for Dean Smith. At one game this year, I think it was the Virginia game, they had all of the UNC players who had been elected to the Hall of Fame present (MJ was not yet elected) for a ceremony of recognition. And during the ceremony, everyone deferred to Smith. The players all pointed to him, and I think it was Billy Cunningham who even started bowing to him. Dean, of course, was embarrassed and in "aww shucks" mode. It's impressive how much his players admire him.

UNC and Pace

2009-04-05T22:29:00.003-04:00

Ken Pomeroy has a very interesting piece on UNC and pace, identifying a few specific areas at which UNC uniquely dominates (scoring points after opponent scores or some stoppage).

Comment on UNC-Oklahoma

2009-03-30T00:21:00.003-04:00

I don't think I've ever seen so many missed dunks in one game. Any by only one team. Roy is going to have them practice their dunking skills. At least UNC played great defense.

FoxNews Headlines

2009-02-24T22:59:00.004-05:00

Here are the FoxNews headlines on their website following Obama's speech tonight (all of the headlines pertaining to his speech):

Obama Hits Hope Theme

President walks fine line between honesty about economic crisis, optimism for future | 1ST 100 DAYS

• Obama Errs in Saying U.S. Invented Automobiles

• AP FACT CHECK: Obama Glosses Over Complexities

• Jindal: Obama's Economic Plan Irresponsible

• Obama's Reputation as Good Speaker Debatable

Though I was listening while working, I thought it was a pretty good speech.

Burke and Obama

2009-02-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

David Brooks has a warning of caution to the Obama administration about taking on too much at once. I think he makes some good points. The current economic situation certainly requires bold action, but proceding with caution and trying to build off of existing systems is a good way to good.

Jungle Primaries

2009-02-24T20:58:00.004-05:00

Fivethirtyeight.com has an interesting article about jungles primaries. And it also has gotten "Welcome to the Jungle" from Guns and Roses stuck in my head. It seems to me like jungle primaries would be generally a good thing, probably allowing for more cooperation between parties and less extremism. I had never really considered before how much our current primary system feeds into our partisanship.

Shaq Tweet

2009-02-23T13:44:00.001-05:00

An interesting, though unverified, post about finding Shaq through Twitter.

Low-Tech Fixes For High-Tech Problems

2009-02-18T23:13:00.002-05:00

The NY Times has a cool little article about using low-tech stuff to fix high-tech devices when they break. No guarantees, but amusing and some may be worth a try. I've heard of kids successfuly using the cellphone in rice technique before.

If your home Wi-Fi router doesn’t reach the other end of the house, don’t rush out to buy more wireless gear to stretch your network. Instead, build a six-inch-high passive radio wave reflector from kitchen items, like an aluminum cookie sheet.

Obama Sushi

2009-02-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

Check it out!

clipped from feature.jp.msn.com

via Meredith!

Julius Peppers

2009-02-12T23:36:00.002-05:00

Julius Peppers gives $100,000 to scholarship fund. Wahoo! Nice job, Mr. Peppers.

Fortune Cookie

2009-02-09T16:54:00.003-05:00

First learn to "give" and then the universe will reward you.

- My fortune cookie from neurology lunch. Not quite sure why "give" is written in quotation marks.

Lucky numbers: 14, 5, 18, 37, 9, 7

School is in Session

2009-02-09T16:46:00.002-05:00

Jordan and Perkins in class at UNC. Gotta love that smile on Perkins. I'd never seen this picture before, which is a shame. From a Tar Heel gallery at SI.

Tyler Zeller Update

2009-02-08T11:12:00.003-05:00

For those of you not at the game extremely early, Tyler Zeller came out in athletic clothes shortly after the JV game to shoot around with the team. He no longer has a cast on, and his shot was looking really good. He nailed 3-pointer after 3-pointer. He didn't seem to jump very high, but as far as I could tell, his wrist was looking pretty good. (Afterwards, he came back out before game time with a suit on to sit on the bench).

I take this to be a very good sign. There is talk that he might medical redshirt this year so that he can play four more years. But really, no one knows what the next four years will bring. The team might not be this close to a title again. If he redshirted, Zeller would essentially be trading this year for his 5th-year senior season, which is a complete unknown. If his goal is to win an NCAA title, this year may very well be his best shot. And the team could really use another scoring threat since the bench's output stinks. He also might be able to replace Deon Thompson in the starting lineup, who hasn't done anything since ACC play started. It's only early February. Zeller could work his way back into the line up in the coming weeks. Then we could tinker with lineups to get things right. If we lose a couple games, it's all right. Then by NCAA-time, he's meshed with the team and we're ready to go the distance.

I Lego NY

2009-02-04T01:19:00.002-05:00

Christoph Niemann has another humorous piece in the NYT.

clipped from niemann.blogs.nytimes.com

Blago

2009-01-29T18:37:00.003-05:00

"I did a lot of things that were mostly right."

- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, defending himself during his impeachment trial

Now that's the sound of desperation if I ever heard it. But aside from that, what amazes me is that he is still out there proclaiming his complete innoncence. Other parts of his closing statement include, "You haven’t proved a crime and you can’t because it hasn’t happened. How can you throw a governor out of office with incomplete or insufficient evidence?" He seems so completely certain of his innocence that I almost start to wonder if this has been some big misunderstanding. He is a pretty good liar and an evil genius.

