Month: May 2008

Thought for the day–on taxation

Catching up on some blog reading, and came across this from the QandO Blog[*1] , a link to an Arnold Kling post[*2] :

Message to Republicans: if you cut spending on “worthy causes” to zero, you still would not balance the budget. You will have to raise personal income taxes.

Message to Democrats: if you increased personal income tax receipts by 25 percent (a ginormous tax increase), you still would not balance the budget. You will have to cut back on “worthy causes.”

Message to the AARP: if Social Security and Medicare continue to be “untouchable,” then y’all had better buy guns, because in twenty years there won’t be any money left to pay for national defense, much less for any “worthy causes.”

Ditto that from me.  Bigtime.

Bussard fusion aka “Polywell”

I’m watching out of the corner of my eye developments in a form of fusion energy pioneered by the late Robert Bussard[*1] .

The Next Big Future[*2] blog talkis about some of the latest developments in the Polywell fusion reactor.  It quotes an MSNBC blog article[*3] :

Currently, the most promising path toward electrostatic fusion runs through Santa Fe, N.M., where a team at EMC2 Fusion Development Corp.[*4] is currently trying to validate Bussard’s results. The team’s leader, Richard Nebel, told me this week that it’s still too early to gauge how promising the Bussard fusion device could be.

“We’re getting high-power plasma,” he said. “We don’t have answers … [but] we’re far enough along that we know we’re going to get answers.”

Radio with MP3 player

If this thing does digital radio (aka “HD radio”) especially on shortwave, I’d definitely be in love:

Gizmodo link[*1]

Gizmodo picture:

Update:  Glory be, it DOES do digital AM, FM, and shortwave, so says the Hammacher Schlemmer[*2] page.  I may need to get me one of these . . .

Update II:  Here’s the manufacturer’s page–Kaito[*3] .

NCAA Women’s Final Four 2008 (3 of 3)

Here’s some pictures from our annual trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four basketball tournament, this year in Tampa, Florida, in three posts.  Post three is Championship Tuesday:

Gearing up for the Championship Game
No pictures, please, says Jean
A penguin. We don’t know why.
Drinks, anyone? The pre-game party outside the arena
Tom and the Girls
It’s a final–the Volunteers are champs again
Pat and the Lady Vols, 2008 NCAA Champs!

NCAA Women’s Final Four 2008 (2 of 3)

Here’s some pictures from our annual trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four basketball tournament, this year in Tampa, Florida, in three posts.  Post two runs through the semi-final games: The KC Volunteers:

Pam and Jean
Kathy
Margaret

Snookums complains that I don’t take enough pictures of the two of us together. This particular series of photo posts won’t help matters. Sorry, dear!

Snookums and Jean chat up the General
Everybody Orange Up for the semifinal
Inside the St. Pete Times Forum
Vol alumnae teammates (and hubbies)

NCAA Women’s Final Four 2008 (1 of 3)

Here’s some pictures from our annual trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four basketball tournament, this year in Tampa, Florida, in three posts.  Post one occurs before the games begin:

Dinner outside at Harborside, watching a Florida thunderstorm go by
At the Columbia Restaurant with the National Championship trophy
Columbia Restaurant flamenco dancers, as seen on ESPN
ESPN crew, at the back of the Columbia Restaurant
Hoop City, here we come