Ohio college student regrets vote for Obama: Calls on fellow youth to turn libertarian Republican

"We have a historic opportunity to participate, to push for a libertarian Republican Party with a live and let live agenda consistent with our generation’s principles..."

by Nate Nelson

The Democratic Party is waging an intergenerational war. Their primary targets? Those of us who are 35 years old and younger. The question is: Are we going to fight or are we going to surrender?

Socialists, by definition, are the enemies of youth. The Marxist imperative — “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” — exhorts socialists to enslave the young, requiring our hard work and then taking what we earn from our work and giving it to older generations.

Who will pay for insolvent entitlements for the elderly like Social Security and Medicare? We will. Those well over the age of 35 initiated the government takeover of health care, but we will benefit the least from it while paying the most for it (h/t The Two Malcontents). Those over the age of 35 are engaging in massive deficit spending primarily for their own benefit, but we will bear the responsibility of paying that debt back. Congressmen and senators who are far older than 35 are planning to implement the largest tax increase in American history in the dubious pursuit of curbing carbon emissions, but citizens under 35 will pay those taxes and suffer through the job loss created by such stifling taxation.

Democrats at the state and local levels won’t balance their budgets by cutting spending. So what do they do instead? They tax your college tuition to pay pensions, insisting that providing income for the retired is more important than your education. You can bet that a similar tax is coming to a college town near you. Meanwhile, in California, college tuition is going up 32% because of the ineptitude of liberal Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislature. Here in Ohio, at my own Ohio University, I’m looking forward to a 3.5% tuition increase next year because of fiscal irresponsibility on the part of Gov. Ted Strickland and OU administrators.

People from our generation turned out in record numbers to elect Barack Obama last year and give Democrats huge majorities in both chambers of Congress. Maybe you were one of them. I was, and I’m smart enough to regret it today because I see them using their power to subjugate my future to the insatiable hunger of the state. How many UC students helped elect the legislators responsible for their 32% tuition increase? How many OU students hit the ballot box for Ted Strickland?

If you were duped like I was duped, it’s a forgivable offense. The genius of socialism is that it exploits youthful inexperience and idealism to its own advantage. Socialists make utopian promises of hope and change, of slowing the rise of the oceans and healing the planet, but they never explain to the young people they’re busy mesmerizing that these promises come at a cost. The cost is your freedom and prosperity, yours specifically.

If you were duped, you’re forgiven. But the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. I began this post asking a very simple question: Will we fight or will we surrender? If we turn our heads and ignore the political process next year and in 2012, we surrender. If we get all wrapped up in fads and third parties that aren’t electorally viable, if we declare ourselves Anarchists or Greens or Libertarians, we surrender. If we go back to the ballot box and cast votes for the same Democrats who are waging intergenerational war against us, we surrender.

I, for one, am going to fight. If you want to fight, if you’re not willing to give up your freedom and prosperity in exchange for empty utopian promises, then you should join me. The alternative, the only alternative, is the only existing political opposition — and that is the Republican Party. It’s at a crossroads right now, a time of soul-searching and getting back to basics. Those of us who are under 35 have a historic opportunity to participate, to push for a libertarian Republican Party with a live and let live agenda consistent with our generation’s principles. We can either participate or we can withraw. But remember, withdrawal is surrender and your future, yours, is at stake.

Don’t surrender. Fight. Join the Republican resistance and demand freedom and prosperity for Generations Y and Z. This is your wake-up call.

Editor's Note - Nate Nelson, is a twenty-something OU Poli Sci Student and now active College Republican. He describes his views as "Neo-Libertarian." His favorite politicians: Jim DeMint, Sarah Palin, Aaron Schock and Benjamin Netanyahu. His blog is From the Rust Belt

Ohio’s Ted Strickland blasts Kasich’s plan to Abolish the State Income Tax

Republican for Governor, fmr. Congressman John Kasich, has been campaigning on a platform of abolishing the state income tax. Kasich believes the move would help spur Ohio's weak double-digit unemployment plagued economy. The incumbent Democrat Governor disagrees.

According to Examiner.com, from a recent town hall for Ohio Youth:

The still young-looking Kasich... said lowering overhead and modernizing and shrinking government would entice companies to again do business in the Buckeye State.

He again said the state's income tax is a "strangle" to small business...

