via MSNBC, the world's leading oil exporter is working feverishly to ramp up production in its few remaining large untapped oil fields. Saudi Arabia is referring these production increases as the largest expansion of production in history, and if they bear out as expected, they could go a long way toward giving the globe additional breathing space to develop alternatives to the sticky black gold. Unlike most of their existing fields located in the northeastern corner of the nation, these fields are located west of the Suadi capital, Riyadh.
"Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, Aramco, is spending $10 billion to build the infrastructure to pump 1.2 million barrels of oil per day by next June from the Khurais field and its two smaller neighbors. That alone would be more than the total individual production of OPEC members Qatar, Indonesia and Ecuador.
The project forms the centerpiece of the Saudi plan to increase the total amount of oil it can produce to 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of 2009 — up from a little more than 11 million barrels per day now."
While there are technical hurdles to producing in this area, including the searing 100 degree heat and the need to pump in as much as 2 million gallons of seawater into the rock formaitons to maintain well pressure into the 5,000 foot deep oil strata, the Saudis believe they will be able to pump as much as 1.2 million barrels a day by next June. In addition, they expect production of up to 500,000 barrels a day from another new field located at Khursaniyah in August of this year, although this field had been expceted to go online at the end of 2007 but ran into equipment and labor shortages. They are also developing their last large oil formation in the Persian Gulf at Manifa.
Now if the morons we've elected to Congress would allow more drilling here at home, maybe we wouldn't be paying $4 a gallon for freaking the stuff the runs (for better or worse) our entire transportation industry. Still, some encouraging news on the subject is better than continued doom and gloom.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Pluto's Status Has Kids Confused
via Livescience, the confusion of astronomers about the definition of planet and the subsequent impact on the status of the solar object called Pluto has left American school chidren (and probably children and adults globally) pretty confused. Traditionally accepted as a planet since its discovery in 1930, the International Astrnomical Union redefined the world as a "dwarf planet" two years ago, only to recently coin yet another term for it and object like it, "plutoid".
"Science teachers and publishers already worked to update their resources to read "dwarf planet." And now, boom, that category is out of favor among astronomers.
"Students who have just learned about the concept of dwarf planets must now be taught the new concept of plutoid," said Janis Milman, who teaches earth science at Thomas Stone High School in Maryland. "This will lead to confusion in the classroom and resistance to learning the new terms, because the students will question, why learn something that might change again in a year or so?"
This has left educators and textbook manufacurers scrambling to keep up and everyone scratching their heads, and has left even some astronomers vowing to keep up the good fight to maintain Pluto's status as a planet. The difference between a dwarf planet and a plutoid appears to be simply location: plutoids are small rocky/icy objects located outside the orbit of Neptune, so recently discovered Kyper Belt Object Eris is also a plutoid, leaving the object Ceres (formerly an asteroid) as the only true "dwarf planet" - even my head is spinning and I follow this stuff pretty closely.
Stay tuned for further developments.
"Science teachers and publishers already worked to update their resources to read "dwarf planet." And now, boom, that category is out of favor among astronomers.
"Students who have just learned about the concept of dwarf planets must now be taught the new concept of plutoid," said Janis Milman, who teaches earth science at Thomas Stone High School in Maryland. "This will lead to confusion in the classroom and resistance to learning the new terms, because the students will question, why learn something that might change again in a year or so?"
This has left educators and textbook manufacurers scrambling to keep up and everyone scratching their heads, and has left even some astronomers vowing to keep up the good fight to maintain Pluto's status as a planet. The difference between a dwarf planet and a plutoid appears to be simply location: plutoids are small rocky/icy objects located outside the orbit of Neptune, so recently discovered Kyper Belt Object Eris is also a plutoid, leaving the object Ceres (formerly an asteroid) as the only true "dwarf planet" - even my head is spinning and I follow this stuff pretty closely.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: My God, you're even more striking in person.
Kelly: Who is this man? And why is his face about to explode?
Alan: Kelly Nolan, this is Denny Crane. Success has caused his head to swell.
Kelly: Who is this man? And why is his face about to explode?
Alan: Kelly Nolan, this is Denny Crane. Success has caused his head to swell.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Comparing Tasks of Devaney and Pelini
Tad Stryker of Huskerpedia compares the tasks facing Bob Devaney in 1962 with that of current NU head football coach Bo Pelini. While superficially similiar, Stryker concludes that Devaney faced a more formidable task, an accessment which I'm inclined to agree with. Both coaches inherited some talented players from the previous regimes, but NU had really suffered some horrific seasons between the 1941 Rose Bowl season and the beginning of Devaney's tenure, just three winning seasons and one finishing at .500. Pelinie predessessor Bill Callahan had two losing seasons to go along with two bowl appearnces and a Big 12 North title. Pelini also has the unusual luxury of beginning his first season with five home dates in a row. However, Devaney did have some head coaching experience before taking the helm at NU.
Finding Earth's Twin
Nice article at MSNBC about the challenges and opportunities in discovering a habitable planet outside our solar system - an twin to our Earth.
""So far we've found Jupiters and Saturns, and now our technology is becoming good enough to detect planets smaller, more like the size of Uranus and Neptune, and even smaller," said one of the top planet hunters on this world, Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley.
Marcy, Boss and other scientists are optimistic that within the next five or so years headlines will be splashed with news of a near twin of Earth in another star system."
