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Makhtesh Ramon

A massive, heart-shaped, wind-carved crater in the middle of the Israeli desert

Makhtesh Ramon is the largest of Israel’s bizarre geological formations called makhteshim (literally, “craters”).
Thought for many years to be an impact crater, the result of a meteor colliding with the deserts of southern Israel, geologists began noticing inconsistencies between the makhtesh and normal crater formations. After a long and trying investigation, the culprit was revealed: erosion.
Thousands of years ago, the deserts of southern Israel were at the bottom of a vast, primordial sea. As it dried, the hard outer crust of the sea bottom began to wear away, exposing its soft interior. This interior eroded quickly until the tough crust collapsed, creating the crater-like valley we see today. Since then, two seasonal rivers, Nahal Ramon and Nahal Ardon, have formed every rainy season, further carving away at the rock and giving Ramon its distinctive heart shape.

oday, Makhtesh Ramon, at 40 km long and 2-10 km wide, has been made into Israel’s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve. Expeditions can be launched from the valley’s only town, Mitzpe Ramon (“Ramon Observation Point”), on the northern rim, although visitors should be mindful to stay out of the incredible mid-day heat.
At night, hikers should take advantage of one of the many hotels established by local Bedouin herders, where visitors can sleep in hand-woven tents while enjoying world-renowned Bedouin black coffee and the cool desert air. Staying at least one night is a must – far from the city lights, the stars in Makhtesh Ramon has been said to be so brilliant that they can “restore your faith in God.”
Other must-sees include Giv’at Ga’ash, a pitch-black former volcano arising from the crater floor, a few scattered Roman ruins after which the makhtesh was named (Roman, Ramon), and Wadi Nikarot (“Grotto Riverbed”), a dry riverbed flanked by spectacular cave formations dug out by the fast-moving rivers of spring. But hike at your own risk – flash floods have been known to kill inattentive walkers.

Read more about Makhtesh Ramon on Atlas Obscura…

Category: Geological Oddities
Location:
Edited by: gabeschwartz, Dylan

With the Apple Event less than a day away, there’s no shortage of speculation and wish lists for iPhone OS 4, but what about less optimistic lists? For the jaded Apple fan, there’s no reason to wait until tomorrow to start bitterly complaining about what should have been in iPhone OS today.

Not that most Apple fans will be complaining, but expect the continued lack of Flash to be widely reported tomorrow. Some complain that HTML5 lacks the tools that Flash has, and that’s true. Too bad.

For the rest of us, there will be far more annoying features missing in iPhone OS 4. Here are ten of them.

1. Wireless Syncing: Perhaps Apple has usage data showing most people charge their devices by plugging them into computers, that wireless syncing is the kind of “complexity” Apple eschews, or maybe it’s greed. After all, MobileMe is Apple’s wireless syncing option at $99 a year.
2. Tethering: It’s been promised in one form or another for years, but we will never see iPhone tethering in the US. The last chance for that died with the 3G iPad. Both Apple and AT&T would rather have consumers buy a new device and plan than have tethering as an iPhone add-on.
3. Mobile Finder: Considering the moribund state of the Finder in OS X, don’t expect a file management initiative on casual computing devices. For good or ill, mostly ill, iTunes is the new Finder for mobile devices.
4. iPad User Accounts: Clearly, Apple does not care about traditional families, because after monetary problems I believe the lack of user accounts for the iPad will be the single greatest cause of divorce in 2010. Unfortunately, every user account on an iPad is potentially one less iPad sold, so forget it.
5. Unlocked Bluetooth: Sad to say, but Apple letting the iPad use any Bluetooth keyboard is good news. The iPhone and the iPod touch can’t even do that, just headphones, and Apple isn’t going to relinquish control now.
6. Custom Lockscreen: After three years of seeing the time and date, it’s hard to imagine Apple allowing users the ability to see e-mail or text messages, or the weather, or news headlines without at least swiping first. Of course, we are allowed iPod controls, so we should probably be grateful for that.
7. Apple Todo App: Even if you pay for MobileMe to wirelessly sync you personal information, you won’t be getting your tasks from iCal. Again, after three years, it’s hard to imagine that changing.
8. Apple Notes Redesign: Instead of a text editing tool like WriteRoom, we get cartoon icons on a yellow paper background and Marker Felt font. Obviously, Steve Jobs does not use Notes.
9. Delete Default Apps: It’s a small thing, but why not allow the removal of the default weather app, or stock app, or the horror that is Notes? Who knows, but after three years, not happening.
10. iPhone OS Moniker: Why not call OS X “iMac OS” or “MacBook OS”? Because it would be stupid, just like iPhone OS for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is stupid. How about iOS, or OS X Mobile, or OS Touch? Looking at the invitations for the iPhone OS 4 preview, that’s not going to happen, but it should.

