Bulbs Assembled In China By Acrobikers (And Don't Miss Will Ferrell's Sarcasm) September 23, 2009March 16, 2017 WILL FERRELL, JON HAMM, ET AL Sarcasm doesn’t always play well, but in this case I think it may. And they are right, of course: we should have a public option. ARIZONA ALREADY DOES From NPR: As the public debates what might happen if the government enacts a public health care option, Arizona’s experience may serve as a touchstone. A public option for small businesses has been in place there for decades. Under the Healthcare Group of Arizona — the state’s publicly sponsored option for small businesses — employees have a $2,000 yearly deductible and have co-pays for doctor and hospital visits. But their premiums are less than half of what private insurance would cost. The insurance is portable; premiums are determined not by health conditions but by age, gender and business location. “The public option has been working for me in comparison to what I can get,” says Susan Gamble, who owns a small business. Gamble pays about $3,000 per employee versus the $7,000 she would pay with a commercial insurer. And Gamble has a pre-existing condition, which might make private options more expensive— and more difficult to get. BRIGHT, DIMMABLE, 6-WATT LED So I’m sitting next to a guy named “Philips” whose great-grandfather started Philips Electronics, one of the world’s 200 largest companies, and he shows me a dazzling $35 third-generation 5-watt LED lightbulb that his own little start-up company began selling last month. Google bought 25,000 of them. How can something that draws just 5 watts emit such bright light? It’s way better than the LEDs I had previously purchased. He gave me one of the even more expensive 6-watt dimmable variety, which shines even as I type. The economics are compelling over the estimated 35,000-hour life of the bulbs (which come with a three-year warranty). Should you wait until they’re discounted at Wal-Mart one day? Probably. But for the early adopters in the crowd, what could be more exciting? I clicked the link above and bought several more. CHINESE ACROBIKERS Even as the rest of the world economy is in various states of gloom, China is booming. This is a good thing, and could help revive the rest of the world. But the subject of this clip is girls on bikes. It just builds and builds.