Capital punishment

Means of capital punishment are back in the news. While I do like a lot about the US and life is not as sacred to me as it is to some, I am strongly against the death sentence. Still, even if limiting to methods that leave the corpse looking good for the funeral, it intrigues me that they have such difficulty actually effecting it. We routinely render people unconscious for surgery and, once under, one would imagine that a large dose of anything from a barbiturate to an opiate might quietly and quickly do for anyone. I can't help but wonder if the impediments are rather more ethical or political than technical or physical: that if we put our mind to it we certainly can kill criminals off humanely but that everybody from the drug-makers to competent implementors of the protocols do not want to touch any part of the business even with a very long bargepole.

Toshiba's troubles

I am sorry to learn of Toshiba's financial predicament. I have generally thought well of them: for example, I liked the Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop computer that I owned and I am presently watching Later… With Jools Holland (1992) on our old Toshiba REGZA television; I do not look forward to someday trying to find a replacement television at least as satisfactory. I know less of Toshiba's more recent offerings but it is always a shame when one of the few companies whose products I have liked looks to be continuing their good work no longer.