Are You Listening, America?

New Scientist | US Election 2004

I may seem like a raging conservative this year, but those who've known me long enough, know that the Republicans and I disagree more often than it appears lately. One area in which we do not see eye to eye is scientific matters. This very good article examines the politics of science in the U.S. I'm about as fond of the UCS as I am of GWB's science policy though, which essentially translates to the fact that I wish scientists would stay out of politics as much as I wish politicians would stay out of science. That being said, I do like the rare animal that lives in both worlds successfully. Neither politician or scientist... but a strange hybrid.

While the ucs scientists whine about GWB's policies and the GOP's influence in scientific matters, I think that per usual, the Left's influence has just skated under the radar. Most scientists work in the acedemic sphere, which is rife with far-left ideology masquerading as intellectualism. The scientific community has just soaked up too much of that and it's influenced their work from the inside rather than from the outside as the current administration seems to do. I think the article does a good job of putting all the cards on the table, even if it is more sympathetic (subliminally) to the anti-Bush viewpoint, which is fine as long as everyone gets a fair shake. :)

TV-B-Gone From Cornfield Electronics

I almost forgot why I started ranting about car stereos... Wired News carried a story about a fascinating little trinket called TV-B-Gone from Cornfield Electronics. It's absically a universal remote that has only one button on it... a power button. When activated it just starts sending out an on/off command in every TV language it knows. So, within a minute or two... there is no more TV distracting you, no matter where you are. Brilliant!

I got side tracked because the inventer said people were asking him to create a trinket that would disable the subs on car stereos. There is no limit to the amount of money I'd pay for one of those to sit in front of my house... so of course, I lost my whole train of thought.

Cornfield Electronics's website has been over-run with requests so do not be surprised if it doesn't load right away. My $15 is ready to go!

Noboom petition is gaining momentum,

PRESS RELEASE: Noboom petition is gaining momentum.


Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. If people fail to govern themselves, then someone will govern them. The same thing happened to the "rave" community a few years back. What you have here are a growing number of people with very little common sense. As I've said before, there is a time and a place for everything. 2:00 AM on a Tuesday night in front of my house, is not the time or the place for "2001 a Bass Odyssey". I hate to see the law have to step in tell people how loud they can listen to a car stereo, but it's clear that the line has been crossed and one man's freedom has encroached on another's. The law's function is to define the line between the rights of people, e.g. my right to sleep peacefully and Jon Q. Gangstawannabee's right to jam in his tricked out Celica.

Outlawing the stereos is a dumb idea, there should be ordinances which designate areas as quiet zones. Perhaps tied to speed limits? The problem with that concept is that it relies heavily on the police to enforce it. Which costs money in taxes. But don't see any other option to maintain a balance between respecting the rights of those bass enthusiasts with common sense and keeping the less conscientious boomers in line... If you're really pissed off, Citizens Against Audio Trespass has a petition going. I'm going to start getting license plate numbers and mailing them to the Lexington police. :)