Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Who is Ellie Light?
In recent weeks, Light has published virtually identical “Letters to the Editor” in support of President Barack Obama in more than a dozen newspapers.Every letter claimed a different residence for Light that happened to be in the newspaper’s circulation area. “It’s time for Americans to realize that governing is hard work, and that a president can’t just wave a magic wand and fix everything,” said a letter from alleged Philadelphian Ellie Light, that was published in the Jan. 19 edition of The Philadelphia Daily News.A letter from Light in the Jan. 20 edition of the San Francisco Examiner concluded with an identical sentence, but with an address for Light all the way across the country in Daly City, California.
Variations of Light’s letter ran in Ohio’s Mansfield News Journal on Jan. 13, with Light claiming an address in Mansfield; in New Mexico’s Ruidoso News on Jan. 12, claiming an address in Three Rivers; in South Carolina’s The Sun News on Jan. 18, claiming an address in Myrtle Beach; and in the Daily News Leader of Staunton, Virginia on Jan. 15, claiming an address in Waynesboro. Her publications list includes other papers in Ohio, West Virginia, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania and California, all claiming separate addresses.
Cleveland.com story link.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wall-climbing Robots
From Gizmodo:
Here are four robots that leave me unsettled in four unique ways. The robots in this clip, developed at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, each employ their own distinctive method of wall-climbing. This snail-inspired bot uses hot glue.
One of the robots is equipped with magnetic treads for sticking to any metal surface. Another, looking like some sort of terrifying mechanical arachnid, has four legs with fishing hooks for scuttling around on textured surfaces. I already worry about spiders crawling on my walls. Now, thanks to the roboticist behind the project, Amir Shapiro, I have to worry about robots creeping up on me too.
The least menacing of the bunch, seen in the video climbing a white board, has four tiny wheels covered in 3M sticky tape, allowing it to roll slowly across smooth vertical surfaces. That guy? He's OK with me. [Bot Junkie]
Gizmodo story link.
First commercial 3-D bio-printer makes human tissue and organs
Invetech, an innovator in new product development and custom automation for the biomedical, industrial and consumer markets, today announced that it has delivered the world's first production model 3D bio-printer to Organovo, developers of the proprietary NovoGen bioprinting technology. Organovo will supply the units to research institutions investigating human tissue repair and organ replacement.Dr. Fred Davis, president of Invetech, which has offices in San Diego and Melbourne, said, “Building human organs cell-by-cell was considered science fiction not that long ago. Through this clever combination of technology and science we have helped Organovo develop an instrument that will improve people’s lives, making the regenerative medicine that Organovo provides accessible to people around the world.”
”Scientists and engineers can use the 3-D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern in 3-D,” said Murphy. “Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed scaffold, support kidney cells with a co-printed scaffold, or form adjacent layers of epithelial and stromal soft tissue that grow into a mature tooth. Ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses, and the best way to do that is get a number of bio-printers into the hands of researchers and give them the ability to make three dimensional tissues on demand.”
RDmag.com story link.
New York Seeks to Raise 1 Billion by additional Taes and Fees!
Gov. David A. Paterson proposed what would be the largest cut to school aid in more than two decades and nearly $1 billion in new or increased taxes and fees as he unveiled his budget on Tuesday, a plan that is sure to touch off fierce opposition in the Legislature.Scouring for new sources of tax revenue amid a fiscal crisis, the governor is also proposing to legalize ultimate fighting, allow the sale of wine in grocery stores, tax cigarette sales on Indian reservations and deploy speed-enforcement cameras in highway work zones.
NYtimes.com story link.
Apple Tablet Announcement or State of the Union Address....
Whether the company will open the curtains on a tablet, slate, big iPod Touch, or a bit of all three, invited guests will find out for sure at the 10 a.m. event to be held at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater.
With the invite teasing people to "Come see our latest creation," no one knows for sure exactly what Apple has up its sleeve. But the rumor mill has been busy speculating on some type of tablet device that would let people surf the Net, watch movies, read e-books, and probably perform other tricks conjured up by the mind of Steve Jobs.
