Glenn writes about a new book on traffic congestion
I’ve often thought that it is a massive economic waste. I also think that there are things that could be done about it that would be relatively low cost, and don’t involved construction of new highways or relaning the roads. As I’ve noted before, if I were king, I’d launch a massive public education campaign on lane discipline, and enforce it with tickets. I’d be harder on left lane hogs than on speeders.
Pete Fiutak thinks that Saturday’s game should be dubbed the national championship:
Not only have Ohio State and Michigan had the two best teams all year, there isn’t anyone else deserving to be in the picture. In the storied history of college football’s greatest rivalry, and it is college football’s greatest rivalry, this will be the biggest game ever played between the two. That makes this, arguably, the biggest regular season game in the history of the sport. So let this weekend be it. Crown the winner the national champion, and let’s get the talk about the 2007 season going. USC, Florida or Arkansas as the preseason No. 1 … discuss.
That’s the way it looks to me. The national championship is mythical anyway, might as well do what makes sense. But of course, that wouldn’t generate all the revenue that they’re expecting in Glendale in January. And of course, it’s easily conceivable that the computers will decide to do a rematch, anyway.
David Barash asks if we should be teaching evolutionary psychology.
Answer: yes, but carefully:
What to do? One possibility
Were nanotubes the secret of Damascus blades?
Now there’s a knife.
Now there’s a knife.
Now there’s a knife.
Contra Chris Mooney’s thesis
More than anything else, even the misrepresentations themselves, the collective willingness to overlook bad policy arguments unsupported (or even contradicted) by the current state of science while at the same time trumpeting the importance of scientific consensus is evidence of the comprehensive and pathological politicization of science in the policy debate over global warming. If climate scientists ever wonder why they are looked upon with suspicion among some people in society, they need look no further in their willingness to compromise their own intellectual standards in policy debate on the issue of disasters and climate change.
Rick Tumlinson challenges the space activist community:
The most disappointing thing about the state of the Centennial Challenges is that the pro-frontier/pro-NewSpace community hasn’t made Congress change its position.
Given the importance we have all attached to prizes and new ways of NASA/USG doing things in space, the tepid response of this community and its inability to raise enough pressure to get the prizes funded shows we are either too weak to effect significant change, too disorganized to do so, or we simply don’t care or aren’t willing to put our muscle where our mouth is.
We have a few weeks to put that pressure on and bring one home for the cause. The leaders of this community, including many of the great bloggers out there, need to wake up and make this happen. We need to both focus attention on the committee(s) involved and on NASA to fight for one of the brightest spots in its otherwise dark future. This isn’t about who does the prizes or competes for them, or even how soon anyone wins, it is about the concept of trying something new with hundreds of years of proven track record, changing how we do space, supporting the fledgling NewSpace industries and movement, and showing that those of us who care about humanity’s future in space is worth fighting for.
I noticed someone posted links to the Appropriations committee and its staffers. Those in the know as to how the machine operates should enlighten their readers, and we all should step up to this one.
I saw Pixel (Armadillo