CALIFORNIA YANKEE

A day with the Hoover Institution

The Hoover Tower at Stanford University. Image Credit: The Hoover Institution

Monday I was privileged to participate in the Hoover Institution's Media Colloquium at Stanford University.

Perhaps you, like me, are aware of but unfamiliar with the Hoover Institution. The Institution is considered a Conservative think tank, and according to Wikipedia is "influential in the American conservative and libertarian movements." It supports individual, economic, and political freedom; private enterprise; and our form of representative government based upon the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

During the Colloquium,  along with a couple of dozen other journalists, I spent a very interesting day exploring foreign and domestic policy issues facing President Obama and the 113th Congress, with a number of accomplished academics. We discussed the economy, the national debt, the fiscal cliff, the sequester, taxes and too big to fail with Michael Boskin and Kevin Warsh; Obama's reelection and dissociation theory with Shelby Steele; the future of Conservatism, and his new book Constitutional Conservatism: Liberty, Self-Government, and Political Moderation, with Peter Berkoowitz; national security issues including cyber and drone warfare with Amy Zegart; and the Middle East and Iran's nuclear ambitions with Abbas Milani.

The discussions were all intellectually stimulating and very interesting. It's been some time since I have been immersed in an academic environment. The experience caused me to appreciate my education in Political Science, International Affairs, Economics, Administration and the Law, but wishing for more. It will provide me material and new sources, which I believe will improve my reporting.

I will have more about the Colloquium in the days ahead as I continue to contemplate what I learned. For example, I intend to write about Berkowitz's new book as soon as I finish reading it. You can get a peek at Berkowitz's conclusions in his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Conservative Survival in a Progressive Age.

As I mentioned above, I've long-been aware of but unfamiliar with the Hoover Institution. My participation in the Colloquium not only enlightened me as to the wisdom of some of the Institution's fellows, I also got to know and respect the staff. If you are in need of information the Institution might have, I would encourage you seek assistance from the appropriate Hoover Institution contact. They are good people.

Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I received an honorarium for my participation.

Do you have the correct time?

Did you remember to spring your clocks forward?

Daylight Saving Time began at 2:00 a.m., March 8, 2009.

While you are adjusting your time pieces and cursing the sleep you weren't allowed to enjoy, consider that the conventional wisdom that daylight-saving time reduces energy use is wrong.

In Indiana, because farmers resisted having to work an extra hour in the morning dark, only 15 of Indiana's 92 counties set their clocks an hour ahead in the spring and an hour back in the fall. The rest stayed on standard time all year. In 2006, the Indiana Legislature to put the entire state on Daylight Saving Time.

Indiana's change, provided an opportunity to study how the time shift affects energy use:

Using more than seven million monthly meter readings from Duke Energy Corp., covering nearly all the households in southern Indiana for three years, they were able to compare energy consumption before and after counties began observing daylight-saving time. Readings from counties that had already adopted daylight-saving time provided a control group that helped them to adjust for changes in weather from one year to the next.

The study concluded that switching the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year consumed more energy:

• Residential electricity usage increased between 1% and 4%, amounting to $8.6 million a year. • Social costs from increased emissions were estimated at between $1.6 million and $5.3 million per year.

The reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.

A 2007 study of the temporary extension of daylight-saving in two Australian territories for the 2000 Summer Olympics also found that changing clocks doesn't save energy.

The California Energy Commission's Demand Analysis Office, published a statistical analysis on the effect early Daylight Saving Time on California electricity consumption in May 2007 which found "little or no effect on energy consumption."

The erroneous conventional wisdom that Daylight Savings Time saves energy is based upon studies done in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation found about a one percent reduction country's electricity usage with Daylight Saving Time. The problem with relying on studies from the 70s is that air conditioning was nearly as prevalent then as it is today.

Just something to think about as you spend your Sunday sleep deprived.

Man survives train wreck

A Turkish man survived a spectacular crash between a truck and a train:

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Numb-WHAT?!?

This is precious:

Exploding Water Balloon At 2,000 Frames Per Second

This is really cool. At 2,000 frames per second, the water contained in an exploding water balloon holds its shape for a few thousandths of a second before it succombs tp gravity:

Via WIRED Science.

Happy Pi Day

It's the 20th Annual Pi Day. Celebrate Well.

Orgasms For Peace

The group, Global Orgasm, wants people across the world to synchronize their orgasms with Solstice Day - December 22 - - 06:08 Universal Time (GMT). That's Saturday at 1:08 a.m. ET. According to the group's website, the idea is to create a positive energy field on Earth through the largest possible instantaneous surge of "human biological, mental and spiritual energy."

You just can't make this stuff up.

Being A New Yorker

New York City Councilman James S. Oddo, lost it when interviewed by a Norwegian comedian.

Warning: the video contains offensive language.

The Councilman remains unapologetic, sort of:

Anyone who thinks they are going to come in and waste time while mocking him and other American leaders like the Clintons, while implicitly saying “America is a racist nation ... I’m going to throw you out of my office,” Oddo said. He apparently did apologize to his mother for the curse words.

[. . .]

“My language was inappropriate, I'm apologetic for it, I regret it,” said Oddo. “I don't regret the sentiment. In fact, I think that people across the country will see that I reacted the same way any Staten Islander walking down Hylan Boulevard would have reacted.”

I do not agree with the offending comedian who said after the incident that she thinks Oddo’s reaction was "quite normal."

Impressive

I wonder how long it took to set up this trick.

domino billard
Uploaded by dbalavoine9

Wow

Just...wow.

You just can't make this stuff up.

UPDATE: The video incorrectly referred to by West Palm Beach's News 12 in the above YouTube is also worthy of your attention.

In a Columbus, Ohio courtroom Tuesday (9/11/07), Wendall Hollingsworth kicked his defense attorney, Scott Weisman, as the defendant was being wheeled into court by deputies. A Taser to subdue Hollingsworth. Watch how Hollingsworth was restrained when he was returned to court: