Category: Today’s Report

There’s been a lot of whining lately that President and Michelle Obama shouldn’t have gone to dinner and a play in New York the other day, and definitely shouldn’t have taken any time out of their European trip to do any sightseeing. Predictably, these complaints went nowhere. I’m pretty sure that  most folks could not…

So there’s this “Green Dog” company called Olive. They specialize in eco-friendly stuff for your hound. Well, they realized that it was dumb to pick up dog doo-doo in a plastic bag that will outlast all of us. So they came up with this. Cool, eh? On a somewhat related item, here’s some catfood I…

Atul Gawande‘s had quite a ride recently. First he wrote an article in the New Yorker that demonstrated how certain communities spent twice as much on health care as other similar communities but with no corresponding improvement in outcomes. (I linked to that article recently. It really is compelling.) Then his data got picked up…

At lunch today one of the guys ordered General Tso’s Chicken. This reminded of me of an article I’d read recently on how, in most of the world, ethnic food is pretty much the same dishes immigrants would have made back in the “old country”. But in the US, the ethnic foods change, sometimes significantly,…

An interesting linguistic cartogram from Strange Maps today. The most common language in Ireland is English. Then Gaelic. But what language do you think is third? Guess before you click though.

I was chatting with my wife about this great article I’d read about how to teach your kids to argue and she asked, “Can I just search your blog for the link?” Of course, I hadn’t blogged it. Obviously I have not been keeping up with my commitment to myself to post something here every…

There are several tabs in my browser that have been sitting out there waiting to be noted for a while. I think I saw most of them on Kottke, but at this point I’m not sure. If he didn’t post them, I’m sure it was just an oversight on his part! First of all there…

The Atlantic: What Makes Us Happy? Back in the late 30’s, the founder of the Grants dime store chain wondered why scientists and doctors studied sick people instead of studying healthy, well-adjusted people. He thought there would be far more to learn from someone who was successfully navigating life than from someone failing at it.…

Guinea Pig Coats. Or to make it clearer, coats for Guinea pigs.

LA Times: The Rigors of Life Unplugged. A teacher challenges her students to live without electronic gizmos for a week. Surprisingly, a lot of kids make it. It sounds like it was really tough for most of them, though. Salon: An interview with that Free Range Kids lady. I’m sure that most parents nod along…