Does not look good. Take a look here The only book in the whole list that is any good is The Golden Compass by Pullman. The rest have just horrible stories featuring suicide, rape, cutting, drug use, and a distopia (The Giver)that makes 1984 look like summer camp. Bummers all of 'em.
What happened to the books I enjoyed in middle and high school? J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert A. Heinlein, Rudyard Kipling, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, Montgomery Atwater, Sperry Armstrong, Poul Anderson, L. Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jules Verne, Frans Gunnar Bengtson, Fletcher Pratt, Willy Ley?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson
A good read. Atkinson tells the story of the WWII North African invasion, Operation Torch. It starts off with controversy, the American general staff was dead set against it. Roosevelt intervened, over rode the US military's objections, and the operation was on. The invasion fleet loaded up in Norfolk Virginia, steamed across the Atlantic and hit the North African beaches some 3000 miles away. One troopship was torpedoed and the troops lowered their landing craft in mid Atlantic, planning to motor the rest of the way. They didn't make it, and had to be rescued by a destroyer, but it was a noble effort.
Then there was a need for a shallow draft vessel to bring bombs and aviation gas up a shallow river to an airfield. A tired banana boat, the Contessa, was commandeered, dry docked for a scrape and paint of the hull, plus leak repairs. When the crew heard where the Contessa was bound, they all jumped ship. The captain and first mate go down to the Norfolk jail and pretty soon they have a new crew of men who think crossing the sub infested Atlantic, loaded with gasoline and explosives, is a better deal than a Virginia chain gang. The Contessa makes it, picks up a local pilot, gets up the river and unloads at the airfield.
Any history buff will enjoy this one.
Then there was a need for a shallow draft vessel to bring bombs and aviation gas up a shallow river to an airfield. A tired banana boat, the Contessa, was commandeered, dry docked for a scrape and paint of the hull, plus leak repairs. When the crew heard where the Contessa was bound, they all jumped ship. The captain and first mate go down to the Norfolk jail and pretty soon they have a new crew of men who think crossing the sub infested Atlantic, loaded with gasoline and explosives, is a better deal than a Virginia chain gang. The Contessa makes it, picks up a local pilot, gets up the river and unloads at the airfield.
Any history buff will enjoy this one.
Monday, June 27, 2011
NH Budget
We should praise our New Hampshire legislators for passing a real balanced budget. Give them extra credit for getting the governor to go along with it. The new budget reduces state spending by 11.7% from last year. These are real cuts. Real cuts occur when the agencies get less money than they got last time. Fake cuts (popular in government circles) occur when the agencies get less than they asked for. This budget has real cuts.
Much angst has been raised among democrats about cuts to worthy programs. In the real world, there is never enough money to pay for all the worthy programs. The programs cut are all worthy programs, but we just do not have the money to pay for them. We will never have to money to pay for all the things that would be nice to have.
The state only has so much money. It can’t get any more without raising taxes. We taxpayers are paying too much right now. We are facing layoffs; cuts in hours worked; a dreadful job market; increased gasoline and furnace oil prices; and increased food prices. We don’t have any more money to give to the state.
Much angst has been raised among democrats about cuts to worthy programs. In the real world, there is never enough money to pay for all the worthy programs. The programs cut are all worthy programs, but we just do not have the money to pay for them. We will never have to money to pay for all the things that would be nice to have.
The state only has so much money. It can’t get any more without raising taxes. We taxpayers are paying too much right now. We are facing layoffs; cuts in hours worked; a dreadful job market; increased gasoline and furnace oil prices; and increased food prices. We don’t have any more money to give to the state.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Swiss bomb shelters
According to the Journal, Swiss building codes require all new residential construction to have a bomb shelter. And, said shelter is supposed to be hard enough to ride out a 12 megaton nuke at 700 meters. Damn, that's hard. I don't think missile silo's are that hard.
Now that the cold war is over the Swiss are debating relaxing the bomb shelter requirements...
Now that the cold war is over the Swiss are debating relaxing the bomb shelter requirements...
Friday, June 24, 2011
Patent Law revision
The US House just passed a law to revise US patent law. The Senate has already passed it's own patent law, so after the House-Senate conference resolves the differences, it will go to Obama for signature.
