Hope and Change: Dodd and Daschle

Chris Dodd is a real piece of work. (pic via AP)
Dodd of Indignation - WSJ.com: "Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd has been in typically indignant form this week, opining on the financial crisis. Before his Tuesday hearing on Bernard Madoff, he demanded that regulators get to the bottom of any crime: 'American investors deserve an explanation and the responsible parties must be held accountable!' And yesterday the Connecticut Senator denounced Wall Street bonuses and said, 'I am urging -- in fact, not urging, demanding -- that the Treasury Department figures out some way to get the money back.' Pardon us, Senator, but how about taking your own advice?"

First Geithner, now Daschle, and less than two weeks into this administration. How much else don't we know?
Daschle Paid Back Taxes After Vetting - WSJ.com: "Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, paid about $140,000 in back taxes and interest after questions surfaced during the vetting of his nomination, according to documents being prepared by the Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Daschle made the payments to cover a luxury car and driver provided to him by an investment firm where he was an adviser after leaving the U.S. Senate in 2005, but which he didn't report as income, people familiar with the report said. The payments also covered unreported consulting income and unwarranted charitable deductions."

Saturday Grab Bag

Architecture. (pic via myhouse)
15 More Spectacular Castle & Palace Hotels
Pre-fab Friday: KT 1.5 from LivingHomes
House Kissed by the Sun (more here)
Passive Designed Llorenç House Optimizes the Sun

Travel.
Ultimate Vacations: 10 Best Places on Earth
World's Sexiest Travel and Vacation Ideas

Computers.
100 Applications and Services I Use Daily
20 Great Twitter Tools for Firefox
Find ‘Em On Twitter: 15 Twitter Directories Compared

Tech.
Low-cost LED lightbulbs just around the corner?
British Airways to allow in-flight texting

Misc.
Hummer Drivers Get More Tickets. A Lot More.
Gold from Sewage
Blog charts woes of dating Wall Street bankers

Watch Updates: Jacques Etoile, Urwerk, and A. Lange & Söhne

Classy. (pic via Jorge/TZ)
Universal Geneve Microtor UG 101

This looks like a fun gadget/tech/beater watch.
Timex Expedition WS4 (more here, scroll down)
Press release and features here.
Timex Expedition WS4 - Watchuseek Watch Fora

Very cool.
Urwerk UR103T Watch

Beautiful.
Jacques Etoile Phoenix Monopulsante Chronograph
A. Lange & Söhne: More pictures of new 1815 from SIHH

Economy.
Jewelers, Watchmakers Feel Slow Times - WSJ.com

Lots more to see.
KronosBlog: Jaeger leCoultre "Navy Seal Diving Alarm"

Child Care Scams Fleece Wisconsin Taxpayers

I'm confident that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Can you imagine if we let these same people run what's left of our private healthcare? Thanks to Freakonomics for the heads-up on this story, a two part series. Long but well-worth the time to see the scope of the problem. It reads like a nightmare of moral hazard, bureaucracy, and theft.

Note, these stories and data are limited to just Milwaukee and Wisconsin. There are 49 other states, plus D.C. ...

Part 1.
Child-care scams rake in thousands - JSOnline: "On paper Angela Hale is a child-care provider. She reported taking care of the same five kids seven days a week while their mom supposedly worked at a lawn-care service, even in the winter months."

Part 2.
Child care loopholes lead to easy money - JSOnline: "The two-story house on 17th St. looks typical of the working-class homes on Racine's west side. Three bedrooms, one bath. Assessed by the city at $122,000. Yet inside, a young woman has tapped into a home-based money-making operation that netted her and her three sisters more than half a million in taxpayer dollars since 2006. And they did it with the blessing of the state."

Friday Grab Bag

Watches. (pic from Jorge/TZ)
Seiko Power Design Project
Oris Diver 47mm my newest...
The JLC Navy SEALs Watches (gated, free)
KronosBlog: A. Lange & Soehne
Ikepod
FP Journe Chronometre Souverain vs Octa Reserve de Marche

Are plain Hershey bars a Giffen Good?
Recession Puts Hershey in Sweet Spot - WSJ.com

Sign-up to be a recipient of TARP funds!!
Application Guidelines for TARP Capital Purchase Program (PDF)

Architecture.
materialicious: vanguard way

Computers.
ITunes: You Can Now Upgrade Your iTunes Library One Track at a Time

Signs of the Times.
Corporations, Tending to a Tattered Image, Clip Wings of Private Jets
Luxury Goods Cut Prices

I love his itemized invoice.
Jan. 29, 1895: Steinmetz Makes AC Practical

Misc.
The Aquarium Phone Booth
Cows with names produce more milk, scientists say
Scientists invent the £2 bulb that will last 60 years - and they're even greener than the eco-bulbs
Schlitz again being brewed, bottled in Milwaukee
Down the rabbit hole with the World's Smallest Postal Service

Today's Quotes

"Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate, now what's going to happen to us with both a House and a Senate?"
-- Will Rogers
(1879-1935) American humorist

"Beware the greedy hand of government, thrusting
itself into every corner and crevice of industry."
-- Thomas Paine, (1737-1809)

"It is the theory of all modern civilized governments
that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen;
it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise,
and sometimes very narrowly."
-- H. L. Mencken
(1880-1956) American Journalist, Editor, Essayist, Linguist, Lexicographer, and Critic

"The ultimate result
of shielding men
from the effects of folly
is to fill the world with fools."
-- Herbert Spencer
(1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher, 1891

Climate Change Updates: HuffPo & Hansen

This first one is from HuffPo!! (pic via Wiki)
Harold Ambler: Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted: "First, the expression 'climate change' itself is a redundancy, and contains a lie. Climate has always changed, and always will. There has been no stable period of climate during the Holocene, our own climatic era, which began with the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago."