Sources have reportedly told The Wall Street Journal that the device would be a 10- or 11-inch touch-screen tablet offering wireless access and sporting a price tag of $1,000. The rumored device of the day, however, is a reported 22-inch tablet PC.
Further details are of course sketchy now, and we probably won't know much more until January 27 arrives. But we'll keep you updated with any further information as it comes in.
CNET news story link.
State of the Union - Jan. 27, budget unveiled Feb. 1
The date of the speech had been in flux as presidential aides tried to gauge how much progress they'd be able to show on health reform. They originally planned to schedule the speech the following week, but networks objected because that is a key ratings period.
Obama's plan to deliver the speech next week almost guarantees that he will not be able to tout reform's passage in time for his prime time address to the nation. And it would mark yet another missed Democratic deadline on the road to health care reform.
Politico.com story link.
Apple announced first, I wonder if obama is counting on the euphoria of Apple's announcement to overshadow the shitty job he has done so far...
Don't Make Me Get My Jesus Gun!
Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found.Scopes
At the end of the serial number on Trijicon's ACOG gun sight, you can read "JN8:12", a reference to... Expand
At the end of the serial number on Trijicon's ACOG gun sight, you can read "JN8:12", a reference to the New Testament book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12, which reads: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The ACOG is widely used by the U.S. military. Collapse
(ABC News)
More Photos
The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.
ABCnews.com story link.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Is energy 'miracle' finally taking off?
A project trumpeted as a potential solution to America's energy needs is on the verge of taking off with the U.S. military, but government bureaucracy is causing frustrating delays and a chokehold on funding, raising out-of-pocket expenses for the company spearheading the technology.Bell Bio-Energy of Tifton, Ga., has developed a groundbreaking process that rapidly converts virtually anything that grows out of the Earth into all sorts of hydrocarbon fuel – from gasoline and diesel, to home heating oil and jet fuel for fighter aircraft such as the Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornets.
World Net Daily story link.
Bell BioEnergy site link.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Truth in Advertising, Actual Commercials
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Netflix Streaming Finally Coming to the Wii
The Nintendo Wii is finally getting Netflix's streaming service, which is already available on competing game consoles.Streaming from the online move-rental service will go live on Nintendo's console this spring, according to a joint announcement on Wednesday. As with the competing consoles, the service will be available at no additional cost for Netflix subscribers with unlimited plans, which start at $8.99 per month.
CNET story link.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Ponzi Scheme: The Federal Reserve Bought Approximately 80 Percent Of U.S. Treasury Securities Issued In 2009
No, the headline is not a misprint. According to CNBC, the Federal Reserve bought approximately 80 percent of the U.S. Treasury securities issued in 2009. In other words, the Federal Reserve has been gobbling up the massive tsunami of U.S. government debt that has been created over the past year. This is absolutely unprecedented, and it is yet another clear indication that the U.S. financial system is on the verge of a major economic collapse.
Story link.
Ponzi scheme at Wikipedia.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Amazon Products of Note
Steering Wheel Desk
Selected quote:Wow is this thing great! I use it as a "mini-bar" when the friends and I go out to the bars. I can quickly fix multiple shots of tequila for myself and the friends as we drive from one bar to the next. We also discovered that if you place a pillow on top of it and turn on the cruise control you can catch quick naps on the interstate. If you swerve to the left or right the rumble strips on the road wake you up in plenty of time before you get into trouble. I can now take longer trips without being tired!
Also, i am now dating a midget and she fits nicely on the steering wheel desk which allows us to experiment sexually while driving. This thing is like WD-40 or duct tape, it is a million and one uses!