That’s my bullet list of bile for what not to expect in iPhone OS 4. How about yours?

Last night I dreamt I was cutting up the asphalt on a battered black sport bike. It’s been a while since I rode, and the last time I did I wiped out—slid a rented Honda across the Chiang Mai ring road with my fiancée on back. We were okay, just shaken up. That experience, along with the birth of my son almost two years ago, made motorcycles strictly forbidden at my house. Still, motorcycles are like nicotine: You never get over them. So I cruise sites like The Kneeslider and dream. The McDeeb Royal Enfield Specials have been popping up over there for the past few weeks and they’re spectacular.

McDeeb was founded by Fabrizio “McDeeb” Di Bella, an Italian with an obsession with British bikes. He opened up his shop, Classic Farm Motorcycles, in the mountains of the Camonica Valley 12 years ago. Today he imports and modifies Royal Enfield bikes and sells performance parts. Royal Enfield bikes are as basic as they come; air-cooled 500cc single cylinder mills in steel frames. Di Bella makes them look fantastic with cosmetic tweaks and gives them some extra go with a 612cc performance kit. The custom bikes aren’t cheap, between 10,000 and 15,000 Euros. And, unfortunately, they aren’t available in the states. But you can pick up an Enfield and order some McDeeb parts for it.

Source: The Kneeslider

ABC and producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are scaling back the size of their renovations in the wake of defaulted mortgages and shattered dreams for dozens of disadvantaged families who have appeared on the show.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journalth published a report about beneficiaries of the show defaulting on their mortgages. Many families quickly find out that owning a giant home with a merry-go-round, bowling alley, and shark tank isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. After all, who’s going to front those hefty property taxes, the sky-high utility bills and lawns as larges at football fields don’t just mow themselves.

Some homeowners have tapped the equity of their super-sized homes only to fall behind on the higher mortgage payments, The Journal says. The disappointing turn of events has forced series producers to take notice of this glaring sign of the times by adjusting the way they rebuild homes. ABC will now scale back the redesigns to give families a more modest makeover that will be more cost-efficient for homeowners in the long run.

“The show’s producers say they are aware of the problem and are making changes appropriate to current economic reality: downsizing….”

Right before the iPad came out, Apple added an “iPad Ready” section to its site, bragging about all the major sites that would run seamlessly without flash on the device. The problem? Some of those sites are anything but. Sure, the front pages of all those sites work just fine. But try going in-depth on MLB.com and what do you find? A message that says “click here to learn how to get video highlights on the iPad” in every video window. And it links to the $15 MLB iPad app. That’s not quite iPad ready, I don’t think. More »

Rugged PS300 pressure sensors provide high precision and applicability based on open standards

Turck has introduced a new line of pressure sensors with integrated evaluation units. The rugged, IP69K rated PS300 sensors provide a wide measuring range from -1 to 600 bar, and are perfectly suited for hydraulic applications – even in harsh environments. Measuring signals are directly processed on the PS300’s newly developed high-build pressure measuring cell and digitally transferred to the fully encapsulated evaluation unit. This design offers a high level of EMC resistance and an excellent switch point accuracy of 0.5 percent of the full scale.
The PS300 sensors are available in G1/4“ female thread versions, or in male/female 1/4“-NPT or R1/4“ versions with digital or analog (voltage or current) outputs for all measuring ranges. Bonded seals ensure a reliable process connection. The new pressure sensors support the I/O-Link communications standard, and the VDMA menu structure is available upon request.

