text:
Notes from Howard's Sabbatical from Working. The name comes from a 1998 lunch conversation. Someone asked if everything man knew was on the web. I answered "no" and off the top of my head said "Fidel Castro's favorite color". About every 6-12 months I've searched for this. It doesn't show up in the first 50 Google results (this blog is finally first for that search), AskJeeves says it's: red.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Around the Solar System
In Focus shows us Around the Solar System. "Robotic probes launched by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and others are gathering information all across the solar system. We currently have spacecraft in orbit around the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Saturn, and two operational rovers on Mars. Several others are on their way to smaller bodies, and a few are heading out of the solar system entirely. Although the Space Shuttle no longer flies, astronauts are still at work aboard the International Space Station, performing experiments and sending back amazing photos. With all these eyes in the sky, I'd like to take another opportunity to put together a recent photo album of our solar system -- a set of family portraits, of sorts -- as seen by our astronauts and mechanical emissaries. This time, we have a great shot of comet Pan-STARRS between the Earth and Sun, some very sharp images from Mars rover Curiosity, a preview image of Comet ISON, potentially the 'comet of the century', when it approaches in November, intriguing glimpses of Saturn and its moons, and, of course, lovely images of our home, planet Earth. [35 photos]"
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Accidents happen: How one mistaken vote killed Montana's Medicaid expansion
Sarah Kliff explains Accidents happen: How one mistaken vote killed Montana's Medicaid expansion "When I first read about this in a local Montana paper, it sounded unbelievable. How did a legislator get the vote wrong? And, if the vote was a mistake, was there some mechanism to change it? This was, after all, a vote deciding whether 70,000 Montanans would gain health coverage — and whether the state would massively expand an entitlement program. So I started making some phone calls to Montana. Turns out everybody knew about this mistaken vote — and that the story was even more complex than I had thought."
There are so many things wrong with this situation.
Reid bill would require background checks to purchase explosives
Just How Did Apple "Journalism" Get This Bad?
I don't really have any comments on Apple's quarterly report. Whether they're the number one or two biggest company in the world doesn't seem like a big difference to me and I don't expect them to invent new markets every two years. but Gruber linked to this article and I thought it applied to more than just anti-Apple tech writing and I liked the definition of Journalism. Just How Did Apple "Journalism" Get This Bad?
"When I learned to be a journalist, we had one rule: We did what was the right thing for the readers. That sometimes meant annoying companies like Apple, if 'doing the right thing for the readers' meant giving them details of an unannounced Mac. Sometimes it meant giving large advertisers bad reviews. But whatever it meant, it always meant giving them the truth: facts we found out, put into context so the readers could understand what was going on better.
By those standards, David Gewirtz's piece over at ZDNet entitled 'iOS developers abandoning sinking Apple mothership: biggest drop ever' isn't just bad journalism. It's beyond that. It's anti-journalism. Where journalism is about fact, Gewirtz brings us speculation. Where journalism adds context to make things clearer, Gewirtz removes it in order to make things more difficult to understand."
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sichuan Earthquake Recovery
Monday, April 22, 2013
Texas's Fertilizer Plant Explosion
Texas's Fertilizer Plant Explosion - In Focus - The Atlantic "Last week, while media attention was focused on Boston, a massive explosion took place at the West Fertilizer Company, in the small town of West, Texas. The blast damaged 150 buildings, including three of West's four schools, killed 14 people and injured more than 160 others. It was so powerful that it set off seismographs, registering as a 2.1-magnitude tremor. The cause remains unknown, and investigators are still sifting through the rubble. Today, about 1,500 West students returned to school, set up in makeshift classrooms or in nearby districts. [40 photos]"
Finally, a sense of scale of the damage:
Why Is Congress Trying to Make Our Internet Abuse Laws Worse, not Better?
"Swartz's death has turned a light on the statute that had put Swartz's liberty in jeopardy: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA for short. This federal criminal statute has gotten way out of hand. The CFAA was passed in 1986 to punish the new crime of computer hacking. But a lot has changed since 1986. Use of computer networks was rare then. Now it is ubiquitous. And Congress has expanded the law several times, making its reach broader and its punishments more severe. The act has become a sprawling mess -- a powerful and mysterious weapon that could potentially reach millions of ordinary Americans."
"The problem results from the law's vague language: The act criminalizes "unauthorized access" to a computer. But almost 30 years after its passage, no one yet knows when access is unauthorized. Some courts say (correctly, we think) that access is unauthorized only when a person bypasses a technological restriction like a password gate. But other courts take a broader view, finding access unauthorized whenever a user violates the terms of service on a website or even just uses the computer in a way the owner wouldn't like."
"The law cries out for a common-sense reworking. After Swartz's death, a cross-partisan coalition in Congress, led by Democrat Zoe Lofgren and Republican Darrell Issa, did just that, proposing a law that would end liability for terms-of-service violations and would limit felony liability for violations. But, incredibly, some in Congress are going the other way. Last month, the House Judiciary Committee, ignoring that common-sense reworking, circulated a draft of proposed changes to the law that would actually increase its penalties, not decrease them -- making the law even broader and more punitive than before. The new bill would jack up criminal penalties and largely embrace the broadest views of the law's reach."
They quote Judge Alex Kozinski, here's the full line. "Under the government's proposed interpretation of the CFAA, posting for sale an item prohibited by Craigslist's policy, or describing yourself as "tall, dark and handsome," when you're actually short and homely, will earn you a handsome orange jumpsuit."
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Police, citizens and technology factor into Boston bombing probe
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Three Fucktards
Jennifer Rubin wrote, Sen. Lindsey Graham: Boston bombing "is Exhibit A of why the homeland is the battlefield"
"I spoke with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) by phone just a few minutes ago. He said of the Boston bombers: "They were radicalized somewhere, somehow." Regardless of whether they are international or "homegrown," he said, "This is Exhibit A of why the homeland is the battlefield." Recalling Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster, Graham noted that he took to the Senate floor specifically to object to Rand's notion that "America is not the battlefield." Graham said to me, "It's a battlefield because the terrorists think it is." Referring to Boston, he observed, "Here is what we're up against," and added, "It sure would be nice to have a drone up there [to track the suspect.]" He also slammed the president's policy of "leading from behind and criminalizing war." I'll have more on my interview with Sen. Graham on Sunday."
Sorry Lindsey but a drone strike would have caused more damage than the Marathon bombs did. Spencer Ackerman from December 2011, Rare Photographs Show Ground Zero of the Drone War
Katrina Trinko wrote in the National Review about an interview with Peter King (R-NY) GOP Congressman: 'Increase Surveillance' of Muslim Community. ""Police have to be in the community, they have to build up as many sources as they can, and they have to realize that the threat is coming from the Muslim community and increase surveillance there," the New York Republican congressman tells National Review."
He apparently doesn't see the contradiction in these two statements: "I think we need more police and more surveillance in the communities where the threat is coming from, whether it's the Irish community with the Westies [an Irish-American gang in New York City], or the Italian community with the mafia, or the Muslim community with the Islamic terrorists." and "There's never been any history of any threats emanating in this country from the Chechen community, so in a way this opens up a new front in the war."
Then there's Nate Bell (R-AK) who tweeted "I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine? #2A" I'd link to it but he took it down and then posted an almost apology:
"I would like to apologize to the people of Boston & Massachusetts for the poor timing of my tweet earlier this morning. As a staunch and unwavering supporter of the individual right to self defense, I expressed my point of view without thinking of its effect on those still in time of crisis. In hindsight, given the ongoing tragedy that is still unfolding, I regret the poor choice of timing. Please know that my thoughts and prayers were with the people of Boston overnight and will continue as they recover from this tragedy."
We weren't cowering, civilians didn't need assault weapons, we weren't scared, and our police force got the suspects. The terrorists did some damage with pressure cookers, nails, and stolen cars, I'm glad they didn't have assault weapons too. Maybe Arkansasians cower if they don't have their guns, but that's not what we do. We host a world class sporting event, invite everyone, cheer as people run 26 miles, run towards the danger, treat the wounded so that none of them die, find the suspects and send the police to capture them, alive.
What the fuck has Arkansas done? You're ranked 45th in per capita income and 49th in median household income and that's with Walmart headquarters in your state. Want to compare education rankings? Health care? GDP? Crime rates? Accidental death rates? You don't have a major league sports team in any sport. STFU.
This Is the Modern Manhunt: The FBI, the Hive Mind and the Boston Bombers
"Hiding in plain sight was an ocean of data, from torrents of photography to cell-tower information to locals' memories, waiting to be exploited. Police, FBI, and the other investigators opted to let spectator surveillance supplement and augment their own. When they called for that imagery, locals flooded it in. They spoke to the public frequently, both in person and especially on Twitter. All that represented a modern twist on the age-old law enforcement maxim that the public's eyes and ears are crucial investigative assets, as the Internet rapidly compressed the time it took for tips to arrive and get analyzed."
"There was another element to the modern manhunt: the Boston Police's social media presence.All through the week, the @Boston_Police Twitter account has provided surprisingly rapid factual information about the manhunt. Yael Bar-Tur, a social media and law-enforcement consultant, says Boston bucked a trend among cop shops to shy away from the unfamiliar terrain of Twitter and Facebook. "It's so unusual for police departments to do this," she says."
Tsarnaev and Miranda Rights
"Chavez holds that a person's Miranda rights are violated only if the statement is admitted in court, even if the statement is obtained in violation of Miranda...Further, the prosecution is even allowed to admit any physical evidence discovered as a fruit of the statement obtained in violation of Miranda — only the actual statement can be excluded."
There is an exemption to Miranda, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Miranda Rights: The public safety exception and terrorism cases "There is one specific circumstance in which it makes sense to hold off on Miranda. It's exactly what the name of the exception suggests. The police can interrogate a suspect without offering him the benefit of Miranda if he could have information that's of urgent concern for public safety." She goes on to give a nice history of the exemption and the rulings that define it.
Scott Lemieux explains another reason Why Tsarnaev Should Be Read His Miranda Rights. "Miranda does not require us to be indifferent about the distinction between coercive and non-coercive interrogations, and indeed its logic suggests that we shouldn't be...the intent of the rule was to inhibit coercive interrogations, because coercive interrogations were both wrong in themselves and produced unreliable information."
"To refuse to inform Tsarnaev of his rights — outside of the acknowledged emergency exception to Miranda — sends the opposite message. It's the message of the previous administration — i.e. that the rule of law and the "war on terror" are incompatible, that slapping the label "terrorist" on a suspect means that professional procedures that respect the rights of the accused can't work. This isn't right — it's wrong in terms of the values it represents and it's wrong in terms of the underlying assumption that less respect for the rights of the accused means more effective crime control."
And of course Glenn Greenwald talks about What rights should Dzhokhar Tsarnaev get and why does it matter? "First, the Obama administration has already rolled back Miranda rights for terrorism suspects captured on US soil. It did so two years ago with almost no controversy or even notice, including from many of those who so vocally condemned Graham's Miranda tweets yesterday."
He goes on. "It is bizarre indeed to watch Democrats act as though Graham's theories are exotic or repellent. This is, after all, the same faction that insists that Obama has the power to target even US citizens for execution without charges, lawyers, or any due process, on the ground that anyone the president accuses of Terrorism forfeits those rights. The only way one can believe this is by embracing the same theory that Lindsey Graham is espousing: namely, that accused Terrorists are enemy combatants, not criminals, and thus entitled to no due process and other guarantees in the Bill of Rights. Once you adopt this "entire-globe-is-a-battlefield" war paradigm - as supporters of Obama's assassination powers must do and have explicitly done - then it's impossible to scorn Graham's views about what should be done with Tsarnaev."
I'll just say, I'm not in the "same faction"
Updates on Aftermath of Boston Marathon Explosions
Jon Stewart on Gun Control
Friday, April 19, 2013
Some of My Favorite Tweets Today
Boston is probably the only major city that if you fuck with them, they will shut down the whole city...stop everything.. and find you.
If you expect #Boston ease up, you are not aware of how we treated Bill Buckner for 18 years after a baseball rolled between his legs.
Things we'll do to keep people safe: Lock down an entire city for hours. Things we won't do: A 5 min background check before you buy a gun
And I still like this from a few days ago, This is a very tough town. We take only three things seriously here, and that's sports, politics, and revenge.
Manhunt Underway, Boston Under Lockdown
What I'm Reading
- (1) Live updates of Boston Situation [Part 2] - reddit-stream.com
- Live Boston Update Thread (Unofficial 4) - redditstream
- Live blog: Bombings at the Boston Marathon
- BBC News - LIVE: Boston Marathon: Manhunt for bomb suspectLive Boston Updates lists links to news sources including people who are broadcasting their police scanners which is the source of most info. People are being told not to rebroadcast specifics of locations so that if suspect is listening, he isn't tipped to what the police are doing.
This reddit thread is the best place to find info.
I'm not sure how accurate all the details are on this, but someone made a google map with all the incidents.
Slate has a good summary of events since last night Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev-Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Watertown, Cambridge, rest of Boston in lockdown as FBI searches for remaining marathon suspect.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Boston Bombing Victim in Iconic Photo Helped Identify Attackers
"Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview."
"He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, 'bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,'" Chris Bauman said yesterday in an interview."
"While still in intensive care, Jeff Bauman gave the FBI a description of the man he saw, his brother said. Bauman's information helped investigators narrow down whom to look for in hours of video of the attack, he said."
Amazing Exoplanet Infographic
"NASA's Kepler mission has discovered more than 100 confirmed planets orbiting distant stars. Planets with a known size and orbit are shown below, including five planets orbiting Kepler 62, announced this week."
It's amazing, check it out, though I had some problems with it in Safari, it worked well in Chrome.
Avoid This Man
The Onion Nails It
"WASHINGTON—Following the Senate's rejection of a bipartisan amendment to expand background checks for gun buyers, the young victims of next week's school shooting emphatically thanked members of Congress today for failing to pass more comprehensive gun control legislation. 'Great job, guys,' said 14-year-old Jacob Miller, one of nine junior high school students who will be shot next week by a mentally ill gunman wielding a legally acquired assault rifle that was purchased at a gun show. 'My classmates and I are really proud of you for cowering to the NRA and caring more about politics than my friends and I getting shot and killed. It totally makes sense. You're the best.' The soon-to-be massacred teenager added that his parents, Caroline and Pete Miller, also wanted to extend their heartfelt congratulations to the Senate."
Interesting Reads
WonkBlog asks and answers The Texas fertilizer plant explosion is horrific. But how common is this?. I didn't realize that the fertilizer industry is growing because the natural gas industry is booming.
Peter Horvath writes in Medium, Everything I knew about food was wrong.
The New Yorker explains Why Boston's Hospitals Were Ready. Since 9/11 and Iraq there's been a change in how emergency response is orchestrated and it seems to have been really successful as "it now appears that every one of the wounded alive when rescuers reached them will survive."
Businessweek claims to explain Why Cell Phone Networks Fail in Emergencies but it really does more to debunk the 'police shut down the cell network' myth. Cell towers can handle about 150-200 calls at once and in emergencies they max out. Text and data (particularly Twitter) can be queued up and squeak through, so they're better in those cases.
Neil Irwin describes What the Reinhart-Rogoff debacle tells us about the mysteries of macroeconomics. It's nice background on the field and the study.
The NY Daily News talks to Salah Barhoum, who the NY Post plastered on its front page and called a bag man. Boston Marathon spectator Salah Barhoum, who was interviewed by authorities following the bombings, swears he 'didn't do it'.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Intolerant
Age Guessing By Clicking
Earth-sized planets: Two super-Earths found orbiting the same star.
"The two planets, called Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, are both bigger than Earth, but not by much; they are 1.6 and 1.4 times the Earth's diameter, respectively. Kepler-62e orbits the star every 122 days, while Kepler-62f, farther out, takes about 267 days. Given the temperature and size of the parent star, this means that both planets are inside the zone around the star where water on the surface could be a liquid. Now, to be clear, this depends on a lot of factors we don't know yet: the masses of the planets, their compositions, whether they have atmospheres or not, and what those putative atmospheres are made of. For example, Kepler-62e could have a thick CO2-laden blanket of air, making its surface temperature completely uninhabitable, like Venus."
So there isn't a lot of news but this is pretty fun. Kepler will keep looking for planets and by the nature of the process, it takes longer to find smaller planets with larger orbits.
"For a planet to be in the star's habitable zone, it may take months or even years for it to pass in front of the star several times (multiple transits are needed to make sure we're not seeing some other event, like a starspot). That takes time, but Kepler has been observing these stars for years now, which is why we're seeing more and more smaller planets now."
But yeah, it's fun to speculate...
"What an amazing thing that would be: two inhabitable worlds around one star (as opposed to all the Tatooines we've been finding)! It's fun to imagine it being like a Victorian science fiction novel, spurring interplanetary travel and trade between alien races… or war. I guess that depends on which writer you read."
A Senate in the Gun Lobby's Grip
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Reddit and 4Chan Are on the Boston Bomber Case
"The Boston Marathon bombing investigation, now in its third day, is not just the largest crime scene in the city's history — it's the most crowdsourced terror investigation in American history. With the FBI, the ATF, and Boston law enforcement soliciting videos, cellphone pictures, and anything that could lead to the capture of whoever set off those pressure cooker bombs, the plea has more or less turned the interested and the Internet into amateur investigators armed with what we know the remains of the bag and the bomb look like. On Reddit, where they can now apparently track murder by way of Google Maps and where some of the most detailed information on the Boston case has surfaced publicly, the FBI's plea for info has spurred the "Find Boston Bombers" subreddit, with all kinds of analysis. But here's the find they're most excited about: They've found a photo of a man with a backpack that has straps which resemble what federal officials believe is the detonated backpack. (Update: Authorities appeared to have a suspect — follow here.)"
The Saudi Marathon Man
"A twenty-year-old man who had been watching the Boston Marathon had his body torn into by the force of a bomb. He wasn't alone; a hundred and seventy-six people were injured and three were killed. But he was the only one who, while in the hospital being treated for his wounds, had his apartment searched in "a startling show of force," as his fellow-tenants described it to the Boston Herald, with a "phalanx" of officers and agents and two K9 units. He was the one whose belongings were carried out in paper bags as his neighbors watched; whose roommate, also a student, was questioned for five hours ("I was scared") before coming out to say that he didn't think his friend was someone who'd plant a bomb—that he was a nice guy who liked sports. "Let me go to school, dude," the roommate said later in the day, covering his face with his hands and almost crying, as a Fox News producer followed him and asked him, again and again, if he was sure he hadn't been living with a killer."
"It might be comforting to think of this as a blip, an aberration, something that will be forgotten tomorrow—if not by this young man. There are people at Guanátanmo who have also been cleared by our own government, and are still there. A new report on the legacy of torture after 9/11, released Tuesday, is a well-timed admonition. The F.B.I. said that they would 'go to the ends of the earth' to get the Boston perpetrators. One wants them to be able to go with their heads held high."
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Chris Hayes Calls Susan Collins a Disgrace
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
James Wood Podcast on Keith Moon's Drumming
Related is this article.
U.S. Practiced Torture After 9/11
"A nonpartisan, independent review of interrogation and detention programs in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks concludes that 'it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture' and that the nation's highest officials bore ultimate responsibility for it.
The sweeping, 577-page report says that while brutality has occurred in every American war, there never before had been 'the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after 9/11 directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody.' The study, by an 11-member panel convened by the Constitution Project, a legal research and advocacy group, is to be released on Tuesday morning.
Debate over the coercive interrogation methods used by the administration of President George W. Bush has often broken down on largely partisan lines. The Constitution Project's task force on detainee treatment, led by two former members of Congress with experience in the executive branch — a Republican, Asa Hutchinson, and a Democrat, James R. Jones — seeks to produce a stronger national consensus on the torture question."
"While the Constitution Project report covers mainly the Bush years, it is critical of some Obama administration policies, especially what it calls excessive secrecy. It says that keeping the details of rendition and torture from the public "cannot continue to be justified on the basis of national security" and urges the administration to stop citing state secrets to block lawsuits by former detainees.
The report calls for the revision of the Army Field Manual on interrogation to eliminate Appendix M, which it says would permit an interrogation for 40 consecutive hours, and to restore an explicit ban on stress positions and sleep manipulation.
The core of the report, however, may be an appendix: a detailed 22-page legal and historical analysis that explains why the task force concluded that what the United States did was torture. It offers dozens of legal cases in which similar treatment was prosecuted in the United States or denounced as torture by American officials when used by other countries."
Two Logan Flights Disrupted Due To Security Concerns
"A United Airlines flight that was about to take off for Chicago was brought back to the gate after passengers expressed concern over two people speaking a foreign language, according to aviation authorities."
"About an hour later, a US Airways flight just in from Philadelphia was kept from pulling up to the gate due to suspicions about a checked bag on the plane. Baggage handlers in Philadelphia alerted the airline to concerns about a bag after loading it onto the plane, according to the Transportation Security Administration."
Is the best evidence for austerity based on an Excel spreadsheet error?
"One of the most influential studies justifying austerity policies in recent years has come in for an extensive new critique. And one of the big problems found? An Excel coding error.
The paper in question is Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff's famous 2010 study 'Growth in a Time of Debt,' which found that economic growth severely suffers when a country's debt level reaches 90 percent of GDP. That 90 percent figure has been widely cited in the past few years as a key reason why countries must trim their deficits.
But a new critique (pdf) by Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash and Robert Pollin finds that this result may need serious revision. For one, the economists argue that Reinhart and Rogoff excluded three episodes of high-debt, high-growth nations — Canada, New Zealand, and Australia in the late 1940s. Second, they argue, Reinhart and Rogoff made some debatable assumptions about weighting different episodes.
Now, those are debatable methodological critiques. But there's also a third problem, as Mike Konczal details at length here, Reinhart and Rogoff appear to have made a troubling error with one of their Excel spreadsheet formulas. By typing AVERAGE(L30:L44) at one point instead of AVERAGE(L30:L49), they left out Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Austria, and Australia:
This error wasn't caught earlier because Reinhart and Rogoff hadn't released their underlying data to the public. They only shared their spreadsheet with the Herndon, Ash and Pollin after the latter three tried to replicate the initial results and failed."
Mark Thoma puts this in perspective, How Much Unemployment Was Caused by Reinhart and Rogoff's Arithmetic Mistake? "What she asserted is that pain now -- austerity -- can avoid even more pain down the road in the form of lower economic growth. Here's the problem. She is right that austerity causes pain in the short-run. But according to a review of her work with Rogoff discussed below, the lower growth from debt levels above 90 percent that austerity is supposed to avoid turns out, it appears, to be largely the result of errors in the research. In fact, there is no substantial growth penalty from high debt levels, and hence not much gain from short-run austerity."
Paul Krugman sums up the issues with the data, Holy Coding Error, Batman.
"According to the review paper, R-R mysteriously excluded data on some high-debt countries with decent growth immediately after World War II, which would have greatly weakened their result; they used an eccentric weighting scheme in which a single year of bad growth in one high-debt country counts as much as multiple years of good growth in another high-debt country; and they dropped a whole bunch of additional data through a simple coding error."
Jared Bernstein adds a nice graph putting the issue in context:
Krugman comments on Reinhart-Rogoff's response.
2013 Pulitzer Prize Winners
East Coast Can Watch a Space Launch Wednesday
"A space launch marking a new era is departing from the Virginia coast this Wednesday evening, and if you live anywhere along a wide area of the US Eastern seaboard, you'll have a great opportunity to witness the launch with your own eyes. Here's all the information you'll need to see it, plus some tips for capturing it with your camera.
Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket will launch from Pad 0A at NASA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport based on Wallops Island, Virginia. This will mark not only the first launch of Antares, but the first orbital launch of a liquid-fueled rocket from Wallops. The launch window runs from 5:00 to 8:00 PM EDT (21:00-24:00 UT)."
6 False Things You Heard About the Boston Bombing
They also have a running story, What We Know About the Boston Marathon Explosions with various images and videos and updates as they happen.
xkcd's Time is still going
Boston Marathon Explosions
In Focus has different Photos of the Boston Marathon Bombing including one that's blacked out unless you click on it that shows a VERY graphic injury that you probably don't want to see. Oddly, they pixelated the victims face but not his injury.
Boston news has been on constantly (canceling all regular programming) and has had very little to say. I followed reports yesterday and just paying attention to reputable sources saw a lot of incorrect (and conflicting) reporting. I don't understand the journalistic urge to be early but not necessarily accurate.
The only interesting thing at this mornings press conference was that there were no other devices found aside from the two explosions. Other "suspicious packages" were not bombs, maybe they should call them "packages of interest". The JFK Library incident seems unrelated. The 8 year-old boy who was killed has been identified. Some apartment in Revere was searched.
Scientific American has some info on How Do Terrorists Use Improvised Explosive Devices?
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On
Friday, April 12, 2013
Game of Thrones Infographic
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Globe Investigates Boston Taxis
Part 1: For Boston cabbies, a losing battle against the numbersPart 2: An empire built of ambition and a very hard edgePart 3: For Boston cab drivers, risk and reward are a mismatch
Linda Greenhouse on DOMA Case
"And of course the most famous federal intervention of all was Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 decision (shockingly recent) that overturned the laws of Virginia and 15 other states prohibiting marriage between people of different races. Virginia maintained that its law did not amount to racial discrimination because the prohibition ran equally in both directions – just as blacks couldn't marry whites, whites couldn't marry blacks either. Consequently, the state argued, the case came down to a simple matter of federalism. But Chief Justice Earl Warren's unanimous opinion didn't buy it. "Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man," the court said. "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men." The right, in other words, belonged to the individuals involved, not to the state."
I like this. When people use the argument, that something is the right of the state and not the federal government, a good counter-argument is that perhaps the right is reserved to the people and not the state. Greenhouse also points out the real issue in this case:
"Where were they when Edith Windsor got a federal estate tax bill of more than $300,000, a tax she wouldn't have had to pay had DOMA not barred the Internal Revenue Service from recognizing a spousal exemption based on her New York-recognized marriage to her partner of more than 40 years?"
The Strange Beauty of Salt Mines
I had no idea. Stunning.
The PC inside your phone: A guide to the system-on-a-chip
I mostly skimmed this but it explained all the chip codenamed I've heard and didn't know how they related to each other.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Obama's Budget
"The House GOP budget sees tax revenues totaling 18.8 percent of GDP over the next decade, while Obama's budget puts them at 19.1 percent. The difference over 10 years, using the GOP's numbers? Three-tenths of a percentage point of GDP, or about $640 billion.
House Republicans see an average deficit of 0.6 percent over the next decade, while Obama's looking at 2.5 percent. The difference there is 1.9 percent of GDP, or more than $4 trillion.
Put the two together and House Republicans are putting about $4.6 trillion more toward lower deficits or lower taxes than the White House. If you want to know why the House GOP's budget looks so different from the White House, that $4.6 trillion is the answer. That $4.6 trillion is why House Republicans need to make such deep cuts to social programs. That $4.6 trillion is why the Obama administration can keep Obamacare as well as fund a new pre-kindergarten initiative."
Here are 12 things you may have missed in the budget.
Wonkblog also updated it's neat interactive budget analyzer to include Obama's budget, Interactive: How the Obama budget stacks up against Paul Ryan's.
Typing Test
Visit the Typing Test and try!
New Toy
My MacBook Pro has stayed connected to the monitor for a couple of years. I really liked the screen real estate. And now that I have an iPad, I have something to use on the couch or to bring while traveling and sync'ing isn't a problem. The iPad can't do everything the mac can do, but I don't need it to.
So, time for a new machine, and I've been debating what to get for a long time. I decided on a desktop machine (and yes it was only going to be a mac). I don't need the portability and I liked a big monitor (mine was getting a little wonky and the laptop couldn't drive the monitor unless it was plugged in). I also wanted a better graphic card to play the occasional game (I had Diablo III in mind, but tried StarCraft II when it came out and I could only run it on the lowest graphics settings). So a Mac Mini was a little under powered for games and a Mac Pro is both more than I need and at this point a little under powered (new models are expected soon). So that leaves an iMac.
New models were announced in November and were available in January. They're nice. I still had doubts about getting an all-in-one machine. I expect the computer to last 3-5 years but I think a monitor should last longer than that. Why replace the monitor with the computer? But then, that's what you do with a laptop (though there's a big difference between a 15" laptop screen and a 27" monitor). I'd really wish Apple would come out with a desktop machine with about the same guts as an iMac but with an external display. That hasn't been in the cards but there are rumors now that the Mac Pro is getting a remodel.
The iMac has a couple of knocks against it. It's really thin but that kind of has no point and just removes the internal optical drive that would otherwise fit. I don't use mine much, but I do occasionally to rip a CD or install something (like StarCraft II). Also they are notoriously difficult to open and repair. To replace a hard drive you need to have a professional do it. You need a pro to upgrade memory in the 21" model but in the 27" model there's a user accessible panel. But I realized, that's about the same for the laptops. I've gotten all too good at replacing a hard disk in my TiVo but I wouldn't attempt it on a mac laptop.
So after much debate yesterday I bought a 27" iMac. I roughly maxed it out getting a model available in the local Apple Store. 3.4GHz quad-core i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive, 2GB GTX 680MX, Trackpad, and Wireless Keyboard. The fusion drive is a nice compromise between the speeds of an SSD and the capacity of HDD. Apple is really expensive for RAM, so 8GB is what I wanted. It's twice what I had in the laptop and I can buy 16GB at Crucial for $125. I had a wired keyboard and magic mouse so I opted for the trackpad and wireless keyboard. The keyboard I figured I might use with the iPad. I already love the trackpad and OS X has incorporated useful gestures into many apps.
I also got a thunderbolt to firewire adaptor. Apple has a migration assistant that copies over all the data from an old machine to a new one. Thunderbolt is the new fast connector and to move 200GB I wanted as fast as I could get. But the best the 5 year old laptop could do was a FireWire 800 port. I use that to backup the machine to an external drive. Researching online I could migrate with Gigabit Ethernet but that process was a little more involved. I couldn't just connect the two machines directly and a router wasn't nearby. So the adaptor looked fine though there were some reports that it was slow with an unpowered drive. So I migrated from the mac while it was plugged in. Holding down the T button on the laptop while booting puts it in Target mode so the iMac will see the drive on the laptop as just a drive.
I got it home and opened it up. It's a big box but not that heavy. It's a little awkward to unpack but overall pretty easy. There's no documentation in the box. The trackpad, keyboard, and a thunderbolt to firewire adaptor all came with (pointless) documentation, the iMac, none. I connected the laptop and put it in Target Disk mode. I plugged in the keyboard and booted the iMac. It came on with a background and one window that switched between drawings of a trackpad and a mouse each with an arrow pointing to their power buttons. I pushed the button on the trackpad and saw it's green light come on and occasionally blink. The iMac however didn't change. I knew it was trying to pair the bluetooth connection but it wasn't happening. I turned the trackpad on and off several times but no luck. I tried the same with my magic mouse but again no luck. I thought maybe the bluetooth in the iMac was defective. I'm not sure why it occurred to me but I held down the button on the trackpad and then it eventually connected. The mac needs a better diagram on this screen or maybe some words (horrors, they would need to be translated) that explain hold down the freaking button.
But after that everything went well. It connected to the wifi and asked for permission to enable location services and figured out timezone. It got to the Setup Assistant and I knew to select to read from a drive rather than a mac, it found the laptop drive and started the migration. The progress bar started at about 6 hours but that came down quickly to 3. It made good progress and then it's estimates jumped as high as 20 hours and as low as 2. It settled down and made steady progress and finished in about two hours. I have to say the migration was perfect. Everything came up and it was exactly like my old machine. All the passwords were remembered, the printer was found and configured, etc. It just freaking worked.
The new machine is really fast. Everything just happens immediately. Spotlight indexed in just about 15 minutes. I didn't' realize it was so slow on my laptop, now it's instantaneous. The slowest thing seems to be Numbers when accessing the large spreadsheet of movies I've seen which is stored in iCloud and has a thousand row table tons of graphs. Other spreadsheets are zippy. All the screen real estate feels luxurious. It's silent, no fan and the speakers are good (though I have some cheap Cambridge Soundworks speakers connected, they have more bass).
I ordered this drive for backups. I had had issues with Time Machine and the laptop (wirelessly to a Time Capsule), with incremental backups taking over an hour which meant they were always running. The wireless configuration is convenient for a laptop that moves around the house but they aren't as reliable as a wired connection. With a desktop machine I'll just connect a drive. I had wanted to try Thunderbolt (I'm using my USB slots for keyboard, iPad and iPhone and have nothing else to do with these two fast connections) and had settled on this drive (it allowed daisy chaining and was quiet) but as a friend pointed out it's really expensive. USB 3.0 is in practice just as fast, particularly for backups. If Time Machine doesn't work out, I'll go back to using Carbon Copy Cloner.
So far, I'm really happy.
Gorgeous Moonrise
Moon Rise LA from Dan Marker-Moore on Vimeo.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Secret Tape from Mitch McConnell Campaign Meeting
"Later that day, [Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell] was huddling with aides in a private meeting to discuss how to attack his possible Democratic foes, including actor/activist Ashley Judd, who was then contemplating challenging the minority leader. During this strategy session—a recording of which was obtained by Mother Jones—McConnell and his aides considered assaulting Judd for her past struggles with depression and for her religious views."
So there was some early campaign strategy meeting and they considered a bunch of things. I can't get too worked up on that actually. The fun part is the reaction to the story after it leaked. Nothing on the actual content, everything about how the tape was obtained and how his opponents will stop at nothing (kinda amusing considering the content of the meeting).
Update: An update from Ed Kilgore, The McConnell Taping Farce
How Not To Say The Wrong Thing
"Susan has since developed a simple technique to help people avoid this mistake. It works for all kinds of crises: medical, legal, financial, romantic, even existential. She calls it the Ring Theory.
Draw a circle. This is the center ring. In it, put the name of the person at the center of the current trauma. For Katie's aneurysm, that's Katie. Now draw a larger circle around the first one. In that ring put the name of the person next closest to the trauma. In the case of Katie's aneurysm, that was Katie's husband, Pat. Repeat the process as many times as you need to. In each larger ring put the next closest people. Parents and children before more distant relatives. Intimate friends in smaller rings, less intimate friends in larger ones. When you are done you have a Kvetching Order. One of Susan's patients found it useful to tape it to her refrigerator.
Here are the rules. The person in the center ring can say anything she wants to anyone, anywhere. She can kvetch and complain and whine and moan and curse the heavens and say, 'Life is unfair' and 'Why me?' That's the one payoff for being in the center ring. Everyone else can say those things too, but only to people in larger rings...Comfort IN, dump OUT."
Monday, April 08, 2013
Three Economic Stories
A tiny sampling: Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts is bracing for a cut of about $51 million in its $685 million of annual federal research grants and contracts. The public schools of Syracuse, New York, will lose over $1 million. The housing authority of Joliet, Illinois, will take a hit of nearly $900,000. Northrop Grumman Information Systems just issued layoff notices to 26 employees at its plant in Lawton, Oklahoma. Unemployment benefits are being cut in Pennsylvania and Utah."
Krugman a week ago described how California is now able to try some liberal ideas to fix their economy and it seems to be working, Lessons From a Comeback "And that's where things get really interesting — because the era of hamstrung government seems to be coming to an end. Over the years, California's Republicans moved right as the state moved left, yet retained political relevance thanks to their blocking power. But at this point the state's G.O.P. has fallen below critical mass, losing even its power to obstruct — and this has left Mr. Brown free to push an agenda of tax hikes and infrastructure spending that sounds remarkably like the kind of thing California used to do before the rise of the radical right.
And if this agenda is successful, it will have national implications. After all, California's political story — in which a radicalized G.O.P. fell increasingly out of touch with an increasingly diverse and socially liberal electorate, and eventually found itself marginalized — is arguably playing out with a lag on the national scene too. So is California still the place where the future happens first? Stay tuned"
Ezra Klein explains Why Japan is the most interesting story in global economics right now "Through the last six years of rumbling global financial crisis, Japan has been an afterthought. In 2008, the world's second-largest (soon to be third-largest) economy was still dealing with the consequences of its own banking crisis from the 1990s, its economy mired in a generation of economic stagnation and low-level but persistent deflation. If you had taken a snapshot of the Japanese economy in 2002 and again in 2012, you wouldn't have missed much.
How quickly that has changed. A new government took office the day after Christmas, led by prime minister Shinzo Abe, pledging to, in effect, go whole-hog on the Keynesian remedies for Japan's long recession, particularly by pushing for a combination of fiscal stimulus on a mass scale, and, through appointment of Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the Bank of Japan; he has pledged to do 'whatever it takes' to get annual inflation to 2 percent in a country where inflation has averaged -0.3 percent since 2000. The Japanese stock market is on a tear and the yen has been falling steeply on currency markets, exactly the kind of reaction the BOJ hopes to see."
Friday, April 05, 2013
Robert Reich Explains Chained CPI
UPDATE I think this Economist article is clearer.
Syria in Ruins
Thursday, April 04, 2013
12 Movies that Are Incredibly Beautiful and Utterly Vapid
I haven't seen all of these but I agree with the descriptions of the eight I have.
Lawrence Lessig: We the People, and the Republic we must reclaim
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Conservatives Still Don't Have a Health Care Plan
First he quotes Matt Yglesias on a conservative replacement for Obamacare:
"The core of a replacement would be a change in the tax treatment of health insurance. The tax break for coverage would be flattened and capped so that people would not get a bigger break the more comprehensive their insurance. The break would also be extended to people who do not have access to employer coverage....Once a robust market for individually purchased insurance has emerged, the problem of people who are locked out of that market because of preexisting conditions should diminish: People will have both the incentive and the ability to buy cheap, renewable catastrophic policies before getting sick."
Then he says why it won't work:
"Catastrophic insurance is already available to individuals, but there's no robust market for it. Nor will different tax treatment change that: Insurers will continue to discriminate based on health status; they won't offer renewable policies to everyone; and policies will remain too expensive for low-income workers. Being able to buy them with pretax dollars won't change that, since most low-income workers don't pay very much—or any—federal income tax in the first place. A tax credit or a subsidy might help, but then you're back to Obamacare—except that instead of offering poor people subsidies for actual health care, you're offering them only the opportunity to make premium payments for a policy that probably won't do them any good and that they can't afford. So they won't buy them."
But then he gets to the point:
"that health insurance, as currently provided, isn't true insurance. It doesn't protect you against big but unlikely events, like auto insurance or fire insurance. It simply pays for health care."
"Once you do that, you run into a hard, shiny nugget that you can't wiggle around: about a third of the country, maybe more, just flatly can't afford decent health care for their families. No amount of smooth talk about HSAs and tax treatment and catastrophic care will change that. So you can either pay for this coverage via tax dollars or you can let them go without, and chalk it up to nature red in tooth and claw. Insurance is a red herring. It's not the primary cause of high health care costs in America, and offering different kinds of insurance, or making it available across state lines, won't change things by more than a hair. The problem is the actual provision of health care. If you want to do that via a private sector middleman, that's fine. Unnecessary, but fine. But you still have to pay for the actual health care somehow. When conservatives have a plan for that, let me know."
Six lessons from the Post's awesome budget charts
This is the Republican Party's biggest problem
Cancer clinics are turning away thousands of Medicare patients. Blame the sequester.
"Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially. 'If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we'd be out of business in six months to a year,' said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. 'The drugs we're going to lose money on we're not going to administer right now.' After an emergency meeting Tuesday, Vacirca's clinics decided that they would no longer see one-third of their 16,000 Medicare patients."
"The federal government typically pays community oncologists for the average sales price of a chemotherapy drug, plus 6 percent to cover the cost of storing and administering the medication. Since oncologists cannot change the drug prices, they argue that the entire 2 percent cut will have to come out of that 6 percent overhead. That would make it more akin to a double-digit pay cut."
1. Maybe we shouldn't have a sequester. 2. Maybe Medicare should be able to negotiate a volume discount on drug prices
These aren't the only cuts that are starting to affect real people in real ways. Sequestration Effects: Cuts Sting Communities Nationwide.
Black hole wakes up and has a light snack
The discovery in galaxy NGC 4845, 47 million light-years away, was made by ESA's INTEGRAL space observatory, with follow-up observations from ESA's XMM-Newton, NASA's Swift and Japan's MAXI X-ray monitor on the International Space Station."
There's just this animation on the page so I'm not sure what the instruments actually observed.
Galaxy Size Comparison Chart
See his post for another chart that includes IC1101 which blows all the others out of the water.
Family Man Made Great Chili, Discovered Relativity
Dusheck's full post is here.
Monday, April 01, 2013
The International Space Station: Expedition 34
Bees Still Dying
"A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation's fruits and vegetables."
"Precisely why last year's deaths were so great is unclear. Some blame drought in the Midwest, though Mr. Dahle lost nearly 80 percent of his bees despite excellent summer conditions. Others cite bee mites that have become increasingly resistant to pesticides. Still others blame viruses. But many beekeepers suspect the biggest culprit is the growing soup of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides that are used to control pests. While each substance has been certified, there has been less study of their combined effects. Nor, many critics say, have scientists sufficiently studied the impact of neonicotinoids, the nicotine-derived pesticide that European regulators implicate in bee deaths. The explosive growth of neonicotinoids since 2005 has roughly tracked rising bee deaths."
Outside of 128 is a Forest
Virgin Atlantic Launches World's First-Ever Glass-Bottomed PlaneApple to bottle, sell scent of Steve JobsTwitter to start charging for vowels
And in what I hope is reference to The Lost Skeletons of Cadavra, Sony Introduces Animalia Line of Tech Products for PetsThe Game of Thrones Watch is Coming


