In light of the not so recent end of the George W. Bush administration, it is worth evaluating the value of a high IQ versus the ability to make rational, fact-based decisions. I found this article very enlightening: Clever fools: Why a high IQ doesn’t mean you’re smart It is something worth thinking about. — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : IQ, intelligence Del.icio.us : IQ, intelligence Zooomr : IQ, intelligence Flickr : IQ,...

This MSNBC.com headline certainly won’t help the feeling that many Americans have that the wealthy get taken care of and the rest are left to hang: Amid shortage, big NYC firms get swine vaccine Rules allow company docs to request vaccine, distribute to high-risk groups NEW YORK – Some of New York City’s largest employers – including Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and big universities – have started receiving doses of the much-in-demand swine flu vaccine for their...

The specific problems we face cannot be solved using the same patterns of thought that were used to create them. -Albert Einstein — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : Albert Einstein, quotes Del.icio.us : Albert Einstein, quotes Zooomr : Albert Einstein, quotes Flickr : Albert Einstein, quotes

Every time I think there are limits to stupidity, I discover there apparently are not. From CNN.com: Police received a call Friday night that two men with hooded sweatshirts and painted faces had tried to break into a man’s home in Carroll, Iowa. When police stopped a vehicle matching the caller’s description blocks away, they were stunned by the men’s disguises. There were no ski masks or stockings pulled over their heads; instead, Matthew Allan McNelly, 23, and Joey Lee Miller,...

The wages of sin are unreported. -Unknown — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : quotes Del.icio.us : quotes Zooomr : quotes Flickr : quotes

I ran across an interesting article about AT&T and Google Voice. I received an invitation to use Google Voice, and I find it very useful. It rings several phones when my Google Voice phone number is called, allowing me to give that number to a select few whom I want to be able to contact me anywhere. The article covers a dispute between AT&T and Google, and in involves the FCC. Regulation of the phone system isn’t straightforward in reconciling public good with private enterprise. Here...

In addition to being cool, this technology will help save lives in a difficult situation: U.S. Special Operations testing plasma knife in the field By Andrew Nusca | Oct 16, 2009 | The U.S. Special Operations Command is field-testing a plasma knife to help medics in the field save more soldiers’ lives. The plasma knife is intended to be used as a surgical tool that’s safer but as effective as a traditional steel scalpel. The knife’s blade is made of heated, ionized gas that can both incise...

There is an interesting article from the Science section of the New York Times that turns a now-cliche phrase on its head: The Non-Tragedy of the Commons — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

From Steven Taylor, who is not known as a fan of liberal causes: Look, I have already stated my incredulity at Obama winning the prize after so short a period of time on the world stage, but the fact of the matter is, it is actually in the national interest of the United States for its president to be liked and respected within the international system. I am not talking ponies and sunshine here, but simple facts-one of which is that diplomacy does matter and it is actually better to have one’s...

Nothing can so alienate a voter from the political system as backing a winning candidate. - Mark B. Cohen Some on the extreme left are disappointed with the performance of Presdent Barak Obama since his election and inaguration. He hasn’t pushed the radical changes they want. It was once a reality that after elections, when in office to serve ALL the people, politicians had to compromise, and the most rabid (who are also the most vocal) would cry “betrayal!!!”. Now, from one party...

From one of the weblogs at The New York Times: Showcase: In Microscopic Realm, Science Reveals Art One of the photos is from my area of work, a pattern formed by shrinkage of photoresist, used in making integrated circuits. There were many beautiful patterns I saw in microscopes during my time doing research and development. There are times I miss those hours of looking through microscope objectives or staring at the CRT of a secondary electron microscope. There is beauty everywhere, but we must...

There is some strong language at the link, so don’t click if you’re easily offended, but sometimes you wonder “What the hell were they thinking???” An Obama sock monkey toy, who thought that was a good idea? Cracked.com: 7 Hilariously Failed Attempts at Politically Correct Toys — UPDATE: Now Time Magazine is getting in the act: Top 10 dubious toys — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Physicists have produced element 114, which was thought might be relatively stable among the super-heavy elements, but it turns out that it was not. On to 120… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Once, long ago, the universe seemed to make sense to me, even if some people in it didn’t make sense. Now, nothing seems rational or sensible any more, and something written for a satire seems to be the best description: There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened....

This is a day late since International Talk Like a Pirate Day was yesterday, but it’s worth putting up anyway. When I lived in France I visited Lyon and ran across this restaurant, the Resto Pirate, which offers “wild food”: A little bit of silliness is good for the soul… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day Del.icio.us : International Talk Like a Pirate Day,...

I guess if you’re James Bond it does: Melting Ice Caps Expose Hundreds Of Secret Arctic Lairs — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : humor Del.icio.us : humor Zooomr : humor Flickr : humor

I know I just posted about some whimsy associated with space, but you know, we need more of this: Out of this world: British teddy bears strapped to helium weather balloon reach the edge of space It may sound silly or inconsequential, but as someone I once knew said to me, “It’s the small things, Jack, the small things add up to a lot more than the big things in the end.” — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : science, space, teddy...

From the NASA Image of the Day gallery: The Return of Buzz Lightyear Disney’s space ranger Buzz Lightyear returned from space on Sept. 11, aboard space shuttle Discovery’s STS-128 mission after 15 months aboard the International Space Station. His time on the orbiting laboratory will celebrated in a ticker-tape parade together with his space station crewmates and former Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin on Oct. 2, at Walt Disney World in Florida. While on the space station, Buzz supported...

I found this headline interesting, in the context of I do NOT recall ever seeing the like during the eight years of the administration of President George W. Bush: White House To Meet With Anti-Abortion Activists Next Week Did President George W. Bush ever meet with people who were in vocally public opposition to the policies and positions of his political base? I do not recall any… It is the responsibility of we citizens to compare and contrast. — Cross-posted between Random Fate and...

People who read “hard sci-fi” or who paid attention in their basic Physics class (assuming they were even required to take one, sigh…) are aware of the concept of magentic monopoles. If they exist, they would be similar in behavior to the proton and electron, the electric monopoles for positive and negative charge respectively. In other words, there would be a “north pole” particle and “south pole” particle if one used the strict definition of “monopole”...

Rogue proteins spread prion diseases all by themselves — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. —

Regarding Senator Joseph McCarthy: His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind . . . We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. -Edward R. Murrow Does that sound familiar at all, despite describing actions and circumstances of half a century ago? Now, dissent and...

In these days where the word Nazi is being used as a political tool to describe “offenses” that don’t even come close to approaching the crimes committed, and when idiot Americans are offering the “Heil Hitler” salute to an elderly Jewish man who disagrees with their politics, we need to remember history. World War II didn’t start with the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, but it was a turning point. The crimes against humanity executed by the Nazis of...

The view of the smoke from the Station Fire in California from a NASA satellite: Smoke from Station Fire Blankets Southern California — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice.

America doesn’t revolve around any one group of people, and no one racial or ethnic group exclusively defines what it means to be an American. I wholeheartedly believe that. We all contribute. -2morrowKnight — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : quotes, race Del.icio.us : quotes, race Zooomr : quotes, race Flickr : quotes, race