Archive for September, 2008

Plug N’ Chug, Part Two

September 26th, 2008

(This is the second post in a two-part series on earplugs, sound, decibels, and noise reduction ratings, the last one being the number used to “grade” earplugs. In part one, I laid the groundwork and discussed a couple of simpler problems with noise reduction ratings. In part two, I’ll discuss more complicated issues with the rating, loudness levels, and the different earplugs I tried, as well as my conclusions on how good various earplugs are and why. Reading the earlier post before this one is a must; Otherwise you’ll probably have no idea what the Noise Reduction Rating is …

Plug N’ Chug, Part One

September 19th, 2008

(This is the first post in a two-part series on earplugs, sound, decibels, and the noise reduction rating, which is the number used to “grade” earplugs. In part one, I’ll lay the groundwork and discuss a couple of simpler problems with the noise reduction rating. In part two, I’ll discuss more complicated issues with the rating, loudness levels, and the different earplugs I tried, as well as my conclusions on how good various earplugs are and why.)

After last week’s brief delay, I’m back for a full post. Brief aside: My Intrade bet on McCain has performed …

Posting Postponed

September 11th, 2008

Well, folks, tonight’s post on earplugs suddenly required a lot more research than I’d planned. I have most of the information ready to go, but if I start writing it now, I might keep my “Ed-itor” up all night. So I will most likely finish up this post and get it out the door this weekend.

In the meantime, here’s a link I’d been meaning to put up here anyway. It’s a story from The Economist, the content of which is interesting enough in its own right. However, it’s the poll they cite in the story that …

Taking Stock

September 5th, 2008

On the off chance you hadn’t heard (or don’t live in the U.S.), John McCain is delivering his acceptance speech tonight to the Republican National Convention. This marks the end of the convention and since the Democrats already had theirs, the race to the presidency begins tonight.

So who’s going to win? It’s a question a lot of people want to know the answer to - especially political junkies such as myself. If you look at the polls, it’s been fairly tight for about the last 9 months, with Obama leading a bit more often than McCain and …