What % Of U.S. Adults Have College Degrees?

In a way the numbers seem very low to me. Then when I think about it some more, maybe not.

Some eye-opening stats. I guess when many urban high schools are graduating 50% or even less of their students (RCSD, I'm looking at you), that will pull the numbers down fast. Thanks to @dragonflyeye (http://dragonflyeye.net/) for the link.

Definitely check this out:
Adults With College Degrees in the United States, by County

Quick Review: Lamy Swift Rollerball In Anthracite

I love Lamy pens. Over the years I've owned several Safari & Al-Star models in both rollerball an fountain pen flavors, including at least one demonstrator. I plan to keep my Lamy 2000 fountain pen for good.

Last year I sold my Dialog2 RB as I found it a bit heavy for regular use, but I missed the clever mechanism, in which the clip retracts into the body of the pen. And I've been wanting another rollerball pen.



I've since tried several ball point pens but after fountain pens and rollerballs, I just can't go back to ballpoint. So last week I ordered a new Lamy Swift with the matte anthracite finish (model #334AN).

It takes the common Lamy M66 rollerball refills, which I think are the evolution of the earlier M63 refills. This pen was designed by industrial designer Wolfgang Fabian, who I think is also responsible for the Lamy Safari.

You can see all of the Swift variations and other rollerballs here.

A few pics, click on any to see full-size.

The outer box.


The inner plastic case, opens something like a clever clam-shell.

Inside, the pen and refill.



And tucked away neatly on the bottom are the instructions.


A few looks at the pen ...

Here's the pen closed, the clip is out.


Here's the pen open, note how the clip retracts into the body of the pen.




Additional links:
Lamy Swift - Model 334 Anthrazit - Lamy Germany
Lamy Swift Anthrazit Capless Rollerball Pen, 334AN - Amazon.com
penspotters :: Lamy pens
Lamy - Company History
Lamy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monday Grab Bag of Links ...

Architecture. (pic via AD)
Glenbrook Residence / David Jameson
Tower Folly: Plates and/on Platters
Breathtaking Home in Norway Overlooking a Stunning Fjord
Silvertree Residence in Arizona by Secrest
Old Stone Church Hides Brand New Home
Shaft House / Atelier rzlbd
Kumagai House in Japan by Hiroshi Kuno

Adventure.
Articles & Effects: Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex
On the Subject of: The First Ascent of Mt. Everest
Urban Sky Camping: A Daring Pair of Up-in-the-Air Designs

Travel.
In Nevada, the Viewing Has Begun From the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge
America's Coolest Ghost Towns

Food.
e*ting the world: Shanghai - The Xiaolongbao
Red Wine and Steel Cut Oatmeal
Divan Turkish Delight on Cool Hunting
Ho Chiak: Traditional Swiss meals: Les Armures in Geneva
It will be love at first bite with these Chocolate and Raspberry Cream Tarts

Luxury.
M/Y Biscuit 95’ Yacht
10 Tech Titans' Lavish Homes: Zillow (PHOTOS)

Retro.
1984 Home Movie of EPCOT Center
10engines: snow shoes and skis

Engineering.
The Biggest Ships in the World

Cars.
Under the Hood: Mark Oldman
Best of the Detroit Auto Show: Cars: GQ
The Secret Of Steve McQueen's Bullitt Chase Scene
In defense of Equus - Boston Overdrive - Boston.com

Photography.
Lightning => TotallyCoolPix
Amazing Landscape Photography By Marconi
Protest spreads in the Middle East
The Frame: Rioting and chaos engulfs Egypt's capital
The Egypt Protests - TotallyCoolPix
Mr. Bowen’s Kodachromes
LensHero - DSLR Lenses

Liberty / Govt.
English Russia - Art Of Soviet Propaganda
Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams: Still Out of Step After All These Years
Public Service Is a Noble Calling, Some Say
Forget About Keeping Your Powder Dry in Nazi York City
Fannie Mae Backers Unrepentant Despite Its Fraud and Colossal Bailout
Baby Doc Is Back! by Eric Margolis
The Very Tiny Terrorist
Photographers: You’re Now Officially Free To Shoot In Public Places And Outside Federal Buildings

Style.
Corbin Trousers
Tweed of My Ancestors: Some Thoughts on Vintage Clothing
Esquire – What makes a Dandy?
Everyguyed – Top 10 Classic Style Editorials
How to Steal the Spring 2011 Trends - Esquire

Shoes / Boots.
Alden 40713H Shell Cordovan Double Waterlock Captoe Boot
Alden Shoes – Austerlitz Brogues (LSW)
Anthony Cleverley – Tavistock in Midnight (LSBH)
A Suitable Wardrobe: Time for Tan Shoes

Gadgets / Gear / Kit.
Flashlight Review, Fenix PD31
Razer Ferox Portable Speakers

Healthcare.
Government Health Care in 1798

Animals.
In Praise of Ham the Astrochimp - Photo Gallery - LIFE
Declan the Miniature Dachshund
Your Juggling Act Needs Work

Computing.
20 essential apps for new Mac users
Tiny Document Scanner Banishes Paper Forever
5 Cool Things You Can Do With Bing Maps Aerial View
Steampunk Memory Keys
How did the Egyptian government turn off the Internet?
12 Amazing PC Case Designs

NASA.
Jan. 27, 1967: 3 Astronauts Die in Launchpad Fire
How Things Work: Soyuz-Station Docking

Misc.
TWAN "World Heritage Sites" Gallery
To reduce wireless bills, some try an 'iPod phone'
Beyond Amazon: How to Make Recommendations Smarter
How Angry Birds Is Becoming the Next Super Mario
Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the Morgan Silver Dollar

Wristwatch Updates: Speedmaster Alaska, Atmos, Claret, & More!

These Alaska Project Speedmasters are some of my fav. watches of all-time. I have a late 70s-era Atmos clock that I love but it needs to be serviced, maybe this year? (pic Via Hodinkee)

Don't miss the Roger W. Smith video.

