WILL FERRELL, JON HAMM, ET AL

Sarcasm doesn’t always play well, but in this case I think it may.  And they are right, of course: we should have a public option.

ARIZONA ALREADY DOES

From NPR:

As the public debates what might happen if the government enacts a public health care option, Arizona's experience may serve as a touchstone.

A public option for small businesses has been in place there for decades.

Under the Healthcare Group of Arizona — the state's publicly sponsored option for small businesses — employees have a $2,000 yearly deductible and have co-pays for doctor and hospital visits. But their premiums are less than half of what private insurance would cost. The insurance is portable; premiums are determined not by health conditions but by age, gender and business location.

"The public option has been working for me in comparison to what I can get," says Susan Gamble, who owns a small business. Gamble pays about $3,000 per employee versus the $7,000 she would pay with a commercial insurer. And Gamble has a pre-existing condition, which might make private options more expensive— and more difficult to get.

BRIGHT, DIMMABLE, 6-WATT LED

So I’m sitting next to a guy named “Philips” whose great-grandfather started Philips Electronics, one of the world’s 200 largest companies, and he shows me a dazzling $35 third-generation 5-watt LED lightbulb that his own little start-up company began selling last month.  Google bought 25,000 of them.  How can something that draws just 5 watts emit such bright light?  It’s way better than the LEDs I had previously purchased.  He gave me one of the even more expensive 6-watt dimmable variety, which shines even as I type.  The economics are compelling over the estimated 35,000-hour life of the bulbs (which come with a three-year warranty).

Should you wait until they’re discounted at Wal-Mart one day?  Probably.  But for the early adopters in the crowd, what could be more exciting?  I clicked the link above and bought several more. 

Chinese AcroBIKErs

Even as the rest of the world economy is in various states of gloom, China is booming.  This is a good thing, and could help revive the rest of the world.  But the subject of this clip is girls on bikes.  It just builds and builds.