Wednesday Grab Bag

Architecture. (pic via WeHeartUK)
Hotel Restaurant Helvetia, Zurich
Classy and Elegant Miami Beach Townhouse
5 Eccentric Homes with Hidden Passageways
Rectangular Concrete House Turned on its Side
Modern Dream Homes: Tsai Residence by HHF
Harley Davidson Headquarters, Lane Cove, Sydney

Healthcare. (ht: MR)
China becomes world's new diabetes capital - Reuters
$1 Billion AT&T Headache is Just Obamacare’s First Side Effect
The misguided war on fat may be making us sicker
The Rich Can't Pay for ObamaCare - WSJ.com

Photography.
Plastic Half-Size Format 35mm Cameras
Sistine Chapel (modem destroyer)

Food.
Death’s Door Gin
In Illinois Capital, Horseshoe Sandwiches Deliver Kick in Gut
Batch Three of The Balvenie Signature 12 year old is launched at No.1 Savile Row
Former Oilman Tito Beveridge Starts an Independent Vodka Business

Gadgets.
K01: Toshiba’s super-slim Windows Mobile slider phone
Breaking Rumor: Two New iPhones, One Heading to Verizon
Victorinox Swiss Amry Ceramic Cutlery Collection
Two New iPhones Coming; One May Be Aimed at Verizon

Advertising.
Man Obsessed With Smoking Oblivious to Shark Attack

History.
U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships - Camouflage Unit (more)
HowStuffWorks "What's the world's largest airplane?"

Sports.
College Basketball - Dirtiest Teams in NCAA Tournament History

Economics.
HIGGS: Hollow recovery - Washington Times

Education.
Parents, Please Pull Them Out Now!

Travel.
Iceland volcano: tourists flock to see erupting Eyjafjallajokull
Seiko & Citizen Forum: Travel-log - warning - **many many** pictures

PCs.
Coming Soon to Gmail Chat: File Transfer
One iPad per child: Seton Hill to give all students iPads
Configure Admin Rights for More Secure Windows 7
Dell is now taking orders for powerhouse Precision M4500 15.6-inch notebook

Style.
Valet - A 60-Second Guide to Madras
The Princes of Wales – style icons
It's In the Bag: Professional Solutions to Get Gear from A to B

Shoes /Boots.
Rubber Soles - 50 Years of Dr. Martens (The Musical)
GQ Dresser: Best brogues

Fountain Pens / Writing.
How do you use your yellow inks? - Rhodia Drive
Totally Random Pen Stuff - Tiger Pens Blog
Review: Borden and Riley Bleedproof Paper for Pens
Very Important Stuff Notepad
Montblanc Meisterstück no 146 – a non neglectable icon
Clairefontaine vs. Rhodia paper - Ink Nouveau

Science.
Video: Elephants Run Like No Other - Wired Science
South Africa Unveils Test Array in Bid for World's Most Powerful Radio Telescope

Cars.
Hennessey Venom GT (more)
BaT Exclusive: Clean 1967 Sunbeam Alpine

Misc.
LOST labels for your DHARMA Initiative needs

Wristwatch Updates: F.P. Journe, Peter Speake-Marin, Glashütte Original, & More!

I love the new PSM movement. The Journe is a dream watch. (pic via Perpetuelle)

F.P. Journe Chronometre a Resonance Three - Perpetuelle: "2010 commemorates the 10 year anniversary of the F.P. Journe “Chronomètre à Resonance”, a watch that is part of elite watchmaker François-Paul Journe’s highly coveted Souveraine collection. In a slight tweak from the prior variation (circa 2004), this new edition now features a 24 hour indicator located at the 9′oclock position instead of 12 hour time. Journe also continues his tradition of crafting the double-balance wheel movement out of 18K rose gold, a F.P. Journe “first” when the 2004 Chronomètre à Résonance was introduced." (more)

INDUSTRY NEWS – Peter Speake-Marin In-House Caliber SM2: "Developed after 3 years of research, the entirely designed in-house caliber SM2 is comprised of 211 parts, and will serve as a basis for future complications. It beats at 21,600 vph and has a power reserve of 72 hours. It features bi-directional automatic winding."

Review-AHCI: A closer look at one of my favorite Basel novelties: Laurent Ferrier's Gallet: "Somewhat like the 3 Princes of Serendip I fell upon a marvel without looking for one: Laurent Ferrier and his new watch “The Gallet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral”. Galet which is French for pebble and perfectly describes the case’s flat yet curvaceous form."

My review of Glashütte Original novelties at Basel 2010. Pics and Videos!: "The most interesting watch of BaselWorld, is the new Panoinverse XL steel.
Even is not a novelties, the idea of made it in steel, with this crazy Ruthenium dial,
make this steel Panoinverse, a essential watch for all GO lovers."

PROFESSIONAL WATCHES™ - Close-up: TX 650 GT Flyback Chronograph: "Earlier this month, in Basel, I had a chance to sit down with some of the executives at the TX Watch company. As usual, they were very excited to show off their new products. They actually had quite a few new timepieces to introduce in Basel this year. For now, though, I will focus on their new top end model, the TX 650 GT Flyback Chronograph. The new 650 GT is powered by a 600 Series four-hour fly-back chronograph movement with one-fifth of a second accuracy."

Best of Glashütte Original 2010: From Complications To Classics - Hodinkee: "Glashütte Original may actually be one of the most interesting modern watch companies around. We don't talk about them much because the re-sale market for GO is basically non-existent, but whenever we spend some QT with this German manufacture brand, we leave wanting more."