The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee
Selected quote:This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that's when the magic happened. After checking to ensure that the shirt would properly cover my girth, I walked from my trailer to Wal-mart with the shirt on and was immediately approached by women. The women knew from the wolves on my shirt that I, like a wolf, am a mysterious loner who knows how to 'howl at the moon' from time to time (if you catch my drift!). The women that approached me wanted to know if I would be their boyfriend and/or give them money for something they called mehth. I told them no, because they didn't have enough teeth, and frankly a man with a wolf-shirt shouldn't settle for the first thing that comes to him.
I arrived at Wal-mart, mounted my courtesy-scooter (walking is such a drag!) sitting side saddle so that my wolves would show. While I was browsing tube socks, I could hear aroused asthmatic breathing behind me. I turned around to see a slightly sweaty dream in sweatpants and flip-flops standing there. She told me she liked the wolves on my shirt, I told her I wanted to howl at her moon. She offered me a swig from her mountain dew, and I drove my scooter, with her shuffling along side out the door and into the rest of our lives. Thank you wolf shirt.
Pros: Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women
Cons: Only 3 wolves (could probably use a few more on the 'guns'), cannot see wolves when sitting with arms crossed, wolves would have been better if they glowed in the dark.
Fresh, Whole Rabbit
Selected quote:"I ordered one of these Fresh "Whole" Rabbits, but when it arrived its head, fur and insides were missing. Not exactly whole, I'd say! Maybe it was just damaged during shipping, but I won't be buying another one. I mean - without the long ears, how do I know it even WAS a rabbit? It was the same size and shape as a cat...not that I've seen a cat with its head, fur and insides missing. I mean, not like really close or anything.
On the plus side, it was delicious with a tall, cold glass of Tuscan Milk, so I give it three stars. That's three WHOLE stars, BTW."
30 Years of Global Cooling Are Coming, Leading Scientist Says
From Miami to Maine, Savannah to Seattle, America is caught in an icy grip that one of the U.N.'s top global warming proponents says could mark the beginning of a mini ice age.
Fox News story link.
Nurse Wins MBA Tax Deduction
A Maryland nurse accomplished two rare feats in her battle with the Internal Revenue Service: She defended herself against the agency's lawyers and won, and she got a ruling that could help tens of thousands of students deduct the cost of an M.B.A. degree on their taxes. The U.S. Tax Court handed Lori Singleton-Clarke her victory last month, saying the 47-year-old Bryantown, Md., woman had properly deducted nearly $15,000 in business school tuition. The Tax Court ruling should make it easier for many other professionals to deduct the expense of a Master in Business Administration degree.
The IRS's rules on deducting work-related tuition are complicated and onerous, ultimately preventing most students from deducting their tuition. But this case clarifies the rules and will likely lead to more taxpayers taking the deduction, tax experts say.Wall Street Journal link.
IRS Case finding document link.
Business week - Writing off an MBA:
You can indeed receive tax benefits if you choose to further your education. However, there's a general principle you need to remember in order to maximize your benefit. "If your education expense is for the purpose of maintaining or improving your skills in your current profession, then it's deductible," says Paul Dailey, tax principal at Rothstein, Kass & Co. in New York City.
Article link.
Business Week - MBA: The Mother of All Tax Deductions?
Is MBA tuition tax-deductible? That’s the $15,000 question that’s been plaguing students, accountants, and the court system for years. It’s an important debate this year in particular, when students need all the breaks they can get.
There’s some good news from tax specialist Robert Willens , an adjunct professor of finance at the Columbia Business School, in his recent paper arguing that the deductions are legitimate. But there’s still a lot of room for case-by-case legal interpretation.
Article link.Columbia Boy Scouts Earning Clear Camping Bead
The boys wanted a clear bead from their experience — a totem Scouts receive for camping in below-zero weather. At the very least, the 14 Scouts were guaranteed a white bead for camping when snow masks the grass.
Columbia daily tribune story link.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Ray Kurzweil to Launch eBook Reader
Some e-reader efforts are trying to bypass electronic-ink readers altogether. Ray Kurzweil's Blio focuses on using the power of tablets and smartphones to allow for digital books that combine text with video, audio and Web content. The Blio store, set to go live in the coming weeks, will initially work on both the PC and the iPhone.