From Cleveland.com, Dec. 21:

Asked about his challenger, the governor criticized Kasich's plan to phase out the state's income tax. Kasich has offered little detail on how he would replace that money in the state's general revenue fund.

"If the citizens of Ohio think times are tough now, if you were to eliminate nearly 40 percent of our state's general revenue you would see. . . our state fall backwards quickly," Strickland said. "And that's what he seems to be advocating with the elimination of the state income tax."

Currently 9 States do not have an Income Tax, including Texas, Florida, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Alaska.

Pro-Defense Libertarian GOPer Rep. Tom McClintock warns of Iran’s Nuclear ambitions

Stands in Strong Support of Israel

Known more so for his staunch fiscal conservatism rather than foreign policy views, California Congressman Tom McClintock (R) rose on the House floor to deliver the following remarks.

House floor remarks via the Auburn Journal on-line, Dec. 16:

Iran’s regime has consistently lied to the world over its nuclear ambitions. Yesterday’s revelation that Iran has been working on nuclear bomb detonators, should convince the most naïve voices in our nation of Iran’s ultimate intention.

I do not believe that petroleum sanctions alone will dissuade the Iranian regime from its obvious intention to acquire nuclear weapons; nor from its stated goal of “wiping Israel off the map,” nor from its unremitting hostility toward our country.

But I do believe it will send a vital message of growing Western resolve at a critical moment in world history. Iran should interpret the House’s action today as an overwhelming expression of American commitment that spans the wide spectrum of political views within our nation.

Mass Dem for Senate Martha Coakley, says Reagan was bad for America

Republican Scott Brown defends Reagan's record

Republican nominee Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley squared off in a live debate on radio station WBZ Boston last night. Both are vying for the Ted Kennedy seat. The special election is Jan. 19.

The two candidates disagreed sharply over a number of issues. But Coakley may have stumbled towards the end, making what many would regard as an insulting comment to a former President.

From Boston.com:

They disagreed, however, over Ronald Reagan’s effectiveness in the second half of the century.

“While everybody thought he was fun to have a beer with . . . I think that he did a great disservice to this country,’’ Coakley said.

“I have to respond to that,’’ Brown said. “He brought great pride to our country at a time when we needed it and helped to bring down the Soviet Union, Iron Curtain. Just to [say] go out and have a beer with him, that’s, I think, inappropriate.’’

Libertarian candidate Joe Kennedy (real name), also participated, but was mainly relegated to the background.

Sitting on the Tarmac

The federal government will impose big fines starting this spring on airlines that keep passengers waiting on the tarmac too long without feeding them or letting them off the plane.

Airlines that let a plane sit on the tarmac for more than two hours without giving passengers food or water, or more than three hours without offering them the option of getting off, will face fines of $27,500 a passenger, the secretary of transportation announced on Monday.

Does this rule make sense?  At first blush it might sound reasonable, but let's think it through.

Without the rule, some planes that have been sitting for three hours leave soon after the three-hour point, while some sit on the tarmac for an extended, additional period.

The planes in the first category arrive at their destinations even later, becuase it takes time to get passengers off and back on the plance, and because the plane ends up at the back of the line for takeoffs.  Worse, some of these flights get cancelled.

So, sometimes the rule benefits passengers, sometimes it makes them worse off.

Does the Department of Transportation have any evidence that the welfare of passengers is higher, on average, under the rule?

No.  It has just pandered to customer annoyance and the press coverage of a few extreme incidents.  It has responded to what is seen (the long delays that occur without the rule) and ignored what is unseen (the canceled flights and delays that will result from the rule).

Bastiat is spinning in his grave.

Pishing With Pete at the Space Coast Birding Festival

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com
Birds are not always easy to observe. Lots of them are in the habit of flitting about high in the tree tops, appearing only as a silouhette against the sky. Others squeak and chirp from deep within a thick bramble of underbrush, making only brief appearances to taunt. These behaviors [...]

Kazakh Prez Brags That His Capital Is So Cold That It’s Germ-Free | Discoblog

Come to Kazakhstan—specifically the ice-cold capital of Astana—said Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in an annual speech yesterday. Here is part of his pitch to diplomats and government officials, via Reuters:

“Well today it’s only -30 C (-22 F). It only strengthens our spirit,” Nazarbayev, in power for 20 years, told diplomats at his lavish marble-and-turquoise presidential palace.