Exclusive: An Interview With Pierre Chopard, Leader of the Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project - Hodinkee: "In 1970, Omega sought to improve the Speedmaster and this effort to create an über-Moonwatch was dubbed the “Alaska Project.” We have previously profiled the Alaska Project Speedmaster, which Omega decided to re-issue a few years ago. But today we bring you something special – an interview with the Swiss engineer who oversaw the Alaska Project for Omega. His name is Pierre Chopard, and the spry, violin-playing octogenarian recently took the time to answer some of my questions about his work at Omega and the Alaska Project."

Jeager-LeCoultre's Atmos Marqueterie Paille - A Clock That Would Fit Me Perfectly: "In 2008, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated the 80th anniversary of their famous Atmos clock. As you might know already, Atmos clocks keep ticking because of temperature changes in the environment. I did a write-up in its 80th anniversary year where you can read more about the Atmos’s background and workings."

AHCI - A chat with Christophe Claret: "Christophe Claret is one of the pioneering complications specialists in Swiss watchmaking. Claret started his career in 1986 when Rolf Schnyder of Ulysse-Nardin commissioned the now famous San Marco repeater with automaton. Since then he has gone on to create over 60 different calibres, all of them complications, for dozens of brands including Bovet, Breguet, Cartier, Chopard, Corum, Girard Perregaux, Harry Winston (including more than just the Opus 4), Jorg Hysek and Parmigiani."

New Arrival - Hamilton Khaki: "I've had a number of Hamilton Khaki Field variants come and go over the past few years, and I'm pleased that this one hits the button on several points for me: just the right size at 40mm (yet still slim enough) for a very comfy fit; great layout of the dial; dynamite looking hands; excellent strap and buckle; best of all: it's hand-wound."

TAG Heuer Carrera MP4-12C Review - Calibre 11: "While the big news to come from TAG Heuer’s pre-Basel collection last week was the Carrera Mikrograph, the release of the Carrera MP4-12C was just as eagerly anticipated, especially for the many TAG Heuer fans who also closely follow the McLaren team on and off the track."

Revolution - My pick for the best stand at the 2011 SIHH: IWC: "While I sometimes have difficulty at a glance telling the stylistic differences between some of the models in IWC's Portofino, Portugese and Vintage collections (no doubt my fault not theirs), there was no mistaking the incredible Portofino-themed IWC stand at the SIHH this year. It was beautifully done and inviting and comfortable to hang out in. And the ice cream was sensational!"

Lets keep it simple... Hits from recent releases and SIHH: "what I likes is what i likes :) based on seein pics, both press shots and the live ones from journos and enthusiasts who made it down to Geneva, these were the hits from SIHH 2011 and of releases round this time ..."

SIHH 2011: Girard-Perregaux celebrates its 220th anniversary!: "Girard-Perregaux is celebrating its 220th anniversary this year. The year is just beginning and they are quite discreet so far but this year of celebration begins with several new watches presented at the SIHH. I can say to begin that I'm quite appealed by many of those"

Omega - Deep Down it's Beautiful ...: "I have finally found the Seamaster 600 Ploprof that I had been hunting for quite some time now...man this is a beast !"

Additional links:
BOVET - Chronograph Cambiano edition 2011
EDC - willycheesesteak: Where Are The Monsters? Post...
Tokyo Watch Fair Part 1 & Part 2
YouTube - Watchmaker Roger W. Smith presents his Series 2 Open Dial wristwatch
Timepieces Go From Thin to Thinner - NYTimes.com
International Watch Fairs - London Autumn 2011

Elspeth Beard Circles The World on Her BMW R 60/6

Love stories like these. Pic courtesy of The Selvedge Yard.

AIR-HEAD AROUND THE WORLD - ELSPETH BEARD ON HER BMW R 60/6 - The Selvedge Yard: "Three decades ago, 24 year old architecture student, Elspeth Beard, set out to ride her bike around the world– a trek that would take 3 years and over 48K miles. The young Englishwoman, who’d been riding since she was just 16 yrs old, had already taken a few solo journeys to Scotland and Ireland– and now was ready to take on more before she finished school and settled down into a career. Beard’s bike was a used 1974 BMW R 60/6 flat-twin, already with 30K miles, that she bought from a friend of a friend. Her around-the-world bike trek began in New York– “It cost $340 to send the bike and $197 for my own air fare,” she recalls. From NYC she rode up through Canada, then headed south through Mexico and Los Angeles– racking up 5K miles. From LA Beard shipped the bike to Sydney, while she first headed to New Zealand for a visit while her motorcycle was en route. That’s when her luck started to run out …"

Unsweet Iced Tea Is An Acquired Taste

"Unsweetened [iced] tea is an acquired taste, but one that's well worth acquiring."

Been making and drinking a lot of this in recent months. Recommended.

Brew Sun Tea - Wired How-To Wiki: "Sun tea is quite possibly the most perfect drink for the summer. Lemonade is a classic, but it can be a little too tart for the hot days. Juices are too sugary, so they'll dehydrate you and cause a sugar crash halfway through that softball game. Water? That's just plain boring. Let Wired help you beat the heat with some of the perfect summer-in-a-glass beverage: sun tea."

Swedish Family Doing The Lord's Work, Low-Carbon Edition

I wish them the very best with their project, they are God's own personal warriors. < /sarcasm>

One Tonne Life: A Swedish Family's Green Lifestyle Experiment Begins : TreeHugger: "This week in Sweden an unprecedented low carbon lifestyle experiment has begun. The Lindell family have moved into a solar powered prefab house in the suburbs of Stockholm that is specially designed to minimise energy consumption. The family's aim is to see if they can radically reduce their average carbon footprint of 7 tonnes per year, down to 1 tonne. TreeHugger was in Stockholm this week to meet them and hear the One Tonne Life story. Nils Lindell, 52, his wife Alicja, 51, daughter Hannah, 16, and son Jonathan,13, are enthusiastically gung-ho about their One Tonne Life challenge. They say they don't know exactly what changes they will have to make to their normal routines, but they are ready to embrace the new lifestyle programme and are keen to learn as much as possible about low carbon living through the process. "We will do whatever it takes" says Hannah, who is really the driving force in the family, being the one who discovered an advert for the project in the local paper, then persuading her family that taking part was a great idea. It helps of course that living in a beautiful, spacious, new designer home, with a Volvo electric car at their disposal, is part of the deal." (pic via One Tonne Life)

