Silver lining

Shooting in Tucson

2011-01-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

The shooting of Congressman Gabrielle Giffords is a deplorable event. However, it reminds us that politicians in general, and Congressmen in particular are not the villains that we make them to be. I have always believed that politicians are on average more honest and upright than the people who vote for them. At a time like this we tend to pay attention to their service and sacrifice rather than on the few rotten apples.

Tough immigration laws

2010-08-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

The tough immigration laws like the one in Arizona have the good effect of making it tougher for illegal immigrants to come to the US, and thereby raise the quality of those who make it. As it is, illegal immigrants are on average more intelligent, ambitious, and hard working than the American born workers that compete for the same entry level jobs. With this boost, they will be even more superior.

As an immigrant myself, and a son of an illegal immigrant it warms my heart when immigrants can have a feeling of superiority.

World cup

2010-07-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

At first I was quite disappointed that the US got booted out by Ghana again. However, that allowed me to root for the other underdogs, Uruguay and the Netherlands, and both teams did better than expected. It is nice that teams representing small countries hold their own against those representing countries with much larger population base.

Oil spill

2010-05-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

The one thing that is good about the oil spill in the Gulf is its timing. Assuming that it was inevitable, at least it happened during Congressional hearings on further drilling, and hopefully it will kill any plans to open up more areas for drilling.

Partisanship

2010-03-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

The acrimonious healthcare debate is characterized by increased animosity and loss of civility. However, at least we get more people involved and excited about the political process. I would say that President Obama is the best thing that happened to the Republican party in the same way that President Bush was the best thing that could have happened to the Democratic party.

Brr... It's colder than I ever remember

2010-01-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

The past 10 days have been the coldest protracted period in the 15 years I have lived in Florida, and it is predicted to last another week. The University of Florida has been replacing its heating system this month, so we were caught with inadequate heat, and we are all bundled up with heavy sweaters at work. I expect to lose several trees and have a record electrical bill.

However, adversity always seems to produce an outpouring of community spirit. People smile more while commiserating with one another, and offer help when they can. I have seen this happen when hurricanes strike, and this is more of an inconvenience than a disaster, so we are getting the feeling of camaraderie cheap!

Failure in Copenhagen on global warming

2009-12-27T03:55:00.000-08:00

I was at first disappointed that the meeting on global warming in Copenhagen did not produce any tangible results. Possibly, though, it is for the better. The Kyoto agreement did not do much, and I suspect an agreement in Copenhagen would have led to committments that would not be followed.

Instead, the ravenous appetite of China and India for energy as they develop will drive energy prices so high, that there will be very high incentive to develop more energy efficient ways to live.

I am looking forward to ten dollars a gallon gas prices! May seem strange that I like the prospect, but it will be most effective in getting people to stop driving gas guzzlers, and I can certainly afford it myself.

Loss to Alabama

2009-12-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

Losing the SEC Championship game in Atlanta on Saturday dashed also the prospect of another national championship. However, with 22 consecutive wins and last year's championship, the UF football team is certainly storied. It is good that they leave room for future team to outshine them at least in one possible target: Winning the SEC championship without a single loss in a season.

Having a cold

2009-11-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

I had bronchitis a couple of weeks ago, and I had to stop exercising for more than a week, and now it is going to take me a month or so to get back in shape. Normally, without colds and iterruptions, I would experience only the gradual loss of fitness that comes with age. This way, I spend long periods improving my fitness after illnesses and even long trips. This is much more enjoyable.

Fort Hood Massacre

2009-11-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

The loss of life and the trauma is terrible. I hope that this incident will help show our leaders the terrible cost of the hopeless campaign in Afghanistan and will hasten our withdrawal. As such it may save American lives in the future.

IEDs

2009-10-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

It is too bad that our soldiers are getting killed with ingenious cheap devices in places like Afghanistan. Some possible consolation is that it is good to have methods that weak nations can use to defend themselves against powerful ones. We may enjoy the benefits one day when the Afghans use it against the Chinese.

health care legislation

2009-10-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

We spend on healthcare about twice as other developed countries without much to show for it. We could save one trillion dollars a year if we brought down our spending to the French level, the country with the best healthcare system in the world according to the World Health Organization. So I am a bit sad that the current round of health care reform may fail or accomplish very little.

Silver lining: The system we have in place subsidizes handsomely old folks like me (I am 65) who have good health insurance. So I will be able to hang on to these generous subsidies.