NORAD - our vaunted defense command - is tracking Santa today, with help from Google Maps. M is really going to dig this. Can you imagine if we had this as kids?
UPDATE: If you have Google Earth, it’s even better as you can track in 3D! This rocks!
Apparently, McCain picking an inexperienced, provincial wackjob with extreme political views as his VP candidate finally woke up the long slumbering ‘liberal’ media. His choice has completely called into question his own judgement (or if he’s even in charge of his campaign) while totally smacking of a last-ditch effort to get elected - preferably with as little dignity as possible.
The New York Times waited until the media was finally allowed to speak to Palin before writing an editorial on Palin’s worrisome world view. The strong wording of the editorial reflects the very real concerns about someone with Palin’s views being a major influence in the White House. But I never expected to see a headline like one of today’s articles: Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes. Ouch - those small town politics won’t go over very well on Capitol Hill, where you have to work with people in spite of your differences. And Palin may well be one of the last people I’d want speaking to the head of a country with nuclear capabilities. I doubt the Putins & Kim Jong Ils of the world would respond very well to a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude or other moronic obstinacy.
More non-Fox, non-neocon responses to McCain & Palin:
The Washington Post: ”It’s hard to think of a presidential campaign with a wider chasm between the seriousness of the issues confronting the country and the triviality, so far anyway, of the political discourse… John McCain is a serious man who promised to wage a serious campaign. Win or lose, will he be able to look back on this one with pride? Right now, it’s hard to see how.”
The sensible and thought-provoking Thomas Friedman: ”Who cares how much steel John McCain has in his gut when the steel that today holds up our bridges, railroads, nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is rusting? McCain talks about how he would build dozens of nuclear power plants. Oh, really? They go for $10 billion a pop. Where is the money going to come from? From lowering taxes? From banning abortions? From borrowing more from China? From having Sarah Palin “reform” Washington — as if she has any more clue how to do that than the first 100 names in the D.C. phonebook?”
The Washington Post: “Overall, this was an unsettling interview, with a frustrating lack of follow-up questions. Voters deserve more opportunities for more searching questioning in the short time left before Election Day.”
The columnist Frank Rich: “No longer able to remember his principles any better than he can distinguish between Sunnis and Shia, McCain stands revealed as a guy who can be easily rolled by anyone who sells him a plan for “victory,” whether in Iraq or in Michigan. A McCain victory on Election Day will usher in a Palin presidency, with McCain serving as a transitional front man, an even weaker Bush to her Cheney… The racial component to this brand of politics was undisguised in St. Paul. Americans saw a virtually all-white audience yuk it up when Giuliani ridiculed Barack Obama’s “only in America” success as an affirmative-action fairy tale — and when he and Palin mocked Obama’s history as a community organizer in Chicago. Neither party has had so few black delegates (1.5 percent) in the 40 years since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies started keeping a record… How do you run against that flashy flimflam? You don’t. Karl Rove for once gave the Democrats a real tip rather than a bum steer when he wrote last week that if Obama wants to win, “he needs to remember he’s running against John McCain for president,” not Palin for vice president. Obama should keep stepping up the blitz on McCain’s flip-flops, confusion, ignorance and blurriness on major issues (from education to an exit date from Iraq), rather than her gaffes and résumé. If he focuses voters on the 2008 McCain, the Palin question will take care of itself.”
The last point in Rich’s editorial is REALLY strange - Karl Rove, conservative mastermind, giving some useful political advice to the Obama campaign?! It is, however, a good point - all the attention from McCain has been distracted by Palin, just like his missteps were mostly ignored while Obama & Clinton fought for the Democratic nomination. Considering the response to the interview, it’s pretty clear that Rove’s right - Obama should focus on McCain and let the Palin issue resolve itself. (Rove’s editorial was published on Thursday, before Palin’s first interview aired.)
I remember getting an encyclopedia as a kid - it was a big deal. We couldn’t afford an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica and got Grolier’s instead (I guess it’s the difference between Harvard and a state school). My dad’s first job in America was selling encyclopedias door-to-door, and I wondered whether the industry would survive the internet. Wikipedia was the potential stake in the heart, except it’s not a true authority. You know that the facts are right in an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica.
EB wised up and has unveiled Britannica Webshare - basically Britannica widgets for bloggers. In their own words:
A special program for web publishers, including bloggers, webmasters, and anyone who writes for the Internet. You get complimentary access to the Encyclopaedia Britannica online and, if you like, an easy way to give your readers background of the topics you write about with links to complete Britannica articles.
I love this - I’ve liked Wikipedia for the convenience, but always knew that there was a possibility of opinion or misinformation. Now we can get access to more reliable information, which is an absolute goddess-send for homeschoolers everywhere. I tried signing up and their registration form seems busted, so perhaps they’re getting deluged with requests.
Another bonus - I’m pretty sure they have no information on Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or other objects of popular obsession. I don’t know for sure, since I haven’t had access to an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica for ages. It’s very possible that the’ve succumbed (or will) to compete with Wikipedia, but such a move would rank right up there with MC Hammer’s gangsta album. Hammer’s ability to be a hard-as-nails OG is about as believable as the Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica giving a crap about going into rehab for the 8th time.
My pet project for 2008 has been building a virtual community website for unschoolers. I wanted something that allowed people to make their own groups and forums, and that let them decide whether things should be public or private. Someone might want to make a public group for unschoolers in their area while someone else might want to make a private lounge to discuss relevant topics.
In a week, I’m going to need some brave souls to become the first community members and to test the site before it’s opened to the general public. If anyone is interested, please email me. If you’re curious about the site, check out the Coming Soon page:
We just got a subscription to the Tico Times, a popular English weekly newspaper in Costa Rica. Being aware of what’s going on in our prospective home is important. Our scouting trip was successful because we learned as much as we could, and had a good grasp of what to expect - the good and the bad. The grass isn’t perfectly greener, and being realistic helps. I’ve used a number of resources to learn about Costa Rica and to become aware of the important issues.
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