Additional links:
One Tonne Life - Start
BBC News - Swedish family's six month eco-house experiment

Waiting On The Fate of the Kilo

Interesting. (pic via Wiki)


Fate of the Kilo Weighs Heavily on the Minds of Metrologists - WSJ.com: "Moves Are Afoot to Redefine Measurements; Le Grand K Feels a Wee Bit Lighter ... In a vault beneath a 17th-century pavilion on the outskirts of Paris sits a platinum cylinder known as Le Grand K. Since 1889 it has been the international prototype for the kilogram, the standard against which all other kilos are measured. But over the years, scientists have noticed a problem: Le Grand K has been losing weight. Weigh-ins at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures show that the bar has shed approximately 50 micrograms—roughly equal to a grain of sand. The problem has vexed scientists who monitor the kilo the way tabloids track the waistlines of Valerie Bertinelli and Kirstie Alley. The stakes, however, are weightier. "It's a scandal that we've got this kilogram hanging around changing its mass and therefore changing the mass of everything else in the universe!" Bill Phillips, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, exclaimed at a scientific summit in London this week. No one knows for sure what went wrong with Le Grand K, but some theorize it lost weight from being cleaned. Dr. Phillips and other mandarins of metrology were gathered at Britain's Royal Society to debate an urgent question in the science of measurement—how to re-define the basic unit of mass, as well as other measurements such as the second, ampere, kelvin and mole. The aim is to tie each to a widely accepted property of nature, rather than to a lump of metal or some other imprecise benchmark. The meter, for instance, was once measured as the distance between two notches on a metal bar. It is now defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second."

I Kinda Want One of These Cool Casio G-Shocks

I do love my G-Shock Riseman but these two new models have really caught my eye. The fact that they're all analog helps.

Radio-controlled, solar powered, tons of features, legible, what's not to like?!





The description from Amazon:

Introducing the new large case Aviation concept watch with a 1/100-second chronograph designed to keep accurate time even under the stresses of high G forces that occur during air racing Watch is rated to the centrifugal force surpassing 12 G's. The atomic timekeeper function receives time calibration radio signals automatically up to six times a day (up to five times per day for China), which keep the displayed time accurate, also has a manual receiver function; the signal received for the US is WWVB at a frequency of 60 kHz, UK isMSF at 60 kHz, Germany DCF77 at 77.5 kHz, Japan JJ40/JJY60 and China BPC at BPC68.5 kHz. Watch gives world time with 29 time zones (29 cities + UTC), displaying city code, daylight saving on/off function and home city/world time swapping. In addition the watch is shock and water resistant to 660' (200 meters), has a neo-brite luminous hands and markers illuminating the watch for low light conditions. This timepiece has beeper alarm, 1/100 second stopwatch with a measuring capacity of 00:23'59.99" and a measuring mode for elapsed and split time. Watch is equipped with full auto-calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099), 12/24 hour formats, and watch is accurate +/- 15 seconds per month (with no signal calibration). The storage battery is a solar rechargeable battery. There is a low battery warning, power saving function, and an approximate battery life of 5 months on a full charge without further exposure to light.

Additional links:
Review: Casio G-Shock Riseman Wristwatch
GW3000B-1A just arrived 15 minutes ago (PHOTOS)
YouTube - Review of the Casio G-Shock GW-3000B-1A Aviator Watch in HD

Book Review: Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege by Antony Beevor

When I was reading Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World a few months ago once of the reviews said that it was to the battle of Trafalgar what Beevor's book was to the battle of Stalingrad. After reading both I definitely believe that to be the case. Each of these books are the must-read titles for their respective topics.

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege by Antony Beevor gives us an in-depth look at Germany's disastrous Operation Barbarossa in general, and the fate of Hitler's sixth army in particular. We already know the basics of the story. Hitler decided that he would attack East after overrunning Western Europe. The Nazis bit off more than they could chew, underestimated the Russians, and paid a dear price. This is all true, but Beevor adds much more detail. In addition to the usual strategic and tactical narratives, Beevor fills the book with assorted bits of historical minutia and anecdotes that make story seem more real.

The human (as well as animals such as horses) suffering experienced by both sides in this battle, in addition to the area civilian population is almost difficult to comprehend. Every time I thought it had reached a peak, it got worse. Long-term malnutrition, starvation, typhys, dysentary, gangrenous frostbite, malaria, rampant lice infections, scurvy ... the list just goes on and on, for month after month. And this is all before any wounds from battle.

And for my fellow fans of Hogan's Heroes, you can understand all of the jokes about threatening to send German troops and officers to the Eastern front. ;-)

Years ago I wondered what the state of the Wehrmacht was by D-Day in 1944. After reading this book I'm convinced that the Allies faced what was already a largely defeated Germany by that point. This would make the resistance the Nazis put up all the more amazing.

Here are some items of note from the book:
1. The Soviets were at times more brutal to their own than to the Germans. They executed approx 13,500 of their own troops at Stalingrad. p. xii
2. Leading up to the invasion of Russia, the Soviet ambassador to Berlin had his own torture and execution chamber in basement of the Soviet embassy. p. 7
3. The Wehrmacht depended on 600,000 horses to tow guns, ambulances, and supplies. This drastically slowed the German's legendary Blitzkrieg. p. 13



4. In the first three weeks of fighting the Red Army had lost over 3,500 tanks and 6,000 aircraft and two million men. p. 28
5. Hitler made the strategic error of going after Stalingrad for the area's resources instead of marching on Moscow from the beginning.