“This city is so sterile. Even germs can’t survive in this weather. So we can enjoy living long lives here. Well, maybe not as long as those of mammoths, but still quite long.”

Great success! Nazarbayev thinks Astana is so extreme that he moved Kazakhstan’s capital there in 1997, which makes Astana the second-coldest capital city in the world. Watch your back, Ulaanbaatar!

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AcrimSat Celebrates 10 Years of Measuring the Sun’s Energy

AcrimSatLaunched Dec. 20, 1999, the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite (AcrimSat) monitors the total amount of the sun's energy reaching Earth. It is this energy, called total solar irradiance, that creates the winds, heats the land and drives ocean currents. Some scientists theorize a significant fraction of Earth's warming may be solar in origin due to small increases in the sun's total energy output since the last century. By measuring incoming solar radiation, climatologists are using AcrimSat to improve their predictions of climate change and global warming over the next century.

For more information on AcrimSat, see: http://acrim.jpl.nasa.gov/.


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Astronauts Test Glenn Exercise Harnesses

Imagine that you want to exercise on a treadmill. You step onto the machine and select your desired speed. As the belt starts moving, you start walking and eventually running. Your feet rhythmically hit the belt, and you get a nice workout.

In space, it isn't that simple.

For astronauts living in space, like those who reside on the International Space Station, getting a good workout is equally -- and in some ways even more important -- than for earthbound people.

Bob Thirsk (Canadian Space Agency) exercises with the Glenn Harness aboard the International Space Station during ISS Expedition 20/21"Crew members exercise for a host of important reasons. There's a psychological benefit to exercise, and crew members work out to combat spaceflight deconditioning -- to help fend off the bone loss that they experience in microgravity and to help maintain muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance. All of these things are adversely affected by long-duration space flight," says

Gail Perusek, Manager for Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Project at NASA's Glenn Research Center.

Like your local gym, the

space station has a variety of exercise equipment. The exercise complement includes a resistance device, a cycle ergometer and two treadmills.

The two different types of treadmills on the space station are the

Treadmill with Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) and the newly-installed Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT), named after comedian Stephen Colbert. They're different in many ways, but both treadmills share the need for an exercise harness. Astronauts must use a harness to attach themselves to the treadmill while running in space due to the lack of gravity. The harness prevents them from floating off the machine, provides friction against the treadmill belt as they run and exerts an external load, or force, on their body to simulate the resistance of gravity that a terrestrial workout would naturally provide.

The current

harness, which has been in use for several years, has some drawbacks. It isn't comfortable and has limited adjustability. Some crew members have reported chafing, as well as pain in their hips and shoulders from using the harness. As a result, the astronauts are not loading their bodies to the optimal amount needed to maintain muscle and bone health. The thinking is, the more load applied to an astronaut while running (ideally the equivalent of their full body weight on Earth) the better the workout; it increases the health benefits and decreases health risks.

"Bone loss occurs at a more rapid rate in space than it does on

Earth," Perusek says. "In space, astronauts don't get nearly the same amount or quality of repetitive loading as we do here on earth, and bone mineral density loss occurs when the skeleton is unloaded."

The need for a new treadmill harness that is more comfortable and effective inspired the development of a new harness by

NASA's Glenn Research Center. This effort, undertaken in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic and funded by the Human Research Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, resulted in the creation of a new harness design called the Glenn Harness. The team also developed custom instrumentation to measure the loads on the harness during exercise. Two Glenn Harnesses are currently being tested by space station crew members on orbit, in a study called the Harness Station Development Test Objective, or Harness SDTO. Additional harnesses will soon be tested on the station by different crewmembers.

Four years ago, the team from the

NASA Glenn, ZIN Technologies of Middleburg Heights, Ohio and the Cleveland Clinic began work on their re-imagined harness. They realized that the treadmill harness operates much like a backpack, with shoulder straps and a hip belt distributing load. The team travelled to Colorado to consult with backpack companies, such as Osprey and Kelty. Upon their return, the team designed and created prototypes of the new harnesses (initial prototypes were actually crafted from disassembled backpack components) and began testing.

"At Glenn, we have an

Enhanced Zero-gravity Locomotion Simulator (eZLS) where we can simulate zero-g treadmill exercise with human subjects," Perusek says. "We tested the prototypes with our treadmill and determined that indeed the harness was more comfortable than the current harness in a side-by-side comparison on the eZLS, and was able to distribute loads more evenly."

