Webb shed combat boots, puts on ass-kicking boots

Well, he didn't precisely say "class warfare." Not technically anyway.

Dataporn

I'll get to the SotU in a bit, but first, check out the Times' newest chart - a searchable comparison of all of Bush's SotU speeches. It happens to be the coolest info-graphic I've seen in a while, and that's saying something.

A much needed crash

The Times is reporting on falling condo prices in DC and elsewhere. The root of the problem may be our zany insistence that everything needs to be subject to investment:

Real estate experts say condos are more susceptible to booms and busts than single-family homes are because they attract more investors who do not intend to live in them and are easier to build than a new subdivision in many cities.

The fact that housing is a medium for speculation and the accrual of wealth, rather than construed only as a means of meeting basic human needs, is a problem. It leads to perverse incentives and strange occurrences, like the replacement of a DC hospital by upscale condos, while inadequate healthcare and lack of affordable housing are two of the biggest problems the district faces.



I'm just happy that the investors in said project are getting screwed by the same market forces that lead to the Columbia in the first place:

Take the owner trying to sell a spacious two-bedroom condo for $879,000 in the former Columbia Hospital for Women, which closed in 2002, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington. In 2004, the investor was so confident that he would make a handsome resale profit that he told his agent, Thomas P. Murphy, he wanted to buy five condos. Mr. Murphy said he flatly told his client he would only assist him in purchasing one unit in any one building.

“He needs $890,000 to break even, but the offers are at $800,000 to $840,000,” Mr. Murphy said. “He does remember that I told him he was not getting five of them.”

Could he rent the condo? Yes, but that option is not appealing, either. Mr. Murphy estimates that the unit could rent for $4,000 a month, far short of the $6,800 a month the condo costs in mortgage interest, maintenance fees, insurance and taxes.

Why are we building anything that costs almost $7,000, or even $4,000, per month to live in? Whose interests, apart from the builders', does that serve?

Comedy Central goes viral

Just saw my first CC embedded video. Check it:

Jobsus

OMG APPL

Now that blogger is back, I'm finally able to express my excitement for the new iPhone, due out in June. I don't know what has me most excited, full web browsing, multi-touch input, 160 dpi resolution, wifi-edge switching, or any of the other features packed into the insanely thin body, I just know that the sum of them will likely make me willing to shell out the requisite 500 bucks, plus whatever insane contract Cingular demands. Now the main question is how to get my current T637 to live long enough to last me.

Petraeus to the rescue?

The Post has a story about Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who is to be the next US commander in Iraq. From the article's description, he sounds like a pretty hardcore guy, doubtlessly necessary at this stage in the war. His work on the counterinsurgency manual is also promising, given the difficulty thus far that US forces have had in quelling the insurrection there. But the Post also alludes to criticism of Petraeus by others in the military, and says that he supports the troop surge idea. Anybody know what the deal is, and whether we should expect more from this general than those who led our failed Iraq endeavor in the past?

D-day

Democrats take over today. Woot!

Molecular condom for microbicides

This is a ways off, but looks good. Microbicides will make it possible for women (and hopefully receptive men, at some point) to protect themselves from AIDS without the knowledge or participation of their partners, a critical improvement in prevention in situations where women are disempowered from making sexual health decisions.