A very thoughtful piece on the false notion that Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” implies a lack of government intervention. Rather, he felt that the invisible hand was the unexpected social good from private action made possible by industrious hard-work and proper precedence of the public good in politics. In other words, he’d probably see Goldman Sachs as a bunch of lazy wastrels.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Why Buses Have Vertical Steering Wheel Columns
Did you ever wonder why a bus has a big, horizontal steering wheel instead of one more like a car’s? Me too, so I asked Metro Transit in Minnesota why bus steering wheels are designed that way.
Here’s their reply:
The answer to your question lies in the fact that the room available in the front of the bus is very limited. Because the engine, transmission and other driveline components are in the back of the bus, the front area is kept as short as possible in order to increase space for passengers. At the same time, this area has to be large enough to accommodate the bus driver and the equipment needed to operate the bus.
One way to help maximize the driver’s area while keeping the front of the bus compact is to mount the steering column in a vertical orientation. I believe that all transit bus manufacturers use this strategy to accomplish this. Just so you know, the steering wheel can be tilted and it also telescopes to fit the needs of various operators, so the vertical orientation is not as much of an issue as it might seem.
Thanks, Charles Wurzinger of Metro Transit!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
"Ambition is fired by possibility, not by deprivation, as a tour through the world’s poorest regions..."
“Ambition is fired by possibility, not by deprivation, as a tour through the world’s poorest regions makes clear”
- Thurston Howell Romney - NYTimes.com
- Thurston Howell Romney - NYTimes.com
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
In U.S. today, no margin for illness | StarTribune.com
In U.S. today, no margin for illness | StarTribune.com: 
A great moral argument for public intervention in health care, if you’re not persuaded by the obvious market failure.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Maybe we should just pick the guy that’s more likely to...
Maybe we should just pick the guy that’s more likely to tell the truth.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
"Who among the Republicans has the courage of Alfred E. Smith or Hubert Humphrey?"
“Who among the Republicans has the courage of Alfred E. Smith or Hubert Humphrey?”
- GOP must slip its ugly skin | StarTribune.com
- GOP must slip its ugly skin | StarTribune.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A sobering report about breast cancer | MinnPost
A sobering report about breast cancer | MinnPost: 
A lesson that you sometimes can’t push science, even with lots of money.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Charter Schools and Kudzu
Charter Schools and Kudzu: 
Once seen as a solution to stagnating educational outcomes, charter schools have become “a virulent, parasitic weed” in the garden of K-12 education.
100 million tons of unlovable plastic: The container-bottom numbers game | Twin Cities Daily Planet
100 million tons of unlovable plastic: The container-bottom numbers game | Twin Cities Daily Planet: 
A fascinating look at the issue of plastics recycling, and how consumers may be able to “recycle” all sorts of plastics, even those for which there really is not a recycling market…
Monday, August 06, 2012
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