Since different applications and machines require different kind of feedback systems, the Swedish encoder manufacturer Leine & Linde proudly announce a new series of programmable encoders with SSI interface.

The programmable SSI encoders are the natural choice for customers in need of an encoder which easily can be adapted to suit different types of machines. Due to the encoders programability functions such as scaling of the resolution, change of data format and counting direction imply that one uniqe encoder can be used in a vast variety of applications. Programability brings cost savings for the machine builders thanks to the reduction of encoder variants.

Installation has never been easier
Once an absolute encoder is about to be installed on a machine, it usually needs to synchronize its zero-position with respect to some known physical position of the machine. On the programmable SSI encoders can this “preset command” easily be set via dedicated wires. Optionally can the preset command also be set by a hardware push button directly located at the encoder, simplifying the commissioning of the device.

No special tools required for the programming
Programming of the encoder can easily be performed by an ordinary laptop computer equipped with programming software. The new programmable SSI encoder reaches a total resolution of 25 bits. Mechanically the series comes in either shaft or hollow-shaft versions. Enclosure is robust and reaches levels of IP67. Upon request can the series even be provided in stainless steel versions for the harshest environments.

For more information please contact Magnus Johnson, Tel. +46 (0)152-265 53; E-mail [email protected]. You can find out more at www.leinelinde.com

Taiyo Yuden Introduces Two Additional Compact and Low Profile
Power Inductors for Mobile Devices Maintaining Industry-Leading DC Bias Characteristics with an Approximate 17% Reduction in Size and Thickness

TOKYO, January 19, 2010 ¯ Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. today announced details of the commercial release of two significant new additions to its expanding lineup of power inductors. The new wire-wound power inductors BRL2515, measuring only 2.5 mm x 1.5 mm with a maximum height of 1.2 mm, and
BRFL2518, measuring 2.5 mm x 1.8 mm with a maximum height of 1.0 mm, for DC-DC converter applications in cell phones, smartphones, DSCs, portable music players and related equipment are released in response to growing demand for more compact, thinner mobile devices.
While maintaining the industry-leading DC bias characteristics (a rated current of 900 mA based on DC saturation and inductance of 2.2ìH) of the existing BRL2518, measuring 2.5 mm x 1.8 mm with a maximum height of 1.2 mm, the new BRL2515 (a rated current of 1000 mA) reduces the chip surface
area by approximately 17%, while the BRFL2518 (a rated current of 850 mA) requires an approximate 17% lower profile. In this manner, Taiyo Yuden is contributing to the further reduction of mobile device shape and size.
Production will commence in January 2010 at an output pace of 10 million units per month. The price for samples is 20 yen per unit.
Technology Background
In addition to providing a variety of functions including Internet access, video and movie viewing, music listening and high resolution photography, the market continues to call for more compact and thinner smartphones and other sophisticated cell phones. These needs contribute to a complementary
growth in demand for smaller and slimmer DC-DC converter application power inductors that do not compromise the DC bias characteristics that are required to prevent loss of inductance even with high DC currents.
Taiyo Yuden has risen to this challenge. In employing a single-sided electrode structure, the Company has realized maximum design efficiency. Through the wire-wound power inductor BR series, which offer excellent DC bias characteristics in a compact and low profile package, Taiyo Yuden has attracted wide acclaim. Further improving the core design and materials used in the BRL2518, the BRL2515 maintains DC bias characteristics in a smaller size, while the BRFL2518 offers a lower profile.
Looking ahead, Taiyo Yuden will continue to develop products that match market needs. In this regard, the Company is committed to realizing innovative new product development advances in wire-wound power inductors.

– March 31st, 2009 – Newport Corporation, a worldwide leader in laser and photonic solutions that Make, Manage and Measure Light®, introduces the affordable, CONEX™ family of compact, photonics control instruments. The product family features three new devices that connect easily via USB plug-and-play technology and allow simple, but highly functional PC-computer control solutions. Multiple units can be connected to a single USB port and for CONEX-PSD9 and CONEX-IOD models, the USB port also powers the modules, eliminating the need for additional power supplies and/or cables. The intuitive LabVIEW-based utility program software provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for each module. A comprehensive set of LabVIEW VIs (virtual instruments) is also available.

