The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Donal's picture

    Solar & Wind Expo

    By Donal on Mon, 05/14/2012 - 3:57pm | Technology


    On Saturday, I attended a Solar & Wind Expo, which was held about three stops away on light rail. At the Timonium Fair Grounds stop, there was no sign that anything was happening. I walked past the empty entrance kiosks, and saw a truck with a horse trailer backing up to the mostly empty livestock sheds. I continued past the empty cow palace, and eventually saw some balloons tied to two tiny cars in front of a nondescript concrete block building. The cars were Think City EVs. A small banner announced that the expo was inside.

    I was a bit early and when I tried to pay the $10 entry fee with my debit card, one of the cashiers went to a table and pulled a cardswipe machine out of a box. She fiddled with it and asked, "Do you have any cash?" I had eight dollars, so she took that and let me in. That worked out about right because I was supposed to get two dollars off for arriving by light rail.

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    Technology
    Donal's picture

    Luxury Electric Motor Bikes

    By Donal on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 3:17pm | Technology



    Along with their hybrids and EVs, luxury automakers have been developing prototype e-bikes, like the Audi Wörthersee above. These aren't full-fledged motorcycles, like the Brammo or Zero, but they aren't just bicycles either:

    Topics: 
    Technology
    Michael Maiello's picture

    Willard Scissormitts

    By Michael Maiello on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 4:55pm | Politics

    We all did stupid things when we were young and the private preparatory academies of the type that Romney attended in the fifties and sixties were settings for all sorts of bullying and boorish behaviors and boys forced unnaturally together in search of A Separate Peace.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Ramona's picture

    Women, Gays, and Barack Obama's Ear

    By Ramona on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 3:41pm | Politics, Social Justice

    The big news yesterday -- no, the HUGE news -- was President Obama's interview with ABC's Robin Roberts, set up specifically so that he could air his own personal views about gay people being able to marry their same-sex partners:  After much soul-searching and a couple of decades of "evolving", he was finally ready to say out loud that he's all for it.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Social Justice
    Donal's picture

    Tesla and the Uncertain Middle Class

    By Donal on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 11:33am | Business, Technology

    Tesla is about to release its Model S sedan. Despite operating at a loss, despite never having turned a profit, despite being the recipient of government loans (which the right wing hates about the Volt), despite its stock price dropping due to perceived competition from the Toyota RAV4 EV, some Wall Street pundits are still bullish on Tesla.

    Why? Well it promises decent range:

    Tesla: The Time Has Come

    The Tesla Model S will give you significantly more range than a Nissan LEAF or any other practical all-electric car to date. The Nissan is EPA-certified at 73 miles on average. Tesla claims 160 miles for the base version of the Model S. ...

    Tesla will also sell you an alleged 230-mile and a 300-mile version of the Model S. Each step up is $10,000 more.
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    Business
    Technology
    Donal's picture

    Bilateral Breathing

    By Donal on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 10:24pm | Sports

    I've always admired the grace, efficiency and symmetry of swimmers that breathe to both sides at any pace and distance. Laure Manadou, Rebecca Adlington, Federica Pellegrini and many other elite female swimmers breathe bilaterally while competing, as do many excellent masters swimmers. But, many other women and almost all of the elite male swimmers in the world breathe to one side, or unilaterally, in their races. 

    Welsh distance swimmer Dave Davies is one of the few male swimmers I have seen consistently breathing bilaterally. World 1500m champion Sun Yang quickly breathes to both sides before and after turning, but mostly breathes to one side. Many male swimmers can sneak a breath to the opposite side to keep an eye on an opponent, but most opt for the additional air available when breathing every other stroke.

    Despite the prevalence of unilateral breathing, some coaches recommend bilateral breathing to develop symmetrical body roll to each side and to avoid the lopsided stroke that often comes with same-side breathing. Michael Phelps breathes to one side, but in this training video, his coach, Bob Bowman, recommends learning bilateral breathing:

    Topics: 
    Sports
    William K. Wolfrum's picture

    Man, 42, heartbroken as duck won’t give answer to marriage proposal

    By William K. Wolfrum on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 4:32pm | Politics, Humor & Satire

    For several years, Tim Johnson and his duck Miriam cohabitated peacefully. This Valentine’s Day, however, Johnson decided it was time to take the next step.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Humor & Satire
    Michael Maiello's picture

    In Defense of The Generalist Columnist

    By Michael Maiello on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 10:16am | Politics

    No, I'm not defending Naomi Schafer Riley as any art form, including the writing of an 800-900 word newspaper article can be practiced badly.  To not even read what you're criticizing is pretty low.  But Dr. Cleveland, Professor of Dagblog, sets a very high standard for columnists.  Paul Krugman, who sticks (usually) to his discipline, is praised while David Brooks and Ross Douthat are singled out for writing on a broader array of topics which they cannot, by definition, claim expertise.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Doctor Cleveland's picture

    Naomi Schaefer Riley and the Rules of Academe

    By Doctor Cleveland on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 2:55am | Politics, Social Justice

    So, Naomi Schaefer Riley has been fired from blogging at The Chronicle of Higher Education. Since I recently called the blog post that got her fired stupid and racist, I'm not sorry about her firing. I also pointed out that the kind of "anti-reverse-racism" racism that her post traffics in has become the refuge of losers and whiners making excuses for their failure.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Social Justice

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