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Paying tribute to his family and making his own mark, Chris Figgins is experimenting with Italian grape varieties at Serra Pedace. He expects to make wine from the 2017 harvest.
CHRIS FIGGINS' great-grandfather, Francesco Leonetti, came to Walla Walla more than a century ago from Serra Pedace, a small town in the instep of the boot that is Italy's southern peninsula.
Chris' dad, Gary Figgins, started Leonetti Cellar in 1977, paying tribute to the Italian side of his heritage.
Now Chris is paying a deeper tribute to his ancestry, exploring heritage southern Italian grape varieties in his youngest vineyard, south of Walla Walla. He has even named the vineyard Serra Pedace as a nod to family history.
Italy is home to more than 1,000 wine grape varieties. The varieties Chris Figgins has planted have been around for centuries, including aglianico, a red grape written about by Pliny the Elder nearly two millennia ago. It's a big, rustic grape that makes a rich, full-bodied wine. Chris made his first batch in a clay vessel from the 2013 vintage. He plans to bottle it this summer and release it as early as this fall.
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He also has planted a bit of sagrantino, Nero d'Avola and montepulciano. Sagrantino is a very tannic grape, and only 1,600 acres are planted in Umbria. Nero d'Avola is an important grape in its native Sicily. Montepulciano is a widely planted grape that should not be confused with the Tuscan town of the same name or its collectible wines, which are made from sangiovese. At least two small Washington producers bottle montepulciano.
Because Chris planted only a couple of rows of each of these grapes, he hasn't explored them beyond seeing whether they'll actually grow in the Walla Walla Valley. He expects to dive into winemaking with the 2017 harvest.
This is not Leonetti's first foray into Italian varieties. Gary Figgins started producing sangiovese in the 1990s and is releasing the 2014 vintage during an event May 5-7 known officially as Spring Release Weekend, but referred to by many wine lovers as Leonetti Weekend.
Serra Pedace vineyard is about more than Italian heritage varieties. Chris also has planted cabernet sauvignon and other classic Bordeaux varieties there — and it's proving to be a superb location, as the Serra Pedace wines are making the cut for Leonetti Reserve, a red blend that at $150 a bottle is one of Washington's most expensive and revered bottlings.
This new direction is inspired in part by Chris stretching his winemaking muscles and exploring his Italian heritage. And part of it is him finding his own way, making his own mark. He perfectly understands the winery his parents built has an amazing legacy. It's one thing to continue the tradition his father started, making Washington's most collectible wines. For Chris, it's much more satisfying to explore new directions, push himself to succeed in new ways and build his own legacy.
Introducing his customers and Washington winemaking to these fascinating Italian red varieties is enriching for all of us.