I think he demonstrated his evil genius best after the Democrats vowed to barr entrance to anyone he nominated to the senate. So he chose Roland Burris. Matt Taibbi described him as "a 71-year-old, half-batty egomaniac named Roland Burris, the first black man elected to statewide office in Illinois...an over-the-top eccentric who refers to himself in the third person ("If there hadn't been a Roland Burris, there would not have been a Barack Obama") and who has already built for himself a mausoleum inscribed with the words TRAIL BLAZER."

One more paragraph to borrow from Taibbi:

Americans were thus treated to the spectacle of two white Democrats physically refusing to open the Senate doors for what would have been the body's only black senator. To make matters worse, the Democratic leadership hung its entire case for barring Burris from office on a technicality: His appointment, they insisted, had not been certified by the Illinois secretary of state. When the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Burris appointment was, in fact, legal, [Harry]Reid and [Dick] Durbin were left with a face full of omelet just weeks before Obama's inauguration.

The Democrats of course caved and seated Burris, saying, "oh no, we didn't expect Blago to nominate a respectable candidate." By choosing Burris, it made Blagojevich look like a reasonable guy since he was replacing Obama with another African American, and it made Reid and Durbin look like fools (but that was their own fault) since they seated him anyway, thereby giving credibility to Blagojevich. A stroke of evil genius.

NYC v Salt

2009-01-27T23:23:00.003-05:00

Dr. Tom Frieden is taking it to the purveyors of salt. Seems like a difficult task, but one with potentially big public health benefits.

Bono

2009-01-27T23:16:00.005-05:00

"This kind of spirit blows through every now and then. It's a very strange feeling. We're waiting for God to walk into the room - and God, it turns out, is very unreliable. So you don't have the right to imagine you can make a great album. But what you can do is create the conditions where it might happen."

- Bono, from U2, on making their new album No Line On The Horizon

This quotation pretty much captures what inspiration is all about, as far as I can tell anyway...."create the conditions where it might happen." Those are some words to live by.

Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

2009-01-26T21:58:00.001-05:00

The story is at the NY Times. It's all observational though; no guarantees.

Fortune Cookies

2009-01-25T00:40:00.001-05:00

"You will have many friends when you need them"

"You have an important new business development shaping up"

(yeah, I opened two cookies)

Beetlejuice

2009-01-24T14:15:00.003-05:00

From Bradsucks:

Compare to original over here.

History

2009-01-22T17:20:00.009-05:00

I noticed that the Daily Tar Heel has a thumbs up or thumbs down feature called Quick Hits. They gave the symbolic Obama train ride from Philadelphia to DC a sideways thumb, saying it was a bit "too theatrical and corny" for their taste. As a matter of fact, I agree; it's my understanding that it cost a ton of money to set up given the security concerns, but I can't find any figures for that off hand. The idea was to recreate Lincoln's journey to DC, which sounds symbolic, but also brings up hubris and opulence. Had it zero to little cost associated with it, I think it'd be fine, like how the mayor of New York, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, rides the subway to work (occasionally at least). I think the train ride was unnecessary. The fact that the country elected Obama is in itself very significant and symbolic. The fact that a couple million people attended the inauguration was significant and symbolic. Maybe everyone on the National Mall could have joined in song together. That would have been awesome, memorable, and free (or at least cheap). But adding in an expensive, phony train ride to DC is probably taking away from the history being made.

Presidents

2009-01-21T00:35:00.004-05:00

Every time I hear something like, "the President took the oath of office," I just smile and feel happy. He's now "the President." Finally. The Iowa Caucuses were over a year ago. I feel quite proud to be an American. Over the last eigth years, I found my president to be an embarassment, and I was often quick to explain that he didn't speak for me whenever I traveled or met people from other countries. A part of me now feels a little sorry for Bush since he has finally shown some remorse and admitted some errors. Too bad he didn't admit errors earlier or have the foresight to know how wrong his direction was. A least, in admitting errors, he seems more sympathetic, like he was in over his head. Dick Cheney, on the other hand, remains defiant.

Different topic:

Interestingly enough, Obama, who has shown quick wit and skilled oration over the years, totally stumbled through the oath of office, with the help of stumbling Chief Justice John Roberts. I guess they both were a little nervous.

I also noticed that most news outlets were optimistic and excited about the election. So I went over to FoxNews to see what they were reporting. Some of the headlines conveyed this optimism, like "Historic Moment Cast as Victory of Hope Over Fear." Some commentators, however, like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck were skeptical. Hannity could be right that it is the most expensive inauguration ever, but he doesn't cite any numbers.

What was quite interesting to me was a piece about the unhealthiest presidents. Turns out JFK was a health disaster. Eisenhower was also in bad shape, and even developed Crohn's Disease while in office.

Atheists and Agnostics Put Message on Buses

2009-01-07T23:39:00.005-05:00

The NY Times had an article about how 800 buses in Great Britain are now carrying atheist and agnostic messages. It's an interesting piece. Perhaps what struck me most were these quotes:

“I think it’s dreadful,” said Sandra Lafaire, 76, a tourist from Los Angeles, who said she believed in God and still enjoyed her life, thank you very much. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face.”

And from Richard Dawkins:

“Across Britain, we are used to being bombarded by religious interests,” he said, “not just Christians, but other religions as well, who seem to think that they have got a God-given right to propagandize.”

Debra

2008-12-26T19:38:00.004-05:00

I love this song. This Achordants performance of it was amazing. I hadn't heard it since the concert, but am glad to see that it has made it's way to youtube. I wish they had the whole thing on video since there was a lot of hilarious improve at the end, but they only got the first 3:20 at least. There isn't a lot going on visually from this camera angle, but do try to listen in.

