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Riding the Digital Rapids
It’s been an eventful week. Easter, family reunion, Opening Day baseball, condo maintenance, the list goes on. Lots to blog about. But the laptop battery is running on empty, and I can’t recharge it. The power adaptor had a close encounter with a dangerous electric outlet over the weekend. Aluminum wiring in the wall! My brother the electrician is on the way. A new adaptor is on order from Apple.
iPad mini (Photo credit: patrick-allen)
On the other hand, I’ve entered the tablet era. A previously ordered iPad Mini arrived. I downloaded apps last night until I went cross-eyed. The iPad is great. I’ve downloaded the WordPress app, but I’m not ready to write long blog posts on the iPad, or edit photos, just yet.
For a few days, I might be more on Twitter than on WordPress. You can follow me @BJohnHayden.
– John
Related articles
- What e-readers will the iPad crush? (reviews.cnet.com)
- Happy birthday, iPad (idownloadblog.com)
- Education of the future (wenatcheeworld.com)
- iPad vs. Paper (idownloadblog.com)
Opportunities for Political Mischief
I personally believe that U.S. debt is not a “crisis,” particularly with the economy now expanding. It would be crazy to derail the expansion, which will do much to mitigate debt, by sharply cutting government spending.
But as you can see from the graphic at Fix The Debt., the debt is an issue that’s not going away. Plenty of opportunities (speed bumps) for mischief between now and 2014 elections.
Just my opinion. – John Hayden
Related articles
- Economists See No Crisis With U.S. Debt as Economy Gains (bloomberg.com)
- ‘Mischief Week’ comes at heavy cost to homeowners (gateway-homes.co.uk)
- HARRY POTTER Fan Art – Mischief Managed (geektyrant.com)
- What Would The U.S. Debt Be If An Accountant Was In Charge? (cpamerica.org)
Amazing Grace
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The importance of walking and value of walkable communities, especially for older folks. http://blog.walkscore.com/2013/03/seniors-walkability-benefits-for-an-aging-public/
Maryland’s Political Divide Part 1, Gas Tax
PART ONE OF A SERIES
The vote on the gasoline tax in the Maryland House of Delegates gives us an interesting snapshot of the political balance in Maryland, a state considered to be among the bluest of the blue. The picture might not exactly match the popular perception. Continue reading
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Slideshow of Tiny House Photos
For some reason, readers of WIP are fascinated by tiny houses. BTW, I’ve lived in a one-room efficiency apt for five years, and plan to move to one that’s even smaller in the fall.
Small States Dominate U.S. Senate
“The power of the smaller states is large and growing. Political scientists call it a striking exception to the democratic principle of ‘one person, one vote.’ Indeed, they say, the Senate may be the least democratic legislative chamber in any developed nation.”
New York Times reporter Adam Liptak reports on the well-known but confounding political power of small states in the U.S. Senate and the Electoral College under the headline, “Smaller States Find Outsize Clout Growing in Senate.”
Electoral college map for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections, based on apportionment data from the US Census Bureau. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Under the U.S. Constitution, Wyoming, the state with the smallest population in America, has two U.S. senators. So does California, the state with the largest population. The stunning result in the U.S. Senate is shown in this striking NY Times graphic.
One obvious result is that small states receive much more Federal money, per capita, than large states. A look at the map also shows that most of the smaller states are conservative, Republican-voting, Red states. The small states have many more votes in the Senate than the large states.
Small states also have an advantage in the Electoral College, though not as great as their advantage in the Senate. For this reason, the Electoral College has chosen a president who did not receive a majority of the popular vote. It will undoubtedly happen again, and it could call into question the very legitimacy of a U.S. president.
“In 2000, had electoral votes been allocated by population, without the two-vote bonuses, Al Gore would have prevailed over George W. Bush. Alexander Keyssar, a historian of democracy at Harvard, said he would not be surprised if another Republican candidate won the presidency while losing the popular vote in coming decades, given the structure of the Electoral College.”
Is it any wonder that democracy in America appears to be broken?
– John Hayden
Related articles
- Reminder: The U.S. Senate Should Be Abolished (gawker.com)
- CNN’s Jake Tapper on Ashley Judd’s potential run for U.S. Senate (cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com)
At Winter’s End, Explosive Surf Along Ocean City Beaches
Unusually powerful waves continued to break just off the Ocean City, Maryland, beach in the bright sunshine Saturday afternoon, March 9.
Earlier in the week, the last storm of winter rolled up the East Coast, bringing snow inland, but only rain and sustained high wind here on the Atlantic shore. The rotation of the storm caused strong winds to push ocean water onto the beach and into the coastal bays behind the barrier islands.
The onshore winds continued through four or five tide cycles on Wednesday and Thursday. Sand (above) was blown and pushed up to and over the sea wall and onto the boardwalk in places. But there was no damage to the boardwalk. The sea wall did it’s job. Some buildings in Ocean City sustained wind damage to siding, and some signs were blown over. A little beach erosion. But generally, I think the storm was pushing sand up on the beach, rather than washing it away. – John Hayden
More photos of the surf, taken between 3 and 4 p.m. Saturday, as the high tide came in:
So Where Do we go from here?
So, where do we go from here?
Quiet simply the world is in our hands.. Its all about our choices, not our neighbours or our governments, Its about the choices We make which make a difference.
My own thoughts are that we have to start and embrace a simpler way of living, we have to stop ‘Wanting’ all the time..
Sue Dreamwalker is on a roll. Every one of her recent posts has been an inspiration to look at our lives and change. Simplicity, food, environmental awareness. -- John
Sustainable Living, All It Takes Is Work
Video
Couldn’t resist posting one more video. A most energetic and inspiring older couple. I guess local food and organic food is possible. All you need is dirt and work.
Food For All and Work For All
Video
A most interesting take on sustainable food and local food. I’m particularly fascinated by the part about training young people for meaningful work. A great alternative to college for many, perhaps.
Related articles
- UK News: Blanc backs food apprenticeships (walesonline.co.uk)
- Local Food and Happiness (ministryofhappiness.wordpress.com)
- Vermont professor to talk food systems at Clemson (thestate.com)
Sequestration In America, Dancing On Wall Street, Pain In Maryland And Virginia
As I write this on Tuesday, the Dow-Jones Index has hit an all-time high. It’s historic! Higher than the last record, set in 2007.
Sequestration, which I call Austerity, took effect on Friday.
Devastating economic pain is predicted throughout America, although some exaggeration is baked into the “sky-is-falling” rhetoric.
Exaggeration or no exaggeration, economic growth has been sluggish. Sequestration of $85 billion in federal spending will slow the economy even more. Continue reading
The Truth About Sequestration And Democracy, According to One Humble American
“Sequestration” went into effect in America this week, reducing U.S. government spending by $85 billion.
What does it mean? It means that the United States has accepted “Austerity.”
It’s not the end of the world. The vast majority of U.S. government spending will continue as usual. The government will not grind to a halt, at least not because of sequestration. It’s still possible that Congress could force a shut-down of government sometime in the future, but not likely this year.
Failure of Government Decision-making
Most interestingly, Austerity was NOT imposed by the normal processes of legislative or executive action. Continue reading
