97% Walk Score

Well, even though my apartment is pretty loud, I get a good "Walk Score." What is a walk score, you ask? Well, according to the website:

What is Walk Score? We help homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. Walk Score shows you a map of what's nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

Sweet---97 out of 100 is pretty damn good. President Bush's Crawford Ranch, on the other hand, gets a zero.

Darwinism at Work

Sometimes I get a little annoyed at our "always-connected" culture. As a downtown dweller it's frustrating getting constantly cut off on the sidewalk by people lost in their cell conversations. But hey, according to the Seattle Times, maybe I shouldn't be so worried about it. Evolution's taking care of it!

Economic Emasculation

Well, fellow Americans, take notice: as of this morning, Mar. 15, 2008, our economy is no longer the biggest in the world, a position we have consistently held since the end of WWII. That distinction now belongs to the EU. I don't see this in many headlines, and there doesn't seem to be much discussion of it. Perhaps it's just too hard on the national pysche to deal with this---we Americans do always like to think we've got the biggest dicks.

Strangely, I actually feel that this is a good thing, at least for now. The low dollar (and high euro) is causing many European companies to consider opening new factories in working cities across America. Considering that we have been off-sourcing manufacturing for decades now, and our economy is over 75% services at this point, I think this could be a blessing in disguise. A nation that can't make anything is doomed to failure (see the rise and fall of the Roman Empire for more details...)

Congressional Science Injection

The US Congress got a badly-needed shot of rationality today as Democrat Bill Foster won the special election to replace retired speaker of the house Dennis Hastert. Leaving aside the fact that winning an election in a heavily Republican district bodes well for the fall, the thing that excites me most is Foster's 25-year record as a particle physicist and proponent of scientific research. In a legislative body full of dogmatic thinking and bully pulpits, even a single scientific and rationally-based member can go a long way. I didn't think Foster would win. The Repubs sunk a ton of cash into this race, and even got John McMaverick to campaign for Foster's opponent. The fact that the nerdy rational thinker pulled it out, in the district of the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, no less, is perhaps another sign that we're turning a corner on these long years of critical ignorance.

Wii Fit for US!

I've been waiting patiently for the US release of Wii Fit, which looks like a lot of fun. It's been out in Japan since December but doesn't come out in the US until May. Why the delay? Well, apparently so that Nintendo can make a bigger board. No comment necessary.