transfoundation

Fingerprint scans replace clocks at work

2008-03-27T09:50:00.003-04:00

NEW YORK — It's happening at Dunkin' Donuts, at Hilton hotels, even at Marine Corps bases: Employees are starting and ending their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner that logs the precise time of their arrival and departure, and the information is automatically reflected in payroll records.

Manufacturers say these biometric devices improve efficiency and streamline payroll operations. Employers big and small buy them with the dual goals of keeping workers honest and automating outdated record-keeping systems that rely on paper time sheets.

The new systems have raised complaints, however, from some workers who see the efforts to track their movements as excessive or creepy.

"They don't even have to hire someone to harass you anymore. The machine can do it for them," said Ed Ott, executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. "The palm print thing really grabs people as a step too far."

The International Biometric Group, a consulting firm, estimated that $635 million worth of these high-tech devices were sold last year, and projects that the industry will be worth more than $1 billion by 2011.

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, a leading manufacturer of hand scanners based in Campbell, Calif., said it has sold at least 150,000 of the devices to Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's franchises, Hilton hotels and to Marine Corps bases, who use them to track civilian hours.

Protests over using palm scanners to log employee time have been especially loud in New York City, where officials are spending $410 million to install an automated attendance tracking system that may eventually be used by 160,000 city workers.

Scores of civil servants who are members of Local 375 of the Civil Service Technical Guild rallied Tuesday against a plan to add the city medical examiner's office to the list of 17 city agencies which already have the scanners in place.

The scanners have rankled draftsmen, planners and architects in the city's Parks Department, which began using them last year.

"Psychologically, I think it has had a huge impact on the work force here because it is demeaning and because it's a system based on mistrust," said Ricardo Hinkle, a landscape architect who designs city parks.

He called the timekeeping system a bureaucratic intrusion on professionals who never used to think twice about putting in extra time on a project they cared about, and could rely on human managers to exercise a little flexibility on matters regarding work hours.

"The creative process isn't one that punches in and punches out," he said.

A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Matthew Kelly, said the system isn't meant to be intrusive and has clear benefits over old-style punch clocks or paper time sheets.

The city expects to save $60 million per year by modernizing a complicated record keeping system that now requires one full-time timekeeper for every 100 to 250 employees. The new system, dubbed CityTime, would free up thousands of city employees to do less paper-pushing.

Another benefit of the system is curtailing fraud. Several times each year, New York City's Department of Investigation charges city employees with taking unauthorized time off and falsifying timecards to make it looked as though they worked.

Other cities have embraced similar technology.

Cities as big as Chicago and as small as Tahlequah, Okla., have turned to fingerprint-driven ID systems to record employee work hours in recent few years. And the systems have been introduced into plenty of other workplaces without much grumbling by employees, especially those already used to punching a clock.

But the New York workers aren't the first to fight it. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees complained vigorously two years ago after the city of Pittsburgh proposed installing fingerprint readers.

"We had a lot of questions, a lot of concerns, and so far they haven't put it in," said AFCME Council 84 Director Richard Caponi.

Jon Mooney, Ingersoll Rand's general manger of biometrics, said the privacy concerns are unfounded. The hand scanners don't keep large databases of people's fingerprints — only a record of their hand shape, he said.

Still, union officials in New York said they are concerned that the machines could eventually be used not just to crack down on employees skipping work, but to nitpick honest workers or invade their privacy.

"The bottom line is that these palm scanners are designed to exercise more control over the workforce," said Claude Fort, president of Local 375. "They aren't there for security purposes. It has nothing to do with productivity. ... It is about control, and that is what

Young Chimp Beats College Students

2007-12-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here's the type of study that makes me go - hmmm. Or is it, Uga, Uga.

By MALCOLM RITTER AP/Science writer
Think you're smarter than a fifth-grader? How about a 5-year-old chimp? Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won. :MORE::

Learning Template

2007-11-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

Nieman Reports (Harvard)
Bob Giles offers a good template for learning:

“‘Five Minds for the Future'...new ways of learning that will prepare students to think globally and function in a world dominated by information, science and technology, and the conflicts among cultures.

Gardner’s five minds would master one or more disciplines, would posses capabilities to synthesize information, would be creative, would be respectful and would work in an ethical manner.”

