Putting Up the Christmas Star
It’s become a tradition in our family. My father did it when I was little, and now I try to keep the tradition going each year that I can. We put up a Christmas star. The Christmas star is a large star that stretches across the ceiling. It starts with five anchors on the walls, […]
Ode to a Bedbug
I can’t go into the details (although I hope to be able to tell you the whole story someday). It has to do with my brother and his job. Basically, he ended up sleeping with bed bugs, and now he’s looking forward to a visit from the exterminator. That story prompted my dad to dig […]
Convicting Anyone of Anything
A jury convicted Lori Drew of breaking MySpace’s terms of service, possibly sending her to prison for years, if the verdict stands up on appeal. Why? Because she was involved in setting up a fake MySpace account, posing as a teenage boy, in order to mess with the emotions of a psychologically fragile teenage girl […]
Our Kids Can Handle a Lot More than We Give Them Credit For
The following was originally published at Dad-O-Matic. When my 12-year-old daughter wanted to read my latest book, I discouraged her, because it addresses adult subjects, including organized rebellion against government (just the thought of which these days can label you a traitor), and it depicts sex and violence.
No Such Thing as an Overnight Millionaire
Occasionally, I see ads for a “system” that promises that you can make a million dollars (or some other large figure) with no effort, no skill, no customer list, and no risk. In response, I say, “Oh yeah? Well, if it were really that easy, why isn’t the author of the system doing it, again […]
Proof That Programming Language Trivia Is Stupid
As reported in the New York Times: When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong. Instead, the research finds, the aging brain is simply taking in more data and […]
Not “Global Warming” Anymore; It’s the Global Climate Crisis!
Holly Lisle posted about a link to an article on the recent global warming data blunder, and her take on it. There are actually four separate questions to global warming: 1. Are world temperatures rising? 2. Are humans causing it? 3. Can we do anything to stop it? 4. Should we do anything to stop […]
7 Warning Signs of Bogus Politics (and Science)
An article back from January 2003, but still being linked to from various blogs, and with good reason. Robert Park presents 7 warning signs that a claim might be B.S. (instead of science). Some of these signs revolve around how the scientist himself approaches the claim, such as whether he submits it to rigorous study […]
In a Truly Free Market, Small Businesses Would Rule
Another interesting post on the Cato Institute blog, this time by Timothy B. Lee, commenting on an essay by Roderick Long, which argues that corporate welfare, government-imposed barriers to entry, and the like favor big business, and businesses would be smaller in a truly free economy. What caught my eye about Long’s article was his […]
I Am So in the Wrong Line of Work!
In the category of “you learn something new every day” is this post by Daniel Ikenson, at the Cato institute blog, about the General Motors Jobs Bank. Rather than allow GM to layoff workers when conditions warranted, the UAW had GM assign workers to the Jobs Bank, where they were paid almost full wages and […]