Ouch.
James Hansen’s Former NASA Supervisor Declares Himself a Skeptic - Says Hansen ‘Embarrassed NASA’, ‘Was Never Muzzled’, & Models ‘Useless’ - Watts Up With That?: "This is something I thought I’d never see. This press release today is from the Senate EPW blog of Jame Inhofe. The scientist making the claims in the headline, Dr. John S. Theon, formerly of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Arlington, Virginia, has a paper here in the AMS BAMS that you may also find interesting."

Hmmm. I wonder what results they'll find?
New Study Shows Climate Change Largely Irreversible, Climate Modelers Given $140 Million Bonus - Watts Up With That?: "From NOAA News, Susan Solomon predicts the future with certainty. In other news, on the same day Caterpillar, Sprint, Texas Instruments, and Home Depot announce massive layoff plans to the tune of 50,000 people, unemployed climate modelers get a government bailout today courtesy of our new president to the tune of 140 million dollars."

Thursday Grab Bag

Architecture.
15 More Spectacular Castle & Palace Hotels

Watches. (pic from MB&F)
MB&F January Newsletter (more great pics here)
New Model: Urwerk UR103 Tarantula
Omega: A favorite returns home...
SIHH 2009: A Personal Journey - Vacheron Constantin

Computers.
Review: T-Mobile BlackBerry 8900
Fennec (Firefox Mobile) To Debut Next Week
Find A Lost Love Or Be A Part Time Detective With Pipl
Read Complete Magazine Archives In Google Books

Signs of the Times.
Starbucks trying to sell its new jet
Starbucks to close 300 more stores, cut over 6,000
Boeing to Chop 10,000 Jobs

Che Love.
Groovy Che? by Humberto Fontova
'Che' spurs debate, Del Toro walkout

Where socialized medicine leads.
Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say UK doctors

Misc.
Shark Tea Infuser
Otter tours Scotland in postbag
Doctors Spooked by Israel's Mystery Weapon
'Immortal' jellyfish swarming across the world
More of London from above, at night

More 'Stimulus' Tomfoolery

This is an absolute must-read, not long, from yesterday's WSJ.
A 40-Year Wish List - WSJ.com: "You won't believe what's in that stimulus bill. ... We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons."

I see Walter Williams signed on to this. (pdf) (more here)
With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.: "President Obama says that 'economists from across the political spectrum agree' on the need for massive government spending to stimulate the economy. In fact, many economists disagree. Hundreds of them, including Nobel laureates and other prominent scholars, have signed a statement that the Cato Institute has placed in major newspapers across the United States."

Yup.
David Harsanyi : The Biggest Con -- Ever: "Democrats have concocted a surefire political victory. They've notified America that the so-called 'stimulus' bill might take a long time to work -- which is exceptionally handy, considering we always come out of a recession at some point."

Walter Williams explains.
Walter E. Williams : There Is No Santa: "A visual representation of the stimulus package is: Imagine you see a person at work taking buckets of water from the deep end of a swimming pool and dumping them into the shallow end in an attempt to make it deeper. You would deem him stupid. That scenario is equivalent to what Congress and the new president proposes for the economy."

'Cash for Clunkers' - A Good Policy?

Dr. Newmark points us to a potential govt. program that would give $4500 vouchers to those that trade in an old clunker for a new car w/ better mileage.

"Under legislation introduced Wednesday in the House and Senate and called the "Cash for Clunkers" program, drivers could get vouchers of up to $4,500 when they turn in their old fuel-inefficient vehicles for scrapping and buy vehicles that get good gas mileage."

Right off the bat I can see it being limited to 'American' cars, that being largely defined as those made by UAW workers. But let's ignore that for now. What else might happen? Any unintended side-effects?

Imagine all of the old POS V8 clunkers out there with a real street value of say $500. I can see buying one just to get a $4500 voucher. How many people would find, buy, register, and drive the polluting clunkers for a few months just to partake?! That would be quite a secondary market.

And think off all of the ones that technically run, but aren't used and are off the road, probably for good. How many people would register them and drive them for a while just to get the voucher? How many more old gas-guzzlers w/ terrible emissions would end up back on the road, if even for a while? It reminds me a bit of the gun buy-back programs we see in some cities.

Wednesday Grab Bag

Architecture.
The Hoke House (the Cullen House from Twilight)
Molly’s Cabin by AGATHOM

Computers.
Apple MacBook Review: Part 2 (part 1)
Hive Five Winner for Best People-Search Engine: Pipl.com
Ubuntu Pocket Guide Available as a Free Download
Create Cool Avatars using Your Webcam

Watches/Clocks.
The Atmos - The perpetual clock?
Running Late at the Tourneau Watch Store
Officine Panerai presents the movements P.9000
My first full morning as a Sub Club member & loving it

Misc.
Blowfish testicles poison seven in Japanese restaurant
The 25 Most Commonly Misspelled Words
The Stradivarius enigma - a matter of chemistry?
The Fantastic Floating Islands of Titicaca

Economic Updates: Bailouts, Rent-Seeking, and Politicians

More on Pelosi's nonsense.
Speaker Nancy Malthus - WSJ.com: "One of the more curious items in the $825 billion House 'stimulus' is $87 billion to help states with Medicaid, specifically including an expansion of family-planning services. The implication is that more people mean less economic growth."

