You know, i can’t really blame Joe the Plumber for trying to cash in on his fame. If my 15 minutes ever comes, I will try to milk it as much as possible.

Strange maps shows a stunning comparison. The maps of cotton production before the Civil War almost exactly match the returns in the last election.

I was thinking today about the problems newspapers are having making money. Their subscriptions and advertisements are plunging and they can’t figure out a way to make the internet pay. The NYT is a perfect example — their web operation is stunning, but it’s not making money.

The solution? How about charging the ISP’s? That’s roughly how cable companies work. I pay Time Warner X dollars for access to channels. They turn around and pay each channel Y_i dollars for content. It’s turned out to work pretty well. So the New York Times and other sites should start charging ISPs for access. They are, after all, the reason I pay Time Warner such an outrageous amount of money for internet access in the first place.

I think these must all be from Australia.

Why does every courtroom scene in TV or movies have to devolve into attorneys yelling out talking points? This never happens in real life. Another thing that doesn’t happen is attorneys cutting off witness in mid-sentence.

These cliches drive me crazy.

Some amazing color pictures from the Depression. Honestly, I can’t believe the colors. I’m so used to thinking of that era as black and white.

I’ve just finished Neal Stephenson’s latest. Mini-review after the break to avoid spoilers.

Continue reading Anathem →

I just successfully named all 195 countries of the world. Of course, by the time I’ve finished this sentence, at least thee new ones will have been created.

I was struck by this line in an article on IVF:

When will women have children if the clock has stopped ticking? If you have a small daughter, you may be happy to think of her calmly waiting for the right man and the right moment before using the youthful eggs she has wisely stored to make healthy children. But for so many women–and men–there never really is a right time; there is always another promotion to chase, a bigger house to buy, another hurdle to clear. So there’s a question for today’s youngish parents: will your grandchildren ever be born, and if they are, will you still be alive to see them?

This was why Sue and I decide to have kids. There is no good time to have kids. There is never a moment when your life is under control. You just sort of have to have them and muddle through, like everyone else does.

I just saw the strangest commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. I backed the DVR up and watched it a second time. I still don’t know what the heck that was about.

Dave Barry:

“Nobody here is bitter or angry. As far as I can tell, nobody in Minnesota ever gets riled up about anything. Minnesotans really are, as the expression goes, ”Minnesota nice.” They are beyond nice. They make Mister Rogers look like Hitler. If you drove your car at 85 mph into a Minnesota family’s house, their reaction, once they pulled you out of the wreckage and gave you some hot cocoa, would be to apologize for building their house in a location that you would eventually want to drive through.

Which may be why no Minnesotan has ever been elected president.”

It’s funny because it’s true.

People who run subscription services that automatically renew need to be taken out and shot. Yes, I’m looking at you MacAfee.

Stories like this break your heart.