Man in India Marries Dog

2007-11-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

A man in southern married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death _ an act he believes cursed him _ a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Related Man-Beast Marriages...

(not actual dog)

Wikipedia folks say that Human-animal marriage, i.e., marriage between humans and non-human animals, is not recognized by any modern country, but historically, people have married animals as part of religious traditions or to bring good luck, often involving elaborate ceremonies. Such marriages as are allowed by tradition, or within a culture, are often symbolic or ritual, rather than the more usual recognition of a relationship

Learn Japanese

2007-11-09T14:43:00.001-05:00

the web offers a marketplace for learning new language

Silence of Cellphones, Illegally

2007-11-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

As cellphone use has skyrocketed, making it hard to avoid hearing half a conversation in many public places, a small but growing band of rebels is turning to a blunt countermeasure: the cellphone jammer, a gadget that renders nearby mobile devices impotent.::MORE::

Soulja Boys and Girls

2007-11-08T00:05:00.000-05:00

74-year-old does 3,010 push-ups in one day

2007-11-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

The AJC found this super determined grandfather of four. I think four is the number of push-ups I can do right now...

Don Magee, 74, recently broke his own personal record by performing 3,010 push-ups in one day.::MORE::

Istanbul's Bath Houses

2007-11-07T21:25:00.001-05:00

Lonely Planet has saved me plenty of times when I've been in a strange land.

Want to steam away the travel grime - but confused by the rituals? Here's a simple guide to keeping your cool. ::MORE::

How to Save Gasolina

2007-11-07T21:20:00.000-05:00

With Gas Prices reaching a $100 bucks and soon surpassing it, it's not too late to save at the pump. Here is a list I got from ABC.
Choose the right octane. For most cars, the recommended gas is regular octane. Using a higher octane gas than the manufacturer recommends offers no benefit, and it costs you at the pump. Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gas is a waste of money.

Stay away from gas-savings gadgets. Be skeptical about any gadget promising to improve your mileage. The Environmental Protection Agency has tested more than 100 such devices -- including "mixture enhancers" and fuel line magnets -- and found that very few provided any benefits. Those that did work provided only a slight improvement. Some can even damage your engine.

Stay within the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 miles per hour.

Avoid unnecessary idling. It wastes fuel, costs you money and pollutes the air. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a wait.

Stop and start gently. You can improve in-town gas mileage by up to 5 percent by driving gently.

Use overdrive and cruise control. They improve fuel economy when you're driving on the highway.

Inflate your tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated and aligned can increase gas mileage up to 3 percent.

Keep your engine tuned. Tuning your engine can increase gas mileage by an average of 4 percent.

Change your oil. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine. Motor oil that says "Energy Conserving" on the performance symbol of the American Petroleum Institute contains friction-reducing additives that can improve fuel economy.

Replace air filters regularly. Replacing clogged filters can increase gas mileage up to 10 percent.

Lose the junk in your trunk. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk can reduce fuel economy by up to 2 percent. Removing nonessential stuff can save you at the pump.

Combine errands. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.

Consider carpooling. Many cities make it even easier by matching up commuters.

Bus it, bike it or hoof it. Why not leave your car at home and consider public transportation, a bike ride or a stroll across town?

Handwriting Helps You Learn

2007-11-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

For most people, the written thank-you is your best bet for an expression of warm, heartfelt thanks. The last thing you want is for someone to be disappointed when her hand-knit scarf is acknowledged with a loud, animated e-card." So says the Emily Post Institute, founded in 1946 and still an authority on principles of politeness in today's digital age. ::MORE::

Citizen Legal Protection Project Opens

2007-11-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

Citizen Media Law Project and the interface of their Legal Threats Database, was launched to the public. (go here for the news release) The database, funded by Knight Foundation, catalogs lawsuits, cease-and-desist letters, and other legal challenges faced by those engaging in online speech.

A Tranny's Remorse

2007-10-22T10:28:00.000-04:00

New Times
By Ashley Harrell

Michael Berke looks the biker-dude part. He's a solid six feet in tattoos, Harley jeans, a black cut-off T-shirt, a narrow ginger beard, the beginnings of a Fu Manchu, and a freckled, clean-shaven head.

