Newmark's Door

Journalist and blogger Tim Blair was recently diagnosed with bowel cancer. But he was encouraged by a message he got from a well-known person with cancer:

Keep your spirits up, your attitude aggressive and positive. We live in an age of miracles, and researchers are finding new treatments every day.

A terrific profile of USC football coach Pete Carroll. He was fired from two pro jobs in three years. I remember some of the things that were written about him then: he knew nothing about football and even less about coaching; he was this dopey cheerleader kind of guy, totally unsuited to be a football coach; he was an idiot and a laughingstock.

But for the last six years he has been the most successful Division I football coach in the country.

Supports one of my beliefs. Almost everybody has a place. Sometimes it just takes time to find out what it is.

(Link via the ever-wonderful Sports Guy.)

Interesting idea: Cal Tech graduate student correlates the "top ten" books among students at colleges (as computed by Facebook) with the average SAT scores of the colleges.

The books that correlate most with high SAT scores: Lolita, 100 Years of Solitude, Crime and Punishment, Freakonomics, Catch-22, and Atlas Shrugged.

Link via Marginal Revolution.

P. J. O'Rourke lays waste to British journalists, the EU, some prominent Europeans, both U.S. political parties, all the U.S. presidential candidates, and lots more. I don't agree with it all, but most of it is funny. Like this:

Hillary Clinton is Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. Hillary Clinton is "America's ex-wife."

Speaking of one of the Door's least favorite presidential candidates, isn't it interesting how, all of a sudden, lots and lots of people are realizing that  having H. Clinton as president would have certain . . . unappealing aspects? Especially four more years of That Guy, Slick Willie?

Here's the Charlotte Observer, not mincing words: "The Many Lies of Bill Clinton". Here's Vanity Fair's Bruce Feirstein: "Bill Clinton, Nasty Man". Here's the Washington Post's Colbert I. King, "Billary's Adventures in Primaryland". Bob Herbert: "Questions for the Clintons". William Grieder: "Slick Willie Rides Again". John Nichols: "It's Time tor Retire Bill Clinton". Finally, here is uber-Liberal Jonathan Chait asking--gasp! horrors!--"Is the Right Right on the Clintons?" (No, he asserts, but they're uncomfortably close.)

Going into the campaign, most of us liked Hillary Clinton just fine, but the fact that tens of millions of Americans are seized with irrational loathing for her suggested that she might not be a good Democratic nominee. But now that loathing seems a lot less irrational. We're not frothing Clinton haters like . . . well, name pretty much any conservative. We just really wish they'd go away.

I am curious to see how long these sentiments last should Ms. Clinton become the nominee. I don't think they'll last longer than the morning dew. But for now, they are greatly entertaining.

Scott Adams--of  Dilbert fame--notes that scientists "might be closing in on a drug that eliminates the need for sleep and has no side effects" and wonders what the social and economic effects would be.

As I have noted repeatedly, we at the Door are all about important news, "news you can use" (as U.S. News & World Report used to advertise).

So here's some: Australia has a "nationwide sperm shortage".

Steven Landsburg eviscerates the "stimulus" package. And in doing so, he issues this memorable line: "As a general rule, economic policies command bipartisan support only when they're incoherent."

Researchers at USC have "created baker’s yeast capable of living to 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects."

I well understand that yeast are a long, long way from people.

And I also have seen, all my adult life, early claims of wonderful drugs--including more than few cancer "cures"--not pan out at all.

But still . . . I believe we're going to see some amazing things in biology over the next 20 or 30 years.

(Link courtesy of Mike Sproul.)

If a stock Maybach 57 is just too ordinary for you, a company named Brabus will be happy to modify it for you. (You can get one that will top out at 205 mph.)

Crime map of New York City (.pdf file).