Wikipedia

2008-12-26T13:03:00.001-05:00

Wikipedia is fundraising. I know we all benefit from it so much, so please join in and make a little donation if possible.

Mr Peppers

2008-12-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

What an athlete:

Gay Marriage Debate

2008-12-11T19:36:00.004-05:00

Jon Stewart makes several good points in his talk with Mike Huckabee:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Post #100

2008-12-11T19:31:00.002-05:00

A little celebratory dance for post #100. It took a lot longer to get here than I expected.

Most Dominant Center Ever

2008-12-05T13:23:00.001-05:00

Shaq is probably the funniest center ever.

Coffee

2008-12-04T18:14:00.002-05:00

Christoph Niemann has an interesting post about his relationship with coffee:

Parachute Use

2008-12-03T18:15:00.004-05:00

Here is a sarcastic little article that one of my classmates pointed out from the British Medical Journal analyzing the benefits of parachute use if you fall out of a plane. The idea is to make fun of some of the criticism of using observational data to make medical decisions. Here is a little clip from the conclusion of the abstract:

As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organised and participated in a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.

Kenny George

2008-12-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

UNC-Chapel Hill played UNC-Asheville yesterday. The Tar Heels won, frankly by a bit too much. I felt pretty bad for UNC-A. 116-48? That's too brutal. I didn't see the game at all, but maybe we could have allowed them to score a little more? Put in the bench earlier?

And I also learned yesterday that UNC-A's Kenny George, their 7'7'' center (7'9" in shoes), had part of his right foot amputated due to a MRSA infection back in October. He was apparently pretty sick and was going to be in the hospital for another month. That's very sad. I wish him well. Here is a youtube clip of him playing (you can figure out which player he is).

He also had a good write-up in the NY Times last year. No company makes shoes in his size, so in high school Shaq sent him a bunch of his size 22s and they were reshaped into size 25s so George could wear them. Wow.

Obama's Weekly Address

2008-11-22T16:55:00.003-05:00

Obama will have weekly radio addresses, which apparently, will also appear on Youtube. Here is the first one. I'm glad he's doing it, but frankly, it's not all that impressive. I want him talk regularly, but also to show us charts, explain situations, and tell us what he's going to do. I also think he should address the nation from television each week in addition to Youtube because most Americans, particularly those who voted against him, watch television way more than Youtube. I think that if he went on television once a week, it would help Americans get to know him. FoxNews is always talking about how "we don't know the real Obama, I'm so scared" yada yada yada. Well, if he's on TV every week, I think that'd help convince some remaining skeptics.

I don't just want him to talk to America when we're in crisis, I want him to talk regularly, explaining health care, social security, Iraq, and any other major policy issues. I know what the government is doing to make America a better place. I want examples. How is he making the government more efficient? How is he cracking down on corruption? I want a report every week on how things are going.

I know that governments, as well as everybody, has a tendency to evaluate themselves with bias. That's inevitable, but I want more communication between government and people. The news organizations will criticize and look for bias and report what they can find, so I don't think these government reports will come without critique.

Anyway, I'm being very demanding. But I'd really like to know what's going on.

UNC vs Kentucky

2008-11-20T19:36:00.003-05:00

UNC lead by double figures four minutes into the game and never looked back. Unfortunately, they didn't really look forward either. After the 10 minute mark, both teams played sloppily, and basically to a draw, but UNC was already up by about 20 at that point. I felt that the UNC energy level sharply declined once a comfortable lead was established, and then they played down to the level of their opponent. I think that a lot of this may have to do with Tyler Hansbrough missing. He is so intense that I just can't see UNC slacking off like that with him on the floor. I'm not saying that UNC should have tried to pummel Kentucky, but they should have tried to play a clean, well-executed game. The incredible hussle and pizzazz of the first 10 minutes was amazing. Even Wayne Ellington was playing passionate defense and had a steal. Then it all sorta fizzled out.

By the way, Will Graves and Ed Davis were great. Deon Thompson had a great first half. I hope Tyler Zeller recovers quickly.

Obama's First Foreign Policy Decision

2008-11-12T20:03:00.003-05:00

During his acceptance speech, Obama said he was finally going to get his daughters a puppy. Since one daughter has allergies, they need a hypoallergenic dog. Peru has stepped up and offered the Obamas their own national breed of dog, the Peruvian Hairless Dog, a favorite of the Incas. They have already given it to the US Embassy in Lima.

Now Obama has a choice: accept the dog and win millions of hearts in Peru, or find a way of saing "thanks, but no thanks."

Awkward...

2008-11-10T15:10:00.003-05:00

Photo from NY Times

Labels and Politics

2008-11-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

From Laugh Lines:

How bad must the G.O.P. feel right about now? It portrayed Obama as a socialist, a communist, a Muslin, and a friend of terrorists, and the majority of American voters said, “Y’know, we’re O.K. with that, as long as he’s not a Republican.” – Jerry Smith

Maher v Huckabee

2008-11-08T16:36:00.003-05:00

Mike Huckabee had Bill Maher on his show recently to discuss Maher's film Religulous. It's a lively discussion.

Obama, Japan

2008-11-08T16:09:00.003-05:00

The town of Obama, Japan, goes nuts celebrating its namesake's victory in the 2008 election. Tourism in the town is up 20% since the town linked itself to the candidate.

People all over the world are happy about the election result. Here is a related story about the reactions from all over the world:

Mr. Obama “brings the narrative that everyone wants to return to — that America is the land of extraordinary opportunity and possibility, where miracles happen.”

