Science Lagging in the US

There has been a couple good articles on the sorry state of US science advancement today. One was here. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10283801-76.html

My comment on this. HELL YEAH! The US view of science is pathetic at best. Let's face it, science is not looked well upon in the public education system, and for students to show any desire to continue their education in science, the public view is "NERD".

Science recruiters do not come to schools, no one tells young children that being a scientist is a well worth it, well recompensed profession! No, we push sports heros, stock traders, lawyers, and even now being a doctor is not as glorious as it once was. The reasons? MONEY.

There is no money to be made in science. You hardly find anyone with a pHD or undergrad degree making $200 -$300 that you see in some mediocre financial fields or law. And you sure don't make the milions atheletes make. pH D. programs can cost just about as much as a medical degreee, but guess where it gets you? If you are lucky a job in academia, where every penny is scrutinized and must be begged for in grants.

And if you take this a step further, past the fact that the general public looks at scientists as some sort of oddity, start looking at our scientific corporations left here in the US. My basis is biotechnology so this is heavily slanted to pharmaceuticals, etc. But if you ask my husband who is a Mechanical Engineer, US engineering might has seen it's hayday too.

So what big pharma do we have left in the US? Not a whole lot. Start looking at the mergers, the name changes, and you will see that most companies are now owned by forign entities. (Even the one I work at is not US based). Where has our proud pharma history gone? Fractured into peices. We used to be a powerhouse, pumping out the newest ideas, the most radical cures, the place to be for medicine. But what has come out of those doors? What diseases have we cured?

Erectile disfunction? Attention deficit disorders?

We are living in a sorry state. Where the population is looking for government controlled healthcare, so that everyone can get as many happy pills as they deem necessary and not pay a penny more thank you.

But what does that DO to the structure of american health research? Does anyone see the fact that if there is less money coming in, there will be less research done, less new cures for disease. And if we take a lesson from what has been introduced lately, the only medicine coming out will be lifestyle pills. Lets face it, no one dies from erectile disfunction, yet you will be abe to prevent it by paying $ for your fair share of pills.

Sorry, sorry state...

I hate SLOW!

So, I had a gift card for Borders books. I do not normally order books from Borders online, but since there was not a Borders near me, and lets face it Waldenbooks in the malls are always full price or worse!

I found some books I wanted and ordered them on June 29th. I was informed that my order qualified for free shipping. Woo Hoo! Even better!

But. Yes the big butttt you never get anything for free is true here. It is now June 7th, and their website has informed me that the estimated delivery date is June 10th! WTF!!!! Even the Borders website calls it 3-5 business day shipping! This is just insane! Even if you discount the 3rd being a federal holiday (the observation of the 4th), it is still 8 business days!

So needless to say, I am still waiting for four paper back books to arrive, and have come to the conclusion that Barnes and Noble free and fast shipping rocks, so does Amazon Prime! So never again will I order from Borders and sit on my hands while Fedex lets my package rot on some horse drawn buggy going 5 MPH!

I expect more in todays age of I WANT IT NOW!

:)