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I'm a big coffee drinker, despite that, I didn't plan for a special area in the kitchen for a coffee bar or station. I'm not regretting it much but can't decide where I'll put my coffee gear or if I can make an area. Anyone have any pics to share?? Thanks in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
Now you have me thinking about this too. I am wondering if I can't fit a coffee/tea station in the pantry on a counter next to a toaster oven. I think the station is a great idea. |
I like to have our coffee maker and coffee grinder near the sink and the compost. It makes it easy to dump the filter, wipe off the counter which usually gets sprayed with coffee grinds from the grinder, and fill the pitcher. |
Coffee pot is to the left of the sink, on the counter area below the cabinet where the coffee cups are. Coffee, coffee filters, measuring spoon are in the silverware drawer below the coffee pot. We can make and serve the coffee without moving a step. If you want to stand in front of the pot that long. If we used sugr, I'd have room in the drawer with the coffee for it. My husband commented on the fact that everything is in reach -- I commented that gee, maybe it was planned that way? |
We aren't big coffee or tea drinkers, so I didn't plan a spot, but quickly found that drinking any at all meant it needed a proper space. I first put the pot on the counter under our microwave and the supplies in the cab above the micro. It was 'ok,' but not great, since the cups and spoons were diagonally across the kitchen and I didn't want to move any of them too far from the dish storage/cleanup side of the kitchen. A recent reorganization of the kitchen led to this new spot for the 'coffee center'...Now just left of our cleanup sink with the cups/mugs included. (The silver canister you can see by the sink is our container for grounds and other compost items.) The coffee beans are stored in the white locking canister and the filters are in the berry colored one on the bottom shelf, with the grinder hiding behind. The plastic baskets (which I hope to replace with wicker, or something with more character and class) hold teas. The cups are still handy to our other dishes and the cleanup area, but now give my dish hutch more room for glassware and bowls. |
We didn't really plan one either, but it's worked out to have the coffeemaker near this sink in the cleanup area. |
The coffee maker in the "garage" broke recently. So now I've switched back to a french press and just ordered a stove top espresso maker from Italy. But regardless we keep everything (coffee, french press, milk frother, espresso pot, etc in the "garage". If we switch back to an electric maker . . . there is an outlet inside. The mugs, creamers, sugar bowl, etc. is kept in the cabinet above. The under counter refrigerator (still waiting for my DH to install the panel on the fridge) is where we keep the milk (also wine, juice). |
- Posted by allison0704 (My Page) on Sat, Jun 19, 10 at 20:05
I designed a coffee station that is located in the back hallway between kitchen and laundry room. It's the first thing you see when you come into the house from the garage. Better than the coat closet the architect had there! Here is the magazine page I had torn out and used as my inspiration. It does have an undercounter fridge" In the link below, scroll down to the black hutch for our coffee station. Small sink, DH rarely uses, since the larger kitchen sink is just around the corner. No fridge since it's just inside the kitchen. He stores coffee mugs in top right drawer. Coffee in cabinet below that. The other drawers hold seldom used glass serving/desert pieces. |
Here is a link that might be useful: my coffee station
- Posted by rookie_2010 (My Page) on Sat, Jun 19, 10 at 20:22
Thank you for sharing! Rhome and Segbrown, looks like I'll be going with a countertop setup too. Thanks so much for explaining where you keep everything. I'm not skilled at organizing things in keeping with the way I use them. I'm learning a lot from this site though. I'd originally planned on it being in the mudroom with a sink but DH said I was getting over the top so I dropped it but never reserved a real space in the kitchen for it. Where it should really be, is on my nightstand, lol. Judydel, I'm EATING MY HEART OUT over your kitchen!!!!!!!!!! That sink!!!!!!! The sconce over it, the beadboard, the phone!!!! Oh my goodness! It's my new favorite!!! The garages are such a great idea and I'm in love with the way you incorporated that sink! Should I be looking out for a formal reveal post? If so, I'll save the litany of questions I'd like to ask. It's truly gorgeous! |
- Posted by vampiressrn (email@example.com) on Sat, Jun 19, 10 at 21:14
Great to see other set ups. I am still fussing around with mine on my kitchen desk. |
Here is a link that might be useful: other coffee station pictures
- Posted by rookie_2010 (My Page) on Sat, Jun 19, 10 at 21:55
Jsweenc, Your kitchen looks beautiful! I LOVE those baskets above the fridge! Can't wait to see the rest! Vampiressrn, I've seen your work over on the Baths forum and I'm surprised you don't have a whole Java based theme all figured out already! A kitchen desk would be a top contender for me if I had one. I guess I love coffee so much I feel like I should have a special shrine set up for it somewhere but the countertop will have to do......... The one thing that drives me nuts in my current kitchen is pulling the coffee maker out from under the upper cab to pour the water in and then pushing it back under. Water always drips out and streaks across my lovely faux-wood 70s formica, lol. |
Jsweenc that is the most clever location for a toaster oven. I love it! With all of the coffee I drink, if I indulged in all those syrups I'd be 200 lbs.! lol. Rookie, thank you so much. You just made my day : ) I haven't done a formal reveal yet because there are too many details that still need to be finished. My husband has been tied up with taking care of his 90 year old mother. And our contractor actually has been tied up with his dad, who is ill. So things are on hold. I'm glad you like our "beverage center". We keep the wine du jour in the "garage" on the left. As I said coffee on the right, etc. I can't wait for this area to be finished off. Still waiting for the fridge panel, some bead board. But more importantly . . . I'm impatiently waiting for the two, long shelves to be installed that go over the sink, and the valence that connects the two cabinets as well as the crown mold ing! Well, that's what needs to be done in this area. In the main kitchen there is so much more, lol. |
"The one thing that drives me nuts in my current kitchen is pulling the coffee maker out from under the upper cab to pour the water in and then pushing it back under. Water always drips out and streaks across my lovely faux-wood 70s formica, lol." I forgot about this ... Our uppers are a little higher than normal, I think there is 23" between counter and uppers, and our coffee maker lid opens up totally underneath the uppers. Nice, because I hate having to pull out the coffee maker to pour in the water. Not a huge deal, but irritating. |
Rookie, oh honey, you need a coffee center!!! Maybe one off your bedroom like this. This below is my personal fantasy as I love coffee more than, than... (dare I say it) my boxers. Yes, totally guilty! I love coffee. I too used to pull my out from under the counter and it At one point I wanted the Bosch built in coffee maker. ~boxerpups Ps. Great topic. |
- Posted by young-gardener (My Page) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 8:58
These are some I took at the 2009 Southern Living GA Dream House. They had a coffee center in the kitchen and in the master bedroom. The floor plan is on their website. With doors open.... |
- Posted by vanisleevt (My Page) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 10:51
We LOVE our coffee. Here's the coffee station in our soon to be completed kitchen. It was the first appliance that I got working and it was well worth it. It's a Miele built-in unit and we're so happy with it.It makes awesome, consistent coffee. |
Here is a link that might be useful: coffee machine
Here is my coffee station setup right by the kitchen table: Coffee machine: La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 with plumbline Furniture: 2 Ikea kitchencarts linked together with walnut stained maple butcher block; shelves built and fitted with Bordeaux wine cases with pullout handles used to hold cups, saucers, coffee beans etc.... Robert |
- Posted by vampiressrn (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 12:20
OMG Robert...now that is a serious coffee station...it looks awesome!!! I found this helpful little article about setting up home coffee stations with some pictures...so sharing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DESIGNING COFFEE & BEVERAGE BARS FOR THE HOME Coffee. Cafe. Java. Espresso. Latte. No matter how you spell it or prepare it, it is an obsession for most people who drink it. At one time, the only place you could get specialty coffees like cappuccinos or espressos was in a boutique coffee shop, or you could eek by at home with standard pot coffee (which can also be excellent, thank you). Now having an espresso machine in the home is as simple as picking one up from a kitchen accessory store like Williams Sonoma. But not everyone uses this machine everyday, so the question becomes where to put this modern marvel... Inside the cabinet next to the blender perhaps? Think again! These specialty coffee machines are made to be as neat looking as the coffee they produce. In newer kitchens, they are showcased as built-in models, or placed in a spot that was designed just for them, the coffee or beverage bar. More and more, I am seeing a trend of putting in coffee bars in master bed & bathrooms, guest suites, or media/game rooms as well as in their normal spot in kitchens. Beverage centers that have not only a coffee spot, but wine, liquor, and soda storage have taken this idea a step further in kitchens as well as in media/game rooms. There are two main types of coffee makers/espresso machines, built-in or counter top models. All you need for the countertop model is a plug, and the ability to bring water to it. A built-in