In case you haven't heard, there's a debate about health care reform going on - today we find out that a campaign promise, no fines if you choose not to use government health care, is off the table if you are middle class.   That's only going to aggravate the situation.  What is needed is some clear thinking and some science-based evidence, but you won't find it in Washington.  Heck, you won't even find it in medicine.

Flat-panel televisions are nothing new.   I think even my father has one in his toolshed by now.  But legitimate flat-panel loudspeakers are harder to come by.    

There are single-speaker surround sound systems, and those are admirable, but speakers, unlike today's televisions, require a great deal of old-fashioned physics, analog-style, because that's how sound reaches our ears - so flat panel ones, though a terrific concept in size, haven't been great in practice.   

Everyone says they want to get kids to get a better science - now we can all actually do something about it.

We're doing a small beta test of our Science For Kids site.(1)  It isn't perfect yet but that's why we need people to try it out.   Once we find any glaring bugs we can sort those out and finish the cosmetic stuff.  

For Scientific Blogging columnists, you can just log in and go to it.  Everything is all set.   For new people who sign up the articles will go into moderation, because, let's face it, we're writing for kids and our names are on the thing so we can't make it a free-for-all.

Tangential Science: it's not necessarily science, but it's still funny.

1. Science of Karma 

Can there be science to 'Karma'?   Likely not, since Karma is, by definition, an Eastern religious concept that has been colloquiallized into a philosophical one.    In the East (considered globally since  Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists all lay claim to it), Karma is basically cause and effect, which is all very Newtonian, and it is echoed in Western religions with the 'as you sow, so also shall you reap' idea ... except at least in the West you are only screwed over once by what you do and actions have consequences over multiple lifetimes.