David Foster

More on the CPSIA

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Yesterday’s WSJ has another article on the damage done by this irresponsible legislation.

Don’t kid yourself that–just because you’re not in the toy business, or a science kit manufacturer, or a children’s clothing maker, or a thrift shop owner, or a homecrafter–this doesn’t have anything to do with you. Whatever your livelihood may be, there are plenty of Congressmen who would casually destroy it for the sake of a photo-op. And in the current political climate, such destruction will become more and more common.

Recent Reading

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Since starting to blog, I’ve posted a total of five book reviews. Over that same time period, I’ve probably read at least 200 books. So maybe I’d do better to write less-comprehensive but more frequent reviews–maybe not even “reviews,” exactly, but rather notes on recent reading. Here’s an initial batch…

1)Adelsverein–The Gathering, by Celia Hayes. (The author blogs as Sgt Mom and is an occasional commenter at Chicago Boyz)

This novel, which I mentioned a couple of months ago, is based on some real but not-very-well-known history. In the 1840s, a group of socially conscious German noblemen conceived the notion of establishing a colony of German farmers and craftsmen in Texas. Over five years, the association dispatched more than thirty-six chartered ships, carrying over 7,000 immigrants, to the ports of Galveston and Indianola. The Gathering tells the story of this enterprise through the eyes of one family. I thought it was very good.

Here is the Steinmetz family, leaving home on their way to Bremen, where they will meet the ship that is to carry them to America:

At a turning in the road, Hansi’s cart halted, and Vati said, “What can be the matter already; did one of the horses lose a shoe?”

But ahead of them, Hansi was standing and lifting Anna in his arms.

“Look,” he called to them all. “Look back, for that is the very last that we wil see of our our old home!”

Magda’s breath caught in her throat. She turned in the seat, as Hansi said, and looked back at the huddle of roofs around the church spire, like a little ship afloat in a sea of golden fields. All they knew, all that was dear and familiar, lay small in the distance behind their two laden carts. Really, she would slap Hansi if that started Mutti crying again. Even Vati looked sobered; once around the bend of the road, trees would hide Albeck from their sight, as if it had never been a part of them or they of it.

The Gathering is the first book of a trilogy; I look forward to reading the other two in the series.

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Just Unbelievable

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I’ve posted before about the badly-thought-out law known as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and the harm that it is doing to a whole range of businesses, especially small businesses.

Kathleen Fasanella is a consultant to small apparel manufacturers. She is also a blogger, and has written extensively about the CPSIA, the requirements for compliance, and the need for changes to make this legislation more rational. A couple of weeks ago, she received a letter from an Illinois Congresswoman which must be read to be believed. “Arrogant” and “presumptuous” are two words that come to mind. Be sure to read the letter along with Kathleen’s reasoned and knowledgeable response.

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Rhinoceros!

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This link is not about a zoological species, but rather about Israel-bashing, anti-Semitism, and political intimidation on an American college campus. It deserves careful reading.

The “rhinoceros” reference is, of course, to Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 play, which is summarized at the link. (The play has also been made into an excellent film, featuring Zero Mostel–this would be a very good time to order it from Netflix or pick it up at a local video store.)

See also my 2002 post on the rise of political violence and intimidation in America.

link via Meryl Yourish

Macrogrid and Microgrid

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Last week, I picked up a copy of American Scientist on the strength of a couple of interesting-looking articles, one of them relevant to our ongoing discussion of America’s energy future. It contains a graph which, at first glance, looks pretty unbelievable. The graph is title “U.S. electric industry fuel-conversion efficiency,” and it starts in 1880 with an efficiency of 50%. It reaches a peak of nearly 65%, circa 1910, before beginning a long decline to around 30%, at which level it has been from about 1960 to the present.

How can this be? Were the reciprocating steam engines and hand-fired boilers of the early power plants somehow more efficient than modern turbines?

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