Halda Space Discovery Watch - Perpetuelle: "At Baselworld 2010, Halda Watch officially unveiled its first creation – the Halda Space Discovery watch. Actually the Halda Space Discovery watch is more than just a watch – it is a combination of a watch and a space instrument, or “module” as Halda calls it."

Additional links:
Celsius X VI II LeDIX Tourbillon Mobile Phone Hands-On
Carl F. Bucherer Patravi EvoTec PowerReserve Watch
BREITLING - Opens Doors to New Manufacturing Facility
Gallery: Sexy, Strange New Timepieces Debut at Basel Watch Fair
The Coolest Rolex Watches Ever Made: Details
N E W M o d e l – TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 1887

Liberty & Govt. At Work: Militias, Cuban Tags, Murray Rothbard, & More

The interview w/ Dr. Walter Block is fantastic, I loved the story about his lunch w/ Ayn Rand. The story about license plates in Cuba is rather chilling, as is the story about the recent FBI raids.

"Murray Rothbard Was a Badass" -- An Interview with Walter Block: "I had the great pleasure of interviewing libertarian stalwart Walter Block Friday afternoon. The great economist/philosopher discussed his personal story of coming to liberty, his remarkable memories of the brilliant Murray Rothbard, his view on a couple controversial applications of libertarian ideology --in age of consent laws and whether or not 'free market' monopolies exist -- and the moral obligation of a libertarian living in a statist world." (parts 2, 3, and 4)

In Cuba, License Plates Tag Drivers, Not the Car - ABC News: "It's Cuba's twist on 'you are what you drive': Here, you are your license plate. A rainbow of colors and an alphabet soup of codes tell the discerning eye how important you are in the egalitarian revolution as you whiz by — your nationality, what you do for a living and often how high you rank at work."

Don’t Do Unto Me as I Do Unto You - Cafe Hayek: "As my friend Mark LeBar points out to me in a private e-mail (quoted here with Mark’s permission): “Interesting that Rep. Driehaus himself doesn’t take my wife, my kids, my body, or anything else about me, to be ‘out of bounds’ when he legislates. It’s all up for grabs in the legislative process; there are no bounds to what he is entitled to impose on me through force."

How the Left Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the FBI - The Beacon: "And so when a progressive like Rachel Maddow cheers that the Michigan militia members can be indicted and imprisoned without having done anything violent, when she reports that the FBI has infiltrated this group for months and stepped in to arrest them just in the nick of time, we should not be too surprised when she fails to make the obvious connection, and fails to be the least bit skeptical of the federal government’s police agents infiltrating a group for months only to discover that that group’s members are saying things about government that amount to “seditious conspiracy.”"

The Forfeiture Racket - Reason Magazine: "Federal asset forfeiture law dates back to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970, a law aimed at seizing profits earned by organized crime. In 1978 Congress broadened RICO to include drug violations. But it was the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 that made forfeiture the lucrative, widely used law enforcement tool it is today."

William McGurn: The Tax Police and the Health-Care Mandate - WSJ.com: "Is there an IRS agent in your future? Shortly before Barack Obama signed the health-care bill, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee created a stir with a report suggesting our new law will lead the Internal Revenue Service to hire as many as 16,500 new agents. The Republicans came up with the figure by extrapolating from the IRS budget, the amount spent on employees, and the $10 billion in new funding that the Congressional Budget Office says the IRS will need to meet its new responsibilities under this legislation."

Health Care Reform Law: Expanded IRS a Threat to Taxpayers? - ABC News: "Ask critics of the Democrats' health care overhaul about the law's impact, and among the 'horrors' they may describe is an army of Internal Revenue Service agents with 'dangerously expanded authority.'"

Additional links:
A Raw Clash Over Unpasteurized Milk - WSJ.com
Protectus, O Betterthanus - Cafe Hayek
The Tax Foundation - Tax Freedom Day 2010 Is April 9
Lobbyists Disregard Rules of Access to Assembly - NYTimes
Officials worry anger at D.C. is behind low Texas census response

Looks Like A Good Book On The Climate Fraud Story

Added to my queue. Even the review is an interesting read.

The case against the hockey stick - Prospect Magazine: "The 'hockey stick' temperature graph is a mainstay of global warming science. A new book tells of one man's efforts to dismantle it—and deserves to win prizes. Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion is one of the best science books in years. It exposes in delicious detail, datum by datum, how a great scientific mistake of immense political weight was perpetrated, defended and camouflaged by a scientific establishment that should now be red with shame. It is a book about principal components, data mining and confidence intervals—subjects that have never before been made thrilling. It is the biography of a graph."

Additional links:
Thomas Sowell - "Change" Is Not New

Vin Suprynowicz: Please Don't Call It 'State Socialism'

This is must-read column.

VIN SUPRYNOWICZ: Please don't call it 'state socialism' - ReviewJournal.com: "The modern Prussian police state was built by Bismarck and others in the 19th century on a Spartan model, giving the central government vastly greater control over the individual than had ever been considered possible before. Bismarck's program centered squarely on insurance programs designed to increase support for the ever larger and more powerful government. The program included health insurance, workman's compensation, disability insurance and old-age retirement pensions, all innovations at the time. ...We're told that for some reason we're not allowed to call the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda 'socialism,' 'communism,' 'Marxism,' 'state socialism' 'fascism,' or anything else that might sound unpleasant. Much as I hate to cite the tyrant Lincoln, if we call a dog's tail a leg, does it have five legs? Telling us we're not 'allowed' to use an accurate label for something doesn't change what it is."

