URL shorteners are all the rage. Tinyurl, TR.IM, Bit.Ly, and the list goes on and one. But there’s a new player in this space—ShadyURL. Instead of shortening a URL, ShadyURL makes a URL “suspicious and frightening.” For example dr5.org is http://5z8.info/autoinstall_l8m1_how-to-stop-immigration-for-good.pdf.
What I love about Sarah Palin
February 20th, 2010 by Daniel 2 comments »My favorite thing about Sarah Palin is that her mere existence drives many lefties into braindead apoplexy. The latest example is that lefties are losing their minds when they learn that Palin’s grandson has received healthcare through the Indian Health Services and the Alaska Native Medical Center. They believe it is hypocrisy for Palin’s daughter to use government-provided services. I guess they think that Tripp Palin shouldn’t go to public school, or ever set foot on public lands, or use public roads…
Interesting video about the 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest
February 19th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »This video made reingnited my interest in Mt. Everest and mountaineering in general. Here’s the description:
Dr. Kenneth Kamler recalls his harrowing experience on a climb towards the summit of Mt. Everest in 1996 when a lethal 2-day storm kicked up. The event, documented by writer Jon Krakauer in his bestselling book Into Thin Air, would lead to the deaths of eight climbers and leave several others — including Kamler — stranded and fighting for their lives.
In this presentation, Kamler explores the effects of the disaster, the rescue, and the relentless drive of human survival.
Check it out.
Only 6% of Americans think the Stimulus bill created jobs
February 16th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »Wow! The Democrats really, really, really screwed up with the Stimulus bill last year. A New York Times/CBS poll found that just 6 percent of Americans believe that it created jobs.
I thought maybe the Dems were being strategic and structuring the stimulus so that money money would be spent this year, helping to heat up a warming economy and would therefore help them in the 2010 elections. But the stimulus hasn’t work to create real jobs or as P.R. to make people think it created jobs.
But I’m just shocked that ony 6% of Americans think that it created jobs. That tells you why the Democrats are struggling right now.
Did the Olympics help bankrupt Greece?
February 16th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »It appears that the 2004 Summer Games might have helped bankrupt Greece. Let’s hope the Canadians, and especially Whistler, B.C. haven’t overspent for these games.
Top Gear’s Scirocco ads
February 8th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »James and Jeremy set out to make an ad for the Scirocco TDI.
A perfect description of Paul Krugman
February 8th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »Some might conclude from this and other missives that I am critical of Professor Krugman. But this is not really so. I regard him as a national treasure of sorts. Nobody I can think of does a better job of exposing the sneering yet half-baked, the condescending yet ill-informed, the pedantic yet misguided, the professorial yet creepily unnerving, and the self-aggrandizing and deeply unappealing face of contemporary American progressivism than does the good Doktor Professor. It takes talent to inspire distrust that profound.
Pfizer’s Bad Political Bet
February 5th, 2010 by Daniel No comments »Kim Strassel has another good article in today’s WSJ:
The sight of ObamaCare on life support has many Democrats disappointed. It could be worse. They could be Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler.
The twin events of an Obama presidency and a financial crisis rattled corporate America. Public anger put companies on the defensive. A liberal president vowing to punish firms that didn’t aid his agenda got companies scared.
Fortune 500 execs could stand up for a free market that benefits consumers and shareholders, or hitch their cart to the new Democratic majority. Pfizer’s Mr. Kindler is a case study in the hitch-and-hope mentality—a CEO who became the motivating force behind Big Pharma’s $80 billion "deal" on reform, and industry support of ObamaCare. With that health agenda burning, the choice isn’t looking so grand.
…
Mr. Kindler surely believed Democrats would treat his industry gently. The strategy: The industry would pledge $80 billion to reform. In return it would get greater volume and a requirement that people buy brand-name drugs. Democrats would also fight against drug reimportation and forgo price controls.
No one pushed harder than Mr. Kindler. The CEO made no fewer than five trips to the White House last year. He was the man prodding Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America head Billy Tauzin every step. He wrote an op-ed with the SEIU’s Mr. Stern demanding reform. He pressed the industry’s $150 million ad campaign promoting ObamaCare, rolled out with liberal activist groups.
Critics warned the legislation would lead to a government takeover and price controls. They warned Democrats would take the money and double-cross them. None of it fazed the industry, right up until ObamaCare imploded.
Mr. Kindler and Co. are left with the ashes. Having got this far (with Big Pharma’s help), Democrats are more desperate than ever to pass "something." It won’t include any upside for drug companies. There is talk instead of "popular" stand-alone legislation, including reimportation, Medicare price controls, and slashing the industry’s 12-year exclusivity on biologics.
Big Pharma can’t count on former conservative protectors. Republicans were sympathetic to its decision to "sit at the table," but grew furious when it engaged in active advocacy of the Democratic agenda. One House Republican staffer predicts the next time drug companies "ask us to stand in front of the train," the answer will be: "Since you were so happy to work with Democrats, call them. Go on, go: Call Rahm [Emanuel]. Call [Henry] Waxman."
Public anger over ObamaCare doesn’t help the industry’s reputation. Many Americans now view drug companies in the same light as "crony capitalist" banks or energy firms that turn to government to bolster the temporary bottom line. Pfizer’s stock price has been decent (due mostly to Mr. Kindler’s business restructuring), but the industry faces threats from a slowdown in innovation.
Creator of Calvin and Hobbes gives his first interview in over 20 years
February 1st, 2010 by Daniel No comments »Bill Waterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, recent gave an interview to a reporter. It’s not much of an interview, but it shows how idiosyncratic Watterson is.
What I admire about Watterson is that he did everything on his own terms. He didn’t want his art to be made into toys and that’s why there never was any Calvin and Hobbes toys and he quit the cartoon because he wanted to quit while he was still good. There’s something to be admired about that.