The team also sought extensive input from former

space station crew members regarding the new harness. The idea to use antimicrobial fabric (containing silver ions) for the harness, for example, came from an astronaut who commented on the amount of sweat the harness must endure without a lot of washing.

After all of the research, designing and testing, the team worked with Terrazign, Inc. of Portland Oregon, to create the finished flight harnesses. The flight harnesses were shipped to Johnson Space Center in the spring of 2009, and packaged with additional equipment from Johnson to capture the load data. The first harnesses were blasted into

space in September 2009.

The Glenn Harness incorporates technology from the world of backpacking, with shoulder straps and a hip belt distributing loadThe crew members participating in the study will use and evaluate the new and existing harnesses, and will complete questionnaires after each session to provide qualitative comfort data. The team also designed special sensors, called buckle transducers, which will measure the amount of tension in the harness straps and external loading each astronaut uses during their workout.

Once the crewmembers have returned to earth, they will share their experiences with Perusek and her team during the crew debriefing process. If the feedback proves favorable, the hope is to incorporate the new harness as part of the standard crew exercise equipment.

The in-flight study is expected to continue through November 2010 on Expedition 24, and encompass the results from up to seven participating crewmembers.

"Working on a project that has the potential to positively affect crew members so directly is very rewarding. A lot of great effort has gone into this, and we're very hopeful that it will be of benefit for the crew,"

Perusek says. "As long as we have a manned presence in space, humans will be exercising in zero gravity or even partial gravity, like on the moon, and we'll need comfortable harnessing systems."


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The Year in Science, 2009 | The Intersection

It wasn’t for nothing that I asked these questions yesterday (and some of the responses were very helpful). Over at the Science Progress blog, I’ve now done a full piece about what happened in science in 2009, which includes observations like these:

It was a year of complete U-turns in science policy. President Barack Obama reversed George W. Bush’s dramatic restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, and the first 13 new stem cell lines were approved for federally funded research since 2001. Meanwhile, the Obama Environmental Protection Agency moved to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, finding that they do indeed endanger the public.

It was also the year of the first-ever passage, by a 219-212 margin in the U.S. House of Representatives, of a cap-and-trade bill that would cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions—but not the year for any parallel action in the U.S. Senate.

It was the year that everyone seemed to own an iPhone and use the word “app” in regular conversation. It was the year Twitter went from being a mere annoyance to the epitome of web-based communication.

It was a year that saw the very first Nobel laureate scientist assume a cabinet position, in the figure of U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu.

It was the year of….many, many, many other things, some funny, some outrageous, some profound. Read here for the whole list, and leave comments about anything you think may have been left out!


Chimps Don’t Run From Fire—They Dance With It | 80beats

wildfireflamesWhen it comes to understanding fire, chimpanzees might have a leg up not only on the rest of the animal kingdom, but also on those of us in the human species who would sprint in the other direction at the sight of a blaze. A study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology argues that these primates don’t panic when the flames start, and could even understand the basics about how fire behaves.

Primatologist Jill Pruetz has been observing chimps in Senegal since 2001, but it was in 2006 that she first noticed how the animals reacted to wildfire. When people in the area set fires to clear the land, the chimps refused to tuck tail and run. “It was the end of the dry season, so the fires burn so hot and burn up trees really fast, and they were so calm about it,” Pruetz said of the chimps. “They were a lot better than I was, that’s for sure” [LiveScience].

For her study, Pruetz divided up the mastery that humans have over fire in three cognitive steps: understanding how it behaves, learning to contain and control it, and figuring out how to start one. Most animals fail the first step, reacting by instinct. West African reed frogs flee at the sound of fire, brush-tailed bettongs in Australia become dazed and confused, and stress hormones jump in African elephants [ScienceNOW].

As the flames neared her chimps, however, they didn’t flee. If they had, it would have required long travel in the open sun in 110-degree temperatures with scarce water supply. Instead, she said the chimps reacted calmly. They monitored the fire, moved to keep out of its way, and in doing so, minimized the amount of energy they expended to stay safe [Des Moines Register]. Pruetz even documented the males doing a series of exaggerated motions she dubbed the “fire dance,” a nod to the so-called “rain dance” Jane Goodall documented in chimps. And, she said, the chimps uttered a distinct sound in response to approaching fire.

