A lot of folks think big cars are safer than small cars. Ever wondered what happens when one of these tiny Smart Cars crashes into a wall at 70mph? Have a look! Summary: It’s all about the engineering, not the size.
Archives for November 2007
November 26, 2007
How the Housing Bubble Worked
If you want to cut to the chase on the “sub-prime mortgage meltdown,” or whatever we’re calling it these days, tune into this post by Berkeley economist Brad DeLong: Let’s look at the loan history on this property…. The property was purchased in January 2005 for $1,157,000. The combined first and second mortgages totalled $1,156,730 […]
November 18, 2007
Quote for the Day
“It is by deferring mediocre actions and by being utterly intent on foreseeing the unforeseeable that we prepare ourselves for being thoroughly contradicted by happiness.” —Gaston Bachelard, The Dialectic of Duration, pg 63. The Unbroken Chain blogging fiesta didn’t materialize (deferring mediocre actions), but it was a rilly rilly great weekend. I met some fine […]
November 15, 2007
Free Guitar, But You Gotta Pass It On
While I’m attending the UMass Dead conference (warning, possible blogging fiesta), I hope to give away a virtually new Ovation Legend acoustic guitar. It’s a Handmeon, so whoever receives it has to promise to also give it away. If you’d like to own it for a while, register at Handmeon and bookmark the object, requesting […]
November 10, 2007
Handmeon in the Local Media
The Valley News published a great story about Handmeon today: “In tiny offices in Hanover, three men are trying to use the Internet to infuse with spirituality an activity that’s become increasingly fraught and expensive: gift giving. Their company’s quiet launch, built up over the past few months, coincides with the gift-giving season. “Handmeon will […]
November 6, 2007
Arrau’s Chopin
I am giving away a 7-disc set of Chopin’s piano works ($55) over at Handmeon, and in the process did some writing about the collection and how I’ve related to the work. I’m going to continue to post for a week or two, ruminating on the compositions, before I send it on its journey. If […]
November 6, 2007
On Obama
Andrew Sullivan has written a strong cover story for The Atlantic supporting Barack Obama. He describes how he came to this in a great interview. Combined, they provide pretty much everything you need to know about why I’m supporting Obama in the NH primary. Summary: Obama is a meta-candidate, attempting to re-frame not just the […]
November 6, 2007
Our Generation’s Enlightened Contribution
I am moved by this post, which relates an unfortunate incident on a train from New Haven CT to the dominant cultural narrative currently unfolding. [Grammatical ambiguity intended.] In 2002 and 2003 – seems so long ago, now, doesn’t it? – I remember thinking that the tone of America’s leadership would have a trickle-down effect […]
November 5, 2007
Except You
Bravo. Probably the most important factor in the next US Presidential election is getting young people to vote, no matter what. Maybe this campaign will help.