Comments on: Earplugs

By: kalidas

kalidas — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:57:23 +0000

The next time people start talking trillions…

A million seconds = 13 days.
A billion seconds = 31 years.
A trillion seconds = 31,600 years.

By: mikel weisser

mikel weisser — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:45:15 +0000

Thanks again for the lively discussion of issues i touch on in my most recent column. I have had some letters in addition to the comments posted here that asked for some clarification on a couple of passages. Here goes my best shot.
1. “It would take an entire generation, almost thirty-two years, to add up to a billion seconds. But even at that length of time, it might still be hard to reconcile one’s self if there had not had access to the best of modern medical care.” Earlier in the article there had been reference to the potential that modern medical care could possibly reattach a severed finger with some usage. This everyday mini-medical drama is in fact a motif in the piece to draw a sense of reality to numbers which are all too often only seen as abstractions. The loss of a finger would have a profound impact on a person not only in the moment of the incident, but thereafter. Even with years to emotionally and physically adjust, or “reconcile one’s self” to such a loss it would still be painful to not have gotten the sufficient “modern medical care” to preserve the finger.

2. The somewhat more problematic passage:
“As in that even if eight thousand five hundred and seventy is a great big number (as in the number of earmarks in the bill), seven, as in seven point seven billion dollars of the total four hundred and ten billion for the Omnibus Spending Bill overall. It’s about two percent.”

There is an admitted and obvious missing phrase here that should follow the word “overall.” The sentence should have read: “…seven, as in seven point seven billion dollars of the total four hundred and ten billion for the Omnibus Spending Bill overall ‘is a relatively small percentage of the spending on the bill as a whole.’”
This omission was an error on my part. Thank you all for following my work so closely. I am improving thanks to you.
-yzur

By: Don Hawkins

Don Hawkins — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:58:11 +0000

Let’s do this again.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5908377.ece

Plan B. Put your boots on people.

By: Don Hawkins

Don Hawkins — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:55:04 +0000

Click here: Plan B: scientists get radical in bid to halt global warming ‘catastrophe’ – Times Online

Plan B. Put your boots on people.

By: Don Hawkins

Don Hawkins — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:10:48 +0000

Sent this to CNBC this morning.

Hello,

Did anybody watch Tom Brokaw on Discovery last night. On a scale between 1 and 10 that was a 2 maybe. At one point during the show Tom and James Hansen were walking down a path in the woods and James was talking and I could tell wanted to stop walking and talk but Tom just kept walking as he had on a suit with a colored handkerchief in the woods, strange. My first thought after I watched Tom and James walk down that path was he ain’t heavy he’s my brother. Then Tom started to talk about cap and trade and forgot to mention that is nothing more than smoke and mirrors an illusion. Kind of like what the Fed did yesterday. Would you say what the Fed did yesterday was a coordinated global response? Well what else could they have done how about nationalize the banks? Oh no big brother. If you watch TV what do you see? A form of big brother that’s what you see. I have these special glasses and when I put them on I see the World the way it is the real World and for only $19.99 plus shipping and handling you can have some too, call, call now and back to Hannity and then Glenn Beck to see if we are all comrades yet. Big brother give me a break. So far on the economy and this climate breakdown have we seen any hard choices, no not one. Tax the fossil fuels and return the money back to the people what’s wrong with that? Nationalize the banks what’s wrong with that? Oh that’s right the government doesn’t know how to run anything a little secret neither does the people who run them now. So far on this path get some boots you will need them.

So on we go.
His welfare is my concern.
No burden is he to bear,
We’ll get there.
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

He would not encumber me and the moon is made of green cheese. The temperatures I am seeing so far in March this summer and next could be an eye opener. Coordinated global response the real deal and you will need those boots.

Read DV Mr. President?

By: Barry99

Barry99 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:02:53 +0000

Corylus – I think the author was trying to pinpoint the origin of our decimal system – in our digits. Digits represent numbers – it’s how we teach chidren to count. In those senses, holding up two hands is indicating the number ten.

By: corylus

corylus — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:07:51 +0000

This article is so abysmally poorly written, the syntax and grammar so jarringly awkward, I could not make sense of it, being continually distracted by the more articulate buzzing of the fly in my house. In fact, I don’t really care what the author has to say, as he lost me when he stated that “my hands…is the number ten.” Say what? Nice going, DV editors! You’ve just promoted the continuing deterioration of language and communication. We might just as well revert to grunting and pointing if this trash is any indication of the quality of writing your site features.

By: Don Hawkins

Don Hawkins — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:22:25 +0000

Just heard Obama talk. There is hope for him yet. Going to try and help him a little a boost from we the people could just help. Think of a coordinated global response that is not in vision yet.