Newmark's Door

"Louisiana's Bold Move to Overhaul High School Career and Technical Education"

This sounds truly excellent. But we need to see five years, minimum, of results to be sure.

"Spooky Action at a Distance? Not a Chance!"

I hadn't seen before this interpretation of the famous statement by Big Al.

"10 Best Cities to Raise a Family"

Raleigh is #7. (I predict #4 will be dropping soon.)

"A day in the life of (almost) every vending machine in the world"

Probably as much as you ever wanted to know about the joys of vending machines.

"Regulation and the Cost of Child Care"

Two of the key findings from a study by Diana Thomas, Assoc. Prof. of Economics, Creighton University:

"Regulation Is Associated with Higher Child Care Costs".

"Regulation Has Unintended Consequences".

"Want to Prepare for the Next Pandemic? Read These Five Books on Expertise"

I haven't read the two Tetlock books, but there on my ever-expanding list.

"My iPhone saved my life – everyone needs to learn the ‘5 click’ trick"

If you have an iPhone--and especially if you also like snowboarding in the Swiss mountains--you probably want to read this.

"What Happens to Rejected Papers?"

Well, the study is of papers submitted to Clinical Otolaryngology--ear, nose, and throat medicine--but this is still interesting:

A minority of the rejected papers went on to appear in higher-impact journals, though. These 'ugly ducklings' even included 18 manuscripts (that's 2% of all rejects) which the editors of Clinical Otolaryngology had rejected without even sending them out for peer review. 

 

"A new PhD student learns her first lesson: Certainty doesn’t exist in science"

True.

"Leftist-Approved Price Gouging"

John Hinderaker:

Could the Left possibly be more corrupt? I don’t know. It wouldn’t be easy.

"Study Reveals The Billions Of Dollars U.S. Consumers And The Economy Lose To Occupational Licensing"

Another issue for conservatives to campaign on.

Now, thanks to a new report from the Institute for Justice, University of Minnesota economics professor Dr. Morris Kleiner and economist Dr. Evgeny Vorotnikov, those costs have been quantified both nationally and in 36 separate states.

In the 1950s, only about 1 in 20 Americans needed a license to legally work. The new report shows that this rate has climbed to nearly 1 in 5. In Minnesota, the music therapists wanted to add themselves to the 22 percent of workers in their state who have to be licensed.

Related: "Costs of occupational licensing fall heaviest on vulnerable Tennesseans."

"Should Groceries Be Exempt from Sales Taxes?"

Summarizes an argument that I hadn't heard before--not that I looked for one--that the answer is "No."

"Biden Admin Quietly Admits Math Error Is Causing Massive Oil, Gas Permitting Delays"

Our tax dollars at work.

"A Tale of Two Propositions"

William Voegeli on the politics of affirmative action in California:

But it does suggest that as America’s demography becomes more like California’s, affirmative action’s political position will become increasingly precarious. Contrary to expectations, the coalition of the ascendant appears to be coalescing around the idea that it is neither fair nor feasible to apportion rights and opportunities in a vast, dynamic, diverse society by calibrating each group’s demographic representation and historical grievances.

"How Barnes & Noble Went From Villain to Hero"

I well remember how Barnes & Noble and Borders were going to destroy independent booksellers which, in turn, would lead to the Apocalypse.

Don't tell me: times change.

"This is Eclipse. Every day she leaves her house, by herself, and takes the bus downtown to the dog park where she spends a couple of hours getting exercise and making friends . . ."

A simply adorable story.

See also "A public transit pup!"

"It's Your Fault If This Supermarket Quiz Doesn't Correctly Guess The State You Live In"

It didn't work for me--West Virginia?--but I imagine it would work for at least some people. Many of the chains asked about are strictly regional and it should get enough information from the multiple questions on those to guess which state you live in.

"Fun Fact"

Noted economist Stephen Landsburg--author of the best intermediate micro text ever--presents an interesting fact about President of the U.S. John Tyler and his grandson. (In the comments there is another alleged "fun fact" about Joseph Stalin's granddaughter.)

"This unbeatable tennis shot."

Yep. That's one really difficult to return shot.

"Seinfeld and its Movie References"

Especially for fans of the late, great TV show, Seinfeld. I was surprised at just how many references there were. (11 minute video.)

"Canned Responses to Annoying Comments Made to Pregnant People"

Made me laugh.

"Jared Vennett calls a Wrong Number"

Brief scene from a movie I really enjoyed a lot, The Big Short.

"BOOK REVIEW: ‘Debunking Howard Zinn’"

I haven't read it, but Howard Zinn richly deserves a good debunking.

"Ask a Mathematician / Ask a Physicist"

"Send your questions about math, physics, or anything else you can think of to: AskAMathematician@gmail.com".

"Incentivizing Quality Education: UNC System Proposes New Funding Strategy"

What they don't seem to understand is what will happen to the definition of "quality". Wanna bet it gets grossly distorted from what is contemplated in the "new funding strategy"?

The new appropriations formula will be multiplying the change in performance-weighted student credit hours by the appropriation per credit hour (which is based on national data). Performance‐weighted student credit hours will be calculated for the institutions based on the individual goals for each institution as approved by the BOG. 

"9 Conspiracy Theories About Food That Aren’t True (and One That Is)"

I, for one, never believed that "'New Coke' sucked on purpose".

"Homeschooling surge continues despite schools reopening"

Good. If enrollment dips even a little in the regular public schools, they will feel in their budgets which might spur constructive change.