Google Wave Pulp Fiction
Megan McArdle points me to this amusing video about which Gizmodo's John Herrmann gushes, "I've read the articles, watched the instructional videos, and gotten an invite, but nothing—nothing—has done more to explain to me how this mind-melting Internet Thing works than Pulp Fiction, spectacularly adapted for Google Wave. (Warning: Tarantino language ahead)" It's an entertaining illustration but, frankly, not one that ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 17, 2009 10:56
UAW Negotiating with Itself
Mickey Kaus noted the other day that the UAW, which owns large stakes in both GM and Chrysler without paying a cent thanks to their support for the election of President Obama, is cutting their own companies a break and sticking it to Ford. I knew they'd find a way to punish Ford: The new UAW contract with Ford apparently does not give ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 16, 2009 10:07
Anti-Abortion Activist Murdered
A man carrying an anti-abortion sign was murdered this morning. A well-known anti-abortion activist was shot multiple times and killed Friday morning in front of a Michigan high school and another man was shot and killed just miles away in what police are investigating as related incidents. Michigan State Police have taken a suspect into custody but have not released the name ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 11, 2009 12:43
Lunatic Fringes That Aren’t So Fringe
Megan McArdle asserts that there are lunatic fringes on both sides of the aisle and her commenters go on to demonstrate the validity of that assertion. I would take some exception, though, to her contention that "Ohio voting machine conspiracists" were "not anything like the mainstream of the Democratic party." I call your attention the Rolling Stone cover story "Was the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 9, 2009 12:09
Wikipedia People Articles Now Moderated
Wikipedia is implementing a new policy requiring that changes to articles about living people be approved by moderators before going live, essentially abandoning the wiki model. The new feature, called “flagged revisions,” will require that an experienced volunteer editor for Wikipedia sign off on any change made by the public before it can go live. Until the change is approved — ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 25, 2009 09:09
Americans Getting Fatter, Living Longer
Luysii points to CDC data showing that American mortality rates are dropping year after year while we simultantaneously get fatter and fatter. S/he points to several possibilities: #1: More people are exercising than they used to. How many joggers and walkers did you see on the streets 20, 30 years ago? #2: Fewer people are smoking. Forget lung cancer (if you can). ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 21, 2009 14:54
Overstatement of the Day – Gay Rights Edition
Andrew Sullivan: The survival of my own marriage is entirely in the hands of the federal government. I have no right to stay in my own home with my own husband - just the government's permission until they choose to revoke it. Gays do not have core constitutional rights in America. They have no right even to a secure home. And ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 28, 2009 15:03
The Biggest Obstacle to Blogging
Megan McArdle reports that she has had a fourth bicycle stolen since moving to DC, all of them locked, all of them at her home, the most recent inside a stockade fence. In frustration, she observes, "I think I'm done with bike commuting. I'd rather just hand out $100 bills to random people on the street; at least I ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 21, 2009 13:47
Obama: No Pacemaker For You!
Via Megan McArdle, I see that President Obama told a woman whose now-105-year-old mother got a pacemaker five years ago that, under Obamacare, we might just give old ladies a pill: Megan observes, "I don't know that this is going to hurt the image of healthcare reform. But it probably isn't going to help." That was my reaction, too, until I ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 21, 2009 12:18
Moon Landing Plus 40 – One Last Step for Mankind?
Reflecting on the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, Megan McArdle wonders why the space program lost its momentum. Jim Henley reckons it's because "space travel is expensive, dangerous, unprofitable and (medically, biologically) kind of" problematic. I'm old enough to have been alive for the moon walk but too young to remember it. I admire the adventurism and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 20, 2009 12:43
McSuderman
Hearty congrats to the world's tallest female econoblogger and Reason's newest Koch fellow, who, I have it on good Twittority, are engaged to be married after dating slightly less than a year. Rumors that Peter was guilted into making an honest woman of Megan by Stacy McCain are completely unfounded. UPDATE: A picture speaks 1000 words: Confirmation from Suderman and McArdle.Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 4, 2009 07:41
Everyone Has a Plan Until they Get Hit
Megan McArdle, reporting from an annual gabfest in Aspen: The questions for [Austan] Goolsbee are much more hostile than they were last year. I don't know whether to attribute this to the economy, or the fact that the disadvantages of Obama's policies are now apparent. All policies sound better when they're in white paper, and Obama's rhetorical deftness made it particularly ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 2, 2009 06:59
Obama Approval Dropping as Hard Choices Made
As President Obama settles into his fifth month in office, his personal popularity remains high but his job approval is slipping drastically, according to a new NYT/CBS News poll. A substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which also found ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 18, 2009 09:26
Markets in Everything
Megan McArdle has two excellent posts this morning that, while seemingly unrelated, aren't. First, she wonders "Why Doesn't the Market Produce Non-Smoking Bars?" This seems like a market failure. You can explain it through preference asymmetry and the profitability of various customer classes: heavy drinkers are more likely to also be heavy smokers, and they are the most profitable customers. Bar ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 15, 2009 13:38
Chrysler Conspiracy: Dealership Closings Politically Motivated
There's been a meme circulating the Internets the last couple of days that the 789 Chrysler dealerships that were suddenly closed were (1) hand selected by Barack Obama's "car czar" and (2) overwhelmingly owned by Republican donors. Doug Ross, who dubs it "dealergate," seems to have been the chief initiator of the argument. He cites a Reuters report that "A lawyer ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 28, 2009 11:44