On a recent Tuesday, he climbs a wooden ladder in a suburban Delray Beach garage and enters the attic. Ninety percent of what's up here belonged to Michelle, he says. "She had so many purses and things," Berke says, unsealing a blue plastic bin. He lifts out a knee-high black XOXO boot and studies it. "These were Michelle's favorite pair of shoes. What's neat about them is that you can see the skin through the laces."

It has been two years since those D-size breasts, beautiful legs, fire-red hair, and killer smile belonged to him. Literally. Yep, Berke used to be a woman who used to be a man. He's an m-t-f-t-m. An ex-tranny. The taker of a surgical U-turn. Add up all of Berke's surgeries, including breast implants, a brow lift, a nose job, cheek implants, and more, and the cost equals about $80,000. "She bankrupted me," Berke says.

The truth is, not every tranny lives in gender bliss ever after. Sometimes surgery doesn't fulfill expectations. :: READ MORE::

Just the weird: The Entrepreneurial Spirit!

2007-10-22T07:44:00.000-04:00

Reuters
A Japanese clothing manufacturer, Kochou-fuku, announced in August a line of air-conditioned shirts, with two tiny battery-operated fans inside to evaporate perspiration (for the equivalent of about $95). (One drawback: The shirt billows out, suggesting that the wearer is overweight.)

Among the recent recipients of Marin County (Calif.) Green Business certificates of environmental awareness was Pleasures of the Heart, a sex-toy and lingerie store that sells, among other items, rechargeable vibrators and erotic undergarments made of organic bamboo fabric. [Marin Independent Journal, 8-15-07] ::READ MORE::

13 writing tips from the genius behind Fight Club

2007-10-21T18:51:00.000-04:00

by Chuck Palahniuk

Twenty years ago, a friend and I walked around downtown Portland at Christmas. The big department stores: Meier and Frank… Fredrick and Nelson… Nordstroms… their big display windows each held a simple, pretty scene: a mannequin wearing clothes or a perfume bottle sitting in fake snow. But the windows at the J.J. Newberry's store, damn, they were crammed with dolls and tinsel and spatulas and screwdriver sets and pillows, vacuum cleaners, plastic hangers, gerbils, silk flowers, candy - you get the point. Each of the hundreds of different objects was priced with a faded circle of red cardboard. And walking past, my friend, Laurie, took a long look and said, "Their window-dressing philosophy must be: 'If the window doesn't look quite right - put more in'."

She said the perfect comment at the perfect moment, and I remember it two decades later because it made me laugh. Those other, pretty display windows… I'm sure they were stylist and tasteful, but I have no real memory of how they looked.

For this essay, my goal is to put more in. To put together a kind-of Christmas stocking of ideas, with the hope that something will be useful. Or like packing the gift boxes for readers, putting in candy and a squirrel and a book and some toys and a necklace, I'm hoping that enough variety will guarantee that something here will occur as completely asinine, but something else might be perfect.

Number One: Two years ago, when I wrote the first of these essays it was about my "egg timer method" of writing. You never saw that essay, but here's the method: When you don't want to write, set an egg timer for one hour (or half hour) and sit down to write until the timer rings. If you still hate writing, you're free in an hour. But usually, by the time that alarm rings, you'll be so involved in your work, enjoying it so much, you'll keep going. Instead of an egg timer, you can put a load of clothes in the washer or dryer and use them to time your work. Alternating the thoughtful task of writing with the mindless work of laundry or dish washing will give you the breaks you need for new ideas and insights to occur. If you don't know what comes next in the story… clean your toilet. Change the bed sheets. For Christ sakes, dust the computer. A better idea will come.

Number Two: Your audience is smarter than you imagine. Don't be afraid to experiment with story forms and time shifts. My personal theory is that younger readers distain most books - not because those readers are dumber than past readers, but because today's reader is smarter. Movies have made us very sophisticated about storytelling. And your audience is much harder to shock than you can ever imagine.

Number Three: Before you sit down to write a scene, mull it over in your mind and know the purpose of that scene. What earlier set-ups will this scene pay off? What will it set up for later scenes? How will this scene further your plot? As you work, drive, exercise, hold only this question in your mind. Take a few notes as you have ideas. And only when you've decided on the bones of the scene - then, sit and write it. Don't go to that boring, dusty computer without something in mind. And don't make your reader slog through a scene in which little or nothing happens.