6. Soviet troops used dogs with explosives strapped to their backs as anti-tank weapons.
7. When birch trees could not be found, the Nazis built roads in the mud using Russian corpses.
8. Tolstoy's How Much Land Does A Man Need? p. 83

9. Soviet political officers would stand behind Soviet troops and shoot any who showed cowardice.
10. The German's were not particularly impressed with the pulchritude of the average Russian woman. Upon capturing some Russian female soldiers "whose faces are so repulsive one can scarcely bear to look at them." p. 110
11. You may be using the term "decimation" improperly. One Soviet commander used i in its proper context, shooting every tenth man under his command in the face as punishment for cowardice. p. 117
12. One of Stalin's sons, Vasily Stalin, escaped combat duty completely and instead made a propaganda film about the air force. p. 133
13. In the summer of '42 Germany was producing 500 tanks/month. German intelligence was worried as they believe that the Soviets were producing 1,200 tanks/month. The reality was much worse, the Soviets were in fact producing over 2,200 tanks/month! p. 223

14. As the months wore on the German in particular were cut off and literally starving. Most had malnutrition and a great number died from starvation alone, and the living were literally teaming with lice. pp. 304 - 306
15. Stalingrad Madonna p. 312

For another feel of life on the Eastern front, get your hands on the DVD of Peckinpah's Cross of Iron with James Coburn.

This book is a must-read for history buffs or anyone even remotely interested in the topic. If you only read one book on Stalingrad, make it this one. This battle and the larger war are critical pieces of 20th century history that help to put the following 60 years in perspective, the Cold War in particular. What happened at Stalingrad also helped to shape what became the AK-47 assault rifle.

Beevor's The Fall of Berlin 1945 is already in my queue.

Additional links:
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 at Amazon
Antony Beevor - Stalingrad
Peckinpah's Cross of Iron with James Coburn

I Like Stossel's Manifesto

Stossel's response to the recent State of The Union speech is a must-read.

My State Of The Union Address - Stossel: "President Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty and gave his report on the state of the union last night. Here's mine: We're in deep trouble. You know why. Our debt has passed $14 trillion, and yet our current spending plans will make that worse. The U.S. debt will reach Greek levels in just 10 years."

Additional links:
Get Out The Scissors — It’s Time to Start Cutting

Remember This Quote From Not Long Ago?

"I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don't be confused."
-- Barack Obama, March 8, 2008 (source: http://bit.ly/6o9WCL)

$1M Electricity Bill for Dept. of Labor ... In A Month

Conservation is for us little people, not our overlords. If you listen carefully you can hear them say, "Let them eat CFLs!" (pic via Wiki)

Federal Agency Headquarters Leave Lights On In DC - Washington, DC: "WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Night after night, year after year, this nightside reporter observed lights left on in federal government buildings. So I decided to see just how much taxpayers were spending to keep empty buildings illuminated. For several months, we kept track of the lights left on in a dozen federal buildings, including the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation and Energy always checking after 10 p.m., each on at least six occasions. ... The low end is about $200,000 a month. The high end more than a million. One month's electricity bill at the Department of Labor topped a MILLION dollars. That was a bill paid in July of last year. The month before, the department paid a bill of nearly $700,000. And utility costs of that magnitude are not unusual. Whoooo. That's too much!" exclaimed a taxpayer. Maybe the perception is, they want to tell the American people that we're always on," speculated another. The Department of Health and Human Services paid a bill last August of $799,000 for a month of service."

Fountain Pens & Writing Updates: TWSBI, Platinum, Noodler’s, & More

The vintage Lamy 2000 is a beauty. As is this old Lamy. I love the look and idea of the TWSBI pens, but have no ieda how to pronounce it, it seems short at least a couple of vowels.

Whatever: TWSBI Diamond 530: "The Diamond 530 is the first of the TWSBI line that is expected. It is a piston filling pen and there are plans for a vacuum filing pen in the future. From what I have been able to glean from reading the TWSBI Blog and FPN the target introduction date for the vacuum filler looks to be sometime around March 2011."

lq Handcrafted Notebook - Cool Material: "With all the scribbling down of bands to check out, new beers to try, and High School classmates to find on Facebook, it’s pretty easy for the average guy to go through a ton of notebooks in a year."

Platinum - Kamakura Pens General Grant LE - Fountain Pen Network: "The Kamakura Pens General Grant LE is a work of art that begs to be used daily. It's based on the 3776 body, and is lighter than my Koi celluloid. I discovered it thanks to a post on FPN, and I managed to snag one of the few remaining."

BengKia's Cave: Noodler’s Flex – Clear Demonstrator FPen: "As promised, a review of the Noodler’s Flex pen. I got mine in the clear demonstrator version, which is pretty handy since this pen drinks ink like a fish and it’s easy for me to tell when i need to refill."

Review: J. Herbin Lie de Thé Fountain Pen Ink - The Pen Addict: "Not long ago I started exploring brown pen options in the post Brown Pen Battle. Now I add for consideration a fountain pen option: J. Herbin's Lie de Thé (Tea Brown) ink."

Scriblets: Not a Wet Noodle: "Liking the look and feeling encouraged by reviews and talk about the new Noodler’s Flex Pen, I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered one from Brian and Rachel at The Goulet Pen Company."

J. Herbin Orange Indien - Writing and Scribbling: "I have found that Orange Indien performs like most Herbin inks. The dry time is a little slow but that is about the only fault I can find in this ink. Orange Indien lays a nice line that is not overly wet but smooth and it flows well."

Notepad Review: Rhodia dotPad - Rants of The Archer: "Sometime in spring last year, Rhodia introduced a new addition to their line of notepads, and they called it the dotPad. dotPads are 'functional black stapled notepads with a dot grid.' Yes, the dotPad has dots – not lines, just dots – tiny, subtle purple dots spaced 5mm apart."

Dave's Mechanical Pencils: Ohto Auto Sharp Mechanical Pencil Review: "It’s a lightweight mostly plastic pencil. The styling and colour scheme are quite nice, although nothing outstanding. The body and the grip are triangular, although the front end of the grip does start to taper down and transition into round where the front tip screws in."

Additional links:
Photos Of A Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen(Circa 1967)
pencil talk - Steinbeck’s favorite pencils
The Bellmont Pen - The Fountain Pen Network
YouTube - How it's Made - Fountain Pens
Meta-Review: Behind the Curtain
Note Booker, Esq.: Do you match up pen and ink colors?
The write stuff: O'Fallon collector has more than 13,000 pens
A Farewell to Handwriting? - CBS News Video
Pocket Blonde: Pentel Tradio Pulaman Fountain Pen
Porsche Design strikes up new partnership with Pelikan
Dodo eyePad 100 pages notebook

Thursday Grab of Links ...