The article also discusses and explains the two techniques of planet discovery (the wobble and the transit methods) and the optimism pervailing the field as new space imaging obervatories bring new technology to the chase, such as the ESA's COROT satellite(already in orbit) and NASA's upcoming Feb. 2009 Kepler mission. Also on tap for the future will be the Webb telescope scheduled for a 2013 launch. Astronomers have discovered several planets at the edge of the habitable zone (where the planet's temperature would be within the bounds acceptable for life as we know it) of an alien star, but not yet one quite in the sweet spot, but researchers beleive it will just be a matter of time.
""So far we've found Jupiters and Saturns, and now our technology is becoming good enough to detect planets smaller, more like the size of Uranus and Neptune, and even smaller," said one of the top planet hunters on this world, Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley.
Marcy, Boss and other scientists are optimistic that within the next five or so years headlines will be splashed with news of a near twin of Earth in another star system."
The article also discusses and explains the two techniques of planet discovery (the wobble and the transit methods) and the optimism pervailing the field as new space imaging obervatories bring new technology to the chase, such as the ESA's COROT satellite(already in orbit) and NASA's upcoming Feb. 2009 Kepler mission. Also on tap for the future will be the Webb telescope scheduled for a 2013 launch. Astronomers have discovered several planets at the edge of the habitable zone (where the planet's temperature would be within the bounds acceptable for life as we know it) of an alien star, but not yet one quite in the sweet spot, but researchers beleive it will just be a matter of time.
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: Certainly you'd want me by your side at this trial.
Kelly Nolan: I'm sure you're very sweet, but old men tend to die on me.
Denny: I'm Denny Crane. No bigger ass--asset! You want me at your table.
Kelly Nolan: I'm sure you're very sweet, but old men tend to die on me.
Denny: I'm Denny Crane. No bigger ass--asset! You want me at your table.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: I can see you're aroused. You might consider the last man to make love to her died while doing so.
[Denny looks over Kelly Nolan's body.]
Denny: I'll take my chances.
[Denny looks over Kelly Nolan's body.]
Denny: I'll take my chances.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Estonia - Free Market Paradise
Great article from yesterday on Estonia from the American Thinker's Nicholas Kaster. Estonia, one of the three Baltic Republics that suffered so much damage during World War 2 (invaded in succession by the Soviets, the Nazis, then the Soviets again) kick started their economy after the fall of European Communism by adopting the Milt Friedman approach, championed by Soviet dissident Mart Lar, Estonia's first Prime Minister after independence. First, the problems facing Lar:
"Laar, who became Estonia's first prime minister in 1992, inherited the bitter fruits of socialism - an economy in shambles and the citizenry dispirited. "In an era of socialism," Laar wrote, "people were not used to thinking for themselves, taking the initiative or assuming risks."
This was a problem common to Central and Eastern European countries. In a recent article for the American Spectator, Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum observed that "[i]n a very short time, between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, much that had been illegal in that part of the world became legal again." But the private, charitable, and social institutions that form the fabric of a civil society had not existed for many decades. Without civil society, Abblebaum wrote, citizens "lost of the habit of organizing anything, whether economic activity, entertainment, education, politics, or charity, for themselves."
Estonia was no exception. As Laar himself noted, citizens "had to be shaken free of the illusion-common in post-communist countries-that somehow someone else would solve their problems for them." Accordingly, "the government declared that it could only help those who were prepared to do something for themselves." "
Lar instituted a set of radical economic reforms that have been wildly succesful in growing the economy at an average of 6% a year since their implementation. First, he privatized state owned assets and established a strong system of private property rights, and ended state subsidies to failing enterprises. Secondly, the nation abolished all import tariffs and established a free trade zone. Thirdly, the government established a flat tax regime with an introductory rate of 26%, which was later reduced to 24% in 2005, 23% in 2006, and is scheduled to be reduced 1% a year to reach a rate of just 18% in 2010.
Estonia is now the 12th freest economy in the world today as calculated by the 2008 Index of economic freedom, ahead of such major economic powers as Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, an impressive achievement considering wherre the nation was just 15 years ago. In contrast, while former East bloc nations are embracing free market principles and slashing their tax rates, the US seems destined to follow outdated archaic tax and regulatory schemes, particularly if Barack Obama ends up winning the 2008 presidential campaign.
I may have to make a visit to Estonia someday.
"Laar, who became Estonia's first prime minister in 1992, inherited the bitter fruits of socialism - an economy in shambles and the citizenry dispirited. "In an era of socialism," Laar wrote, "people were not used to thinking for themselves, taking the initiative or assuming risks."
This was a problem common to Central and Eastern European countries. In a recent article for the American Spectator, Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum observed that "[i]n a very short time, between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, much that had been illegal in that part of the world became legal again." But the private, charitable, and social institutions that form the fabric of a civil society had not existed for many decades. Without civil society, Abblebaum wrote, citizens "lost of the habit of organizing anything, whether economic activity, entertainment, education, politics, or charity, for themselves."
Estonia was no exception. As Laar himself noted, citizens "had to be shaken free of the illusion-common in post-communist countries-that somehow someone else would solve their problems for them." Accordingly, "the government declared that it could only help those who were prepared to do something for themselves." "
Lar instituted a set of radical economic reforms that have been wildly succesful in growing the economy at an average of 6% a year since their implementation. First, he privatized state owned assets and established a strong system of private property rights, and ended state subsidies to failing enterprises. Secondly, the nation abolished all import tariffs and established a free trade zone. Thirdly, the government established a flat tax regime with an introductory rate of 26%, which was later reduced to 24% in 2005, 23% in 2006, and is scheduled to be reduced 1% a year to reach a rate of just 18% in 2010.
