Posted by Max Dunn
Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:45:24 GMT | no comments
Do you know what would make the world a better place? Better storm drain filters! While this wouldn’t be as dramatic as solving AIDS or world hunger, clogged storm drains cause a surprising amount of damage. This point was made evident by the recent storms in California where clogged drains caused many road closures, flooding and water damage. We live in an advanced society where technology has solved many problems – why can’t we develop better storm drain filters that are able to filter out leaves and debris and still allow the water to flow through? Solving a simple problem like this would greatly reduce the economic storm damage in urban areas and make the world a better place.
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:01:10 GMT | 1 comment
We like to think that we live in an advanced society where the miracles of technology provide a high quality-of-life. However, the recent storm in California proved what a primitive electrical distribution system we have.
This storm was nothing special; it didn’t have hurricane power winds or particularly spectacular lightning. It was just a run-of-the-mill winter storm that we expect every year or two. Yet it was able to knock out electric power for more than 1.6 million people, of which 420,000 people still didn’t have power after a few days.
It is not hard to see why our power system is so antiquated – just look up in any neighborhood. There you will see power lines strung on poles, the same as they were a hundred years ago. This system is very fragile and will continue to break down in high winds and lightning strikes. We do have a better solution – bury the electrical cables underground, which will make them impervious to these common elements of nature. But we live in a fairly backwards country where we would rather suffer through losses of power every year and frantically send out crews to fix problems after they occur rather than spend the money to solve the problem once and for all.
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:07:56 GMT | no comments
When trying to discredit a scientist’s work, critics sometimes simply note: “They received funding from XYZZY corporation.” It is interesting that often nothing more is said, as if it is apparent that taking any money from a party with a vested interest will inevitably skew the results. This seems like a pretty harsh position, but there is some basis to this claim.
For instance, new research looked at drug studies and found that while the results of the study were not likely to be biased, the conclusion from those results were. In particular, they found that studies funded by a single drug company have a 55% rate of favorable results that is transformed into a 92% rate for favorable conclusions, representing a 37% gap. The gap shrinks to 21% (57% to 79%) when two or more drug companies provide support. Yet the gap vanishes entirely for studies done by non-profit institutions alone or even in conjunction with drug companies. These findings suggest a disconnect between the data that underlie the results and the interpretation or “spin” of these data that constitutes the conclusions.[1]
So it is apparent that receiving funding from a particular source that has a vested interest in the outcome will likely affect the conclusion of a study.
But are there other biases besides funding sources that can affect the results or conclusions of scientific work? What if a researcher isn’t taking any outside funding but has a passionate belief about what they are researching – will this affect their work as well?
Read more...
Posted in Random Thoughts, Global Warming
Posted by Max Dunn
Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:36:22 GMT | no comments
When talking to people about religion, you have to be careful. Many people don’t want to hear facts or ideas that contradict their point of view; they are only interested in hearing things that reinforce what they already believe.
This same phenomenon also happens when talking about global warming – most people have their minds made up on this issue and aren’t willing to consider any evidence that would challenge their beliefs.
Posted in Global Warming, Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:51:50 GMT | 9 comments
What makes a good president? Who should we vote for in 2008? Neither of these are easy questions. In this blog entry, J.R. Tozer and I will debate these questions and hopefully come up with some interesting insights.
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Thu, 31 Aug 2006 23:11:07 GMT | 2 comments
Surboards are a lot like your wife dressing up for a winter evening party: she will put on a beautiful dress and look really good but then wrap herself up in a coat so you never see the dress anyways. Surfboards are the same because you put a layer of wax on top, and then can’t see it again.
WoodyW loaned me this beautiful Hap Jacobsen surfboard and it needed new wax. So after I took the old wax off, I took some pictures of it before I re-waxed it. Isn’t it beautiful?
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Wed, 30 Aug 2006 02:13:06 GMT | 5 comments
Sprinkler systems are really dumb. The majority of the water gets blown away as mist, lands on the sidewalk or runs off. And since it is so difficult to get even coverage, most areas are over watered so the few drier areas will get at least some water.
After struggling with my sprinkler system and trying different heads and sprinklers to get even coverage, and fixing many leaks so water is not wasted, I realized that there must be a better way to water my yard. Here is the story of that quest.
Read more...
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:28:08 GMT | no comments
It used to be that the best way to buy things in a foreign country was to use your credit card. Not anymore. The fees they are charging now are a big rip-off.
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Posted in Random Thoughts, Trips and Vacations
Posted by Max Dunn
Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:57:40 GMT | 1 comment
Clinton in public was very impressive, but in private he did some stupid things. Bush on the other hand, appears stupid in public but impresses people in private.
Posted in Random Thoughts
Posted by Max Dunn
Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:34:12 GMT | 2 comments
What is the right amount of airport security? Some might say that airport security is useless and terrorists will always find a way around it, so why bother having much. Others might say that they don’t mind the inconvenience and cost and would prefer to have massive amounts of security in order to minimize the threat of any possible terrorist action.
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Posted in Random Thoughts