Architecture. (pic via Toxel)
Villa-K by Cell Space Architects
The Hospic Building / dans arhitekti
dtac House / Hassell
AD Classics: The Atheneum / Richard Meier & Partners
An Office for Hodgdon Powder Company
Floating House
Lujan House / Robert Gurney

Food.
Waiter, There's an Almond Joy in My Dessert
Battle for the Strongest Beer in the World
Ho Chiak: Le Chasseur: Talk of the town
5 Cheap and Easy Cuban Food Recipes

Style.
The Best of Made in the USA Style – Clothes, shoes, etc …
Steve McQueen Barbour Jacket
Looking Sharp While Traveling the World

Shoes / Boots.
First Look: New Florsheim Limited Wing Tip
Florsheim by Duckie Brown
John Lobb – Philip II in Chestnut Misty (LSW)

Photography.
The Weirdest Clouds that You’ll Ever See
The Frame: Mass prayer at Bangladesh Islamic peace gathering
Ivory Coast's election stalemate - The Big Picture
Protest spreads in the Middle East - The Big Picture

Travel.
View 161: Back from a Dream
7 Abandoned Breweries “Open” for Exploration
Around the World in 7 Lesser-Known Islands
The Tides Zihuatanejo on Cool Hunting
Mandarin Oriental Sanya Partnering Hainan RDV

Retro.
9 vintage x ray machines
Colonial Conscripts on Pink Oxford Cloth
Photo Essay – Destination Moon, 1950

Education.
You'll Stick With Your Crappy School, and You'll Like It

Ethanol.
Is Ethanol a Good Choice for Consumers?

Economics.
Vatican Bank Chief Recommends Austrian Economics
Here's The Shanghai 1990 vs. 2010 Picture That Everyone Is Talking About Today
The poor are not getting poorer - Philadelphia Inquirer
Interviewing Thomas Sowell On Basic Economics

History.
Abandoned WWII Bunker series by Jonathan Andrew

Watches.
A Survey of Double Pendulum Clocks ...
Eterna Chronograph Valjoux 72 - some photos
Stephen Forsey Explains The Greubel Forsey IP2 on Vimeo
Introducing The P-51 Limited Edition Chronograph: A Bremont With Some Real Aviation DNA
Wow Watch Wednesday: UR-110 Torpedo – Urwerk Strikes Again
Bremont Mustang P-51 Limited Edition chronograph
Kari Voutilainen comes with a new in-house movement calibre 28

Liberty / Govt.
Can Our Nation Be Saved? by Walter E. Williams
Newmark's Door: "Running the government on 8¢"
No U-Turns on the Road to Serfdom? by Justin Raimondo
Morning Links - The Agitator
The Incredibly Measly Savings Under The Spending Reduction Act
New Documents Detailing Pelosi's Use of Air Force Aircraft in 2010

Cars.
BaT Exclusive: 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Spring Special Coupe
BaT Exclusive: Turn-Key 1955 Porsche Speedster
Secret Agent Style: James Bond Lotus Evora

Real Estate.
Many Millions Wanted For Tiny Stretch of Millionaires Mile
Por La Mar, Estate of the Day

Art.
Rockwell Museum

Gadgets / Gear / Kit.
Schiit Lyr Headphone Amp
Jet Tent - Gear Patrol
Benchmade Mini-Griptilian Tanto Blade Folding Knife Review
Amber Bone Hobo Knife - Cool Material
10 Desk Toys for Design Junkies
Gear Girl: Best of Show at Winter Outdoor Retailer

Misc.
Raindrop Mini - Studio Bas van der Veer

Why Would Anyone Want A Waiver?

We've been told for a couple of years that ObamaCare is a wonderful thing. Given that, why would anyone want, much less need, a waiver to get out of it?! Particularly unions that were campaigning for Obama and ObamaCare from the beginning?

So much for the rule of law.

Three SEIU Locals--Including Chicago Chapter--Waived From Obamacare Requirement - CNSnews.com: "(CNSNews.com) – Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, have received temporary waivers from a provision in the Obamacare law. The three SEIU chapters include the Local 25 in Obama’s hometown of Chicago."

ObamaCare waivers jump from 222 to 729 covering 2.2 million employees - Hot Air: "Last year, the HHS website was very efficient posting a list of ObamaCare waivers that had been granted. Ususally by the 3rd of the month the list was updated to included waivers that had been approved in the previous month. But something happened in January. ... Well today, the day after the President’s State of the Union, the new waivers are up. You may recall that there were 222 such waivers approved in November. That number has now jumped to 729 through the end of December. The total number of people covered by the waivers has gone from 1.5M to just under 2.2M. The list includes the usual assortment of union locals and businesses."

Additional links:
Approved Applications for Waiver of the Annual Limits Requirements
The real snow job in D.C.: Obamacare waivers skyrocket to 729 4 states

Lincoln, Pelikan, and Bogus History

Lincoln, Pelikan, and Potentially Bogus History ... this story has it all. (pic via AP)

Historian Accused Of Tampering With Lincoln Pardon : NPR: "The National Archives says a longtime Abraham Lincoln researcher has been caught telling a big lie about Honest Abe. The Archives said Monday that historian Thomas P. Lowry, 78, of Woodbridge, Va., has acknowledged that he used a fountain pen with special ink to change the date on a presidential pardon issued by Lincoln to a military deserter, making it appear that Lowry had uncovered a document of historical significance."