Tuesday Grab Bag

Architecture. (pic via Contemporist)
Mandeville Canyon Residence by Rockefeller
Strong Personality: Villa Dali in Rotterdam
Modern Office Floats on Water
Modern Dream Homes: House in Otake, Japan
Beautiful Home on Bainbridge Island
Tiny Houses & Little Lots: Floor Plans for Very Small Homes
Industrial Style House Plan - Suburban Exterior, Industrial Interior

Computers.
The REAL Cost Of Apple Products [INFOGRAPHIC]
Freeware Files: Five Amazing Add-Ons for Your Favorite Apps!
Use this Secure, Reliable Strategy for Making Unique Passwords
Microsoft Office Faces Google Challenge - WSJ

Economics.
Economic Aphorisms – Monopoly Myths
Populist Economic Myths - John Stossel
Pot, Protectionism, and Unions
YouTube - Don Boudreaux - Hazards to Health
Populist Economic Myths - John Stossel

Math.
Math Lessons You Should Remember From Middle School

Cars.
First Look: 2011 Alpina B7 Biturbo xDrive
Classic bikes young at heart
2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S: First Drive
Unveiled: Hennessey Venom GT
TimeZone: Automotive: The Allure of the Automobile
Ford Focus RS500 hacks out onto the Internet ahead of schedule
1929 Austin found in a garage - and five decades since it was last driven it starts first time

Liberty / Govt.
FDNY No. 2 to pull in $242G a year pension - NYPOST.com
In Cuba, Colored License Plates Tag All Drivers
IT Problems Put Accuracy of Census at Risk, Say Government Auditors
States Seeking Cash Hope to Expand Taxes to Services

Style.
Permanent style: A glass of red with Kempson and Logsdail
Tweed Run London – A metropolitan bicycle ride with a bit of style
Can Band of Outsiders and Scott Sternberg Cash In?
A Trip Down South: Pictures of O'Connell's

Shoes / Boots.
Alden Ultimate Indy Boots – New and at Two Years
Jodphur Boots - Finished after 4 months
Alden Shoes – Shell Cordovan Leydon Chukka

Photography.
22 Most Unusual Google Earth Photos
Earth Hour 2010 - The Big Picture - Boston.com
Top 4 Photo Sharing Websites To Share One Photo Everyday
Polaroid 600 One camera by the Impossible Project now available

Fountain Pens / Writing.
Pocket Blonde: Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen
Review: Diamine Teal Fountain Pen Ink
NEW Rhodia Le Carre and dotPads are on their way to the US!
Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pen Review :: OfficeSupplyGeek

Gadgets.
Kobo eReader - Gear Patrol
Master bladesmith Bob Kramer
New Keychain Multi-Tools from Leatherman
Mobile phone safety tips - protect your data and your phone bill
HTC Desire Review - SlashGear
Hipsters Grieve: The $150 Walmart Fixie

Travel.
Old Ship Turning into Luxury Hotel in Singapore
The ten best cities for sunbathing

Food.
'Caveman Diet' growing followers - ESPN
Save These 15 Creative Grilled Cheese Recipes
The 10 Best Drinks You've Never Heard Of

Starbucks.
10 Things You Don’t Know About Starbucks (But Should!)

Animals.
BBC - Cuttlefish seen laying eggs on a seahorse off Spain
South African woman spends two weeks in white lions' den

Misc.
6 Other Types of Eyeglasses
Ageing spies unable to use the internet - Telegraph
Abu Dhabi building carbon-neutral city
Diagnosing Parasite Infections With Dye and a Blacklight
NumberQuotes - Get a quote, make a point
Arthur De Vany's Evolutionary Fitness

Wristwatch Updates: Swatch, 1973 Tudor, Apnea, & More!

So many things to lust after. (pic via Jake's Rolex Watch Blog)

Jake's Rolex Watch Blog: 1973 Tudor Chronograph Oysterdate Brochure Reference 7032: Home Plate Dial...: "With all the interest around the all-new, retro Tudor Heritage Chrono that was introduced at BaselWorld Eduardo Raffelli from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who is a daily reader of Jake's Rolex World decided to send in this 1973 Tudor Oysterdate Chronograph Brochure from his collection."

The Omega De Ville You Never Knew Existed: A Diving Chronograph With The Name Of Dress Watch - Hodinkee: "You may think you know the Omega De Ville, but we're about to shatter your world. The De Ville line of Omegas way back when were a slightly less expensive line of watches than your typical Speed and Seamasters. We often find that these lesser lines of great companies prove to be great sources for interesting and unique pieces that you wouldn't find in the typical lineup."

REPORT: Baselworld 2010 Photo Tour: "Baselworld. It's the Superbowl of the watch industry - its most important event. Over 100,000 people - journalists, watch dealers, as well as watch enthusiasts descend upon the Swiss town of Basel. This year I attended the Baselworld Watch Fair from March 17-19th. The following will not only be a photo report on the watches and companies that manufacture them with whom I met, but also an attempt to capture the experience of attending Baselworld."

Swatch Automatic Chronograph Review - Equation of Time: "The Swatch Auto Chrono has been on my wrist for the past 2 weeks, my camera is back from the shop, so it is time to finally write up a review of an interesting new piece of Swatch history."

