Jonathan D. Blundell

Unfair Park has a great entry about corn subsidies, corn syrup and more.

We see that The Dallas Morning News tackled the ubiquitousness of corn today, showing how everything from sodas to bread to bacon is suffused with high fructose corn syrup. Arguable result: fatso nation. But this just scratches the surface of rampant corn perniciousness and the powerful political (Iowa Caucuses) forces at work ramming this stuff down our throats and into our gas tanks.

They also site Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals and his interview on NPR that I mentioned a few weeks back.

In a sign that may indicate Google is getting closer to getting a bigger piece of software giant Microsoft’s pie, Google launched a limited test of Google Spreadsheets Tuesday morning.
According to Google, Google Spreadsheets will allow users to create free, basic spreadsheets that can be shared or updated by multiple contributors with ease.
Spreadsheets will be securely stored on the web so they can be accessed from any computer with web access.
The software does not need to be installed on any local computers, saving local hard drive space and reducing the risk of losing information in the event of a hard drive crash.
Of course without locally installed computers, using the software is dependent upon an Internet connection.
Keeping files on a secure server lets you easily share, collaborate, view and edit files at the same time as your partners. Users can also chat while editing and viewing the same spreadsheet.
And for users of other software programs, files can be easily imported from .CSV and .XLS formats and you can save your files back to your local hard drive as .CSV, .XLS or HTML formats.
The software is available to a limited number of users at http://labs.google.com. Invitations will be sent out to users on the waiting list on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Robert Scoble, Microsoft technology evangelist and blogger thinks the new software will be good for both companies.
“This is a good thing in my book,” Scoble wrote on his personal blog Tuesday morning. “It’s a good thing because of my philosophy. I want better software. Competition brings better software. It gets product managers to worry about customers. It causes discussions of features that were long-ago decided on.”
Scoble said Google Spreadsheets is simply two different companies’ ideas on how computers should be used.
“You’re watching two massively different ideas about how computers should be used battling it out right on the world’s economic stage,” Scoble said. “On one hand you have the old standard (Microsoft) Office that says ‘load locally and use local resources.’ On the other hand you have the new, fresh and clean, Google Office that says ‘load on the server and use a thin client, er browser.’”
Scoble said he’s still betting on the Microsoft Office spreadsheet to win out.
“I know which one I’m betting on,” Scoble said. “Why? Perspective. Even with my always-on-$80-a-month Verizon card getting to Network resources is still far slower than pulling them off of the hard drive. And, that’ll remain true for a long time. Also, the Web browser simply doesn’t have the API support to do really rich stuff.”
I agree with a lot of that. I don’t think Google releasing an online spreadsheet is going to stop me or other Microsoft fans from using Excel, but having another option for accessing and sharing my files will be a huge benefit.
My parents don’t have Excel software on their computer, but now I can share any information I put on a spreadsheet with them.
I simply enter their e-mail address into the software and they’re e-mailed a link to view, edit and change the data.
Let’s say my friends and I put together a spreadsheet keeping track of our season totals for softball.
Now we can all view it, make notes and change our stats if we’re not happy with them.
Wait – maybe this isn’t such a good idea, at least not for them.
Being able to share a document on a common server with anyone around the world will solve issues of working on a previous versions or making changes that don’t get shared with everyone else.
Being able to chat with co-workers or friends while you’re both looking at the same document, across the office or around the world, will only improve the dissemination of information and data.
But I guess I’ll have to wait for that invitation in my inbox to see just how excited I really am about Google’s new announcement.
No word yet as to if the software will contain targeted ads, based on your spreadsheet data and use.

Bell to speak at stem cell summit

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell has accepted an invitation to participate in a roundtable discussion during the second annual national stem cell policy and advocacy summit, to be held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
The summit will take place June 11 and is hosted by the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and the Genetics Policy Institute.
“Very few candidates for public office are as knowledgeable and passionate about stem cell research as Chris Bell,” Bernard Siegel, executive director of GPI said. “If Texas is to remain a leader in basic life sciences research and biotechnology, it must have leaders who understand the profound impact of stem cell research on the future of medicine in the 21st Century. Chris Bell is resolutely on the side of patients and cures. We are very proud to have him as a speaker at the summit.”
Bell, a former congressman from Houston will join Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to focus their discussion on the importance of promoting and protecting stem cell research.
“We need to stop talking about banning stem cell research and start funding it. When Jesus healed the lepers, he didn’t call his pollster,” Bell said. “I believe God gives us the tools of science and technology to help our fellow man. We cannot let politics stand in the way of curing disease and healing the sick. It’s the right thing to do, and now is the time to do it.”
While serving in Congress, Bell lead opposition to HR 534, designed to limit stem cell research and funding. Since then he has joined the Advisory Board of StemPAC, the nation’s leading grassroots stem cell network.

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Friedman announces first portion of platform