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Spain has it all; fabulous weather, beautiful beaches, vibrant cities and stunning mountain ranges, which is no surprise when we say it is one of our most popular villa holiday destinations. If you are after that piece of insight to take you off the beaten track, help you make the most of your holiday to Spain or even just expand your knowledge, our articles about Spain are here to help.
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Too many A's?
How do two names ending in A sound? Funny or okay?
We like Arabella for a first name, dh likes Kira for a middle name. I like it too, but wasn't sure how it went with Arabella.
Does it sound like too many A's? or does it sound fine?
Re: Too many A's?
I typically don't like the same ending sound on a name (Lauren Morgan, Brody Anthony). But it's not a huge deal.
Re: Too many A's?
I Love Arabella. I personally think the two A's in Arabella makes the third A in Kira too much. I'm also not a bit fan of Kira, because all I can think of is the show I watched where they use "Kira" as slang for 'serial killer'.
Re: Too many A's?
If you love it, you should use it! Personally, I like the sound of Kira Arabella better.
Re: Too many A's?
I usually don't mind 2 of the same letters, but the A really bugs me. I don't like to names ending in A next to each other. I have a cousin named Amanda Christina and the whole family actually calls her Amanda Jane because the 2 A's are a mouthful
Re: Too many A's?
I think it all depends on the two names. Arabella Kira isn't bad but I would probably choose a different combo.
Re: Too many A's?
Arabella is a gorgeous name! I think it's A overload. I don't know what your girl's middle names are, but here are some suggestions:
Arabella Kate
Arabella Kaylin
Arabella Kacie
Arabella Kristen
Arabella Khloe
Arabella Katherine
Arabella Kieran/Kiran
Arabella Kadence
Arabella Kelly (not sure because of -bella -kell)
Re: Too many A's?
I think it's too many A's. I love Arabella, though!
Re: Too many A's?
I especially wouldn't put a mn ending in the -uh sound with Arabella because there are already two syllables of the -uh sound in Arabella. I love Arabella though....so I'd keep it and try to find a different mn.
Although I must admit I did it with my own DD. We were in love with the name Isabella, so it was a must. And, I *had* to name my DD after my mom's twin sister who was like a second mom to me. So, her name is Isabella Alisa. FOUR -uh syllables! I don't like it but both names were a must. I tried to talk Dh into just Isabelle; but he would not go for it. I sometimes wish I would have pushed harder on that one.
So, I'm speaking from experience :) Don't do it!
Re: Too many A's?
I think its a bit to much also. I LOVE Arabella, its a beautiful name, but I would personally match it with something a little different.
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Richland Center, WI (PressExposure) April 21, 2014 -- Creation Benefits, LLC, according to Jon Syvertson, the founder of Creation Benefits, LLC has stated that the company will be blogging with free content that will focus on providing coaching and services for individuals that are interested in working from home. The company will be focusing on providing coaching and help for individuals that are struggling with what it takes to run a successful Home Business. Jon has over 10 years in small business management in running Midwest Sport Aviation and has been operating a successful home business for over 3 years.
The Company has decided to contribute to others that are seeking to grow a home based business. Jon Syvertson says "I have been studying some to the methods of attraction marketing and have decided that I need to be sharing my experience so that others may be able to take a shortcut to home business success and avoid some of the mistakes I have made". One of the tenants that Jon feels strongly about is that he needs to give more value than he takes back. Success in your home business is a process, not a one-time event.
Jon is interested in helping others that are building a home business so that they can experience success while working from home. Creation Benefits recognizes that there is a shift in the economy and that many people can no longer rely on a job for meeting all the needs of their families. This shift is in the economy has created a lot of uncertainty in the traditional Job so that many are seeking alternative forms of income. Creation Benefits is capitalizing on this pent up demand for methods of building a successful home business.
Many times the success of your business has nothing to do with the company so it is important to know what activities are important in order for you to obtain success in your business. The main focus of the home business success blog is so that you can learn what activities are important to your success. This is the primary focus however Jon Syvertson also comments about other life experience he has as well as speaking about spiritual matters at the local church he attends.
Jon has been operating a home based on a part time basis for 3 years now and has over obtained over 1900 direct response customers in his business. These customers were obtained thru direct response marketing techniques which allow him to generate a residual income after the responses are processed. These techniques are extremely valuable for anyone wishing to create value in their home business and his business is experiencing residual income monthly.