Myron Rolle

2008-11-08T15:49:00.003-05:00

Here is an inspiring story about Myron Rolle, a defensive back for Florida State who is pre-med and competing for a Rhodes Scholarship. He is considered one of the best players on the Florida State team. He finished his undergraduate degree in two and a half years and is currently doing graduate work in public administration while continuing football. Wow.

A look at Mike Huckabee

2008-11-08T15:22:00.005-05:00

I think I'm going to start making some predictions here on my blog. This is highly dangerous since it's sure to make me look like an idiot, but I do that anyway, so I might as well forge ahead. I'll tag all of my prediction posts "prediction" so that in the future it'll be easy to look back and see how wrong I am.

So let's get started. Mike Huckabee is my pick for the 2012 Republican candidate. This video is a little biased in its sample selection, but overall, he seems to be a decent person. He thinks a lot of things that I disagree with, but he thinks for himself and comes to his own conclusions, which is something I admire, and frankly, is pretty uncommon. He's very charismatic. He has a heart. He'll stay in the public eye with his television program on FoxNews. And I think he'll end up running again and being the 2012 Republican nominee for president.

Now whoever made this video has put in some side commentary between clips, so just ignore those and focus mostly on what Huckabee says.

I should also add that in making this prediction, I really have no idea what I'm talking about. There are certainly other governors and politicians who will run who I haven't even heard of, and someone could quickly rise and surprise everyone (like Obama did between 2004-2008). But even a broken clock is right twice a day, so I'll let these predictions stand. And while I'm at it, I should add that I think Bobby Jindal, the current governor of Lousisiana, will also run.

Post-Election Free time

2008-11-08T14:57:00.007-05:00

This is exactly how I feel post-election:

I guess I still check fivethirtyeight.com anyway, just in case.

I love you, America

2008-11-06T23:23:00.003-05:00

I remember how I believed the country would right itself during the 2004 election. That election left me stunned. I began to worry that there was so much corruption abounding that Democrats might not experience a fair election ever again. I simply couldn't believe they had lost. I figured that somehow, someway, the election must have been stolen. I didn't want to believe Americans could be capable of such an eggregious election decision. I was completely embarrassed.

Following the mid-term 2006 elections, I was actually shocked that the Democrats won seats. I know, that result was projected, but still, I figured that there would be chicanery and at best, they would make no progress. I began to realize that perhaps the electoral system wasn't completely rigged after all. This result gave me some hope about 2008. Maybe some Americans were waking up.

And now, my hope has been pretty durn-tootin' well restored. I know that Obama only won by a few percentage points as far as the popular vote is concerned. Really, the overall number of people voting differently from the 2004 election is pretty small, but just enough to make a huge difference. I know there is still a lot to be done, and I'll blog about that later, but I was getting a little teary eyed watching the acceptance speech. Beautiful.

And Heel yea! NC is blue!

Dollar vs Euro

2008-10-26T21:00:00.003-04:00

Back on April 22, 2008, 1 Euro was worth $1.60, a new high. As recently as July 22, 2008, 1 Euro was worth $1.59. And then began a quick decline in the Euro's value compared to the dollar. As the US financial crisis has worsened, the dollar has climbed against the Euro. As of October 28, 2008, 1 Euro is now worth only $1.26. Wow. That is a 21% decrease in value from July to October, a three month period. Currencies just completely baffle me. See more at the Google Finance page.

Elections - maybe not on Tuesday

2008-10-26T20:50:00.002-04:00

Why do we vote on Tuesday? It made sense back in 1845. But since then, it has become a hassle (at least in states that don't have early voting). According to the article, 25% of Americans who don't vote report that it is because they were too busy or had a conflicting schedule. There is now legislation to move election day to the weekend to make it more convenient.

Endorsements

2008-10-26T20:39:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking about what the most devastating endorsements would be. My dad told me about a recent Will Ferrell skit where he is dressed as George Bush endorsing John McCain, and the McCain character is trying as hard as he can to escape. If Republicans really want to win the election, they should have had George W. Bush endorse Obama.

Nicholas Kristof points out a recent "endorsement" of John McCain by an Al Qaeda-affiliated website.

A look at "political analysts"

2008-10-23T23:50:00.001-04:00

Jon Stewart takes a look-see:

"Liberals hate real Americans"

2008-10-23T23:37:00.006-04:00

Here are the most interesting paragraphs from a Gail Collins piece in the NY Times:

Opening for a McCain rally in North Carolina last weekend, Representative Robin Hayes said he wanted “to keep the crowd as respectful as possible.”

In order to pursue that goal as efficiently as possible, Hayes then announced that “liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God.” This was an especially unfortunate turn of phrase given the fact that he had begun his remarks by saying he wanted to “make sure we don’t say something stupid.”

All this was a direct outgrowth of Sarah Palin’s own comments in North Carolina, in which she praised the “pro-America” areas of the country. But Hayes had clearly been absent for the day in scurrilous campaign school when they explain that you aren’t supposed to specifically name the anti-American parts.

Meanwhile, over on MSNBC, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota was launching into the Obama/terrorist spin when she suggested that the news media should investigate “the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America.” So far, the only person who’s felt the impact of her call to reinvent McCarthyism for a post-Communist planet has been her opponent, a hitherto totally ignored Democrat named Elwyn Tinklenberg, who was stunned to discover in the following days that he had received close to $1 million in donations.

