Zinger of the day

"Why spend research dollars on a drug to treat a cancer that affects less than 1% of the population when you can spend it on erectile dysfunction, which impacts the entire GOP?"

From this thread on health care, at Kevin Drum's blog.

Rules of Thumb

Originally, it was a feature in CoEvolution Quarterly. Later, it became a book, which I still have. Now it's a web site, which is using readers' ratings to help evaluate the quality.

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"A rule of thumb is a homemade recipe for making a guess. It is an easy-to-remember guide that falls somewhere between a mathematical formula and a shot in the dark. A farmer, for instance, knows to plant his corn when oak leaves are the size of squirrels' ears. An economics professor knows from sad experience that inviting more than 25 percent of the guests for a university dinner party from the economics department ruins the conversation. Rules of thumb are a kind of tool. They help you appraise a problem or situation. They make it easier to consider the subtleties of the topic at hand; they give you a feel for a subject.

A hundred years ago, people used rules of thumb to make up for a lack of facts. Modern day rule of thumbing is rooted in an overabundance of facts. The average person, confronted with the Internet’s oceans of data and multiple overlapping Ph.D. dissertations, often is as perplexed as a pioneer chemist trying to whip up a little gunpowder without a formula. A pilot in a tight spot doesn't ask questions about aeronautical engineering; a pilot in a tight spot asks "now what?" There are times when you don't need to know the best way to do something. These are times for ballpark figures, for knowing what you probably can get away with."

Suburbia Coffee -- interior

Suburbia Coffee -- interior
Originally uploaded by halobrien

Suburbia is the kind of place any city's Economic Development office would kill for. It's a friendly face for a revitalizing downtown. It's a clubhouse and meeting place. It's a gallery. It has an owner who is deeply committed to the community. And it serves damned fine coffee (to coin a phrase).

Right now, Suburbia's future is in doubt, mostly because they've been let down by circumstances. It looks like Second St is about to be closed again. The two corner properties at 2nd and Meeker continue to stand idle, tied up in either bureaucratic snafus, litigious owners, or both.

You could just stand by, and let this happen. Or you could go there today, say hello to Adrienne the owner, and get a good cup of joe with a great danish. Or blueberry coffeecake. Or bagel breakfast sandwich. Or a juice.

It's up to you.

Suburbia Coffee -- outside

Suburbia Coffee -- outside
Originally uploaded by halobrien

From the outside, showing how it fits in a vintage art deco brick building.

Suburbia Coffee -- sidewalk

Suburbia Coffee -- sidewalk
Originally uploaded by halobrien

From the sidewalk, showing the cool pink metal patio chairs.