Wednesday, May 01, 2013

I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet | The Verge

I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet | The Verge: "What I do know is that I can't blame the internet, or any circumstance, for my problems. I have many of the same priorities I had before I left the internet: family, friends, work, learning. And I have no guarantee I'll stick with them when I get back on the internet — I probably won't, to be honest. But at least I'll know that it's not the internet's fault. I'll know who's responsible, and who can fix it."


Schoolgirl tries science experiment, arrested for felony | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

Schoolgirl tries science experiment, arrested for felony | Technically Incorrect - CNET News: "This student at Bartow High School in Florida allegedly thought she'd put a couple of household chemicals in an 8-ounce water bottle, just to see the reaction.
The reaction was that she was expelled and marched off in handcuffs, accused of felony possession/discharge of a dangerous weapon."

"Ron Pritchard, explained that she was notorious -- for being a very nice person.
Pritchard said: "She is a good kid. She has never been in trouble before. Ever."
You might imagine, then, that this explosion caused vast damage to school buildings, which had to be evacuated.
Not quite. The top of the bottle popped off and there was some smoke. No one was hurt."

"One of the most important parts of a science education lies in the need to experiment. It's only curious minds that make the world progress.
One of the most important parts of a general education is the teaching of judgment.
Who exercised the worse judgment here? Kiera Wilmot or the Polk County Schools District and the local police?"

Can a 4,000-mile wall of trees stop Sahara Desert's drift? - CSMonitor.com

Can a 4,000-mile wall of trees stop Sahara Desert's drift? - CSMonitor.com: "The initiative plans to strategically plant swaths of trees roughly nine miles wide and over 4,000 miles long.

The central idea is for this belt of forest to serve as a barrier against desert winds and thus revitalize soil to protect against land degradation."

"Mongolia and China began similar efforts to combat the encroachment of the Gobi Desert in 2006. Furthermore, President Franklin Roosevelt initiated successful Shelterbelt programs in the 1930s, using strategic planting of foliage to combat the land degradation caused by the Dust Bowl on the American high plains.

The Shelterbelt initiative, however, was successful because it supplemented its “green wall” policies with monetary incentives for farmers who changed their techniques to more ecologically sound production methods."


Government Spending Up, Private GDP Down | Cato Institute

Government Spending Up, Private GDP Down | Cato Institute: "The downward slope of Excel’s fitted trend line means that higher government spending growth in a year corresponds to reduced private GDP growth that year. For example, if real government spending growth was zero, private GDP would be expected to grow at 4.2 percent. If real government spending growth was 5 percent, private GDP growth would be expected to fall to 2.8 percent."