Making Babies in NC

2008-10-18T12:14:00.004-04:00

Here are some interesting stats from the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics on births in NC in 2007.

Youngest Mother	10
Oldest Mother	53
Youngest Father	14
Oldest Father	76
Sets of Twins	2,135
Sets of Triplets	63
Sets of Quadruplets	5
Sets of Quintuplets	0
Most Births Occurred on	Sept 14	487
Fewest Births Occurred on	Dec 25	208
Day of Week Most Births Occurred	Friday	21,207
Largest Live Birth	14 lbs. 0 ozs.
Total Births	130,886

Curious that the fewest number of births occured on Christmas Day.

McCain Rallies:

2008-10-12T21:11:00.004-04:00

Some quotes from a NY Times article:

When a man told him he was “scared” of an Obama presidency, Mr. McCain replied, “I want to be president of the United States and obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be, but I have to tell you — I have to tell you — he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States.” The crowd booed loudly at Mr. McCain’s response.

Later, a woman stood up at the meeting, held at Lakeville South High School in a far suburb of Minneapolis, and told Mr. McCain that she could not trust Mr. Obama because he was an “Arab.”

Mr. McCain replied: “No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man, a citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that’s what this campaign is all about.” (He did not correct her false depiction of Mr. Obama.) At that, the crowd applauded.

...

Crowds in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have repeatedly booed Mr. Obama and yelled “off with his head,” and at a rally in Florida where Ms. Palin appeared without Mr. McCain, The Washington Post reported that a man yelled out “kill him.” At the same rally, a racial insult was hurled at an African-American television cameraman.

...

At one point, after a voter told him he wanted to see a “real fight” at the debate and the crowd responded with a roar, Mr. McCain replied, “We want to fight, and I will fight, but we will be respectful.”

Then he added, “I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments, I will respect him.” The crowd interrupted Mr. McCain to boo, but he kept talking. “I want everyone to be respectful and let’s make sure we are, because that’s the way politics — —”

At that point, Mr. McCain was drowned out by applause.

It appears that McCain is putting some effort into explaining to his supporters that Obama is a respectable person, which I appreciate. His television ads don't seem to do that though. Frank Rich writes that things have gotten way out of hand.

Heart Risks

2008-10-12T14:01:00.004-04:00

A little post from the Wall Street Journal comparing McCain's and Obama's risk of a cardiac event in the next 10 years. This particular post says it is the risk of "death or heart attack":

McCain:

17% - if he is taking blood pressure medications for kidney stones and not blood pressure, as his doctors claim.

22% - if he is taking blood pressure medications for blood pressure problems.

Obama:

1% - if he is not smoking, as he claims.

3% - if he is sneaking cigarettes.

So, as you can see, there is a big difference in health risk. Age is largely the reason for the huge difference. I have seen a couple other numbers thrown around, which don't appear on a well-known journal, but I'll note one anyway.

According to a Dr. McDougall, McCain's heart risk is 27% (apparently assumes diuretics are for blood pressure), and Obamas remains 1% and 3%. McDougall also says that "Over the next 4 years a man of 72 years has a probability of dying of 16% and over 8 years, 38%. At age 47 a man has a 2% probability of dying of within 4 years, and 5% within 8 years." I haven't verified these calculations, nor can I vouch for the veracity of the website, but common sense says that a 72 year old with various health problems is at much greater risk of dying or further health problems than a healthy 47 year old.

All that said, for what it's worth, McCain's doctor says that he is in "excellent health." From what I can tell (which is admitedly limited), he is holding up well during the brutal campaign season, which I imagine would be difficult for anybody.

Neutrophil Attack!

2008-09-26T14:00:00.003-04:00

Check out this cool video of a neutrophil chasing down and phagocytosing a bacterium. This is another video we watched in class. It looks like an old computer game, or maybe a cellular-level COPS televison episode:

The Inner Life of a Cell

2008-09-26T13:27:00.002-04:00

Really cool video. Wish I had my very excited professor narrating for you, but at least you've got an entertaining soundtrack:

The Great Schlep

2008-09-26T00:03:00.003-04:00

A video on why you should tell your Jewish grandparents living in Florida to vote for Obama.

Good Morning America "Balances" UNC

2008-09-23T00:32:00.003-04:00

The ABC show "Good Morning America" visited Chapel Hill on Saturday, September 20. Students supporting Obama showed up in big numbers, but ABC removed about 20 in the front and replaced them with McCain supporters.

Lipstick on a Pig

2008-09-17T13:33:00.002-04:00

Stephen Colbert cuts through the truthiness:

Obesity Epidemic

2008-09-15T14:04:00.004-04:00

Our carbohydrate metabolism professor presented us with this data from the CDC on the rise of obesity in the United States. Notice that in the mid-1980s, there aren't even data for obesity. My how things have changed. Staggering.

I recommend just using the CDC site to get a better view of the data. I tried fooling around to make Clipmarks do a decent slideshow for probably an hour, but basically the program is huge hassle and I need to stop wasting my time with it. And it stopped at 2004 instead of going all the way to 2007.

Michael Dukakis Says Something Funny

2008-09-15T14:01:00.002-04:00

"I owe the American people an apology. If I had beaten the old man, you'd have never heard of the kid."

