G.O.P. VP a BP: Bad Pick

Until very recently, I was undecided on who to support in the upcoming presidential election. Strictly speaking about the candidates themselves, although I was favoring Obama somewhat for his policies, I was planning on waiting until the debates to make a real choice. However, recent rumblings in the McCain campaign have pushed me far, far away from the GOP as I can get. That rumbling's name is Sarah Palin.

I can see Joe Biden in the Oval Office. He's a respected man with a long list of legislative accomplishments, a good set of positions, and a nice foreign policy agenda.

I cannot see Sarah Palin in the Oval Office. She has never held a real legislative position, and has no experience except two years as governor of a state that has a total population one quarter than that of Brooklyn. She essentially strikes me as a hockey mom that ascended into local government, as she put it, from her beginnings as a member of the PTA. Now I hear that her 17-year old daughter Bristol has been pregnant for 5 months. In other words, the child of a very conservative mother who advocates strong Christian values had not the morals to stop herself from becoming pregnant in high school.

This is totally aside from the actual socio-econo-litical issues in the election. To me, Sarah Palin is far too conservative for my taste, and puts too much stock in her Christian background. I see religion as something personal. It should not be used, or at the very least advertised as the guiding principle behind one's policies. But stuff like this worries me. I am simply unwilling to entrust a strictly conservative, right-wing person with virtually no experience and questionable judgment with the massive amount of power that the Vice President wields. Don't forget: Especially in John McCain's campaign, the competence of a VP as a potential POTUS is important. And the McCain/Palin 08 is seriously lacking here.

Also, just as a by the way, her childrens' names, are Trig, Piper, Willow, Bristol, and Track. If you're going to run the country, at least give your kids some decent names. Seriously.

Congratulations, Sarah Palin, you've managed to convince me that Barack Obama is the right man for the job.

Bagels

Throughout history, the questin has been posed: Is (wo)man fundamentally good? Fundamentally evil? Or just neutral, a blank slate? To date, a clear, concise concensus has never been reached. Yet, today, we might just find the answer... in bagels.

Take Paul Feldman, former government employee-turned-bagel salesman. He sells 8,400 bagels a week to 140 companies, and he is quite content with his job, thank you very much. One little thing, though: Instead of overseeing every transaction, he uses an honor system under which he leaves a bunch 'o bagels and a wooden money box along with a sign that suggests that customers pay $1. It's practically begging them to commit a crime: A bunch of hot, steamy, delicious, Jewish bagels, and no one to call you out if you just happen to snag one.

Here's the thing: Mr. Feldman's data indicates that roughly 89% of his customers pay for their bagels. In other words: Even though they are not required to pay, only 1 in 10 people steal a bagel. Not the best evidence for innate corruption.

Personally, I feel like it's a bit of stretch to relate bagel sales to the fundamental human nature. Still though, it almost seems to shoot down a lot of negative arguments. Yes, people do crazy bad things. But, well, maybe they weren't just "bad" people right off the bat. It's not that simple. And it seems pretty hard to say that people are, well, bad.

This came from the book Freakonomics. Great book. Go read it.

Barack Out

Hehe, just starting to watch Barack Obama's candidacy acceptancy speech at the DNC. Unfortuantely, it seems that the crowd cheering for him and chanting "USA!" will simply be the context of his speech. They've been going for like five minutes and all he's said is "thank you". Hehe.

Oh, by the way: No I haven't chosen a candidate to support. But dude, everyone's watching this thing. Including the 80-friggin'-thousand people watching him in that giant stadium. He's like a black Ronald Reagan. Except a Democrat. Hehe.

Anyways, I'm leaving for Massachusetts tomorrow, and I won't be back 'til late Sunday. I'll be doing my first college tour at Williams College. Exciting. So, might not be in touch quite as much.

Keep on rockin'.

Zimbabwe: Crash and Burn

If you know anything about Zimbabwe, you probably already know that it's not a nice place to live. Crazy dicatator named Robert Mugabe, political oppression, mass AIDS/starvation, etc. Bad stuff. But their problems are just getting silly now.

Zimbabwe's current inflation rate, according to the BBC, is 11,250,000%. In other words, prices are doubling every 22 days. And, man, is it ridiculous. Z$100bn is worth approximately one British pound, less than $2 American. To give you an idea: it cost a BBC reporter Z$600bn to buy two dozen eggs. The day before, it was Z$375bn.

The bank just announced it was cutting 10 zeroes off of its currency. So, the old Z$10bn is now Z$1. So what do you do with all of the old banknotes? God knows.

Don't go to Zimbabwe. Seriously.

Arm Yourselves With Knowledge

Before checking any link, go to the Rickroll Database.

It might save your life. You can thank me later.

Buh?

Oh, where has the summer gone... it seems like it was only half way over a week ago... and now I start school in a week. Fantastic. Of course, this means that I have quite a bit to take care of, before that. Back to school shopping, haircut, and a trip to Massachusetts that will certianly include college visits.

Oh, and for essays for AP Microeconomics. Which I should get started on right after lunch.

*Sniffle*

At least I have The Flaming Lips to keep me company.

Home

Back home from the beach. Got in really late last night. Still really tired for some reason, plus the unexplained GI discomfort doesn't help. Curse you, stomach pain! Either I'm going to wash this out with a 20-minute shower, or I won't be quite as productive as I thought today.

Meh, I'll find a way to finish my summer math HW, anyway. Although doing it makes me depressed as to the fact that I have only slightly more than a week left in my summer.

Also, I'm spending the next week iPod-less. SADNESS!

Cordless Charger / Death Ray

Apparently, Intel has their fingers in a bit more than computer processors. It's got its fingers in all sorts of shady projects of potentially unimaginable power. Prime example: The recently revealed "wireless power broadcasting system."

Here's the scoop: Intel has been testing a system that can proadcast up to 60 watts of power as much as 3 feet, with only 25% energy loss. In theory, this could spell the end of wire spaghetti, and a bright future for glowing, radioactive charger tables.

Still, I mean, look at that picture. Wireless power system!? More like super death ray prototype. Watch out for Intel, guys: In a year or two, these guys will have enough power to vaporize an entire laptop. Or city block. We'll find out soon enough.

Linky!

Oh Sweet Procrastination

I always thought that procrastination was simply a staple of the school year. I see now that it is not so - with a large calculus packet and three mini-essays to complete by September 2nd (actually, more like August 28th, due to a trip to Massachusetts, or however you spell it) I seem to be suffering from the most blissful of all ills at the moment.

I'll probably try to make a dent in the math packet tomorrow. The essays, I will probably leave to devote a day to in a week or something. Hopefully, it won't be that hard, hehe. GIANT PICTURE!

In the meantime, I'll keep listening to The Rhumb Line, by Ra Ra Riot. Go listen to it.

Music Overlooooaaaadddd

My neverending thirst for new music seems to be driving me over the edge. I'm currently searching for new bands, and I'm downloading random things nearly indiscriminately, sometimes without even listening to a preview of a song first. So far, some of my recent pursuits have included...

Mono, Jon Hopkins, The Flaming Lips, Ra Ra Riot, Deerhunter, Monkey, Panda Bear, and probably a few others. On a tip, I'm also considering finding new albums by The Stills (Oceans Will Rise), and the Dandy Warhols, in addition to some funky Australian band called The Grates. No word yet as to whether I'll actually pursue.

Oh, and I haven't listened to any of this stuff except for Jon Hopkins, who is way cool.

Now when am I going to listen to all of this...