KDDI au’s Musical Mobiles

KDDI au’s concept phones also work as instruments. A trumpet, a harmonica. Your imagination is the only limitation.

KDDI au Design Project 2008

AltaRock

This is sick.

You never thought crack rocks could be so profitable, or so positive for society (technically, using water to crack really hot rocks, underground).

Google, Paul Allen, others sink $26 million in geothermal startup

Hypocrisy on Georgia

This video comes from a far-left network, and is presented in a propaganda style, but it’s a good segment nonetheless because of the question it poses: Are John McCain and George W. Bush hypocrites for criticizing Russia’s incursion into Georgia when they fervently supported the much bloodier U.S. occupation of Iraq?

Veepstakes

Who is going to be each party’s presidential running-mate?

If Bloomberg becomes the VP of either party, I will vote for that party.

The odds put Joe Biden as Obama’s choice, and Mitt Romney as McCain’s.

I love the idea of either of them becoming the Veep, but I’d be crushed if some idiot like Mike Huckabee, Evan Bayh, or Hillary Clinton came into the picture for either side.

The only argument against Biden is that he’s not from the South (and neither is Obama). All Democrats who won the presidency in the last 45 years (correct me if I’m wrong) have come from the South. Because Obama hails from Chicago, he might want some Southern flavor on the ticket to deliver some of those states. John McCain will probably do well in the South, even without a Southern running mate.

Chinese Athletes

Reports indicate that sprinter/hurdler Liu Xiang was unable to run his heat because Chinese government officials had worked him so hard in order to get a medal that his body couldn’t handle the training, and he became injured.

Liu Xiang’s Olympic prospects ruined by China’s sports system, claims coach – The Telegraph

I strongly recommend you read this article about Yao Ming’s own oversized contribution to the Chinese, and its effects on his body/career. His career will end much earlier than it could have due to the way the Chinese national team has trained his body into the ground. He’s a patriot, and let the state have its way at the expense of his career. It’s very sad.

Yao has delivered, now it’s China’s turn – Yahoo! Sports

Bye-Bye Musharraf

I’m really happy that Pervez Musharraf has resigned.  Now if we can just get Robert Mugabe (and perhaps Hugo Chavez) to step down, we’d really be in for a treat!

Musharraf Resigns As President – Sky News

Poland Nuked?

This whole thing is really getting out of hand:

“Moscow lashed out at Washington and Warsaw on Friday, saying the plan to site a US anti-missile defence shield in Poland would undermine the global balance of power and put Poland at risk of nuclear attack.”

That kind of threat from Russia will only impede progress, and it only serves to alienate countries all over the world who side with Poland with regard its right to freely ally — and sign treaties with — other nations.

Missile shield accord draws Russian fire

Alternative Energy Expiring

Companies won’t invest in U.S. alternative-energy generation because the incentive system (of subsidies) is unpredictable (federal subsidies for solar expire December 31, 2008).

Congress needs to renew them, and, for whatever reason, hasn’t pushed it through.  It’s been voted on 8 times this year, and has been defeated all 8 times.  John McCain missed all 8 votes, including one occasion when he stayed in his senate office instead of voting for this important piece of energy policy.  Barack Obama failed to vote on July 30th, the 8th and final vote on the subsidies.  Each candidate should be ashamed of themselves.

The only positive thing that the candidates share on energy is that they’re for offshore drilling, and that doesn’t really matter, considering Congress adjourned without passing a bill on the subject.

Congress has failed us, and so have Messrs. McCain and Obama.

Eight Strikes and You’re Out – NYT

Whole Foods

Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) has been having a tough year.  Consumers have been hit by the economic downturn and high gas prices, and are scaling back their spending on top-shelf goods, such as those at Whole Foods.  In addition to the broader consumer ills, Whole Foods bought out its chief competitor (acquisitions rarely turn out well, in case you didn’t know), Wild Oats, and integrating their new purchase has been costly and full of unforeseen speedbumps.  Then, Whole Foods got hit by the E. coli bug recently, when they found out that one of their beef suppliers had switched up its processing plant without giving notice, which ended in Whole Foods’ beef being contaminated with E. coli, and a costly and embarrassing recall.

What does all of this bad news mean?  Potentially, it means a buying opportunity: Whole Foods stock is down fully 75% from its peak in early 2006.  The Motley Fool, a stock research service for retail investors that I happen to subscribe to, has noticed the stock’s precipitous fall as well, and is advising its subscribers to think about buying shares now.

