Taxes to Beat the Axes!

Studying for my Income Tax exam and am reminded of this Disney video encouraging people to pay their taxes during World War II:

The Daily Dozen

1. What David Pogue bought this year.  (He’s the NYT tech guru.)  Be sure to read his post on Readibility.  It automatically reformats web pages for easy reading, simply by clicking on a bookmark.  I just dragged the link onto my bookmark bar and it is as amazing as Pogue says.  One of his purchases was the Canon PowerShot S90, saying it “takes better photos than any other pocket camera on the market.”
2. IDC predicts Apple tablet and 300,000 apps in 2010.  “IDC is also assuming that the recent trend of cranky developers dropping iPhone development won't continue; they're stating that the number of apps in the App Store will climb to 300,000 by the end of 2010 and that the competing Android platform will see up to 75,000 apps by that time. Gens pointed out that there are about 10,000 apps listed on Microsoft's Windows 7 compatibility site, and notes that "The market follows the applications. That's a message for the software industry, particularly for the PC industry."”
3. The paradox of choice is not robust.  “They couldn’t find any sign of the “choice is bad” effect... After designing 10 different experiments in which participants were asked to make a choice, and finding very little evidence that variety caused any problems”
4. The educational value of Climategate?  “According to Stephen Dubner, “if you are fan of science, this [Climategate] is a pretty grim day.” I think it’s a great day. As great as the day the first math text was printed. It’s the first time a large number of people are getting a real lesson in science… The apparent consensus on any difficult issue is more fragile than it looks. You are learning how conclusions are actually arrived at. It isn’t pretty — which textbook writers and professors, seeking dignity above all else, fail to mention.”   More thoughts here.
5. Bringing data to copyright: “Relying upon U.S. copyright registrations from 1870 through 2006 as a proxy for the number of works created, we consider how four variables—population, the economy, legal changes, and technology—influenced subsequent copyright registrations. Our findings cast serious doubt on the idea that with copyright law, one size fits all. While individual legal changes may be associated with changes in subsequent copyright registrations, the overall relationship between changes in copyright law and registrations is neither consistent nor completely predictable.”
6. What does Wolfram Alpha do when they can’t sell their $50 app?  They discontinue their iPhone formatted webpage, of course.  Very poor.
7. Speaking of Wolfram Alpha, something they have done right is adding an incredible step-by-step solver.  I’m actually upset about this too.  Why didn’t they have this when I was in junior high?
8. Intel developing an app store for netbooks?
9. ‘Being a lawyer makes me sick.’  Literally.  Over 50% of (lawyer) respondents to a recent (non-scientific) survey report high rates of stress related illness including depression and anxiety.  May cause triple miscarriage rate in women lawyers.
10. Monster Milktruck.  Drive a monster milktruck anywhere in the world, using Google Earth overlays.  Awesome!
11. It’s better to give than to receive.  Countries that give lots of foreign aid tend to be happy.  Recipient nations aren’t any happier for the aid.
12. A video review of Canon's PowerShot S90.  (One of two tech items David Pogue purchased this year.)  Here’s the corresponding print review.

100 Days in Glacier National Park

My dad and I took a 30-day, 11,000 mile driving trip across the United States in 2005.  We saw 28 states in total and numerous National Parks.  Our favorite among them was Glacier National Park in Montana.  The Big Picture has a set of spectacular photos by Chris Peterson, who spent 100 consecutive days in the park to commemorate Glacier’s 100th anniversary.  Peterson used a variety of cameras that would have been used over the Park’s history.

Follow the link to view the photos and you’ll see why dad and I liked Glacier so much.  (Once the page loads, you can use the “j” and '”k” keys to advance through the pictures.)   See all 100 of Peterson’s photos here.