‘A Criminal Intent To Rewrite History’ - LewRockwell.com Blog: "That’s how a spokesman for the National Archives describes the actions of archivist Thomas Lowry, who changed the date on a document that contained a pardon by Lincoln of an army deserter. Lowry admits it. The date was changed from 1864 to 1865 so that Lowry could claim that The Most Compassionate Man in World History pardoned a deserter as one of the very last things he did before he was assassinated. He was a compassionate little angel to the end, says the lying Lowry, author of Sexual Misbehavior During the Civil War. Lowry is also the author of the book, Don’t Shoot That Boy, which is a ridiculous piece of Lincoln idolatry that goes on and on about how super, super “compassionate” Lincoln was regarding deserters. This is the opposite of the truth. In reality, the Lincoln administration gruesomely executed hundreds, perhaps thousands of deserters, parading them in front of their fellow soldiers to be executed in the last two years of the war."

Additional links:
Book Review: Lincoln Unmasked
Book Review: The Real Lincoln
Book Review: ... Arguing the Case for Southern Secession
DiLorenzo on Napolitano and Lincoln
Tom DiLorenzo on Lincoln, US Authoritarianism and Manipulated History
King Lincoln Archive

A Peculiar Definition of "Investment"

I'm both amused and confused when I hear spending on government (née 'public') schools described as an "investment."

I think there are a few critical differences between spending on government schools and true investments. First, investments are not usually done with funding procured at the muzzle of a gun. Further, usually when the return on an investment is horrific, one will get out rather than double-down on the bad bet.

Let's take at the return on this investment to date for the last 40 years ... [click on pic to see full-size]


Obama State of the Union: spending, but restraint - Yahoo! News: "Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Tuesday morning the administration believes it can make targeted investments in such as education and infrastructure to create a business environment more conducive to job creation, while simultaneously backing budget cuts."

Additional links:
Are Public Schools Run For Unions, Or Students?
Biggest Understatement I Read Today ...
If Only The Schools Weren't So Under-Funded, Right?
All That's Wrong With Govt. Schools ...

Let's Talk Protectionism, Trade, and China

I'll concede that as recently as 3-4 years ago I still clung to the idea of "buy local" and "buy American" It just seemed to make sense, both logically and viscerally. But a little deeper consideration and analysis will make the errors of this thinking clear.

Some good reading below. Dr. Boudreaux's column is not to be missed. And I can not recommend this book (The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protection) strongly enough. Buy it, borrow it, get it at the library, but do read it.

This HuffPo piece is scary-ignorant, sadly.

Donald J. Boudreaux's Economics in Many Lessons: Ask the protectionist - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Protectionism is a disease that feeds on fear and ignorance. With an unusual amount of economic uncertainty sparking an unusual amount of economic fear, protectionist sentiments today are growing. Blatant protectionist pundits such as Lou Dobbs, and blatant protectionist politicians such as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), enjoy larger platforms than they had even just a few years ago. Protectionism's allure is understandable. 'If we make it harder for Americans to buy foreign-made goods,' alleges the protectionist, 'we increase the demand for American-made goods. With more goods being made in America, more Americans will find jobs. QED.' In this case, though, 'QED' should be read as standing for 'Quite Especially Dumb.' Every protectionist, before he or she attracts your allegiance, should answer the following questions ..."

Additional links:
The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protection
Open Letter to an Anonymous E-Mail Correspondent
Tariffs and Freedom - The Freeman
Book Review: The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity

Anatomy of a Top-Fuel Dragster

If you've never seen one of these in person, it's mind-blowing. Actually, I guess, it's mind-blowing even if you haven't seen it yet. ;-) (pic via PM)

Parts of a Top-Fuel Drag Racing Car - Popular Mechanics: "No other ground vehicle can out-accelerate a top-fuel dragster. The fastest class in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag-racing series, these cars can rocket to 300 mph in less than 4 seconds. ... Top-fuelers burn a mixture that's 90 percent nitromethane and 10 percent alcohol. Interestingly, a gallon of nitromethane, which costs $58 ... The 58 nozzles in the intake tract are always open, dumping about 5 gallons of fuel in a 4-second run. ... A top-fueler's exact horsepower is a mystery—there isn't a dynamometer that can handle one. Current estimates are in the 8000 neighborhood, and, no, we didn't mistakenly add a zero on the end. The basic layout is very similar to the 1964 Dodge Hemi 426 V8—16 pushrod-activated valves—but with two spark plugs for each cylinder and a total displacement of 500 cubic inches. The supercharger, which is just a belt-driven air pump that force-feeds the engine, is so massive that it takes 700 hp to run it."

People Flocking To Low-Tax States

Incentives matter.

Low-tax states attract budget-conscious Americans: (Reuters) - "Bob VanSickle was a lifelong New Jersey resident, but when he left after 52 years for what he calls "kinder, gentler" New Hampshire, he never looked back. It wasn't the warm fuzzies that won him over; it was the lower taxes on income, property and purchases. "This is great," he said, seven years later. "I'm still paying less now than I was when I left New Jersey." VanSickle estimates that he and his wife Anna save as much as $15,000 annually on taxes alone because they live in New Hampshire. "That's a year's tuition for my kid -- a lot of disposable income," he said. "After I tell my old friends in New Jersey, they are all planning on moving out of the state," he said."

Monday Grab Bag of Links ...

Architecture. (pic via AD)
JnK's Tiki Bar - Perth, Australia
Lake Austin Residence / Lake - Flato
Buisson Residence / Robert Gurney
Friday Five with Mini Moderns
Town House / Robert Gurney
Hawaii Preparatory Science Building
Charcoal House in Canada by Atelier rzlbd
Paagman Book Store by CUBE Architects
Broadford Farm Pavilion / Lake

Real Estate.
Lakeside Retreat Blends into Woods, Stands Out on Price

Cars.
50 years of Japanese Concept Cars
750hp Porsche Panamera Turbo by Edo Competition
Royal Enfield Classic 350 India

Watches.
JFK’s 1961 inaugural speech commemorated by OMEGA (more)
REVIEW: The Stefan Johansson Växjö Mark VIII E 033
Panerai wristwatch photo blog: Panerai SIHH 2011 photo report

Travel.
Top 25 Hotels in the World - TripAdvisor (& in the U.S.)
Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa
Travelogues of Burton Holmes
Out and About - Cruising the Caribbean - NYTimes.com
5 Tips to Discover the Caribbean’s True Flavor
Surprising Dublin - Travel Leisure

Style.
Tom Ford Editorial for CLIENT Magazine
A tweed of noble birth
Admiral Cod: Auberon Waugh in Tweed
Pinned vs. Clipped Collar: A Protracted Discourse
Short Sleeve Dress Shirt...A Protracted Discourse

Shoes / Boots.
ALDEN FOR BLACKBIRD: MILKMAN BOOT (more)

Retro.
Look Out! Soviet Bloody Posters!

