In this week’s rant Chickenman talks of office politics and human nature. It is not a particularly uplifting read, but it fits with the rest of the selections for this week.
Rant of the Week: 4/1/07-4/7/07
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Essay of the Week: 4/1/07-4/7/07
Many Conservatives are fretting about Muslims taking over Europe. But I wonder; how could Muslim rule be worse then the current religion ruling Europe? Radical Muslims I can understand, but the strain of thought that seems to rule Europe makes me soul sick.
This strain of thought, or religion if you will, is not limited to Europe. I see it growing all around me. But by all accounts, this horror is more advanced in Europe.
My perception of this horror resonates with this essay entitled The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris by Theodore Dalrymple. Even though this essay is five years old, it is still relevant today.
The problems at M&T Bank….
M&T bank happens to be a bank that we in the Ethereal Land have some familiarity with. So it was of great interest to me to come across this post from Calculated Risk(be sure to read the comments). The post by CR called to my attention this Reuter’s news story…..
Click Here to continue reading.
Is antibacterial soap really worthless?
I found an interesting article entitled Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor’s Perspective, by E.C.W., MD on Survivalblog.com. I don’t really doubt anything E.C.W says, but I would have liked to see more references and documentation. Particularly for statements like this…..
Plain soap and tap water have been shown to be just as good for washing the wound as an antiseptic soap and sterile water. It turns out that some of the antiseptic solutions available kill so much good tissue that they are not preferable to regular soap. I would recommend a liquid soap, to avoid the bacterial culture waiting to launch itself from the bar on the counter, but would avoid the “antibacterial soap” (with triclosan) widely available that has been shown to increase bacterial resistance. In a perfect world I would prefer Hibiclens, but would certainly use a “no-tears” baby shampoo (neutral solution) or even diluted Dawn. One could apply it to a clean washcloth wet from the tap and use it to gently scrub the wound.
Now I am instinctively distrustful of “antibacterial soap” so I don’t find that statement beyond belief. But I have to wonder if plain soap and tap water are as good as antiseptic soap and sterile water under all circumstances. Seems to me that you could have some very messy wounds where you would want to use a very powerful antibacterial soap.
Maybe the studies that the good doctor mentions examined the issue of messy/dirty wounds and still found regular soap to be just as good. But regardless, I would like to know more about those studies.
An overview of the Yom Kippur War on Video…
If you know nothing about the Yom Kippur war, you should watch this video. It provides a good and reasonable fair minded overview of the war.
I found no information that was new to me on the video, but I did appreciate seeing video footage of how the Egyptians cut passes in the sand wall. It was something that was always hard for me to understand when I read about it.
The facts are scary even if the theory is wrong…..
If Stuart Staniford is wrong, he is making one of the most rigorous wrong arguments I have ever seen. He now has a third essay up making the case that Saudi Arabia is facing involuntary cuts in production.
You would think that his last two essays would have covered all there is to cover with currently Click Here to continue reading.
Poem of the week: 3/25/07-3/31/07
The poem this week does not go with the essay at all. Though I suppose you could say that it does speak of something like value. But “How inadequate the howl” is one of my favorite poems by Andrew.
I would have preferred to write a proper essay to accompany the poem before I made it Poem of the Week. But Andrew’s site has a tendency to go down, so I figure that people ought to read this while they have a chance.
I suppose this old essay will have to do for an accompaniment…..
Rant of the Week: 3/25/07-3/31/07
Few things cause people to behave more irrationally then oil. It is drug that every one is on. But funny thing is that few of us seem to love the pushers (i.e. the oil companies). So you have this weird situation were everyone wants cheap oil and yet all of the problems associated with the pursuit of cheap oil they want to blame on the oil companies.
In this week’s rant, Robert Rapier pours scorn on some people’s irrational hatred of their suppliers.
Essay of the Week: 3/25/07-3/31/07
This week’s essay is about the meaning of economy and value. The essay is bordering on the territory of a rant, but we liked it enough that we decided that we would give it the more prestigious position of easy of the week. Besides, the Troll writes better when she is in a fury….
Why the Hummer is a more environmentally responsible thing to drive than the Prius…
This excellent little article (h/t Belmont Club) points out that things are not what they seem when it comes to calculating environmental costs.
Excerpt…
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer – the Prius’s arch nemesis.