Having trouble figuring out which U.S. presidential candidate to root for? The USA Today "candidate match game" is an interesting way to resolve your candidate conundrum. Through a series of 11 questions, the game shows you the top three candidates for the next presidential election that best match your ideas and values. As you answer each question, colored bars change size to show which candidates match your position on key issues ranging from health care to the environment to the war in Iraq. At the end of the 11-question series, you're given the opportunity to weigh each category on how important it is to you compared to the others. This might be the most interesting part: adding substantial weight to certain categories significantly changed some of my top contenders.
Unfortunately, none of the top three the game referred me to are even remotely considered true contenders in this tight race. Does this mean I'm vastly different from the average American voter/"caucus-goer"? Or does it mean that taking online polls isn't a great way to find answers to extremely important dilemmas?Having trouble figuring out which U.S. presidential candidate to root for? The USA Today "candidate match game" is an interesting way to resolve your candidate conundrum. Through a series of 11 questions, the game shows you the top three candidates for the next presidential election that best match your ideas and values. As you answer each question, colored bars change size to show which candidates match your position on key issues ranging from health care to the environment to the war in Iraq. At the end of the 11-question series, you're given the opportunity to weigh each category on how important it is to you compared to the others. This might be the most interesting part: adding substantial weight to certain categories significantly changed some of my top contenders.
Unfortunately, none of the top three the game referred me to are even remotely considered true contenders in this tight race. Does this mean I'm vastly different from the average American voter/"caucus-goer"? Or does it mean that taking online polls isn't a great way to find answers to extremely important dilemmas?In the first episode of List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast, Marion County, Indiana lead inspector Buddy Compton mentioned that store-bought lead-testing kits can be effective for testing surface paint, but they might not detect dangerous lead in deeper layers. The Consumer Reports on Safety blog tested several of these kits and posted their results here. You might find these results helpful before purchasing a kit yourself or deciding to have potentially poisonous paint professionally tested (hurray for alliteration!)
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According to this Wired.com article, global warming might not only be causing extinctions, water shortages, and hotter days: it might also be causing depression. According to philosopher Glenn Albrecht, his fellow Australians have shown increased symptoms of depression as their country has changed for the worse due to global warming. Albrecht calls this "solastalgia": a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home.
The article mentions that though many of us are modern globe-hoppers with all kinds of gadgets to keep us in touch with our family and friends at home, we're still closely tied to where we live — we haven't evolved that much.
I can see the effects of global warming, or at least its causes, where I live: polluted waters, warmer days, dirtier skies. And I know for a fact that these things don't make me happy.
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