Gadgets / Gear / Kit.
How Do You Block Annoying Text Message (SMS) Spam?
Buck / Strider knives ? Let's see yours !
Building A Better Nerf Gun
Coding Horror: Adventures in Rechargeable Batteries
Fenix TK35 VS Olight M3X

Food.
Scots attempt to overturn US ban on haggis - Telegraph
What Makes Sichuan Food China's Hottest Cuisine?
Tyler Riewer
Roll n’ Pour Jiggers Macallan Mooo
The dish I wish I had had at Lily and Bloom

Education.
Test-Taking Cements Knowledge Better Than Studying, Researchers Say - NYTimes.com

Art.
Illustrated anatomy of Gamera and foes
Where Museums Keep Their Hidden Treasures - WSJ.com

Liberty / Govt.
Obama officials caught deceiving about WikiLeaks - Glenn Greenwald
Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come for You (and They Are on Steroids)?
Petraeus Team: Taliban Made Us Wipe Village Out
Government pancakes for 'underserved' yuppies
America’s Most Bizarre Taxes

Photography.
42 Awesome Photos of Extreme Weather
almost monochrome III
The Frame: Epiphany 2011
Landslides in Brazil - The Big Picture
Tiny DSLR-Style Camera is Smaller Than its Charger
Amazing Pictures from Space: A Hero Comes Home
Samsung TL500 First Look

Cars.
Ralph Lauren’s Car Collection
Parallel World - A Walk on the Wild Side of Motorcyles

Computing.
61 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For
[Fake] Warning! Your system is infected!
24 Gigabytes of Memory Ought to be Enough for Anybody
How to Create a Portable Hackintosh on a USB Thumb Drive
How Can I Find Out If Someone’s Stealing My Wi-Fi?

Healthcare.
Larynx Transplant On Calif. Woman Successful : NPR

Apple.
The Secrets Hidden Inside Apple's Most Famous Icons

Misc.
Canadian Student Josh Le Goes More Than a Year Without Washing Jeans
Croc gulps phone, starts ringing - Yahoo! News
Ex-Spy, Duane R. Clarridge, Runs His Own Private C.I.A. - NYTimes.com

Fountain Pens & Writing Updates: Moleskine, Pilot, Tactical Pens, & More

A good way to start the week, enjoy the links. ;-) (pic via Wiki)

Moleskine Exchange: The Heat is On: "I really wanted to take a photo of Ginger and the book, so you can see how much she's grown in the past couple of month."

Pilot Demonstrator - Fountain Pen Network: "Having compared the pen with the pictures of the 78G from Hisnibs.com, they're exactly the same (the feed, the cap bands and all) but since I have not been able to find any official mention of this being the 78G Demonstrator, I'll just continue to call it the Pilot Demonstrator."

Drawing with a Squirrel: New Pens and Inks: "Just wanted to share the new pens I got for Christmas! A Lamy Vista, Pilot Prera, Kaweco Sport Ice (had this for a while, but it's in the photo for size comparison) and Kaweco Liliput. The Vista and Prera are from Jet Pens and the Kawecos I got at the University Bookstore in Seattle."

‘The Diary’ at the Morgan Library - Review - NYTimes.com: "The variety is dizzying. The diaries are written in bound volumes (like Sir Walter Scott’s) or relegated to a scratch pad (like an account of the 9/11 attacks by Steven Mona, a New York City police lieutenant). They are energetically scribbled (like Henry David Thoreau’s, written with pencils made by his family’s own company — a packet is on display) or crazily compressed into nearly microscopic print (like the fantastical reaction to a dark and stormy night by a young Charlotte Bronte."

Tale of a Vandal Whiteboard User - Peaceable Writer: "Opportunities to reduce my supply of things that get thrown away are golden ones. My initial return to fountain pens was simply to forgo disposable pens."

Pilot Fineliner – Black Ink - No Pen Intended: "Imagine, for a moment, our intrepid pen-reviewer out with a few pens (and friends) in a dim and hip little bar. As she approaches the bar for drink number …3?, one of the patrons catches her eye–or rather, she is drawn to what the patron is holding. A pen!"

Lamy 2000 Vs Pelikan M200 - Fountain Pen Network: "At last I did it, I am so happy. For the longest time I was dreaming to compare the 2 best pens for under 100$."

County Comm Embassy Pen Review - Cadget: "It’s not often we review non-tech items, the last such case being the Behance Action Pad. However, County Comm’s Embassy Pen is a fine exception to the rule. Combined with Fisher Space Pen ink technology, this is a dependable pen built for the most demanding conditions from the battlefield to the home office."

Visconti Homo Sapiens - Fountain Pen Network: "The Visconti Homo Sapiens was one of the most anticipated releases for 2010. A unique material (a lava and resin composite) and the palladium 23k nib, none of which have really been seen before in a modern fountain pen."

Whatever: Hand●Book Journal Company Square Journal: "I specifically purchased this 5.5" square journal for working on Zentangle® inspired art. See it's not a true Zentangle® unless it is on a 3.5" square tile. But I'm not one for coloring inside the lines so I tend to do my Zentangle® inspired art work in just about any sized journal."

Essential Gear: 10 Badass Tactical Pens - Gear Patrol: "Quite literally embodying the old adage that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” tactical pens are made for double-duty writing of grocery lists and as a last-ditch self-defense tool. Typically machined from solid metal and combined with pressurized ink cartridges, tactical pens are writing implements that take whatever abuse you could possibly throw at them."

reviews revisited: leuchtturm 1917 – ready to take off - lady dandelion: "It is around ten months since I reviewed the Leuchtturm 1917 for the first time (you find that review here). This is the smaller pocket size version – only difference is the size; all other features as the bigger one."

