2 October 09 (pm)

Workout notes 2000 yard swim; slow 500 free, 10 x (25 side, 25 free), 5 x 100 fly on the 2:15 (zoomers), 5 x (50 free, 50 paddle)

Last night: my behind the knee area killed me. I expected to see this after the marathon; it was evidently a delayed reaction.

more about "", posted with vodpod

A cool rant by, who else, Pat Condell

Evolution Here is Jerry Coyne’s take on the newly announced results on a homonoid fossil:

It’s a big day for the evolution of our species! Tomorrow’s issue of Science contains 11 – yes eleven – papers describing the fossil skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid from 4.4 million years ago – the oldest such fossil ever found. As I write, the articles aren’t on line yet (and will probably require a subscription to read them completely), but the BBC and The Guardian both have substantial pieces on the discovery.

Briefly, a partial skeleton has been found of one female, together with bits and bobs of another 30 or so individuals,in Ethiopia. “Ardi”, as the female has been called, was about the same size and weight as a modern chimpanzee, but looked very different – many components (such as its hand) are more primitive than that of a chimpanzee,. This shows that the modern chimp hand is not the ancestral condition, but rather a highly evolved form.

Politics

Rep. Grayson on the Ed Show:

Of course minority leader Rep. Boehner says that he hasn’t met anyone who isn’t a member of Congress who favors the public option.

That made me think of this picture:

Sarah Palin: former McCain manager says that her nomination in 2012 would result in a disaster. I disagree! Please nominate her!

Economy: Robert Reich points out that the government should be spending now:

So why is unemployment and underemployment so high, and why is it likely to remain high for some time? Because, as noted, people who are worried about their jobs or have no jobs, and who are also trying to get out from under a pile of debt, are not going do a lot of shopping. And businesses that don’t have customers aren’t going do a lot of new investing. And foreign nations also suffering high unemployment aren’t going to buy a lot of our goods and services.

And without customers, companies won’t hire. They’ll cut payrolls instead.

Which brings us to the obvious question: Who’s going to buy the stuff we make or the services we provide, and therefore bring jobs back? There’s only one buyer left: The government.

Let me say this as clearly and forcefully as I can: The federal government should be spending even more than it already is on roads and bridges and schools and parks and everything else we need. It should make up for cutbacks at the state level, and then some. This is the only way to put Americans back to work. We did it during the Depression. It was called the WPA.

Yes, I know. Our government is already deep in debt. But let me tell you something: When one out of six Americans is unemployed or underemployed, this is no time to worry about the debt.