January 2011
Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy
I have always liked Clancy’s books. In fact, I trace at least part of my desire to be a Foreign Service Officer to the character of Scott Adler. Dead or Alive is the latest in the Jack Ryan series and it is by far the worst of the lot.*
My main problem with the novel is that it loses much of historical continuity. This is the first novel that explicitly deals with 9/11. In this book,...
Science confirms my studying methods →
For years, I have always wondered how people could just study and study by reading over their notes. I preferred taking practice exams and making outlines of the course over repeated reading. Turns out I was right.
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Why the free market and health care do not work...
I may have said some of this before, but in honor of the upcoming vote for repeal of Obamacare, I thought I’d say it again.
For profit insurance companies, health care, and the free market do not work well together in the United States. The main reason for this is that the health care market is not efficient. By efficient, I go back to the classic definition of a market where the consumer...
Weekend
Saturday afternoon - Football
Saturday night New restaurant (bruschetta good, steak overcooked)
Sunday - second date (went to the beach. I had a great time - we’ll see if there is a third date)
Monday - SCUBA diving certification completed (awesome)
Monday night - Black Swan (great acting by Portman, but not a great movie).
Pretty good weekend if you ask me
Why did Michael Steele get no credit?
Look, I understand that Michael Steele is a buffoon who resembles a muppet, but the GOP went from the awful low of 2008 to the unbelievable high of 2010 and the man in charge of the Republican party got absolutely no credit.
Illinois approves a 66% tax increase →
Oh My God! 66% tax increase! That is absurd. It’s like we are living in Sweden. Oh, you mean it is really only a 2% increase. The state income tax went from 3% (which is one of the lowest in the country) to 5% (which is still one of the lowest in the country). And this was a headline from the NY Times, not Drudge.
Arizona tramples civil rights to prevent protest →
The Arizona legislature has passed a law which would prohibit the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting at funerals for the shooting victims in the assassination attempt on Saturday. While no one in their right mind would ever support the content of their speech, I whole-heartedly defend their right to say it. The law actually imposes only a 100 yard ban against the protestors, which is...
Dick Cheney literally has no pulse →
The former VP had a heart pump installed, which pumps blood through the body continuously. For me, this may actually be funnier than when he shot a man in the face.
'Lost' Megamillions winners →
26,000 people played the numbers from Lost - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, which hit three numbers and the mega million number from last nights $390,000,000 jackpot, winning each person $150. Had the last two numbers matched up with Hurley’s obsession, each winner would have won only $15,000 each.
Call me Al - New Year's Eve and Resolutions →