Mechanical Empathy

Results of the Storm

We had a major thunderstorm last night and unfortunately the high winds felled a tree in the backyard. Fortunately the tree didn't take anything with it when it fell. Ryan and his chainsaw have volunteered to handle the clean up. That should produce some rather interesting photos.

Although this half of the tree was alive when it fell, it looks like much of the structure at the base was rotten, which severely weakened the tree.

Audible Offers Free 9/11 Commission Audio

Audible is offering free downloads of the testimony given by many individuals including Clark, Albright, Rumsfeld, etc. to the 9/11 Commission. Simply add the desired segments to your cart, registration is required but there is no charge.

"The Risks We Choose to Ignore"

I ran accross a column by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times that I found quite interesting. I can't find a link online so I'm going to quote it in full.

"Imagine that terrorists were killing 115 Americans every day, said Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. The country would be apoplectic. Politicians would be rushing to do whatever was necessary to stem the carnage -- spend $100 billion, expand the federal bureacracy, declare war on whoever was responsible. Terrorists, of course, aren't killing that many Americans every day, but automobile crashes are. We pay no attention to auto accidents, because they kill people "in ones and twos" -- not in the spectacular numbers associated with bombings and suicide missions. As Transportation Secratary Norman Minnetta has said, if 115 people died every day in aviation crashes, "we wouldn't have a plane in the sky." A similar blindness envelops gun violence, which claims 26,00 lives a year, and food-borne illness, which kills 5,000. Terrorism, on the other hand, "claims virtually no U.S. lives" most years, and in our worst-ever year killed 3,000. Why, then is fighting terrorism our main - almost sole - national obsession? We'd save thousnads of lives "if we could just devote a bit more energy" to the other threats. Sweden recently made reducing auto fatalities a national priority, with eye opening results. By encouraging seat belt use, converting intersections to traffic circles, replacing rigid guardrails, and building cars that don't buckle in crashes, Sweden has reduced it's accident death rate to one of the lowest in the world. If the U.S. adopted similar measures, two Yale researches have concluded, it would spare 12,500 lives a year -- about 30 percent of the 43,000 who die on the roads each year. We can't ignore terrorism, of couse. But what a pity that in our terrorism-obsessed time, declaring war on highway carnage just doesn't sound "presidential.""

Kristof's logic is irrefutable. No doubt some American lives have been saved due to intervention prior to acts of terrorism which can be attributed to good intelligence and proactive government, but is our massive spending since 9/11 really justified? I think not. Let's start using our heads and making sure we are spending our tax dollars in places that have the most potential for saving and improving lives. We are more afraid, it seems, of being killed by terrorists than our morning commute, when in fact the extreme opposite is true. Irrational fears are just that - irrational, let's not be ruled by them.

Trippi Story Parallels Sorkin's West Wing

Aaron Swartz has an interesting (at least to West Wing afficiandos) analysis of the similarities between the Sorkin West Wing and the Howard Dean campaign. Donna, Toby, Josh and more can all be seen in the story of Joe Trippi's Wild Ride as told by GQ.

Radio Personality Fired Over Profanity

I am confounded by the hypocrisy in media censorship. KCRW radio personality Sandra Tsing Loh was fired for using a profane four-letter word on-air. Now, I don't know the specifics surrounding her termination, but it seems like a gross over-reaction to a relatively minor goof up. I am certainly biased because I like Loh. She has appeared with some frequency on This American Life and this story about her father is both poignant and amusing.

Why, you ask, is her termination hypocritical? Media have a set of keywords and images that are forbidden, but apparently euphemisms for the exact same ideas are perfectly acceptable. I am an occasional victim of Twin Cities drive-time commercial radio and sex is a regular topic. None of the callers or personalities ever say "s-e-x" mind you, I believe the term "Go Fish" is used instead. Could someone explain to me why it is okay to talk about sex, but not say the word? I don't know the context for Loh's profanity, but given her past work and that she was on Public Radio (not exactly known for its raunchy chatter), I'm guessing it was fitting to the story. I'm just tired of seeing double standards and watching the slow encroachment of an ill-defined, poorly implemented moralistic agenda. How is society bettered by the suppression of ideas?

Americans are Driving Faster

I'm embarrassed to say I read "The Week" magazine (imagine the Glamour Magazine of news rags), but they published this interesting snippet from USA Today, only a few pages away from the feature on the Bush twins' exploits:

When the road is wide open, Americans are driving faster than ever. Ten percent of motorists caught speeding are doing more than 90 mph, a study of 1.2 million speeding tickets reveals. That's up from 2 percent in 1991.

This statistic is likely understating reality, since it is common practice for law enforcement to "let you off" by citing a speed less than metered. I also am always frustrated by the lack of basic statistical information surrounding data like this. It would at least be nice to know the variance!

Proposed Minnesota Law Would Outlaw Autocross and Road Rally

An amendment to Statute 169.13 "Reckless or Careless Driving" chiefly authored by Mike McGinn (R), proposes additional language which could be interpreted by law enforcement as banning autocross racing and road rallying. The members of the MN Autox Club have contacted Senator McGinn regarding the bill and received a somewhat confusing response. Sen. McGinn has emphasized that the spirit of the amendment is to provide additional grounds for eliminating illegal street racing a la "The Fast and the Furious" and is in no way intended to forbid organized automotive competitions like AutoX and rally, in fact, he encouraged the club to support the legislation. The concern of the racing community, however, is that under the current language, such competition could be deemed illegal.

Worried about eVoting? Vote Absentee.

Activists in Maryland, where citizens do not have the option of requesting a paper ballot, are recommending voters use absentee ballots to ensure their votes are counted. Wired has extensive coverage of the various serious problems with eVoting machines in the US.

Muppets Sold to Disney!

The BBC reports that Jim Henson's family has sold the rights for Kermit, Miss Piggy and the entire Muppet family to Disney.

I thought only the dollar was devalued. . .

US High School diplomas are loosing value and often amount to "little more than a certificate of attendance," according to the American Diploma Project.