Review of GTG Seikos (part 1 of 2) - Seiko Champion: "So what did the local Seiko Boutique bring out for us to look at and try on, at the recent GTG? Here’s a quick rogue’s gallery of the visitors, and what I would recommend from the bunch…"

For the Apnea Enthusiast: BALL EMII Diver World Time - Perpetuelle: "No, not sleep apnea! I’m talking about a tribute watch for champion free diver Guillaume Néry ... Announced at Baselworld 2010, this new BALL Engineer Master II dive watch now features a world time function. The 45mm diamter brushed steel case (black or white dial) houses a modified ETA 2836 movement (added the world time function)."

Watch Box Review: "As soon as you buy (or collect) a few nice timepieces, make sure to store them safely to protect them for dust, moisture, children, hungry pets etc. The best way to store your watches would be in a safe, so make sure you pick a watch box that will fit your safe or the safe you have in the bank."

Stephen Hallock Presents the MB&F HM4 Engine "Thunderbolt" from Hodinkee on Vimeo.

Interview with Jack Heuer - Calibre 11: "Jack Heuer is one of the legends of the Swiss watchmaking industry, having led Heuer through it’s most dynamic- and turbulent- era."

Additional links:
Wristwatch pictures: Patek Philippe 5070 R
Finally: Parnis flieger review!!! - Watchuseek
TimeZone: N E W M o d e l – Timex E-Altimeter
Jack Goes to Basel --Pictures and Random Thoughts
V.I.P. Memosail (Valjoux Cal. 7737)… - The Watch Spot
RE: my previous post: Which? Deep Sea, Plo Prof or Big Pilot...
Jake's Rolex Watch Blog: Part 3: The Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner & SEA-DWELLER

Stat Of The Day: U.S. College Dropouts and Debt

"DIY U": The end of university prestige - Salon.com: "Higher education in this country is in a state of crisis. Nearly nine out of 10 American high school seniors say they want to go to college. Yet almost half of U.S. college students drop out, outstanding student loan debt exceeds $730 billion, and tuition fees rose 248 percent between 1990 and 2008, more than any other major commodity or service."

How Safe Does a Medical Helicopter Need To Be?

Remember, there are no free lunches, only trade-offs. (Photo by Andylay/Flickr)

The item below implies a few things that I don't think are necessarily true.

1. That there is some ideal or "correct" level of safety regulation, and that some person or committee knows precisely what that is.
2. That without the government there would be no safety, or at least a sub-optimal amount.
3. That the owners and operators of the helicopters wouldn't have an interest in safety.
4. That we should or even could attain some perfect level of safety.
   

Considering the above point that there are only trade-offs ... safety costs scarce resources. Let's say for argument that a given region has 5 medical helicopters in service currently. We could increase the safety standards a bit, but then we might only be able to afford to have 4 or perhaps 3 medical helicopters serving the same region. At what point is the trade-off worth it? I bet that a person in desperate need of an emergency flight to a hospital after a car accident, but unable to get one, would be willing to make some compromise in safety in order to get the helicopter.

I don't know what the proper balance is, what the correct answer might be, and it's likely different for different people. But I DO KNOW that not considering this question or at least being aware of it is a mistake.

Medical Helicopter Crashes and FAA Safety Standards - Popular Mechanics: "A fatal helicopter crash in Tennessee on March 25 focuses attention on a persistent problem for the air ambulance industry and FAA—inadequate safety regulation. "

Monday Grab Bag

Shoes / Boots. (pic via Leffot)
Leffot Blog - Alden 990
Yuketen Shoes
Raindrops Keep Fallin’ ...
Chromexcel - Horween Leather Co.
Fine And Dandy Shop: Dandy Video: John Lobb Bootmaker

Style.
Don Draper's Sunglasses - Primer
Big shoulders nipped waist = power
S10 Tie By Tie 12 (Final Stretch) - From The Waist Up
Khaki, Tweed & Black Leather - MISTER MORT
Permanent style: A glass of red with Kempson and Logsdail

Architecture.
AD Round Up: Museums Part III
Abitare - KRE house
Sotogrande House by A-cero Architects
Dream Homes: Luxury Villa in Somosagusas, Madrid
Coastal House Designs - Capturing Coastline and the Mountains
wejetset - magazine - FRIENDHOUSE HOTEL

Travel.
Buy Now: Morane-Saulnier MS-760

Gadgets.
YouTube - 500 LED Extreme flashlight
Speedboat Doubles as a Submarine

Economics.
YouTube - Don Boudreaux - Standard of Living

Watches.
Interview with Jack Heuer - Calibre 11
Tempvs Compvtare Sea Shepherd Watch - aBlogtoRead
Jack in Basel pt. 2: Watches, more Watches, and Three Guys. . .
My Visit to Manufacture D'Horlogerie Audemars Piguet - Part 1! (part 2)
BASEL 2010 – Chanel J12 Marine Diver
Vacheron Constantin Wins Fashion Olymp - 2010

Fountain Pens / Writing.
Leuchtturm 1917 – Review of a pleasant aquaintance - Lady dandelion
Writing the Wrongs: Confessions from a Copic Multiliner
Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen - Fine
The Pen Addict: Ink Links
How to build a designer's Moleskine

Social Justice Shoes?
Shoes that make everyone the same height - Core77

Cars.
BaT Exclusive: 1957 Chevrolet Suburban Project
You Spec It: Restored 1963 Ford Falcon Roller
Flame-thrower scooter owner arrested - Telegraph
Retro Thing: SYM Classic 150 Emulates An Early Seventies Honda (more)
6 Cars So Alluring They’re in an Art Museum

Photography.
Whatever: I think that it may be Spring...finally
Picture Rochester
30 Extreme Sports Photographs
Leica Tour: Inside a Camera Company at a Crossroads

Misc.
10 Things Auto Insurers Won't Tell You at SmartMoney
Britons irritating bedtime habits revealed - Telegraph
Faux-ny Towers: Cleverly Concealed Cellular Sites

How About Separation Of School and State?