Estonia is now the 12th freest economy in the world today as calculated by the 2008 Index of economic freedom, ahead of such major economic powers as Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, an impressive achievement considering wherre the nation was just 15 years ago. In contrast, while former East bloc nations are embracing free market principles and slashing their tax rates, the US seems destined to follow outdated archaic tax and regulatory schemes, particularly if Barack Obama ends up winning the 2008 presidential campaign.
I may have to make a visit to Estonia someday.
Tennesee Senator Bob Corker
Very complimentary article from the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes on Tennesee's freshman Senator Bob Corker. Corker won a narrow victory over Harold Ford in the 2006 campaign. Corker's standing in the Senate has risen appreciably as he has concentrated on three key issues, fiscal matters, healthcare and energy, including cap and trade proposals to deal with 'climate change'. Towards that end, he has traveled to Europe to get first hand accounts of the European system, which has failed fairly miserably, and to Greenland to view melting glaciers, which he discounted after recalling that Greenland was settled by the Norse during a period in which potatoes and other crops were grown there - at that time, the name was in no way a misnomer.
"His goal became a policy hat trick: to deal with global warming while achieving energy security and continued economic growth. "There are some rubs" among the three goals, he concedes.
He argues that "our fossil fuels are a bridge to the future." Exploiting the oil and natural gas reserves offshore and underneath federal lands over the next several decades will provide time for alternative sources of energy to be developed--without harming the country in the meantime."
In the recent cap and trade debate in the Senate, Corker took a lead role. AS barnes puts it:
"On the cap and trade bill, he offered three amendments (which were never voted on as the bill died prematurely) and infuriated the legislation's chief proponent, Boxer, in the process.
One amendment required the billions from auctioning off carbon allowances to be rebated to taxpayers. Otherwise, the money would be handed out to special interests in "the mother of all earmarks," Corker said. Boxer took umbrage. "I resent the senator from Tennessee saying our bill is a slush fund," she said.
Another Corker amendment barred carbon allowances from being handed out "to entities that have nothing to do with reducing carbon emissions." His third amendment prohibited so-called "international offsets" as a way to comply with an American carbon cap.
Corker's mastery of cap and trade proved to be eye-catching. Lobbyists on all sides began to pay attention to his words. John Pemberton of the Southern Company, a utility, says it's clear Corker "knows how to dig into an issue and learn it." "
Anyone in the Senate that can frustrate California's most liberal Senator has got to be a person to pay attention to and possibly contribute. Hats off to Senator Corker for some excellent work.
"His goal became a policy hat trick: to deal with global warming while achieving energy security and continued economic growth. "There are some rubs" among the three goals, he concedes.
He argues that "our fossil fuels are a bridge to the future." Exploiting the oil and natural gas reserves offshore and underneath federal lands over the next several decades will provide time for alternative sources of energy to be developed--without harming the country in the meantime."
In the recent cap and trade debate in the Senate, Corker took a lead role. AS barnes puts it:
"On the cap and trade bill, he offered three amendments (which were never voted on as the bill died prematurely) and infuriated the legislation's chief proponent, Boxer, in the process.
One amendment required the billions from auctioning off carbon allowances to be rebated to taxpayers. Otherwise, the money would be handed out to special interests in "the mother of all earmarks," Corker said. Boxer took umbrage. "I resent the senator from Tennessee saying our bill is a slush fund," she said.
Another Corker amendment barred carbon allowances from being handed out "to entities that have nothing to do with reducing carbon emissions." His third amendment prohibited so-called "international offsets" as a way to comply with an American carbon cap.
Corker's mastery of cap and trade proved to be eye-catching. Lobbyists on all sides began to pay attention to his words. John Pemberton of the Southern Company, a utility, says it's clear Corker "knows how to dig into an issue and learn it." "
Anyone in the Senate that can frustrate California's most liberal Senator has got to be a person to pay attention to and possibly contribute. Hats off to Senator Corker for some excellent work.
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: What the hell kinda charity is 'Children's Group'?
Shirley: We're teaching children to read.
Denise: No, we're buying them food.
Alan: I thought we were providing them with old people to play with.
Shirley: We're teaching children to read.
Denise: No, we're buying them food.
Alan: I thought we were providing them with old people to play with.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Fred Involved with McCain Camp
via Human Events, the return of the Fred! to the national media is part of the McCain team's campaign strategy. Thompson will apparently be heavily involved with the Supreme Court nomination and vetting process in any potential McCain administration.
"In a McCain campaign conference call with reporters yesterday on last week’s Supreme Court decision on terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thompson -- without claiming such status -- played the role of a prominent McCain adviser."
Best news I've heard today, but I would really like to hear Fred having an even more prominent position, perhaps in the cabinet. Personally, I like the sound of Attorney General Thompson.
"In a McCain campaign conference call with reporters yesterday on last week’s Supreme Court decision on terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thompson -- without claiming such status -- played the role of a prominent McCain adviser."
Best news I've heard today, but I would really like to hear Fred having an even more prominent position, perhaps in the cabinet. Personally, I like the sound of Attorney General Thompson.