Speaking as someone who worked in new product development for forty years, the US patent system is research and development hostile. Develop something, get it into production and bingo, get sued. There is always some patent troll holding a vaguely worded patent with claims as broad as all outdoors demanding money. Things like "Use of computer to transmit data", or "Register customer's sale after one mouse click."
These are mickey mouse patents that should never have been granted, but they were granted, and now some lawyers use them to take money away from developers.
What we need is to tighten up the granting of patents, and make it easier to revoke the mickey-mouse patents that are out there.
What are we going to get? More welfare for lawyers. They want to change the US system from "first to invent" to "first to file a patent". This is good for lawyers, 'cause it requires every inventor to file an expensive patent as early as possible. Right now you don't have to file until the idea shapes up to the point that it has some economic possibilities. Under "first-to-file" you better file as soon as possible, lest the idea leak out and some troll files first. Result, lots and lots of patent applications. Plus, large companies with legal staff have it easier filing a patent than a small startup does.
Speaking as someone who worked in new product development for forty years, the US patent system is research and development hostile. Develop something, get it into production and bingo, get sued. There is always some patent troll holding a vaguely worded patent with claims as broad as all outdoors demanding money. Things like "Use of computer to transmit data", or "Register customer's sale after one mouse click."
These are mickey mouse patents that should never have been granted, but they were granted, and now some lawyers use them to take money away from developers.
What we need is to tighten up the granting of patents, and make it easier to revoke the mickey-mouse patents that are out there.
What are we going to get? More welfare for lawyers. They want to change the US system from "first to invent" to "first to file a patent". This is good for lawyers, 'cause it requires every inventor to file an expensive patent as early as possible. Right now you don't have to file until the idea shapes up to the point that it has some economic possibilities. Under "first-to-file" you better file as soon as possible, lest the idea leak out and some troll files first. Result, lots and lots of patent applications. Plus, large companies with legal staff have it easier filing a patent than a small startup does.
Right to Work is dead?
Or at least in terrible jeopardy. As you may or may not remember, House Speaker Bill O'Brian scheduled an over-ride-Lynch-veto vote last week. Then it slipped. Then the speaker announced that the vote would be postponed until September.
Today's Wall St Journal carried the story but added that right-to-work in NH was dead. The Journal quoted some legislators as saying "I have a lot of Republican cops and firemen in my district. I don't dare cross them on right-to-work cause they might go and vote democratic on me."
Too bad. Right to work would bring new industry to New Hampshire. Companies won't invest in a state that lacks a right to work law. That's why the right to work states have shown better growth, both economic and population, than closed union shop states.
Today's Wall St Journal carried the story but added that right-to-work in NH was dead. The Journal quoted some legislators as saying "I have a lot of Republican cops and firemen in my district. I don't dare cross them on right-to-work cause they might go and vote democratic on me."
Too bad. Right to work would bring new industry to New Hampshire. Companies won't invest in a state that lacks a right to work law. That's why the right to work states have shown better growth, both economic and population, than closed union shop states.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Home sprinklers defeated
The nation's fire men have been pushing for installation of sprinkler systems in all new residential construction. They pushed hard enough to get a sprinkler requirement into the national fire code a few years ago.
This requirement would jack up the price of a new home by $5000 and bring you tasteful chrome sprinkler heads in the living room ceiling. Political pressure from home builders and ordinary citizens got the NH legislature to pass a bill forbidding cities and towns from requiring sprinklers in new residential construction. Our governor, Lynch, vetoed the bill a few days ago.
Fortunately, the legislature was able to over ride the governor's veto yesterday and New Hampshire homes can remain free of mandatory and expensive sprinkler systems.
Now if we can only find the votes to override Lynch's veto of right-to-work.
This requirement would jack up the price of a new home by $5000 and bring you tasteful chrome sprinkler heads in the living room ceiling. Political pressure from home builders and ordinary citizens got the NH legislature to pass a bill forbidding cities and towns from requiring sprinklers in new residential construction. Our governor, Lynch, vetoed the bill a few days ago.
Fortunately, the legislature was able to over ride the governor's veto yesterday and New Hampshire homes can remain free of mandatory and expensive sprinkler systems.
Now if we can only find the votes to override Lynch's veto of right-to-work.
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