Three models are initially introduced. The first, the CONEX-CC motor controller/driver is a very compact, low-cost motor controller/driver for Newport’s low-power DC servo motor stages or actuators. The CONEX-PSD9, a position-sensing detector, provides accurate XY position information of laser beams and is ideally suited for laser beam stabilization, laser tracking and general beam diagnostics. The third, the CONEX-IOD, is a highly versatile, general purpose I/O module that works with many third party devices and features both digital input/outputs and 12-bit analog input/output interfaces.

Newport’s easy-to-use CONEX photonics instruments are ideal for tasks that require an affordable solution when the use of a computer-controlled system is specified. For more information, please visit: www.newport.com/CONEX.

Remember a few weeks back when we wrote of the Colorado teen who was arrested for an overdue DVD from his local library? There’s an update — the judge who issued the arrest warrant in the case has been fired.

According to the Denver Post, the judge had been given the offer to resign after nearly 30 years on the bench by the city council of Littleton, CO, but he refused so they sent him packing.

“I’m disappointed and saddened the situation has reached this stage,” one council member said.

Here’s the background: A 19-year-old kid borrowed a DVD of House of the Flying Daggers from his library and then failed to return it when it inadvertently got packed in with a bunch of boxes while he was moving to a new town.

Since the retail value of the DVD was over the library’s threshold for what they consider theft (as opposed to an acceptable loss), a summons was sent to the teen. However, he never received it because it had been sent to the wrong address.

So when the teen didn’t show up for the court appearance he didn’t know about, the judge issued an arrest warrant.

Problem is, the teen had coincidentally returned the video a week before the hearing and the library had sent a letter to the judge to let the court know about it.

Regardless, the teen was arrested a couple weeks later when we was pulled over for speeding and police noticed the outstanding warrant.

The nail in the judge’s coffin, as far as the city council was concerned, was when they looked through his actions in similar cases and found 71 incidents in which a warrant had been issued but had not been properly served.

But even the wrongfully arrested teen thought the judge deserved a second chance.

“He’s a great judge,” he said. “I heard a lot of good things about him. I honestly don’t want them to fire him over this.”

Littleton fires judge who issued warrant for overdue DVD

Thanks to Ken for the tip!

A new poll by Rasmussen Reports shows that Greenwich Republican Tom Foley would defeat either Ned Lamont or Dannel Malloy in the November gubernatorial election.

The telephone poll of 500 residents showed that Foley would beat Lamont, a fellow Greenwich resident, by 44 percent to 37 percent. Another 13 percent of those polled said that they were not sure, and 7 percent picked another candidate.

Foley would also defeat Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford, by 44 percent to 35 percent. In that potential contest, 14 percent were unsure and 8 percent chose another candidate.

The Republican and Democratic primaries are slated for Tuesday, August 10, and the general election is in November.

Both Lamont and Malloy would defeat Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele by three percentage points each in potential match-ups for November, according to the poll.

Foley has been on television far more than any other candidate in the race. Neither Lamont nor Malloy has broadcast TV commercials yet, and Fedele is running an ad primarily on the Fox News Channel to target conservative Republicans who are either delegates to the May convention or likely voters in the August primary.

 

 

“No one knows for sure what the future will hold, but we do know that tectonic plates will continue to influence us, along with every other creature.”

Our Patchwork Planet, by Helen Roney Sattler, is an oversize book that reads as a 5th grade text-book  on tectonic plates and the Earth’s layers. The first few chapters feature many different world maps that illustrate the plates and their movement,  as well as diagrams of the Earth’s layers. The authors follow these with chapters on continent formation, earthquakes and volcanoes, and ends with a look into the future of Earth’s formation.

Curriculum Connections

The book would be a good resource for covering concepts and vocabulary dealing with tectonic plates, earthquakes and volcanoes, and the basic structure of the earth’s interior (5.7c,d).  The vocabulary the students need to know (lithosphere, slip fault) is presented in the text and visually, while the non-buzzword word choice is not too challenging, making the book something a teacher could read aloud to 4th graders.