Number Four: Surprise yourself. If you can bring the story - or let it bring you - to a place that amazes you, then you can surprise your reader. The moment you can see any well-planned surprise, chances are, so will your sophisticated reader.

Number Five: When you get stuck, go back and read your earlier scenes, looking for dropped characters or details that you can resurrect as "buried guns." At the end of writing Fight Club, I had no idea what to do with the office building. But re-reading the first scene, I found the throw-away comment about mixing nitro with paraffin and how it was an iffy method for making plastic explosives. That silly aside (… paraffin has never worked for me…) made the perfect "buried gun" to resurrect at the end and save my storytelling ass.

Number Six: Use writing as your excuse to throw a party each week - even if you call that party a "workshop." Any time you can spend time among other people who value and support writing, that will balance those hours you spend alone, writing. Even if someday you sell your work, no amount of money will compensate you for your time spent alone. So, take your "paycheck" up front, make writing an excuse to be around people. When you reach the end of your life - trust me, you won't look back and savor the moments you spent alone.

Number Seven: Let yourself be with Not Knowing. This bit of advice comes through a hundred famous people, through Tom Spanbauer to me and now, you. The longer you can allow a story to take shape, the better that final shape will be. Don't rush or force the ending of a story or book. All you have to know is the next scene, or the next few scenes. You don't have to know every moment up to the end, in fact, if you do it'll be boring as hell to execute.

Number Eight: If you need more freedom around the story, draft to draft, change the character names. Characters aren't real, and they aren't you. By arbitrarily changing their names, you get the distance you need to really torture a character. Or worse, delete a character, if that's what the story really needs.

Number Nine: There are three types of speech - I don't know if this is TRUE, but I heard it in a seminar and it made sense. The three types are: Descriptive, Instructive, and Expressive. Descriptive: "The sun rose high…" Instructive: "Walk, don't run…" Expressive: "Ouch!" Most fiction writers will only use one - at most, two - of these forms. So use all three. Mix them up. It's how people talk.

Number Ten: Write the book you want to read.

Number Eleven: Get author book jacket photos taken now, while you're young. And get the negatives and copyright on those photos.

Number Twelve: Write about the issues that really upset you. Those are the only things worth writing about. In his course, called "Dangerous Writing," Tom Spanbauer stresses that life is too precious to spend it writing tame, conventional stories to which you have no personal attachment. There are so many things that Tom talked about but that I only half remember: the art of "manumission," which I can't spell, but I understood to mean the care you use in moving a reader through the moments of a story. And "sous conversation," which I took to mean the hidden, buried message within the obvious story. Because I'm not comfortable describing topics I only half-understand, Tom's agreed to write a book about his workshop and the ideas he teaches. The working title is "A Hole In The Heart," and he plans to have a draft ready by June 2006, with a publishing date set in early 2007.

Number Thirteen: Another Christmas window story. Almost every morning, I eat breakfast in the same diner, and this morning a man was painting the windows with Christmas designs. Snowmen. Snowflakes. Bells. Santa Claus. He stood outside on the sidewalk, painting in the freezing cold, his breath steaming, alternating brushes and rollers with different colors of paint. Inside the diner, the customers and servers watched as he layered red and white and blue paint on the outside of the big windows. Behind him the rain changed to snow, falling sideways in the wind.

The painter's hair was all different colors of gray, and his face was slack and wrinkled as the empty ass of his jeans. Between colors, he'd stop to drink something out of a paper cup.

Watching him from inside, eating eggs and toast, somebody said it was sad. This customer said the man was probably a failed artist. It was probably whiskey in the cup. He probably had a studio full of failed paintings and now made his living decorating cheesy restaurant and grocery store windows. Just sad, sad, sad.

This painter guy kept putting up the colors. All the white "snow," first. Then some fields of red and green. Then some black outlines that made the color shapes into Xmas stockings and trees.

A server walked around, pouring coffee for people, and said, "That's so neat. I wish I could do that…"

And whether we envied or pitied this guy in the cold, he kept painting. Adding details and layers of color. And I'm not sure when it happened, but at some moment he wasn't there. The pictures themselves were so rich, they filled the windows so well, the colors so bright, that the painter had left. Whether he was a failure or a hero. He'd disappeared, gone off to wherever, and all we were seeing was his work.

Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place

2007-10-20T11:36:00.000-04:00

Torin Boyd/Polaris, for The New York Times

Though street crime is relatively low in Japan, quirky camouflage designs like this vending-machine dress are being offered to an increasingly anxious public to hide from would-be assailants. :: READ MORE::
click here for slide show

Increase in War Funding Sought

2007-10-19T08:22:00.000-04:00

$42 Billion Boost Would Raise 2008 Total to $190 Billion
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates asked Congress yesterday to approve an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the Bush administration's 2008 war funding request to nearly $190 billion -- the largest single-year total for the wars so far. ::READ MORE::

More links
How much does the war in Iraq cost?
Compare the cost of war to Public Housing
Public Education Pre-Schools Children's Health College Scholarships
MSNBC answers to How much the war in Iraq costs

HUMAN COST:
How many soldiers have died in Iraq?
other sources: Iraq Coalition Casualties

Media Execs Arrested

2007-10-19T08:21:00.000-04:00

Two executives from Village Voice Media — a company that owns a number of alternative weeklies including The Village Voice, The LA Weekly and The Phoenix Times — were arrested Thursday night in Phoenix on charges that a story published earlier in the day in The Phoenix New Times revealed grand jury secrets. ::READ MORE::

Creating life in the laboratory

2007-10-19T08:18:00.001-04:00

The race to create life version 2.0 is under way.

And rumors abound that closest to the finish line in constructing a life form in the laboratory is US genome-entrepreneur Craig Venter's research team.

The J Craig Venter Institute scientists are aiming to craft a "minimal genome"- the smallest group of genes an organism needs to survive and function - and insert it into an empty cell. ::READ MORE::

Witchy woman

2007-10-19T08:15:00.000-04:00

In the 18th century, supposedly enlightened Europeans beheaded the continent's 'last witch.' Now Anna Göldi is celebrated with a new museum and an effort to clear her name. click here to watch the video.

Today, historians trying to explain the flights of anxiety that sparked witch hunts blame everything from high inflation to cyclical poor weather and low crop yields to the tensions of the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation of the day.

Slow News Day

2007-10-16T08:58:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Miami... Here's what's news:
HEADLINE

Another Cow Spotted Roaming In Miami Lakes

subhead

Cow Has Not Been Caught

Expecting an afternoon nap can reduce blood pressure

2007-10-15T08:45:00.000-04:00

Where does the benefit lie in an afternoon nap? Is it in the nap itself -- or in the anticipation of taking a snooze? UK researchers found that the time just before you fall asleep is where beneficial cardiovascular changes take place. :: READ MORE::

Afternoon naps, or siestas, are practiced in many Mediterranean and Latin American countries such as Spain and Argentina. They are typically short naps or rest periods of no more than an hour that are taken in the afternoon.
While earlier studies on siestas have found that this practice may slightly increase the risk of heart attack, newer and more controlled studies have shown an inverse relationship between siesta taking and fatal heart attacks. In a recent epidemiological study of 23,000 people in Greece, those who regularly took siestas showed a 37% reduction in coronary mortality compared to those who never nap, while individuals who occasionally napped in the afternoon had a reduction of 12%.

Why do afternoon naps affect cardiovascular function" One reason could be changes in blood pressure. At night, our blood pressure and heart rate decreases as we sleep. Some researchers hypothesize that the lower blood pressure reduces strain on the heart and decreases the risk of a fatal heart attack.

It's just a joke...

2007-10-15T08:38:00.001-04:00

The guys at LaughLab are hunting down the world's funniest joke... ::READ MORE::

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?". The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?"

Can you stay fit and strong as a vegan?

