The Very Embarrassing Comparison of Missouri vs New York City in this Pandemic

Check this out. First, New York.

New York City sets record of 58 straight days with no pedestrian fatalities

So great for them, right?  Kudos, New York City. Way to go. No one being killed on the streets. Makes sense. Little to no traffic, so great results.

But here in Missouri?

Our own Show Me State?

Check out these statistics.

'Triple digits keep rolling in' 

Missouri troopers clock drivers speeding during pandemic

We're speeding more. And not just speeding but a lot of us out there are pushing triple digits--100 miles per hour and more.

As Missouri plans to reopen some businesses this May 4, one thing you can rely on is a lot more traffic along major interstates.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said some drivers have been using the stay-at-home order to their advantage.

"We've noticed roughly a 40% decrease statewide in the amount of traffic that's out there," said Capt. John Hotz at MSHP headquarters in Jefferson City.

With less traffic, he said drivers are using this time to test their engines, turning interstates into raceways.

"As 80 miles an hour used to be considered a high speed, we've seen quite a few speeds in the 100+ mph range," said Hotz.

Troopers across Missouri tweeted some of those speeds. One showing a motorist going as fast as 145 mph.

That's bad enough right? But then, consequently, more of us are also dying on the roads.

Missouri traffic fatalities up in 2020

Pandemic's hidden impact: 

Increases in traffic deaths

So get that?

Traffic is down and down significantly across the state. Way down. But we're SPEEDING MORE and MORE OF US ARE DYING.

Isn't that wonderful?

And sure, you can say it's not fair comparing a city to an entire state but come on. Don't you think at least ONE of these statistics should be good, improved for us here is Misery?  I mean Missouri?

We are, most all of us, not on the roads and streets and highways nearly as much and it shows and we're paying less in car insurance because of it but we're getting WORSE RESULTS? IN ALL EXAMPLES?

Insane. This is insane.

Come on, folks.

We can do better than this.

A lot better.

We have to.

Then, MU Hits the National News, Too, and For a Similar Reason as Olathe

Yesterday, it was Olathe. Now it's MU and again, it's from The New York Times.

Long After Protests, 

Students Shun the University of Missouri

Seems after all the racism and ugliness of the last year, now students are abandoning MU, great education or no.

We have a whole lotta' racism to get over in this country, folks.

A lot.

Mizzou, In the News For Good Things This Time

Yes sir, you'd think if the University of Missouri is in the New York Times today for anything, it must surely be all bad.

You'd be mistaken.

For Gary Pinkel at Missouri, an Evolution Followed by a Revolution

Missouri, Fairness and Justice in Today's New York Times

Yes, St. Louis County and so, Missouri and fairness and gross unfairness, all in today's, Sunday New York Times.

It's an important, if brief read. A real eye-opener and certainly not limited to just that area.

Policing for Profit in St. Louis County

And not just one article, one op/ed piece but two, originating out of Missouri politics and events lately. Here's the second. Also brief but, I think, again, important:

Beat the Press

Finally, finally, someone's talking about jobs

And wouldn't you know, it's the President and not someone in the other political party:

Obama Pushes Plan to Build Roads and Bridges

By PETER BAKER and JOHN SCHWARTZ

Declaring, "Let's get started rebuilding America," President Obama promoted a merger of tax breaks, loans and private investment to generate money for projects.

This is long, long overdue, even if we all ignored this recent report:

The latest national report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers this month on the state of bridges, roads, power grids, rail networks and other systems showed that the country’s grade had actually risen for the first time — but to a D-plus from a D. 

I've been writing on this for some time, both here and on our Missouri Senator's home Facebook pages, in an effort to get some money for widening, improving and updating Interstate 70 from East Missouri and St. Louis, all the way across the state to Kansas City and the Kansas border.

It needs it badly, it's unsafe, it's narrow, it would be good for families and personal travel as well as business and business travel. It would create jobs for the region. There's just everything good about it and we need it sorely, as I said.

So, now, we wait.

We wait for the Republicans to come out against it.

Well, hey, it was proposed by this President, wasn't it?

WHAT DO WE WANT??

JOBS!!

WHEN DO WE WANT THEM??

4 YEARS AGO!!

Senator McCaskill?  Senator Blunt?

