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Sunday, October 31, 2010
Is Minimalism a Fad?
Trendy nonsense.This is just an attempt to make money by selling a lifestyle.This is the new real estate scam: selling psychological ‘guilt-free’ living.10 years from now all these ‘minimalists’ will be bcak to their old ways, just like the Boomers got square during the Reagan years. Right now, these yuppies are converting their reduced income into a ‘smugness’ account so...
Simple Math and Simple Politics
If you spend anytime at all perusing the blogosphere, you will find a common theme coming from self-described liberal or progressive bloggers, and that is that those on the political right are ignoramuses. The argument is that they are just too stupid to know what's what - they are even anti-science, rejecting knowledge itself -- and consequently they support dumb candidates...
Why You Should Not Vote
An important election is coming up this Tuesday. But does voting really matter? Will your vote make a difference? Nope. In fact, you are wasting your time, and no one wants to waste their time. Here are the reasons why you shouldn't vote.1. YOUR VOTE IS STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT.The odds of your one vote affecting the outcome of an election are miniscule. You are more likely...
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Random Thoughts on Various Subjects
1. GENE SIMMONS AND IPSimmons made it to my heroes list a couple of years ago for his brashness and individuality. But his recent remarks concerning intellectual property make me want to rescind that honor. Here is what Gene had to say:Make sure your brand is protected. Make sure there are no incursions. Be litigious. Sue everybody. Take their homes, their cars.***The music industry was asleep at the wheel and didn't have the balls to sue every fresh-faced, freckle-faced college kid who downloaded material. And so now we're left with hundreds of...
The Masked Cyclist: a Halloween Tale
Sit down, dear reader, and grab a cup of hot apple cider. For in honor of this Hallow's Eve, I shall tell you a tale that is as true as it is chilling: the tale of the Masked Cyclist.It was a dark, crisp Autumn night many years ago and I was a mere high school girl, cycling home from piano lessons on my step-through mountain bike. The nonfunctional shifters and rusty...
DVD-Maxed Out
Maxed Out is a documentary primarily about credit card companies. It is scathing and eye opening. Made before the housing bubble collapsed, it begins with a housing boom real estate agent making deals. I remember those days. Nothing but optimism, and I had to laugh when the woman says it would all be fine as long interest rates didn't go up. I'd like to see where she is now.Most...
Is Notre Dame Responsible for Student's Death?
I was interviewed by Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated Video on Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old junior, dying in a tragic accident while filming an Irish football practice earlier this we...
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wairarapa Show 2010
This year we have none of our own horses competing at the Wairarapa Show but Aine (TF Summer Solstice) came over from Wellington with her owner Kerry to take part in the Sport Horse classes (in-hand). It was a big day for Aine (2 year old) and she behaved impeccably. Aine is Enya's full sister (Maude x TF Life O'Reilly) so is 3/8 Irish Draft and 5/8 Thoroughbred. She is going...
Happy Feet
Today was the first time I felt well enough to ride a roadbike since having gotten sick last month. It was only 26 miles, but it felt great to have my full lung capacity and energy back.Continuing with the Italian theme, I took Francesco - my fixed gear stallion. How happy he was, basking in the precious minutes of sunshine in between thunderstorms.Riding a fixed...
Thoughts on a New Knighthood
Coach Paul Passafiume shared this with me. An outstanding article that truly deserves your time and reflection. Reverend Charles Chaput is the Archbishop of Denver....Thoughts on a New KnighthoodArchbishop Chaput delivered the following remarks to Catholic cadets at the United States Air Force Academyin Colorado Springs on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010.None of you wants to sit through another classroom lecture. So my comments will be brief. Then we can get to some questions and answers. I'm also going to skip telling you how talented...
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Lovely Bicycles on a Budget: Vintage vs Modern
[image via niniferrose] In addition to the variety of comments posted on this website, I receive lots of questions from readers via email. And if I had to say what the one most frequently asked question is, it would be a variation of this one:I am looking for a nice bicycle for commuting around town and my budget is $500. I would love to get a new Dutch bike or...
The Radio Cardiff Awards 2010 - EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!
Francis Taylor Yousef HaiderVoting has ended in the Radio Cardiff Awards 2010. Simon Williams Martin Prendergast and Matthew Eves A huge thank you to everyone who voted for us. We greatly appreciate your support.Remember to tune in every Tuesday night at 7pm on 98.7FM in Cardiff and online at http://www.radiocardiff.org.uk/Listen to our latest...
The Economist on The Climate Fix: "Bright and Provocative"
The Economist has a very positive review of The Climate Fix. Here is how it starts:THE title of this bright and provocative book is knowingly ambiguous; what sort of fix is it about? At least three distinct fixes, it turns out. There is fix-as-dilemma, fix-as-stitch-up and fix-as-solution. Roger Pielke, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado,...
Antitrust Lawsuit Filed Against the NCAA
As noted by a commenter to an earlier post, a class action antitrust lawsuit was filed against the NCAA on Monday in United States District Court in San Francisco by former Rice University football player Joseph Agnew. Specifically, the suit alleges that NCAA rules prohibiting universities from offering guaranteed multi-year athletic scholarships, as well as rules limiting...
An Update on the WAC v. Mountain West Lawsuit
Last month the Western Athletic Conference filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference, Fresno State, and the University of Nevada, seeking to prevent the two schools from leaving the WAC to join the Mountain West until after the 2011-12 school year. The schools had stated an intent to join their new conference at the end of the current school year, a move that the WAC contended would have violated its conference bylaws, and would inflict significant damage on the remaining WAC schools. It now appears that the sides have reached an amicable...
Disasters Wanted: The Math of Capitalizing on Florida's Risk
[Correction 10/31: This post has been updated. The Herald-Tribune is in Sarasota, not Tampa. Sorry!] The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has another interesting article about the role of reinsurance companies in providing coverage against hurricane risks, or depending upon your view, in fleecing Florida consumers.After I posted up some comments on the previous article from...
If it is not True and not False, then What is It?
The Guardian reports that the British Advertising Standards Authority -- an independent body recognized by government that adjudicates claims of truth or falsity in advertising -- has ruled that the advertisement shown above from Oxfam is not false. Here is the explanation in full:The ASA understood that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established...