text:
Crouch hails Pulis belief
Peter Crouch feels the faith shown in him by Stoke manager Tony Pulis can help him hit his top form at the Britannia Stadium.
Last Updated: 20/10/11 8:48am
Striker Peter Crouch feels the faith shown in him by Stoke manager Tony Pulis can help him hit his top form at the Britannia Stadium.
The towering frontman arrived in Staffordshire from Tottenham in the summer on a transfer deadline day deal and has already scored two goals for the Potters.
Crouch admits he needs to feel wanted to do well at a club and says he gets that sense of appreciation from Pulis.
"He certainly gives me that belief," Crouch told The Independent.
"The best football I have ever played in my career has always been with a manager who rates me extremely highly."
The striker admits he did not feel valued at White Hart Lane, adding: "In the end it worked out best for everyone.
"They got a good fee for me and they could bring (Scott) Parker in. I could go to a club where I felt extremely wanted and felt like a real big part of it moving forward. I didn't feel that at Tottenham."
Former Liverpool man Crouch has been impressed by Pulis' methods since his summer arrival.
"He has really, really impressed me with his attention to detail and the work he does on every player and team's stats," he said.
"He is not concerned what anyone else says about the way we play. All he is concerned about is getting results, a stable Premier League team doing well in the cup competitions. He has achieved that.
"We are an established team now. We have done well in Europe so far, the team reached the FA Cup final last year and for me it is going to get better and better. We are not concerned what people say outside. As a manager I can't talk about him highly enough."
Crouch is adamant there is no room for egos at the Britannia, with every player expected to pull their weight.
Hard work
He added: "From the top it is about hard work before anything else. Hard work, determination and you have to fit into the team otherwise we will lose the identity of Stoke. He (Pulis) said that to me when I arrived.
"I know he wouldn't accept (players with a high opinion of themselves) and if he saw anyone getting out of line they wouldn't be playing.
"That is not how I am. The manager has done his homework on me. I am happy to work as hard, if not harder, than those who are here already. The manager certainly won't take anything less."


text:
Just beyond a Safeway parking lot, my early morning walk takes me into an older housing development. The homes are on small lots, about...
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Just beyond a Safeway parking lot, my early morning walk takes me into an older housing development. The homes are on small lots, about 60 feet wide. They are well-tended, with lovely plantings. Enormous irises are in full bloom.
The size and design of the houses — they are ranch homes, 1,100 to 1,400 square feet — say they were built in the early 1950s. Most have single-car garages.
A house painter in coveralls walks toward me, and we start to talk. I learn the house behind me is his, that he bought it nearly 30 years ago for $17,500 and that he has improved it by adding a family room. Like its landscaping and small lawn, the house appears to be in perfect condition. In much of America, it would sell for about $150,000.
"How much do you think your house is worth?" I ask.
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"Prices are crazy here," he says. "About $900,000."
Somehow, I am not shocked. This is California. A compulsive reader of area home guides, I know that $300 a square foot is basic, $400 is routine, and figures way over that are common.
People are selling in Marin County, to the south, to take advantage of the "bargains" here. Indeed, a day later I describe the house and neighborhood to a real-estate agent. She informs me $900,000 is a bit high.
"It's more likely worth about $800,000," she says.
An advertisement from a Russian River real-estate agent offers: "Rural Sebastopol. Beautiful sunny view lot with older mobile home. Approximately 1/2-acre lot. Mobile is in good condition (for its age) and has large spacious rooms and covered patio. $350,000."
It may not sell for that, of course. But I can't help thinking about a house in suburban Austin, Texas, that has been for sale since last summer.
The development offers bike paths, community pools and tennis courts, and an occasional view of Lake Travis. Like Lake Wobegon, all of the children there are above average, probably because at least one of their parents works for Dell Computer.
This particular house has one of those distant Lake Travis views from the master bedroom, 3,500 square feet of living space, a large lot and 2 ½ baths, but it has no takers at $300,000.
The real issue, however, isn't the stunning differences in price from one location to another. It's the paycheck gap. California is full of working-stiff houses with fat-cat price tags.
Visit a Web site like www.bankrate.com and you can play with one of the many "How much house can you afford?" calculators. Its calculator tells me that if you have a 20 percent down payment — that's an impressive $160,000 on an $800,000 home — and can get a 30-year mortgage at 5 percent interest, you'll need an income of about $13,000 a month to qualify for the necessary mortgage.
This assumes that real-estate taxes are only 1/2 of 1 percent of value, that insurance is relatively cheap and that you've managed to avoid any consumer debt that might reduce the amount you can borrow.
So you'd need an income of $156,000 a year to buy that house for $800,000.
How much would you bet the owner doesn't earn that much? Though some painting contractors do very well, I've never met a painter who earns $156,000 a year. Indeed, fewer than 5 percent of all income-tax returns report that much. Most get there by having two earners.
Basically, California is a state where few of the homeowners would qualify to buy the houses they already own. This is good for them, if they have plans to sell their homes and move out of state.
But it makes you wonder who — and where — the next buyer is.
Questions about personal finance and investments may be sent to Scott Burns at The Dallas Morning News, P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265; by fax at 214-977-8776; or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns.