Pruetz’s paper probably kick up a few arguments over what this really means—whether chimps really “learn” how fire behaves, and whether that shows how early humans might have learned to control fire, which scientists like Richard Wrangham argue was a critical step in our evolution. In any case, if you find yourself stuck in a Senegal wildfire, follow the chimps.

Related Content:
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Discoblog: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires—But Maybe You Shouldn’t
DISCOVER: Aping Culture—what’s left to separate chimps from us?

Image: flickr / cnynfreelancer


The Best Alternatives to Every Apple Product [Apple]

Apple makes some of the most specialized mainstream devices around, but the gear is never very cheap and, let's face it, it stinks for any one company to own your wallet. So here are the best alternatives for each iProduct:

(If you'd like to see this post in non-gallery form, just click here.)

Apple iPhone 3GS ($199) -> Motorola Droid ($199)
When the iPhone was released, it was a generation, at least, beyond the entire smartphone market. Now, many manufacturers have worked hard to catch up. And while the iPhone is still my personal favorite, I understand wanting a phone on the Verizon network rather than AT&T. Besides, the Droid hardware is fantastic, and its software, Android 2.0, feels far more like a full-featured OS than the original. Just as we said in our full review, "It's this simple: If you don't buy an iPhone, buy a Droid."

What you gain:
• Physical keyboard
• Fewer dropped calls
• Memory slot expansion

What you lose:
• iTunes integration
• Decent built-in media player

iPod Touch ($199, 8GB) -> Zune HD ($219, 16GB)
I know, I know. Why buy a Zune? If you're heavily invested in iTunes albums, the answer is, no reason. But for those who are willing to break from the Apple music infrastructure, the Zune HD is actually an awesome PMP. The aluminum case is very sharp, with an OLED screen that's richer than any iPod (though slightly worse in the sun). The Zune software, coupled with optional unlimited download subscription packages, is every bit as hip and convenient as Cover Flow and iTunes, provided you run Windows. Oh, also, you don't need to drop $300 to get a decent amount of storage and you get HD TV-Out and a not-so-bad TV interface to boot. So when you're sick of the little screen, you can go as big as you'd like.

What you gain:
• 8GB more storage (base model)
• HD Radio
• Unlimited music subscription with free MP3s
• HD TV-Out and an on-screen TV interface

What you lose:
• iTunes integration
• About a billion apps

iPod Nano ($180, 16GB) -> Flip Ultra HD ($150)
The obvious contender to the iPod Nano used to be the Zune 16. But now? You can't even get that model of Zune. And with a built-in camcorder, be it a bit on the crappy side, the Nano truly is a unique contender in its space. However, I ask you this: Don't you already have an MP3 player? Seriously, it's not possible that you don't. OK then, just buy the Flip Ultra HD, the best bang for your buck pocket camcorder on the market. And use your old iPod because it probably still works fine.

What you gain:
• HD video

What you lose:
• I mean, it's not an iPod, or any kind of media player, obviously

iPod Shuffle ($100, 4GB) -> Sansa Clip+ ($70, 8GB)
The new Shuffle is basically nonexistent, a device that, while remarkable in terms of minimalist design, may be a tad difficult to wield when you just want to play that one song you want to hear. Enter the Sansa Clip+, an chunky but still tiny MP3 player lauded by audiophiles (if such a thing is possible) that supports up to 16GB of MicroSD expansion. Save even more money by buying the 2GB version (just $40) and sticking in a spare MicroSD. And as we said in our review, the Clip+ is "the best low-end mp3 player on the market, without question."

What you gain:
• Sound quality
• MicroSD expansion
• An actual screen
• Voice recorder
• The freedom to choose any headphones

What you lose:
• iTunes
Trash-talking Voice Over function

Apple TV ($229, 160GB) -> Asus O!Play ($99)
No matter what direction you go, you're pretty much always better off not buying an Apple TV. It's basically a closed box that hates supporting not only external codecs but external drives, too, and you can forget about navigating to files on your own network—even ones stored on your precious Time Capsule. The $99 Asus O!Play is our favorite budget way to play media in any codec under the sun, from files on a Mac or PC formatted drive or streamed from pretty much any NAS drive. As for watching movies on demand, chances are, your cable box already does that. Need more options? The LG BD390 is an excellent Wi-Fi-equipped Blu-ray player with Netflix and Vudu video, and DivX support. And heck, I'd even recommend the $199 Xbox 360 as a Netflix/DivX machine with Windows Media Center Extender capabilities. Basically, you can't go wrong here. Everything is better than Apple TV, unless you have a library full of purchased iTunes music and movies, and if you do, you probably have Apple TV already, so go enjoy it.

