Human-primate chimeras are genetically engineered animals that contain both human and primate genes.  Apparently there is some controversy surrounding this possibility. 

Link

If you are a middle class (or higher) American you live better than 99.4% of all the people who have ever lived, including those that are alive right now. This is according to Greg Easterbrook in his book "The Progress Paradox".  Apparently there have been approximately 80 billion people who have lived on earth until now.  Most of them lived without refrigerators, air conditioning, computers, great big television sets, high tech health care, and cell phones.

In fact, half of the worlds current population lives on less than two dollars a day (in US dollars).  That's 3 billion people living on a little over $700 a year, if they are lucky.  1.3 billion of them make only half of that.  And things have really improved over the last 100 years.

So the next time I am feeling sorry for myself because I don't have a tablet PC, or I can't afford a new windsurfer, I will try to remember that I am a spoiled, fat, happy, healthy American with very little to complain about.

But I wonder, why are we so wealthy compared to the other 99%?  Answer:  Western society exploited fossil fuels early and often.  Once we gained power through fossil fuel energy we used that power to gain more energy.  Because of this early advantage we now have the equivalent of 80 slaves doing work for each and every one of us every day. 

In other words, it would take the strength and energy of 80 people to provide the resources that each of us Westerners consume and use every day.  Our "slave equivalents" can be found in our electronics, cars, washing machines, dish washers, vacuums, factories, and most importantly in the food we consume (and waste). 

If you look at the societies that live on $1 a day or less, you'll see that they consume very little (if any) slave equivalents.  They aren't exploiting fossil fuel energy like us.  Their societies somehow missed out on the fossil fuel bonanza.

And it's too late now, I'm afraid.  The US production of domestic oil peaked in 1970, and world discovery of new oil peaked soon after that.  Those of us who are used to living with our 80 slave equivalents are going to fight like hell to keep them, like the southern plantation owners who wouldn't give up their slaves during the civil war.  In fact, our entire economy of debt is based on the premise that we will have more and more slave equivalents as time goes by.

I won't be surprised to see many of us joining the other 99.4% over the coming decades.  There just isn't enough cheap oil and natural gas to keep this party going for much longer.  I wish there was another cheap energy alternative, but sadly there is not.

So it's time for all Americans to stop and think about the future.  Do you want our children to grow up without the comfort and safety that cheap fossil fuel provides?  We need leadership and strength to prepare for an uncertain future.  This could be the biggest disaster that mankind will ever face, and right now we are ill prepared.

For starters we've got to conserve oil and reduce energy use.  When America gets serious about solving a problem, we are nearly unstoppable. It's now or later, and later will be much harder when the cost of technology innovation skyrockets with the cost of energy.

We need to build walkable communities, not sprawling faceless suburbs connected by highways.  We need to reorganize our production and distribution systems to work locally.  And we all need to think about how we can get along with fewer slave equivalents every day. We have an incredible amount of work to do in preparation for some huge changes, now is the time to act. 

We had a chance to watch the PBS/Frontline documentary on Walmart last night.  Wow, was that eye opening!  I had no idea that Walmart is bigger than Microsoft, IBM, HP, Dell, and Cisco put together.

And I also had no idea that Walmart is responsible for exporting thousands (or possibly millions) of our jobs to China.  Their constant demands for lower prices have driven US companies out of business because they can't compete with the low prices from China.  Walmart admits that they buy over $15 Billion dollars worth of Chinese imports every year.  Most analysts think the number is much higher.

According to Frontline "For several years, Wal-Mart has been the single largest U.S. importer of Chinese consumer goods, surpassing the trade volume of entire countries, such as Germany and Russia. Global sourcing is now fully integrated into the company's operations -- giving Wal-Mart enormous leverage worldwide. Foreign products account for nearly all of Wal-Mart's trumpeted low opening price point goods."

And when American companies try to defend themselves against unfair Chinese trade practices, does Walmart help out?  Well, not quite. Walmart recently sided with China, and testified on behalf of them, in a federal anti dumping case that argued that China was breaching its trade agreements.

Together, Walmart and China are dominating the US economy.  As our trade imbalance reaches epic proportions ($150 Billion with China this year), and our higher paying skilled labor jobs are exported, China continues to artificially limit the value of its currency.  By keeping the Yuan at a fixed price against the dollar, China and Walmart will continue to drive down prices, feed the trade imbalance, export jobs, and disrupt our economy.

In principle, free trade is great, as long as it's fair.  But when a communist country fixes their currency prices in order to prevent an even playing field for global commerce, we need to take action to preserve our jobs and communities. 

Link 

The USA Today thinks that the debate over global warming has concluded:

Link

I'm not so sure that those who reject science and it's conclusions are going to give up so easily, but I do agree that there has been a major shift in recent months toward the obvious truth.  General Electric and other corporations are finally getting the message.

Many of us in the United States are still in denial, clinging to the hope that our fossil fuel dream world can belch carbon endlessly without repercussions.  The US has fallen way behind the rest of the world in our response to this crisis, even though we are responsible for 25% of carbon emissions.  We have apparently chosen the path of least resistance -- do nothing and deny responsibility.

