Month: December 2008

  • Happy New Year Too!

    Since I keep GMT at Power and Control, I note that it is past the start of the New Year for those in the same time zone. Americans have a little over 4 hours to wait for midnight to come to the New York time zone. So I’m a tad early. But let me wish…

  • HAPPY NEW YEAR!

    This will probably be my last post of the year, and I’ve been so busy that I barely found time to get online and write it. The house is so torn up that I’ve been basically camping out while working, although I only have about ten days of this to go. The house has needed…

  • Science Toys – 1

    I have been thinking lately about the abysmal state of science in America and have decided to do something about it. So I’m going to put up a post every week or so about science toys and the science books that go with them. The first one I’m going to look at is a Volcano…

  • An Agent For Change

    Terry Nelson was a Federal agent for 30 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Customs Service and the Department of Homeland Security. Here is what he says about drug prohibition. Busting top traffickers doesn’t work, since others just do battle to replace them. Despite the obvious failure of our drug control strategy, the public…

  • Bent Burris For The Illinois Senate

    Bent Rod Blagojevich plans to name Roland Burris to the US Senate seat vacated by Mr. Obama who plans to carry on as the Most Corrupt President Elect Ever™ although I might hasten to add that there is no proof, so far, that Mr. Obama who came up through Chicago politics and who was heavily…

  • Under The Influence

    A study I just found, Behind Bars, has this to say about the connection between drug use and violence: Contrary to conventional wisdom and popular myth, alcohol is more tightly linked with more violent crimes than crack, cocaine, heroin or any other illegal drug. In state prisons, 21 percent of inmates in prison for violent…

  • The Ruins Of Detroit

    I was reading a bit in The Weekly Standard about Detroit. As the night wears on, Charlie grows defensive, and almost defiant, about Detroit. He recounts everything it’s done for the country, insists the city still matters and won’t disappear, speculates about the potential for it to become a major port since “water is the…

  • Attorney General: Legalize Marijuana

    The operation has so far led to the indictment of 59 people and the arrest so far of 39 of them, some in this country legally and others who were not. Phoenix Police Lt. Vince Piano said the operation was very sophisticated, complete with specially designed heavy-duty trucks to actually let vehicles drive over the…

  • Politics Explained

    The Right fears fun. The Left fears money. Between them, when they get done with us, we will be miserable and broke. Cross Posted at Power and Control

  • More Malware Protection

    I’m using Spybot – Search & Destroy 1.6 which seems to do a very good job. It was suggested by a friend. It is free, however you can make a donation. As per usual may I suggest you install it before you need it. Cross Posted at Power and Control

  • Saving Is Good

    H/T Megan McArdle Cross Posted at Power and Control

  • Carbon Transistor Advances

    IBM is doing some great work in advancing carbon transistor technology. IBM Researchers today announced that they have demonstrated the operation of graphene field-effect transistors at GHz frequencies, claiming the highest frequencies reported so far using the non-silicon electronic material. IBM is a long-time proponent of graphene — a special form of graphite, consisting of…

  • Obama Gets Some Questions

    So what does Obama really think about marijuana legalization? “President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.” Well he was for it before he was against it. To be fair to President-Elect Obama, he never pledged to legalize marijuana. Quite the contrary, during his Presidential campaign he backtracked from his previous comments…

  • Attorney General: I Make Better Decisions With Morphine

    This is pretty amazing stuff. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in an entirely under-reported November interview, claimed that he makes the best decisions “when I have a lot of morphine in my system.” Perhaps some one needs to talk to Obama about this. You can watch the 5 1/2 minute video of the interview at…

  • Steampunk Fusion Video

    I got this video from Popular Science where you can read an interesting article on the subject. At Steampunk Fusion I have a look at whether this is a scam or could it really work. The short version: the engineering is very difficult but it could work. Cross Posted at Power and Control

  • WWKD

    In his new book, What Would Keith Do?, due out in May, Keith Richards says: I’ve never had a problem with drugs, only with policemen. H/T Buford Terrell via e-mail. Cross Posted at Power and Control

  • The Secretary Is Into Commerce

    Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico), Obama’s Commerce Secretary designate, is being investigated for a bit of commerce. New Mexico’s Gov. Bill Richardson, who is the newly named Secretary of Commerce in Obama’s about-to-be Cabinet, is also being investigated by a federal grand jury in his home state for possibly steering state bond business from the…

  • Hey Kids – What Time Is It?

    It’s Sarah Palin time. Every day for the next year. Especially if you buy the Sarah Palin 2009 Calendar. And this will come as a surprise: Instapundit says it is on the Amazon best seller list – for office products. I’m still trying to figure out what that means in terms of her political future.…

  • A Six Percenter

    Obama’s choice for Education Secretary, Arne Duncan who is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, is presiding over one of the worst school systems in America. Anne Leary of Backyard Pundit has the scoop. Only 6 of 100 Chicago Public School students go on to get a bachelor’s degree by age 25.…

  • Brightey Whities

    A new laboratory record in LED white light production has been reached. December 3, 2008–In the ongoing efficiency battle going on between the research labs of the leading high-power white-light LED makers, Cree (Durham, NC) has gained the highest ground, at least for now. The company just announced that it achieved an industry-best reported R&D…