What is the Higgs boson and why does it matter? (in simple terms)

What is the Higgs boson and why does it matter? (in simple terms) If you remember basic chemistry, the atom is made up a proton, neutron, and electron. Those were the basic building blocks of life when I was a kid. I remember illustrations showing the neutron and proton in the center with the electron …

Grilling corn without aluminum foil – keep the husks on

Here are 2 natural ways to cook corn, without aluminum foil. Both recommend pre-soaking the corn and keeping the husks on while grilling. The first is from favorite chef Rick Bayless and the second, a top Google result, from What’s Cooking America: Rick Bayless Preliminaries.   About an hour before serving, place the ears of corn …

It cost just $1.36 to charge an iPad for a year – iPhone $0.38

That coffee you’re drinking while gazing at your iPad? It cost more than all the electricity needed to run those games, emails, videos and news stories for a year. The annual cost to charge an iPad is just $1.36, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit research and development group funded by electric …

How Linkedin gets 20x more money per user than Facebook

Forbes has LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on the cover—but the professional social network’s business model is the real hero of the story. Here are some of the amazing statistics Forbes’ George Anders reports: LinkedIn users spend an average of 18 minutes a month on the site. Facebook users spend 6.4 hours a month. But LinkedIn gets $1.30 in revenue …

Insights on growing up from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

1. “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” 4. “The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.” 5. “Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.” 6. “Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we …

Simple summaries of the Affordable Care Act – aka Obamacare

A final summary of the major changes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (aka Obamacare): – Kids can continue to be covered by their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26. – Insurers cannot impose an unreasonable premium increase without justification (generally anything less than 10% is ok). – Insurers have to tell customers …

Communist party in China facing public anger as corruption gets exposed

Even more interesting considering that both this Economist article and the Bloomberg exposé are currently blocked in China.   In recent years China’s leaders have become increasingly concerned that the public’s awareness of the growing wealth gap could lead to social instability. In Beijing, displays of gratuitous overcompensation are a daily reminder that some people, in …