If you said, "I believe in the separation of church and state," most Americans would agree completely. But if you said, "For the same reasons, I believe in the separation of school and state and the separation of healthcare and state," most Americans would consider you a kook. Go figure.
-- Dr. Robert Higgs

Nancy Pelosi Tries To Dodge Jail Question ...

This is a sickening display. Note that the problem she describes, one of people using the "free" emergency room care and passing the bills onto others ... is a problem of too much government, socialism in particular. The answer to the problem is less government, not more piled on top. (ht: Dr. Boudreaux)

Class War: Public Sector Unions vs. The Rest of Us, Take II

The REAL pay gap. (pic via WSJ)

The Government Pay Boom - WSJ: "America's most privileged class are public union workers. It turns out there really is growing inequality in America. It's the 45% premium in pay and benefits that government workers receive over the poor saps who create wealth in the private economy The BLS study breaks down where that 45% premium comes from. It turns out that public employees earn salaries that are about one-third higher on average than what is provided to private workers per hour worked. But the real windfall for government workers is in benefits. Those are 70% higher than what standard private employers offer, as shown in the nearby table. Government health benefits are twice as generous as what workers employed by private employees earn. By the way, nearly this entire benefits gap is accounted for by unionized public employees. Nonunion public employees are paid roughly what private workers receive. And the gap is growing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 1998 to 2008 public employee compensation grew by 28.6%, compared with 19.3% for private workers. In the recession year of 2009, with almost no inflation and record budget deficits, more than half the states awarded pay raises to their employees."

Vallejo's Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy - WSJ: "The study also found that lavish pay and benefit packages were a root cause of the city's problems. In Vallejo compensation packages for police captains top $300,000 a year and average $171,000 a year for firefighters. Regular public employees in the city can retire at age 55 with 81% of their final year's pay guaranteed. Police and fire officials can retire at age 50 with a pension that pays them 90% of their final year's salary every year for life and the lives of their spouses."

Sunday Grab Bag

Architecture. (pic via Inhabitat)
Gorgeous Wood-Clad German Home
Black, White & Brick: Victorian Home
House Equanimity / Joseph N. Biondo
Adega Casa da Torre by Castanheira & Bastai
60 Richmond East Housing Development

ClimateGate (Oops!).
More ClimateGate Complications - Freakonomics

Fountain Pens / Writing.
Diamine amazing amethyst – truly amazing
Moleskine Passions Book Journal
Similar Inks: Omas Violet, Diamine Violet & Herbin Violette Pensee
Inkyjournal: Sailor Kiwagura Nano Carbon Super Black
Ink Nouveau - G. Lalo Vergé de France Stationery

Food.
Five Myths About Vegetables - Primer
12 Creative and Innovative Chopsticks
Ransom Old Tom Gin
Mixed Review: Lavender vs. Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Easy Shrimp and Pearl Couscous Dinner Recipe
Shove A Stick Up Your .... Food?!

Gadgets.
Brewzer Pocket Tool
Gerber Shard
Victorinox Silver Tech Huntsman
SureFire V2 Vampire LED - TAD

Liberty / Govt.
Home Space Photos: Man Takes Space Photos With Balloon And Home Camera
10-year-old's salsa business gets visit from health department - Sacramento

Cars.
How do you make a first gen Miata look big?
Flickr: TAG Heuer's Photostream
Quick Spin: Hennessey V700 is crazy, fast [w/video]

Photography.
Instant Classic: The Fujifilm Instax Mini 7
44 Impressive Examples of Reflection Photography
Robots, part III - The Big Picture
Polaroid Film is Back, But It Was Just Lucky

Animals.
Tashi the Great Dane - Daily Puppy
Megafishes Information, Facts, Photos - National Geographic
The Turtle that's Clearly Smiling
Little Monkey, Big World - ZooBorns

Healthcare.
Alarmism or Realism? - The Freeman
Max Baucus - ObamaCare will help correct the “maldistribution” of income and is an income “shift”

Travel.
Airlines losing 3000 bags - every hour of every day

Style.
Best Dressed Coaches - Sweet 16 Coaches Style - Esquire
The Boys of Bespoke - The New York Observer
Steve McQueen Unpublished Photos from LIFE

Shoes / Boots.
Leffot Blog - Alden 990
SF - Shoe Antiquing - Style Forum
Allen Edmonds Shoe Care :: Caring for Genuine Shell Cordovan Leather
Allen Edmonds Shoe Care :: Caring for Calfskin Shoes

Education.
Free, Open and Fair Competition
School Choice - The Freeman

Markets.
Marginal Revolution: Auction markets in everything

Watches.
For the Apnea Enthusiast: BALL EMII Diver World Time
Pleasant surprise at the MONTBLANC Palazzo Las Vegas boutique!
Basel Press Kit: ARMIN STROM
The Ikepod Hourglass - one of my top Baselworld favourites
Two weeks with the Prospex SBDD001 Diver
Timothy Bovet Presents the Cabestan Winch Tourbillon Vertical

Computers.
iPhone Hacker Thinks He’s Cracked the iPad, Too
If Web Browsers Were Modes Of Transportation
Screenpresso – A Lightweight Jing Alternative With Advanced Options

Misc.
Ten Greatest Modern-Day Recreations Of Ancient Technologies
How green is your love life? Eco-sex gets on it

Rochester City School District: 277 People Make Over $100,000 !!