model requires a cabinet to be placed into (hence the term built-in), be sure you have a reliable power source (a dedicated outlet may be required), and be sure that you have a water connection available if required. The best built in models are European made, like this one from Miele: The model shown is a built-in style that does not require a water supply to attach to, so you must fill the tank and bring the water to it. This is a great option if you are trying to minimize construction costs. This model also has easier clean up because it uses a Nespresso pod system instead of messy grounds. There is another model that is almost identical to this, but requires you to connect a water supply. However, that model has a ton more customizable features, will accept coffee beans, and will grind them to whatever consistency you tell it to. Speaking of Nespresso, they manufacture their own coffee machines as well as pods. They have a variety of different machines to suit different budgets, all of which are made to sit on the countertop and be seen. Here is their higher end model, the Delonghi Lattissima: The pods are shown in this picture and come in a variety of flavors and boldness, which is represented by the color of the pod. For those of you who want nothing to do with all of the fancy stuff, and would much prefer a regular cup of joe, there is a coffee system made just for you. The BrewMatic residential integrated system is best installed in a remodel or new construction, but is completely worth the effort of putting in: It requires a water supply, but that is what makes it so great. You can install it on the other side of the kitchen, or in any room under the cabinets, and never have to take water to it! You just set the dial (or electronic key pad) to how many cups of coffee you want, put in the grinds, and it does the rest for you. For a more advanced beverage center as mentioned above, special planning is needed in new construction or remodeling, but the result can be phenomenal: Here is a close up of a beverage center with a wine center, beverage set-up, coffee maker to the left, and a microwave to the right. This design is perfect for any kitchen or game/media room set up. If you frequently have guests coming to your home and you want to add a nice touch to their room (or even glam this idea up and use it in your master bedroom), take a hint from hotels and add a little nook for coffee: To avoid needing to install a sink in the nook, provide bottled water to fill the coffee tank. Make sure to also provide a trash can for coffee grinds, as well as cups and accoutrements for the coffee. Refrigeration is optional (and a bit unnecessary) for guest rooms, but recommended for master suites. If you want to create a neat coffee bar in your own home, and you don't really use your breakfast nook, try doing something like this to utilize this forsaken space and make it fun again: This is a perfect idea for empty nesters that have friends over for morning coffee or for a family with older high school or college age children at home. We are lucky that so much of modern life revolves around family and friends, and that food and drinks of all kinds are so readily available and help to bring us together. We often try not to miss a second of these good times, least of all on sleep. Here's to love, life, and the pursuit of caffeine! |
judydel, your comment about the toaster oven reminded me where I got the idea from. This picture also shows my favorite beverage center inspiration. I tried so hard to incorporate something like this, but in the end, I do like what we have, for the reason already mentioned - not having to slide the coffee maker out from under a cabinet. Not sure if this is an issue at all, but I wanted a built-in coffee maker and DH vetoed it, saying it is one unreliable appliance and he didn't want to have to be pulling out something that's plumbed and wired in. But an IV... now that's something I might convince him to consider! |
Since I am the only coffee drinker in our house, I have a coffee/micro station. As you can see, we have a bit of work to do before I can say "Ta Da!" but I do have this area up and running. The prep sink is right across from this area, so it is very convenient for filling the coffee pot or mixing up a pitcher of Kool Aid. |
judydel- how big is your double sink? In our 2/1 house, we have 40" to put a vanity and I like the idea of one big sink with two faucets, but some people say 36-40" is too small for two facuets? How do you like yours? |
Rookie, I just re-read my post and I sound like such a &%$#@ I did not understand that you did not plan I thought so sorry for being pathetic and crass. |
Boxerpups, I just don't see it. You didn't sound crass at all, IMO. Hilarious, but otherwise totally fine! |
- Posted by vampiressrn (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 20:34
My station is still in limbo. All my cups and mixes are in the cabinets above and the coffee and filters, etc. are in the desk drawers. |
- Posted by rookie_2010 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 21:37
Boxerpups! Not at all crass and definitely not stupid! I thought your remarks were very thoughtful as if you really did catch on to my love (hard-core addiction) to coffee! I am very appreciative! It motivated me to keep the wheels turning on this and coupled with the info posted by Vampiressrn, I might be cooking something up afterall...... The truth of the matter is, if I sleep in an hour or two, I wake up with a lovely caffeine headache. If that doesn't warrant a thoughtfully planned setup, what does? This thread has turned out to be so informative, I love all the ideas! |
- Posted by rookie_2010 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 20, 10 at 21:47
Well, Just showed DH the Brewmatic BICA Built-in. He said, "no way, you break everything." I'm checking out the reviews and will decide how to proceed (on my own dime) prior to the plumber coming back next week :) |
Jenma our sink is 48" wide (Harborview by Kohler). I love it! We call it our garden sink since it's just past the mudroom in the side entrance to the kitchen. We use it to wash the eggs from our henhouse each day, to fill the hens waterer in the winter when the hose is turned off, to fill buckets for washing the floor, wash roasting pans, paint pans, etc. And in the summer when the harvest is brimming, we make sure the sink is cleaned up good and we use it to wash tomatoes for canning, heads of lettuce, cukes for pickling, etc. Because of the size of the sink it requires the two faucets. I just wish we could find wall mounted faucets that have pull down or pull out sprayers!!! I see that Theresse has one, but it's very, very pricy and I need two : ( |
LOL, rookie! Maybe DH could be your automatic built-in programmable coffee maker. Mine is... he gets up before me every morning and has coffee brewed by the time I'm up. judydel, I meant to mention that the syrups are sweetened with Splenda, except for my one bottle of hazelnut with corn syrup (I can't stand artificial sweeteners). We get them at World Market, FWIW. You have a true farm kitchen! Yours was one of my inspirations, especially the color. |
- Posted by gsciencechick (My Page) on Mon, Jun 21, 10 at 8:22
Finally got some pics! Hope they turn out OK. The smiley face cookie jar was DH's from when he was little. I keep the Splenda in there. The coffee container is from Williams-Sonoma, and the coffeemaker is Cuisinart BrewCentral. The granite folks built up the cabinet above the washer to give us more counter space, and they got to use more of the slab. OK, did not realize my phone case was on the counter, but you get the idea! |
Shelayne, glad to see things coming along so nicely! Your cabs look great! I have pm'd you over on ikeafans. :-) |
Jen, Your PM to me doesn't show on Ikeafans. :^( I just went over there, and it says I have no new messages. Weird. :^/ |
gsciencechick, tell your hubby I have the matching coffee cup to his cookie jar. Wish I had a picture ready for ya. |
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Seamus Doherty - European Trade Mark Attorney
Seamus has been working in the field of Intellectual Property for nearly thirty years now. He joined Cruickshank from another firm of Intellectual Property Attorneys in 2007 and has a specific responsibility for developing new business relationships within the practice.
He specialises in a range of trade mark matters, including brand clearance and portfolio strategy, and has broad experience in prosecution and contentious matters, including oppositions and revocation proceedings at the Irish Patents Office and the European Trade Mark office (OHIM). His primary role with Cruickshank is dealing with and advising on the Trade Mark Portfolios held by clients of the practice. He also specialises in domain name protection and retrieval.
Seamus is an active member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce where he serves as a membership ambassador. He is also an overseas member of ITMA and a member of ECTA where he serves on the Internet and Domain Name Committee. A committed member to the Association of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys in Ireland he also serves on the Trade Mark Law and Practice committee.
Qualifications: Diploma in Legal Studies, Dublin Institute of Technolgy; European Trade Mark Attorney; Irish Registered Trade Mark Agent.
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text: My Profile guaychat West Haven, Connecticut Member since Jan 2011 Flag This ProfileFlag as Inappropriate All Activity | Comments & Reviews | Uploads Flag This Profile? Please provide the reason why you think this profile is inappropriate. Flag Profileor Cancel Saved Recipe Carrot Cake (Cake Mix) by mandabearsMay 13, 2013 on Food.com Load More


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Love this! Such a great balm, especially for $10. Sadly the line has been discontinued, so I'm out of luck for future purchases. Anyway, if you're able to find a pot of this somewhere, I highly recommend it. It has a great rosy scent and moisturizes wonderfully with meadowfoam seed oil. Pout had great packaging as well, and this comes in a pink, metal-coated pot with a fishnet pattern painted on. Hopefully the creators of the line will bring us something new soon!
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Very cute but a little pricey. It has a lovely rose fragrance, but it can be a little strong. I can't complain with results though. My lips are soft and smooth.
This makes my lips ultra soft, and lasts all day without re-applying. It's a gorgeous scent too.
It can be difficult to apply this because it seems to be a little grainy?
Once I've applied, I remove the grainy bits with a cotton bud. (This step is necessary because the grainy bits don't melt onto your lips)
Don't be put off by this review though......Pout lip balm is one of the best that I've used. It's just a little messy to apply, but the extra step in applying it is definitely worth the results for supple, smooth lips.
I will repurchase this, but I might try a different scent to compare texture.
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I just bought the Seduce me lip balm. I already have the indulge me lavender lip balm and I adore it! I will never buy another lip balm brand again. I'm hooked!
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Seduece Me is the rose scented balm in the pink container. It really does smell like roses, so if you don't want something with alot of scent go for the unscented Smother Me balm. But I love this little balm. You get 0.17 oz. for ten dollars but it is worth it. A little amount goes a long way. And it really leaves you lips supple, satiny and NON - GREASY. I love that it isn't greasy. And the packaging is adorable. It is a round metal container with a fishnet print on the lid. I love it! Have I mentioned how much I love this balm? I would definately recommend it to rose scent lovers (wink wink Anna Sui fans) and lip balm enthusiasts.
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NatureWorks Summer Day Camps and Mini-camps
PRAIRIE HILL offers nature-centered day camp programs for children ages 6-9 and 10-12 and mini-camps for ages 3-6 on our historic farm, just seven miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska.
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10:15 a.m. | Pony Rides |
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What's In My Diaper Bag: 6 Month Edition
Last week we had Erin tell us everything that she thought she was going to need for her diaper bag when her little one arrives, speaking of which I wonder if she's had her baby yet? I might have to check up on her! This week we have Hallie opening up her bag for her OMG adorable (just look at the pics below) 6 month little lady, Molly.
Take it away Hallie ….
Hi all! My name is Hallie and I am a stay at home/work from home first time Mom. When I am working I am an Account Executive for a web development company and I work out of my home office here in Dallas, Texas. My husband, Chase, is a chiropractic student at Parker University. We had our first baby, a daughter named Molly, on November 10th of last year. She turns 6 months old tomorrow! Yikes…time is flying! I write a blog called ChasingHallie about our life and daily adventures.
The past 6 months have been crazy! Lots of ups and downs and some really emotional and stressful moments, but we are loving being parents and wouldn't trade this adventure in for anything! So without further ado, "Whats in my diaper bag?" you ask…
We will start with the bag itself. I actually just got this bag a couple weeks ago after being unhappy with my first bag. I made the switch because I wanted something a little more purse like since its all I carry around these days. The bag is from Babymel and I purchased it from Amazon (we get a shipment from Amazon almost everyday! thank goodness for the Prime account, a good investment for any new mom). It has great inside pockets for all of Molly's things and handy outside pockets for some of my stuff. It also has a handy insulated bottle carrier area on the side. One of my favorite things about this bag is the strap – you can shorten it and wear it on one shoulder or lengthen it and wear it cross body. And its actually comfortable!
As to what is inside? Well that is when it really gets good. These items have changed a bit since Molly was born and has grown but they all have their role. I never thought I would carry around a bag with so. much. stuff. but then you realize "what if X happens?" and you have to be prepared.
The Essentials
Nothing too glamorous here. These items are why diaper bags exist, to remove that dirty diaper and replace it with a clean one.
1. Wet bag- for the dirty diaper when we aren't near a trash can or when we are but its not really a place where its okay to dump a super smelly poopy diaper in the trash so everyone else has to suffer.
2. Changing pad- this one came from the original diaper bag and I prefer it over the new one. Its simple, folds up easily and flat and does the trick.
3. Wipes- Huggies. Nothing special here.
4. Diapers- We always try to keep 4 or 5 in the bag. And believe me, we have left the house with only 1 on accident and we will never make that mistake again. They are Pampers size 2.
The Extras
These are the items I didn't originally have from day one but have made their way into the bag and for good reason.
4. Extra onesie- this is key. Do not leave this out of your bag. We had to basically wrap Molly in a t-shirt because she had an epic blowout and we had no backup.
5. Sun hat- we live in Texas and its hot and sunny most of the time. I was chastised by my husband when I let Molly get a small sunburn on her head. That won't happen again.
6. Sling- a simple sling that I can toss over my shoulder and sit Molly in if we are out and about and she is over her carseat. And by "over" I mean screaming like a mad woman!
7. Blanket- since its summer we don't use this much, but it comes in handy to block the sun if she falls asleep in her car seat or to use as a pillow in those super hard plastic changing tables in the restrooms.
The Goods
A few small things to get me through the day.
8. Pen- always good to have one on hand.
9. Baby Sunscreen- the stick form is excellent and easy to apply on the go. Its the CVS brand version of Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby.
10. Lip Gloss- for when I decide to look a little more put together for the day.
11. Gum- fresh breath is always important.
12. Hand Sanitizer- do you know how difficult it is to change your baby's diaper, in a bathroom, with one hand on the baby and one digging in the diaper bag? How the heck am I supposed to wash my hands!?
13. Kleenex- I actually have 3 packs of these in the bag. Good for excess drool, snotty noses, spills and my husbands insane allergies.
The Entertainers
An ever revolving handful of toys. I will switch these out almost every time we walk out the door depending on what we are doing, where we are going and what toy she has favorited that day. These keep her busy in the car, at restaurants and while cruising through the supermarket. We don't leave home without them.
That is the diaper bag. Who knew you needed so much stuff for such a pint size little baby girl.
And for those of you wondering, my husband does rock this bag from time to time when we are out together but he has a daddy diaper bag as well. Its this classic messenger bag from Timbuk2 and it looks much more manly so he can keep his dignity.
Hallie you are doing a great job being prepared. Sun hats and blankets are my 2 things I forget the most when I'm packing his bag. I need to get a hat that stay permanently in the bag and then I wouldn't have that problem.
What is your one diaper bag item that you ALWAYS tend to forget?
Thanks so much Hallie for opening up your bag to us!
You can find Hallie over on her blog Chasing Hallie or connect with her on Twitter and Pinterest! Now go show her some love!
Category: Parenting, What's in my Diaper Bag
Comments (2)
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Thanks so much for letting me share and open up my diaper bag!
Absolutely glad to have ya!


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The Times reported this weekend that JPMorgan is being investigated for hiring the children of influential Chinese officials in order to win investment banking business, which apparently the SEC's antibribery unit thinks might be bribery and thus a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.1 People are sort of falling over themselves to be unscandalized by this, which seems about right. Here are amusing FT and Reuters articles pointing out that every bank hires children of influential Chinese officials in order to win investment banking business.2 But of course you don't need to go that far afield; anyone who's worked in an investment bank for more than twelve minutes, anywhere in the world, can tell you stories of nepotism at least as blood-curdling as these. There are idiots, look around, often they are clients' kids.
So why are some nepotistic hires okay and others illegal bribery? Here is the Times: Read more »


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Here you will get some simple but also stylish style from Converse. That is the Cool Converse Fastbreak OX on our site. It is ventilate, light and comfortable. Made of smooth leather upper, the Cheap Converse Fastbreak OX also features the classic star and arrow pattern on the side panel. You can also find the Converse logo on the tongue tag, midsole, and the back heel. In order to give you the added comfort, there is also a flexible midsole, along with a rubber traction outsole. A nice casual sneaker for you to wear outside! You can also match it with most of your dresses, as well as most of the occasions. Here we present you several different colorways for you to choose on our site. We also hope that you contact with us once you have any questions about the Fashion Converse Fastbreak OX on our site. We will try out best to help you. Enjoy the shopping time here.
Welcome to buy Converse Shoes.
