Einstein Alley, and radon, extending to Hamilton, NJ?

Mayor Gilmore of Hamilton and Congr. Rush Holt appeared on Channel 25 on 22 Jan 07 putting up an "Einstein Alley" sign somewhere in the vicinity of Kuser Road in Hamilton, NJ near Medical Diagnostic Labs (MDL). As noted on IPBiz in 2005, the "Einstein Alley" descriptor has produced some trademark controversy.

Mayor Gilmore also appeared on Channel 29 on 22 Jan. setting out a cannister radon detector on the first floor of his home in Hamilton. If one really wants to look for radon, the basement is a better bet, as radon is way heavier than air. Also, radon doesn't have a long half-life, so one might worry about the radioactive lead isotope arising from the radon decay, which lead isotope has a half life of over 25 years and is apt to end up as a dusty solid which one ought to worry about. As a separate matter one IPBiz reader noted: by the way, most
radon testing is "bogus", because the "threat" of radon is based on
very very very poor data. The data is one study, circa 50's or so. Uranium
miners (most of whom also smoked) had a higher lung cancer incidence.
the investigators CLAIMED to be able to subtract two big numbers (all
lung cancer deaths, and lung cancer deaths due to smoking), to get the
much smaller number of deaths due to radon. (So, you also had to be a
uranium miner to get radon deaths.) So lots of extrapolation, poor
statistics, and not a very clean dose-response curve. As Reagan
started to close down EPA lab studies, radon became the "justification" or
"threat" that EPA hung its hat on.....

There is not much there, there. [In passing, IPBiz notes a connection between the last sentence and an opinion by DNJ Judge Garrett Brown relating to a certain computer science professor at Princeton University.]

Finally, there was much discussion of an NJ Senate proclamation commending Rutgers University for its 2006 football season. Coach Schiano and some fifth year seniors appeared at the NJ Capitol on Jan. 22. Some stories also noted that Rutgers is renegotiating the contract of Schiano. It is increasingly difficult to find mention of Vai Sikahema's August 2006 op-ed entitled "Rutgers is Wrong." Among other things, the Sikahema incident illustrates the extreme pliability of the internet. Inconvenient statements can be readily made to disappear. "Litera scripta manet" does NOT apply to the internet.

**UPDATE**

One day after the Proclamation, Channel 25 showed a NJ legislator (Baroni?) asking questions about "how much" money was being spent on football at a time when overall spending at Rutgers is dropping. His point was "why only football." Why not spend money on the sciences to be great in the sciences? Why not spend money on other sports to be great in them? The legislator's inquiry is more meaningful than was Sikahema's. The gist of Sikahema's argument was why spend money on Rutgers football when Rutgers is a known loser. Sikahema indicated that spending lots of money would be all right for Ohio State, Penn State, or BYU, who have successful programs, but spending money on Rutgers was a waste. Sikahema is wrong. Schiano proved that, if one spends a lot of money on a football program, someone (here Schiano) can win lots of games, specifically 11-2 in 2006. Sikahema's idea that this can only happen at select places, like Ohio State (go Florida), is just plain dumb. That said, the legislator's question is a good one. But the various articles on Rutgers football in the fall of 2006 have provided an answer. The legislator's inquiry won't get traction.

**UPDATE**

NJ PBS-TV (Channel 52) had a story on Jan. 24 on the money spent for Rutgers football. It included an interview with a student who said he was going to Rutgers because of the football team, and reports that applications for entry and transfer were both up this year (about 6 and 12% respectively). It mentioned that donations to the sports program were up. The story did not discuss whether there was a net gain.

**UPDATE**

As a general observation, Jim Gillis wrote of the coming SuperBowl:

'I know the type of person Lovie Smith is,' Dungy said Jan. 22. 'Lovie's got the same Christian convictions I have. He runs his team the same way. I know how those guys are treated in Chicago and how they play tough, disciplined football. There's none of the win-at-all-costs atmosphere.

'I think for two guys to show that you can win that way, I think that's just as important for the country to see.'



**UPDATE**

The Bromley Civic Center in Hamilton is featuring certain black inventors: Bessie Blount (devices for amputees), Madame C. J. Walker (hair; beauty products), and Jan Matzeliger (sewing machine for shoes). Mayor Gilmore visited the center on 23 Jan.