Kinky Friedman laid out the first parts of his platform this week.
The first key to his five point platform is a call for political reforms.
“It’s time to bring Texas back to its independent roots,” Friedman said. “This will only happen when we see more candidates appealing to a wider range of voters. Only then will there be more emphasis on bipartisan cooperation and decisions made based on the public – not the party’s – interest.”
Friedman said his reforms address fair ballot access, candidate debates, campaign finance reform, lobbying reform and redistricting reform.
With the reforms Friedman believes all candidates seeking public office in Texas will be able to play on a level playing field.
“Politics is the only field where the more experience you have, the worse you get,” Friedman said. “It’s time to clean house. How much worse does it have to get?”
According to the Friedman campaign, Texas is one of the two most difficult states for a statewide independent candidate or new party to get on the ballot.
Under Friedman’s plan:
– Independent candidates would be placed on the primary ballots of each major party, allowing voters to participate in the party nomination process and having the chance to support an independent candidate’s attempt to be placed on the general election ballot.
– A non-partisan entity would be established to develop and establish a clear criteria for inclusion of all qualified candidates into debates.
– Citizens would be allowed to register and vote on Election Day. According to Friedman’s campaign, states with same day voter registration enjoy a 5 to 25 percent higher voter turnout rate.
– Legislative and statewide candidates who agree to spending limits and reject private contributions would be offered full public financing for their campaigns. The funds would come from surcharges and registration fees on lobbyists.
According to the campaign, increased registration fees and a 10 percent surcharge on lobbying expenditures would provide more than $30 million in funding for Texas legislative and statewide races.
Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina and Vermont have each already adopted Clean Money Campaign Reform laws.
– A ban would be placed on any Texas elected official or state employee from becoming a lobbyist in Texas for two years from the time they leave or retire from their state position.
– A non-partisan redistricting commission, similar to the state of Iowa, would be used to reduce unfair partisan redistricting of the state.
“We ought to open up politics to the people,” Friedman told the Associated Press. “You shouldn’t have to be famous or rich to get on the ballot.”
The musician, author and independent candidate is still awaiting official word from the secretary of state that he’ll be on the November ballot but it’s that long process of getting on the ballot that has prompted Friedman to champion political reform in the state.
As independent candidates, Friedman and Texas Comptroller Carole Strayhorn were both required to submit 45,400 signatures from registered voters to qualify for a place on the November ballot.
Both are still awaiting verification of their petitions by the secretary of state.
Friedman is planning to announce the remaining four keys to his platform in the next few weeks.

While everyone’s looking for the end of the world today, lets not forget the thousands of brave men and women who have served our country in our storied history.
Today marks the 62nd year of the D-Day invasion in Normandy.
For many of our country’s soldiers it was the end of their time on this planet earth. They believed in their country and they believed in the cause.
Here are a few entries from the past regarding our veterans:
Just a Common Soldier Died Today
The View From a Veteran
Death of Capt. Waskow

Apparently a vast majority of my visitors over the last 12 hours have been concerned about the end of the world today.
Here’s one person’s search words from Google: “online gambling 10-1 odds world end tuesday 6/6/06”
Interesting.

Thanks to PinkDome for the link…
Steven Colbert gave the commencement speach at Knox University this weekend. Hillarious.
Some of my favorites:

But, I don’t think you actually have to say it for us to imagine Jesus laughing. In the famous episode where there’s a storm on the lake, and the fishermen are out there. And they see Jesus on the shore, and Jesus walks across the stormy waters to the boat. And St. Peter thinks, “I can do this. I can do this. He keeps telling us to have faith and we can do anything. I can do this.” So he steps out of the boat and he walks for—I don’t know, it doesn’t say—a few feet, without sinking into the waves. But then he looks down, and he sees how stormy the seas are. He loses his faith and he begins to sink. And Jesus hot-foots it over and pulls him from the waves and says, “Oh you of little faith.” I can’t imagine Jesus wasn’t suppressing a laugh. How hilarious must it have been to watch Peter—like Wile E. Coyote—take three steps on the water and then sink into the waves.

Today is about you—you who have worked so hard to pack your heads with learning until your skulls are all plump like—sausage of knowledge. It’s an apt metaphor, don’t question it. But now your time at college is at an end. Now you are leaving here. And this leads me to a question that just isn’t asked enough at commencements. Why are you leaving here?
This seems like a very nice place. They have a lovely Web site. Besides, have you seen the world outside lately? They are playing for KEEPS out there, folks. My God, I couldn’t wait to get here today just so I could take a breather from the real world. I don’t know if they told you what’s happened while you’ve matriculated here for the past four years. The world is waiting for you people with a club. Unprecedented changes happening in the last four years. Like globalization. We now live in a hyperconnected, global economic, outsourced society. Now there are positives and minuses here. And a positive is that globalization helps us understand and learn from otherwise foreign cultures. For example, I now know how to ask for a Happy Meal in five different languages. In Paris, I’d like a “Repas Heureux” In Madrid a “Comida Feliz” In Calcutta, a “Kushkana, hold the beef.” In Tokyo, a “Happi- shokuji ” And in Berlin, I can order what is perhaps the least happy-sounding Happy Meal, a “Glückselig Mahlzeit.”

Unfortunately for you job seekers, corporations searching for a better bottom line have moved many of their operations overseas, whether it’s a customer service operator, a power factory foreman, or an American flag manufacturer. They’re just as likely to be found in Shanghai as Omaha. In fact, outsourcing is so easy that I had this speech today written by a young man named Panjeeb from Bangalore.

And when you enter the workforce, you will find competition from those crossing our all-too-porous borders. Now I know you’re all going to say, “Stephen, Stephen, immigrants built America.” Yes, but here’s the thing—it’s built now. I think it was finished in the mid-70s sometime. At this point it’s a touch-up and repair job. But thankfully Congress is acting and soon English will be the official language of America. Because if we surrender the national anthem to Spanish, the next thing you know, they’ll be translating the Bible. God wrote it in English for a reason! So it could be taught in our public schools.

Well, you are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say “yes.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say “yes” back.
Now will saying “yes” get you in trouble at times? Will saying “yes” lead you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. But don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes.”

I have two last pieces of advice. First, being pre-approved for a credit card does not mean you have to apply for it. And lastly, the best career advice I can give you is to get your own TV show. It pays well, the hours are good, and you are famous. And eventually some very nice people will give you a doctorate in fine arts for doing jack squat.