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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

MORE FROM THE “DEPARTMENT OF ‘DUH…...‘“

Today’s news flash is…..wait for it…...it’s coming…....

Students actually DO (gasp) reward easier teachers with higher ratings on the “student evaluations of teachers” that college administrators love so much! And the corollary is that the ratings on teacher quality are NOT predictive of actual student learning, as measured by how well-prepared students are for the next class in a sequence.

Posted by Earl on 01/30 at 11:14 AM
Miscellany • Education • (4) Comments •

Thursday, January 18, 2007

YOU, TOO CAN NAVIGATE YOUR CAR USING A SATELLITE…...

HERE’S AN INTRODUCTION for those of you unfamiliar with the concept…..and if you’re a “visual learner” there is a VIDEO VERSION.

PRICES ARE ‘WAY DOWN, as well…..which may tempt you to run right out and get your own, especially if you have a troubled relationship with your maps.

Posted by Earl on 01/18 at 04:45 PM
Miscellany • Funny (strange?) Stuff • (0) Comments •

Sunday, January 14, 2007

HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAYS DO I HATE MOBILE PHONES…....?

Honestly, I can’t count…....

But, every one of those ways in which I detest cellphones is matched by a reason that I love (even more strongly) liberty.

Now, cognitive dissonance has arrived for me—because it appears that liberty, and attendant social progress, for Africa may very well be tied to the development of mobile phone networks.

Don’t believe it?

Cell phones have transformed rural Kenya, according to the BBC. Samizdata notes that it is a revolution that people are comparing to the switch between dictatorship and democracy or the discovery of fire.

We watched a deeply impressed BBC reporter, Paul Mason, being told by a black lady (who I rather think may have been one of the authors of this report) that indeed, mobile phones are having an impact upon Africa comparable to the switch from dictatorship to democracy - she mentioned other technology as well, like fire, the wheel and the railways - and that the mobile phone industry provided a model for progress in other areas of African life, such as education and healthcare. Her message to the governments of Africa: get out of the way, at let the business people do these things, and the people pay for these things, themselves

Posted by Earl on 01/14 at 06:00 PM
Miscellany • Politics • International • (0) Comments •

Monday, January 08, 2007

ALL I CAN SAY IS “AMAZING”......

See if you don’t agree.

jerome murat
Uploaded by segalier

Posted by Earl on 01/08 at 10:04 PM
Miscellany • Funny (strange?) Stuff • (0) Comments •

Saturday, January 06, 2007

SO YOU THINK HEALTHCARE IS A MESS IN THIS COUNTRY…...?

And that something like “Hillarycare”, where there is a “single payer” (the government) will improve matters?

Riiiiiiiiiiight!

Patients are being denied basic operations, including treatments for varicose veins, wisdom teeth and bad backs, as hospitals try frantically to balance the books by the end of the financial year, The Times can reveal….In one example of the cash-saving strategies, seen by The Times, a primary care trust in Yorkshire has told hospitals that they will not be paid for some non-essential operations, while patients will not be given a hospital appointment in under eight weeks….The cuts are widespread, although there are no central records to provide definitive figures.

Yikes!

Posted by Earl on 01/06 at 10:15 PM
Politics • Healthcare • Economics • International • (2) Comments •

Friday, January 05, 2007

AH, YES…...LET’S MAKE THE UNITED STATES MORE LIKE EUROPE.

You hear the cries all the time, don’t you? The United States is so individualistic, so capitalist, so selfish….....if only we would soften the edges a bit; if only we’d move over toward the “European model” of caring for people who aren’t as capable as the rest of us.

Of course, some of us recognize that if money were somehow available to keep us from feeling any pinch when we didn’t go to work every day, we might actually be tempted to “pamper” ourselves a bit when we aren’t feeling in tip-top shape. No? Who hasn’t felt the desire to stay home and do the “important things”, rather than schlep off to the office to do what we have to in order to bring home the paycheck? If you’re saying “Not me!“, I think you’re in a distinct minority.

Anyhow, now and then a story leaks out that epitomizes the problem…..

Régnier applied for and received the status of an invalid from Wallonia’s generous welfare authorities. He consequently receives a welfare check of over €1,000 a month. His three wives are all unemployed. Hence, they each get €800 in unemployment benefits. On top of this the family receives €4,000 in child allowances. This makes a grand total of more than €7,400 a month ($9,700 or £4,960) – all of it provided by Belgium’s taxpayers. All the money matters in the household are taken care of by Serge. His wives are only interested in children. They have told the press that they each hope to have another baby in 2007.

Posted by Earl on 01/05 at 11:14 AM
Miscellany • Funny (strange?) Stuff • Politics • Economics • International • (0) Comments •

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

SENATOR BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA HAS AN INTERESTING PROBLEM…..

I mean, his name resembles the Western World’s #1 enemy, Osama bin Laden. It’s not just those who dislike Senator Obama who make the mistake, either.

Case in point?

Posted by Earl on 01/02 at 08:49 PM
Miscellany • Funny (strange?) Stuff • Politics • Domestic • (1) Comments •

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