News of note

Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye featuring Kimbra

A few stories worth checking out:

NPR had story on the escalating costs of higher education.

It divides the costs into "sticker" price and "net" price for public and private institutions.

The upshot is that the "net" price for a private college education is now almost 6 times what a public education costs.

We're talking net price of $12,970 for private versus $2,490 for public.

Of course, living costs are nearly the same between private and public schools, or about $10,000 per year.

Cheery news for those who have yet to take the plunge.

In other news, there's a new biography out about Barack Obama. Here's a link to pictures of "Barry" in his early years.

Speaking of Barry, check out the electoral map from the Huffington Post, which has Obama up 284 to 181 for Mitt. Of course, you only need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

I agree with the Huffpo on this, but Real Clear Politics shows Obama up just 227 to 170 for Mitt.

The mainstream media will portray a tight race until the end so that they can maximize their advertising dollars.

Obama will carry Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia. With those states, he wins the presidency.

Meanwhile, Intrade shows a modest shift, with Obama at 57.5 to Mitt's 39.1. That's not a landslide in Mitt's favor no matter how his side wants to spin it.

Can't count on Obama's re-election just yet, but Mitt's post-GOP primary lockdown bump is not even the size of a speed bump.

To a Republican, though, a speed bump is just the free marketplace at work.

Speaking of a speed bump, I just paid $4.17 per gallon, with the Fred Meyer 3-cent discount, for a gallon of gas.

I'll close, though, with a link to the mp3 of "Somebody That I Used to Know," by Gotye featuring Kimbra.

Now, this is what I'm talking about.

And a capella.

Awesome instrumental.

And, the kid version.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend.