How much of a pottymouth are you?
Woops.
Ted Barlow is Back
Ted Barlow is back from one of his bi-monthly breaks.
Good Post
Here is a good how-to on how to be an honest blogger– go read Kevin Drum discussing Medical Malpractice.
On reading the report more carefully, I now note that all these figures are for median payouts, which wouldn’t be affected at all by a few huge awards. I’m not sure what’s going on, but this is so obviously the wrong statistic to use in this case that there must be some kind of axe to grind here. I’m now very skeptical that this report is, as it claims, “not driven by a political ideology or industry-driven self-interest.”
What’s more, although Appendix 2 does indeed show that premiums have gone up only 35% in states without caps, there are several states with enormous increases and several with tiny increases, and it’s hard to see any correlation at all between median payout increases and median premium increases. This might be due to the use of medians, it might genuinely be due to different regulatory regimes, or it might be something else. Who knows?
Why can’t we get this type of honesty and self-scrutiny from the mainstream media?
IS Talk Left Down?
Am I the only one who can not get Talk Left to load?
*** Update ***
Another Term for The Blog Glossary
First, there was Godwin’s Law. Then there was Jane’s Law. Then Gorejacking. Now, we present you with the newest addition to our glossary:
fringe
New Book
My father has just completed his book titled Plugged into English: English and language arts activities for the computer lab, and I thought I might do some free advertising for him. If you are a teacher and are looking the following, or if you know of a teacher who has been complaining that you can not think of many activities for your kids, this might be right up your alley. The nice thing about this is that the activities are adaptable enough for other fields, so all teachers might get some use out of it. At any rate, here is the description from Cottonwood Press:
Plugged In to English comes with a CD-ROM that includes all student activities. The activities can be used with either PCs or Macs in any computer lab, using any word processing program. Although the activities are designed for grades 8-adult, many work very well with younger students as well.
Computer Tips for English Teachers
What If You
Great Gonzo
If you have never read him and wondered why people love Hunter S. Thompson, here is a glimpse why:
Weird behavior is natural in smart children, just as curiosity is to a kitten. I was no stranger to it myself, as a youth growing up in Kentucky. I had a keen appetite for adventure, which soon led me into a maze of complex behavioral experiments that my parents found hard to explain. I was a popular boy, with acceptable grades & a vaguely promising future, but I was cursed with a dark sense of humor that made many adults afraid of me, for reasons they couldn’t quite put their fingers on…
But I was a juvenile delinquent. I was Billy the Kid of Louisville. I was a “criminal”: I stole things, destroyed things, drank. That’s all you have to do if you’re a criminal. In the sixth grade I was voted head of the Safety Patrol – the kids who wear the badges and stop traffic during recesses and patrol. It was a very big position, and the principal hated that I was voted to it. She said, “This is horrible. We can’t have Hunter doing anything. He’s a Little Hitler.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I think it meant I had a natural sway over many students. And that I should probably be lobotomized for the good of the society.
and this:
That story has no moral – at least not for smart people – but it taught me many useful things that shaped my life in many fateful ways. One of them was knowing the difference between Morality and Wisdom. Morality is temporary, Wisdom is permanent… Ho ho.
(Via Tim Blair)