Teaching Evolution In the US

by Rio Flores on April 4th, 2007

An interesting, though dated, map from strangemaps on the teaching of evolution. It’s from the March 2002 issue of Scientific American.

And the Simpson’s take…

The Coffee Wars

by Rio Flores on February 20th, 2007

In a neat article from the March issue of Consumer Reports, the magazine conducted a little coffee taste testing[$]. Visiting two locations per company, Consumer report’s three testers tried coffees in basic black – no flavors, milk, or sugar. “You know what? McDonald’s beat the rest.”

The Results

McDonald’s	Starbucks	Dunkin’ Donuts	Burger King
$1.35	$1.55;	$1.65	$1.40
Decent and moderately strong. Although it lacked the subtle top notes needed to make it rise and shine, it had no flaws.	Strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open.	Weak, watery, and pricier than Starbucks. It was inoffensive, but it had no oomph.	Looked like coffee but tasted more like hot water. It was a little sour, with an unusual hint of chocolate.
CR’s take: Try McDonald’s, which was cheapest and best, or make your own coffee–just call it something special. The other three were all only OK, but for different reasons.

I feel vindicated. While I’m not a huge fan of McDonald’s coffee, I’ve always hated Starbucks in spite of my roommate insistence of it’s awesomeness.

“Where Does Greed Stop?” -Ted Kennedy

by Rio Flores on January 26th, 2007

We need more of this…

“We have now had amendments that have been worth over 200 billion dollars… Amendments that have been offered. We’ve had amendments on education of 35 billion dollars. We’ve had health-savings amendments that will benefit people with average incomes of $112,000… We’ve had those kinds of amendments and we’re looking at the Kyl amendment at 3 billion dollars. But we still cannot get two dollars and fifteen cents — over two years. Over two years!

“What is the price, we ask the other side? What is the price that you want from these working men and women? What cost? How much more do we have to give to the private sector and to business? How many billion dollars more, are you asking, are you requiring?

“When does the greed stop, we ask the other side? That’s the question and that’s the issue.”

Manhattan - After Sea Levels Rise

by Rio Flores on January 25th, 2007

[via Scienceblogs.com]

From Vanity Fair, a photo of what Manhattan might look like if sea levels continue to rise. Photo illustration by John Blackford; original photograph by Cameron Davidson. Related article: “While Washington Slept,” by Mark Hertsgaard.

US Presidential Speeches: Words of their Day 1776-2006

by Rio Flores on November 3rd, 2006

A very cool Digg find for political junkies: Chir.ag has taken major presidential speeches and turned them into into tag clouds.

You can use the slider at the top to go back to George Washington see the emphasis in his speeches on “Assembly” and “Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln, predictably, uses the word “Emancipation” a good number of times. Bill Clinton spends a great deal of time focusing on “Welfare,” “bipartisan” and other domestic issues. Unsurprisingly, W’s most used word is Terrorist.

read more | digg story

Satellite Images of the U.S. Shoreline as Sea Levels Start to Rise

by Rio Flores on May 9th, 2006

Climatologists agree that world sea levels will rise this century. Skimming through the headlines on the topic at Digg, the predictions seem to suggest higher and higher sea levels. The first prediction that popped up on Digg suggested a 90cm, the most recent predicted a rise of 3.5 meters or 11.5 feet.

What would that world look like? While not super accurate, this cool Google Maps mash up will let you see what the world might look like at various increments of sea level rising. For a static, more accurate scenario, Harvard Magazine commissioned an artist to show what the Gulf Coast and Island of Manhattan might look like if sea levels were to rise by 3.5 meters or 11.5 feet. Click below to see a slide show.

VIDEO: Mapping the Diffusion of Walmart

by Rio Flores on May 8th, 2006

Here is an interesting video showing the growth of Walmart stores in the U.S. There is not a ton of insight can be drawn from it alone, but it’s still interesting. The video:

Money Changes Everything - The Challenges of Economic Inequality Among Friends

by Rio Flores on May 8th, 2006

Last Sunday’s New York Times Styles section has a great article inspired by the recent film, Money Changes Everything. It dives into the awkwardness of large economic disparities among friends, of all ages, which the article suggests are largely the result of two recent phenomena. The first is the very rapid income growth of the top 1% and even 5% percent of the population when most Americans are seeing their real wages stagnate or decline. The second is the much higher numbers of college students from lower-income households (even if, as a percentage of total students enrolled, this number is shrinking).

Perhaps surprisingly to some, the pressure to blend in among peers is intense and goes in both directions. There is probably the better known story of individuals like me who attended college on scholarships and students loans. Many of my friends drove cars my parents couldn’t afford. I left college with over $70k in college debt and $7,000 in credit card debt - much of that the result trying to keep up with my better financially off international friends.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are those affluent students who prefer to simply blend in – feigning an inability pay for a taxi or brining up other gripes so as to not put off their less wealthy peers.

I highly recommend reading the full article here.

Where Did the Chevy Apprentice Sites Go? Chevrolet Caves!

by Rio Flores on May 8th, 2006

In spite of the claimed positive results, it would appear the Chevy caved into the pressures of all the negative PR they were getting from there Make Your Own Ad Contest. The websites www.chevyapprentice.com and www.tahoeapprentice.com are no longer online and both URLs redirect you to http://www.chevrolet.com/tahoe/. Searching Chevorlet.com for “contest” or “apprentice” yields zero results.

If I were Chevrolet’s director of PR, I would have strongly recommended against it. The move will only serve to embolden their critics.

Stephen Colbert Lambastes Bush at White House Coorespondent’s Dinner

by Rio Flores on May 1st, 2006

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a group of more uncomfortable people than when Stephen Colbert lambasted the president,sitting only a few feet away from the podium. While the AP barely mentions Colbert’s performance, the blogs left are overjoyed. One clever fellow set up Thank you site (Digg it here). My favorite lines:

The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put ‘em through a spell check and go home. … Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

Watch the Video (Part One of Three)

View part 2 and part 3. View the full transcript at DailyKos.

UPDATE: Apparently, Bush was really angered by Colbert’s performance. I couldn’t be more pleased.