The Best College Towns--Two of ours in top 10

The American Institute of Economic Research ranked the "75 Best College Towns" and two of ours came in the top 10:

Mizzou, number 10

Lawrence, KS, number 8

Based on this criteria:

• Student Concentration: number of college students per 1,000 population

• Student Diversity: percentage of student body that are non-U.S. residents

• Research Capacity: academic R&D expenditures per capita

• Degree Attainment: percent of the 25-to-34-year-old population with bachelor’s degree or higher

• Cost of Living: based upon average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment

• Arts and Leisure: number of cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 population

• City Accessibility: percentage of workers over age 16 who commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle

• Creative Class: percentage of workforce in the arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields

• Earning Potential: income per capita

• Entrepreneurial Activity: net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 population

• Brain Gain/Drain: year-over-year ratio of population with B.A. degree (it is only population with B.A degree, not all the college level) living in the area

• Unemployment rate

It should be noted, too, that Iowa City, Iowa came in 4th and Ames, Iowa came in 2nd.

 

Kudos to those Midwest sensibilities.

 

Link to original post:  AIER Names 75 Best College Towns and Cities for 2012-2013

Challenge for the Kansas City Star and/or St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I saw the following post today on Senator Roy Blunt's Facebook page:

"My husband is a retired electrician and has worked all over the country in them. So I think he would know best what goes on in them....  Right now at the Labadie Power Plant in Labadie Mo there is radioactive waste and sludge being dumped on the grounds next to a highway close to the MO river. It has been dumped there for years, in hopes that the river will flood and wash it somewhere else."

I would think this is something one of those two media outlets or a television station or someone in the state should explore. Or the Columbia Daily Tribune or the Columbia Missourian or some such.

Let's see if this is so.

And then, if it is so, is it legal?

Because, even if it is legal, it surely can't be safe. Or wise.

It's right outside St. Louis, just East of Columbia. You can see the location here: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&biw=1012&bih=479&q=labadie%20power%20plant&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

Here's hoping some media outlet does some research.

Facebook research out of the University of Missouri

Posted yesterday on Yahoo! News:

What Your Facebook Page Says About Your Personality

If you think you're keeping any secrets on Facebook, think again. It's not just what you post on the social networking site, but how you post it that reveals what kind of person you are.

That's the contention of researchers at the University of Missouri who have developed a new scale that judges people's personality based on how they use the popular social media site.

The scale reveals that those who like high-risk activity tend to update their status, upload photos and interact with friends frequently. While conversely, those who are more reserved tend to merely scroll through Facebook's "news feed," and don't upload photos or actively engage with their friends.

Missouri doctoral student Heather Shoenberger developed the scale after surveying people about their use of Facebook and having them take a personality test.

Those who leaned toward high-risk activities were labeled as "appetitive," with those who were more reserved in their activities labeled as "aversive." While both personality types use Facebook frequently, Shoenberger found significant differences in how each uses the social media site.

"If you're highly "appetitive" or lean toward high-risk activities, you're more likely to want to engage with media that are more exciting, whereas those who are higher in the "aversive" trait tend to enjoy safer and more predictable media experiences," Shoenberger said.

The scale could help advertisers target online audiences easier, according to Shoenberger.

"I believe this could really help advertisers and certain types of media groups target potential customers with particular ads on social media sites," Shoenberger said. "Identifying these individuals using the motivation activation measure can give advertisers an advantage over their competitors and bring some order to online advertising."

For example, she says companies that want to target consumers for a high-risk activity should try to determine who is active on Facebook and frequently posting pictures and updating their status.

The study was recently presented at the International Communication Association Conference in Phoenix.

So, Facebook users, if you're interested, check it out. If not a Facebook user, you may just want to know what our state university is up to, at least in one department and example.

Links: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-page-says-personality-100406443.html

Area cities "Best...for Jobs"

There's an article out on MSN's carrer page of the latest news showing "13 of the Best Cities for Jobs" and some area cities are on the list.

Most notable are Lincoln, Nebraska at number one.

1. Lincoln, Neb.
Unemployment rate: 3.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -0.8
Mean annual earnings: $39,310

And Columbia, Mo at number 11:

11. Columbia, Mo.
Unemployment rate: 4.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -2.0
Mean annual earnings: $37,780

Other things to be noted on the list overall is that there are more than a few cities from the midwest, most notably in the Dakotas and Iowa with Bismarck (ND) at no. 2,
Fargo (ND) at 4, Ames (Ia) at 5, Iowa City (Ia) at 6 and Sioux Falls (SD) at 7. It seems the growth in the nation is here in the midwest and heartland.

Link: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2980-Job-Info-and-Trends-13-of-the-best-cities-for-jobs/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42980&sc_extcmp=JS_2980_home1

Columbia, MO: America's "Hardest Working Town"?

