Links for May 13th

First, some background music, Irene by Beach House (hat tip: Chris).

The first several Boeing 787's are going into service. Why is this interesting? There are two main airline manufacturers in the world: Boeing and Airbus. They've both moved to composite materials to reduce weight and increase the range their planes can travel. This changes the routes airlines can fly - it's game changing; new hubs, longer distances, smaller cities being connected, more diffuse growth in general. Where they differ is in size. Airbus went huge with the A380 and Boeing downsized with the 787. In my opinion, one of the lessons of recent history has been to downsize: smaller baseball parks, smaller cars, smaller laptops, smaller homes, smaller cameras. I'm betting on Boeing but to be honest I think the contest will mostly just be awash.

It's no longer illegal to tape record police officers in Illinois. How anyone thought that police officers being immune to public scrutiny in this manner benefited citizens I will never know. In my opinion every police officer should be wearing a camera at all times. Tiny cameras that can fit in sunglasses already exist. Why shouldn't we be allowed to see the activities of those who have been entrusted with such immense power and responsibility?

Apparently being unemployed is bad for people. No shit? Among other negative side effects, people commit suicide more often when unemployed. So yes, in the long run the economy will fix itself, but by sitting idly by we are in fact collectively allowing an entire generation of young (and old) Americans to suffer. Krugman on the matter (sort of).

Oh, and college is expensive. Colleges response: “I didn’t think a lot about costs. I do not think we have given significant thought to the impact of college costs on families.” - the president of Ohio State University