Dr. Sowell on the bailout.
Thomas Sowell : What Are They Buying?: "Using long, drawn-out processes to put money into circulation to meet an emergency is like mailing a letter to the fire department to tell them that your house is on fire."

Compare & Contrast.
Prostitutes, pimps & pols - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "But its title is not quite accurate. Real whores, after all, personally supply the services their customers seek. Prostitutes do not steal; their customers pay them voluntarily. And their customers pay only with money belonging to these customers."

Rent-Seeking explained.
Dear WSJ: Rent-seeking Diverts Resources: "Problem of government handouts is more than money, it pulls producers away from their products making them inefficient."

Leaky stimulus bucket.
George Melloan: Watch Out for Stimulus 'Leaks' - WSJ.com: "The central question, however, is not whether 'stimulus' programs are ineffective. It is whether they are counterproductive. A case can be made that the bucket not only leaks but that the leaks tend to drown out chances for economic recovery."

Dr. Ron Paul gets it.
Congressman Ron Paul - Stimulus for Who? - Texas Straight Talk: "We are again being promised that its passage will help employment, help homeowners, help the environment, etc. These promises are worthless. This time around especially, Congress should know better than to pass anything of this magnitude without first reading the fine print. There a many red flags that I have found in this bill."

Moral Hazard and state bailouts.
States of Distress - WSJ.com: "The state spending binge of the last five years has been almost unprecedented in American history. Since 1998 state and local budgets have nearly doubled to $2 trillion, according to the Census Bureau. State and local expenditures rose 34% from 2003-2007 compared to inflation of 19% and population growth of 5%. They also loaded up on debt, which doubled to $2.23 trillion in 2008 from $1.14 trillion a decade earlier. This doesn't include nearly $1.5 trillion in unfunded health and pension liabilities."

It's comforting to know that bureaucrats in China ...

It's comforting [I think?] to know that bureaucrats in China ... are not all that different from how they are here. A People's FEMA? (pic from Maopost.com)

Sichuan earthquake relief money spent on luxury cars - Telegraph: "Officials in Sichuan province have outraged donors by buying a series of luxury cars while millions of refugees face freezing temperatures in makeshift shelters.
...
The latest outrage came when a full inventory of the luxury cars purchased by Beichuan County was leaked onto the internet.
...
According to the inventory, a number of top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan X-Trails were purchased, one of which cost over 1.1 million yuan (£110,000).
...
"With almost every model, higher-end versions were chosen. For example, a Toyota Prado was purchased with a navigation system. The earthquake must have ruined the geography so much the leaders can no longer remember the roads," he added."

Signs Of The Times: Caterpillar, Sprint, and Harley-Davidson

Not good news.

Harley-Davidson to Cut Over 1,000 Jobs - WSJ.com: "Harley-Davidson Inc. said it will cut about 1,100 jobs, or about 11% of its work force, over the next two years, as the motorcycle builder's fourth-quarter net income slumped due to continued woes at its financial-services unit and weak demand."

Big Companies Shed Jobs - BusinessWeek: "On a single day, tens of thousands of jobs are eliminated at Caterpillar, Sprint Nextel, Pfizer, Home Depot, and General Motors."

Laid Off And Looking - WSJ.com : Nowadays, an M.B.A. Doesn't Equal Job Security: "Like many M.B.A.s, I am one of the millions who returned to school after a dozen years climbing the corporate ladder with only a bachelor’s degree. I thought my M.B.A. would give me an edge. I thought the combination of the degree and my years of workplace success would be a sort of Holy Grail for job security and advancement. Now I wonder if I was just naive–or if the workplace has truly changed."

Caterpillar to Cut 20,000 Jobs as Downturn Worsens - WSJ.com: "The global economic picture continued to darken as Caterpillar Inc. said it would lay off 20,000 employees while projecting steep declines in its sales and profit in the coming year."

Sprint to lay off 8,000 by April: "January 26, 2009 (IDG News Service) Sprint Nextel Corp. today said that it will lay off about 8,000 workers by April within 'all levels' of the company."