That's right, according to a survey by Parade Magazine (which I refuse to read) and Total Cereals (why?), Columbia, Missouri is ranked the number one "Hardest Working Town" in America. Go figure. Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/hardest-working-towns-america_n_1424662.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009#s866501&title=1_Columbia_Mo

Roger Ebert on a Missouri Film Festival

The extremely well-known film writer and critic Roger Ebert posts today on Facebook and his blog today about a regional film festival here in Missouri: "This event at the University of Missouri is a good example of a film festival that has defined a role for itself, and built up a loyal audience over 10 years. Why spend a fortune to go to Cannes when there may be a terrific event like this nearby? Kevin Lee is a well-known blogger and was our correspondent at True/False." Link: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120306/FILMFESTIVALS/120309991

Dorial Green-Beckham's Mizzou pick hits Yahoo! News bigtime

Right now, on the overnight of Yahoo! News, Springfield's own Dorial Green-Beckham's pick of Mizzou as where he wanted to go play football is one of their top stories, for what it's worth. And face it, for this window of time, with Mr. Green-Beckham being rated the number one draft, it is big.

It may not be huge news to people outside the state of Missouri but for today, he and Missouri and Mizzou are big news. Congratulations to Mr. Green-Beckham and Mizzou. Now go get 'em. Link: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1326275

Mizzou in the Pinstripe Bowl?

There's a sports website, Rivals.com, with a listing out right now, of where they predict all the different college teams will likely end up in the football bowls this year. As said above, they predict Missouri will go to the Pinstripe Bowl, December 30th in New York against Rutgers. They also predict Iowa will go to the Texas Bowl against Texas A & M (Dec. 31, Houston), Nebraska will go to the Capitol One Bowl against South Carolina (Jan 2, Orlando) and Kansas State to the Cotton Bowl against Arkansas (Jan. 6, Arlington, TX). I knew the football and sports fans would want to know. Links: http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1300258; http://web.pinstripebowl.com/index; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinstripe_Bowl

From Mizzou: It's official

Word out today is that Missouri is officially moving to the SEC. Love it or hate it, that's what's happening. So it goes. Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/missouri-sec-deal-14892450

Questions for MU and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Wth? Why is there still radioactivity in the basement of a building on the MU campus, for starters? The Columbia Daily and The Kansas City Star are reporting this today. Questions: How radioactive? What's the extent of the radioactivity? Were or are faculty and students unreasonably exposed? What is necessary for the cleanup? What will it cost? Who will have to pay for it--the University or the State itself? Do either have it in their respective budgets? How long will it take? If they have to, can they get that museum out of there for the cleanup? Links: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/23/2969241/radiation-found-in-basement-of.html http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/jun/21/radiation-lingers-in-mus-pickard-hall/ Also, from a poster on the Daily Tribune website: swingline747 (anonymous) says... My favorite MU website, pick a building, and you can view the original plans, pictures, etc. Even includes buildings that have been torn down: http://umcspace.missouri.edu/historic/

The Civil War's beginning in Missouri

There's a fascinating article today in The Columbian Daily about today's 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War in Missouri.  It gives terrific background information:

150 YEARS AGO: War is declared between the United States and Missouri

Enjoy the weekend, y'all.  It surely is beautiful--and comfortable--out there.

Cicada ice cream??

Yes, you heard correctly:

Making The Best Out Of Invasion, Missouri Shop Makes Cicada Ice Cream

As for me?  They can keep it in Columbia.

Huge solar power breakthrough from the University of Missouri!

Big news!

Check it out:

Efficiency is a problem with today's solar panels; they only collect about 20 percent of available light. Now, a University of Missouri engineer has developed a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 percent of available light, and he plans to make prototypes available to consumers within the next five years.

Nonlinear White Paper - Use nonlinear analysis to simulate real-world behavior. Find out more. - www.nenastran.com/nonlinear/

Patrick Pinhero, an associate professor in the MU Chemical Engineering Department, says energy generated using traditional photovoltaic (PV) methods of solar collection is inefficient and neglects much of the available solar electromagnetic (sunlight) spectrum. The device his team has developed – essentially a thin, moldable sheet of small antennas called nantenna – can harvest the heat from industrial processes and convert it into usable electricity. Their ambition is to extend this concept to a direct solar facing nantenna device capable of collecting solar irradiation in the near infrared and optical regions of the solar spectrum.

Working with his former team at the Idaho National Laboratory and Garrett Moddel, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Pinhero and his team have now developed a way to extract electricity from the collected heat and sunlight using special high-speed electrical circuitry. This team also partners with Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to immediately port laboratory bench-scale technologies into manufacturable devices that can be inexpensively mass-produced.

