Month: April 2009
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My question for Obama: When should coal plants be phased out?
Lots of trivial questions at the press conference: abortion, flu, Specter, Chrysler. Here is what I would ask: "Leading climate scientist James Hansen described coal as the "single greatest threat to civilization and all life on our planet." Do you agree with this statement? Does this mean existing coal plants should be phased out? When…
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Global Warming Links
I’ve been blogging about global warming on Facebook for the last few weeks. Here’s the links I gave. Great stuff! Think 385 ppm is manageable? Milder winters increase bark beetle populations…which devastate N. American trees. Insect outbreaks such as this represent an important mechanism by which climate change may undermine the ability of northern forests…
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Alas, I’ve decided to become a protester (for a day)
A week ago I hemmed and hawed about whether I should attend a Houston political protest about bank bailouts. Normally I never do these kinds of things (even though protests seems as natural to many progressives as going to church is for conservatives). Here’s meeting info if you’re interested. Saturday at 1:00 PM. Just for…
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Boehlert, Beck, Tomorrow, Morans
Most liberals know about Eric Boehlert, a diligent reporter for Salon. I’ve been reading him forever. I just uncovered a shocking and eye-opening article he wrote for Rolling Stone about the press’s mistreatment of Al Gore in the 2000 election. Well worth revisiting. Samples: Few journalists saw anything wrong with this double standard. In fact,…
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Create your own Clippy messages
You may remember Clippy as an annoying interactive help tool in MS Office. Microsoft eventually removed it completely. Here’s a funny joke tool that allows you to bring it back…along with annoying and nonsensical messages. Such as: It appears you are connected to the Internet. I see that you have been using your mouse. Your…
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Some musical Youtube vids to knock your ears off
Blue Man Group performs Donna Summer’s classic song, I feel Love. (The singer Venus Hum is excellent too!) . Here is Donna Summer’s original song and here is an amazing techno version of the song (which I consider to be the definitive version). Apparently there are a 100+ remixes of this song on youtube. Here…
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Why does the 2009 Houston International Festival forbid cell phones?
On March 31 I went to buy tickets online for the Houston International Festival (i.e, Ifest). The page containing Ifest rules caught my eye: We love animals, but Houston City Ordinance prohibits pets of any kind from attending the festival. Personal cameras and hand-held camcorders okay to bring; however, you may not videotape the performers.…
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Ken Circeo: Technical Writers can be interesting (sometimes)
I was reading a small piece from a Microsoft person about how he came to be a technical writer when I decided to plow through his archives. The stuff I found just cracked me up. Technical Writer (and ex-Microsoft worker) Ken Circeo on meeting Bill Gates: At first, I thought it might be a Gates…
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Obnoxious NY UGC: (Future Employers, don’t read this!)
“Shit happens” as described by all the western and eastern philosophical movements. Rejection letter that rejects the rejecters. Funny & Sexy SNL video moments. 2 Classic Charlie Brown Videos: Lucy psychoanalyzes Charlie Brown’s neuroticisms. Fundamental Friend dependability song (good luck getting it out of your brain). Lele’s Breakfast, a wierd and funky techno song. You…
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Fun with Bank Graphs
I enjoyed this graph in the financial times. It’s market capitalization of the world’s 20 largest banks. Here’s the best part. At the bottom of the graph is a a slider, so you can see how the listing changes over a 10 year period. Fun games you can play: Look at Citigroup’s capitalization over time.…
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Cable News Obsession
Bill Hicks on cable news: "You ever watch CNN for longer than, say, 20 hours in one day? I gotta cut that out. Watch CNN. It’s the most depressing thing you’ll ever see, man. "WAR, FAMINE, DEATH, AIDS, HOMELESS, RECESSION, DEPRESSION, WAR, FAMINE, DEATH, AIDS." Over and over again. Then you look out your window…
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April 11 Bank Protest Planned in Major US Cities
I don’t know if you’ve heard about A New Way Forward Protest about the bank bailouts. I’m flirting with the idea of attending the protest in Houston . I feel passionately that the bank restructuring was handled incompetently and that lawmakers really don’t have a sense of what voters really want for it. It’s kind…