Additional Resources

•  This BBC video on YouTube is called How Volcanoes Form but is actually a great 4 1/2 minute video on tectonic plates as well

• This National Geographic video on YouTube, Earthquake Destruction, begins with some harrowing footage of earthquakes.  From there it explains earthquakes and their connection to tectonic plates.

• Brainpop has a page on Plate Tectonics that is funny and informative.  You do need an account to view it however.

Book Details
Book: Our Patchwork Planet
Author: Helen Roney Sattler
Illustration: Giulio Maestro
Publication: National Geographic
Pages: 48
Grade Range: 4-6
ISBN: 978-0688093129

Boulder, CO, Renewable Choice Energy

Renewable Choice Energy, a nationally-recognized industry leader in clean technology products and services, seeks a full-time Director of Sustainability Services to lead and grow our newly established Professional Services department. This department is responsible for consulting with commercial customers to develop sustainable solutions and services.

This position will be responsible for establishing, directing, and supervising the goals, policies, and work of the department. The position will develop strategies for the deployment of professional services, assign tasks to and supervise the professional services staff, interface with professional services clients and the Company sales team, identify potential business partners and vendors, develop forecasts, support the management of the professional services sales pipeline, and grow the unit, specifically in the areas of client service & process development, project management & execution, new product development, and sales.

Applicants will have 7+ years experience in environmental, energy, or sustainability consulting, with a minimum of 2-3 years supervisory and/or leadership experience included. Applicants must have sales experience working with prospects to communicate services and value proposition. A bachelor’s education in environmental science, engineering, or a related field is required and an MBA, ideally with an emphasis in sustainability, is desirable.

The ideal applicant will demonstrate the following:
• Ability to work with client to understand goals, present solutions, estimate costs, manage budget, and develop professional proposals and solutions.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills and the ability to interface with a variety of internal and external customers at all organizational levels.
• Ability to grow and manage a team of consultants and serve as a leader for business unit.
• Intelligence, creativity, and the ability to plan, progress, and analyze business decisions in the broader organizational context.
• Ability to nimbly respond to demands and interruptions within a rapidly changing and progressive business environment.
• Intermediate to advanced experience in MS Office; familiarity with CRM software such as Salesforce.com and project management tools such as MS Project or Basecamp.
• Interest in and personal commitment to sustainability.

In addition, applicants will possess one or more of the following technical qualifications:
• Experience performing product life-cycle assessments and/or environmental product labeling.
• Engineering experience involving environmental compliance for air, water, and/or waste.
• Engineering experience implementing energy audits and energy conservation.

This position may require periodic travel.

Renewable Choice Energy offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, bonus opportunities, and benefits as well as a fast-paced, friendly work environment.

For more information about our company and our dynamic vision for a sustainable future, please visit us on the web at www.renewablechoice.com.

Review of applications to begin immediately; position is vacant until filled.

Renewable Choice Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome applications from women and underrepresented minorities.

Back in February, there was a fair bit of attention paid to some of the more ridiculous parts of the IIPA’s filing for the USTR’s Special 301 report, which seeks to figure out which countries US diplomats should threaten most heavily over their failure to kowtow to US copyright interests. The IIPA is, of course, the mega-lobbying group, made up of a variety of other lobbying groups, including the RIAA, MPAA, BSA, ESA and NMPA. A lot of attention was paid, in particular, to the IIPA’s claims that countries that promoted open source software (something that would reduce infringement) were as bad, if not worse, than those that did not crack down on unauthorized copying.

However, some parts of the IIPA’s are even more troubling. Public Knowledge has been digging through the report and is reasonably troubled by the call by the IIPA to expand pre-trial detentions in India for those accused of copyright infringement. The PK article goes through this issue in great detail, but basically some parts of India have laws that allow the gov’t to lock people up as a form of “preventative detention” for people they’re afraid might do something (think Minority Report’s “pre-crime”). Not surprisingly, there are some concerns about how these rules have been used to violate human rights — but still, they are mostly used for “drug-smugglers, human traffickers, bootleggers, and the like.” However, two parts of India expanded the law to cover copyright violations — and, in the case of Tamil Nadu, it was expanded all the way down to merely the potential of possessing a bootleg movie or CD.