They say sunshine is the best disinfectant. Here is a place to find salary info for public employees, or "public servants" if that term makes you more comfortable.

When is enough enough? The Rochester City School District had 277 people making over $100,000 in 2009, many well over. And that doesn't even get into those bloated teacher/administrator retirements, healthcare benefits, etc. And I think the Rochester City School District just announced that it had a 46% graduation rate. I wonder how much more "administration-heavy" the RCSD might be compared to private schools, or the local Catholic schools?

New York State - Public Employee Payrolls on SeeThroughNY: "This SeeThroughNY section provides a database of names, positions and salaries for more than 1,500,000 individuals who have been employed by New York State, New York City, state and regional public authorities, public school districts, and New York's county, city, town and village governments. Use the form below to search the payrolls by Name, Position, Branch or Major Category, Agency and Subagency."

Additional links:
Rochester City School District Fleeces Taxpayers
$478 million in pay raises ahead for New York Govt. Workers
Should Obama Increase Education Funding?
Walter Williams Exposes D.C. Government Schools
2,000 House staffers make six figures - POLITICO
Free, Open and Fair Competition - The Unbroken Window

RomneyCare, A Glimpse Into Our Future?

We have had RomneyCare in Mass. for a few years now. How has it gone so far? Let's see. And I suspect that on average Mass. is wealthier than the rest of the country. This editorial is from the state treasurer of Massachusetts.

ObamaCare: Repeal, Replace or What? - WSJ: "As state treasurer, I can speak with authority about the Massachusetts pilot program. It has been a fiscal train wreck. The universal insurance coverage we adopted in 2006 was projected to cost taxpayers $88 million a year. However, since this program was adopted in 2006, our health-care costs have in total exceeded $4 billion. The cost of Massachusetts' plan has blown a hole in the Commonwealth's budget. Just last Thursday, Gov. Deval Patrick's office announced a $294 million shortfall related to health-care costs. If not for federal Medicaid reimbursements and commitments from Washington to prop up this plan, Massachusetts would be broke. The only reason MassCare has survived is that we have been repeatedly bailed out by the federal government. But that raises the question: Who will bail America out if we implement a similar program?"

Today's Quotes: Sobran, Mencken, and Browne

'Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own.
And 'Compassion' is when a politician arranges the transfer.
-- Joseph Sobran

The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head.
Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the Bill of Rights.
-- H. L. Mencken

Immigrants used to come to America seeking freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, and freedom from government. Now they come looking for free health
care, free education, and a free lunch.
-- Harry Browne

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what
it costs when it's free.
-- P.J. O'Rourke

Is A VAT Coming Next?

I hope not. Consider an additional double-digit sales tax, in addition to the current sales tax and incomes taxes ...

The VAT Cometh - Charles Krauthammer - National Review Online: "As the night follows the day, the VAT cometh. With the passage of Obamacare, which created a vast new middle-class entitlement, a national sales tax of the kind almost universal in Europe is inevitable. We are now $8 trillion in debt. The Congressional Budget Office projects that another $12 trillion will be added over the next decade. Obamacare, when stripped of its budgetary gimmicks — the unfunded $200 billion–plus doctor fix, the double-counting of Medicare cuts, the ten-six sleight-of-hand (counting ten years of revenue and only six years of outflows) — is, at minimum, a $2 trillion new entitlement. It’s the ultimate cash cow. Obama will need it. By introducing universal health care, he has pulled off the largest expansion of the welfare state in four decades. And the most expensive. Which is why all of the European Union has the VAT. Huge VATs. Germany: 19 percent. France and Italy: 20 percent. Most of Scandinavia: 25 percent."

Rochester Taxpayers, Soaked By A Leaking Pool

I am convinced a private operation would never have allowed this to get so bad, or go on for so long.

Seneca Park Zoo pool leak drains $100,000 from county coffers - Democrat and Chronicle: "Monroe County will spend $1.2 million to help remedy a leak at the Seneca Park Zoo that was causing 50,000 gallons of water a day to go down the drain. That's enough water to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool once every 13 days. Zoo officials have known for five years that they had a significant leak but didn't have the metering system to know where the leak was. They have now learned that the leak has cost county taxpayers $100,000 in combined water and sewer charges during the last year. After water pumps were installed last year, zoo staff could determine that the leak was coming from the 15,000-gallon penguin pool at the Rocky Coast exhibit. Charges in prior years incurred by the leak can't be measured because an accurate metering system wasn't in place, said county Parks Director ..."

Friday Grab Bag

Watches. (pic courtesy aBlogToRead)
1960s Wittnauer Chronograph: Valjoux 72 Colorful Dial
Max Bill By Junghans Watches For 2010
Presenting the Opus 10 by Jean-François Mojon for Harry Winston
Basel 2010: Ulysse Nardin novelties - MANY pics!! - Ulysse Nardin
P’6780 Diver By Porsche Design
Basel World 2010: Getting Acquainted With DeWitt
For the Apnea Enthusiast: BALL EMII Diver World Time
Review of the Orient Star Ref WZ0091ER by Gary M

Architecture.
Home & Garden - Home Tours - latimes
15 Wonders of the Architectural World
‘Wrap House’ by FUTURE STUDIO (JP)
Shedworking: O-Pod garden office
House Pilotto by LP Architektur
V House / Plan B Arquitectos Giancarlo Mazzanti

