Steven den Beste says that the Macintosh (and Apple as a computer company) is ultimately doomed and sooner rather than later.

OK, you medical types (and I mean folks who are actually up to speed on controlled studies). I have a question.

We know that high cholesterol levels, and particularly the low-density lipoproteins, are correlated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The theory, as I understand it, is that these are the cause of plaque which results in coronary problems.

Many people are now being prescribed drugs (usually statins) that reduce cholesterol production and measured levels. Now, I know that these have been proven to be effective in cholesterol reduction, but have they been actually shown, in clinical studies, to actually reduce risk of heart attack and stroke? In other words, because of our faith in the cholesterol-coronary link, are we treating a symptom, rather than a cause?

Student dissidents are accusing the New York Times of being a propaganda machine for the theocracy. If only Americans could see that clearly.

Student dissidents are accusing the New York Times of being a propaganda machine for the theocracy. If only Americans could see that clearly.

Student dissidents are accusing the New York Times of being a propaganda machine for the theocracy. If only Americans could see that clearly.

Here’s a good long and detailed rundown on the NYT scandal over Jayson Blair.

I find the most interesting thing about it the source, and the voice. It’s by the NYT, written in active voice third person, as though they were another paper reporting about the competition. I assume they made that editorial decision to give it more of an air of objectivity. It’s nice not to read, “mistakes were made…”

Jonathan Rauch says that, contrary to conventional international “wisdom,” George Bush didn’t “squander” the world’s good will after September 11–he spent it. (Not a permalink, unfortunately).

I was going to note something about the story (available from several sources) that Rep. Joe Barton wants to shut down the Shuttle program because it might kill astronauts. Either that, or fly it unmanned, which is an utterly senseless idea.

The significance of this is that the congressman is from Texas, tribal homeland of the Shuttle, and he’s on the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee. I’m not necessarily opposed to ending the current manned spaceflight program in its present form–there are several arguably good reasons to do so even if one supports humans in space, but to do it because it’s unsafe is, well, stupid. It would be yet another case of doing (possibly) the right thing for completely the wrong reason, and when we do right things for wrong reasons, it dramatically diminishes the possibility of doing follow-up right things.

Anyway, fortunately, I don’t have to say much, because Thomas James already has.

In case anyone’s wondering, I’m taking care of a convalescing Patricia, who had some minor surgery on a torn shoulder tendon today. She’s (only, thankfully) temporarily the one-armed woman…

What he said.

“Giving NASA managers and government contractors who have failed over and over again billions of dollars to design and build a spaceplane specifically and only for NASA’s use is the old way of doing things,” Tumlinson said.

“We don’t need one Orbital Spaceplane, we need many spaceplanes. We shouldn’t be laying off astronauts, we should be opening the space frontier for more Americans. If this is done right, NASA can get all the transportation it needs, save billions in taxpayer funds, kick start a huge new industry and along the way, the people will at last get a chance to go into space themselves.”