text: Hi Steve, I use A & L Great Lakes Laboratories and have been happy with them. They can do a fairly extensive Ag soil test depending on what package(s) you choose. The S1 and S3 packages test for P,K,Mg,Ca,S,Zn,Mn,Fe,Cu,B,pH,CEC, percent base cation elements, and organic matter. Total cost for the two packages is less than $20. This summer I also had them do a leaf analysis, which ran about the same cost. They also do environmental testing, metals and non-metals, but I don't know what that costs. You might start with the Ag testing first to see if there is something way out a kilter with the minerals. Very simple to send in a sample. For a soil sample, dig down about 8" and collect some dirt from at least 10 different spots in the area you want to sample. Mix these dirt samples together to make a "composite". Put about 2 cups of your composite in a good quality ziplock bag (don't buy their special bags). You can then go to the post office and buy a prepaid shipping envelope for $4.50 ( the ziplock bag of soil will fit in the envelope.) Include the soil test application (printed off their website) and your check. They'll send you a report of the soil analysis by e-mail after a few days followed by a hardcopy in the mail. Website: http://www.algreatlakes.com/lab_agr_soi.asp For some reason they don't post their prices for tests on their website. I've always emailed them to get the prices of the lab tests I was interested in. Jim Fruth uses a different lab, and likes the work they do, but I can't remember the name. Mark KS ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Sadler" <> To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex at lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 9:18 PM Subject: [NAFEX] soil testing > I previously mentioned my lifeless soil, and it was kindly suggested to me > that I get a thorough soil test, to not just look for nutrients but possible > contaminants as well. There are areas here where not even weeds grow. My > suspicion is that the soil isn't lifeless, it's rich in pathogens; but > testing seems quite wise. > > The thing is, I've never tested my soil. I've had big backyard gardens, an > acre or less, loaded them up with organic compost, corrected pH for > individual types of plants, and my past gardens have been thriving and > bountiful. > > So where does one look for soil testing for a small backyard plot? > > ~ Stephen > Sacramento, CA, where we think 50 is cold... > > _______________________________________________ > nafex mailing list > nafex at lists.ibiblio.org > > Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed. > This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web sites. > Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have permission! > > **YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!** > Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded. > No exceptions. > ---- > To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options): > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex > > File attachments are NOT stripped by this list. > TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES! > Please do not send binary files. > Use plain text ONLY in emails! > > NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/ > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.486 / Virus Database: 269.16.14/1172 - Release Date: 12/5/07 8:41 AM > >