Editorial Note
Light blogging over the last week has been due to a long overdue vacation to the Big Apple, my personal present to myself for finishing Grad school. I believed I had the usual daily Boston Legal post scheduled for each day during my absence but apparently something got screwed up (thank you, Blogger!). I think I have the damage repaired now, and will have some more substantial things to say later this week as I get caught up at work.
Thanks for reading and my apologies for leaving the site hanging during my trip.
Thanks for reading and my apologies for leaving the site hanging during my trip.
Boston Legal Quotes
Chelina: Hey! Pretty boy. How'd you like to go to Texas?
Alan: I'd love to. I haven't had my shots.
Alan: I'd love to. I haven't had my shots.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: I promise you. By the time I finish tomorrow, those judges - every last one of them - will rise up and say "Never mind executing Ezekiel Borns. Let's kill Alan Shore instead."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Tara: Nymphomania?
Shirley: Anything you can find. And we'll need to line up an expert who can testify, possibly as soon as tomorrow.
Brad: It's not a real disease. It's an excuse offered up by sex perv sickos.
Shirley: Yes, Brad. Thank you for that.
Lori: It's also a sexist diagnosis, as well as bogus. If a man was running around trying to schtup everything he could, we wouldn't say that he had a disease. We would just call him…
Denny: [entering, uttering his signature line] Denny Crane.
Shirley: Exactly.
Shirley: Anything you can find. And we'll need to line up an expert who can testify, possibly as soon as tomorrow.
Brad: It's not a real disease. It's an excuse offered up by sex perv sickos.
Shirley: Yes, Brad. Thank you for that.
Lori: It's also a sexist diagnosis, as well as bogus. If a man was running around trying to schtup everything he could, we wouldn't say that he had a disease. We would just call him…
Denny: [entering, uttering his signature line] Denny Crane.
Shirley: Exactly.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Shirley: I know you recently retired. Is this...
Milton: And please do not proffer psychological counsel. I came in here in search of legal and intellectual acuity.
Shirley: And you sought out Denny?
Milton: And please do not proffer psychological counsel. I came in here in search of legal and intellectual acuity.
Shirley: And you sought out Denny?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: ''A woman once left me cause the way I grunted during sex reminded her of her potbellied pig...And when I fell asleep after? She said I snored like her pig too. You just can't win.''
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Lori: Wait, this firm is actually going to help Milton Bombay be put on ice?
Catherine: Oh, come now Lori. You of all people should know it's not so bad to go through life as a popsicle.
Catherine: Oh, come now Lori. You of all people should know it's not so bad to go through life as a popsicle.
Monday, June 16, 2008
10 Reasons Oil Prices are So High
William Tate over at The American Thinker examines 10 reasons to blame Congress about oil prices being so high, including the drilling restricitons placed on the ANWR and coastal plains, the push for alternative energy such as ethanol, environmental resistance to utilizing proven technologies such as nuclear power and coal liquification, the standstill in constructing new refineries, a private oil industry consolidation that occurred during the Clinton administration, the myth about global warming, rampant commodities speculation on energy resources, and the Democratic defeat of the Bush administration's 2001 Energy Plan, which had key proposals in the following areas:
-Promote new oil and gas drilling
-Build new nuclear plants
-Improve electricity grid and build new pipelines -$10bn in tax breaks to promote energy efficiency and alternative fuels
The one other key item regarding oil prices that Congress doesn't get the blame on is the fact the developing world's increased demand for oil. However, this would not be the significant problem it is today if the ten reasons above had been addressed in the past by Congress, regardless of which party is in power.
-Promote new oil and gas drilling
-Build new nuclear plants
-Improve electricity grid and build new pipelines -$10bn in tax breaks to promote energy efficiency and alternative fuels
The one other key item regarding oil prices that Congress doesn't get the blame on is the fact the developing world's increased demand for oil. However, this would not be the significant problem it is today if the ten reasons above had been addressed in the past by Congress, regardless of which party is in power.
Boston Legal Quotes
Lori: And what exactly is your defense?
Alan: Something like let him go even though he did it.
Lori: Jury nullification?
Alan: Best I can tell, though Shirley hasn't really filled me in.
Shirley: Talking about me?
Alan: Yes Shirley. If you so enjoy keeping me in the dark, you really should give me a try…in the dark.
Alan: Something like let him go even though he did it.
Lori: Jury nullification?
Alan: Best I can tell, though Shirley hasn't really filled me in.
Shirley: Talking about me?
Alan: Yes Shirley. If you so enjoy keeping me in the dark, you really should give me a try…in the dark.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Things aren't so Bad, Yet...
Greg Easterbrook at the WSJ takes an objective look at current events and finds that while things are actually pretty good, our attitudes towards current events are pretty negative, often egged on by the media.
"At a time when there exists a sense of crisis over the economy, fuel prices and many other issues, this reinforces the odd, two realities of life in the United States today: The way we are, and the way we think we are. The way we are could use some work, but overall, is pretty good. The way we think we are is terrible, horrible, awful. Possibly worse."
As he puts it, unemployment is historically low, incomes are rising slightly ahead of inflation, the vast majority of American homeowners are not threatened with foreclosure and their home is worth around a third more than 2000, living standards are the highest ever recorded, pollution is much reduced, and crime and major life threatening diseases are in decline. So why the pessimism? Part stems from the fact the nation is at war, part from the constant barrage of the 24/7 newscycle, where the only news worth reporting is bad news.
