Technology for Meeting People
Entrepreneurs are always looking for something that could be improved. It’s their job. It’s what they do. Ever since Adam found Eve, people have been searching for that special someone to build a relationship. Online dating services have tried sorting through the compatibility factors up front, but there are still some folks who would rather […]
Panhandler Makes $60K
Beggars have always been drawn to the beachside resort community of Santa Barbara. The climate is mild year-round, and the residents and visitors are generally affluent. Local businesses have tried in vain to chase them away; the latest “Don’t Feed Our Bums” campaign featured signs and bumper stickers, to no avail. My wife and I […]
Male Contraceptives
The beginning of the sexual revolution is often tied to the birth control pill, which allowed women to separate recreation from procreation. Suddenly it was OK for women to enjoy sex just like men, and our entire culture changed and has never looked back. Women have always said that it makes more sense to shoot […]
Longevity
The best way to increase your life expectancy is to choose your parents carefully. If that didn’t work out so well, then plenty of exercise combined with proper nutrition will definitely extend your stay on the planet. These facts are well known, timeless, and probably wrong. The Japanese apparently know something that we don’t; they […]
The Daniel Diet
When airlines are forced to increase the passenger weight allowance on their planes, you suspect America might be developing an obesity problem. When pastors find it difficult to baptize people because of their collective girth, it pretty much seals the deal. When one of those pastors happens to be Rick Warren, himself a […]
America is Fat
America is fat. We are ready and able to hibernate. We have gorged on sugars and carbs, storing up enough energy in our girth to survive a very long winter. If it comes down to survival of the fattest, we are the odds on favorites. There is more at stake here than just […]
Turing the Country
When you call an 800 number for technical support these days, there are basically two probable scenarios. In the first, you get a guy with a heavy Indian accent who introduces himself as George, is annoyingly polite, and leads you through a canned flowchart of question-answer decision points that even a machine could manage. The […]
The NFL Has a Problem
Professional football in America dates back to around 1920. The college game goes back even further. Theodore Roosevelt loved how the game built athleticism, character, teamwork and willpower. In 1905, there were far fewer players than today, and yet 18 died during games in that one year alone. Deciding that the risks outweighed the […]
Aircraft Security
On September 11, 2001, the US airline industry was shut down. Shortly after flights resumed, I flew to Boston’s Logan (the airport from which one group of terrorists departed for the World Trade Center). I reassured my wife that there had never been a safer time to fly; security was insanely tight. Since that […]
Air Safety
Modern air travel is founded on a number of assumptions regarding safety. It is assumed that dividing 15 ounces of a dangerous liquid into five 3 ounce bottles makes it safe. It is assumed that pilots are physically healthy, mentally stable individuals (see “Jet Blue Pilot Goes Berserk, Subdued by Passengers”, USA Today, 3/28/12) […]
