America is reeling from a debate in which its president refused to denounce the racial violence of its growing numbers of neoNazis/white supremacists. Yet the country needs to put this in proportion; we’re at a point in which a popular Christian pastor in Texas wished death on a long-time public servant. (more…)
Well, it’s not the majority of Americans, but it certainly is too many.
So sad to see a formerly great nation implode.
So embarrassing to be a part of it, albeit an outspoken opponent of all the hatred and stupidity.
Hoping for a completely new ethos once Trump is removed (whether or not he’s indicted, convicted, and imprisoned).
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that there has never been a presidential election that has garnered anywhere near this much of my attention.
Here’s a great way to track the movement in the polls; it’s updated at least a couple times a day.
Suppose you’re a Trump supporter, and you notice that every living president, including a Republican, is doing everything his power to bring the Trump presidency to a close.
Further, these gentlemen are joined by the top echelon of the U.S. military, as well as our scientists, doctors, and educators. The country is diseased, economically depressed, and reviled around the globe. Your guy was impeached, and now stands accused of dozens of different felonies. Many of his top advisors are in prison, or well on their way. (more…)
Should decisions about re-opening the U.S. economy be made purely based on epidemiology?
Of course not. Sure, suppose you come up with an idea for a COVID-19 policy, e.g., re-opening restaurants with no indoor seating, and you run it by the epidemiological community. You will get in return, with the maximum degree of precision possible, the most likely outcome in terms of the short-, medium-, and long-term health of the population, given the realities of things like testing facilities, the number of ICU bed-spaces, the probability of a vaccine in a certain time horizon, etc. (more…)
My wife and I had an amusing incident that I thought I’d share, hoping that it will make you smile too.
Almost exactly a year ago, we were travelling in Central Europe with an incredibly knowledgeable guide, and wherever we went, I’d asked him how the local people regarded Trump. In Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, he said, “Well, there’s some support for Trump, but largely these people regard him as a conman who’s in the process of ruining the United States. We got to Slovenia, he said, “Are you kidding? Do you know where your First Lady is from? They adore him!”
Twelve months later, it looks like the bloom is off the rose. In the first place, it appears clear at this point that Melania is married to a criminal, whose comeuppance may be imminent; in the second place, he owes someone $400 million, and may not be able to repay him.
A reader asks: Do you know of any renewable energy companies that you think are well managed and positioned in their markets/industries? I want to start looking into rebalancing my investments.
Glad you asked. Tom Konrad, PhD is a close associate of mine, and he runs a blog called altenergystocks.com. The dude is brilliant, doctorate in math (chaos theory). Committed to sustainability, and never stops reading/researching. At his recommendation, I bought Hannon Armstrong (HASI) at $5.03 in 2013. It closed at $40.88 yesterday.
Though Venn diagrams have been around since the days of the mathematician John Venn in 1880, they didn’t become an important part of what kids leaned in school until the 1960s. Now, of course, we see them everywhere, even when they’re used to express political comedy, e.g., the one at left.
This diagram is misdrawn, however, as it shows that all four presidents share all three characteristics, and I doubt that’s what the author intended. 
My attempt at telling the story is here, and is interpreted as: only Trump shares all three characteristics.
Question: The first and second laws of thermodynamics conspire to make perpetual motion impossible. But suppose you’re like me, and you like to examine claims like the one below and identify precisely where they fall apart. What’s the exact reason that the “Archimedes Machine” below isn’t possible?
This is excellent.
Reminds us of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s explaining, “We, on a good day, teach our kids what to think. But we don’t seem to realize how important it is to teach them how to think.”
