Mt. Horeb, in the rain.
Photos, notes, athlete data and links here.
Category: Current Events
“Ban Carry-on Luggage”
In a directive whose logic is not always apparent, the Transportation Security Administration has spelled out what airline passengers can carry on board with them, what must be placed in checked luggage, and what can’t go on the plane at all. Knives must be checked but knitting needles and corkscrews are allowed in the cabin. Up to four ounces of eye drops can be carried aboard, with fingers crossed that multiple terrorists won’t combine their allotments to exceed the limit. Laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones and other electronic devices are permitted, so never mind any warnings you’ve heard that they could be used to trigger a bomb. The bomb ingredients themselves, notably liquid explosives, will be kept out of the cabin by a ban on liquids, gels and lotions, except for small amounts of baby formula and medications.
Perhaps Not as Fun Today: 2006 Wisconsin Ironman Underway
These 2006 ironman competitors from Kansas City took in the Farmer’s Market Saturday.
Photos and video from the 2005 Wisconsin Ironman are here.
2006 Badger Attire
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This gentleman mentioned that he was married at Camp Randall 15 years ago today (Saturday). The shoes were “custom made” by Port Washington’s Allen Edmonds (via John Stollenwerk). Quite a change from my red and white bib overalls of some years ago.
2006 Young Innovators Under 35
Since 1999, the editors of Technology Review have honored the young innovators whose inventions and research we find most exciting; today that collection is the TR35, a list of technologists and scientists, all under the age of 35. Their work–spanning medicine, computing, communications, electronics, nanotechnology, and more–is changing our world.
UW’s Charles Franklin Launches Pollster.com
Pollster.com is the new home of Mystery Pollster, the blog that has labored to demystify the art and science of political polling for the last two years, but it is also much more. Our Polls feature will take you to pages with complete listings of all the public polls available for the most competitive races for Senate and Governor with an important bonus: Interactive charts that show you how the poll results compare to each other as well as trends over time.
Before you dive into the data pages, let me tell you about the incredible team behind Pollster.com. Regular MP readers will notice a similarity between our charts and the stellar graphics produced by our friend Charles Franklin, professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin and creator of the blog PoliticalArithmetik. Franklin is a central part of the Pollster team and will also provide frequent commentary here on the Pollster blog as well as lead in the development of new ways to visualize results graphically.
By the way, today also marks the debut of our strategic partnership with Slate Magazine. We have worked with Slate to create an Election Scorecard that will track the daily trends in the race to control the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and key Governorships in 2006. With the help of Charles Franklin, I will write a daily update for Slate through Election Day on where those races stand. Links to that update will also appear here daily.
More about Franklin:
Charles Franklin is the co-developer of Pollster.com. He will provide frequent commentary and lead in the development of new ways to visualze polling results graphically. Franklin is the creator of PoliticalArithmetik (“Where numbers and politics meet”) and a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He specializes in the statistical analysis of polling and election results.
“Military power can gain us time…but that is about it,”
Fascinating look at General John Abizaid, Chief of Centcom, by Greg Jaffe:
In the fall of 2002, the U.S. military set up a task force here on the Horn of Africa to kill any al Qaeda fighters seeking refuge in the region. The base was crawling with elite special-operations teams, and an unmanned Predator plane armed with Hellfire missiles sat ready on the runway.
Today, the base houses 1,800 troops whose mission is to build health clinics, wells and schools in areas where Islamic extremists are active. The idea is to ease some of the suffering that leaves the locals susceptible to the radicals’ message, thus bolstering local governments, which will run the new facilities and get credit for the improvements.
David Hackworth spoke well of Abizaid. Other sites worth checking out include Defense and the National Interest and Tom Barnett’s blog. Barnett posted a few words on Jaffe’s article (more). John Robb is also worth a visit. Centcom website and RSS feed.
Warner Second Life Interview
Mark Warner, an unannounced candidate for the presidency, is going to be interviewed in Second Life on Thursday at 3:30pm (eastern time, I think).
Warner is someone to watch. He’s also played the NASCAR card.
Kraft Foods (Oscar Meyer Parent) Spinoff?
Today’s meeting of Altria’s board may bring Kraft — which sells food carrying the Maxwell House, Nabisco and Oscar Mayer labels, among others — one step closer to its goal.
With the last major legal challenge over marketing practices by the tobacco industry having cleared two weeks ago, Altria’s 11-member board is likely to discuss the timing of a much-anticipated and imminent corporate overhaul. But Altria’s board is not expected to announce a Kraft spinoff after the meeting.
Wall Street analysts who follow Altria say they expect the company, which has been planning an overhaul since 2004, to take its time in making a final decision on the timing of what would be one of the largest tax-free corporate spinoffs.
Cordless VOIP Phone
While most VoIP phones require you to be connected to your PC via a USB cable our Cordless VoIP phone uses a wireless signal that allows you to roam your house or office while using Skype. You may use the phone for both PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone calling.