Converse Fastbreak OX


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In the world of super high-end designer Balmain, it's not unusual to charge upwards of $5,000 for a pair of leather pants or $7,000 for a coat. So, the fact that Balmain has decided to release a lower-priced line sounded like good news to us. Until we found out that the price point for this "affordable" line was going to be not so affordable. Prices start at $172 for a T-shirt and run to $1,291 for eveningwear. And that's not the only thing disappointing about Balmain's diffusion collection. Judging from photos of the pieces (like the outfit at left), the Pierre Balmain line (as the lower-priced collection is being called) looks like nothing more than chintzy Topshop designs. Diffusion doesn't have to equal boring, especially from a designer who's known for his punky, glamorous frocks. And who buys a $172 T-shirt, anyway? Even if we had that kind of money, that would be crazy. [Fashionista] Keep reading »
Zergnet: Simply Irresistible
- Popular


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Denver comics come clean on "clean comedy"
Whenever an event promotes itself as "clean comedy," there are typically two reactions from comedy fans: They're either thrilled to have a funny night out that they can take their kids to (or, if you're a moralist, an event you can get through without crossing your arms in a that's-not-funny protest), or reflexively assume that nothing really funny could ever come from such a designation -- even though they're probably fans of Seinfeld and Bill Cosby. Sam Tallent
Comedy Works South will be kicking off its Clean Comedy Contest this Wednesday -- with some pretty respectable local talent on the bill -- so we thought we'd check in with some of the most established standup comics on the scene, getting their reaction to the request: "Can you please keep it clean?"
See also:
- Denver's ten best comedy nights
- Denver's five best comedy venues
- Lily Tomlin on stand-up, Kristen Wiig and playing Reba McEntire's mother
Andrew Orvedahl
Personally, I dislike clean comedy when it's mandated by a show promoter, because that's just censorship. Part of the fun of doing comedy is saying what you want to say, in the way you want to say it. Generally, if you are booked to do a "clean" show you should be paid extra, since it is a special request -- but that's not really the case anymore. More and more shows expect comics to perform clean for the same pay as a "regular" show. Which is horseshit.
Kristin Rand
If you naturally write clean material, than go for it, if that's your voice. When I tell jokes, I don't want to dance around being my most authentic self. And my most authentic self curses and talks about dicks.
Matt Monroe
I don't like rules in comedy. I think it should be as organic as possible. If that's clean, great. If it's not, that's also great. But the idea to exclusively write clean, or exclusively write dirty, seems to be a calculated choice to appeal to a specific group of people, or attain a specific goal.
While that's understandable from a business perspective, it doesn't seem honest to me.
Mara Wiles
I am not that dirty of a person, and that is reflected in my act. I just try to be honest to my voice and what's funny to me, and if that involves sliding a "shit" in there or talking about a body part, then so be it, I am gonna do it. My general rule is to have material my grandmas would laugh at -- and lucky for me, my grandmas had killer senses of humor.
Clean or dirty, it is really whatever floats your boat as an artist. As long as you are trying to be original and are taking chances, I say more power to you.
Continue reading for more local viewpoints.
Sponsor Content


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The Town of Superior partners with the Historical Commission to preserve and protect the historical treasures in our community. The Commission meets the third Friday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Town Hall. Historic Commission Meeting Agendas and Minutes The Superior Historical Museum is open for the public and staffed by volunteers on the first Saturday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Musuem is housed in a rehabilitated house that had been located in the Industrial Mine camp just south of Original Town.
Don't forget to purchase your copy of "Lost Superior Remembering the Architectural Heritage of a Colorado Mining Town". The book is on sale for $10 at Town Hall. You can also print a copy of the Living in Superior, Colorado coloring book for free!
The Commission also invites you to explore past issues of the Superior Historian, a quarterly publication produced by members of the Historical Commission, and information about the Town of Superior historic Cemetery.
Contact Bryan Meyer at 303-499-3675 for more information.


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'Wings,' The First Best Picture Winner to Hit Big Screens Again
Movie News By Scott Beggs on May 2, 2012 | Comments (1)This new era of re-releases has definitely got its perks. Whether it's seeing a modern classic like Jurassic Park return home to theaters or a movie from out of the mist of the past, it's the kind of cash-grab that should be celebrated. What other time in your life would you be able to see the 1927 silent flick about pilots in WWI bravely battling (and kissing each other) as it was meant to be seen? Cinemark Theaters will play Wings – the first Best Picture Oscar winner – in select theaters on Wednesdays May 2nd and 16th. Those participating theaters can be found on the Cinemark website. The print has been completely restored. What's crazy is that they're showing in their Extreme Digital auditoriums, which means they much have restored the hell out of it.
Culture Warrior: The First Oscar-Worthy Same Sex Kiss and The Academy's Blurry Vision of History
Culture Warrior By Landon Palmer on February 7, 2012 | Comments (8)The Oscar montage reel is a genre on its own. It's transparently demonstrative of the overall function of the Academy Awards. These montage reels summarize and make explicit what the annual ceremony attempts to accomplish writ large: to create and solidify a canon of important American films, along with a delimited understanding of their importance. Yes, the Oscars have occasionally given a voice to the indie underdog and rush through their obligatory movies-with-subtitles category, but besides the occasional screenplay nomination for a truly innovative film and the rare foreign language film that broaches through the marginal categories, the Oscars are by and large a celebration of American cinema, specifically Hollywood cinema. During the 2006 ceremony, a moment occurred that has been seared into my memory. I haven't been able to find a clip of it online since it aired six years ago, so I hope this isn't wishful or inaccurate. The 2006 ceremony consisted of a spate of overtly political films, as Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Munich, Good Night and Good Luck competed for top honors, and Syriana was in the running for other awards. In likely hopes of gaining cultural capital from celebrating mainstream cinema's rarely explored but ever-present political function, the Academy aired a self-congratulatory reel of past Oscar-nominated films that have addressed other topical social problems, from In the Heat of the Night to Philadelphia. When the lights came back and the audience applauded with anticipated decorum, host Jon Stewart then graced the stage and stated, in a […]
This Week in Blu-ray: 50/50, Woody Allen, Wings, Hitchcock, Real Steel and Paranormal Activity 3
Blu-ray Spotlight By Neil Miller on January 27, 2012 | Be the First To CommentThis Week in Blu-ray may be coming to you a few days later than usual, but fear not, as it was worth the wait. Fox and MGM decided to drop a number of great films on me at the last minute, meaning long hours of pouring over special features, drinking heavily and ultimately turning myself into a late-1970s Woody Allen character by the end. It was all worth it, as you're about to experience 2500 words or so of the most full edition of this column we've seen in a long time. Plenty of unsung heroes of 2011, classics of yesteryear and boxing robots to go around. Also, Rob Hunter stops by for some cross-column reviewing with Rebecca. 50/50 In a week that will see the release of a bevy of classics coming to Blu-ray for the very first time, it would be a crime to overlook one of 2011's most heartfelt works, complete with some ranged performances from the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard. Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), working from a script by Will Reiser based on a true story, tells the tale of Adam, a 27-year old guy who gets diagnosed with spinal cancer. Dealing with his overbearing friends, his smothering mother and a relationship that hangs on the edge, Adam must find a way to not only beat cancer, but all the situational drama it's caused between him and those he cares about most. It's funny, touching and full of memorable performances. […]
Culture Warrior: A Word About Product Placement in Movies (Brought to You By Doritos)
Culture Warrior By Scott Beggs on October 25, 2011 | Comments (3)Buried deep within this sentence (Doritos are delicious) is an advertisement. Did you catch it? You probably didn't because it was so subtly subliminal, but that's exactly how product placement has worked for a century to varying degrees of success. After all, there's a thin line between using real-life products in a film to create a sense of verisimilitude and using them to promote the product in question. Where that line is drawn is up to each person. One person might see a kid reading "National Geographic" in It's a Wonderful Life and think it's quaintly appropriate while another person might find it craven and conspicuous. To the same extent, different film productions have delivered brands with means ranging from the slyness of near-imperceptibility to almost Doritos-Scorchin'-Habanero-Flavor levels of obviousness. It's far from new, and even though sold items have sneaked their way into movies for almost one hundred years, there's been an explosion in recent decades, seeing a new revenue stream for studios and a new annoyance for film fans.
Interview: Thomas Hayden Church, The Authentic Man
Features By Neil Miller on April 2, 2010 | Be the First To CommentIf there is one thing that Thomas Hayden Church is known for, it's the playfulness of his many roles. He's been acting for 21 years, and in those 21 years, Church has established himself as one of Hollywood's great underused talents. But that's not for a lack of trying on Hollywood's part…
Culture Warrior: 8 Great Directors You Should Know More About
Culture Warrior By Landon Palmer on January 19, 2010 | Comments (9)firstname.lastname@example.com
Neil Miller
Scott Beggs
Rob Hunter
Kate Erbland
Christopher Campbell


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Wed, Feb 10, 10 at 9:28
Follow-Up Postings:
The last one is neat! We are getting snow all day here |
I have a lot of snow too,but these photos were made in August 2009 :) |
Well now I need to go find a fire to try to take some pictures of. |
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A Space For Healing
the alternative in healing mind body & spirit
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Announcing: Slashdot Deals - Explore geek apps, games, gadgets and more. (what is this?)