Travel.
How the TSA will inspect your monkey - Boing Boing

Computers.
Asus adding USB 3.0 to entire PC line
Learn How to Protect Important Files with TrueCrypt
Left 4 Dead Blog

Cars.
Fully Sorted: 1966 Lotus Elan Coupe
1953 Siata 208S Spyder owned by Steve McQueen for sale
Hawaii M-6: Inside BMW Individual's Customization Process

Style.
House of Savoia: Bespoke tailoring on the Lower East Side
Fabrics : Heather - ON & BEYOND

Shoes / Boots.
Permanent style: Leffot: A sign of US shoe trends
Breaking them in - Gentleman’s Corner
Sole Man!: George Cleverley - Modern Luxury Hawai'i
Town View Moccasin - Gear Patrol
Country Brogue Black - Shoe of the Month
Retail Therapy: Vintage Justin's Boots
The Dressed Up Casual Shoe

Food.
Recipe: Double Chocolate Butterscotch Breakfast Muffins

Education.
Why Freer Schools Are Better Schools - WSJ
Top 50 Free Open Courseware VIDEO Collections

Gadgets.
Netflix Streaming Comes to the Wii
Alien Hunt alarm clock: die, clock, die!
Line2 Allows iPhone Users to Sidestep AT and T - NYTimes

Photography.
Print a Cardboard 35mm Pinhole Camera
80 Photography HDR of Tokyo - Design You Trust

Fountain Pens / Writing.
New 340th Anniversary J. Herbin Scarlet Ink : Rouge Hematite
Billykirk Journal
Tuff Writer Tactical Pens
moleskinerie: Pronunciation

Healthcare.
Ron Paul on the Illegal Stupak Deal
Andrew Napolitano on Challenging the Health Care Bill
ObamaCare's Effects Are Already Showing - WSJ
The Problems with Socialized Health Care - U.K.
Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill

Liberty / Govt.
They Fly First Class - John Stossel
Positive Rights as Means Not Ends - The Freeman
Legislation opens up the door for government to be involved in every health care decision
‘They’re Cops; They’re Going to Beat You’

Science.
Hunting For The Oldest Living Things In The World
Autonomous Submarinebot Heads Down on Deepest-Ever Undersea Search For Undiscovered Life

Misc.
History's Most Destructive Volcanoes
oobject - collectors with their collections
Zoombak Pet GPS Locator - Gear Patrol
What’s the Deal With the Barber Pole?
Back Story: Who was Susan, and was she truly lazy?
Time-lapse: Watch an excavator eat a building

Unsettling Stat Of The Day: Too Many Guns, Too Much Butter

If only we could ramp down military and entitlement spending both by about 75%?

Max Boot: ObamaCare and American Power - WSJ: "The United States currently spends roughly as much on defense ($661 billion in fiscal year 2009) as the rest of the world combined. But that's a pittance compared to what we spend on three major entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Combined, they cost $1.38 trillion or almost 35% of the budget, compared with 17% for defense. And entitlements will only grow dramatically. The current unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare, according to the 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report, is nearly $107 trillion—seven times the size of our economy. In 1935, Franklin Roosevelt assured the public that the new Social Security system would not lead to runaway spending. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson pledged that the fiscal impact of Medicare would be minimal. And now Barack Obama cites a Congressional Budget Office estimate claiming that the vast new health-care entitlement will actually reduce the deficit. Count me as skeptical. Odds are great that the cost-containment provisions will never be rigorously implemented while the promised subsidies will prove more costly than projected."

Would You Call Yourself a Libertarian? What Else?

Below is a snippet from a wonderful column. It's very much how I view myself.

Anti-Force Is the Common Denominator - The Freeman: "Allow me to alter something the great humorist Will Rogers said: “I’m not a member of any organized group. I’m a libertarian.” I wince a bit as I say that, though. Let me explain. Labels such as “libertarian” aren’t always illuminating. Sometimes they serve as expedient substitutes for thought—as in, “Oh, he’s one of those!” When pressed to cough up a label to describe myself, I sometimes employ “libertarian” but not without adding a caveat or two so no one assumes I’m referring to a political party or that my position on certain hot-button issues must be this or that. On other occasions I call myself a “classical liberal,” but unless I have time to explain it, confused listeners wonder how that differs from the “liberals” of today. “Voluntaryist” (of the British philosopher Auberon Herbert variety) describes my political, ethical, and economic leanings most accurately—unfortunately, though, few people have ever heard the term. I am also other things as well. I’m an “Austrian” economist (while appreciating numerous positive contributions from other schools of thought). I’m a Christian who is also a rationalist because I believe reason in an ordered universe is a divine gift. Though I don’t embrace Ayn Rand’s atheism, like her I am a fervent advocate of capitalism who endorses man’s inalienable rights, the roles of the producer and entrepreneur, and the magnificence of the creative mind."

Yup, They Actually Said It ...

Scared yet? Three entries today. First we have Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) making up parts of the Constitution, then we have the impeached (for bribery) former federal judge and current Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings explaining how things work in Pelosi's sausage factory. Finally we have Congressman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) accidentally tipping the Democrats hand.

As an aside, who is voting for Alcee Hastings for Congress after he was successfully impeached for bribery?! And see the classic piece from Walter Williams at the end of this post.

House Judiciary Chairman Says Constitution's Non-Existent ‘Good and Welfare Clause’ Authorizes Congress to Force Americans to Buy Health Insurance: "(CNSNews.com) -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said the “good and welfare clause” gives Congress the authority to require individuals to buy health insurance as mandated in the health care bill. However, there is no “good and welfare clause” in the U.S. Constitution."

