swad

The world's largest colonial force

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:10:51 -0500

The world's largest colonial force: In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast.

"She told him “a great man is one sentence.” His leadership can be so well summed up in a..."

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:22:11 -0500

“She told him “a great man is one sentence.” His leadership can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don’t have to hear his name to know who’s being talked about.”

- Peggy Noonan on Obama’s vision gap

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas | The Onion

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:50:57 -0500

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas | The Onion

"On average, anyone walking into Wal-Mart is likely to spend more than $200,000 at the store during..."

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:56:34 -0500

“On average, anyone walking into Wal-Mart is likely to spend more than $200,000 at the store during the rest of his life. Therefore, any clueless employee who alienates that customer will cost the store around a quarter-million dollars.”

- A Wal-Mart expose by writer Charles Platt, who surprisingly finds it’s great place to work. [via reason]

"The Texas experience is one example of how differences in policy between states has resulted in..."

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:50:23 -0500

“The Texas experience is one example of how differences in policy between states has resulted in differences in outcomes and flows of people across political boundaries. In this case, a state government competed against other state governments, and based on its own endpoints, won.”

- When State Governments Compete for Doctors « Let A Thousand Nations Bloom

"Then the players were told to extend their sleep to 10 hours a night for five to six weeks. After..."

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:12:46 -0500

“Then the players were told to extend their sleep to 10 hours a night for five to six weeks. After increasing sleep, the athletes performed better on all the drills.”

- To Improve Fitness, Try Sleep - NYTimes.com

via photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:42:49 -0500

via photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net

"In fact, the best way to significantly reduce the ability of special interests to pass legislation..."

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:40:13 -0500

“In fact, the best way to significantly reduce the ability of special interests to pass legislation damaging to the American people is to reduce government.”

- When Perfect Is the Enemy of Progressives | Politics | The American Scene

"Sometimes the truth of a thing is not so much in the think of it, as in the feel of it."

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:44:35 -0500

““Sometimes the truth of a thing is not so much in the think of it, as in the feel of it.””

- Stanley Kubrick via Daring Fireball

Crime doesn’t pay, it just hurts.

Sun, 24 May 2009 21:15:32 -0500

Crime doesn’t pay, it just hurts.

"Pre-rinsing dishes is a big mistake."

Sun, 24 May 2009 17:39:21 -0500

“Pre-rinsing dishes is a big mistake.”

- My dad has been right all these years. Why isn’t my dishwasher cleaning my dishes? - NYTimes.com

"If markets don’t work, have government intervene. If government intervention doesn’t work, have..."

Sat, 23 May 2009 18:49:00 -0500

“If markets don’t work, have government intervene. If government intervention doesn’t work, have government intervene further.”

- The motto of “Government Fundamentalism”

"Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking."

Fri, 22 May 2009 17:46:34 -0500

“Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking.”

- John Maynard Keynes

"Eighty-five percent of our budget is personnel — and we still do not have a hiring freeze!"

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:26:20 -0500

““Eighty-five percent of our budget is personnel — and we still do not have a hiring freeze!””

- 85%. John Daley (brother of the mayor), angered by Todd Stroger’s refusal to streamline Chicago’s Cook County government. From The Tribune

Hubble’s final servicing mission - The Big Picture

Tue, 19 May 2009 19:02:31 -0500

Hubble’s final servicing mission - The Big Picture

Wah, Wah, Wah…

Tue, 19 May 2009 18:51:08 -0500

Wah, Wah, Wah…

"In the public sector, more union members mean… more dollars for political campaigns to elect..."

Tue, 19 May 2009 16:51:34 -0500

“In the public sector, more union members mean… more dollars for political campaigns to elect sympathetic politicians who will enact higher taxes to foot the bill for the upward arc of government spending on workers. That will be the pattern for the indefinite future unless taxpayers find a way to roll back the enormous power public workers have acquired.”

- Unions vs. Taxpayers

"You can easily make the argument that reading silently is an economic artifact, a sign of a new..."

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:00:52 -0500

“You can easily make the argument that reading silently is an economic artifact, a sign of a new prosperity beginning in the early 19th century and a new cheapness in books. But what I would suggest is that our idea of reading is incomplete, impoverished, unless we are also taking the time to read aloud.”

- Some Thoughts on the Lost Art of Reading Aloud

Voting with (taxed) feet

Mon, 18 May 2009 18:42:00 -0500

Voting with (taxed) feet:

Here’s the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states.

Did the greater prosperity in low-tax states happen by chance? Is it coincidence that the two highest tax-rate states in the nation, California and New York, have the biggest fiscal holes to repair? No. Dozens of academic studies — old and new — have found clear and irrefutable statistical evidence that high state and local taxes repel jobs and businesses.

Galactic Center of the Milky Way (via Vimeo)

Mon, 18 May 2009 15:36:47 -0500

Galactic Center of the Milky Way (via Vimeo)