Yay, grads!

Randall Munroe’s take on
post-secondary majors.

Over on XKCD (one of my all-time-fave cartoons), Randall Munroe has done it again. He’s produced another marvelous interpretation of the state of the world. Just while I’m finishing up the review of my students’ final exam work and am looking forward to commencement exercises, he’s rendered a cool commentary about higher education that comes flitting through my experience like a butterfly…or is it shooting through like a meteor…or cannonball?

Guide To This Post: (1) Read the XKCD cartoon. (2) Return here and then

Charity for the 1%?

It seems like it’s a good time to remember some history. Do you sometimes forget relatively recent history? G. Santayana was reputed to have said something about (paraphrasing for syntactical fit) those of us who don’t remember the past being condemned to repeating it. Of course, ancient history may be inaccurate (did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned?), and this recent history might be, too. But see for yourself. Check this little bit of history from 2008 about how downtrodden the 1% were back then.

Thanks, This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Getting More Serious

Barbara Hansen of USA TODAY used GMI Ratings, Standard & Poor’s data, and other USA TODAY research to analyze the pay of chief executive officers of US corporations in 2011. Matt Krantz and Ms. Hansen reported the results of that analysis 28 March 2012. Here is a listing of the top 10 earners for 2011. Ms. Hansen’s table, available with the story they reported, can be sorted in other ways to allow one to see data on 151 companies’ executive’s earnings.

COMPANY	EXECUTIVE	TOTAL
Viacom	Philippe Dauman	$43,077,942
Honeywell International	David Cote	$35,378,249
Walt Disney	Robert Iger	$31,363,013
Marathon Oil	Clarence Cazalot	$29,911,662
Altera	John Daane	$29,576,725
Motorola Solutions	Gregory Brown(1)	$29,313,864
IBM	Samuel Palmisano	$24,221,865
Johnson & Johnson	William Weldon	$23,362,939
United Technologies	Louis Chenevert	$22,878,306
American Express	Kenneth Chenault	$22,490,401
Qualcomm	Paul Jacobs	$21,722,333
Coca-Cola	Muhtar Kent	$21,161,811
Cooper Industries	Kirk Hachigian	$21,116,678

Now, I don’t begrudge people making money, especially if they work hard, and I presume these men work hard, probably as hard as I do. And it’s not about me and them. But, what does one do with this sort of money. In one year, they’re making more than what a well-paid teacher made (including nice retirement and health benefits) over the past 35 years. Equitable?

Well, if these men gave 1% of their incomes to an endowment for a local school for five years, that would amount to something. Those schools would suddenly have budgets that would allow them to buy curricula that they might not otherwise be able to purchase, given the anti-tax and anti-education mood of many neighbors. And, if these savvy business men said, “You have to buy curricula that have a proven track record of success with the funds from this endowment (and here are the sensible rules for deciding what counts as such a curriculum),” then they might be “giving back to the community,” as their similarly wealthy athletics stars say.

In fact, mayhaps we could just ask that these way-wealthy folks would form coalitions and tackle problems such as this, just as the Buffet, Gates, Broad, and other families have addressed international problems. Mr. Atlanta Falcon Matt Ryan, Atlanta Coca Cola Mr. Muhtar Kent, Mr. Atlanta Hawk Joe Johnson, and Mr. Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones…y’all could do some good works among you, if you formed a team. Just 1-2% of your incomes a year for a three-year run for schools, boys-and-girls clubs, community music programs, shelters for indigent elderly folks…. Do you think you could afford 10%?

Who’s the 99%?

Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir have an answer to that question. It’s actually pretty obvious, ’cause the 1% (really the one-tenth of one percent) are all those folks you and I see pretty much every day. May Day is just around the corner.

Checking e-mail with Wendy McNaughton

Wendy McNaughton, who draws lots of wonderful things, dropped a classic Thursday 19 April 2012 in her blog. I’ve come to think of e-mail as evil. It’s overtaking my life, I have great intentions of only spending certain periods of time using it each day, but I find myself turning to it still at other times. There is so much of the stuff. I am obsessed with cleaning out all the unopened documents. People call me to ask me if I’ve read their messages. Yikes!

So, go and enjoy Ms. McNaughton’s send up of e-mail. And, after you’ve looked at her blog post, scoot over to her Web site and scout about a bit. Admire her map of the neighbohoods of San Francisco or her bit about the SF Public Library

Another day at the beach

Those folks at Improv Everywhere went to the beach again. Hundreds of agents!

You can read all about it, too.

9 10 11

When written as month-day-year in numerals, it’s a fun date, like counting. There is only one more of these remaining in this millennium.

Sadly, this one anticipates 9-11.

Understanding current events

Mark Fiore’s guide to current events is Susie Newsykins who explains just how to say “no,” create a “sooper-dooper” broccoli committee, and much more about how adults run the USA.

Look for “Dogged Daze“

I haven’t been keeping up with Mr. Fiore’s current events, though I have been monitoring some of the events transpiring in the USA news (how can one avoid the trumpeting of them in the popular media?), so when I checked on the site this morning, I was glad to have this refresher about what had been happening during the summer just past. Now I feel much better prepared for the school year.

Hyperbolic simple dog

Allie Brosh’s simple dog recently went very far outside. Follow her. You’ll get a good look at an adventure, an investigation of a dog’s perspective about the world, and insights into lots of other things, too.

My simple-minded dog recently went on an unplanned adventure. Because the simple dog is so very simple, her adventure was alarming and horrible for everyone involved.

Even in her normal, familiar environment, the simple dog exists in a state of almost constant confusion.

Saving sinusitis sufferers $$: Low tech wins

Do you have problems with allergies but can’t afford to throw $100s at an expensive air filtration system? Jeffrey E. Terrell, M.D., director of the University of Michigan Health System’s Michigan Sinus Center, has help for you. In this video he shows how to construct one for about $25; it takes 90% of the particulate matter out of the the air.

Link to the full press release from NewsWise MedWire. Low-tech wins, no?

How now, Red Row hoers?

Many folks familiar with the local food scene know that Rev Soup is among the throng of eateries promoting the farm-to-table theme. Recently I’ve enjoyed following along in the adventures that proprietors Lisa and Will have documented in the blog on their site, Red Row Farm. Alert readers might enjoy doing so, too. There is a host of interesting entries to read, lots of fun content on sundry other matters, and lots of good writing. Check on it!