 |
| Two different color shoes? No matter how hard you click them together, you can't deny the dreadful fashionless moment here. |
Monday, January 17, 2011
DailyBrisk Awards Worst Dressed To Helena Bonham Carter ...From Paris
Benjamin Franklin's Most Enduring Inventions
Bifocals
Why switch between two pairs of glasses when you can just wear one? Ben Franklin invented bifocals with both a near lens and a far one after his vision started deteriorating in his late 60s, though correspondence between some of Franklin's contemporaries suggest he had conceived of the idea several decades earlier.
Lightning Rod
Ben Franklin didn't invent electricity, but in the course of his experiments with the force of nature he did invent the lightning rod. He speculated that a cloud's electricity, when nearing an iron rod sharpened to a point, would "be drawn out of a cloud silently, before it could come near enough to strike." Years later Tesla would prove that Franklin's design actually ionized the air surrounding the rod, rendering it conductive, but hey, still good on Franklin for getting the ball rolling with lightning prevention back in 1749.
Franklin Stove
Most 18th century homes were heated by fireplaces that were inefficient on many fronts. They used a lot of wood, lost a lot of heat, and posed the risk of sending sparks into mostly wood-built homes. Ben Franklin figured there was a better way, and there was: The Franklin Stove, also known as the "circulating stove" and the "Pennsylvania fireplace," had two distinguishing features: a hollow baffle and an inverted syphon flue that drove more heat into the room instead of losing it up through the chimney. Franklin's stove sold poorly—his cold flue cooled the smoke too quickly—but his design became the basis for many of stoves that followed it.
Map of the Gulf Stream
One of Franklin's many roles, at some point in his awesome life, was that of U.S. Deputy Post Master General, and at one point he received a complaint that letters sent from Europe to America took several weeks longer to arrive than ones sent from the New World to the Old. After consulting with a Nantucket whaling captain, Franklin made the first map of the Gulf Stream, a quick current of warm water running north from the West Indies and east across the Atlantic. His suggestions for British sea captains were summarily ignored for years, but when they did eventually factor the Gulf Stream into their routes they managed to shave up to two weeks off their transit times.
Odometer
The idea of measuring a distance travelled goes back to the Roman architect Vitruvius and is one that also was pursued by fellow polymath Leonardo Da Vinci, but Ben Franklin's simple odometer—invented to measure the milage travelled by his carriage during a five month Post Office inspection in his days as Post Master General—is the precursor to the modern automotive odometer. Franklin measured the circumference of his carriage wheel—13 and one-fifth feet—and designed a series of cogs that noted a distance of one mile after every 400 revolutions.
Moslem Cleric: Theft is ok.
Jihadists Promote Theft to
Fund Worldwide Activities
American-born radical cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki has used a magazine as platform to encourage followers to steal, embezzle and seize property — especially American-owned — to finance their war on the West
'Older White People' Are Bigots, Says NBC News’ Matthews
Chris Matthews Slams 'Older White People' for Still Having a 'Problem' With Obama
Appearing on MSNBC, Monday, to promote his new special on Barack Obama, Chris Matthews attacked "older white people" for still holding bigoted feelings against the first African American President.
He call and they obey.
Obama Summons Far-Left Journos To WH
From the NYPost: You don't know this, because few know this because it's secret because nobody wants anybody to know this because who knows why? A pack of wide open tonsils like Frank Rich, Arianna Huffington, Rachel Maddow were imported to the White House for a hear all, tell all, blab all q.t. meeting. It's been by deliberation unreported.
MSM is so in bed with the Dems
AP Caught Pumping Obamacare Poll
When the AP/GfK poll screened for likely voters a couple of weeks before the election, it estimated that 48 percent of voters leaned Republican and that 42 percent leaned Democratic (which the election showed to be about right). In its latest survey -- the one that serves as the basis for the AP story -- AP/GfK didn't screen for likely voters and didn't screen for registered voters. Instead, it merely surveyed 1,001 adults. The result? The percentage of Democratic-leaning respondents stayed the same (42 percent), but the percentage of Republican-leaning respondents dropped by 12 points, to 36 percent.
As one would expect -- with the same percentage of Democratic-leaning respondents having been surveyed both times -- the level of support for Obamacare remained essentially unchanged: 41 percent supported it previously; 40 percent support it now. Just as unsurprisingly, when the percentage of Republican-leaning respondents dropped by 12 points, the level of opposition to Obamacare dropped by 11 points (from 52 to 41 percent).