Review: Uni-Ball Signo 207 Micro Needle Tip - The Pen Addict: "I had only heard of this pen once previously. A Pen Addict reader mentioned some time after my Uni-Ball Signo 207 0.7mm Needle Tip review last year that they had a Micro Needle Tip, and thus my search began."

Additional links:
Ink Links - The Pen Addict
Writing and Scribbling
Montblanc Writers Edition Mark Twain Pen - Gear Patrol
Introducing the Pelikan M205 Duo Highlighter Fountain Pen
Scription: Something Huge about Moleskine's 2011 New Releases
Unposted: YOTFP - Bad Black Varsity
Staples Sustainable Earth Ruled Spiral Notebook
pencil talk - Handheld multisharpeners
Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen – Fine 03 Nib – Purple Ink and Green Ink
twsbi's posterous - Home
'skine.art - Moleskine Art

Wristwatch Updates: Reverso, Peter Speake-Marin, Montblanc, & More!

This new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon 39 just reeks of class. (pic via Perpetuelle)

Here's the full 2011 JLC line-up. I'd love to get my hands on this book. I'm blown away by this Urwerk. (more here)

Here's an interview of Peter Speake-Marin by Thierry Gasquez. (PDF, 1.2MB)

Do not miss Paul Boutros's full SiHH 2011 report! it's full of pics and an absolute modem destroyer!

I'm surprised at how great this Steinhart looks.

HD3 Slyde Watch: "A few month's ago I get a message from Jorg Hysek Jr. - son of the famous Jorg Hysek - who now runs Hysek's brand HD3. In excitement, he expressed to me how much I need to see the brand's new watch collection called 'Slyde.' Nothing more, just that."

SIHH: Bronzed and Beautiful - The Panerai 1950 3 Days Bronze - Hodinkee: "The limited edition (1,000 pieces) 1950 3-Days Bronze, or PAM 382 as Paneristi will call it, has the classic minimalist Panerai dial and handset inside a massive 47mm case that looks like it was pulled up from the bottom of the Mediterranean."

SIHH 2011 - An Impression So Far...: "Below, you’ll see an overview of what I think are the most interesting watches presented during the SIHH 2011 (till now). For your convenience, I categorized them per brand in alphabetical order."

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso: From Colonial Aristocracy To Amelia Earhart And Into Its 80th Year - TimeZone: "While traveling to colonial India in the late 1920s, De Trey took in a polo match with a group of friends. After the match, he met with a player who had heard of De Trey’s association with clock making. The unnamed player showed De Trey the battered wristwatch he had worn during the recent match – the crystal was shattered. The player pleaded with De Trey to create a wristwatch that could withstand the pressures of a professional polo match. The idea for the reversible wristwatch, one in which the crystal and dial may be removed from harm’s way without the use of any tools, was born."

TAG Heuer Carrera 1887: 2011 Update - Calibre 11: "There has been some confusion on the changes: why they happened and which markets would be getting which version. We asked Carrera designer Christoph Behling for his take on the changes when we spoke with him a few weeks ago and today we can bring you the view straight from TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin."

SIHH 2011: Montblanc : The Watch Lounge: "Of the top 10 sellers at Montblanc, nine of them are chronographs a truly staggering statistic. This would certainly account for why it is important for them to commemorate the invention of the chronograph 190 years ago."

PHOTO REPORT - Montblanc's New Releases at SIHH 2011: "2011 is the 190th anniversary of Nicolas Rieussec's introduction of the world's first chronograph timekeeper in 1821. Two of Montblanc's new introductions honor this anniversary, including the limited edition Rieussec chronographs and a highly complicated clock made in conjunction with Erwin Sattler."

Antique Pocket Watches Back in Vogue - NYTimes.com: "PARIS — Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. In the 19th century, European watchmakers, mostly Swiss, exported millions of watches and other mechanical luxury objects to Asia, finding wealthy buyers in China, the Ottoman Empire, Egypt and Iran."

Urwerk UR-110 Watch - Uncrate: "Good news fans of overly-complicated timepieces: the Urwerk UR-110 Watch ($TBA) might be the company's craziest yet."

Panerai PAM 372 Images, Production and Pricing - Perpetuelle: "Following-up my initial reveal on the new Panerai PAM 372 — here some beautiful images of the PAM 372 courtesy of Panerai. This watch is hands-down the Paneristi favorite of 2011, and while unfortunately it is too big for my wrist (47mm), I am a fan of the PAM 372, too."

Richard Mille: Bubba Watson Gets the RM038! - Perpetuelle: "I posted the new Richard Mille RM038 ultralight “golf” watch here on Monday, followed by some “who would get to wear it” musing on Twitter. Well, it turns out that Bubba Watson is the man. With a 32nd place finish on the 2010 PGA Tour, “Bubba who?” would be a fair question for you to ask."

Chinese Watches to Challenge Cheaper Swiss Brands, Parmigiani's Jacot Says - Bloomberg: "Chinese watchmakers will challenge producers of lower-priced Swiss watches because they can make components at prices Switzerland can’t match, the chief executive officer of luxury brand Parmigiani said."

SIHH 2011: Lange Söhne (Rhythm, Sound and Fine Tuning): "2011 will be a very important year for Lange. In 2010, Lange has been back on the right tracks with a new commercial dynamic and a big increase of the sales figures. The context is now much favourable to start a new area with the arrival of Mr Wilhelm Schmid as CEO of the brand." (much more)

The History of the Rolex Cosmograph part I : the pump pushers - Rolex: "The legend says that the Daytona fever started in Italy in 1985, when a magazine published on its cover the photo of G. Agnelli on his boat, wearing a classic 6263 with silver dial."

Additional links:
wintage watches
Orient 60th Anniversary - some photos
How Watchmakers such as Swatch Group and Richemont are Learning to Live With the Swissie
Buben & Zorweg Python V12 Watch Winder
Cool Retro Bulova diver
Roger Smith Improves the Daniels Co-Axial Escapement ...
Swiss Watchmakers: Time to Raise Prices - WSJ.com