American Ninja Warrior

What is wrong with American Ninja Warrior?

My answer - nothing the fast foward button won't fix. I've decided my next physical challenge should be to win American Ninja Warrior. All I need is some super-human upper body strength.

Sustaining

Knoxville did not do a great job of transitioning after the World's Fair, but these images of the Beijing Olympic locations are almost scary.

"See, unlike China’s empty malls or centrally-planned ghost towns, these Olympics venues weren’t always hollow shells. They were once massive and meticulously orchestrated affairs, exploding with life. Now they’re as cold and lifeless as the system of government that runs that country."

Down the Rabbit Hole

A comment on a story on Slashdot about Chinese rockets led me to the Fermi Paradox and a short story, The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model. A fun, little read - free on-line or a buck via Amazon on your Kindle.

A Song of Ice & Fire Teams

Get geared up to cheer on your favorite house from the Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series. (Via Wired)

196

"And .000063 percent -- 196 Americans-- have given more than 80 percent of the super-PAC money spent in thepresidential elections so far."

Quansheng TG-Q5: Wisdom

People have pointed out the "Lucky Stone" label on the Quansheng TG-Q5, but I think it is more important to consider the deep, philosophical message that is also on the marketing materials (see image below):

"Infinite realm begins from communication."

 Either they are talking about radios or prayer. Given the lack of an obvious speaker, microphone, or display, I am going with the latter.

Quansheng TG-Q5: 409Shop

Anonymous pointed out that the 409Shop has the Quansheng TG-Q5 for $38. I wish they would release a video, so we could see more of the radio in action.

Taxes, Transfers, and Voting

Roberta X has an extreme proposal...

"It's simple: if the Feds give you money, from a handout to a paycheck to a bailout, you can't vote."

Alan comments

"I always said you shouldn't get a vote unless you were a net tax payer."

Speaking of "net tax payers," I read this depressing bit of news that the middle class is no longer a net contributor (via Althouse):

"Because transfer payments are, in effect, the opposite of taxes, it makes sense to look not just at taxes paid, but at taxes paid minus transfers received. For 2009, the most recent year available, here are taxes less transfers as a percentage of market income (income that households earned from their work and savings):

Bottom quintile: -301 percent
Second quintile: -42 percent
Middle quintile: -5 percent
Fourth quintile: 10 percent
Highest quintile: 22 percent

Top one percent: 28 percent

The negative 301 percent means that a typical family in the bottom quintile receives about $3 in transfer payments for every dollar earned.

The most surprising fact to me was that the effective tax rate is negative for the middle quintile. According to the CBO data, this number was +14 percent in 1979 (when the data begin) and remained positive through 2007. It was negative 0.5 percent in 2008, and negative 5 percent in 2009. That is, the middle class, having long been a net contributor to the funding of government, is now a net recipient of government largess."

Maybe this means President Obama was 60% right about building things on our own. (Also via Althouse)

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Unboxing Video

My Greek is horrible, but you at least can get a look.

Quansheng TG-Q5

Maybe we can soon have it all. We can get tons of features thanks to Moore's Law and through the miracle of SDR. And we can get some snazy looking radios like the Quansheng TG-Q5. Hams will never have been so well dressed.

Credit to Hans (PD0AC) for finding this radio.