What you gain:
• Mega codec support
• Ability to stream your video files from computers and NAS drives
• Cash in your pocket

What you lose:
• The iTunes video ball and chain

MacBook ($999) -> Dell Studio 14z ($750)
As Mark Spoonauer said in our best Windows laptop roundup, "Think of it as the poor man's MacBook-with better specs." No, the Dell Studio 14z doesn't run OS X, but the Core 2 Duo laptop weighs .3lbs lighter than a MacBook while offering 1GB more RAM (base), 70GB more storage, a backlit keyboard and nicer built-in speakers.

What you gain:
• More storage
• More RAM
• Backlit keyboard
• Less weight

What you lose:
• OS X
• Optical drive
• Flash card reader

MacBook Pro ($1200) -> HP Envy ($1700)
I'm not sure anyone should actually choose the 13-inch Envy (full review) over the 13-inch MacBook Pro (full review), but the Envy is the closest knock-off on the market. For the $500 Envy premium, you do shed .8lbs off the MacBook Pro, coming in at just 3.7lbs (which is crazy-light for a laptop of this size). And you'll score an extra GB of RAM along with a more powerful, discrete Radeon HD 4330 graphics. But we're still talking about $500 extra for a computer that, ultimately, doesn't feel as solid as a unibody Mac. Plus, if you really want to run Win 7, that plays just fine on the MBP, too. As for the MBP 15, there's really no ideal alternative. And if you were considering the 15-inch Envy, think again.

What you gain:
• More overall power
• Less weight
• Prettier screen

What you lose:
• OS X
• Optical drive
• Frame rigidity

iMac ($1200, 21.5-inch) -> HP TouchSmart 600 ($1,050, 23-inch)
The latest iMac (full review) is a beautiful machine, no doubt. But there are alternatives to this famed all-in-one. Our favorite is the HP TouchSmart 600 (full review), which is sort of the souped-up Civic to Apple's classic Porsche. Both will do a quarter mile in the same time—with Core 2 Duo processors—but the TouchSmart has the shiny detailing and LED underlighting of a street racer, while sprucing up the package with a decent touch display coupled with special Twitter, Facebook and even recipe box apps designed for the system. Especially as a kitchen computer, the HP TouchSmart is a valid alternative to the iMac.

What you gain:
• Larger, touchscreen
• Glitzy accents with customizable LED underlighting
• Clever apps
• HDMI input for home theater fun

What you lose:
• OS X
• Understated design

MacBook Air ($1500) -> Dell Adamo XPS ($2000)
There's only one laptop on the market that can confidently purge alongside the MacBook Air, and that's the Dell Adamo XPS. While the price premium seems absurd at first, keep in mind that the Adamo XPS, at about half the thickness of the Air, is loaded with a 128GB flash drive and 4GB of RAM stock (while the MacBook Air will run $1800 in a similar SSD configuration and maxed at 2GB of RAM). If you're considering an Air, you want a computer that says "I'm good at spending money." And the Adamo XPS will most certainly fulfill that need.

What you gain:
• 1 USB port
• Ethernet jack
• 2GB of RAM
• A clasp that opens from the heat of your finger

What you lose:
• OS X
• About $500

Mac Mini ($600) -> Acer AspireRevo R6310 ($330)
If I had the choice between a Mac Mini (full review) and the AspireRevo R6310—spending someone else's money—I would still choose the Revo for its HTPC prowess. The Mac Mini has always been a promising system falling just short of its potential in terms of both price and performance. Meanwhile, the absurdly cheap Revo, equipped with Ion tech that's more than happy to handle 1080p video outputted to your TV through HDMI (as opposed to Apple's need for funky wiring and/or hard-to-find specialized adapters), is kind enough to include 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, HDMI, eSATA, VGA, 6 USB ports, card reader, wireless-N and a wireless keyboard and mouse for roughly half the price of a Mini. The only thing the Revo isn't optimal for is browsing Flash pages, that is, until we finally see an update that makes Ions and Flash play well together.