Why Canada is doomed
Kangaroo Court Grants Cash Reward to Militant Homosexuals for Alleged Name-Calling
Until recently, Canada was considered part of the free world. But then political correctness got completely out of control:
The Quebec Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a Montreal man to pay his gay neighbours $12,000 for allegedly subjecting them to "homophobic comments," death threats and invitations to fight, even though he was acquitted of the charges in a court of law nearly five years ago.
The tribunal ruled that Gordon Lusk, a married father of two, must pay the "moral and punitive" damages after his neighbours, Theo Wouters and Roger Thibault, accused him of addressing them as "faggots" during a June 2006, altercation.
Only George Orwell could have foreseen farcical "human rights" tribunals being used to grind the last of our fundamental liberties under the loafers of bureaucrats on behalf of powerful political factions like perpetually offended homosexuals.
The case against Mr. Lusk, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Canadian Forces, stems from an April 2004, incident in which Mr. Thibault is alleged to have driven recklessly down their street in the Montreal suburb of Pointe Claire while neighbourhood children, including Mr. Lusk's son, were playing road hockey.
A witness testified that Mr. Thibault had run a stop sign and driven at high speed toward one of the kids, nearly hitting the child.
Lieutenant colonels and their children don't count for much from the point of view of the liberal ruling class. Militant gays count for so much that a mere accusation of name-calling is a "human rights" violation.
I am coming to the opinion that the bravest Christians are those that live around Islam
Muslims Storm Iraqi Hospital, Shoot Christian Doctor Point-Blank in Head
Weasel Zippers
Baghdad (AsiaNews) - Another targeted attack against Christians in Iraq. On the afternoon of 15 January a group of unidentified criminals entered the Rabi'a hospital, a private clinic in the Sukar district in Mosul and shot a Christian doctor who worked there at point blank range. The gun had a silencer, and the doctor was fortunately only seriously wounded.
Mass Coverup
COVERUP? The Eurie Stamps Investigation Goes Into Lockdown. “Last week, Framingham, Massachusetts, District Court Judge Douglas Stoddart imposed a seal on the search warrants and return sheets for the raid in which police shot and killed 68-year-old Eurie Stamps. Stamps wasn’t a suspect in the drug raid, and he was unarmed when he was shot. . . . Leone also says the name of the police officer who shot Stamps won’t be released until after the investigation has been completed.” Why not? How can you possibly have a right of privacy when you’ve shot someone? No private citizen would receive this sort of protection.
Slow News day, so lets have a new weather cataclysm.
Scientists warn winter 'superstorm' could strike CA...
The ARkStorm Scenario...
The threat of a cataclysmic California storm has been dormant for the past 150 years. Geological Survey director Marcia K. McNutt told the New York Times that a 300-mile stretch of the Central Valley was inundated from 1861-62. The floods were so bad that the state capital had to be moved to San Francisco, and Governor Leland Stanford had to take a rowboat to his own inauguration, the report notes. Even larger storms happened in past centuries, over the dates 212, 440, 603, 1029, 1418, and 1605, according to geological evidence.
This was the Left’s Vice Presidential Candidate.
Grand Jury Closing in on John Edwards
AP File
A federal criminal investigation targeting John Edwards is examining how much the two-time presidential candidate knew about money used to cover up his extramarital affair and out-of-wedlock child and whether he had other practices that pushed the bounds of campaign finance laws, people involved in the case have told The Associated Press.
A federal grand jury meeting in Raleigh, N.C., is combing through records and testimony involving several political organizations and individuals connected to Edwards and trying to determine if the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee broke any laws.
Fruit and Vegetable Concentrate Decreases Number of Days With Severe Cold Symptoms
ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2011) — Researchers at Charité -- University Medicine Berlin were the first to show that a specific food supplement made from fruit and vegetable juice concentrates significantly reduced the number of days with severe cold symptoms. The report published in the British Journal of Nutrition sees the potential benefits of the product in a reduced number of sick days and correspondingly lower expenditure on cold medicines.
Researchers from the institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, in cooperation with more than 500 employees of the Charité, as test participants, carried out an 8-month study on the effects of the preparation "Juice Plus+" ®, from the US-American supplier NSA from Collierville, Tennessee. In a randomized double-blind study, half the subjects took the drug daily, while the other half received a placebo. After just two months the results showed: The number of colds in both groups was equal. However, in the group that received the drug, the colds were much milder. As a result, there was a decrease of moderate and severe cold symptoms of about 20 percent.
J-Lo Wears $5M Worth of Jewels to Golden Globes
Don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got -- so what ever happened to Jenny from the Block?
Jennifer Lopez, 41, wasn't afraid to pile on the bling when she showed up on the Golden Globes red carpet dripping in $5 million worth of Harry Wintson diamonds
2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe the "most affordable" M product ever offered
2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery
At $47,010 (including destination), the 2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe isn't exactly cheap. Still, Matthew Russell, BMW product and technology PR rep, says it's "the most affordable M BMW has ever sold, adjusting for inflation, including the original E30 M3." That car cost around $34,000 when it was introduced in 1988. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Russell is more than right: $34,000 in 1988 had the same buying power as $62,885 in 2010.
What causes Black Poverty?
Black poverty
Steinberg debates the late great Moynihan in Poor Reason - Culture still doesn’t explain poverty. Steinberg claims that the behavior of the black poor is a consequence of poverty, not a cause. But what about the white poor?
This is from Wiki (US poverty rates, as I understand it, are calculated prior to government or charitable monies, goods, or benefits):
21% of all children in the United States live in poverty, about 46% of African American children and 40% of Latino children live in poverty.[37]
What is unclear is why so many minorities live in poverty. The poverty rate is 9.9% for black married couples and only 30% of black children are born to married couples (see Marriage below). In 2007,11% of black women aged 30–44 without a high school diploma had a working spouse.[38]
The poverty rate for native born and naturalized whites is identical (9.6%). On the other hand, the poverty rate for naturalized blacks is 11.8% compared to 25.1% for native born blacks suggesting race alone does not explain income disparity.
Not all minorities have low incomes. Asian families have higher incomes than all other ethnic groups. For example, the 2005 median income of Asian families was $68,957 compared to the median income of white families of $59,124.[39] Asians, however, report discrimination occurrences more frequently than blacks. Specifically, 31% of Asians reported employment discrimination compared to 26% of blacks in 2005.
After reading Steinberg's essay, I am more convinced that Moynihan was right. There is substantial white poverty in the US too. Regardless of racial differences - Asian, black, Hispanic, white- I'd be willing to bet that poverty in the US can be understood mostly in terms of bad luck, character (including tendencies, interests, abilities, and personal inclinations), parental role models, or, most often, life choices.
Can’t have Secret Ballots
Obama Threatens to Sue Arizona Again…
AP
The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.
House GOP Gives Obama Ultimatum on Debt Ceiling
House Republicans demand that President Obama significantly cut government spending in exchange for Congress raising the national debt ceiling. The GOP blames Obama and the former Democratic Congress for the out-of-control government spending that led to the rapid increase in debt.
The United States now has a record-setting $14 trillion in debt, and will hit the current statutory debt limit of $14.3 trillion as early as March.
Wow
Ralph Lauren's Private Garage Is Like Classic Car Heaven
Did you know that fashion designer extraordinaire Ralph Lauren collects classic automobiles? That he owns "60 or so of the rarest, most valuable cars in the world" and drives them all himself? He does! This is where he keeps 'emBeautiful men, women are more likely to be smarter with high IQs, too: study
The study indicated attractive men have IQs that are 13.6 points above the average, while beautiful women are 11.4 points higher than average.
Since intelligent men are more inclined to achieve more success, they are "more likely to marry beautiful women," Kanazawa said. "Given that both intelligence and physical attractiveness are highly heritable, there should be a positive correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness in the children's generation."
The study included 52,000 people from both the United Kingdom and United States.
MSM was so wrong. It was Bush that made him angry. He was a truther. MSM totally forgot to be reporters.
From the NYT
“He became intrigued by antigovernment conspiracy theories, including that the Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by the government and that the country’s central banking system was enslaving its citizens. His anger would well up at the sight of President George W. Bush, or in discussing what he considered to be the nefarious designs of government. “
Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence From Apple
A memo from Steve Jobs was sent to all Apple employees today, stating that Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence so that the CEO can "focus on [his] health." Full details below.
Starbucks to Roll Out Biggest Drink Size Yet
LOS ANGELES -- Starbucks Corp will roll out its biggest drink size yet -- the 31-ounce "Trenta" -- in all of its U.S. coffee shops by May 3, the company said Sunday
The new size will be available only for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States. The Trenta is 7 ounces larger than Starbucks' "Venti" cup for iced drinks, which currently is its largest size on offer.
Drinks in the Trenta size will cost 50 cents more than similar Venti-sized iced drinks, the company said.