text:
"Coco Chanel"
Vogue China // February 2011
Ph. Victor Demarchelier // Stylist: Nicoletta Santoro
We take a trip down memory lane with Liu Wen's latest editorial, which features all Chanel Haute Couture pieces from both past and present. Whichever signature piece she wears, she exudes nothing but elegance and sophistication. And it is only appropriate for Liu Wen to represent the venerable fashion house, as Karl Lagerfeld was one of the designers who gave her career a jump start.


text:
|Home > Austen
♂ Austen
What does Austen mean?
Austen ▼ as a boys' name is of Latin derivation, and the meaning of Austen is "great, magnificient". Austen is a version of August (Latin): the feminine version. Austen is also a derivative of Augustine (Latin). Austen is also used as a variation of Augustus (Latin), a derivative of Austin (French, Latin), and a form of Osten (French, Latin).
VARIANTS Ostynn, Ostyn, Ostin, Austyn
RELATED FORMS VIA AUGUST, AUGUSTINE, AUGUSTUS, AUSTIN, OSTEN Agoston, Aguistin, Agustin, Agustine, Agustino, Agustus, Augie, Auguste, Augustin, Augustyn, AvgustinCREATIVE FORMS
Austen Julio (A.J.), ..
How popular is Austen?
Austen is an unusual first name for men but a very prominent last name for all people (#28088 out of 150436, Top 19%). (2000 U.S. DEMOGRAPHICS)
Austen entered the list in 1980-1989 and reached its apex rank of #420 in the U.S. in the year 1995, and is at #1423 currently. (2015 U.S. SSA RECORDS)
Which version is better?
Popular alternative forms of Austen (#1423 LAST YEAR) listed in the Top 2000 are Agustin (#938), Agustus, August (#195), Auguste, Augustin (#1918), Augustine (#820), Augustus (#467), Austin (#69) and Austyn (#1555). Other variants, like Ostynn, are seldom used. These relations of Austen were at the top of their popularity 2 decades ago (USAGE OF 1.4%) and have become much less popular since (USAGE 0.5%, DOWN 66%). Austin is the clear favorite, although Augustine appears to be becoming a favorite too, while versions like Austen have lost favor.
Similar Names
Austen▼ is alike in pronunciation to Aston, Easton▲, Eston, Westen, Westin▲, Weston▲ and Wystan. Other recommended sound-alike names are Acton, Alsten, Alstin, Alston, Alten, Arsen, Asen, Ashtin, Ashton, Ashtun, Aspen, Auben, Auden, Buster▼, Dunsten, Dustan, Dusten, Dustin▼, Duston, Dustyn, Huston, Hutten, Justan, Juste, Justen, Justin▼, Justyn▼, Rustan, Rusten, Rustin, Ruston and Rustyn. These names tend to be more frequently used than Austen.See names in meaning and etymology.


text:
Uncertainty over Rosicky return
Petr Rada has revealed that Tomas Rosicky has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.
By Vasek Kadlec
Last Updated: 12/09/08 11:43am
Czech Republic head coach Petr Rada has revealed that Tomas Rosicky has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.
The Arsenal playmaker is currently sidelined after undergoing hamstring surgery in May, but had been expected to make a full recovery in September.
However, Rada has stated that he is unsure if Rosicky will be at his disposal for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers versus Poland and Slovenia in October.
He told Denik Sport: "Tomas has started another stage of recovery, including training with the ball.
"But recently his knee reacted badly to that. It is very difficult to predict if he will be ready for the World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Slovenia in October."
Rosicky's agent, Pavel Paska, added: "Without the permission of Arsenal I am not allowed to be more specific on Tomas' health."


text:
I know a couple of you have been interested in this.
It has landed.
Good lord.
I realize this module won't be for everyone--or most anyone--but speaking as someone with a major interest in fixed filter banks, and as someone who loves Verbos' scanning function, and given the depth of possibilities of this thing, this is a major wow module; a beast.
I'm glad I held off on the ADDAC fixed filter bank. That's already an expensive module, and this one is even more expensive, but I could see this being near the heart of a pretty wild system.
I won't be picking it up for a while, but...I can just imagine the complex fun this thing might engender.
when i saw it for the first time the fact that it has 12 bands had me immediately thinking: this and 2 just friends...
Wow. I can't belive that didn't occur to me.
Damn you though: now I might have to accelerate my purchase. I've already got two JFs, and am a fan of anything that works in multiples of six.
Including flat six cylinders.
Gratuitous Porsche content for the fans of air cooled beauty.
Thanks. I'd never paid a lot of attention to that ADDAC one. I'll check them both out.
I'm curious. What would you do with such a module ? Video generation ?
I'd suggest watching these videos on the Buchla 296e. Should give you some ideas
The simplicity of interface kind of beats out the SMR for me at the moment. I was reading somewhere that the idea behind this or one way of using the Buchla version was to record CV inputs on each band to Audio and then play it back through to trigger the env followers..sounded like a pretty cool idea. That 296e lava lamp video though
Yeah, I believe it worked by feeding white noise into the inputs and using your CV sources to set the levels of each frequency band. Then you'd record the sum. To recover your original CV you'd play the mix back into the filter and use the envelope follower outputs.
I think you could do some really cool performance stuff with that in this day and age of tech. Gets the neurons firing that is for sure. I'm holding out for a demo of this one, but with some new knobs and caps, I could definitely fit one into my future (red just isn't in my aesthetic vocab.)
Someday I just might have to build a Verbos case. They're all too large for my current case, but that's OK. Just gives me a reason to start a new one.
You might have meant hands-on demo vs. video, but there is this from a couple months ago:
NAMM will bring some news in the spectral euro department, and Superbooth will bring even more. I'd wait a few months and see.
I was able to play with a prototype at Machines in Music bank in October and got a run down from Mr. Verbos himself. Sounds very nice and the build quality is superlative.
Man. He is just so good. Having owned a few verbos modules, I have to say, I'm super envious of those who have an all verbos system. There is a very large part of me that wants to end up someday with a system that's just Verbos and Mannequins/Monome (but replacing the Verbos CO with my beloved Furthrrrr Generator), and maybe a few Make Noise tossed in for good measure.
Yeah, I sure would love a Verbos Composition system, but I just can't really justify it. I've got enough stuff as it is, with at least three major modules still to go (Teletype, Rossum Morpheus, and probably a Rossum Assimil8or).
I know the red knobs and paint scheme are aesthetically polarizing for a lot of people, and while red isn't my go-to for anything, the aesthetics of the Verbos Composition System, with those cases, are just sublime I think.
Agreed. I'm lucky, I guess, in that I'm very okay with a Frankenstein system when it comes to manufacturers and aesthetics...I'm also one of those goons who still plasters stickers all over computers, so I guess I haven't grown out of that just yet!
Curious to see what rig you've got? I'd honestly replace a lot of kit with the verbos stuff, such that it could live peacefully amongst itself. I feel like I've seen videos from Worwell (amazing youtube channel, and is on Muffs sometimes as well, I think, though I don't go there as much of late!) where he's got a self-contained verbos section.


