Paul Ryan's Multiple Unicorns

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Paul Krugman, writing about GOP Congressman Paul Ryan's proposed budget plan:

Notice the marked area at the bottom: Ryan is assuming that everything aside from health and SS can be squeezed from 12 percent of GDP now to 3 1/2 percent of GDP. That’s bigger than the assumed cut in health care spending relative to baseline; it accounts for all of the projected deficit reduction, since the alleged health savings are all used to finance tax cuts. And how is this supposed to be accomplished? Not explained. This isn’t a serious proposal; it’s a strange combination of cruelty and insanely wishful thinking.

Coffee Joulies, the Kickstarter Project

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  Due to the fact that my wife has had a lot of time on her hands lately, she discovered this kickstarter project last week called Coffee Joulies. The video above is from their Kickstarter project page. The concept is cool - or hot, I should probably say: > Coffee Joulies work with your coffee to achieve two goals. First, they absorb extra thermal energy in your coffee when it’s served too hot, cooling it down to a drinkable temperature three times faster than normal. Next, they release that stored energy back into your coffee keeping it in the right temperature range twice as long.

> This amazing feat of thermodynamics happens thanks to a special non-toxic material sealed within the polished stainless steel shell. This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee warm twice as long. > When we first spotted the project, it was on it's first day. If I remember correctly, approximately $2000 had been contributed. As of this writing, they've raised $88,197. It is now April 6. The project doesn't end until May 2. I predict this project could be as big as some of the other big Kickstarter projects.

WWDC Sells Out In 10 Hours

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As an Apple iOS Developer, I received my email from Apple this morning just like everyone else. Because I happened to be watching Twitter, I saw that WWDC had been announced and conference passes were on sale for about an hour previous. How long did Google I/O take to sell out? How about RIM's Developer conference? Oh right, there isn't one. WebOS? Again, there isn't one I'm aware of. Yes, Apple is doomed because Android is so much of a juggernaut that all of the developers are sure to switch to it, despite the fact that developers are coming to realize that Android users don't want to pay for apps. Come back in 12 months and tell me how that's working out for you.