He must have forgotten about that Leftist Oswald in Dallas.
NPR: Shootings Just 'Didn't Happen When 63 Million Watched Walter Cronkite Every Night'
AP File
Long past the time when it was debunked that Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner might have been motivated by talk radio or TV, NPR was still entertaining the "vitriol" attack line, as anchor Scott Simon interviewed liberal St. Petersburg Times TV critic Eric Deggans on Saturday morning's Weekend Edition. Simon even bizarrely claimed that this kind of violence didn't happen when "63 million people watched Walter Cronkite every night."
Russian Immigrants Join GOP, Say Democrats Remind them of the Old Country
Many Russian immigrants to the "red borough" of Staten Island are flocking to the Republican Party, saying that the national Democrats' "socialistic" policies remind them too much of the top-down oligarchy they fled in their native land.
“Very Proud” Moslems
“Two Christian Women Were Beaten and Publicly Humiliated by an Angry Mob in Pakistan Over Apparently Frivolous Blasphemy Allegations”
“[S]ubsequently, the duo, along with the family, has gone in hiding over fears of being killed.” So reports Karachi News.Net, and adds:
According to the family, the blasphemy allegations stemmed from a dispute between a Muslim woman and her sister-in-law, who is a Christian, in an East Lahore locality.A day after the two got into an argument, the Muslim woman walked out onto the street and started shouting that her sister-in-law had abused the Holy Prophet (pbuh).
A short while later, a group of men forced their way into the house and started slapping the Christian woman, said another of her brothers.
“Other men and women from the neighbourhood started gathering at the house too and they beat up my sister and mother. They were the only people in the house,” he added.
A participant in the beating said that the women’s faces were blackened, and that they were made to wear necklaces of shoes and paraded around the locality on donkeys to humiliate them. The women denied blaspheming and repeatedly touched their feet, seeking mercy, he added.
A member of a religious organisation, with which Taseer’s assassin Malik Mumtaz Qadri is also associated, said he was very proud that his wife beat the Christian woman “more than anyone else[.]”
What the Libs have done
WHY THEY’D RATHER TALK ABOUT SARAH PALIN (CONT’D): Unemployment In The U.S. Is Actually Worse Than Pakistan. “The Eurozone is at similar levels to the US, but when most of the countries that have a higher unemployment rate than the US are collectively referred to as PIGS, it’s not very encouraging.”
Another reason to come to Texas
SHERIFF CHARGED IN TEXAS WHISTLEBLOWER-PERSECUTION CASE: “A state grand jury in Winkler County, Tex., has indicted the sheriff, the county attorney and a hospital administrator for their roles in orchestrating the prosecution of two whistle-blowing nurses after they had reported allegations of malpractice.”
Insight from Pakistan
ROSE PETALS FOR A KILLER: “My father, Salmaan Taseer,
This opens up a whole new world of “IQ” type testing.
Researchers Can Predict Your Video Game Aptitude by Imaging Your Brain
ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2011) — Researchers report that they can predict "with unprecedented accuracy" how well you will do on a complex task such as a strategic video game simply by analyzing activity in a specific region of your brain.
After having their brains imaged, participants spent 20 hours learning to play Space Fortress, a video game developed at the University of Illinois in which players try to destroy a fortress without losing their own ship to one of several potential hazards.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110113213058.htm
P.J. O'ROURKE
The Times Loses It
It was a weekend of great sorrow. On Saturday, January 8, an insane young man tried to kill Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, injuring her horribly. The man then fired his gun into a small political gathering, murdering a nine-year-old girl, a federal judge, a congressional staffer, and three of Giffords’s constituents. Thirteen other people were wounded. In the midst of life we are in death. There is, in this world, no making sense of such events.
Among the worldly, however, there is a temptation to make nonsense. Thus it was that on Sunday, January 9, the New York Times provided a further grief, much less important than the death and mutilation of innocents but shameful nonetheless.
The Times ran, as its second lead, above the fold on the front page, a story about the Tucson shootings headlined “Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics.” The article, by Carl Hulse and Kate Zernike, contains almost nothing newsworthy. Nor can it be called news analysis, beginning as it does with an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy: “The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords . . . set off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and violence in American politics.”
If self-fulfilling prophecies were wanted from reporters—and they are not—a better one would have been “Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Mental Health Policies.” The person in custody for the Tucson crimes is, according to all accounts, profoundly crazy. Read the rest at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/times-loses-it_533697.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
