Month: April 2009
Electroplating: Technology From Two Thousand Years Ago
Clay pot. Copper cylinder. Iron rod. Add vinegar, and you will cause the rod to emit an electric charge. Stick that rod in some water, and you’ll electrolyze it, which makes it really easy to, for instance, put gold plate… Continue Reading
Congressional Democrats Approved Torture
In today’s Washington post, former Congressman (1989-2004) and Former CIA Director (2004-2006) Porter Goss baldly accuses Congressional leaders of both parties of having been well aware that “enhanced” interrogation techniques were being used on “high-value” al-Qaeda prisoners. He accuses them… Continue Reading
Trekked
Cool stuff. Well, it would have been cool stuff if it had actually worked. To promote the new Star Trek movie you could upload a picture of yourself and it would make you into a Star Trek character, and it… Continue Reading
Two More Cautions Before Prosecuting The Torture Lawyers
My primary caution is, as I described before, that we need to leave “room to be wrong” in order to get decent people engaged in government service, to explore different ideas, to not be so tentative and cautious as to… Continue Reading
Four Corners Fail
The Four Corners monument — a kitschy destination for Rocky Mountain road travelers — turns out not to be located where it ought to be. The whole thing, all four corners of it, is in Arizona, and nothing in it… Continue Reading
Why "It Worked" Isn’t A Justification For Torture
Former Vice President Dick Cheney would like to gain some measure of vindication for torturing particular high-value al-Qaeda prisoners with the assertion that the torture induced these prisoners to yield up valuable information that was used to foil additional plots… Continue Reading
Twelve Sunscreen-Free Suggestions For College
Now is the time of year that high school seniors are going to start getting either thin or thick letters back from the college to which they’ve applied. I’ve just had the chance to work with a number of high… Continue Reading
More On Jellyfish Jane
I was rather tired last night when I wrote about Jane Harman and how the NSA wiretap against her was used. Here’s a point I should have made as part of that post — probably as my conclusion. It’s not… Continue Reading
Indelicate Manipulation Of Social Pressure
This very attractive young lady from La Jolla, California appears to think that because she is against the idea of same-sex marriage, she did not become Miss USA. Leaving aside the vapidity of beauty pageants, it seems quite odd that… Continue Reading