Online game: balance the US budget

Mark Frauenfelder 3:12 pm Tue May 20, 2008

Brad Robideau says:

American Public Media recently launched Budget Hero–our newest interactive game that lets people explore the major issues of the election by changing the federal budget to match their stands on issues and their values

Budget Hero tries to bring a level of clarity and simplicity to the federal budget. It is bound to be controversial since the game puts numbers against issues like bringing home troops from Iraq soon or gradually or not at all and providing options on taxes, Social Security and Medicare. American Public Media worked closely with the Congressional Budget Office, GAO and others on the data and devoted months of reporter and researcher time to creating the game.

Link

California's net neutrality law survives courtroom challenge

As Ars Technica puts it, "ISPs can't find any judges who will block California's Net Neutrality law", and it's not like they haven't been shopping hard. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted for federal net neutrality rules in 2015 and opposed their repeal in 2017, applauded yesterday's court decision."This is big. Because when the FCC… READ THE REST
The mystery of ⍼, a Unicode character of unknown purpose

⍼, "RIGHT ANGLE WITH DOWNWARDS ZIGZAG ARROW", is a Unicode character of uncertain origin. It may be summoned as the HTML entity &angzarr;. Jonathan Chan set out to uncover its mysterious purpose, a journey that led way back to Unicode's own antecedents. The meaning of ⍼ will be whatever meaning is assigned by whoever uses… READ THE REST
Etsy sellers on strike

Etsy sellers are going on strike to protest a 30% fee increase, algorithmic moderation and the growing presence of resellers pitching manufacturered and sweatshop-sourced junk (the platform was originally for crafted and vintage items, but is slowly turning into pastelibaba). We are striking to protest Etsy's treatment of sellers. We will put our shops on… READ THE REST
Pour Over Gooseneck Coffee Kettle will give you a pep in your morning step

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. We simply cannot function without the roasted nectar of the gods passing our lips first thing in the morning. If you're a pour-over type sipper, you know the true importance of… READ THE REST
You can always start the fire with this match striker on hand

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. From steamy date nights to warm summer evenings filled with s'mores, a flickering flame can make all kinds of magic happen. But if you're walking around with a dinky set of… READ THE REST
Fully submerge yourself in your tunes with these waterproof headphones

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Whether you're a professional swimmer or simply enjoy swimming as a leisurely pursuit, the peaceful sound of waves can only keep you going for so long. But imagine how exciting your deep drives might be… READ THE REST