Author Archives: Steve

It’s Not the Video Games

gearwars

I’m a proud gun owner, but Wayne LaPierre of the NRA drives me nuts. He tries to deflect blame for gun violence onto video games, rather than on access to guns. Is he right? Consider a comparison with Japan, which has very few guns in the general population, but which is more fanatical about video games. So, Wayne, let’s look at facts.

Per capita spending on video games

  • Japan: $55
  • US: $45

Civilian firearms per 100 people

  • Japan: .6
  • US: 88

Gun homicides in 2008

  • Japan: 11 (out of about 1300 total homicides).
  • US: 11,030 (out of 16,440 total murders).
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Cellphones vs. Our DNA

cellphones

If listening to someone talk on a cellphone seems incredibly distracting, there’s a reason for it. Researchers say the mind automatically tries to fill in missing information. So when you hear only half of a conversation, your mind tries to figure out what’s being said on the other end.

One study showed that people can tune-out a full-blown conversation, but have trouble tuning out a one-sided cellphone conversation.

So it’s not cellphones that are the problem, but our response to them. God designed us to be annoyed by cellphones.

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The Clip Vs. the Twist-Tie

twist-ties-vs-dot-plastic-clips-a-10-dot-6-billion-battle-of-tiny-titans

There’s Mac Vs. PC, and there’s “clip” vs. “twist-tie.” It’s a $10.6 billion industry.

Imagine being a salesman for twist-ties. Your life’s work is to convince breadmakers to switch from plastic clips to twisties. Can anything be more rewarding, or make a child more proud? (“My dad sells those plastic clips on hamburger bun packages.”)

Also imagine putting together a PowerPoint presentation to sell your product. Twist-ties provide a tighter seal, but clips can be applied faster, and you can print stuff on them (like expiration dates). Yes, this sounds fulfilling.

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The Charmed Career of Anquan Boldin

boldin

How lucky is Anquan Boldin? He’s with the lowly Arizona Cardinals when they have a magical season and almost win the Super Bowl. Then, as that team implodes, he lands with the Baltimore Ravens and, a couple years later, wins the Super Bowl. Now, as that team falls apart, he’s traded to the 49ers, who are gonna win The Big One in the next year or two. And yes, I’m talking about the NFL in March.

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I’m Down with Them Being Down with Us

iran-down-with-usa

Words get redefined. I remember in the 1970s, as a high schooler, when the word “bad” suddenly began meaning “cool.” A basketball player would make a great move, and you’d say, “That was so bad!”

The word “down” has assumed a similar meaning. When you say, “I’m down with that,” you’re saying, “That’s cool,” or “I agree with that.”

So when Iranians paint “Down with USA” on the old embassy in Iran, they are saying, “We like the USA.” They just don’t realize it.

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The Mouse Diet

It’s been calculated that each mouse click burns 1.42 calories. That seems a bit high to me. I think I could sit here on my duff and click 700 times, but I woulnd’t burn off no 1000 calories. But who am I to argue with dietary science?

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Rumor Control

snopesI just read a great story about an 11-year-old clay shooting champion from Butte, Montana. Two illegal aliens broke into her home while her parents were away. She grabbed a shotgun and killed both intruders. One was armed with a .45 handgun stolen during a previous break-in, during which they murdered gun’s owner.

The story is a double whammy, supporting the gun-rights cause and the anti-illegals cause. BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED.

These stories are SO easy to check. Nevertheless, they turn up regularly on Facebook, blogs, and emails. I continually post links to Snopes on Facebook, to let people know the story they just published is false. But too many people don’t think of going to Snopes BEFORE they post.

I guess when people want to believe something is true, when it confirms their own viewpoints or tugs their emotions, they just accept it as true and pass it on.

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The Bear, the Boyfriend, and the Beretta

jetfireA woman in Alberta, Canada, was out hiking with her boyfriend when a huge grizzly bear suddenly charged at them. Fortunately, she was armed with a 25 calibre Beretta Jetfire pistol. Most people would say a 25 calibre pistol is too small to stop a human attacker, let alone an aggressive grizzly bear. But not in her case.

“Just one shot to my boyfriend’s kneecap was all it took. The bear got him, and I was able to just walk away at a brisk pace.”

(Thank you to Brian, one of my Canadian friends, for sending me this. For those of you who are humor-challenged: no, this isn’t a true story.)

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The Euro-Centric Cardinals

cardinals-conclave

The Catholic Cardinals begin meeting on Tuesday, March 11, to select a new Pope. Only those age 80 or under can vote, and news reports say there will be 115 such cardinals.

I’m very interested in all of this. There is speculation about the cardinals, for the first time, electing a Pope from outside of Europe–perhaps Africa. Curious, I went to Wikipedia for a list of cardinals, wanting to see how they broke down by region of the world.

Number of voting Cardinals from Europe: 64
Number of voting Cardinals from the rest of the world: 63

Those are just the cardinals eliglble to vote. My own numbers from Wikipedia aren’t definitive, obviously, since they add up to a dozen more cardinals than the 115 expected to attend the conclave. But it’s at least in the ballpark.

Italy alone has 49 cardinals, of whom 28 are eliglble to vote. You can hardly walk down the street without bumping into a cardinal. The US has the second-largest contingent, with 13 voting cardinals.

Here’s an extended list of the total number of cardinals in various countries. The number of cardinals obviously isn’t based on the number of Catholics in the country.

  • Brazil: 9 cardinals (123 million Catholics)
  • Mexico: 4 cardinals (96 million Catholics)
  • Philippines: 3 cardinals (75 million Catholics)
  • USA: 19 cardinals (74 million Catholics)
  • France: 8 cardinals (54 million Catholics)
  • Italy: 49 cardinals (53 million Catholics)
  • Nigeria: 3 cardinals (37 million Catholics)
  • Spain: 10 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
  • Colombia: 3 cardinals (39 million Catholics)
  • Congo: 1 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
  • Argentina: 4 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
  • Poland: 7 cardinals (35 million Catholics)
  • Germany: 9 cardinals (26 million Catholics)

The selection process is somewhat secretive. How political is it? I have no idea. But I’m fascinated.

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14 Black Lizards

black-lizardThanks to used bookstores, my to-be-read shelf of Vintage/Black Lizard books grew too crowded. So since Christmas, I’ve read nothing but books in the Black Lizard imprint, which includes some of the best mysteries ever published. I just finished my 14th in a row. The whole list is here on my blog.

  • I read two outstanding books by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo, who is new to Black Lizard.
  • The 2nd Ripley book by Patricia Highsmith.
  • Two Martin Beck mysteries by Swedes Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo (only 1 left in the 10-book series).
  • Two by Andrew Vachss–the 17th Burke novel (I’ve read them in order) and an outstanding collection of short stories.
  • Two by 1950s-spymaster Eric Ambler.
  • Books by Jason Starr, George Higgins, and John Burdett (all new to Black Lizard), plus mainstays Ruth Rendell, and David Goodis.

Now I’m moving on. Gonna plunge into a half-dozen books awaiting on my Nook.

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