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02 Oct 2010 14:19

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Politics: Another Washington Mall rally, this time thrown by the left

It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve had a rally. We think it’s time for another one. But, this time, let’s bring out all the disillusioned “Hope” and “Change” folks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Sep 2010 20:39

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Politics: Shepard Fairey: Obama didn’t turn out to be like the poster

  • There’s a lot of stuff completely out of Obama’s control or any of the Democrats’ control. But I think there’s something a little deeper in terms of the optimism of the younger voter that’s happening. They wanted somebody who was going to fight against the status quo, and I don’t think that Obama has done that.
  • “Hope” Poster creator Shepard Fairey • Admitting that Obama’s potential hasn’t been met in the nearly two years he’s been in office. While he still largely supports the president, he doesn’t feel that if in the same position today he would’ve drawn the “Hope” poster. Beyond the politics, maybe he’s just a little frustrated by the whole thing – see, he’s been embroiled in a pretty rough copyright infringement suit with the Associated Press for a while. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Aug 2010 20:13

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U.S.: Why did a federal judge rule against Obama’s stem cell policy?

  • what A federal judge granted an injunction against Obama’s carefully worded embryonic stem-cell policy, which largely reversed Bush’s controversial policy.
  • why The judge found that the policy allowed for the destruction of the stem cells, which is a no-no thanks to the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, a yearly budgetary rider. source
  • » An interesting wrinkle: The two researchers who filed the suit, while both being against embryonic stem cell research, didn’t do it for moral reasons. Instead, Dr. James Sherley and Theresa Deisher work with adult stem cells and were afraid that Obama’s new rules would cut into the funding for their work because of increased competition. In other words, they’re selfish.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 20:31

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Tech: Thanks to Google’s Eric Schmidt, our name is now Jim-Bob

Apparently Schmidt recently suggested that teen may have to change their names as adults to avoid getting nailed for the stupid crap they did. No words … source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2010 11:08

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Biz: “Chevy” goodbye: General Motors wants Chevrolet to break from past

  • Back in the day, Chevy and Chevrolet were one in the same. But that’s going to change soon. General Motors has started asking staffers to refer to Chevrolet by its full name. Why? They want to keep a consistent message. “Why is this consistency so important?,” a memo, released Tuesday, asks. “The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer.” But, uh, Chevy is already one of the most recognizable brands in the world. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jun 2010 13:42

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U.S.: With interracial marriages up, fewer black women are getting married

  • 22%of black men married outside their race in ’08
  • 1:60the ratio of black man/white woman marriages to all others in 2008
  • 1:1000the ratio of marriages like that when Obama’s parents married
  • » Why this is becoming an issue: Simply put, black women in the U.S. are finding it harder to marry within their race. The new study released Friday by the Pew Research Center finds that fewer black women are married as a result of a gradual decline in the number of black men to marry. Prof. Steven Ruggles, director of the Minnesota Population Center, explains: “When you add in the prison population, it pretty well explains the extraordinarily low marriage rates of black women.”  Other races are also more willing to look beyond their heritage to marry. Half of all Asians in the U.S., for example, don’t marry another Asian. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2010 11:06

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Tech: Wired Magazine’s new iPad app: Adobe had to re-work it

     

  • What the app has: A five-dollar price tag, an innovative approach, and a really cool design.
  • What the app doesn’t have: Flash. Adobe had to recode the entire app for Conde Nast after Apple changed their rules. Probably not cheap at all. But worth it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

18 May 2010 21:09

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Biz: The SEC wants to prevent another “flash crash”; here’s how

  • 10% the amount a stock can go down in a five-minute period before a circuit breaker goes off and pauses a stock
  • five the number of minutes that stock is halted; the “flash crash” was caused by inconsistent standards source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 10:35

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Tech: A quick criticism of Twitter’s new trending topic formula

  • A few days ago, Twitter changed its trending topic formula. In one sense, it’s really good, because it means that Justin Bieber isn’t just hogging the top spot for a month for no reason (thank God), but in a lot of ways it’s also less useful as a result. Why? Because there’s no filter. Something tells us that simply replacing an American pop star with “Bonamana,” the name of a South Korean boy band’s new album, was really what they intended. Our solution? Filter by country, guys. Thanks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:57

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U.S.: The new housing trend? Walkable neighborhoods, not suburbs

  • Ten years ago, conventional large-lot housing in wealthy suburbs was the highest-priced housing, per square foot, in nearly all metropolitan areas. Today, housing in walkable neighborhoods is typically the most expensive; the lines crossed in the 2000s.
  • The Atlantic writer Christopher B. Leinberger • Noting the evolution in housing from the suburb back to the city. As housing values have gone down significantly, cities have started to come out back on top again. In particular, Leinberger notes the example of the D.C. metro area: The Metro system largely paid for many of its stations by having property owners pay more in taxes for a handful of years, then watched as their neighborhoods flourished. As a result, housing values in those areas have decreased at a much lower rate than that of the suburban areas which used to cost more. This should be a major hint for even mid-sized cities that they should invest in mass transit. (Hat tip to The Awl, which focused on the auto end of this argument.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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