Something funny has been happening that prevents my computer from reading the blogger page, so I'm going to attempt to mush all of my thoughts over the last two days into one long post.

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Good grief indeed:

At the end of April, the United States sent a letter to health ministries around the world asking for a change that would allow countries to opt out of any provisions of the [tobacco-control] treaty with which they disagreed. (NY Times)

It appears that the current administration doesn't quite comprehend the concept of an "international treaty."

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Noah, I would argue that your question is not a good estimation question. Estimation questions are not about computing exact answers but about giving educated guesses about orders of magnitude. So if you're trying to estimate a percentage, just guess 10% and you'll automatically be within an order of magnitude. (I bet everyone would agree that more than 1% of Victoria's Secret mail orders come from men.) Even if you're trying to get within a power of two, 40% gives you an awfully big spread.

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Great image:

I want to be strapped horizontally into the retracted football seats beyond centerfield in the Metrodome, hanging there and facing the ground like a vampire bat, just waiting for that moment when Torii Hunter leaps into my view, reaches over the fence and steals a home run. After throwing the ball back to the infield, he will smile and shout, "How's your seat?'' And I will reply, "OK, except my beer keeps spilling out of the cup holder.'' (ESPN)

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And finally, Go Twins!