Gran Torino

Yesterday was my last day of classes for the semester and so I decided to take the night off and watch a movie, Gran Torino,  before exams start.  I’m not quite sure how I stumbled on it, but am glad I did.  It is a 2008 film starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the best films of 2008.  (I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of it before.)  Here is the description from Netflix (subscription required):

Curmudgeonly Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood, who also directs) must confront his Hmong immigrant neighbors -- and his own long-held prejudices -- when the family's teenage son, Thao (Bee Vang), tries to steal Walt's beloved 1972 Gran Torino. Walt soon assumes the unlikely role of guardian angel to young Thao and his sister Sue (Ahney Her), both of whom are vulnerable to local gang influences.

I had trouble finding a trailer on YouTube that didn’t give away too much of the movie.  (I hate learning too much about a film before I watch it.)  You can watch a good, short trailer here. 

All I will say is that it is in large part a story about the rite of passage into manhood and is highly recommended.  It has some language, but the story is well done and Eastwood proves himself (yet again) to be a brilliant actor and director.

Ali would be particularly pleased with the special features on the DVD and what they have to say about men and their cars.  Two thumbs up!

The Daily Dozen

1. Secret CIA Manual Shows Magic Tricks Used by Spies:  “During the Cold War, the CIA hired a master magician to teach them deceptive maneuvers. Here are a handful of tricks, recovered from a super secret manual the government thought it had destroyed over 30 years ago.” 
2. In Hospice, Care and Comfort as Life Wanes: “[S]tudies have shown that, all other things being equal, patients receiving the comfort care provided by hospice tend to live longer and die more peacefully than those who continue to get intensive care for their disease when treatment has ceased to help.”
3. John Brown – Freedom’s Martyr or the 9/11 of 1859?
4. With an eye to the future, try RAW photos today.  “[A]lthough taking up about three times the storage space as a JPEG and requiring manual processing, offer higher quality and more flexibility. But what I've come to understand since then is a second advantage of raw: because processing software improves over time, raw photos in effect can get better with age.”
5. Cool!  iPhone app turns business cards into contacts.
6. Underappreciated economist:  Jack Hirshleifer.
7. Dubai fact of the day: “Dubai now has the tallest building in the world, and 11 skyscrapers that are taller than any European building.”
8. New York has 250 times the rate of abortions per thousand births than Wyoming?  Maybe, but this gap seems huge to me.  (I think Wyoming’s reported data is too low.)  NY City has the highest rate with 756 abortions per 1,000 births – and a higher absolute number of abortions than any state other than New York (which includes NYC) and Florida.
9. Is your Facebook personality genuine?  “When researchers began studying Facebook friends, they expected that users would exaggerate accomplishments. To their surprise, they discovered that Facebook profiles typically give an accurate and realistic impression of the user's real-life personality.”
10. Writing to impress rather than inform.  “Here’s an interesting essay about the incomprehensibility of some academic writing.”  Sad, but true.
11. How law schools adapt to U.S. News rankings.  “One general effect of the USN rankings on law schools is that it has created pressure on law school administrators to redistribute resources in ways that maximize their scores on the criteria used by USN to create the rankings, even if they are skeptical that this is a productive use of these resources. “  Also sad, but true.  More on this here.
12. Sometimes it’s just not worth keeping up with the Joneses:

Eating the Evidence

Orin Kerr:

Note to Law Enforcement Personnel: If you arrest a suspect for bank robbery, and you find the stick-up note in his pocket, don’t put the note on the car near the suspect. The note might not be there when you’re done the search incident to arrest:

Background here, via Josh Blackman. Oh, and don’t miss the suspect’s facial expression at the :33 mark.

I’m guessing this guy isn’t familiar with Rochin v. California, but would be grateful for it if he knew…

The Stronger Sex -- Spiritually Speaking

The gender gap in religion:

A new analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures.

Data: Pew Forum U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007, released in 2008.

Economists’ Cribs

Here are photos of Greg Mankiw’s domicile (6,500 square feet -- 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, complete with a tropical oasis in the gardens in Wellesley, MA):

And here are photos of mine (400 square feet – one room, one bath, complete with air fern and 52-inch HDTV in Arlington, VA):

Keep in mind Mankiw is a tenured prof at Harvard and I’m still working on my PhD…