Daily Archives: 24 Oct 08

Palin says she considers herself intellectual

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An ice resurfacer lays down a layer of clean w...

‘…You betcha! “And you have to be up on not only current events, but you have to understand the foundation of the issues that you’re working on,” Palin said in an interview with People magazine. “You can’t just go on what is presented you.”

Although Palin didn’t name a single newspaper or magazine when CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked where she got her information, the Alaska governor told People that she has always been a “voracious reader” and named reading _ anything from biographies to historical works _ as her favorite thing along with her children and sports.

Besides author Lawrence Wright’s terrorism history, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Palin said she’s reading a lot of briefing papers.

“I appreciate a lot of information. I think that comes from growing up in a family of school teachers,” she said.

Palin said if she and husband Todd had had a sixth child, they had already picked a name for a boy joining siblings Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. “I always wanted a son named Zamboni,” she said.’ (Washington Post)

Climate change and the Price of Beer?

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Beer wallFancy a swift twother? Britain’s National Weights and Measures Laboratory proposes a new standard measure for a tipple in British pubs. The twother (a terrible name, IMHO) is two-thirds of a pint, a measure proposed as more appropriate to higher-strength brews and for those who feel that a half pint just isn’t enough but a full pint is too much (like Goldilocks?). Opponents raise a variety of objections, including the fact that drinkers may find it harder to keep track of the number of pints they’ve had (especially once the nmber gets up there, right?). Climate change may accelerate pressure for such a change:

“In Australia the measure already exists and is known as a schooner. It was introduced there because drinkers complained that full pints of beer got too warm in the sunny climate. The weather is not yet a factor in Britain. “

(Times.UK via null device)

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The Flag of Earth

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“The flag was designed by James Cadle. Prior to the US landing on the moon, there was hope a flag for humanity, rather than the American flag, would be erected on the moon. Some hoped the UN flag would fly, but that never happened.

Some time later, James Cadle, who lived on a farm in rural Illinois, was inspired by this debate to create the Flag of Earth. It is intended to be used for ANY purpose that is representative of Humankind as a whole, and not connected to any country, organization, or individual. James made it his life’s work to promote and distribute this flag everywhere. He and his wife made the flags on their kitchen table, and sold them for what it cost to make and distribute them.

The Flag of Earth is often flown at locations doing SETI work in order to indicate that the search is the “work of humanity and not a specific country or organization.” Cadle died in 2004, but he left the design in the public domain, bless him.

At the Flag of Earth website there are templates for printing them out or purchasing ready-to-fly sown ones.” (via Kevin Kelly)

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“The Flag of Earth has flown – and is flying – over many observatories. The Flag also hangs in the offices of academics, scientists, ham radio operators, and in homes around the world.

Here are some sites where the Flag has been flown.”