Tuesday Grab Bag

Architecture/Design. (pic from C0ntemporist)
Highbury House in Queensland, Australia
20 Most Bizarre Houses around the world
Trebuchet Toaster Catapults Your Breakfast

Fountain Pens/Writing/Inks.
Caran d’Ache Unveils The “Secret Journey” Trilogy
Handwriting Is on the Wall

Computers.
Apple MacBook Review: Part 1 : Introduction
Atom-powered MSI WindBOX nearly ready to ride your LCD
Windows kicks Linux to the curb?
Acer presents the new Aspire One with a 10-inch form factor
You know netbooks have gone mainstream when…

Misc.
Top 10 Super Bowl Teams
12 College Classes We Wish Our Schools Had Offered
Who Pays America's Highest Property Taxes?
Chinese New Year - Welcoming the Ox
The Hedgehog's Dilemma

Pelosi Already Politicizing The 'Stimulus' Package with Birth Control

Let's set aside the moral and religious issues for a moment. Pelosi somehow thinks that we can be made better off by giving federal money to the states. This seems like taking money from one's right pocket and sticking it in one's left pocket. True, the left pocket now has more money, but the right is down by the same amount. The person has no net gain. [Federal revenue, of course, comes largely from taxpayers that live in U.S. states. ]

But it's even worse than the pocket example. The only overhead or waste in the pocket example is the time it takes to switch the money between pockets. The overhead of sending local money to Washington, DC and then getting a fraction of it back after it goes through the political meat-grinder is, well, greater. As an aside, I find it amusing that she is now interested in reducing costs.

Drudge Report: PELOSI SAYS BIRTH CONTROL WILL HELP ECONOMY: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi boldly defended a move to add birth control funding to the new economic 'stimulus' package, claiming 'contraception will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.' Pelosi, the mother of 5 children and 6 grandchildren, who once said, 'Nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom,' seemed to imply babies are somehow a burden on the treasury. The revelation came during an exchange Sunday morning on ABC's THIS WEEK.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

What Makes A Car American?

I've been asking this for a long time. I have a Honda made in Ohio and a Chrysler made in Ontario, Canada. Which one is 'American?'

What about BMWs made in South Carolina? Hyundai made in Alabama? Kia in Georgia? Mercedes-Benz in Alabama? Toyota in Kentucky?

And what of Jaguar? Now that they are owned by Tata, are they a British car company? Or an Indian car company? Should we care?

What Is an American Car? - WSJ.com: "Could there be a more American vehicle than a 'Jeep Patriot?' Nothing on four wheels says American more proudly than Jeep, the rugged brand that helped America win World War II, and has ferried millions into our wild, Western spaces since. Yes, in fact, there could be a more American SUV than a Jeep Patriot. A Toyota Sequoia would be one of them. The Sequoia is 80% "domestic" according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while the Jeep Patriot is only 66%. "Buy American" is back on the agenda in Washington. Congress is debating proposals to require that contractors on projects financed by the economic-recovery package buy "American" steel. The Treasury has pumped billions into the three American car makers with head offices in and around Detroit, hoping to avoid a collapse of what industry and political leaders call the U.S. auto industry. There's lots of talk about the government supporting American efforts to develop electric cars and batteries, and some federal programs already established to do this."

Related links:
Uncivil War: Detroit Blames the South
Cross Country: Detroit Bets Its Future on Washington
Yet Another GM Bailout
Detroit Bailout Updates ...
Detroit Bailout Round-Up w/ Extra Schumer Flavoring
Cafe Hayek: Harsanyi on the Czar
What Is an American Car?

‘Soviet’ Britain swells amid the recession

It's sad to see this decline of liberty and prosperity.

‘Soviet’ Britain swells amid the recession - Times Online: "PARTS of the United Kingdom have become so heavily dependent on government spending that the private sector is generating less than a third of the regional economy, a new analysis has found. The study of “Soviet Britain” has found the government’s share of output and expenditure has now surged to more than 60% in some areas of England and over 70% elsewhere. Experts believe the recession will tighten the state’s grip still further as benefit handouts soar and Labour directs public sector organisations to create jobs to soak up unemployment. In the northeast of England the state is expected to be responsible for 66.4% of the economy this year, up from 58.7% when a similar study was carried out four years ago. When Labour came to power, the figure was 53.8%."

Monday Grab Bag

Cars. (pic via Yahoo! Autos)
Dishonorable Mention: The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History

Architecture.
Best Green Home of the Week
Country House Design in Upstate New York
Affordable Eco-Friendly Homes by Case Architects
Cabin Modeled After Fire Tower
Greenest Home in America Now on Market

In soy sauce?!
5 Things You Didn't Know: Human Hair

Computers.
4 Tools You Need To Predict The Death Of Your Hard Drive
They Write the Right Stuff
CrunchBang offers a lightweight but powerful Linux desktop

Economics.
Government Does Not Know Better (Or Even As Well)
Dear WTOP: Rep. Moran Wrong about Metro Costs

Finance.
Invest in Obamania!

Big Brother, For Real.
Food police come knocking on your kitchen door... to tell you what to do with your leftovers

Politics.
Obama To Launch Recovery.gov
Lobbyists skirt Obama's earmark ban

Misc.
English Russia - Some Boat (and plane)
Explosive Relics: Berlin's Tegel to Clean up Wartime Bombs
Mail Call: Diesel Jeans Chain

More SIHH and Watch Updates

Must-See!
Basel/SIHH 2009: Photo Report - Vacheron Constantin at SIHH 2009
A Swedish Watchmaker in Action
Basel/SIHH 2009: Photo Report - Audemars Piguet at SIHH 2009
Omega Flightmaster Pics (The Omega Flightmaster - a brief overview...) [old ad]

The rest.
A visit at the Urwerk suite (gated, but free)
Casio Creates G-Shock Watch Character Mascots
My first Panerai-- finally (more Panny here & here)
Tapestry of Time: some jlc sihh 2009 novelties...
KronosBlog: Jules Audemars "Chronometer"
The MB&F presentation at the Hotel de la Paix (gated, but free)

Nantucket Windmills and Welfare for Detroit

The common thread in these two stories? Environmentalism.

