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Ideas to Save the World - Cheap bed nets
I've been thinking for a while about how to combine the consulting/operations/business knowledge I've gained with the desire to travel and to help people solve problems. I've become fascinated by creative people who are using their abilities to find smart answers in developing countries. I'm reading up on companies like the Acumen Fund, Root ( Read more... ) -
Rock on, Obama
THIS is the kind of stuff we've been waiting for!
Making the process of suing over inequitable pay a bit more sane (the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act)
www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/29/obama.fair.pay/index.html
List of Obama's executive orders (you should bookmark this):
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/2009-obama. ( Read more... ) -
Google is putting entire runs of magazines online
Man, I love living in the future. In the last couple of weeks, Google has quietly released entire runs of some magazines on Google Book Search. What do I mean by the "entire run"? Well, take Popular Science as an example. Google has scanned in every page of every issue of Popular Science, since 1870, and put them all online.
All of them.
Every ( Read more... ) -
To bail out or not to bail out?
The Question: Bailout or no bailout?
Postulate 1: It's not auto sales that's the problem
I heard a quote the other day from senator Tom Coburn, one of the Republicans filibustering the auto bailout plan:
"In 2007, GM sold 9.37 million cars worldwide. Toyota, that same year, sold 9.37 million cars worldwide. GM lost 38.7 billion. Toyota made 17.7 ( Read more... ) -
Good job SC!
In case you missed it, The State Newspaper reports (by way of AP, by way of the NBPTS) that South Carolina was fourth in the country in the number of new national board certified teachers added in 2008:
"States with the highest number of teachers achieving National Board Certification in 2008 were: Florida (1,826), North Carolina (1,453), Washington ( Read more... ) -
Iron and Whine
Last Thursday night, wahya_goingback and I drove up to the Orange Peel in Asheville to see Iron and Wine. I've had a good run of concerts these last few months - Wilco, Bon Iver, Flogging Molly, and now Iron and Wine, certainly near the top of the Must See List for both of us. We wound our way up into the almost-bare mountains of North Carolina, taking turns dj- ( Read more... ) -
People You May Not Have Known Were Badass: Sir Thomas Malory
I'm starting a new series of blog posts. Occasionally I run across people (historical figures, typically) who are badass. These people are the rightful subjects of our awe/adulation, and someone should spread the word, lest they be missed or forgotten. So, without further adieu, installment 1 of
People You May Not Have Known Were Badass: Sir ( Read more... ) -
The Obama era begins
Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama. Regardless of how the next few years go, he has inspired people and broken a glass ceiling that should have been broken long ago. We should always support the office of the president, and I wish Obama the best as we head into some challenging times.
Having said that, I want to bookmark for future ( Read more... ) -
New improv games!
Last week, the Art Bar Players got together for our usual Monday night practice, but we brought new games with us. I'd been watching the UK "Whose Line...", and Andy had been trolling the tubes for new stuff, and then before we knew it, basically everybody had brought in a sheet with new ideas. Now it looks like we may try to work in a couple of ( Read more... ) -
Political frustrations
This may be a bit of a rant; thanks for putting up with me.
First: Obama/Biden will win. This is now clear beyond any real doubt, unless we see a very widespread incidence of the "young people don't vote phenomenon".
I think an Obama win is a good thing for the following reasons:
1. Obama is black. I'm excited about having a black president. One glass ( Read more... )