Book Of Norm

China recently started to use its supply of rare earth elements as a political bargaining chip - or possibly just a nationalistic play based around their desire to start shifting over their entire car fleet to hybrids, a stated goal. Any way that you look at it, the move (preventing the export of many rare earth elements) was going to screw over Japan and the US. Japan, never a fan of China (though tied to them economically much more that even the US is) quickly inked an agreement with China's smaller rival to the south, Vietnam (yes - China helped Vietnam in the Vietnamese war, but they are not traditional allies, and because of the Spratly islands and other reasons, they have not been allies for quite some time, and are becoming increasingly antagonistic towards each other). The US has now figured out a way to deal with the ban also. A US company has decided to reopen a mine near LA which will be able to supply of the US demand within a few years. This mine closed 10 years ago, w...

So, the UAW has succeeded in (nearly) killing off the American auto companies. Chrysler is mostly dead, Ford and GM needed government money (GM a full on purchase from the American people - $150 per person or so). The UAW is to a large degree to blame for this. They are a bunch of lazy overpaid workers who fight hard to ensure that pay is based on tenure rather than skill and hard work. They really are one of the worst, most despicable, most destructive organizations still operating in the US. And now, they are trying to organize the US plants of the foreign automakers. What assholes. Those plants have been able to do well and grow precisely because they have NOT had the UAW working there. And these are not underpaid and unhappy workers. They are paid well, have good satisfaction, and oh wait, he is a big one... STILL HAVE JOBS. Lets see whats happened to Detroit, home of the UAW and all the love and joy that they bring... Yeah. Detroit is in one of the worst states of urban decay of a...

Google has just handed out its first netbooks, with the first public version of Chrome OS onboard. In my opinion, it is a complete failure. You can read the detailed review here from engadget , but basically, the critical piece of information is this "if you have seen the Chrome browser, you have seen Chrome OS." That, in my opinion, is not a good thing. You see, I have a netbook, and I love it. It has Windows XP Pro on it, which is relatively lightweight (better than Mac OSX or Win 7 in terms of battery use), but is compatible with... everything. Really, just about everything runs on XP. So why then would I want a netbook which does just a fraction of what my current netbook does? The Google plan is to sell you a netbook which comes with a lightweight OS and a data plan from Verizon wireless. This is at a time when more and more smartphones come with the ability to tether (something I have always had on my Pre), so that you can simply hook your laptop to your phone and use ...

Yes - if you download things illegally, you are breaking the law. Unless you have fair use of the article in question. I have gotten a takedown notice from Verizon for copyright infringement, which is pretty frigging annoying. I downloaded an epsiode of True Blood which was available through OnDemand as I am an HBO subscriber. I did so to watch the episode over at my girlfriends house. However, they are claiming that I am somehow still sharing the file. Which means that they have no goddamn idea what they are doing, because I never shared the file. Dumbasses. For more info on the epic fail that is IP tracking for torrents, read on. Researchers discover that “Practically any Internet user can be framed for copyright infringement today,” and that “Even without being explicitly framed, innocent users may still receive complaints.” University of Washington researchers released a new study today that suggests that the current tactics being employed by the entertainment industry to target c...

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Just wanted to make sure everyone had a quick read up on their constitution. Because, you see, when you read it this way it should be pretty clear: the searches currently going on in airports across this country are, in fact, unconstitutional. The issue is that no one has the balls to say what freaking makes sense: no plane has been hijacked by a US citizen since at least the 1960's, and I could find no clear reference to any incident at all. Its not about searching everyone. That's unconstitutional, in the same way that you don't get recorded every time you make a phone call because some people use phones for crime. Of course, with th...

This movie is just Russian trucks being Russian trucks. And it is awesome.

Yes - aging can be reversed. If you are a mouse, and you have a shortage of telomerase. The cute little white fluffy guys managed to rejuvenate their ageing organs: "The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing. At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, ...

Nope, this is not April 1st. The Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in an MSNBC interview a few days ago that they were looking into requiring the instillation of cellphone jamming equipment in every car. Really, not just banning cellphone use, they have jumped right past that to crazy fucking nanny state insanity. They say this could save up to 5,500 lives a year. I would not be surprised if it cost that many lives as well, not to mention billions and billions of dollars in lost productivity. It is completely ridiculous on many levels, and a sign of how idiotic this administration is that it was even brought up in a serious interview. It is unlikely it will save lives: distracted driving is very hard to pin down to cellphone use - why not ban eating food in your car, changing radio stations, looking at billboards, talking to a passenger, or having kids in the back seat. Furthermore, the cellphone companies paid the FCC for that spectrum, and now the government wants to install 1...