YouTube - Key House Democrat: "There Are No Rules Here ... We Make Them Up As We Go Along"


Shocking Audio: Rep. Dingell Says ObamaCare Will Eventually ‘Control the People’


Additional links.
Good Ideas vs The Constitution of the United States of America by Walter Williams
Inside the Pelosi Sausage Factory - WSJ.com
Alcee Hastings, Bribery Impeachment - Wikipedia
Alcee Hastings, Bribery, and the House Intelligence Committee

Thursday Grab Bag

Architecture. (pic via Contemporist)
The City View Residence by Dick Clark Architecture
The Dabob Bay Residence by Bjarko/Serra
Ilhavo City Library / ARX - ArchDaily
The World’s Most Beautiful Bridges

Science.
Recombinant Rhymer Encodes Poetry in DNA
It’s True: Hot Water Really Can Freeze Faster Than Cold Water

Fountain Pens / Writing.
No. 6 Machine :: Rhodia Drive
Notebook Review: Clairefontaine Basics Clothbound Notebook
moleskinerie: Video: Moleskine Passions Wellness Journal
Review: Diamine China Blue Fountain Pen Ink

Energy.
Government Moonshine - The Freeman
Mini Generators Use Vibrations from Traffic, Human Movement to Create Electricity

Food.
Lele Lurves Plants: new brekkies
The Draft: Non-Wussy Wheat Beer: The Q: GQ

NASA.
IEEE Spectrum: Bringing Back a Piece of Heaven
Opportunity Mars Rover Gets Artificial Intelligence Upgrade

Style.
Lucky Strikes: Books: GQ
Off-Screen Romance - NOWNESS
Sartorially Inclined: Attn: The Rugby Style Guide
Go Raw: The GQ Eye: GQ
George Cleverley – Russian Leathergoods

Shoes / Boots.
New Cigar shell PTB's! And what's an Alden 2219?

Animals.
Thermonuclear Otters - ZooBorns
Meet Charlie, The Orphaned Baby Meerkat

Gadgets.
HTC Evo 4G
Alden Shell Cordovan Case and Knife
Samsung Galaxy S: sexier than the Droid?

Cars.
Front-Wheel Drive vs. Rear-Wheel Drive - WSJ

Signs of The Times.
Grab the Airplane and Go - Air & Space Magazine
Stay-At-Home Dads Grapple With Going Back To Work

Healthcare.
Health Bill Exempts High-Level Staffers
The Reality of Obamacare - Jonah Goldberg
Healthcare Intervention: The Bigger Picture

Liberty / Govt.
John Stossel : Entitlement Rip-Off
Walter E. Williams : Constitutional Awakening
The creepy tyranny of Canada's hate speech laws
Most Executives Would Be Fired for Confessing Criminality

Economics.
See? Repealing the Law of Scarcity Is Easy!
The Health-Care Reform Act: Que Paso?

Watches.
Thomas Prescher Presents The Flying Triple Axis Tourbillon
Weird Watch Wednesday: Rebellion T-1000 (With Video!)
Wednesday Watch: The new Rolex Explorer explained
Interview with Jean-Christophe Babin
First Look: Heuer 300 SLR - Calibre 11
Something quintessentially English for this englishman's collection

New Watch Brand: Helson Shark Diver.
PROFESSIONAL WATCHES: Helson 2000M Shark Diver
HELSON Shark Diver Arrives - Watchuseek
Just Arrived - Helson Shark Diver - The Watch Forum
Helson Shark Diver - pictures please! - Watchuseek

Photography.
Eye-Fi Explore X2 8GB - Gear Patrol
Associated Press - Afghanistan Polaroid
Haiti, 70 days later - The Big Picture
At War: Photographers' Best Shots - Photo Gallery

Computers.
Belkin seems to understand normal people, releases aptly named wireless routers

Education.
Day and night we are watching over your welfare (more)
Obama Excludes Private and Catholic School Children From Easter Egg Roll Ticket Giveaway

Misc.
Cool Stats About Money
Hit the ground running barefoot
Top 6 Most Popular Social Websites And Their Offices [PICS]

Markets In Everything: Gaming Companions For Nerds

Submitted without comment.

Dudes can pay hot girls to play online video games with them - VentureBeat: "If you’re a lonely gamer dude, then GameCrush might be your ticket to meet a hot girl. That’s the basic pitch of this social networking service, where guys scan pay cash to play hardcore video games with attractive females on the GameCrush site."

Vintage Hi-Beat Classic: Longines Ultra-Chron

Thanks very much to poster "ulackfocus" for permission to post pics of his fantastic vintage hi-beat Longines Ultra-Chron. See more links about hi-beat movements (higher than the now ubiquitous 28,800 bph) at the end of this post. And see what Longines is up to at BaselWorld 2010.

The most famous hi-beat movement is certainly the Zenith El Primero, which happens to also be a chronograph and an automatic. But I've wondered what else is out there. I believe several Grand Seiko and King Seiko models in the 1960s used very fast beats.

David tells us that his watch is a reference 8382A from approx. 1969. Here is much much more on the Longines Ultra-Chron Caliber 431, a great read.





Additional links:
Show us your high-beat watch(es) [36000 vph and above]
TimeZone: What movts/watches in history have fast beats? ...
Longines' Vintage Automatics
Montres/Watches: The Longines Ultra-Chron: Caliber 431