Irrational Exuberance

Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:04:41 GMT

Rest in peace.

Michael Anderson

David Brown

Kalpana Chawla

Laurel Clark

Rick Husband

William McCool

Ilan Ramon

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 05:56:33 GMT

Since the recent unpleasantness of the 2000 election, folks around the country have been diligently working to upgrade the process. Unfortunately, in their rush toward computerized balloting they may not be taking an adequate look at the downside of technology. Dan Gillmor points out some of the problems.

Here in Santa Clara County, which like most jurisdictions needs to update creaky election methods, officials are apparently close to buying a touch-screen, computerized voting system. But instead of assuring integrity in elections, however, these well-meaning but grossly uninformed people are giving voters new reasons to worry that ballots are not being counted properly -- and they'll be handing crooked politicians, and others who'd corrupt the process, new, potentially undetectable ways to fix our elections.

...

The right to vote -- for that vote to be counted with integrity -- is at the heart of liberty. People are already skeptical. If we continue on this path, pure cynicism will corrode what's left of public trust in an already frayed system.

Thu, 12 Dec 2002 06:41:20 GMT

There I was, at the side of the road, my bicycle lying on its side, shorn of the front wheel, to which I was ministering, changing a flat tire. Fixing the tire took longer than usual because I had to constantly interrupt my work to respond to other riders passing by, asking,

"Are you OK?"

"Do you have everything you need?"

Almost everyone slowly passing by on my uphill side of the road spoke to me, as well as possibly half of those going the other way.

Later, I was flying down a wide, four-lane boulevard when I noticed a certain squirrelishness to the bike. Yup, same tire, different spot. Another flat. With the extra practice under my belt from the previous experience, I changed the tube in short order and was putting the bike back together when I looked up to the query, "Do you need anything?"

When I replied that I was all set, the woman rider's companion said,

"Oh good, we got here after the dishes were done."

They then took off to continue their ride. To do that, they had to go back to the traffic light, cross the boulevard and ride on. They had crossed the road and come back a ways to be sure I was OK.

They probably didn't go through all this effort because I bear an uncannty resemblance to Sean Connery, and I surely hope that it wasn't because I look like a helpless old coot who might need a quick heart massage to keep going.

I'd rather think that there are a whole lot of nice people pedaling around who give a damn.

Happy holidays.

Tue, 03 Dec 2002 17:03:19 GMT

Kudos to HP for their enlightened support for legislation to require electronics manufacturers to take responsibility for recycling their products.

The San Jose Mercury News recently ran a series of articles describing how electronic waste is often shipped to poorer areas of the world for processing. Even though Chinese workers are making a living from recycling the material, this example of trickle-down economics exacts a pretty high price in environmental and human health deterioration.

Taking responsibility for our own waste, electronic and otherwise, just seems the right thing to do.

Tue, 03 Dec 2002 07:22:47 GMT

Natalie and I just returned from our 2.1-mile evening walk. We counted 67 houses with Christmas decorations already lit up, and it's only the second of December. What with the sour economy, local health care falling apart, a potential war with Iraq, global warming, and El Nino, maybe people need a little more Christmas this year.

Sat, 21 Sep 2002 04:02:05 GMT

Glenn Fleischman has some information about sleep apnea.

... as many as 18 million people in the US have apnea and only 10 percent are diagnosed.

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 00:57:45 GMT

I'm feeling guilty. I picked "Irrational Exuberance" for the name of this blog because 1) it has a clever ring to it and 2) I enjoy life despite the fact that there are enough things going wrong in the world to send any sane person off to a cave for the duration.

Now I find that I'm number 5 on Google's list of responses for a search on "irrational exuberance." All those people are searching for Robert Shiller's book, or Alan Greenspan's quote, and what they get is this blog. They don't give a rat's butt for my prattling on, but a few follow the link and of course 99.9999% never return.

And Susan Kitchens of 20/20 Hindsight mentioned it once in her disparagement of the recent unpleasantness in the financial arena.

I could change the name again. Nah, screw it; I'll just live with the guilt.

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 19:08:39 GMT

Joanne Jacobs reports that corporate philanthropists are rethinking their investments (scroll down to "School donors get cold feet") in the public school system since they've seen so few successes.

Arrrggghhhh...

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 18:53:31 GMT

Dave Winer has some interesting things to say about getting your mind out of bed when you're sick.

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 18:48:10 GMT

Lifeguard, a large regional health care provider, recently revealed that it is having severe financial problems. The California Department of Managed Health Care has appointed a conservator to oversee daily operations and decide whether the HMO has to be shut down.

But the problems of the highly regarded HMO are being mourned by analysts and state health care officials alike, who point to the case as a textbook example of how economic pressures are pinching California's already struggling health plans. Fewer HMOs translates into fewer options for health care consumers. And the downward spiral of Lifeguard only exacerbates the Bay Area's dearth of not-for-profit insurers and fee-for-service health plans.

Just today a local doctor's group that serves 100,000 patients reports financial difficulty.

It's too bad that the war on terrorism and the administration's focus on invading Iraq are preempting a national debate on infrastructure issues like health care. Short of terrorists' use of a really nasty weapon of mass destruction, deteriorating health care is going to do damage to this country much wider and deeper than a terrorist could ever hope for. And we're doing it to ourselves through lack of action.

And don't get me started on education, dependence on fossil fuels ...