Unqualified Offerings

By Thoreau
Monsieur IOZ notes that despite the promise of “no boots on the ground” there are CIA-issued boots on the ground in Libya.  He mocks this, noting that apparently CIA-issued boots don’t count.  I’ve noted before that our culture treats The Troops differently from the other men with guns. I’ve taken more flack for criticizing [...]

By Thoreau
I have no basis on which to opine on whether San Onofre really is an especially poor choice for a wave energy site.  Perhaps it is.  Perhaps it isn’t.  Also, I do not know enough about wave power technology, or about marine ecosystems, to say whether  this project is poorly-designed.  I will say, however, [...]

“Too often the United States has treated other nations with arrogance instead of bombing them.”

By Thoreau
Did you know that the Canadians plan to hold their next election in early May?  That’s right, a modern, wealthy, liberal, Anglophone democracy is going to conduct a national election in like a month and a half.
We should TOTALLY try this out!

By Thoreau
Upon reading the part bolded below, the NYPD offered to send backup units to support the rebels:
For a month, gangs of young gunmen have roamed the city, rousting Libyan blacks and immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa from their homes and holding them for interrogation as suspected mercenaries or government spies.
The rebels are [...]

By Thoreau
Wired has an interesting article on the case against Bruce Ivins. After reading it, I can certainly say the following against Ivins:
1)  Based on some of the inconsistencies and errors in his assistance offered to the FBI, he is not a man to be trusted.  That is more than enough reason to terminate his [...]

By Thoreau
In academia, having a spouse who isn’t in higher education is generally considered to be an indicator of greater flexibility in one’s life.  Likewise, having no kids is generally considered an advantage in an academic career.  So, if you read most of the complaints coming out of academia, I must be on top of [...]

By Thoreau
I have just taken on a small outside engagement that will get me a total of $420 in the next couple months.  I think I should donate this windfall to charity.  Any suggestions for a good cause to give $420 to? 

By Thoreau
A while back I mused on why there are two sexes rather than one.  The case for sexual reproduction is strong:  Even though it means that each of your offspring have only half their genes from you, the ability to mix and match different combinations of genes increases the chance that at least one [...]

By Thoreau
I just put in a ticket with the campus IT support, but I’m wagering that the UO commentariat will be able to help of higher quality in better time (or at least with more snark):
I just got a new laptop. My bluetooth keyboard worked fine with my old laptop, so I could use [...]