Is Whole Foods a bargain?

Isaac Hayes

First it was Bernie Mac who bought the farm, and now I’ve read that Isaac Hayes just did the same.

Is it just me, or does it seem like there’s some homicidal maniac going around, murdering black entertainers?

Taiwan

Well, it’s just a name.

In deference to the People Republic of China, the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) calls Taiwan “TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA” instead of Taiwan’s preferred name, “Taiwan, Republic of China”. The PRC wants it to appear that Taiwan belongs to the PRC, when in reality, Taiwan is de facto independent, and has been for decades.

On the Beijing Olympics website, they’ve gone as far as calling them “Chinese Taipei” instead of Taiwan. What will they call Taiwan next?

Tip: Olympic Medal Count

Google has an Olympic Medal Count hack. Just type in the search term “medal count”, and Google will show you the top three countries, along with the amounts of gold, silver, and bronze medals, followed by their respective medal total. I took the URL of the search query and favorited it on my mobile phone, and it loads in a flash.

The US is first in the medal count, with 6 (2, 1, 3). China is tied with South Korea (both scoring 2, 1, 0). If your measure is by amount of gold medals, then all three countries are tied.

It would be really cool if somebody built a desktop widget, or similar for mobile phones, so as to display the medal count, updating automatically. Hopefully by the next Olympics, we’ll have it.

Google Medal Count

Bloomberg’s New ‘New Deal’

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is incensed with the federal and regulatory response to our current economic malaise, and has called for a new New Deal:

We have the opportunity to get the stimulus right this time – if we take a different approach: putting more Americans to work building the infrastructure that we need to compete in the global economy and to remain the world’s economic superpower.

It’s time for a new New Deal – one that invests more money, more wisely. It is as impossible to imagine America without FDR’s New Deal as it is to imagine the country without Eisenhower’s interstate highway system. Those massive public investments epitomized both the vision and courage that are desperately lacking in today’s Washington.

Candidates and elected officials listen to voters, but who talks about infrastructure? We must start talking – and start delivering a very simple message to our elected officials: Stop playing politics and start putting people to work building America’s future.

With rising (but still historically low) unemployment, such an infrastructure program could provide our country with valuable works that would pay dividends for decades.  We could improve transportation, spend a little public money on domestic alternative energy, or fix bridges and dams.  The crazy people over at LaRouche PAC have actually been making noise on this issue for a while; even before the specter of hurricane Katrina put infrastructure investments on the map again.  Larouche PAC, and the Army Corps of Engineers contend that the system of dams in the Ohio River Valley is dangerously under-maintained.  ”In 2004, nearly a quarter of the lock chambers on the Ohio River exceeded their 50-year design life,” stated a Corps press release.  The Upper Mississippi/Illinois Waterway installations—37 dams and locks on a 1,200 river-mile system—are even in worse shape than those of the Ohio.

In case you think inland waterways are just some minor issue that Congress can afford to forget about, the Army Corps of Engineers has some great stats on the goods that travel through Louisville’s McAlpine Locks:

56 million tons of commodities were shipped through McAlpine Locks in 2006.  These shipments had a combined value of $11.6 billion.  The leading commodity shipped through McAlpine Locks was coal, which made up 38% of the total tonnage.  

Considering how important these waterways are to our energy distribution (not to mention energy security), couldn’t our leaders invest some money in keeping the infrastructure working?

Mike Bloomberg has a point, but in an election year, will Americans listen to a man who is not on a Presidential ticket?

Mayor says to snap out of economic funk, U.S. needs new New Deal

Well Done, Barney Frank

Barney Frank (D – MA), someone who I rarely agree with, has taken a Libertarian stance on drug enforecement:

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank told the House on Wednesday that the U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users and introduced a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams.

“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business. I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”

I believe Congress should spend more time striking down over-reaching laws and less time creating new ones.

Who would have thought that a far-left leaning Congressman from the most liberal state in the union would support less regulation? Perhaps the majority of his liberal supporters also enjoy copious amounts of drugs?

I don’t use drugs myself, but I’m firmly against my tax dollars supporting the very costly criminal incarceration of hundreds of thousands of minor drug users.

Kudos, Mr. Frank.

Legislators aim to snuff out penalties for pot use