We are sorry to see you leave - Beta is different and we value the time you took to try it out. Before you decide to go, please take a look at some value-adds for Beta and learn more about it. Thank you for reading Slashdot, and for making the site better!
An anonymous reader writes "An article by David Cole at the NY Review of Books lays out why we should care as much about the collection of metadata as we do about the collection of the data itself. At a recent debate, General Michael Hayden, who formerly led both the NSA and the CIA, told Cole, 'we kill people based on metadata.' The statement is stark and descriptive: metadata isn't just part of the investigation. Sometimes it's the entire investigation. Cole talks about the USA Freedom Act, legislation that would limit the NSA's data collection powers if it passes. The bill contains several good steps in securing the privacy of citizens and restoring due process. But Cole says it 'only skims the surface.' He writes, 'It does not address, for example, the NSA's guerilla-like tactics of inserting vulnerabilities into computer software and drivers, to be exploited later to surreptitiously intercept private communications. It also focuses exclusively on reining in the NSA's direct spying on Americans. ... In the Internet era, it is increasingly common that everyone's communications cross national boundaries. That makes all of us vulnerable, for when the government collects data in bulk from people it believes are foreign nationals, it is almost certain to sweep up lots of communications in which Americans are involved.' He concludes, '[T]he biggest mistake any of us could make would be to conclude that this bill solves the problem.'"
hypnosec writes "Mozilla has ditched Firefox's new-tab monetization plans because they 'didn't go over well' with the community. Johnathan Nightingale, Mozilla's VP of Firefox, said much of Firefox's community was worried Mozilla would 'turn Firefox into a mess of logos sold to the highest bidder' and that users wouldn't have control over this or see any actual benefit. 'That's not going to happen. That's not who we are at Mozilla.'"
New submitter howtokilltime sends this news from the Washington Post: "China is planning to build a train line that would, in theory, connect Beijing to the United States. According to a report in the Beijing Times, citing an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chinese officials are considering a route that would start in the country's northeast, thread through eastern Siberia and cross the Bering Strait via a 125-mile long underwater tunnel into Alaska."
An anonymous reader writes "Two weeks ago, SpaceX filed suit against the U.S. Air Force in an attempt to enforce competition for rocket purchases. They argued it was a bad idea to blindly shovel money into Russia's coffers for rides to space, and said there was no way for other rocket manufacturers to get a foot in the door. Last week, it looked like they were getting traction — an injunction was granted, temporarily halting the Air Force's process of buying rockets. Unfortunately for SpaceX, that injunction has now been dissolved. At the heart of the suit was Executive Order 13,661, which blocks the transfer of wealth to people in the Russian Federation who are related to the situation in the Ukraine. SpaceX said that since Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was the head of their space agency, payments to the agency were effectively payments to him. The U.S. departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury all sent letters to the court saying this was not the case, and the court agreed. Here's the final ruling."
New submitter echo-e writes: "A deal has been made between groups representing content creators and ISPs in the UK concerning how the ISPs should respond to suspected illegal file sharers. In short, the ISPs will send letters or emails with an 'educational' rather than threatening tone, alerting users to legal alternatives. The rights holders will be notified of the number of such alerts that have been sent out, but only the ISPs will know the identity of the offenders. Only four of the UKs ISPs have agreed to the 'Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme' so far, but the remaining ISPs are expected to join the programme at a later stage. The debate between rights holders and ISPs has raged on for years. This agreement falls short of the of the proposals put forward by the rights holders groups, but the ISPs have argued that it is not their responsibility to police users and that a legal process already exists for going after individuals."
tcd004 (134130) writes "Few sciences are more romantic than taxonomy. Imagine Darwin, perched over a nest of newly-discovered birds in the Galapagos, sketching away with a charcoal in his immortal journals. Yet Taxonomy is a dying science. DNA barcoding, which can identify species from tiny fragments of organic material, and other genetic sciences are pulling students away from the classical studies of anatomy and species classifications. As the biodiversity crisis wipes undiscovered species off the planet, so to go the scientists who count them."
Bruce66423 (1678196) writes in with news about a planned protest by London black-cab drivers against Uber. "London black-cab drivers are planning to cause gridlock in the city to protest against car service Uber. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber's drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters. Transport for London has declined to intervene, because it disagrees that there has been a breach of the law. LTDA now plans to force the issue by holding the action in early June. 'Transport for London not enforcing the Private Hire Vehicles Act is dangerous for Londoners,' Steve McNamara, LTDA's general secretary, told the BBC. 'I anticipate that the demonstration against TfL's handling of Uber will attract many many thousands of cabs and cause severe chaos, congestion and confusion across the metropolis.'"
An anonymous reader writes "A study published in March found that that the reason why the U.S. government has sub-par IT programs is because leading commercial IT companies established in the U.S. aren't involved in government contracting. Either the government holds closed bidding, essentially stifling competition to its own disadvantage, or prospective companies are put off by the cost-prohibitive regulations associated with government acquisition given the low returns (less than 10% as compared to 20% or more in the commercial world). The dysfunction that results has been documented by the Government Accountability Office: of 15 Department of Defense IT projects studied, 11 had cost increases (one of which was by 2,333%), 13 had schedule slippages (one of which was by six years), and only three met system performance goals. If the U.S. wants to lead other governments in technical capabilities by tapping into the technology being developed within its own borders, then some say that instead of exemptions and workarounds such as was applied with Healthcare.gov, a complete rebuild of the whole acquisition program would need to be implemented."
An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. Patent Office granted Amazon a patent in March that basically describes taking a picture with a white background. Amazon claims that their method is unique to current photography methods because they can achieve the effect of a true white background without retouching the photo or using any sort of post-processing technique. Some professional photographers disagree, claiming that plenty of prior art exists embodying Amazon's described method and furthermore that this pre-existing method is what the photography industry calls 'shooting against a seamless white backdrop.'"
Nerval's Lobster (2598977) writes "Epic Games is rebooting Unreal Tournament, but not in a typical way. A small team of veteran developers will begin work on the next edition of the popular, multi-player shooter, in collaboration with pretty much anyone who wants to participate. "From the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers. We'll be using forums for discussion, and Twitch streams for regular updates," reads a note on the company's blog. All code and content will appear on GitHub, and development will focus on Mac, Linux, and Windows. What's the catch? According to Epic, it'll take months to forge a playable game. "When the game is playable, it will be free. Not free to play, just free," the blog adds. "We'll eventually create a marketplace where developers, modders, artists and gamers can give away, buy and sell mods and content. Earnings from the marketplace will be split between the mod/content developer, and Epic. That's how we plan to pay for the game.""
MojoKid (1002251) writes "The upcoming PS4 game Driveclub is making waves for reasons that have nothing to do with its gameplay or development status. In a new video, the company has spelled out its free trial and upgrade policies, and the requirements are a doozy. First, the good news — PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to download a demo of the game that contains a few maps and one trial area, India. If you choose to upgrade that version, the full title will cost you $50. Here's the catch — that purchase is tied to your Playstation Plus subscription. In other words, if you stop paying Sony the official $49.95 a year for PlayStation Plus, you lose your $50 game. This is completely at odds with how PlayStation Plus membership is supposed to work. It contradicts Sony's official FAQ, which states that: 'Any content you purchase with a Plus discount is yours to keep, regardless of you membership status.'"
First time accepted submitter systemDead (3645325) writes "I looked mostly with disinterest at Debian's decision last February to switch to
systemd as the default init system for their future operating system releases. The Debian GNU/Linux distribution is, after all, famous for allowing users greater freedom to choose what system components they want to install. This appeared to be the case with the init system, given the presence of packages such as sysvinit-core, upstart, and even openrc as alternatives to systemd.
Unfortunately, while still theoretically possible, installing an alternative init system means doing without a number of useful, even essential system programs. By design, systemd appears to be a full-blown everything-including-the-kitchen-sink solution to the relatively simple problem of starting up a Unix-like system. Systemd, for example, is a hard-coded dependency for installing Network Manager, probably the most user-friendly way for a desktop Linux system to connect to a wireless or wired network. Just this week, I woke up to find out that systemd had become a dependency for running PolicyKit, the suite of programs responsible for user privileges and permissions in a typical Linux desktop.