As Easterbrook puts it, when a auto plant closes it's news. When one opens, it isn't - much like our recent successes in the Middle East. We've been conditioned to believe (and continue to be) that things are much worse than they really are - Democrats blame Republicans for ruining domestic policy while Republicans blame Democrats for ruining foreign policy. While people report their own lives are pretty good, they worry about the population as a whole. By any objective measure, things aren't really as bad as reported, but you'd never know unless you dig inside the data.
Public impressions, however misguided or incorrect, are often the deciding criteria of elections. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how things play out as the fall campaign heats up.
"At a time when there exists a sense of crisis over the economy, fuel prices and many other issues, this reinforces the odd, two realities of life in the United States today: The way we are, and the way we think we are. The way we are could use some work, but overall, is pretty good. The way we think we are is terrible, horrible, awful. Possibly worse."
As he puts it, unemployment is historically low, incomes are rising slightly ahead of inflation, the vast majority of American homeowners are not threatened with foreclosure and their home is worth around a third more than 2000, living standards are the highest ever recorded, pollution is much reduced, and crime and major life threatening diseases are in decline. So why the pessimism? Part stems from the fact the nation is at war, part from the constant barrage of the 24/7 newscycle, where the only news worth reporting is bad news.
As Easterbrook puts it, when a auto plant closes it's news. When one opens, it isn't - much like our recent successes in the Middle East. We've been conditioned to believe (and continue to be) that things are much worse than they really are - Democrats blame Republicans for ruining domestic policy while Republicans blame Democrats for ruining foreign policy. While people report their own lives are pretty good, they worry about the population as a whole. By any objective measure, things aren't really as bad as reported, but you'd never know unless you dig inside the data.
Public impressions, however misguided or incorrect, are often the deciding criteria of elections. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how things play out as the fall campaign heats up.
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: When a man turns 40, he begins to take measure of himself. I must admit I don't like what I see.
Tara: You're turning 43.
Alan: If you don't mind, I'm trying to appear vulnerable to facilitate my snorkeling up your thighbone later.
Tara: Alan? You boyfriend. Me girlfriend. You have a season's pass.
Alan: You're ruining the conquest part, which is all it's really about for me.
Tara: You're turning 43.
Alan: If you don't mind, I'm trying to appear vulnerable to facilitate my snorkeling up your thighbone later.
Tara: Alan? You boyfriend. Me girlfriend. You have a season's pass.
Alan: You're ruining the conquest part, which is all it's really about for me.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: First of all, the idea of giving representation to that thug…
Denny: Alan, c'mon, we hate all our clients. It's good to hate, allows us to overcharge and still sleep at night.
Denny: Alan, c'mon, we hate all our clients. It's good to hate, allows us to overcharge and still sleep at night.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Marketing and Brands
Interesting article at Livescience regarding trademarks and brand marketing. The first modern registered trademark was for British brewery Bass Ale, which trademarked their red triangle brand logo in 1777.
"Brand names, we assume, are a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. As goods started to roll off the factory line in large numbers, manufactures had to find a way to reassure customers that their cookie-cutter products were just as good, if not better, than hand-crafted items.
And so we got the "science" of marketing. Stamp those goods with a simple symbol — the British Bass Ale red triangle was the first registered trademark in 1777 — and then flash that symbol all over town until it's imprinted on everyone's brain. The idea is that familiarity breeds trust, and that people quickly associate a familiar trademark with value."
However, branding goes back much further in time, to almost the beginnnings of civilization. The jars sent throughout the world of classical Mediterranean civilization were often sealed with a bit of wax or other substance marked with a notweworthy design - a brand, which denoted the producers, the grade or contents. Containers so sealed extend back to 70000 BC in Mesopotamia.
Pretty interesting stuff.
"Brand names, we assume, are a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. As goods started to roll off the factory line in large numbers, manufactures had to find a way to reassure customers that their cookie-cutter products were just as good, if not better, than hand-crafted items.
And so we got the "science" of marketing. Stamp those goods with a simple symbol — the British Bass Ale red triangle was the first registered trademark in 1777 — and then flash that symbol all over town until it's imprinted on everyone's brain. The idea is that familiarity breeds trust, and that people quickly associate a familiar trademark with value."
However, branding goes back much further in time, to almost the beginnnings of civilization. The jars sent throughout the world of classical Mediterranean civilization were often sealed with a bit of wax or other substance marked with a notweworthy design - a brand, which denoted the producers, the grade or contents. Containers so sealed extend back to 70000 BC in Mesopotamia.
Pretty interesting stuff.
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: Lock and load. Where is everybody?
Paul: This is an administrative meeting, Denny.
Denny: Oh! Then what the hell am I doing here?
Shirley: Remember the good ole days when you liked to know what was going on? When you could go from your office to the elevator without a roadmap?
Denny: Didn't need a roadmap to find my way around your body, did I, Shirley?
Shirley: I wouldn't know. I was usually asleep.
Denny: I once had her...and Streisand...at the same time. Remember that?
Shirley: Hahhh, I do Denny. Ha ha. And not to burst your bubble, but that was a male impersonator. Perhaps the penis might have been your cue.
Paul: This is an administrative meeting, Denny.
Denny: Oh! Then what the hell am I doing here?
Shirley: Remember the good ole days when you liked to know what was going on? When you could go from your office to the elevator without a roadmap?
Denny: Didn't need a roadmap to find my way around your body, did I, Shirley?
Shirley: I wouldn't know. I was usually asleep.