In its report, the IIPA claims that by expanding the law to cover copyright, Tamil Nadu successfully deterred infringement. But Public Knowledge looked through the details and found that there was only a temporary blip (something that the IIPA fails to mention, of course):

Given this state of affairs, it’s hardly surprising that pretrial detention would “continue[] to result in some deterrence,” as the IIPA claims. But while initial reports showed that the imminent addition of ‘video piracy’ to Tamil Nadu’s Goondas Act had a huge deterrent effect, by the time the rule had been in effect for a year piracy had largely bounced back and the local film industry was already clamoring for even more laws. Even the formation of a special video anti-piracy police force (something, incidentally, that the IIPA often calls for in its reports) did not stem the tide of piracy in Tamil Nadu. So it’s unclear how much deterrence these statutes even produce.

Now, of course, it seems troubling enough that a group representing the RIAA, MPAA, BSA and others would call for locking up people for up to a year just because they might come into possession of an unauthorized product, but it’s even more troubling that the IIPA appears to be calling for the US diplomats to punish or threaten India if they do not expand this rule even further. This rule already goes way beyond anything that would be legal in the US, and the point of the Special 301 report is to highlight countries that don’t provide “adequate and effective” rules for protecting copyright. Yet, when a country goes way beyond what’s reasonable, the IIPA is still complaining? And even when those laws don’t appear to help and seem ripe for serious human rights violations? Wow.

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By brandonwbarrios

Due to government intervention in private industry it is beneficial for corporations to waste billions of dollars lobbying government to protect or achieve profits or market share instead of earning it through the innovation of a product, service or any advancement that progresses our society.  Government intervention and its consequential lobbying is truly an enemy of progress.

As reported on Market Ticker:

On March 23, 2010, the President signed into law comprehensive health care reform legislation under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590).  Included among the major provisions of the law is a change in the tax treatment of the Medicare Part D subsidy.  AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) intends to take a non-cash charge of approximately $1 billion in the first quarter of 2010 to reflect the impact of this change.  As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health care benefits offered by the company.

Read the rest here. Consequences of Health Care: Valuations

The above article briefly sums up one of the ways the administration plans on paying for health care reform—redistributing wealth between private industries owned by private shareholders.  Inevitably, this redistribution will consequentially take wealth from an even greater number of citizens, employees or customers.

The nature of these charges relates to previous federal subsidies that will be prohibited starting in 2011.  As noted in the article they must be accounted when realized per GAAP.  The subsidy covered a portion of the cost of their retirees’ prescription drug coverage and also allowed these costs to be deducted from the companies’ income tax.  It encouraged companies to continue providing this coverage to retirees in order to keep them off of government-funded Medicare Part D.  Due to the change in tax treatment of this subsidy, over a dozen corporations have announced charges ranging from $10 million by Goodrich Corp. to $1 billion by AT&T.  Other companies reporting such charges include Boeing, Caterpillar, Deere, Prudential Financial, 3M, Honeywell, AK Steel Holding, Valero and Allegheny Technologies.  The Obama Administration and Congress must not have received the memo informing them the U.S. economy isn’t exactly a winner. 

The proponents of this reform argue for the closing of a tax loophole, among which group of beneficiaries these newly acquired taxes will be redistributed and what intention they aspire to achieve.  It would be difficult to argue the merits of the reform and what interests they serve, as an equal argument can be made on behalf of the previous arrangement.  What is certain though is that government subsidies to private industry always involve conflicts of interest, special interests and unintended consequences.  Government intervention breeds further government intervention.  For example, the growth of an employer-based health care system should be credited to the federal government and their encouraging it through changes to the tax code.  Any criticism of this system’s failures should be credited to its creator and cheerleader, interventionist government.  It is also important to realize who these interventions and subsidies affect: everyone.