The hypocrisy of many politicians is truly astounding.
Blowhards - WSJ.com: "For all the hype about the Bush Administration's oil-and-gas energy bias, one of its last official acts was to give the go-ahead to what could be America's first offshore wind farm -- thus enraging more than a few self-deputized environmentalists. Such are the ironies of the wilderness of mirrors known as the Cape Wind project."

Caving-in, in order to feed at the trough. Serving govt. whims instead of customers.
Cross Country: Detroit Bets Its Future on Washington - WSJ.com: "The curtain comes down this week on the 2009 Detroit International Auto Show -- and with it likely on the American auto industry as we know it. This might turn out to be a watershed year when some of the industry's big players permanently shift gears from serving ordinary car buyers to serving the grand designs of central planners. The only other time that the industry subordinated its customers to the government was World War II. Then it had no choice. This time the industry, particularly General Motors, is desperately 'retooling' itself to make Washington's environmental and industrial policy priorities a vital part of its business revival plan."

Scientists Await the Spigot Being Opened

Let the grants roll! Apparently the 'rightful place' for science is at the receiving end of money taken from taxpayers via force and coercion?

Scientists relieved at end of Bush era - International Herald Tribune: "WASHINGTON: When he vowed in his inaugural address to 'restore science to its rightful place,' President Barack Obama signaled an end to eight years of stark tension between science and government. But many of the Bush administration's restrictions on science, like those governing stem cell research, will take time to be removed. And whether the Obama administration entirely reverses strict controls over the government's main scientific agencies remains to be seen."

Sunday Grab Bag

Dr. Roberts on taxes.
A Radical Re-Imagining Of The Tax System

Cars.
Porsche’s New Museum Opens In Late January

Photography.
Safari Leica M8 goes for a mere $10,000

Credit Crunch?
Credit Is Too Tight, Except When It's Too Loose
Dear WaPo: Why Does Lobbying Come as a Shock?

Maple Syrup bailout?
Maple Producers Seek Federal Aid

Your liberty.
NSA Whistleblower: Wiretaps Were Combined with Credit Card Records of U.S. Citizens
The first nonsmoking nation -Bhutan

Computers.
30 seconds that changed the world: how Apple's Macintosh changed computer screens forever (video)
Final flight for Microsoft Flight Simulator
Retromodo: The First Ever Apple Computer Running Windows
Obama's new PDA will likely be a super secure military model
Eight oddball Twitter utilities

Misc.
15 Most Unfortunate Town Names
You Can Lead a Teen to Water...
Girl Scouts earn a Cheapskate patch: Fewer cookies in the box this year
Ice Climber Tackles Iowa Silos

Rye Whiskey is Back

"So bye-bye, miss American pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry. And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye Singin', 'this'll be the day that I die. "this'll be the day that I die.'"
-- Don McLean, American Pie

Rye is back, it's trendy again. Now I can ask for it and not look like I'm from 60 years in the past. ;-) (pic from ri1)

From the press release ...
(ri)1 Whiskey Redefines Rye: "Deerfield, Ill. – October 23, 2008 – Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., (NYSE: FO) a global leader in premium spirits, expands its award-winning whiskey portfolio with the introduction of (rī)1 Whiskey, the company’s first ultra-premium rye whiskey. Debuting nationwide this October in limited quantities, (rī)1 (pronounced “rye one”) is set to elevate the ultra-premium whiskey category, offering consumers a refined flavor, a striking look and a new take on cocktail couture. 'The traditional rye whiskey category takes on a modern look and feel with the introduction of (rī)1,' said Mara Melamed, Brand Manager, (rī)1. '(rī)1 is a cutting-edge spirit for today’s top tastemakers and cocktail drinkers who are looking to expand their ultra-premium spirits repertoire. (rī)1 brings cocktails to life by celebrating smooth rye flavor notes, and its stylish packaging and simple name showcase a fresh take on a classic spirit.'

Bottled at 92 proof, (rī)1 features a light, slightly spicy flavor and a long, luxurious finish. Straight, the nose offers a gentle, peppery nod to its rye heritage. Cut with water, the scents of dried fruit and cinnamon push to the front, providing a rich palate experience."

Fact of the Day: Hemi Cup Holders

From the 01.09 issue of Ward's Auto World. That's right, cupholders under the hood.

"The engine bays of all new [Dodge] Challengers sport shallow cupholders molded into the corners of their radiator shrouds, an ideal convenience for beer-laden garage tales after a victorious stoplight romp with a Mustang."

Saturday Grab Bag

Architecture.
Llorenç house
Cai (tm) House

Travel.
Who Survives a Plane Crash? - Freakonomics Blog
Futuristic caravans and motorhomes that are making camping cool again
No Snickering - That Road Sign Means Something Else
Living on the Edge: 5 Clifftop Towns

Big-Pharma.
Big Pharma's Death Spiral - Forbes.com

Food/Wine/Liquor.
The Men Behind Your Favorite Liquors
20 Wines for $10 or Less

Fountain Pens/Inks/Journals.
How to Keep Well Informed on the Pens

Apple.
Are today's Macs related to the Mac Daddy?
25 years of Macintosh: Ars Technica's favorite Mac moments
The Mac at 25 - CNET News
The history of the Mac Boot Beep

Watches.
What's the coolest quartz watch ever?!?
Eco-Watch Scrubs Carbon Footprints?
Review Of The Citizen Attesa ATV53-2933

Misc.
WWII rationing ephemera

IBM accused of mainframe monopoly

Note that it's a competitor that is complaining, not customers.

