Archive for May, 2009

Still think torture is good policy?

Filed under culture, politics, war : Comments (0) : May 26th, 2009

Update on Climate Crises

We need to get serious. Consider:

Filed under climate change : Comments (0) : May 23rd, 2009

The Harlem Miracle

Education is the cornerstone of a stable Democratic Republic. Without an informed electorate, there is no hope for wise choices in the voting booth.

I’ve long been concerned with what seems to be an intractable flaw in our national education system. The ambitious “No Child Left Behind” policies of the last decade have failed spectacularly. Where to we go from here?

Harlem may hold the answer. Read David Brooks’ column here.

Filed under education : Comments (2) : May 14th, 2009

Decent Pot Debate

Filed under culture, economics, politics : Comments (0) : May 11th, 2009

Quick & Dirty Bicycle Headlight

Last night I was riding across town to fetch a drink at a new Milwaukee bar (Sugar Maple in Bayview). It’s about 5 miles from my house, so I wanted to ride my fast bicycle (as opposed to my slow-but-utilitarian bicycle). Problem is, I don’t have a headlight on that bike. What to do?

Hack.

The ingredients:

Small LED flashlight
Old bicycle innertube
3 medium zip-ties

I cut a length of rubber from an old innertube (you do save your old innertubes, right?) and wrapped it around the base of the flashlight. This would help to increase friction to make it stay put and protect my fancy bicycle from scratches. It also provided a bit of a shim to angle the light appropriately. I placed the rubber-wrapped light where my stem meets handlebars. Finally, I fastened the light securely with zip-ties so it wouldn’t fall off when I hit a pothole going 30.

In no more than 5 minutes, for no more than $5 in parts (all of which I had lying around the house [thanks to Chris for zip-ties]) I had a perfectly adequate headlight and I was off. Hurray!