Tag: General nonsense

I ran into a friend the other day who is a home builder. He had been planning to build several homes that would be extra-green, both because he wants to help the environment, and because he figured buyers would want that. After much research he abandoned the extra-green approach because…

Yesterday I was updating my retirement plan through age 110 and wondered if it was long enough. It seems to me that medical science is progressing so quickly I have a good shot at reaching 140. This got me thinking. What will happen when medical science can keep almost anyone…

In yesterday’s post I mentioned two Israeli companies that allegedly made big breakthroughs with solar power. Many of you noted that solar power is limited if you can’t store the energy in a cost-effective way for night use. I did some Googling to see what’s new in battery storage, and…

Regarding my previous post, how much water would a typical home have to pump into its own virtual dam in order to provide energy during a typical night while the water flows back out and through a generator? Are we talking swimming pool size? How big a container would you…

Yesterday I had one of those oh-my-God moments, the kind where I thought I could see the future. It started by reading some articles about the lack of a serious energy policy in the United States. The problem is that our politicians believe, probably correctly, that they can’t get elected…

Let’s stipulate for this conversation that everything the experts say about evolution is true. Creatures that are the most successful at reproducing pass their traits to the next generation, and so on. But I have another hypothesis that I think is testable. What if there is another influence that also…

Last night I saw some pundits on the news discussing the results of a poll. When Americans were asked if they would vote for an African-American for president, more than 9 out of 10 people said yes. But when asked if they knew anyone who would not vote for an…

Yesterday I went to a Giants baseball game. It was Little League Day, so there were about ten thousand young boys running wild in the stands. It was also free bat day, courtesy Bank of America. I will pause while you digest this concept. Do you know what happens when…

Recently we redesigned the Dilbert.com web site and added a ton of features, such as animation, deeper archives, mash ups, and more. The reaction from readers has been fascinating. www.dilbert.com [no longer available] Let me get this out of the way: I realize the Beta version of the web site…

In Congo there is a wave of penis thefts. http://au.news.yahoo.com/080422/15/16ktt.html [no longer available] Well, add that to the list of reasons for not visiting Congo. My first reaction to the story was to dismiss it as a bunch of superstitious simpletons caught in a wave of mass hysteria. Then I…

Did you hear about the priest who tried to set a record for balloon powered flight? This might come as a huge surprise to you: He’s missing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7360416.stm When I first heard about the incident I figured it was some sort of fund raising stunt to feed the poor. That…

Recently I got tricked into seeing a movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture. It left me feeling confused, anxious, and pissed off. By the closing credits I hated everyone involved with it. I actually paid good money for that experience. As a rule, the quality of a movie…

One of the great banking laws in this country is the mandatory APR for loans. That’s a calculation that allows consumers to easily compare loans that have different fees, terms, and rates, making it all apples to apples. We need the same type of law for home buying. The formula…

Let’s say you have a typical life and try to live it in the healthiest way. You might allocate your 24-hour weekday this way: Sleep: 8 hoursExercise: 1 hourWork: 8 hoursEating: 2 hours (leisurely)Hygiene: 1 hourTravel: 1 (Commute, errands) That leaves you three hours for family time, sex, shopping, food…

I notice that our presidential elections always seem to boil down to cartoon characterizations of the main candidates. The Republican is generally characterized by the media as the person of principle and character, albeit a bit dim-witted. (Reagan, George Bush junior, McCain) The Democrat is generally characterized as whip-smart but…