Illicit Trade Speeches and Conversations

I generally don't post audio speeches and interviews but I feel like I should make an exception for this case. I first heard the speech on Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy by Moises Naim a while ago. His rhetoric and excitement about the issues are contagious and his mind and speech move so fast one has to hold on for the ride. I almost decided to make an exception and post the audio to this blog right now.

Yet I didn't, and then I forgot about it. But a few weeks later I stumbled across another discussion, this time on Terry Gross's Fresh Air (interview with Moises Naim). And I took this as fate: a sign that I should post.

Interesting Articles: Jan 3rd-9th 2006

* Rejected by the Publishers (New York Times).
* Literary Letters, Lost in Cyberspace (New York Times). A nice connection to the Supreme Court transcript article I posted last week, this article is about authors' electronic correspondences.
* Communicating (Forbes). An intimidatingly large list of articles and interviews on communicating, but most are quite short and some are interesting. Personally, I enjoyed Alan Lightman On Boycotting E-Mail, Milton Glaser On Conveying Information Through Puzzles (*coughTheGamecough*), Lying Is Good For You, How To Talk To Aliens (especially the flash popup diagrams of messages into space -- I'd seen this before, but this was a nice reminder), and the related Frank Drake On Ambiguity . Your particular interests may vary.

Interesting Articles: Dec 27th 2005 - Jan 2nd 2006

On Thinking:
* Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (New York Times). In short, don't think too much. It'll just depress you. Scientifically based.
* Brain Training Puts Big Hurt on Intense Pain (Science News). Basically, think. Mind over matter.

Year-End News:
* While You Were Sleeping. A summary of many interesting news pieces (especially scientific ones) from the last year that didn't get much attention.
* Why I'm Happy I Evolved (New York Times). A bundle of neat trivia. (Oh, and commentary too, but that's not why I'm posting it.)

Fun:
* So, Guy Walks Up to the Bar, and Scalia Says... (New York Times). On entertaining facts you can mine from (Supreme Court) transcripts.
* Cowboys Are My Weakness (New York Times). I can't describe this at risk of spoiling it, but it is a fun read.

Interesting Articles: Dec 20th-26th 2005

* Study Shows the Superrich Are Not the Most Generous (New York Times). Interesting. And neat that they got access to unpublished tax reports. The article, though, has even more data than I'd prefer (and I'm a data junkie). (Addendum: shortly after reading this article, I read the article Hey, Bartender, Can You Break $1,000? (New York Times). It provided a nice echo, though it's unclear whether those ordering those expensive drinks are super-rich, rich, or just upper-middle class.)
* Just Another Displaced New Yorker (New York Times). An informative tale about how the story of Santa Claus has evolved over time.
* Health Care for All, Just a (Big) Step Away (New York Times). I didn't realize that employer-provided health care was so subsidized, and that nearly universal health care could be so reachable (from an economic viewpoint at least).
* Is Teddy a pollution magnet? (Science News). In short, stuffed animals attract environmental pollutants. Probably not a good thing. More details in Brominated flame retardants and organochlorine pesticides in children's stuffed toys (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry).

Feel Like A Food Processor? Here's How To Buy One

After reading the Consumer Reports blender/mixer/food processor buying guide and, based upon my needs, ordering a blender, I decided not to buy a food processor. If the blender fails to help me cook what I need, then I'll reconsider that decision. In case I do, here are the sites I had found during the time I was pondering purchasing a food processor.

Buying guides (in addition to above Consumer Reports link), all heavily redundant:
* Amazon food processor buying guide
* Reluctant Gourmet food processor buying guide
* cooking.com food processor buying guide
* John Lewis food processor buying guide
* Love to Know food processor buying guide

Not surprisingly, the most detailed and systematic reviews (Consumer Reports on food processors and Cook's Illustrated (search for food processors)) require a subscription. However, Consumer Search (on food processors) comes through again! They summarize reviews from both of those publications as well as others and synthesize the results. It should be my primary starting reference point if I start thinking about buying one.

Want A Blender? Here's How To Buy One

I got a great new cookbook as a present (thanks!) and immediately realized I needed a food processor or blender. (Many dishes have sauces that require one.) Not sure which type of item I needed, I did a bit of research on the web and found this Consumer Reports blender/mixer/food processor buying guide that explains everything fairly well. Deciding I needed a blender, I did some more research.

Here is a list of handy (though heavily redundant) sites for background on blenders:
* Amazon blender buying guide
* Reluctant Gourmet blender buying guide
* cooking.com bar blender buying guide
* epinions blender buying guide

As for individual blender reviews, Consumer Reports does them, as does Cook's Illustrated (search for blenders). However both of these require a subscription or registration to view the reviews.

Happily, Consumer Search summarizes both these blender review results along with a number of others and synthesizes conclusions. I found these pages to be a very informative read.

The end choice wasn't too hard. Given that I don't need an expensive top of the line professional blender, Consumer Reports and Cook's Illustrated agree that the best choice is the Braun PowerMax MX2050 blender. It's around $50, and Consumer Reports recently re-endorsed it as one of its best gifts under $100. I called up my local stores but, failing to find one that carries that model, ordered it online.

Additional keywords: blenders, choose, choosing, select, selecting, review, reviews, buying tips, advice

Berkeley Transcript Bureaucracy

I was on campus recently and offered to drop off a small pile of transcript request forms for a friend who is applying to graduate school. However, the registrar refused to let me drop them off for her. The registrar said in-person transcript requests must be by my friend in particular. Her signature on the check for payment of the request doesn't count. Getting her on the phone doesn't count. But guess what the registrar said I could do? The registrar handed me an envelope and told me to put the request forms in the envelope and drop them in the dropbox. Then they could process them because then they'd have been considered to have come in my mail.

Need New Tires? Here's How To Buy Them

The best sites for tire reviews are:
* Tire Rack: yes, they sell tires too, but they have many reviews, both from experts and non-experts
* Consumer Reports (Tires): most parts require subscriptions, but the summary tire ratings are reprinted elsewhere
* Consumer Search (Tires): a meta-review site

I bought new tires by first calling a number of auto service and tire shops in my area and asking them what tires they had in the size I needed (and if they didn't have certain tires, if they could order them) and how much they cost. (To do this, you first need to figure out what size tires you have on your car. First, look at the tires that are on your car. Then go to the tirerack web site or a tire manufacturer web site. They should be able to tell you what tires fit your car. Make sure it agrees with the size of tires you actually have on your car. I needed 205 65 15R (radial) H (speed).)

With that list of available tires, I looked over the tire web sites and prices and chose a manufacturer, model, and store. I chose the Yokohama AVIDs. Your mileage may vary (as well as your tire size requirements, driving needs, and local availability and local prices for various tires).

Additional keywords: choose, choosing, review, reviews, buying tips, advice