Iraqis disagree with U.S. on withdrawal

It's not on this week's ballot, but finally somebody asked the Iraqis what they think about the presence of coalition troops and whether or not the U.S. should leave immediately.

Most Americans (including me) would leave immediately if we could. But what do the Iraqis want? According to this ABC/Time poll of 1700 Iraqis, only 26% want the U.S. to leave immediately. The vast majority "oppose the presence of coalition forces", but heck, what do you think they'd say?

Also note that the vast majority (almost 3/4ths) think things are going "quite well" or "very well". Since this is completely at odds with what most of us hear about Iraq, what do they know that we don't?

Think Labyrinth: Maze Algorithms

Nathan would love this site that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Mazes.

It points to a free Windows software download that will generate paper copies of any maze. Maybe I'll try it out one of these days after I confirm it's not laden with spyware.

Enhance Del.icio.us with Delancey

Unto.net > Delancey is a way to manage your Del.Icio.us bookmarks with an AJAX-style app.

Weather using Google Maps

Weather Underground uses Google Maps to show you the weather conditions locally, with pushpins in each location that publishes weather from your area.

Unfortunately a search on Mercer Island doesn't include the weather station at St. Monica's High School (or any other Island location).

Ultrasound and babies

Slate responds to the news that Tom Cruise bought his own ultrasound machine and explains why this can be dangerous: the energy has to go someplace and it's theoretically possible it can cause damage if you use it too much. Unlike X-rays, however, the danger is not cumulative.

Meanwhile look at the burgeoning industry of high-definition sonograms, including the Geddes Keepsake company that does "keepsake" ultrasound images of very high quality:

Cool Tool: Diaper Free Baby

Most of the world's babies are diaper-trained well before the age of 2, but American babies often stay in diapers for much longer. Why?



Diaperfreebaby.org tells you how. Basically, just learn the signs your baby gives when it needs to go.

[via Cool Tool: Diaper Free Baby]

Stanford iTunes

Cool, Stanford offers faculty lectures, interviews and more at Stanford on iTunes.