text:
Easy, Fast, Brilliant Digital HD Microscope Cameras from Leica Microsystems
Easy to use, fast live images, brilliant results – microscope users achieve all of this and more with the new Leica MC120 HD and MC170 HD cameras from Leica Microsystems (Heerbrugg, Switzerland). The new high-performance cameras provide high-speed, precise images in real time at a rate of up to 30 frames per second. They are directly connectable to an HD monitor as a stand-alone solution or to a computer via USB interface.
While the 2.5 megapixel Leica MC120 HD is ideal for almost all microscopic applications, the Leica MC170 HD with a resolution of 5 megapixels is especially well-suited for acquiring the finest details at low magnifications. For fast documentation or hands-on training the user can record brilliant full HD movie clips as MP4. Images and movies are easily, cost-effectively stored with high quality onto a portable SD-card.
The infrared remote control allows direct and convenient control of all camera parameters such as brightness, gain, and contrast of the image; and also white balance operations, changing to other camera modes, and image capture. The possibility of switching the view between binocular tube and HD monitor makes working with the microscope extremely ergonomic and comfortable.
For more information, visit: www.leica-microsystems.com.


text:
I'm completely in love with all the lace touches I've been seeing in weddings recently, especially when they're mixed with rustic elements. There's something about that contrast between rough cloths, bare wood, and sweet, refined lace. I was inspired to make these incredibly simple lace votives to go with just such a shabby-chic table setting, and ended up using them for my Cornish Fairy party.
You'll need:
- Lace
- Glass votives (straight-sided ones work best)
- Scissors
- Transparent (not satin or magic) tape
Step 1)
Cut a length of lace long enough to wrap around your votive.
Step 2)
Use transparent tape to adhere one end of the lace to the glass. Wrap lace around the votive, then use a second piece of tape to secure the lace in place.
There! Done! That's it! How easy was that?


text:
Indigenous Cultural Tours
Ngurrangga Tours (Cultural Tours) 0423 424 093 | firstname.lastname@example.com
Industry Tours
North West Shelf Natural Gas Project
[Woodside Energy Ltd] | Burrup Peninsula, Dampier Road | Tel: (08) 9158 8292
Located in the Burrup Peninsula near the Port of Dampier and the town of Karratha in WA, is the North West Shelf Natural Gas Project.
It is the biggest and one of the most important resource developments yet undertaken in Australia.
A Visitor Centre overlooks the Project with panoramic views, and here you can see models, displays and an award-winning movie, telling the story of this remarkable development.
The Visitor Centre is manned by trained and informed personnel. Souvenirs of the area and the Gas Project are on sale. During the wildflower season, a display of wildflowers is a highlight of the landscape surrounding the Project.
Iron Ore Tours
Helicopter Tours
Scenic helicopter flights and charters, HNZ Australia Helicoptors, Hangar 1, Karasek Way, Karratha Airport, 0458 068 117
Ocean Charters
Dampier Archipelago
Aqualand - Dampier, 0403 249 808 | email@example.com
Discovery Cruising (Fishing Charters, Cruises, Skippers Tickets) 0408 801 040 | firstname.lastname@example.com
Dampier Island Tourism (Kayak Island Camping) 0427 456 641 | email@example.com
Adventure Sports - Karratha [08] 9185 1957


text:
I am breaking up with Carol. Carol is sitting in the chair. I am breaking up with her. I am telling her that this isn't working out. I am using the language of television. Carol is looking at her knee. I am looking at Carol's knee. Carol looks at her knee. Her knee is poking out from under the edge of her skirt. It is white and has a small blue bruise on it. I am breaking up with Carol's knee. I don't feel anything. Carol is sniffing. Carol is asking why. I am shaking my head and talking to her knee and telling it that I don't know. The knee transmits the message to Carol's brain and she begins to cry.
This morning I woke up, panicked, and moved all the things around in my room and then threw some of them away. I made toast. I decided on breaking up with Carol. I am breaking up with Carol. I am throwing away my things. I am putting them in a bin bag and carrying it out to the street.


text:
The Religion, Literature, and the Arts program provides a solid education in a range of disciplines, and on an interdisciplinary model, including knowledge of religious, literary, historical, cultural, anthropological, psychological, and sociological methodologies.
Program InformationSend Details
- Campus: Vancouver
- Faculty: Faculty of Arts
- Degree: Bachelor of Arts
- 4 yrs Length
- Yes Co-op Option
- No Honours Option
Religion, Literature, and the Arts is an interdisciplinary program that represents cooperation among a considerable number of departments in the Faculty of Arts. It is designed for those of you who are interested in exploring complex relationships in and among these fields. You can draw on wide resources of the Faculty of Arts to integrate the study of diverse religious traditions and the literary and artistic cultures in which they have functioned.
Campus features
UBC has study exchange agreements with 175 universities in 42 countries, able to support exchange in every area of cultural interest.Send Details


text:
The Semiconductor Test Consortium, Inc. (STC), the leading proponent of the development and adoption of value-added open test standards that benefit the semiconductor industry, announced the dates for the annual Global STC Conference (GSC) and revealed this year's theme of "Collaborative Solutions Beyond 2010." This interactive global forum, open to both STC member and non-members, will be held on June 4th-6th in San Diego, California.
Incorporating feedback from the 2007 event and input from visionary industry leaders who will be presenting this year, the third annual GSC will focus on investigating collaborative solutions to address today's most important test challenges. Participants from around the world will attend a wide-breadth of presentations hosted by luminaries representing leading companies and industry organizations, including those from integrated device manufacturers, electronic design automation firms, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies. Face-to-face STC working group meetings will be scheduled before or after GSC, which are open to GSC attendees on the subjects of: docking and interface, portable test instrument module, probe card, yield enhancement analysis tools and university.
In a move reflective of this year's theme around collaboration, the GSC has formed a conference partnership with the IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop (SW Test) and the Design Automation Conference (DAC). Both conferences run the week following GSC and will, like GSC, focus on important challenges facing the global semiconductor industry.
"The IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop is pleased to support, promote, and collaborate with the Global STC Conference," stated Dr. Jerry Broz, SW Test-2008 General Chair. "This synergistic relationship reflects the overall trends in the consumer environment in which highly demanding technical requirements for cost effective test are being aggressively pursued in both probe and tester technologies. Technical exchange and participant interaction at such international conferences and workshops is a vital element in the pursuit of optimal wafer sort."
"I want to thank SW Test and DAC for their support, and of course all of the industry leaders who will be attending and have agreed to present at GSC," said Risto Puhakka, President, VLSI Research Inc. "Collaborative solutions seemed the perfect theme for this year. The test challenges we face are indeed more than any one company could address on its own. But because of STC and events, like GSC, the semiconductor industry is today realizing success through collaboration. The fact is this very event is a testament to both the merits of collaboration and the semiconductor industry's commitment to realize success through open partnerships."
The Global STC Conference will be held in the Hilton Hotel in San Diego Mission Valley, and will kickoff with a keynote speech by Puhakka after registration and lunch. Online registration is already available for those interested in attending.
About the Semiconductor Test Consortium
The Semiconductor Test Consortium (STC) was founded in 2003. Open to all companies throughout the semiconductor supply chain with a vested interest in the test sector, the consortium is focused on the following goals: formalizing a broadened STC scope with new working groups and specification structure; fostering pre-competitive collaboration among industry participants toward development of value-added standards; emphasizing the value of work being accomplished and the contributions to the industry; and continuing efforts to fully enable the STC Ecosystem, through its OPENSTAR(R) and STIX(TM) initiatives. Today, 35 semiconductor, equipment and instrumentation companies worldwide, 41 university members in Europe, Japan, China and the United States, and 11 individuals support the STC.
STIX and OPENSTAR are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Semiconductor Test Consortium.