I was able to replace Network Manager with connman, a lightweight program originally developed for mobile devices. But with systemd infecting even the PolicyKit framework, I find myself faced with a dilemma. Should I just let systemd take over my entire system, or should I retreat to my old terminal-based computing in the hope that the horde of the systemDead don't take over the Linux kernel itself?
What are your plans for working with or working around systemd? Are there any mainstream GNU/Linux distros that haven't adopted and have no plans of migrating to systemd? Or is migrating to one of the bigger BSD systems the better and more future-proof solution?"
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Joan Lowy writes for AP that the Department of Transportation has issued an emergency order requiring that railroads inform state emergency management officials about the movement of large shipments of crude oil through their states and urged shippers not to use older model tanks cars that are easily ruptured in accidents, even at slow speeds. The emergency order follows a warning two weeks ago from outgoing National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman that the department risks a 'higher body count' as the result of fiery oil train accidents if it waits for new safety regulations to become final. There have been nine oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada since March of last year, many of them resulting in intense fires and sometimes the evacuation of nearby residents, according to the NTSB. The latest was last week, when a CSX train carrying Bakken crude derailed in downtown Lynchburg, Va., sending three tank cars into the James River and shooting flames and black smoke into the air. Concern about the safe transport of crude oil was heightened after a runaway oil train derailed and then exploded last July in the small town of Lac-Megantic in Canada, just across the border from Maine. More than 60 tank cars spilled more than 1.3 million gallons of oil. Forty-seven people were killed and 30 buildings destroyed in the resulting inferno. Hersman says that over her 10 years on the board she has 'seen a lot of difficulty when it comes to safely rules being implemented if we don't have a high enough body count. That is a tombstone mentality. We know the steps that will prevent or mitigate these accidents. What is missing is the will to require people to do so.'"
Rambo Tribble (1273454) writes "A 7-year German study has come to a troubling conclusion: the EM noise from human activities is interfering with birds' magnetic 'compass' [paywalled paper, but above-average abstract], and potentially disrupting migratory behavior. While science is unclear how the birds' compasses work, it is theorized it employs the quantum phenomenon of electron spin. As the lead researcher, Prof Henrik Mouritsen, is quoted as saying, 'A very small perturbation of these electron spins would actually prevent the birds from using their magnetic compass.' The BBC has a nice summary article, as well."
trbdavies (979982) writes 'Only in San Francisco' used to refer to issues like whether public nudity should be restricted to certain hours of the day. Now I hear it most often in connection with the interplay between the city and tech companies. SF Weekly reports on one such development: 'Anyone who's visited San Francisco for 35 minutes knows that easy parking is a rare find. Enter Paolo Dobrowolny, an Italian tech bro who decided San Francisco was the perfect spot to test out his new experiment. Here's how it works: You find a parking spot, revel a little, let Monkey Parking know where you're located, and watch the bidding begin. Finally, give your spot to the wealthiest victim willing to pay the highest price for your spot. Drive away that much richer.'" Update: 05/08 15:52 GMT by T : I suspect that Dobrowolny's a tech pro, rather than bro, or at least that's what I suspect the Weekly meant to say.
mask.of.sanity (1228908) writes with this excerpt from The Register: "'Intel security subsidiary McAfee may be in hot water after it allegedly scraped thousands of records from the Open Source Vulnerability Database instead of paying for them. The slurp was said to be conducted using fast scripts that rapidly changed the user agent, and was launched after McAfee formally inquired about purchasing a license to the data.' Law experts say the site's copyright could be breached by individuals merely downloading the information in contravention to the site's policies, and did not require the data to be subsequently disseminated."
First time accepted submitter sumakor (3571543) writes "The House Judiciary Committee has advanced a weakened version of the USA Freedom Act (HR3361). The amended compromise version allows collection of phone call records up to two hops away from a target, potentially including millions of customer records, and allows for collection without a judge's order in emergency cases. The amended bill also drops the requirement for a privacy advocate who can appeal the rulings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and extends the controversial Section 215 of the Patriot Act from 2015 through 2017.
Despite these significant changes the amended bill has been endorsed by the ACLU and the EFF as a first step and the most promising path towards reigning in government surveillance. The two organizations called for further Congressional measures to tighten control of surveillance authorities including an explicit definition of the term 'selector,' a reduction in the number of hops from 2 to 1 under most circumstances and the closing the loophole that allows searches of Americans' data inadvertently collected thru Section 702.
The bill now proceeds to the House Intelligence Committee, who has advanced its competing bill, the FISA Transparency and Modernization Act (HR 4291). The committee will mark up both bills on the same day, beginning at 10am Thursday, behind closed doors."
cartechboy (2660665) writes "Tesla just announced its first-quarter earnings and the numbers are interesting. It logged revenue of $713 million on deliveries of 6,457 Model S electric cars. It's worth noting that's basically the number of vehicles it said it would sell in the quarter, but that number is slightly down from the prior quarter. It built a total of 7,535 Model S cars in the quarter as it built inventory as shipments began to China where sales just started last month. Net orders in North America grew 10 percent, and production for the second quarter is expected to increase to 8,500-9,000 Model S cars. Tesla expects to deliver 35,000 cars during the 2014 calendar year. Musk told analysts that China's enthusiastic and that government support is crucial. The Model X is delayed until spring of 2015 with production-design prototypes being ready in the fourth quarter. Tesla hopes to possibly break ground as early as next month on its gigafactory, though the location has yet to be announced. Of course, the stock market is already reacting to these numbers and is currently down nearly 3 percent in after hours trading."
An anonymous reader writes "The London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is reportedly engaging in a year-long pilot program to determine the benefits of its police force wearing video cameras during interactions with the public. 'The pilot will include a total of 500 cameras distributed across ten city boroughs.' London joins some major U.S. cities in this endeavor to improve the quality of policing through the use of wearable cameras. Privacy advocates argue, however, that police officers having these devices on their persons is not enough: 'the efficacy of police body-mounted cameras as a crime reduction and accountability tool hinges on enforcement of good policies and procedures—including something as basic as preventing officers from being able to deactivate the cameras at their own discretion.'"
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Carolyn Lochhead reports in the SF Chronicle that the White House has announced a plan allowing spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States, a coup for Silicon Valley companies that have been calling for more lenient rules for immigrants who come to the United States to work in technology. 'The proposals announced today will encourage highly skilled, specially trained individuals to remain in the United States and continue to support U.S. businesses and the growth of the U.S. economy,' says Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. 'A concurrent goal is for the United States to maintain competitiveness with other countries that attract skilled foreign workers and offer employment authorization for spouses of skilled workers. American businesses continue to need skilled nonimmigrant and immigrant workers.'
Currently, spouses of H-1B visa holders are not allowed to work unless they obtain their own visa but tech companies have been calling for more H-1B visas, and supporters of the rule change argue that it will bring in more talented workers. Critics say they believe expanding the H-1B visa program will allow lower-paid foreign workers to take American jobs. The plan immediately drew fire from Republicans. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, accused the administration of acting unilaterally to change immigration law and bring in tens of thousands of potential competitors with Americans for jobs. 'Fifty million working-age Americans aren't working,' Sessions said in a statement, adding that as many as 'half of new technology jobs may be going to guest workers. This will help corporations by further flooding a slack labor market, pulling down wages.'"
netbuzz writes: "The worst of DRM is set to infest law school casebooks. One publisher, AspenLaw, wants students to pay $200 for a bound casebook, but at the end of class they have to give it back. Aspen is touting this arrangement as a great deal because the buyer will get an electronic version and assorted online goodies once they return the actual book. But they must return the book. Law professors and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are calling it nothing but a cynical attempt to undermine used book sales, as well as the first sale doctrine that protects used bookstores and libraries."
mdsolar sends this report from the NY Times: "Stanford University announced Tuesday that it would divest its $18.7 billion endowment of stock in coal-mining companies, becoming the first major university to lend support to a nationwide campaign to purge endowments and pension funds of fossil fuel investments. The university said it acted in accordance with internal guidelines that allow its trustees to consider whether 'corporate policies or practices create substantial social injury' when choosing investments. Coal's status as a major source of carbon pollution linked to climate change persuaded the trustees to remove companies 'whose principal business is coal' from their investment portfolio, the university said."