What you gain:
• HDMI out
• 1 USB port
• eSATA port
• Wireless keyboard and mouse
• Like $300

What you lose:
• OS X
• FireWire

Time Capsule (1TB, $299) -> D-Link DIR-685 (Expandable, $215)
The convenience of a Time Capsule, a combination wireless router and NAS, is tough to beat because it's so unique. But I wouldn't call the task impossible. The D-Link DIR-685 (full review) is a wireless-N router with a range that's competitive with Apple's own AirPort Extreme. You choose your storage capacity by sticking in your own 2.5-inch drive. Oh, plus it's a photo frame, BitTorrent downloader, iTunes server, FTP server, network file sharing with user management and even a UPnP streamer to video players. The only thing it isn't? Time Machine compliant. I know, I know. If you're willing to part with the built-in router, however, then another excellent choice is the Iomega Ix2-200 NAS (full review)—and that is Time Machine capable.

What you gain:
• Swappable storage
• Tons of advanced networking features
• BitTorrent downloading
• Media flexibility
• Digital photo frame

What you lose:
• Time Machine support (if this is a problem, check out Iomega's alternative)

Mac Pro ($2,500) -> Hackintosh (far less $$$)
There is one reason you want to buy a Mac Pro, and that's for OS X. So I'm not going to waste time by pretending there's any suitable alternative by someone like Dell or HP. Your best bet is to build a Hackintosh, a custom PC with a bootlegged OS X. Just keep in mind, you won't be able to build this system like any old Windows PC—you'll need to follow a guide with pretested hardware to construct something you can be sure will work. Luckily, such a guide is available, built by our friends from Lifehacker (see it here).

What you gain:
• Literally, thousands of dollars
• Gaudy case mods

What you lose:
• Peace of mind (there's always the slight chance of Hackintosh deactivation)
• Easy component upgrades



Color-Shifting Contact Lenses Alert Diabetics to Glucose Levels [Contacts]

Diabetics are saddled with the unenviable task of checking their blood sugar levels constantly. But a new non-invasive technology lets diabetics keep tabs on their glucose levels with contact lenses that change colors as their blood sugar rises and falls.

Nanoparticles — is there anything they can't do? — embedded in the hydrogel lenses react with glucose molecules in naturally occurring tears. A chemical reaction then causes the lenses to shift their hues, alerting the wearer to falling or spiking blood sugar levels. The wearer can then make the appropriate adjustments to his or her blood sugar, all without having to carry around (and use) devices for drawing and analyzing blood.

U. of Western Ontario Professor Jin Zhang has just collected $216,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation as a result of the breakthrough process to develop other applications for multifunctional nanocomposites, which can be used in everything from biomedicine to food preservation to packaging. We think a head-up display for glucose levels is pretty good, but if nanocomposites can also make the packaging on that blood-sugar-leveling candy bar biodegrade more quickly, all the better. [Institute of Nanotechnology]

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Satellite Imagery Captures Earth as Painting [Image Cache]

What you're looking at is a satellite image of the Dasht-e Kavir. Its mix of sand and marsh puts any artist to shame. And this shot is just one of 60 equally remarkable photos from a roundup from Webdesigner Depot.

The images are from the Landsat 7 satellite, which used a combination 8 spectral bands to produce the final products seen here. We picked four of our favorites, but any one of them would make a stunning fine art print for one's home. Treat yourself, minimize that Excel window and waste a few minutes subsidized by our planet. [webdesigner depot via presurfer via boingboing]



The Japanese Forcefully [Sartorial Choices]

Say hello to the Japanese Snuggie. The Two-Legged Sleeping bag. The Human Larva. Say hello to...this. There is no pitchman charismatic enough, no paid spokesperson straghtfaced enough, no model poised enough to give this the informercial it so clearly deserves.

The legs on this thing almost feel like a cruel joke. Sure, you've got a mobility that you could never get with a tradition sleeping bag, but what good is that without hands? Without the ability to pee? And without the dignity you sacrificed in becoming a six-foot-tall human tadpole, except without the regular tadpole's prospects for a happier future?

But perhaps I'm missing the point: while the Snuggie is a instrument of laziness, the Japanese Walkable Sleeping Bag is a tool for self-improvement. See that man in the bottom left corner, soiling himself on the floor like some kind of pathetic, mutated worm? When—if—he rises, he we stand a better man. [Reddit]