This tweet reminded me that it's probably time for an update to my series of posts on COVID-19 masking:Public health messaging about this has been terrible. The truth is that not all masks are created equally, and some masks are much better than others. I think public health authorities have been reluctant to say this out loud for a number of reasons, such as not wanting … [Read more...] about N95 or Bust!
Ken Gibson, Rest In Peace
My brother just died. He wasn't really my brother -- I never had any siblings -- but he was the closest thing to a brother I've ever had.I first met Kenneth John Gibson in the fall of 1978, at Luther North High School on the northwest side of Chicago. We had a bunch of classes in common and we teamed up in Unified Science class the first year. The class was a 70s-modern … [Read more...] about Ken Gibson, Rest In Peace
Inflation or Productivity Loss?
I'm seeing a lot of online chatter about inflation lately, and naturally the commentary has the stink of politics on it. Republicans are trying to pin the price increases on Biden and the Democrats. The Democrats, in turn, are trying to minimize the problem by denying that the inflation is as bad as it seems -- currently 6.8% ((CPI-U, all items, per the December 10 BLS … [Read more...] about Inflation or Productivity Loss?
Dune – Review
I still don't care.I still don't care about House Atreides and House Harkonnen. I'm tired of hearing about the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach, the Padishah Emperor and his Imperial Sardaukar troops, and Paul's mysterious connection to the Fremen (He knows how to wear a stillsuit correctly, oh my!). The whole wheels-within-wheels, schemes-within-schemes, … [Read more...] about Dune – Review
So much for Jack Marshall Day…
As I explained in my Jack Marshall day post last year, my plan was to write about Jack Marshall's Ethics Alarms blog once a year. My few remaining readers may have noticed that I missed the anniversary date.When I first started reading his Ethics Alarms blog all those years ago, I found Jack to be a fascinating writer and a seemingly endless source of great topics to blog … [Read more...] about So much for Jack Marshall Day…