2007-10-15T08:27:00.000-04:00

The Guardian UK Her teenage son starts university next year, and she's worried that a vegan diet will expose him to colds and infections. Three experts try to boost his diet - and her confidence. ::READ MORE::

For optimum nutrition, a vegan diet should contain two or three protein foods and cereals, vegetables, fruits and fats daily. Soya (including soya milk), Quorn, beans, pulses and nuts contain protein.

right v. left

2007-10-12T08:30:00.001-04:00

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise? If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa. Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

FUNCTIONS OF:

LEFT BRAIN.......................RIGHT BRAIN

uses logic..................................................Uses feelings

detail oriented.........................."big picture" oriented

facts rule...........................................Imagination rules

words and language....................Symbols and Images

present and past............................Present and future

math and science...................Philosophy and Religion

can comprehend...................Can 'get it' (i.e. meaning)

knowing...........................................................Believes

acknowledges............................................Appreciates

order/pattern perception................Spatial perception

knows object name.....................Knows object function

reality based..............................................Fantasy based

forms strategies..............................Presents possibilities

practical.............................................................Impetuous

safe.....................................................................Risk taking

Prototype Phone Gives Fitness Check

2007-10-12T08:17:00.000-04:00

A new prototype "Wellness Phone" has been developed. It can take your pulse, check your body fat, time your jogs and tell you if you have bad breath. It even assesses stress levels and inspires you with a pep talk. Meet your new personal trainer: your cell phone.

"The companies are reportedly still testing some of the phone's more advanced technology, including a function to keep track of meals and calculate calorific intake, as well as a network capacity to let users share data. The companies haven't said when nor how much they will sell the phones. Plus it doesn't look like they be sold in the US anytime soon either."

Native American journalists launch a new site

2007-10-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

ReznetNews.org, an award winning online student newspaper for Native American journalists have redesigned their Web site. Check out "View to a Disaster" story and audio slideshow by Mary Hudetz, who was the first reporter on the scene of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

Are you underpaid?

2007-10-11T08:15:00.000-04:00

According to Salary.com's 2006/2007 Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey, 62 percent of employees plan on looking for a new job in the next three months. Dissatisfied employees have cited a variety of reasons for their desire to leave their company, including lack of opportunity for advancement, no recognition for achievements, insufficient benefits and even boredom.

Trumping all reasons for why employees want to leave their current job is that they think they are underpaid. Nearly 50 percent of employees cited inadequate compensation as the primary reason they want to walk out the door. To determine if the employee claims were valid, Salary.com's team of Certified Compensation Professionals conducted extensive analysis by comparing the job title, industry, geography and company size reported by each respondent to the Salary.com database of human resource (HR) reported salary data.

The results indicated that only 22 percent of the survey respondents were actually underpaid, while 15 percent may actually be overpaid (paid well above their fair market value) and 33 percent were paid reasonably close to their fair market value.

Language evolution

2007-10-11T07:59:00.000-04:00

TaeKwonDood
"We all know language has evolved but mathematicians are trying to take how it has changed in the past to predict what it will be like in the future."

From the article: "Mathematical analysis of this linguistic evolution reveals that irregular verb conjugations behave in an extremely regular way -- one that can yield predictions and insights into the future stages of a verb's evolutionary trajectory," says Lieberman, a graduate student in applied mathematics in Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and an affiliate of Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. "We measured something no one really thought could be measured, and got a striking and beautiful result."

When we change our clocks

2007-10-11T07:49:00.000-04:00

On the way to work this morning, I remembered that fall also means daylight saving time (DST). Oh wonderful time of the year when 6 p.m. feels like 10 p.m. So I got to talking and a lot of people would just want DST to go away.

I have no idea if this letter to the editor was facetious or sincere, I only know that it's worth a good laugh...

Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.

With many IT applications relying on accurate time information and many having automatic adjustments for DST, how will the IT world handle this change?

Mobile web

2007-10-10T08:10:00.000-04:00

The mobile web is the future of connectivity. Google knows this, that's why they bought up Jaiku, a Finnish company that provides a mobile instant messaging service.

There’s a FAQ about the acquisition on Jaiku’s website...

Got a mobile web project of your own? If it’s related to local news and based around a particular community, check out the Knight News Challenge - you could win funding for your ideas.

How to Eat With Chopsticks

2007-10-09T20:44:00.000-04:00

Wiki How There's nothing quite as clumsy as trying to use chopsticks for the first time.

But to get the full experience from Asian food, chopsticks are a necessity. Not the children chopsticks with a rubber band at the end. After all, you're an adult. You may have timidly watched others use them with dexterous skill, but a little practice can quickly bring you to the same level. To impress your friends and family, try these steps at home before going out to your favorite Asian restaurant. Read on:::

We put the states in United States

2007-10-09T20:12:00.000-04:00

They want to break U.S. apart!
Here's a convention you might have missed. A national movement, called the secession project, wants to due away with the...UNITED STATES.
This is a must watch report from Current.tv, a great site for videos and citizen journalism.

