Cab Thoughts 10/22/11

I am more and more confused by the attention paid to people publicly displaying unhappiness. Perhaps the restoration of the stocks would tap a similar need. Sackcloth and ashes is kind of nostalgic too.

I saw Mundy, the Steeler safety, pull up on a hit on a wideout, a hit one year ago he would have sought out to make. Coaching might work. Matt Cooke has been a real hockey player this year and has been assault-free.

Muller's recent evaluations of global warming look pretty convincing in favor of its existence. His evaluations were funded by the Koch brothers, certainly no friends of the position. I have seen little of it published though.

The PSA study may be the biggest blow to the popular publishing of scientific data in history. Every knowledgeable scientist I read is astonished at how limited the thinking was. I fear that scientific announcements (like Muller's above) will be viewed with the same scepticism that is given political ones.

The 911 hijacking-plane-bombing must be the worst p.r. event ever. Every day ten of thousands of people go through the airport security ritual and curl their collective lips in a collective snarl.

It seems that the problems of the overpromising welfare state and the resulting debt and stagnation has become, suddenly, the fault of Wall Street. Wall Street deserves a lot of criticisms--irresponsibility and feasting on "too big to fail" among them--but their problems only added to the existing ones.

"Responsible but innocent." (aka "The French Defense" offered by the French officials who were accused of ignoring the contamination of some of the French blood supply with HIV).While the responsibility of the big banks and traders on Wall Street in the 2008-9 fiasco is certain, legal criminal guilt might be tenuous. But if the government can't convict Countrywide employees of something they are not trying very hard.

In 2005 the U.S. imported 60% of its oil. It now imports 47%. Some of that is slowdown in the economy but production is up and so are alternatives.

North Dakota is the third largest energy producer in the U.S. and next year will bypass Alaska to become second.

Good playoffs and Series so far. Texas is really powerful deep into their lineup.