An anonymous reader writes "Game studios now seem to be forming a habit out of opening up their debugger / development utilities. After Valve's notable VOGL debugger, Crytek has now decided to open source their Renderdoc debugger. Renderdoc had been available for free use since earlier in the year but now they have posted an MIT-licensed version of the code to GitHub. Renderdoc builds on both Windows and Linux but for now just targets the Direct3D 11 graphics API while OpenGL support is being expected later."
Last week you had the chance to ask chef, travel writer, reality TV star, and all around food geek Ben Starr about sustainable farming, brewing, and building the perfect kitchen. Read below to see what he had to say.
randomErr (172078) writes "Russia is tightening its grip on free speech and freedom of the Internet by creating a new 'bloggers law'. This policy follows the pattern set by China, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran." Any site with more than 3000 daily visitors will be required to register and be held to a number of restrictions, quoting the article: "Besides registering, bloggers can no longer remain anonymous online, and organizations that provide platforms for their work such as search engines, social networks and other forums must maintain computer records on Russian soil of everything posted over the previous six months."
theodp (442580) writes "Meet your new 'Room Mom', kids! On Tuesday, Google announced a preview of Classroom, a new, free tool in the Google Apps for Education suite. From the announcement: 'With Classroom, you'll be able to: [1] Create and collect assignments: Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help teachers create and collect assignments paperlessly. They can quickly see who has or hasn't completed the work, and provide direct, real-time feedback to individual students. [2] Improve class communications: Teachers can make announcements, ask questions and comment with students in real time—improving communication inside and outside of class. [3] Stay organized: Classroom automatically creates Drive folders for each assignment and for each student. Students can easily see what's due on their Assignments page.'
Addressing privacy concerns, Google reassures teachers, 'We know that protecting your students' privacy is critical. Like the rest of our Apps for Education services, Classroom contains no ads, never uses your content or student data for advertising purposes, and is free for schools.' After the recent torpedoing of Bill Gates' $100M inBloom initiative, Google might want to have a privacy pitch ready for parents, too!"
DavidGilbert99 writes: "According to Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, the lead economist of CCP Games, developer of EVE Online, the total amount of ISK (InterStellar Kredits) in the system at the moment is 600 trillion, which equates to about $18 million in real world money — and the economist believes we could learn a lot from how the economy works in the game. There was a massive battle within the game earlier this year, which CCP estimated destroyed between $300,000 and $330,000 worth of game materials. Guðmundsson said, 'In economics there is a big difference between consumption and loss. In EVE, the war is the consumption of the economy. Even though they are giving money away they are not losing value, they are gaining something instead. People were willing to spend that money [in the Battle of B-R5RB] to get this thrill of participating in this battle.'"
judgecorp writes: "People using shared storage providers such as Box and Dropbox are leaking data, a competitor has discovered. Links to shared files leak out when those links are accidentally put into the Google search box, or if users click links from within the documents. Dropbox competitor Intralinks stumbled across mortgage applications and bank statements while checking Google Analytics data for a Google Adwords campaign. Graham Cluley explains the problem in detail and suggests answers: for Dropbox users, it means upgrading to the Business version, which lets you restrict access to shared document links." Dropbox has posted an official response and disabled access to previously shared links. Box made a vague statement about their awareness of the issue.
v3rgEz sends this piece from the Boston Globe: "Taxpayers in the United States spend $139 billion a year on scientific research, yet much of this research is inaccessible not only to the public, but also to other scientists. This is the consequence of an exploitative scientific journal system that rewards academic publishers while punishing taxpayers, scientists, and universities. Fortunately, cheap open-access alternatives are not only possible, but already beginning to take root, as this article explores in-depth: 'Why is it so expensive to publish in these open-access journals? According to the journals, these fees defray their publication and operating costs. However, this argument is undermined by the existence of open-access journals that charge authors nothing and have negligible operating costs. One prominent example is the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR), one of the top publications in the field of machine learning. JMLR has a similar editorial process to many other journals, with a volunteer editorial board and an automated system for managing the peer-review process. Unlike many closed-access publishers, it does not take any advertising. MIT provides the web server for hosting JMLR, which would otherwise cost around $15 per year. The biggest expense is paying for a tax accountant to deal with paperwork so JMLR can maintain its tax-exempt status. Altogether, the total cost of running JMLR since it was founded in 2000 is estimated to be less than $7,000, or $6.50 per article published. This proves that cheap open-access publishing is possible.'"
DeviceGuru (1136715) writes "Raytheon is switching its UAV control system from Solaris to Linux for U.S. military drones, starting with a Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopter. Earlier this month Raytheon entered into a $15.8 million contract with the U.S. Navy to upgrade Raytheon's control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to a recent Avionics Intelligence report. The overhaul is designed to implement more modern controls to help ground-based personnel control UAVs. Raytheon's tuxified version of its Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Air Vehicle Tactical Control System (TCS) will also implement universal UAV control qualities. As a result the TCS can be used in in all U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps UAVs that weigh at least 20 pounds. By providing an open standard, the common Linux-based platform is expected to reduce costs by limiting the types of UAV control systems that need to be built and maintained for each craft."
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: "Darryl Fears reports in the Washington Post on the U.S. government's newest national assessment of climate change. It says Americans are already feeling the effects of global warming. The assessment carves the nation into sections and examines the impacts: More sea-level rise, flooding, storm surge, precipitation and heat waves in the Northeast; frequent water shortages and hurricanes in the Southeast and Caribbean; more drought and wildfires in the Southwest. 'Residents of some coastal cities see their streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. Inland cities near large rivers also experience more flooding, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Insurance rates are rising in some vulnerable locations, and insurance is no longer available in others. Hotter and drier weather and earlier snow melt mean that wildfires in the West start earlier in the spring, last later into the fall, and burn more acreage. In Arctic Alaska, the summer sea ice that once protected the coasts has receded, and autumn storms now cause more erosion, threatening many communities with relocation.' The report concludes that over recent decades, climate science has advanced significantly and that increased scrutiny has led to increased certainty that we are now seeing impacts associated with human-induced climate change. 'What is new over the last decade is that we know with increasing certainty that climate change is happening now. While scientists continue to refine projections of the future, observations unequivocally show that climate is changing and that the warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases.'"
samzenpus (5) writes "A while ago you had the chance to ask GNU and Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman about GNU, copyright laws, digital restrictions management, and software patents. Below you'll find his answers to those questions."
judgecorp (778838) writes "Symantec says anti-virus is dead but the company — the world's largest IT security firm — still makes 40 percent of its revenue there. AV now lets through around 55 percent of attacks, the company's senior vice president of information security told the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, other security firms including FireEye, RedSocks and Imperva are casting doubt on AV, suggesting a focus on data loss prevention might be better."
Sockatume (732728) writes "The latest episode of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Mediawatch program addresses GeoResonance's claims to have found the lost Malasia Airlines MH370 in the Bay of Bengal. They attribute the company's sudden prominence to increasing desperation amongst the press. Meanwhile, the Metabunk web site has been digging into the people and technology behind GeoResonance and its international siblings, finding noted pseudoscientist Vitaly Gokh and a dubious variation on Kirlian photography."
New submitter bobbied (2522392) writes "A rare warning has been issued by the US Geological survey today, warning of an increased risk of a damaging earthquake (magnitude 5.0 or greater) in central Oklahoma. There have been more earthquakes in Oklahoma (per mile) than California this year, prompting the USGS to issue their warning today (May 5, 2014).
This warning is the first such warning to be issued for a state east of the Rockies."
colinneagle (2544914) writes "Jos Creese, CIO of the Hampshire County Council, told Britain's 'Computing' publication that part of the reason is that most staff are already familiar with Microsoft products and that Microsoft has been flexible and more helpful. 'Microsoft has been flexible and helpful in the way we apply their products to improve the operation of our frontline services, and this helps to de-risk ongoing cost,' he told the publication. 'The point is that the true cost is in the total cost of ownership and exploitation, not just the license cost.' Creese went on to say he didn't have a particular bias about open source over Microsoft, but proprietary solutions from Microsoft or any other commercial software vendor 'need to justify themselves and to work doubly hard to have flexible business models to help us further our aims.'"