Double Your Salary* (*Without a Second Job)

2007-10-09T06:52:00.000-04:00

Somewhere, someone like you is doing a job just like yours and earning twice the money. Here's how...READ MORE:::

READ: A Three Dog Life

2007-10-08T13:15:00.000-04:00

By Abigail Thomas
HERE is how I get my husband into the car: I lie.

“I’m going to buy us something for dinner. Will you come with me?”

Earlier on this rainy October afternoon I stuck a fake log into the fireplace and lighted it, and since then we have been spending what Rich used to call the shank of the day in each other’s company, dozing and waking to firelight. It has been like our marriage as it used to be. Read MORE:::

Comically large things

2007-10-08T09:02:00.001-04:00

Americans are obsessed with large things. From houses to cars to the pickles we buy. Hold up, did I just say that? Sure, check out the giant pickle, giant noodle soup, giant video game controller, giant watermelon, giant ritz crackers, giant phone, giant penny, giant safety pin and giant blue box of dental floss. If it is oversized to point of absurdity, this blog will cover it.

The blog also has categories so that if you are only interested in comically large pens and pencils you can find them.

The technology behind 3D movies

2007-10-08T08:51:00.001-04:00

Artificially created 3D images all share a basic design: sending two slightly different views to each eye. With the images, your brain can reconstruct depth, just as it does in real-world sight, from the two slightly different vantage points.

The Dolby 3D system relies on a spinning filter wheel to alternate rapidly between two slightly different sets of primary colors. Corresponding filters on 3D glasses only let the appropriate light into the left or right eyes after the light reflects off the screen. The filter wheel is synchronized with the digital projector, which switches back and forth between the images for the left and right eyes six times per frame, or 144 times per second.

Credit: Dolby Laboratories

Can A High School Diploma Reduce Alzheimer's Risk?

2007-10-07T18:07:00.000-04:00

Reuters
People who don't complete high school are at a higher risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease than those who receive further education, a Finnish study says. The results are regardless of lifestyle choices and other factors such as physical activity, smoking, occupation, and income. When researchers compared subjects who had completed the Finnish equivalent of elementary (5 years or less), middle (6-8 years), or high school level education (9 or more years), they found that the risk of developing dementia was 40% lower in the mid-level education group and 80% lower among those in the high education group when compared to the least educated group. More ...

Two cents related articles

Eat these 8 foods everyday

Super toothbrush

The technology of tomorrow?

2007-10-06T11:14:00.000-04:00

TechCrunch is showcasing 40 startup companies. And guess what? The way to choose your favorite has a lot to do with the story below. Here's a hint:(Vote on your favorite TC40 and BigCo companies using your cell phone!)

Text the vote?

2007-10-06T10:20:00.000-04:00

The Nation
A new study from the New Voters Project, a non-partisan organization that registers youth voters, shows that text messaging may be the most effective form of election-day voter mobilization. Not only did it increase turn-out during the 2006 election more than traditional methods such as phone calls, flyering, and door-to-door canvassing, it was by far the cheapest, costing $1.56 per vote generated, as opposed to $30-60 for other methods.
MORE::

News Challenge deadline is almost here

2007-10-05T09:28:00.000-04:00

The Knight News Challenge contest awards $5 million for ideas using digital media to deliver news and information in real time to people in real places. The Oct. 15 application deadline for year two is fast approaching. The streamlined application takes less than 20 minutes to complete. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere.

If you are 25 and under, you can select the Young Creators Award -- up to $500,000 for young innovators.

For more, go to www.newschallenge.org. Pass it along!

S. Koreans cheer their soccer team

2007-10-04T22:49:00.000-04:00

humans can still perform as good as an LCD screen.

You owe $30,000

2007-10-01T08:37:00.000-04:00

As the national debt heads toward the $10-trillion mark, generous Americans are sending checks to the federal government.

According to the folks who follow this stuff closely, the national debt has been rising by an average of $1.36 billion per day since September of last year.

And each citizen now has a share of nearly $30,000.

Cell Phone put to novel idea

2007-09-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

Wired

TOKYO -- Your eyes probably hurt just thinking about it: Tens of thousands of Japanese cell-phone owners are poring over full-length novels on their tiny screens.

