01.31.07
6:07 am - Jason G. - Uncategorized
More from WWNK:
By Radley Balko, Reason magazine
(originally published in Reason Magazine, 1/1/07)
It is something of a clichéd tradition for a columnist to write a year-end or New Year column that makes exaggerated, sometimes humorous predictions for the next 12 months.
I wrote such a column at about this time last year, with “predictions” that reflected the continuing, creeping influence of government in our lives. Unfortunately, the state of civil liberties and both economic and personal freedom haven’t improved much over the past year. So I figure it’s time for another round of unlikely predictions as to what we might expect from our government in 2007.
–In yet another case of government bureaucracy gone mad, some local health agency will insist that the churches and private homes where volunteers prepare food for homeless people pass rigorous, restaurant-standard health inspections or shut down operations. The silly policy will be justified in the name of protecting the homeless when, in reality, it will really only lead to fewer homeless people getting fed. (more…)
01.29.07
6:07 am - Jason G. - Technology
From the WWNK:
By Doug Hornig
In March 2004, we ran an article on a Pentagon-commissioned study on the possibility of abrupt and drastic climate change, such as happened 12,000 years ago when, according to estimates, the average global temperature rose by seven degrees in only twenty years and put a decisive end to the most recent ice age.The result of the study, a brief paper titled, An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security, pushed certain computer models to their extreme, at which a sudden rise in global temperature results in a shutting down of the Gulf Stream and, counter intuitively, colder conditions for much of the planet.
That, of course, is just one projection among many. Other researchers have modeled quite different futures, with conditions both more and less dire. (more…)
01.27.07
6:24 am - Jason G. - Commentary
From Bloomberg:
While Bono was making his appeal [to support charity], U2 was racking up $389 million in gross ticket receipts, making Vertigo the second-most lucrative tour of all time…
Murphy points to the band’s decision to move its music publishing company to the Netherlands from Ireland in June 2006 in order to minimize taxes… (more…)
01.25.07
6:23 am - Jason G. - Technology
How’s your twitch control? Try this game and find out…
01.24.07
6:17 am - Jason G. - Technology
This is so sexy… and I want the 60″ plasma that he’s using too…
01.23.07
6:22 am - Jason G. - Health
Great stuff from BigPicture:
A fascinating example I came across recently this involves food, diet, and how we eat. Typical diet plans focus on what we eat: fat content, calories, quantity, and exercise (Note that the diet industry is estimated to be $40-100 B per year). It turns out our brains regulate our food consumption in ways we are not conscious of. Often, environmental cues will influence our food intake.
Brian Wansink (of Cornell) has been called the “Sherlock Holmes of Food.” He is the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, and is the author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. Wansink claims that our minds make more than 200 food-related decisions a day — most of them without any actual thought.
It turns out the circumstances of consumption greatly impact how much we consume. Consider these example from Wansink and Mindless Eating: (more…)
01.22.07
6:44 am - Jason G. - Humor
If Ask a Ninja isn’t enough for you, you can quickly convert your t-shirt into Ninja wear wherever you are…
01.20.07
6:28 am - Jason G. - Uncategorized
From Chris Mayer:
Meat is incredibly expensive to produce, because raising the necessary livestock requires large amounts of grain. According to The Silk Road to Riches, the average cow consumes 2.5–3% of its body weight in grains every day. “A typical 1,200-pound beef steer could consume about 35 pounds of feed per day,” the authors write, “or more than 13,000 pounds annually. That’s enough grain to feed more than 10 average-sized adults for an entire year.” It’s also very water intensive. It takes about 6,600 gallons of water to produce just 8 ounces of beef. As you can imagine, this puts meat beyond the pale of many poor countries.
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