They're at it again

Tonight on the CBS Evening News, DOW Chemical CEO, Andrew Liveris, stated that there are over a million Engineering/maths/Tech jobs available in the US, and "only 200,000 graduates to fill them"
Where the hell are these jobs? As a forcibly retired engineer for the past 2 years, I'm damned if I see any of them.  I've even cut my rate by as much as 30%, and STILL can't get on. I'm not the only one--there are large numbers of us out there. Rates are dropping like flies, and there are still unemployed engineers.
He hinted at the problem/solution when he stated "The starting salary for a Chemical Engineer is $85,000. " then went on to state that he had no choice but to go offshore. They then went to a bit on Infosys University, a purpose-designed educational facility by the company in Bangalore, India..
The last company I was with let it out in a meeting that they forgot I was a contract guy--for engineers, direct hires were costing them $130/hour, contractors $110/hour, the Russian company $50/hour, and InfoTech (an Indian engineering firm, part of InfoSys) was $35/hour (all per head).
This is not the first time firms have tried to make it look like we can't fulfill the need, so they need to hire more foreign citizens, and thus need more Work Visas. It's a pack of lies, and they know it.
When you hire a $35/hour engineering firm, you get $15-$20 per hour engineers. Boeing has discovered this with the 787, and still ignores it. It took 2 full time guys at my last job just to monitor what the Indians were doing, and we usually had to do it again--but they're cheap...

Did a stupid front come through recently?

Is the world getting weirder, or has some cosmic "Stupid Front" recently encompassed the planet?
It started with the local drivers--I mean, is there some reason your SUV will not cross the railroad track if the tires are actually rolling? And why can corners not be turned at speeds of over 1 mile/week? (No, thanks-I've had a hyperbole dose today!) I understand why nobody uses turn signals--it's just an indicator for people to remain in your blid spot, regardless of whether you slow down or speed up...
But it spread-- the track coach fired because one of his male tracksters worked out "topless", to the religious newspaper which removed the US Secretary of State and the Director of Counterterrorism from the "Situation Room" photo of Bin Laden's demise (The original was apparently "disrespectful of religion"--apparently even Jews are not supposed to see women)
-to the "We should have captured Bin Laden" crowd (like we should let the bad guys shoot first, and trust folks who think a C-4 vest is the latest in evening wear).
Now, it turns out that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been arrested and charged with being "magicians,".
Folks, your religion (and mine) can (and should) be a comfort, not a way of justifying your dirty deeds...

Negative temperature and theromdynamics

Have been conversing with some very sharp types in a science forum.
Turns out that there are things that suck harder than an absolute vacuum, and negative temperatures, infinite temperatures, and a lot of other cute tricks are actually possible. Of course, you have to get inside an atom and mess with electron spins to achieve such things, but apparently, that's child's play to a fizicist...
My head hurts...