- Michael Dukakis, 1988 Democratic Party presidential candidate

Republicans Storm Back in Polls

2008-09-11T22:59:00.003-04:00

I remember checking this 2008 Election simulator a couple months ago, and Obama was winning 90+% of the simulations, and I believe as high as 98%. Wow, have times changed. VPs were chosen, conventions were had, and generally, the attacks have gotten more and more slimy. On the Republican side, it looks like something is working. Now Obama is now winning 61% of simulations. Many states that were considered toss ups, like NC, are now "leaning Republican." There are still nearly two months before the election, but Democrats are already panicking. Fundraising is coming up short, while Republicans are going strong.

Anyhow, here is an interesting youtube video looking at John McCain's recent ads:

Oh the Hypocrisy

2008-09-04T20:45:00.002-04:00

Jon Stewart Lays Down Some Truth

The Real America

2008-09-01T13:04:00.004-04:00

Here is a little excerpt from Paul Krugman's recent blog post during a visit to the Emergency Room:

But here’s the thing — what strikes me here (as it does whenever I spend some time in a workplace) is how much the real America resembles the idealized multiracial, multicultural casting you see on TV. The staff here includes whites, blacks, Asians, Hispancis, a young Muslim woman in a headscarf, all mingling and working together cheerfully.

I wanted to highlight this paragraph because I have often felt the same way. Our medical school class is pretty diverse, and even the faculty is as well. I'm sure there are still plenty of tensions and I think that there is still a lot of self-segregation when people are left to their own devices, but nonetheless, a lot of progress has been made.

DNC Acceptance Speech

2008-08-28T23:22:00.005-04:00

I just watched Obama's 2008 presidential nomination acceptance speech. I thought it was decent, but frankly, it paled in comparison to his 2004 convention speech. The 2004 speech was about the American dream; how people can be accepted and thrive in the US, and how that opportunity is unique, and how that opportunity is a source of pride for our nation. Basically, the speech focused on positives of America and it's potential. Barack talked about the unity of all Americans; we're all in this together. It's impressive to watch how the crowd grows more and more excited as they hear the speech. I remember reading an article about it a day later proclaiming "A Star Is Born," talking about how Obama made an incredible impression. I watched the speech and was impressed with how well he captured the moment. Re-watching the speech now, I found it fascinating to see that he talks about hope, a word which has become synonymous with his campaign this year.

The 2008 speech, however, didn't quite stir me. Sure, I liked the platform planks, his plans for energy independence, getting out of Iraq responsibly, offering college education to those who serve their communities, and many more. I liked that he did mention the American dream. But I suppose that what turned me off were all of the negative comments about McCain and Bush. I think that the hope and positive message in the 2004 speech were what made it so special. I found the shots at McCain to be unnecessary and out of place. A lot of them were from old information, like bring up his economic advisor's "nation of whiners" comment. That was from months ago. If people are undecided or voted for Bush or McCain at some point in the past, but are curious and happen to be tuning into the DNC, they're probably going to be turned off to hear the candidate bashing the other candidate. I think that there is plenty of room for criticizing other candidates, but doing it while the national spotlight is on you isn't really the best timing. I think it'd be fine if Obama created a youtube channel and posted videos of John McCain contradicting himself, saying stupid comments, and generally making himself look bad. Or if he put such ads on television for voters to see. I think that's a better place to criticize someone. But if the country is tuning in for a convention, and times are bad, I think they're going to want hope and encouragement more than seeing the blame game old cracks on Bush. Some people don't appreciate it when you say mean things, but I think appreciates inspiration. Anyway, I'm mostly rambling at this point and I only heard his speech live, so I should think a little more before I write anything else.

Here is the 2004 speech in case you haven't seen it in a while:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Live Explosive Removed From Soldier's Body

2008-08-17T17:33:00.002-04:00

Here is an inspiring video they showed us in school about a soldier in Afghanistan who was impaled with a live RPG. He was airlifted out and operated on to remove the live explosive from his body. Wow.

How The Democrats Can Blow It....in Six Easy Steps

2008-08-17T14:40:00.002-04:00

A nice little piece from Michael Moore:

For years now, nearly every poll has shown that the American people are right in sync with the platform of the Democratic Party. They are pro-environment, pro-women's rights and pro-choice. They don't like war. They want the minimum wage raised, and they want a single-payer universal health-care system. The American public agrees with the Republican Party on only one major issue: They support the death penalty.

via Crooks and Liars and Rolling Stone

Holy Ghost

2008-08-06T00:58:00.002-04:00

From xkcd

Energy Policy

2008-08-06T00:46:00.001-04:00

Crooks and Liars had an interesting post about the Republican response to Obama's energy policy.

A Comparison of Bush and Obama

2008-07-30T09:42:00.005-04:00

As Obama spoke to over 100,000 cheering people recently in Berlin, I couldn't help remember what happened when President Bush spoke in Germany. A couple days before I arrived in Germany in 2005, Bush had visited. Though I didn't hear much about it in the US, once I got to Germany, I heard that thousands of people showed up to protest his official visit. I have a feeling that these protests were only minimally covered in the American media as I spent some time searching and had a difficult time finding an article about it in English. As reported in the German magazine Spiegel, about 12,000 people protested to show their displeasure with the American president. Turns out that Germans have built a tradition of protesting Bush on every visit he made over the last six years (article in English), until his visit this past June, when the Germans gave up. American foreign relations has come a long way in the last few months.

Education in America

2008-07-29T22:32:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to direct you to a good piece by David Brooks in the NY Times about the slide of education in America over the last 40 years. He terms it "The Biggest Issue." Let's hope he really considers it the biggest issue when he votes this November:

If you look at Barack Obama’s education proposals — especially his emphasis on early childhood — you see that they flow naturally and persuasively from this research [on the importance of early childhood education]... McCain’s policies seem largely oblivious to these findings. There’s some vague talk about school choice, but Republicans are inept when talking about human capital policies.

Nozzle Rage

2008-07-28T12:46:00.001-04:00

A little video about gasoline:

via: Essays and Effluvia

New Yorker and Obama

2008-07-25T15:46:00.004-04:00

Lost in all of the hoopla surrounding this week's controversial New Yorker cover is the fact that the article inside about Obama is quite interesting. The sprawling article discussing Obama's entrance into and ascension in Chicago politics, which is a topic I've heard little about. It hasn't always been easy for the golden boy, and he even lost a congressional race. But, as far as I can tell, he has seemed to be pretty ideologically consistent throughout. I'd recommend reading the physical magazine rather than the piece online just so that you don't have to stare into a computer screen for too long.

Picken' Green Energy

2008-07-24T16:17:00.003-04:00

Looks like oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens is doing something good and honest at age 80. His efforts to invest in green energy are impressive and I hope he has enough sway to pull some other oilmen and energy lobbyists in with him. I'm rather impressed that someone who funded the Swiftboating of John Kerry is going green; quite a turn around, and let's hope that he can keep it real.

Marilyn Einstein

2008-07-23T16:13:00.003-04:00

Check out this cool effect: if you look at the picture from up close, it's Einstein. If you back up 15 feet, it's Marilyn Monroe. Crazy. How does someone go about inventing this or get the idea for this? Why does it work? It's fun to back up and watch Einstein's moustache disappear into Marilyn's mouth.

via Random Cool Stuff

Jesse Jackson and Obama

2008-07-11T16:25:00.001-04:00

Oh news anchors:

via: NY Times humor

Warning: yet another Obama post

2008-07-08T12:52:00.002-04:00

I found this article by Bob Herbert to be pretty representative of a lot of the concerns I've had (along with many others) about Obama lately. As Herbert sums it up, "the Iowa caucuses seem a very long time ago."

How Wine is Marketed/Purchased

2008-07-07T19:18:00.001-04:00

A little anecdote followed by a link to the article:
The story is told of a sales call that Ernest Gallo made to a New York customer in the dark days of the depression. He offered sample glasses of two red wines - one costing five cents per bottle and the other ten cents. The buyer tasted both and pronounced, “I’ll take the ten-cent one.” The wine in the two glasses was exactly the same. Clearly, the customer wanted to buy an identity - the image of someone who wouldn’t drink that five-cent rotgut- even if he couldn’t actually taste the difference.

They always buy the ten cent wine, Ernest Gallo said.

Article can be found here.

Ira Glass on Hard Work

2008-07-07T18:50:00.002-04:00

via 43 Folders

I feel the same way about this blog and other projects of mine. I know that the quality isn't great, but I feel it's a sort of working space to develop certain skills.

Bush Surveying Damage

2008-07-07T17:37:00.002-04:00

From the Onion

John McCain is Computer Illiterate

2008-07-06T12:47:00.003-04:00

Frankly, I would have a hard time believing this, but it's in the tape:

I'm worried about potentially electing a president who seems to not even use a computer, much less know how one works.

Credit Report Companies

2008-07-03T21:55:00.003-04:00

Terry Gross talks with Elizabeth Warren in a very eye-opening chat about the dirty credit-rating industry. Turns out that you might have a terrible credit report because these companies make mistakes all the time, and there are few mechanisms in place to prevent errors, or even easily correct errors. About 1/4 of reports have serious mistakes that hurt someone's credit rating. I highly recommend this episode of Fresh Air.

I love the subway too

2008-07-03T21:52:00.002-04:00

Post on little boys who love the subway. Very cute.

"The Shack"

2008-06-30T12:54:00.003-04:00

Here is a look at Shaquille O'Neal back in 1991, when he was called "The Shack" and playing for the LSU Tigers.

Barack on Ethanol again

2008-06-29T20:29:00.006-04:00

In the recent issue of Rolling Stone, there is an interview with Barack Obama. The interviewer, Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Jann S. Werner, asks about Obama's position on ethanol.

RS: You've been a big supporter of ethanol. But studies show it doesn't do anything to reduce global warming, it's actually a less efficient was to produce energy than gasoline, and it's contributing to growing food shortages worldwide. Are you going to continue to back it?
BO: Corn-based ethanol I see as a transitional technology. We've got to invest in alternative fuels.
RS: This one is ranked pretty bad.
BO: I understand, which is why we're going to have a transition from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol, not using food crops as the source of energy.
RS: So you foresee this coming to an end.
BO: What I foresee is us transitioning into other ways of developing these energy sources. The fact that we had corn-based ethanol, and that industry has matured, provides us with distribution networks and infrastructure that can ultimately be used for other ethanol sources.

What to make of all of this? First of all, I had to look up "cellulosic ethanol," which is, according to wikipedia, a "biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants." Here is some more of what wikipedia has to say about cellulosic ethanol:

As of 2007, ethanol is produced mostly from sugars or starches, obtained from fruits and grains. In contrast, cellulosic ethanol is obtained from cellulose, the main component of wood, straw and much of the structure of plants. Since cellulose cannot be digested by humans, the production of cellulose does not compete with the production of food, other than conversion of land from food production to cellulose production (which has recently started to become an issue, due to rising wheat prices.) The price per ton of the raw material is thus much cheaper than grains or fruits. Moreover, since cellulose is the main component of plants, the whole plant can be harvested. This results in much better yields per acre — up to 10 tons, instead of 4 or 5 tons for the best crops of grain.

