The Antarctic Sea Ice Extent is currently more than two standard deviations greater than the 1981 to 2010 average according to the NSIDC.
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_stddev_timeseries.png

Not what one would expect in a warming climate. Or maybe it is ... ex post.
Antarctica Sea Ice Reaches Record High: Doesn't Refute Global Warming
http://guardianlv.com/2013/09/antarctic-sea-ice-at-record-high-doesnt-refute-global-warming/

'Well then why, all the way up until the 23rd, were they offering next-day delivery?

Well they why, if it was so important, did you wait all the way up until the 23rd to place your order or ship your package?

In any case, UPS was not guaranteeing on-time delivery well before the 23rd. I sent a package through the local UPS store where they made it clear that they couldn't and wouldn't guarantee delivery by Christmas even though it was shipped in time.

Of course, the cost of living is higher in those counties as well.

If there weren't so many highly paid people living and working there, chasing housing, food and services with their dollars, perhaps the cost of living wouldn't be as high.

Or you could say ...

Of course, the cost of living is lower in the poor counties as well.

Presidential Task Force Recommends Overhaul of NSA Surveillance Tactics

WASHINGTON -- A presidential task force has drafted recommendations that constitute a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Agency, according to people familiar with the recommendations.

The panel's draft proposals would change the spy agency's leadership from military to civilian and limit how it gathers and holds the electronic information of Americans.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304202204579254652728273502

Stop Spying.

If Joe's hard drive dies, he's completely screwed unless he has an up to date backup ... in which case he is out of commission until he buys a new disk and restores his applications and data to it.

An "internet outage" is a temporary annoyance until "the internet" is restored and business as usual resumes. In my experience the reliability of "the internet" is almost identical to that of electricity -- "the internet" fails when the local power fails.

Over 92% of the coal consumed in the United States is used for generating electricity.
http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/role_coal_us.cfm

Over 92% is almost 100%.

Almost 100% of all coal is shipped to electricity providers. Reliability and Economies of Scale.

Alterman concludes that learning to drive a car like a Carrera GT can be extremely tricky. ... learning to drive a car like a Carrera GT fast can be extremely tricky.
 

Kurt Andersen. With an "e."

LoJack to release tracking devices for consumers, insurance and auto makers.

Who, besides the NSA, would want to track consumers, insurance and automakers? OK, the feds need to keep an eye on GM, but really.

A BBC investigation into a UK-based Amazon warehouse has found conditions that a stress expert said could cause "mental and physical illness".

Well, that settles it.

Does anyone vet these before posting? The "proof of concept" is a toy helicopter with a toy photovoltaic cell sending power down a wire to light five toy houses. It's toys all the way down.

It's a high school science project -- a bad one at that. It's an April Fools' joke. It's $39.95 at Toys r Us. It's $9.95 on Woot! It's a cover from the December 1964 Popular Science. It's a scene from a 1955 science fiction movie. From Afghanistan. It's News for nerds, Stuff that matters.

... and the gulf between planning and reality.

Planning? What planning? Hoping. Commanding. Directing. Praying. Lying. Concealing. Misdirecting. Deceiving. But no "planning" of the type that experienced project managers would recognize.
 

... democracy has actually done more harm than good.

But has it done more harm than the alternative -- and what might that be?

But there's a community of bloggers ...

That's funny. Like a herd of turtles.