Years from now our children and grandchildren will look back at this debacle with disgust and shame.  They will be paying the cost of the crisis we selfishly ignored.  They will wonder why our country, the worst offender, was unwilling to face the facts and take action with the rest of the world to protect their future by adhering to the Kyoto Protocol.

April was the 2nd warmest on record, and so far 2005 looks to be in the running for the 2nd or 3rd warmest year on record.  Here is a link to the latest global temperature trends:

Link

For the last several months I've been noticing that My Yahoo has been extremely slow.  I think it's the banner ads that inhabit the top portion of that page that are slowing down.

For a refreshing change, try the new personalized home pages offered by Google:

http://www.google.com/ig

There isn't as much content available, but it's very fast.  And it will display your Gmail inbox right on the home page, in addition to your local weather, RSS feeds from Wired, Slash Dot, NY Times, and the BBC.  That'll do!

Link

A few months ago Bill Gates gave a speech to our nations governors, warning them that our high schools are obsolete.  Frightening, to say the least:

When I compare our high schools to what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am terrified for our workforce of tomorrow. In math and science, our 4th graders are among the top students in the world. By 8th grade, they’re in the middle of the pack.  By 12th grade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations. 

Bill goes on to say that our school systems are puposefully designed to limit the upward mobility of most of our students:

Our high schools were designed fifty years ago to meet the needs of another age.  Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting – even ruining – the lives of millions of Americans every year. Today, only one-third of our students graduate from high school ready for college, work, and citizenship. The other two-thirds, most of them low-income and minority students, are tracked into courses that won’t ever get them ready for college or prepare them for a family-wage job – no matter how well the students learn or the teachers teach.  This isn’t an accident or a flaw in the system; it is the system.  

It's a recipe for disaster.  Countries like India are pulling ahead of us:

In 2001, India graduated almost a million more students from college than the United States did. China graduates twice as many students with bachelor’s degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many graduates majoring in engineering. In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind. 

We clearly have to design our schools to prepare every student for college.  We have low expectations for many of our less fortunate children.  Apparently that's not an excuse in China and India.  At this rate we are in for a serious re-allignment of intellectual and economic power in the coming century.   But we'll have the best damn high school sports teams in the world!

This is a fun quiz that opened my eyes to a few expressions that are specific to the western Great Lakes.

Link

From the Onion, here are some tips on how to be a good house guest:

• Always help your hosts after dinner: Offer to clear the table, wash the dishes, or teach them to cook.
• Ensure that you do not overstay your welcome by asking your host if you are overstaying your welcome every couple of minutes.
• Avoid an awkward moment later on by telling your host upfront that you're a bedshitter.
• Playing your host's stereo at top volume after midnight is rude. Bring your own boombox.
• Don't just act like a guest in someone's house. Be a guest in someone's house. 
• It's considered good form to replace any cats you drown.
• Cooking a meal for your host is a nice gesture, but ordering a pizza and offering to chip in for your part is way easier.
• Should an unfamiliar household situation arise, do not speak. Stare blankly at a fixed point on the wall until it all blows over.
• Don't monopolize the bathroom: Take sponge baths in the kitchen sink, and pee in a bottle and hide it under the bed.
• It's customary to take a souvenir from your host's home as a reminder of your wonderful stay.

I recommend this free software download from Google:
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized.

Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures – you can email, print photos home, make gift CDs, instantly share via Hello™, and even post pictures on your own blog.

http://www.picasa.com/

Remind you of anyone?

http://www.compfused.com/directlink/636/

This just in from The Onion...

EPA To Drop 'E,' 'P' From Name
WASHINGTON, DC—Days after unveiling new power-plant pollution regulations that rely on an industry-favored market-trading approach to cutting mercury emissions, EPA Acting Administrator Stephen Johnson announced that the agency will remove the "E" and "P" from its name. "We're not really 'environmental' anymore, and we certainly aren't 'protecting' anything," Johnson said. "'The Agency' is a name that reflects our current agenda and encapsulates our new function as a government-funded body devoted to handling documents, scheduling meetings, and fielding phone calls." The change comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services' January decision to shorten its name to the Department of Services.

From Slate.com:

To attain the rank of grand master of memory, you must be able to perform three seemingly superhuman feats. You have to memorize 1,000 digits in under an hour, the precise order of 10 shuffled decks of playing cards in the same amount of time, and one shuffled deck in less than two minutes.

Wow.  Ten shuffled decks of playing cards.  Knowing my drivers license number by heart no longer seems impressive.

Later in the article they mention the advice of the Frank Felderbaum, who is recognized as one of the worlds leading memory experts.  His advice to contestants:  Eat a large helping of wild Alaskan salmon the night before the contest - high in Omega 3 fatty acids.

Update:  Apparently my two year old daughter chews fish oil tablets like they are candy.  My wife decided to give one to her, just on a whim.  She chewed it up and asked for another one.  We expect her to reject Teletubbies shortly and start earning a living on the intellectual talk circuit. 

Wired has a good article about the largest encyclopedia on the planet.

Link

He is the best musician around today, in my estimation.  I find myself referring to the complicated and meaningful memes that he weaves into his music frequently.  His piano talent is unmatched in todays popular music scene -- except for the mighty Vanessa Carlton.  Ha.

Here is a video that looks more like a home movie of his 3 year old son:  Link