IBM accused of mainframe monopoly - Tech News on ZDNet: "A complaint alleging that IBM has abused its position in the European mainframe market was filed with the European Commission on Tuesday. The complaint from T3, a small US supplier of mainframes, said IBM has 'a history of abusing its monopoly power in the mainframe industry', according to a statement from T3. IBM is accused of engaging in a range of anti-competitive actions, including 'preventing the sales of competing mainframe hardware products by tying the sale of its operating system to its mainframe hardware'. IBM is further accused of 'withholding patent licenses and certain intellectual property to the detriment of mainframe customers'. In its statement, T3 said it sold IBM mainframes but then moved into selling its own products, the Liberty line of mainframes, first developed by Amdahl Corporation, which itself is now part of Fujitsu."

Friday Grab Bag

Watches, and New Releases. (pic via Jorge/TZ)
Officine Panerai Luminor 1950 Titanium
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Ocean Blue
Eterna Super KonTiki IDF Watch
Grand Seiko 10th Anniversary SBGR037
Ravenous Clock Runs Backward, Scares Children
2009 IWC Collectors Meeting Video
Hublot: King Power (more here & here)

Architecture.
private residence in county wicklow
Kitchen Floor: Spiral Wine Cellars (more here)
weekend house
The Farrar Residence by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
materialicious: letterbox house

Computers.
Just Why Isn't the Sony Vaio P a Netbook?
Apple updates its stance on netbooks: Still no
Acer could kill its 8.9 inch netbook line?

Misc.
Penguins Sign 8-Year Old, Fulfill Imperiled Dream
10 Great Wines Under $20
Chill out, you beautiful people, the Versace beach is refrigerated
Why do some people never seem to get fat?
Nazi angel of death Josef Mengele 'created twin town in Brazil'

Fact of the Day: New Orleans Dining

From the 12.08 issue of Men's Journal magazine.

"Believe it or not, there are 152 more eateries in New Orleans now than there were before Katrina."

Lost Season 5 Premiere Reactions

I know we loved it, though I'm curious to know what others thought, No, not those others. ;-)

Many great pics at this first site, updated for each episode.
Collection of Screencaps & Easter Eggs from the TV Show LOST

My fav. site for episode summaries.
Key Points from "Because You Left" and "The Lie": Lost Blog: "We'll begin with the biggest question, which also happens to be the most confusing: What's going on with the island?"

The rest worth checking out:
Lost: Season 5 Premiere - The Disney Blog
LOST Podcast: The Transmission
The Lost Blog
Sledgeweb's LOST ... STUFF

Signs Of The Times: Art, Houses, and Broadband

It's getting ugly out there.

Radical cheap: $1,000 homes - CNN.com: "In places like Detroit and Cleveland, banks are unloading rundown homes for next to nothing. And they're tremendous bargains, even after factoring in renovation costs."

Miller High Life will have 1-second Super Bowl ad - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:: "MillerCoors said Tuesday that it will premier a one-second ad for its Miller High Life brand during the Super Bowl broadcast Feb. 1."

Cable Bill High? Phone Costs Up? Now, Let's Talk - WSJ.com: "Frustrated with his hefty and mounting monthly bill for TV, Internet and phone service, Alan Weinkrantz of San Antonio decided to call his provider, AT&T, shortly before Christmas to ask for a discount."

Art Auction Prices May Fall 40% in 2009: News: "Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Average art prices at auction will drop by as much as 40 percent this year as many art speculators exit the market, said Daniel Komala, president and co-founder of Jakarta-based Larasati Auctioneers. Larasati holds its next sale in Singapore on March. Its previous sale in the city on Oct. 11 raised S$2.1 million, less than the S$2.5 million predicted. A third of the lots offered didn’t find buyers."

Thursday Grab Bag

Watches. [some SIHH announcements]
Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs (pic via Jorge/TZ)
Vacheron Constantin and the Hallmark of Geneva
Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 1
More JLC here and here.

Architecture/Design.
Lake Hollywood House by Mills Studio
How to create the perfect home office

Computers.
How Much Power Does Your Graphics Card Need? - Tom's Hardware
Apple's White MacBook Gets a Boost
Living free with Linux: 2 weeks without Windows
The top 10 standout Macs of the past 25 years

Fountain Pens/Writing/Journals. [I REALLY need to try the Pilot Iroshizuku ink.]
My favourite pen of 2008 (and some inks)
Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Bottle Inks

Misc.
Climate Confusion
BBC NEWS - Cold War in paradise
The Inauguration of President Barack Obama - The Big Picture - Boston.com
"Cloaking" device could kill cellular static

John Stossel on True Liberty and Choice

Well-stated.

John Stossel : Anything That's Peaceful: "This week the Left arrived in Washington, excited about the wonderful things it will do to us -- I mean, for us. They always do it for us.
...
Choice is good. As a libertarian, I'm all over choice. But strangely, today, liberals are mostly about what Americans should not be allowed to choose.
...
I'm a classical liberal. I believe people should have the freedom to do anything that is peaceful. That's truly liberal. I want the word back"

Walter Williams Explains the Emancipation Proclamation

Some unpopular history.