Kurzweil, a pioneer in the digital reading arena in addition to being a computer industry luminary, says he just doesn't see that big a market for single purpose readers.
"People want to do everything--they want to watch their movies, they want to do all their computing, their e-mail on one platform," he said in an interview. "They don't want to take another device."
cnet story link.
Blio Reader site link.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Chicago Police Consder Eliminating Entrance Exams
The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman.Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible.
However, the lack of an exam would make Chicago the lone major city without one, and experts contend that the exam is integral to eliminating unqualified applicants.
The CPD has tried in recent years to boost minority hiring by offering the police exam online and turning to minority clergy to help in the recruitment effort.
NBC Chicago story link.
Chicago sun-Times story link.
A Parade of Lies
"The Berg", a New Mountain in Berlin
The 1,000m-tall fake mountain is proposed for the site of the former Tempelhof airport and would be the largest man-made mountain ever constructed, even collecting snow on its peak. But although an uninhabitable monolith of this magnitude might look appealing to some, funding for it might be another matter. Not to mention the environmental impact of such a structure. Via the Berg website, Tigges writes: “While big and wealthy cities in many parts of the world challenge the limits of possibility by building gigantic hotels with fancy shapes, erecting sky-high office towers or constructing hovering philharmonic temples, Berlin sets up a decent mountain … Hamburg, as stiff as flat, turns green with envy, rich and once proud Munich starts to feel ashamed of its distant Alp-panorama and planners of the Middle-East, experienced in taking the spell off any kind of architectural utopia immediately design authentic copies of the iconic Berlin-Mountain.”
Story link.The Berg website link.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Amazon and UPC Codes
There are two things you can do to try to get around the UPC requirement (of not having one).
- First, you can talk with a rep on the phone. From your Manage Your Inventory Page, in the upper right click "Seller Help" and have Amazon call you. Then ask them what you should do to be able to list your item.
- Second, you can email Amazon and ask for an exception to the rule for your product (this is not likely to happen).
Monday, January 4, 2010
Another Problem Global Warming Could Solve
MILWAUKEE — Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don't burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm — a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death."I've never had to put up with this in the past," said Duane Kassens, a driver from West Bend who got into a fender-bender recently because he couldn't see the lights. "The police officer told me the new lights weren't melting the snow. How is that safe?"
Many communities have switched to LED bulbs in their traffic lights because they use 90 percent less energy than the old incandescent variety, last far longer and save money. Their great advantage is also their drawback: They do not waste energy by producing heat.
Authorities in several states are testing possible solutions, including installing weather shields, adding heating elements like those used in airport runway lights, or coating the lights with water-repellent substances.
Short of some kind of technological fix, "as far as I'm aware, all that can be done is to have crews clean off the snow by hand," said Green Bay, Wis., police Lt. Jim Runge. "It's a bit labor-intensive."
Story link.
Religion of Peace Monday!
First, it's always nice to see kids get involved with thier local community organizers...
Story link for image.But to spread the wealth around (so to speak) here is the news story on the recent Muslim attack on Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.
Story excerpt with my favorite part in bold:
An axe-wielding Somali extremist broke into the home of Kurt Westergaard on Friday night as the 75-year-old cartoonist was looking after Stephanie, his five-year-old granddaughter. Westergaard, whose little ink drawing of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban sparked riots throughout the Middle East in 2006, has received numerous death threats. He pressed an alarm button to summon police when the attacker entered the house in Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, by breaking a window.
He did not have time to collect the child from the living room before locking himself into a “panic room”, a specially fortified bathroom. He said the assailant had shouted “swear words, really crude words” and shrieked about “blood” and “revenge”, as he smashed the axe in vain against the bathroom door.
“I feared for my grandchild,” he told Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that had commissioned the cartoon. “But she did great. I knew that he wouldn’t do anything to her.” He went on: “It was close, really close. But we did it.”
Worst baby-sitter EVER!