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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Blogging by candlelight 
| | We have record winds here in Santa Barbara. Since they seem to be coming from the northwest, and we're on the leeward side of our hill, we haven't had any direct damage. But the power went out about half an hour ago. Seems to be a somewhat local thing. We're watching Milpas Street go on and off while bright blue lights flash — electric lines snapping, I guess — nearby. The Mesa is blinking on and off too. No doubt the power crews have their hands full. |
| | I'm getting on from a laptop using Verizon EvDO. I've had my problems with Verizon, but this time I'll give credit where due. [Later... And withdraw it as well. It's two hours later and it's been down as much as up. For me, at least.] |
Quote du jour
| | Joe Stiglitz: The most important ideas that emerge from basic science have never been protected by patents and never should be. |
| | That comes from a longer piece recommending a medical prize fund: |
| | Such a fund would give large rewards for cures or vaccines for diseases like malaria that affect millions, and smaller rewards for drugs that are similar to existing ones, with perhaps slightly different side effects. The intellectual property would be available to generic drug companies. The power of competitive markets would ensure a wide distribution at the lowest possible price, unlike the current system, which uses monopoly power, with its high prices and limited usage. |
| | The prizes could be funded by governments in advanced industrial countries. For diseases that affect the developed world, governments are already paying as part of the health care they provide for their citizens. For diseases that affect developing countries, the funding could be part of development assistance. Money spent in this way might do as much to improve the wellbeing of people in the developing world—and even their productivity—as any other that they are given. |
I'll have what he's having
| | Dave, a fellow New Yawka, blogs approximately from Carnegie Deli, at 55th and 7th. We used to have an apartment a half-block diagonally west (just past Carnegie Hall) at 56th and Broadway. Still miss it. Even in Winter. |
| | Unrelated: saw some Carnegie Deli branded corned beef at Costco the other day. Thinking about it makes me hungry. |
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