Walter E. Williams: A Minority View: "President Obama was sworn into office placing his hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible. That is the last Bible I would use to be sworn into office. You say, 'Why? Didn't Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation free your ancestors?' It all depends where they were living. Let's examine the document's text to see why. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which reads, 'That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free …' The key phrase is 'in rebellion against the United States' because slaves remained slaves in states not in rebellion."

Is Dissent Still Patriotic?

For the last 6-8 years we've been told that it is, or at least can be (I agree). Will that be the same sentiment now that Obama is in office? (ht: Dr. Russell Roberts)

Is dissent still patriotic? - The Denver Post: "Do all Americans truly have a yearning to fundamentally 'remake' our nation? There must be a subversive minority out there that still believes the United States — even with its imperfections and sporadic recessions — is, in context, still a wildly prosperous and free country worth preserving. Some of you must still believe that politicians are meant to serve rather than be worshiped. And there must be someone out there who considers partisanship a healthy, organic reflection of our differences rather than something to be surrendered in the name of so- called unity — which is, after all, untenable, subjective and utterly counterproductive."

Climate Change Calculation Computer ... Causes Climate Change?

Oh, the recursive ironic horror of it all!!! ;-)

Met Office forecasts a supercomputer embarrassment - Times Online: "A new £33m machine purchased to calculate how climate change will affect Britain, has a giant carbon footprint of its own.
...
For the Met Office the forecast is considerable embarrassment. It has spent £33m on a new supercomputer to calculate how climate change will affect Britain – only to find the new machine has a giant carbon footprint of its own. “The new supercomputer, which will become operational later this year, will emit 14,400 tonnes of CO2 a year,” said Dave Britton, the Met Office’s chief press officer. This is equivalent to the CO2 emitted by 2,400 homes – generating an average of six tonnes each a year. The Met Office recently published some of its most drastic predictions for future climate change. It warned: “If no action is taken to curb global warming temperatures are likely to rise by 5.5ºC and could rise as much as 7ºC above pre-industrial levels by 2100. Early and rapid reductions in CO2 emissions are required to avoid significant impacts of climate change.”

However, when it came to buying a new supercomputer, the Met Office decided not to heed its own warnings. The ironic problem was that it needed the extra computing power to improve the accuracy of its own climate predictions as well as its short-term weather forecasting. The machine will also improve its ability to predict extreme events such as fierce localised storms, cloudbursts and so on. "

Wednesday Grab Bag

Funky-retro moon rover!
NASA's Next Generation Moon Rover
Lunar Rover at the 2009 Inaugural Parade

Watches.
Concord C Lab Series
Dornblüth Regulator

Architecture.
Harbour House by SJB Architects
Olle Lundberg's Cabin

Cars.
Dodge Adds Challenger R/T "Classic"
Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen celebrating 30 years
Fiat Returns To North America

Computers.
Met Office forecasts a supercomputer embarrassment
WeFi Launches Huge Directory of WiFi HotSpots
ModBook Pro
Payment Processor Breach May Be Largest Ever (malware culprit?)

Big Oil.
If oil is down, why is gasoline up?

Misc.
Probability lessons may teach children how to weigh life’s odds and be winners
Five Physics Lessons for Obama

Lost Is Back Tonight!

Lost Is Back Tonight. Can't Wait!!! Will we learn more about the numbers, Locke's death, or Mr. Widmore? What about Jacob?

5x01 "Because You Left" Season Premier Preview - Sledgeweb's LOST ... STUFF: "The time is finally here for our favorite show to return! The season premier of season 5 of Lost will air January 21 at 9pm eastern time."

5x02 "The Lie" Preview - Sledgeweb's LOST ... STUFF: "ABC has decided to follow up the preview episode of Season 5 with another new episode. This is not a two hour season premier but separate episode that was originally designed to be shown a week later."

Mark Hare Channels Milton Friedman on Education

I had to read this recent Mark Hare column (Rochester, NY newspaper) twice to be sure of what I was seeing. I didn't expect to see Mr. Hare endorse one of Milton Friedman's most notable ideas: education vouchers. (pic via Wikipedia)

"The best way to eliminate "theft of education" is to let parents buy their kids a public education with vouchers that are good in any school district, not just the one they live in."

Let's read on:

"School districts across Monroe County employ investigators charged with finding students who are illegally enrolled in a school outside their home district. I don't fault school districts for policing the residency of students. Schools in New York spend an average of $15,000 per child per year, and the taxpayers in Brighton or Greece shouldn't be picking up the tab to educate kids from elsewhere."

Whoa, here we go. If taxpayers from the towns of Brighton or Greece should not be picking-up the tab to educate kids from say Henrietta or Rochester, why should one's other neighbors? Where is the line?

I see no moral case for forcing someone to pay for the education of another's children. Should there be a distinction between neighbors that are next door, 5 doors down, two blocks away? I see no difference.

And if we are incensed at the idea of taxpayers in the next town paying for a local kid's education, what are we to make of federal education money coming from Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, Colorado, Maine?

And a little more:

"My concern is that every child gets a chance for an excellent public education."

