Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bits and Pieces - February 16, 2010

Hormone oxytocin may help Asperger's patients. A clue to autism's workings?

I have no sympathy for Kevin Smith, having had fat people oozing over the armrests next to me in airplanes. That said, it would be nice if the airlines could be a bit more generous with seating space.

How Evan Bayh could build the image he seems to want.

A nice statement of the conflict between wanting more government services and no taxes.

The tantalizing mystery of the Glomar Explorer's attempt to raise a sunken Soviet submarine.

Loan guarantees for new nuclear reactor construction.
This will provide jobs and the power the US needs. I hope the companies involved can meet the challenge.

Discussion is building on the "nuclear umbrella" that the US offers to its allies. Turns out there are a variety of opinions on its effectiveness and desirability.

Jon Stewart as a factor in foreign relations.

Too much anger already.

A contribution to Helmut's music lists: Väikeste Lõõtspillide Ühing (The Association of Little Accordions). Caution: the site plays their music at high volume, and I haven't figured out how to avoid it, other than turning the sound off.

3 comments:

MT said...

Whether you can muster sympathy is separate from whether Kevin Smith was mistreated. My sense is he was, and he's got my sympathy--not that he seems to be short on it or much in need.

Cheryl Rofer said...

Apparently Southwest Airlines has a policy that if you can't lower the armrests because of your bulk, you need to buy tickets for two seats. According to the reports, by that criterion, Smith needed two seats, and he had bought one.

MT said...

Smith says they did not apply the armrest test and that anyway he met it. Also I believe he paid for and may have been assigned two seats.