Not kidding. Its for sale. Right now. Good chance it will be bought up by China (they have been buying up a number of old aircraft carriers in preparation of trying to build their own), but in the meantime, you can see if they will accept your offer. Click through here You are here: Tenders > Sale by Tender - HMS Invincible Sale by Tender - HMS Invincible HMS Invincible is for sale by tender. Laid down in 1973 at Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-Furness, she was completed in 1980. She is currently stable for tow, subject to buyer confirmation. Displacement - Current 17000 Tonnes Estimated metal weight - 10000 Tonnes Estimated metal % - 95% mild steel Length - OA 210m, W/L 193m Draught - Fwd 5.2m...

A couple holy craps today First up: Comcast is screwing Level 3 (an internet backbone provider) when L3 is trying to push through netflix movies. Why? Because netflix directly competes with Comacst, and their new baby NBC as well. What is the holy crap moment? Right now some studies show that at peak times, Netflix streaming is up to 20% of internet traffic. 20%!! That's HUGE. That is including youtube, hulu, facebook etc etc. And there is not even that much available on Netflix. Second up: Google is looking to buy Groupon. I have been a member of groupon for a while - but the damn thing is now supposedly going to be bought for $5.5-$6 billion. Billion. Holy crap. Why holy crap? Read this: "Groupon pioneered the group-buying model through its deal-of-the-day business model. Launched in November 2008, the company has grown from an offshoot of ThePoint to a multi-billion dollar empire with thousands of employees worldwide. In April 2010, Groupon raised $135 million from Digit...

This is not a sports blog. In fact, this might be the first time that I write about sports here. But just to say, I am loving the current season. You see, right now if you want to watch a dynamic team with great passing, impressive penetration, big dunks and lots of generally good games, you watch the Celtics. If you want to be bored to death, you watch Miami - which ranks 2nd highest in freethrows, a low on assists (its in the middle on points per game). Basically, I can't stand LeBron and all of his bs. Which brings me to this, one of the greatest rebuttals ever made. Yes, Michael Jordan is an ass, but he is also the greatest basketball player of all time, and he worked his ass off to get there. In terms of pure talent and physical ability, I think LeBron is better than Jordan, yet he does not have the drive and determination to make it to be on of the all time greats. Just watch this. Its not 'real' - its a mashup of two commercials. But in a way, it is real - it is the ...

Ahh Cancun. Sun, sand, se... you get the idea. You would think that paler-than-santa-claus journalists would love the opportunity to head down to Cancun, and write all about the latest round of climate talks for the UN. A year ago, Copenhagen was a big deal. A huge deal. We heard about it all the time, for weeks and weeks. And then, when it came around... more or less nothing happened. All of the countries agreed that... well.. they said they would agree to agree to something in the future and would try some stuff on their own. Actually, some of them did not even agree to that. So... Copenhagen was setting up the agreement, and now with Cancun, they can all get together and get closer to a real agreement. Right?... right? Interestingly though, there have been 1% as many news stories about Cancun as there have been about Copenhagen at the same point. 1%. That's pretty damn low my friends. And why this sea change? Simple. No one gives a shit. You see, there are things that are real, ...

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Last night I walked past the local Marshalls to return a movie to Blockbuster - yes I was partying like it was 1999. And I saw an odd sigh (and by sign, I mean laminated piece of printer paper taped to the window at an angle), it had a blurry picture of an iPad and some text "iPADs NOW AVAILABLE!!!! GET THE IPAD WIFI NOW FOR $399!!!!!". I was a little surprised. Apple's latest halo product showing up next to pink and purple striped Ralph Lauren rejects and the piles of brown and beige housewares dumped at the back of the store (I actually like Marshalls, because I love cheap shit, but then again, I own a $100 nokia tablet--from a while back--, a Palm Pre because I get unlimited everything for $45/mo on Sprint, a $200 Asus netbook, a $350 Compaq work laptop, and a $1,500 '96 Chevy Tahoe - the Dutchess, whom I dearly love. I am not your typical Apple customer). Endadget confirmed my findings today: the iPad is now for sale at TJX (TJ Maxx and Marshalls) stores across th...

When it comes to fishing in international waters, the true Dr. Evil is Japan, but France is not far behind. France, as usual, is full of crap and looking out for only its best interests. They really are just scummy. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) is the organization which is meant to monitor and maintain a healthy limit on the annual catch of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. It is, however, generally referred to as the International Conspiracy to Catch All Tunas - because tuna stocks are at an all-time low, and we seriously risk wiping out major species. You see, the French claim that their fishermen were "the most controlled, the most responsible and the most respectable" in the Mediterranean. Which is about as likely as French cars being the most reliable, or French soldiers for that matter. They say the fleet should be allowed to catch 13,500 tons of tuna this year, which they described as "recommended by scientists." Bulls...

Yes - she knows what you did in Brussels. From the Daily Telegraph: Next week it will be 20 years since Margaret Thatcher fell. Pressure had been building on a number of fronts, but the issue which finally destroyed her was the yet-to-be-born euro. In the last weekend of October 1990, she travelled to a European summit in Rome, where Jacques Delors’ dream of European Monetary Union was high on the agenda. But while Mrs Thatcher was fighting her lone battle against the prospective single currency abroad, she was being fatally undermined at home. Geoffrey Howe, her bitterest cabinet critic, went on television to tell the interviewer Brian Walden that in principle Britain did not oppose the euro. In her Commons statement after returning home, she was forced to slap Howe down: “this government believes in the pound sterling.” Howe resigned, and days later delivered the famous speech from the back benches that set in motion a leadership contest. Today, Margaret Thatcher’s autobiography, fir...

"Let these rulings serve as a warning to anyone who tried to peddle dangerous and toxic brews to our children. Do it and we will shut you down," Schumer, D (Dumbass) -New York, said in the statement. "Young people have been dying after drinking this stuff. It's about time we're finally doing something about these dangerous drinks." said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff According to the FDA, drinking alcohol can lead to dying, or stupid actions that lead to dying. Also, drinking late, and heavily, while using caffeine to stay awake (or amped up) likely increases the chance of doing something stupid, which leads to dying, or a trip to the emergency room. Shockingly, when underage individuals illegally consume alcohol (and caffeine), bad things can result. Somehow, according to them, selling caffeine with alcohol means you are "peddling toxic brews to our children" - WTF? The FDA is completely out of line on this one. Basical...

Sorry folks (especially US folks) - the worst may not be over yet. I have remained skeptical of the economic recovery because of contagion in the Eurozone, and the huge piles of bad debt hiding in China. Turns out that the Eurozone is in terrible shape. Ireland, Portugal and Greece are all on the brink of requiring massive bailouts (well - massive for normal people - hundreds of billions of dollars, not massive for America, which seems to think any bailout under $1 trillion is just not worth talking about). Portugal is currently claiming that it does not need a bailout. Greece will pretty much take any money that they can get. But Ireland is the real sticking point. They don't want the rest of Europe's money. Why is that? Well - the why is the original risk of the Euro, and why I always thought the single currency was a bad idea. When the Euro was being created, I was a headstrong high school student competing in Econ Challenge and Fed Challenge (econ nerd contests) for my scho...

Ahh the Camorra. Much less glamorous than La Costa Nostra - the Sicilians we all know and love - but at this point, much more successful as well. The Camorra is much less centralized than the 'mafia' that you know. There is no head of the Camorra - it is a loose collection of families and clans, which each operate and control certain regions. The city where they have historically had the most influence is Naples. And right now, it is suffering. You see, one of the way the Camorra makes its money is through the control of trash. This is really not that different from the US, where historically, the collection and disposal of trash has always been... well... a dirty business.... (sorry). Italy though, it has been, and is, much more so: 'The pungency of 250,000 tons of rotting garbage is almost indescribable. “It is like a heavy, soiled blanket that smothers us each night,” says Ferdinando Mosca, who owns a fruit shop across the street from the entrance to the Cava Sari landfi...

Chia Obama is a lot happier than real Obama...

When I took genetics way back in 2003, we were taught a very simple idea of the function of RNA, DNA, and proteins. We discussed, a little, how mapping the human genome did not really work out the way we planned, because the folding of proteins was more complicated than we thought. Fast forward 7 years and that little fact has become a full-blown revolution in our understanding of genetics. And it has set us back a long way. You know all those theories about how we would have the blueprints for life? Yeah. We don't. We didn't really have much at all. We had taken a picture of a skyscraper and assumed that we knew how everything worked inside. Turns out, we were wrong. Really wrong. We were wrong first on the proteins. But we turns out we were also wrong with the RNA. Of the past few years a lot has come out about how RNA is much more important, in a number of different roles, than was originally thought. Turns out that RNA is not just the office copy boy, the crazy SOB has some...