If history has taught us anything it might be that 'excellent public education' might very well be an oxymoron. ;-)

Well, how might we solve the problems?

"The most common proposed remedy for poor-performing urban schools is to infuse them with more money ..."

That's certainly the most commonly proposed remedy, but I'm not convinced it's the best. A better solution might be to get the govt. out of the education business altogether. Should we expect better results when we thrown more money at schools run by the NEA and govt.? The same people that bring us FEMA, the Iraq war, the USPS, Walter Reed VA hospital, and the DMV? In fact, it often seem like there is an inverse relationship between districts that spend the most money and outcomes.

And I don't buy the poverty angle as a cause. Many thousands, even millions of students did very well in decades long ago with standards of living far below what we would consider lower-middle-class today, and with nary a computer in sight. Why would we expect a student to get better grades and learn more simply by sitting him/her next to student from a wealthy family?

Anyway, I'm glad to see Mr. Hare appreciate the value of competition. Our children deserve no less.

Related links:
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton High? by Walter Williams
Black Education by Walter E. Williams
Black Education II by Walter Williams
Thomas Sowell - "The Education of Minority Children"

Obamamania & Inauguration Updates ...

Thanks to BoingBoing for the pic.

Pics of the prep work.
Inaugural preparations - The Big Picture

Memorabilia.
Are Some Obama Coins Wooden Nickles?

Shirts.
Hope In The White House

Misc.
Face masks fly off shelves as Obamamania hits Japan
In pictures: Global 'Obamamania' - BBC NEWS

Pics of the people.
Obama's People - The New York Times

Technology, everywhere.
The Inauguration Will Be Televised — and Tweeted and Flickr’d
Wireless Woes on Inauguration Day

Tuesday Grab Bag

I'll miss the dozens of daily 'Lordy Lordy, Look Who's Forty!' ads.
When newspapers are gone, what will you miss?

Cars.
Mitsubishi Evo MR and a Tuned Evo X
The New Vespa GTS 300 Super
Ducati 999S For The Carbon Fiber Aficionados (more pics)

Govt./Finance/'Stimulus.'
How to Hide Up to $12 Billion in Pork Barrel Projects
ReadTheStimulus.org

Architecture.
Harbour House by SJB Architects
Horizontal Space by Duilio Damilano
Modern-Shed

Polaroid.
IMPOSSIBLE's on a mission to revive Polaroid film - Engadget
The Impossible Project

Computers.
In the beginning: The making of the Mac
Stealth Computer announced new LittlePC

Global Warming.
It's time to pray for global warming, says Flint Journal columnist

Travel.
Burmese men drift for 25 days on icebox after boat sinks

Misc.
Decoys: 8 Inflatable Military Decoys
Sounding the wrong note?

SIHH & Watch Updates ...

Misc. SIHH Coverage.
SIHH 2009 - Fratello Watches
Perpetuelle.com - SIHH Coverage
TimeZone: Basel/SIHH 2009

SIHH News.
Jaeger-LeCoultre - Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon à Quantième Perpétuel (SIHH)
SIHH 2009 : IWC Aquatimer Watch Family (gated, free)
SIHH 2009: OFFICINE PANERAI (huge thread, many pics) (gated, free)

More watches.
Review of the Casio G-Shock GW-M5600BC
Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 “40th Anniversary” Chronograph
The D. Dornblüth & Sohn Regulator (gated, free)
The little known Seiko 7s26-0020 200m diver
Concord C Lab QuantumGravity

What should we think of intellectual property (IP) laws?

When I say 'we' I guess I mean anyone interested in individual liberty and general prosperity. (pic via Mises.org)

This is a subject that I keep meaning to read more about but have yet to. Then a couple of days ago I see this wonderful review of a new book, the review written by Mr. Jeffrey Tucker. As a strong believer in private property rights my initial reaction is to defend the idea of IP. Using pharmaceutical patents as a classic example ... the idea is that the protection gives incentive to innovation that might not otherwise happen. Though I have wondered, is 17 years too short, too long? How would we know?

I do know that within the libertarian and Austrian economic worlds there is a strong undercurrent of dislike for IP laws. This new review from Mr. Tucker has caused me to bump this new book to the top of my reading queue.

As an aside, how does the discussion differ for copyrights as opposed to patents? Food for thought.

A Book that Changes Everything - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute: "At a taped video interview in my office, before the crew would start the camera, a man had to remove my Picasso prints from the wall. The prints are probably under copyright, they said. But the guy who drew them died 30 years ago. Besides, they are mine. Doesn't matter. They have to go."

Misc. links:
Marginal Revolution: Against Intellectual Monopoly
Cato Institute: Against Intellectual Monopoly
Against Intellectual Monopoly - Mises.org
Against Monopoly
Jeffrey Tucker: Archives (LRC)
Daily Article archive for Jeffrey A. Tucker (Mises)

Monday Grab Bag

Architecture.
Cottage in a day by michael fitzhugh architect
Wonderworld’s Eco-Friendly Wooden Doll House

Travel.
Hotels to Stay in Before You Die (ht: Dr. Newmark)

Computers.
Five Best Portable Applications
Acer’s 10 inch Aspire One netbook in pictures
Wozniak on Steve Jobs' health, Apple culture

History.
Jefferson’s Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Misc.
It’s Real Change in DC