Denny: I once had her...and Streisand...at the same time. Remember that?
Shirley: Hahhh, I do Denny. Ha ha. And not to burst your bubble, but that was a male impersonator. Perhaps the penis might have been your cue.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Smallest Planet Discovered
via National Geographic, the smallest exoplanet yet found orbitting a star has been discovered by a team using the relatively novel gravitational lensing technique. Gravitational lensing utilzies the bending of light around large gravitational objects to focus on distant objects. The planet, called MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, is only three earth masses and orbits what is thought to be a brown dwarf.
"The planet is 3,000 light-years from Earth and has a close-in orbit similar to Venus's. But because the newfound body's parent is so much cooler than our sun, MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb is most likely to be even colder than Pluto. Even so—and despite almost no solar heating—there's a slim chance that the planet could maintain a habitable temperature if the atmosphere is as thick with molecular hydrogen as researchers think it could be, according to study leader David Bennett."
The fact we've discovered such a small mass planet orbiting a rather small failed star leads researchers to believe there are many more such objects in the cosmos. The new planet is only the seventh such exoplanet discovered by the gravitational lensing technique.
"The planet is 3,000 light-years from Earth and has a close-in orbit similar to Venus's. But because the newfound body's parent is so much cooler than our sun, MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb is most likely to be even colder than Pluto. Even so—and despite almost no solar heating—there's a slim chance that the planet could maintain a habitable temperature if the atmosphere is as thick with molecular hydrogen as researchers think it could be, according to study leader David Bennett."
The fact we've discovered such a small mass planet orbiting a rather small failed star leads researchers to believe there are many more such objects in the cosmos. The new planet is only the seventh such exoplanet discovered by the gravitational lensing technique.
Sir Isaac Newton
The latest in the Livescience series on world influencing events examines the life and works of 17th century mathemetician and scientist Sir Isaac Newton.
"Newton's wide range of discoveries, from his theories of optics to his groundbreaking work on the laws of motion and gravity, formed the basis for modern physics. The true genius of his work, experts think, is how he ultimately took those theories and applied them to the universe at large, explaining the motions of the Sun and planets in a way that had never been done before."
In addition to his Laws of Motion, Newton also discovered the concept of the light spectrum using a crystal prism to separate white light into its colored components. and also developed the concept of infinite series calculus, still used by engineers and statisticians today. Late in his life, Newton also developed the theory of gravity in his masterwork, Principia.
"Newton's wide range of discoveries, from his theories of optics to his groundbreaking work on the laws of motion and gravity, formed the basis for modern physics. The true genius of his work, experts think, is how he ultimately took those theories and applied them to the universe at large, explaining the motions of the Sun and planets in a way that had never been done before."
In addition to his Laws of Motion, Newton also discovered the concept of the light spectrum using a crystal prism to separate white light into its colored components. and also developed the concept of infinite series calculus, still used by engineers and statisticians today. Late in his life, Newton also developed the theory of gravity in his masterwork, Principia.
Boston Legal Quotes
Judge Brown: I don't like this. Your office gets behind, so you just let criminals walk?
Alan: It's reassuring to see that you haven't formed any conclusions about my client's guilt or innocence.
Judge Brown: You know what my mother says? “If it smells funny, I'm not eating it.”
Alan: Exact opposite of my motto.
Alan: It's reassuring to see that you haven't formed any conclusions about my client's guilt or innocence.
Judge Brown: You know what my mother says? “If it smells funny, I'm not eating it.”
Alan: Exact opposite of my motto.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Warming Debate in Senate
Marc Sheppard at The American Thinker takes a look at the "Great Debate" over climate change and actually goes so far as to examine the evidence, which is a lot more than our Congresscritters have apparently done. While the vote went against the socialist greens, the arguments against the climate bill were couched not in scientific terms, but economic. Sheppard I think argues it should have been both.
"Don't get me wrong -- the fiscal arguments against the bill's draconian business regulations were inexorable -- its massive consequent spike in energy costs would be nothing short of ruinous to the nation. An April EPA analysis of the bill estimated a 53 cents per gallon increase in the price of gasoline and a 44% jump in electricity costs by 2030 should it become law. Even those figures precariously assumed a 150% increase in nuclear and "significant use of biomass" for electricity generation; otherwise costs will be "significantly higher." Add a projected net loss of almost a trillion dollars in GDP by that very same year and this blatantly socialistic power-grab attempt deserved the pauper's funeral it received on financial grounds alone. That's without even considering that there's no proof whatsoever that the actions of mankind can influence global temperatures even one degree Celsius in either direction."
Sheppard also points out that even Kyoto treaty signatories such as the UK, Japan, Russia, Italy and France haven't even come close to making their targeted reductions. The US increased its carbon emissions only 6.57%, while France, which generates a majority of its energy from carbon friendly nuclear power, just barely beat that figure with an increase of 6.21%. The global average increase was just over 18%, with Russia and Itlay over 15%, and Japan over 10%.
Despite the failure of Kyoto and the increase in global carbon emissions, the predicted planetary catastrophe just isn't happening, in fact, the world average temperature is cooling, not warming, and has been since 2002. In fact the temperature reductions from the last 5 years alone have countered all of the recorded warming from the last 100 years. Further, the JPL is predicting that a shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation will bring a colling trend for the next 20-30 years.
You'd like to think the new data would ahve an impact, but the hysteria continues.