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Walk into any university lecture hall and you're likely to see row upon row of students sitting behind glowing laptop screens. Laptops in class have been controversial, due mostly to the many opportunities for distraction that they provide (online shopping, browsing Reddit, or playing solitaire, just to name a few). But few studies have examined how effective laptops are for the students who diligently take notes. Now Robinson Meyer writes at The Atlantic that a new study finds that people remember lectures better when they've taken handwritten notes, rather than typed ones. The research suggests that even when laptops are used solely to take notes, they may still be impairing learning because their use results in shallower processing. 'Our new findings suggest that even when laptops are used as intended — and not for buying things on Amazon during class — they may still be harming academic performance,' says psychological scientist Pam Mueller of Princeton University, lead author of the study. Laptop note takers' tendency to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning. If you can type quickly enough, word-for-word transcription is possible, whereas writing by hand usually rules out capturing every word. 'We don't write longhand as fast as we type these days, but people who were typing just tended to transcribe large parts of lecture content verbatim,' says Mueller. 'The people who were taking notes on the laptops don't have to be judicious in what they write down.'"
Jason Koebler (3528235) writes "A Redditor got more than he bargained for in the mail today: He was accidentally mailed parts to a $350,000 environment and wildlife monitoring drone owned by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. 'We sent a set of about eight boxes for this one aircraft system, and one was misdelivered by UPS. We're working with UPS to find it,' the federal agency says."
Lucas123 (935744) writes "Sony has warned investors that it expects to take a hit on expected earnings (PDF), due in part to the fact that demand for Blu-ray Disc media is contracting faster than anticipated. In two weeks, Sony will announce its financial results. The company expects to post a net loss. Sony's warning is in line with other industry indicators, such as a report released earlier this year by Generator Research showed revenue from DVD and Blu-ray sales will likely decrease by 38% over the next four years. By comparison, online movie revenue is expected to grow 260% from $3.5 billion this year to $12.7 billion in 2018, the report states. Paul Gray, director of TV Electronics & Europe TV Research at market research firm DisplaySearch, said consumers are now accustomed to the instant availability of online media, and 'the idea of buying a physical copy seems quaint if you're under 25.'" Especially when those copies come with awful DRM.
Lasrick (2629253) writes "With the news that a multinational consortium is to the halfway point in constructing a huge stainless steel hangar that will sit over the ruined site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, Dan Drollette looks in the archives of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and compares notes on the sarcophagus that was built 25 years ago, and the one that is being built now. 'No one really knows what went into the "concrete cube;" even the amount of concrete claimed to have been used is suspect, as it would form a volume larger than the sarcophagus, wrote nuclear engineer and author Alexander R. Sich in his 11-page article, "Truth was an early casualty."' Let's hope this new sarcophagus lasts longer."
randomErr (172078) writes "The US Department of Defense is investigating whether Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are a potential terrorist threat. The Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO), a division within DOD that identifies and develops counter terrorism abilities and investigates irregular warfare and evolving threats, has listed Bitcoin among its topics for research and mission critical analysis related to terrorism."
First time accepted submitter ericnishio (3641743) writes "Extending Bootstrap is a concise, step by step manual that introduces some of the best practices on how to customize Twitter Bootstrap for your projects. As the title suggests, you will be learning how to extract the good parts of Bootstrap to create a fully customized package. But be advised: the book is not for beginners." Read below for ericnishio's review.
An anonymous reader writes "The Mozilla Foundation is filing a petition asking the FCC to declare that ISPs are common carriers, with a twist. 'The FCC doesn't have to reclassify the Internet access ISPs offer consumers as a telecommunications service subject to common carrier regulations under Title II of the Communications Act, Mozilla says. Instead, the FCC should target the service ISPs offer to edge providers like Netflix and Dropbox, who need to send their bits over ISP networks to reach their customers. Classifying the ISP/edge provider relationship as a common carrier service will be a little cleaner since the FCC wouldn't have to undo several decade-old orders that classified broadband as an "information" service rather than telecommunications, Mozilla argues.'" Here's the Mozilla blog post and the 13-page petition.
First time accepted submitter SaraLast (3619459) writes in with news about Santa Barbara considering the restart of its desalination plant. "This seaside city thought it had the perfect solution the last time California withered in a severe drought more than two decades ago: Tap the ocean to turn salty seawater to fresh water. The $34 million desalination plant was fired up for only three months and mothballed after a miracle soaking of rain. As the state again grapples with historic dryness, the city nicknamed the "American Riviera" has its eye on restarting the idled facility to hedge against current and future droughts. "We were so close to running out of water during the last drought. It was frightening," said Joshua Haggmark, interim water resources manager. "Desalination wasn't a crazy idea back then." Removing salt from ocean water is not a far-out idea, but it's no quick drought-relief option. It takes years of planning and overcoming red tape to launch a project. Santa Barbara is uniquely positioned with a desalination plant in storage. But getting it humming again won't be as simple as flipping a switch."
samzenpus (5) writes "Stewart Brand trained as a biologist at Stanford, was associated with Ken Kesey and the "Merry Pranksters", and served as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army. His books include Whole Earth Discipline: The Rise of Ecopragmatism, The Clock of the Long Now, How Buildings Learn, and The Media Lab. He is the founder/editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, the co-founder of The Long Now Foundation, The WELL, and the Global Business Network. His latest project, Revive & Restore, may be his most ambitious yet. Revive and Restore aims to bring back extinct species and provide genetic rescue for endangered species that are spiraling down with inbreeding problems. Mr. Brand has agreed to answer any questions you may have but please limit yourself to one question per post."
An anonymous reader writes "Addressing the audience at the Freedom Online Coalition Conference, Secretary of State John Kerry defended NSA snooping actions saying: 'Let me be clear – as in the physical space, cyber security cannot come at the expense of cyber privacy. And we all know this is a difficult challenge. But I am serious when I tell you that we are committed to discussing it in an absolutely inclusive and transparent manner, both at home and abroad. As President Obama has made clear, just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should do it. And that's why he ordered a thorough review of all our signals intelligence practices. And that's why he then, after examining it and debating it and openly engaging in a conversation about it, which is unlike most countries on the planet, he announced a set of concrete and meaningful reforms, including on electronic surveillance, in a world where we know there are terrorists and others who are seeking to do injury to all of us. And finally, transparency – the principles governing such activities need to be understood so that free people can debate them and play their part in shaping these choices. And we believe these principles can positively help us to distinguish the legitimate practices of states governed by the rule of law from the legitimate practices of states that actually use surveillance to repress their people. And while I expect you to hold the United States to the standards that I've outlined, I also hope that you won't let the world forget the places where those who hold their government to standards go to jail rather than win prizes.' He added: 'This debate is about two very different visions: one vision that respects freedom and another that denies it. All of you at the Freedom Online Coalition are on the right side of this debate, and now we need to make sure that all of us together wind up on the right side of history."
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Evan Halper writes in the LA Times that with efforts to reduce carbon emissions lagging, researchers, backed by millions of dollars from the federal government, are looking for ways to protect key industries from the impact of climate change by racing to develop new breeds of farm animals that can stand up to the hazards of global warming. ""We are dealing with the challenge of difficult weather conditions at the same time we have to massively increase food production" to accommodate larger populations and a growing demand for meat, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. For example a team of researchers is trying to map the genetic code of bizarre-looking African naked-neck chickens to see if their ability to withstand heat can be bred into flocks of US broilers. "The game is changing since the climate is changing," says Carl Schmidt. "We have to start now to anticipate what changes we have to make in order to feed 9 billion people," citing global-population estimates for 2050." (More below.)
As reported by Tech Times, research conducted aboard the ISS has shown that Earth bacteria could survive the rigors of travel to Mars better than might be expected. "Research into bacterial colonization on the red planet was not part of the plan to terraform the alien world ahead of human occupation. Instead, three teams investigated how to prevent microbes from Earth from hitching a ride to the red planet aboard spacecraft. It is nearly impossible to remove all biological contaminants from equipment headed to other planets. By better understanding what organisms can survive in space or on the surfaces of other worlds, mission planners can learn which forms of microscopic life to concentrate on during the sanitation process. 'If you are able to reduce the numbers to acceptable levels, a proxy for cleanliness, the assumption is that the life forms will not survive under harsh space conditions,' Kasthuri Venkateswaran of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-author of all three papers, said."
An anonymous reader writes with a snippet from ExtremeTech: "After being continuously inhabited for more than 13 years, it is finally possible to log into Ustream and watch the Earth spinning on its axis in glorious HD. This video feed [embedded at ExtremeTech] comes from from four high-definition cameras, delivered by last month's SpaceX CRS-3 resupply mission, that are attached to the outside of the International Space Station. You can open up the Ustream page at any time, and as long as it isn't night time aboard the ISS, you'll be treated to a beautiful view of the Earth from around 250 miles (400 km) up."