The raw material is plentiful. Cellulose is present in every plant, in the form of straw, grass, and wood. Most of these "bio-mass" products are currently discarded. It is estimated that 323 million tons of cellulose containing raw materials that could be used to create ethanol are thrown away each year. This includes 36.8 million dry tons of urban wood wastes, 90.5 million dry tons of primary mill residues, 45 million dry tons of forest residues, and 150.7 million dry tons of corn stover & wheat straw.[37] Transforming them into ethanol using efficient and cost effective hemi(cellulase) enzymes or other processes might provide as much as 30% of the current fuel consumption in the United States — and probably similar figures in other oil-importing regions like China or Europe.[citation needed]

Moreover, even land marginal for agriculture could be planted with cellulose-producing crops like switchgrass, resulting in enough production to substitute for all the current oil imports into the United States. [38]

I left the citation notation in so that you could get an idea of how much of that might actually be legit. Cellulosic ethanol actually looks decent so far. Wikipedia goes on to discuss how lots of paper, cardboard, and packaging which is sent to landfills could instead be harvested for its cellulose and turned into ethanol. This development could reduce waste sent to landfills, also a big plus. Wikipedia notes that it is estimated that cellulosic ethanol would cost about $1.90-2.25 per gallon; however, I'm not sure how many miles per gallon vehicles would achieve with that fuel.

Overall, this cellulosic ethanol is looking pretty good: reasonable to create, relatively inexpensive, and possibly reducing landfill waste. So the next important part of the equation is the green house gas effect. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

In comparison to gasoline, ethanol burns cleaner with a greater efficiency, thus putting less carbon dioxide and overall pollution in the air. Additionally, only low levels of smog are produced from combustion.[51] According to the U.S. Department of Energy, ethanol from cellulose reduces green house gas emission by 90 percent, when compared to gasoline and in comparison to corn-based ethanol which decreases emissions by 10 to 20 percent.[47]

Not too shabby. Now maybe that page in Wikipedia was written by conniving cellulosic ethanol lobbyists, but I suspect that most of that information is accurate. It appears that Barack Obama is on the right track with cellulosic ethanol, and that he is isn't really pushing corn-based ethanol after all. However, there seems to be a lot of confusion on that point among the public and media.

As a side note, I just wanted to point out that George W. Bush actually advocated the use of cellulosic ethanol a few years ago in his State of the Union address in 2006:
"We must also change how we power our automobiles... We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years."

At the time, I had never heard of switchgrass and had no idea what he was talking about. I'm not sure what has actually become of these promises. Apparently the US government has begun funding cellulosic ethanol production projects, but I have doubts that it is on track to reach goals by 2012.

Taking on the Telecoms

2008-06-28T12:21:00.004-04:00

The city of Wilson, NC is taking on the telecoms, installing it's own fiber optic cables to offer it's citizens broadband. While you don't have to read the whole article, it's worth at least scanning. I hope this idea spreads to other municipalities.

Say it ain't so, Barack

2008-06-24T17:54:00.005-04:00

Muslim voters feel snubbed by Obama
My impression from this article is that many Muslims want to support Obama, but he or his campaign is declining their help out of fear of being associated with Islam. The article points out that he has done a few nice things and made some apologies, but I expect better out of Obama. He is supposed to be a leader, not a panderer. Lots of Americans are wrongly suspicious of anything or anyone connect to Islam. We need a real leader to step up and work to end this prejudice rather than shy away. When his website says that his being called a Muslim is a smear, that wording in itself is offensive to Muslims. If he is campaigning on unity, he needs to walk the walk.

Kudos to Jon Stewart for making fun of Obama for his recent fumblings, like his new campaign logo and the public campaign finance rejection.

It's good to see Stewart is still trying to be a straight shooter. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with publicly financed campaigns, and I wish Obama would explain himself a little better on that issue. Had he said this and explained himself from the get-go rather than changing his mind after having a record fund-raising campaign in the primaries, it wouldn't be an issue. All of the clips of Democrats defending Obama's decision also fail to give explanation of why he declined public finance or explain how his decision is "reforming" public finance.

After a little research, perhaps this is why Obama has turned down public funding, although I still wish he would clarify it a bit more:
"Mr Obama's clear financial advantage over Mr McCain is offset in part by the resources of the Republican National Committee, which has far more money in the bank than the Democratic National Committee. Both national parties can spend money on behalf of the presidential candidates outside of public funding laws."

And lastly, for this post anyway, I'm a little bit concerned about Obama's close ties to ethanol, as written about in the NY Times. This may be an issue to follow more closely in the future as I'm not sure Obama has actually done anything wrong so far, though he appears to support corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel. I'm not entirely familiar with the economics and science behind this issue, but it seems to me that corn-based ethanol is not particularly efficient and may have played a role in the global rise in food prices this past year. Paul Krugman has written about the problems with corn-based ethanol. Sugarcane-based ethanol seems to be much more efficient, but currently all sugarcane ethanol imports are tariffed to protect American corn ethanol. McCain has the exact opposite stance on corn-based ethanol and wants to lift the tariffs on sugarcane ethanol. Although I'm still trying to make sense of all of this, I think that McCain may have a good point.

Unemployment

2008-06-19T10:54:00.001-04:00

"Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would extend unemployment benefits to all Americans for three months. One can only hope they’ll regret this decision after November." – Will Durst

from: http://laughlines.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/15-lobster-tails-in-his-pants/