"Don't get me wrong -- the fiscal arguments against the bill's draconian business regulations were inexorable -- its massive consequent spike in energy costs would be nothing short of ruinous to the nation. An April EPA analysis of the bill estimated a 53 cents per gallon increase in the price of gasoline and a 44% jump in electricity costs by 2030 should it become law. Even those figures precariously assumed a 150% increase in nuclear and "significant use of biomass" for electricity generation; otherwise costs will be "significantly higher." Add a projected net loss of almost a trillion dollars in GDP by that very same year and this blatantly socialistic power-grab attempt deserved the pauper's funeral it received on financial grounds alone. That's without even considering that there's no proof whatsoever that the actions of mankind can influence global temperatures even one degree Celsius in either direction."
Sheppard also points out that even Kyoto treaty signatories such as the UK, Japan, Russia, Italy and France haven't even come close to making their targeted reductions. The US increased its carbon emissions only 6.57%, while France, which generates a majority of its energy from carbon friendly nuclear power, just barely beat that figure with an increase of 6.21%. The global average increase was just over 18%, with Russia and Itlay over 15%, and Japan over 10%.
Despite the failure of Kyoto and the increase in global carbon emissions, the predicted planetary catastrophe just isn't happening, in fact, the world average temperature is cooling, not warming, and has been since 2002. In fact the temperature reductions from the last 5 years alone have countered all of the recorded warming from the last 100 years. Further, the JPL is predicting that a shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation will bring a colling trend for the next 20-30 years.
You'd like to think the new data would ahve an impact, but the hysteria continues.
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: Feels good, doesn't it?
Roberta: What feels good?
Alan: Having sex with the candidate. What if he wins? I bet the orgasms are even better if he wins. [sighs] I'm jealous.
Roberta: What feels good?
Alan: Having sex with the candidate. What if he wins? I bet the orgasms are even better if he wins. [sighs] I'm jealous.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Denny: Hell, if I had a nickel for every woman I'd promise to marry in exchange for sex...actually, I do.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Will on Oil Prices
While not one of my favorite columnists, George Will is pretty popular as conservative writers go. In his latest effort, he points out the hypocritical nature of Senators such as Charles Schumer of New York (D) demanding the Saudis pump 1 million more barrels of oil to lower prices when our idiot Congress has put most of the Outer Continental shelf, the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and 85% of all Federal land onshore off limits from even being explored for oil.
"One million barrels is what might today be flowing from ANWR if in 1995 President Clinton had not vetoed legislation to permit drilling there. One million barrels produce 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. Seventy-two of today's senators -- including Schumer, of course, and 38 other Democrats, including Barack Obama, and 33 Republicans, including John McCain -- have voted to keep ANWR's estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market.
So Schumer, according to Schumer, is complicit in taking $10 away from every American who buys 20 gallons of gasoline. "Democracy," said H.L. Mencken, "is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." The common people of New York want Schumer to be their senator, so they should pipe down about gasoline prices, which are a predictable consequence of their political choice.
Also disqualified from complaining are all voters who sent to Washington senators and representatives who have voted to keep ANWR's oil in the ground, and who voted to put 85 percent of America's offshore territory off-limits to drilling. The U.S. Minerals Management Service says that restricted area contains perhaps 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- 10 times the oil and 20 times the natural gas Americans use in a year. Drilling is under way 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are."
He also points out the ANWR consists of a land area larger than five states and the proposed oil drilling area consists of a 1000 acre area the size of a small airport, and that there have been no major oil spills from produciton facilities in the country since 1969. Lousinana, with 3200 off shore oil rigs, is also home to a thriving commercial fishing industry that depends on part on the artificial reefs created by the very same platforms.
Pretty amazing, isn't it?
"One million barrels is what might today be flowing from ANWR if in 1995 President Clinton had not vetoed legislation to permit drilling there. One million barrels produce 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. Seventy-two of today's senators -- including Schumer, of course, and 38 other Democrats, including Barack Obama, and 33 Republicans, including John McCain -- have voted to keep ANWR's estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market.
So Schumer, according to Schumer, is complicit in taking $10 away from every American who buys 20 gallons of gasoline. "Democracy," said H.L. Mencken, "is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." The common people of New York want Schumer to be their senator, so they should pipe down about gasoline prices, which are a predictable consequence of their political choice.
Also disqualified from complaining are all voters who sent to Washington senators and representatives who have voted to keep ANWR's oil in the ground, and who voted to put 85 percent of America's offshore territory off-limits to drilling. The U.S. Minerals Management Service says that restricted area contains perhaps 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- 10 times the oil and 20 times the natural gas Americans use in a year. Drilling is under way 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are."
He also points out the ANWR consists of a land area larger than five states and the proposed oil drilling area consists of a 1000 acre area the size of a small airport, and that there have been no major oil spills from produciton facilities in the country since 1969. Lousinana, with 3200 off shore oil rigs, is also home to a thriving commercial fishing industry that depends on part on the artificial reefs created by the very same platforms.
Pretty amazing, isn't it?
Boston Legal Quotes
Judge Lang: This is highly unusual, Mr. Shore. Seeking to discipline a judge for imposing a sentence your client agreed to.
Alan: I suspect we'd all agree to a good beating in order to avoid a prison sentence, but Your Honors, we are not in Singapore.