Any immediate or future negative effects of these costs on the companies’ earnings and therefore stock valuation hit the investment portfolios of the thousands of shareholders invested in these companies.  Why defend shareholders? Well, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that these shareholders are affected negatively and are now that much poorer.  Whatever the future scenario, an economic opportunity has been reduced and/or redistributed.  Should they have chosen to utilize this now-lost portion of their wealth to consume or pursue some form of entrepreneurial aspiration, those that suffer would be anyone who would have benefited from this now-impossible purchase, job creation, service or product.  Had the shareholder opted to store this wealth in the bank, our gracious fractional-reserve banking system would have lent that amount of savings many times, financing the purchase of a home or the creation of a business venture by another party.  It also isn’t difficult to understand that although a significant number of companies will be paying higher costs, there is certainly an industry that benefits from this reform: the pharmaceutical companies and their shareholders.

Due to the higher costs yet unchanged output, any sustainable profit-maximizing business will seek further efficiency and greater output per worker to recoup the costs.  Burdened with these additional per year costs, cuts will be made to reduce labor costs.  Indirect losses to private employees will be realized through the loss of one’s job, cuts to their employment benefits or retirement packages.  This is a measure currently underway as briefly reported to the SEC by AT&T.  Found here.  

There may even be the loss of technological advancements that will never be realized due to a lesser amount of capital being allocated to the research & development areas of these businesses than would have otherwise been the case before the reform bill.  The $1 billion charge by AT&T is a hefty chunk of change, to say the least.

These opportunities and benefits have now been transferred to the demographic and industry that stand to benefit from this reform.  No surprise, government will surely claim any new opportunities, benefits or “job creation” as their own while ignoring what was lost in the process.  To reiterate, so long as government intervenes in private industry through subsidies and special favors, special interest lobbying will remain a dominating influence within the beltway.  Due to government intervention in private industry it is beneficial for corporations to waste billions of dollars lobbying government to protect or achieve profits or market share instead of earning it through the innovation of a product, service or any advancement that progresses our society.  Government intervention and its consequential lobbying are truly an enemy of progress.

The government granting subsidies to one demographic or private industry at the expense of others is really the business of picking winners and losers, a business it should have no part in.  The government needs to get it right, or get out.  I advocate the latter.

 

 

Article Tags: Martin Hertzberg, Reply To Article

To all:

I just couldn’t let this article in the latest New Yorker article Up in the Air by Elizabeth Kolbert go by without comment.

Marty

Dear Editor:

Kindly forward this e-mail to Elizabeth Kolbert. Obviously, the attachments to this e-mail are to voluminous for a letter to the Editor, but I sincerely hope that she will read and learn from them.

Here is my letter:

Elizabeth Kolbert, in her “Up In the Air” comment of April 12, 2010, has made an heroic effort to revive the dying theory that human emission of CO2 is causing global warming/climate change. But those of us who know it well and its “living will” to decline heroic measures, feel that the wisest course of action is to let it pass peacefully in the hospice of dying theories.

There is a simple way to tell the difference between scientists and propagandists. If scientists have a theory they carefully search for data that might actually contradict their theory so they can test it further or refine it. The propagandists, on the other hand, select only the data that might agree with their theory and dutifully ignore any data that disagrees with it. How else to explain Ms. Kolbert’s argument that “despite what it might have felt like in the Northeast these past few months, globally it was one of the warmest winters on record”? Actually, the global data summarized in www.climate4you.com show significant world-wide cooling for the past decade. The data also show nothing beyond the normal range of variability in either the polar ice area coverage or in the rate of rise of sea level for the last 20 years.

Read in full with comments »   

Found under: iPhone OS, Apple, iPhone, multitasking, iAd,

Apple has scheduled a surprising event on Thursday April 8 in which it will introduce its next mobile platform iPhone OS 4.0 which is probably going to power the next-gen iPhone and probably the iPad Apples first tablet launched on Easter weekend. Furthermore Cupertino is said to be preparing to announce its first mobile advertising initiative which is apparently going to be called iAd at the same event thats going to take place tomorrow. We dont have any details about what

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Over at Cracked.com they have a guide to making a Nicholas Sparks movie. It’s funny and all that but for our purposes we are only interested in this little part at the end about posters.

Nicholas Sparks[Cracked]