Ahh precognition. Knowing something before you should be able to know it. We have all experienced it, I am sure. Some of use more than others (in the limited experience I have with such things). You know who is calling you (this happens quite often), or you and your girlfriend call each other at exactly the same time, repeatedly. On a personal note I had a friend in college who frequently answered my IMs, before I sent them. Seriously. I would be sitting at my computer, writing up a question, and would get an answer. Recent medical studies have begun to confirm statistically significant evidence of precognition. A recently Cornell study showed that users could pick out which curtain there was an image behind 54% of the time. Obviously, the number should have been 50%, if there were no precognition. Another study gave statistical backing to the fact that many people intuitively know who is calling them, before they answer the phone (and no, I don't mean because you looked at the sc...

One of the provisions of Obamacare was all about getting prescription drug prices down. This is seen as a major part of socialized medicine. And now, the drug companies (originally thinking that they were getting a pretty good deal, they went along with the bill) realized that Obamacare will screw them over in the long run. And what does cutting back on profits in the pharmaceutical industry do? Why, it saves the poor people from those money grubbing corporate assholes who make money off of people suffering, and make grandma pay exorbitant fees, and just issue and re-issue the same drugs under different patents and combinations for centuries muaahahah MUAHAHAA. Yeah, thats what you think. If you are an idiot. Really, what happens when you drastically cut back on profits of drug companies? And listen up because this one will be a shocker to anyone who supported Obamacare: the drug companies don't have any money to make new drugs. "Like ohmygod really?" Yes, really. Drugs ...

You know when you are in a relationship, and all of your friends know that it is a bad relationship, but you keep thinking "gee, its not that bad." Well, in this case, that friend hated your ex, I mean really, really, hated your ex. And was so incredibly happy that you got your new special friend that they held national rallies. Yes, national rallies, just for you. But now, two years later, the shine is gone. Now your friend is saying things like "Two years ago [their] vision inspired [friends]. Today the same [person] often sounds strangely bloodless. Back then [their] cool, self-assured composure impressed many, now the same character comes across as cold, arrogant, even elitist. The [people who dont like him] may well put on a shrill rough performance, and stand in the media spotlight. However, this [special friend] was never going to win [support] [from the people who dont like him] anyway. [The special friend's] historic victory in 2008 was created by the midd...

Yeah, so basically, the last election was a referendum on Obama, and well, he got his ass kicked. Yes, a lot of the shit that he had to deal with was due to previous idiocies on the part of the government (notice I did not say the previous administration - a lot of it was dumb ass shit which was passed under Clinton as well, such as the Fannie/Freddie disaster), but the big thing he did? Healthcare. And be a obtuse, frustrating, arrogant and ignorant idiot. But yeah, healthcare. Its a disaster. People realize now that it is a disaster. If you still think there is anything of value, anything at all, which is best achieved with that bill, you are an idiot. It will cost this country a few trillion dollars over the next ten years, and it will give us... well most of us, all it will do is make healthcare cost more. That's it. If you currently have health insurance, all this does is make your life much more expensive, and as a net result, put a major drag on the US economy, leading to fe...

This guy is a fucking idiot. He will always be remembered as classical 'liberal' policies taken to their logical extreme, and as such, leveraging the shit out of this country in order to pay out to the people and causes he cares about. I have had goldfish with better long-term planning skills.

Yeah - this little shit is the new face of Toyota. Do you want to just punch him in the face? Because I do. Every commercial he is in is annoying. Really annoying. More annoying than the dipshit in the Prius on my way home who sat in the left lane doing 60, then tried to cut me off because he did not think he had to wait in line like the rest of us to get off at the major exit. He got the living piss scared out of him, and I wish I could do the same to this kid. On a second note, the Buick Roadmaster woodie is far far cooler than a Highlander. Ugh.

That's right. $200 Million Dollars. Per day. If he spent 5 days there, it would cost $1 billion. This includes all of the increased military expenditure, and the retinue of 3,000 that Obama will be bringing with him. Who the hell does this guy think he is? The last emperor? This is insane.

Can't tell you what it is yet, but I just got funding for a business idea of mine in the automotive space. More to come... more to come =)

This is a sad day. A very sad day. The militaries of France and the UK have agreed to a cooperation agreement which would include inter-operable systems, including off of aircraft carriers (all one that France has...). It also means, more or less, that they will not be able to go to war against each other, or at least it will make it more difficult. Which is really sad, because honestly, as a stoic to my core Brit, there is nothing I would like to do more than reclaim Normandy for Queen and Country, and then have a cup of tea.