"Our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone," Pinhero said. "If successful, this product will put us orders of magnitudes ahead of the current solar energy technologies we have available to us today."

As part of a rollout plan, the team is securing funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and private investors. The second phase features an energy-harvesting device for existing industrial infrastructure, including heat-process factories and solar farms.

Within five years, the research team believes they will have a product that complements conventional PV solar panels. 

Here is something I predicted, here, at this blog, some time earlier and that is so exciting and holds so much promise:

Because it's a flexible film, Pinhero believes it could be incorporated into roof shingle products, or be custom-made to power vehicles.

Once the funding is secure, Pinhero envisions several commercial product spin-offs, including infrared (IR) detection. These include improved contraband-identifying products for airports and the military, optical computing, and infrared line-of-sight telecommunications.

A study on the design and manufacturing process was published in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering.

I'm telling you, folks, we're already getting much, much closer to being able to have solar energy that is extremely affordable and totally clean.

And we will gain the benefits of being able to virtually completely, if not completely, do away with power plants and electrical utility companies.

This makes the likelihood of our own houses and office buildings and even cars, generating their own very clean and green, renewable energy, far more possible and likely.

Now, just please don't say three things:

1)  Solar power isn't practical or likely even in the long-run, let alone in the short term;

2)  All our schools suck or 

3)  That we don't need at least some government and/or that government serves no or not enough positive function in our society.

And enjoy that beautiful sunshine out there today, folks.

Additional link: http://climateprogress.org/2011/05/17/news-japanese-officials-concealed-nuke-dangers-renewable-resources-soar-solar-nantenna-can-capture-95-of-light/#more-49322

Hermann, Missouri one of "America's Prettiest Towns"

Hermann is on Forbes Magazine's list today of "America's Prettiest Towns":

   

Hermann, Missouri

Founded by German immigrants in 1837, Hermann retains that cultural heritage with its annual Teutonic-themed festivals, such as Wurstfest, Maifest (complete with May-pole circling), and Oktoberfest, with all the brats and beers that suggests. Just an hour and a half's drive from St. Louis, and you'll find yourself in a unique blend of Americana and old-world flavor. So strap on some lederhosen and save room for a pretzel or two. Just don't go overboard, because the town also boasts an ideal location along the Katy trail, which provides bicyclists a pristine setting for winding their way through Missouri.

I stayed there once, in a "bed and breakfast" and absolutely loved the town so I can definitely recommend it if you haven't been yet.  Not only is it pretty, but it's also located right on the Missouri River and has good restaurants and shops to see, too.   As they said above, it's located on the Katy Trail so you can cycle around the place, if you take your bike.  

Additionally, it's easy and reasonably inexpensive to access from Kansas City or St. Louis by taking the train. It drops you right in the downtown area.  It's about another hour or an hour and a half on the other side of Columbia from here in KC.

They mention maybe going in October but I can tell you, because of both Oktoberfest and the University of Missouri-Columbia, nearby, I wouldn't recommend that unless you like crowds--young crowds, at that--and possibly loud, beer drinking groups.  The locals like the money it brings in but they aren't crazy about these folks, that time of year.

They have wineries there, too, and at least one has what was many years ago and I hope still is, a good restaurant.

Finally, when visiting anywhere else around here that has rather hot Summers and cold, grey Winters, it's best to go in Spring and Fall so if you're going to go, now would be a good time. 

Links:  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-39283339

http://www.bikekatytrail.com/

MU quarterback in the news

This is pretty cool.

It seems one Blaine Gabbert from MU's football program can play some pretty good football, sure, but what really has the NFL scouts and teams excited are....his brains?

Wha??

Yes indeed, it seems Mr. Gabbert has a near-photographic memory and can use that information in his head quickly and easily, again and again:

Quarterback dazzling NFL with rare attribute

Blaine Gabbert rattled through math problems so easily as a child, remembering everything from multiplication tables to batting averages, that his mother, Bev, began to imagine something magnificent going on in her oldest son’s head.

“He’s almost got a photographic memory,” she says over the phone from the family house just outside St. Louis.

This is the attribute that might just take Gabbert far in his pursuit to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He already has those other things the NFL desires: standing 6-foot-5 with the ability to fling the ball three-quarters of the field in the air. But it is his mind that might push him farther, for in the complex world of football offenses little matters more than memory.

“Once you say it to him it is set in stone,” says David Yost, University of Missouri offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. “His ability to process the information is amazing. You give it to him, he retains it.”


Imagine that.


Brains helping in a football game.