Song of the Day (Extended Version)

The BG and I have a routine on schoolday mornings. At 6:52, I come into her room and wake her up with the Song of the Day. She asks for “one more minute” and I use that time—after taking her order—to prepare her breakfast, which usually consists of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Lucky Charms or Cookie Crisp) and either vegetarian bacon (VB) or vegetarian sausage (V Saw). When the microwave dings, the BG comes happily down the stairs, and while she eats her breakfast, we check the weather, watch “Dunkof the Night” on ESPN and, if there was a Wizards game the night before, discuss the usually predictable outcome.

I was so pleased with this morning’s SOTD that I thought I’d record it to give you a flavor of the procedure. I also found a version of the original on Soul Train, so those of you not familiar with the oeuvre of Mr. Kurtis Blow, might want to check that our first, in order to check the accuracy of rhyme and meter. 




Big D: The Wakes

 

Kurtis Blow The Breaks

Hateful words

I understand people's loathing of the words "awesome," "epic" and "literally." But moist? There is apparently an "I hate the word moist" group on Facebook with over 300 members. That may be a different statement altogether about a different topic, like what people do in their free time and whether that time is optimally used.

Sunday Papers

More intrigue in Egypt. Conservative Islamists endorse a liberal. And Friedman says Arab strongmen can no longer use resistance to Israel as a cover for their own problems.

The end of the wallet?

Christina Rohmer argues for spending now and backloaded cuts. I can see how this is unattractive to Germans. What is the case against in the US. Distrust of any government action?

Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow and Martin Amis on life in America. I do not like where we're headed, despite the promises of innovation.

An introvert promotes her book and gives a TED talk, well aware of the concomitant irony.

Best facial hair of all time on a relief pitcher.

Burn baby, burn

Fascinating look at trash and the emerging technology of “waste to energy” (WTE), converting methane from landfills into electrical power, or even burning all garbage, a process from the days of old that has been scorned over the last thirty years. But the technology has not stood still. New processes remove the toxic stuff, and the residue after burning can be used in the construction industry, making the process remarkably efficient.

But right now there are easier ways to reduce the 5-7 pounds of trash produced every day by the average American, which is twice the OECD average:

The main difference is that in Europe and elsewhere manufacturers, rather than consumers, are held responsible for the cost of processing the packaging used to wrap their goods. Thus, a tube of toothpaste comes without a cardboard box; a TV set without all the polystyrene packing.

It has always bothered me that toothpaste comes in a box. I suppose it reduces shipping costs by allowing for easier packing. But if the environmental costs of disposal were borne by the manufacturer (or the consumer), I suspect we’d see a more efficient process.

I would also argue that as taxpayers refuse to support better processes, like WTE, and to resist change, this cost is not borne by the consumer as the author suggests, but by future generations.  

Song of the Day

It is too late Evie (oh, it's too late)
And it really is time to get up.
Morning is here, oh my dear, get in gear
'Cause your breakfast is already set up.

Steady Companion

There is an article in the Times from yesterday extolling the information to be found in each relentless weekly edition of the Economist. I have recently been enjoying the jump that having access to the new edition via the Ipad provides, but have now, after a couple of months, fallen back on the hedonic treadmill, struggling mightily each week to keep up.

Nevertheless, I do try to completely read each edition, and although I may skip the occasional Asia or Latin America piece, I’m pretty consistent. Here’s my preferred reading order:

·         This week

·         Leaders

·         Jobs

·         Obituary

·         Books

·         Science

·         US

·         Business

·         Finance

·         Middle East and Africa

·         Americas

·         Asia

·         China

·         Europe

·         Britain

If there’s a special report I like, such as this week’s on the coming changes to industry, I’ll read it after Finance. If it doesn’t grab me, I’ll save it for the end.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to write something similar to the Times piece. If I like it, or there is a positive response, I’ll try the same again next Wednesday.

Economist Highlights

Palace intrigue in the Egyptian presidential elections. 10 of 23 candidates barred on technical grounds.

Yemen is one messed up country.

The first leader to be judged by an International court sinceNuremberg.

Women do more housework; even when they make more money thantheir partner.

Obituary for bagel king Murray Lender

As Chinese wages go up, production is coming home.

Still hard to believe in 3D printing, but it seems pretty real.

Major Repairs

Laundry is not something I generally do (let alone write about), but with Worldwide in Indonesia, it is something that I need to take care of. I don’t mind doing it; and in fact, I derive inordinate pleasure from reuniting orphan socks with their mates.

For some reason, we have two repositories for single white socks—one in the laundry room, and one in the master bedroom. So today, I decided to bring both into the living room while I sorted. I quickly matched one pair; and then another; and then another. It was like Vinnie Johnson in the 1989 playoffs. Usually, I am pleased with one or two successes, but today I was able to reunite an incredible nine pairs of socks.

I just had to share my joy with the world.