Alan: I suspect we'd all agree to a good beating in order to avoid a prison sentence, but Your Honors, we are not in Singapore.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Stonehenge Started as Cemetary
National Geographic reports on new discoveries at Stonehenge, the megalithic rock formation from British prehistory, that appear to indicate it was not only a astronomical calendar but a cemetary for at least some of the elites of the Stone Age culture of ancient Britain.
"New analysis of ancient human remains show that people were buried at the southern England site from about 3000 B.C. until after the first large stones were raised around 2500 B.C. "This is really exciting, because it shows that Stonehenge, from its beginning to its zenith, is being used as a place to physically put the remains of the dead," said Mike Parker Pearson of England's University of Sheffield. "It's something that we just didn't appreciate until now."
Ndew radiocarbon datings from remains found in the 1950s has expanded the burial dates 500 years further back into time, even before the raising of the stone blocks at the site at around 2500 BC. A circular ditch and raised earthen platform were the intial human developments at the site. The latest burial dates to around the same period of the stone raising. It is estimated there may be as many as 240 burials at the site.
"New analysis of ancient human remains show that people were buried at the southern England site from about 3000 B.C. until after the first large stones were raised around 2500 B.C. "This is really exciting, because it shows that Stonehenge, from its beginning to its zenith, is being used as a place to physically put the remains of the dead," said Mike Parker Pearson of England's University of Sheffield. "It's something that we just didn't appreciate until now."
Ndew radiocarbon datings from remains found in the 1950s has expanded the burial dates 500 years further back into time, even before the raising of the stone blocks at the site at around 2500 BC. A circular ditch and raised earthen platform were the intial human developments at the site. The latest burial dates to around the same period of the stone raising. It is estimated there may be as many as 240 burials at the site.
Boston Legal Quotes
Catherine: Alan! Hello!
Alan: Mrs. Piper?
Catherine: You remember! Ha, ha. Oh, I always say, "Shake a man's hand with dog poop on your glove, he'll remember you for life."
Alan: Mrs. Piper?
Catherine: You remember! Ha, ha. Oh, I always say, "Shake a man's hand with dog poop on your glove, he'll remember you for life."
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Shuttle Arrives at ISS
via OWH, the space shuttle Discovery has docked at the ISS with the latest expansion to the orbital platform, a Japanese designed laboratory module. The first spacewalk is scheduled for today to begin the installation of the new component.
"During a scheduled 6 1/2 hour spacewalk, astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr. will prep the $1 billion lab, named Kibo - Japanese for hope - for installation by removing power and heating cables and various restraints that connect it to the shuttle. Later in the day, astronauts working from inside will use the space station's robot arm to lift the bus-size lab from the shuttle and anchor it to the station. "We're looking forward to a great day, an exciting day to install the Japanese Kibo module," Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who will help move the lab, said Tuesday as astronauts examined spacesuits and made other preparations for the spacewalk. Kibo, at 37 feet long, is bigger than the U.S. and European labs already attached to the space station."
Also planned today is the another look at the mechanical issue surrounding the joint preventing one set of the station's solar arrays from rotating to stay in step with the sun. The astronauts will also relocate a 50 ft laser equipped boom from the station to the shuttle. The boom is used to inspect the shuttle for damage from lift off and normally carried by the shuttle but it was left behind at the ISS by the previous shuttle mission to the station as the new station module took up the entire shuttle cargo bay.
Busy day in space.
"During a scheduled 6 1/2 hour spacewalk, astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr. will prep the $1 billion lab, named Kibo - Japanese for hope - for installation by removing power and heating cables and various restraints that connect it to the shuttle. Later in the day, astronauts working from inside will use the space station's robot arm to lift the bus-size lab from the shuttle and anchor it to the station. "We're looking forward to a great day, an exciting day to install the Japanese Kibo module," Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who will help move the lab, said Tuesday as astronauts examined spacesuits and made other preparations for the spacewalk. Kibo, at 37 feet long, is bigger than the U.S. and European labs already attached to the space station."
Also planned today is the another look at the mechanical issue surrounding the joint preventing one set of the station's solar arrays from rotating to stay in step with the sun. The astronauts will also relocate a 50 ft laser equipped boom from the station to the shuttle. The boom is used to inspect the shuttle for damage from lift off and normally carried by the shuttle but it was left behind at the ISS by the previous shuttle mission to the station as the new station module took up the entire shuttle cargo bay.
Busy day in space.
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: So, shall we?
Tara: We shall. Do you have Morgan's address?
Alan: I do, but what I meant is, shall we continue where we left off last night?
Tara: In front of my building with you peeing in the planter?
Alan: I was about to burst. You should've let me come up.
Tara: That plant needed watering.
Tara: We shall. Do you have Morgan's address?
Alan: I do, but what I meant is, shall we continue where we left off last night?
Tara: In front of my building with you peeing in the planter?
Alan: I was about to burst. You should've let me come up.
Tara: That plant needed watering.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Boston Legal Quotes
Alan: One last proposal that's entirely possible. I'm kidding by the way, depending upon your reaction-300,000 sealed, we kick back fifty to you under the table.
Attorney: Mr. Shore, I guarantee you I am not that kind of attorney.
Alan: Really? Gosh, I am.
Attorney: I should report you directly to the bar, if not the district attorney.
Alan: Well, if that's how you feel, then I was kidding.
Attorney: Mr. Shore, I guarantee you I am not that kind of attorney.
Alan: Really? Gosh, I am.
Attorney: I should report you directly to the bar, if not the district attorney.
Alan: Well, if that's how you feel, then I was kidding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