In this technology-enamored nation, the mobile phone has become so widespread as an entertainment and communication device that reading e-mail, news headlines and weather forecasts -- rather advanced mobile features by global standards -- is routine.

Now, Japan's cell-phone users are turning pages. :MORE::

Mobile phone novels hit bestseller lists

Mobile phone novelists are hitting the bestseller lists as a new generation of writers are tapping out entire novels on the keys of a telephone handset.

In Japan, where new technology trends often come early, so-called keitai shosetsu are a publishing phenomenon.

Out of the top 10 bestselling fiction works in the first half of 2007, five started as keitai novels and boast average sales of 400,000.

Find out if you are living a sustainable living

2007-09-27T08:59:00.000-04:00

click the image below.
What would the world look like if everyone lived like me?

Consumer Consequences is an interactive game designed to illustrate the impact of our lifestyles on the Earth.

When crowdsourcing goes mainstream

2007-09-27T08:53:00.001-04:00

“Crowd sourced” news network NowPublic.com has closed a $10.6 million series A round of financing led by Rho Ventures with seed investors Brightspark and the Working Opportunity Fund participating.

Crowd sourcing is part of the widely expanding “citizen journalism” category, which encompasses all the new ways non-professionals can participate in the news reporting process. Examples range from commenting, voting on stories, to full out blogging. News commentator Jeff Jarvis has written extensively on the subject. NowPublic is a website that provides these tools to the public so they can report on what is going on around them. Many other news startups also incorporate these tools in different ways, such as NewsVine, OutsideIn, Digg, CitizenBay, recently Topix, and the now defunct Backfence. ::MORE::

Optical illusions and social stereotypes

2007-09-27T08:49:00.000-04:00

Despite our best intentions, our minds construct expectations about the world and then perceive it accordingly. We notice different motives, actions or performances based on the biases we've accrued, unaware, over time. ::MORE::

What does all this mean for a journalist? How about, "Question everything you think you see"?

The Empire of debt

2007-09-27T08:45:00.000-04:00

Money for nothing. Own a home for no money down. Do not pay for your appliances until 2012. This is the new American Dream, and for the last few years, millions have been giddily living it. Dead is the old version, the one historian James Truslow Adams introduced to the world as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” MORE::

Mario Play

2007-09-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

Mario-wannabe Moses Bookbinder has his arms full carrying Laila “Princess Peach” Hansen at the Chugiak High School homecoming festivities Saturday. The freshman class float entitled “Mario Mania” received third place in the interclass homecoming float competition, and the seniors' float took top honors for the day.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, September 20, 2007.

Evicted

2007-09-26T09:24:00.000-04:00

See more photos of LA:

What is the purpose of the First Amendment?

2007-09-26T09:13:00.000-04:00

(NYT) There's something to be said about the First Amendment.
What's its purpose?

That was the question before a judge in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday, as a street performer named Reverend Billy, a k a William Talen, faced charges of harassing police officers in Union Square Park by reciting the First Amendment to the Constitution.

He was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, under a statute originally intended for use against stalkers. He was accused of following a group of officers while repeatedly reciting the 40-odd words of the First Amendment through a megaphone, the kind commonly used by cheerleaders.
Read more::

Click here:: to read the Knight Foundation's survey on Constitution Day.

'Dead' Man Wakes Up Under Autopsy Knife

2007-09-25T21:27:00.001-04:00

From Reuters, purveyors of premier strange news, comes the Twilight Zone story of Carlos Camejo, who woke up — painfully — on a morgue slab in La Victoria, Venezuela, after being declared dead in a road wreck.

Medical examiners began the autopsy with an incision to Camejo's face, but realized something was wrong because the dead don't bleed. They quickly stitched up the gash.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," said the 33-year-old Camejo, whose tale appeared Friday in El Universal newspaper, along with a photo of Camejo holding the autopsy order.

Reuters wrote today that it could not immediately reach hospital officials to confirm the events.

(Post-autopsy photo of Carlos Camejo by Reuters)

Survey reveals dirty little hand-washing secret

2007-09-25T21:26:00.000-04:00

The Tomahawk Chop still might be mildly popular at Atlanta's Turner Field, but hand-washing? Apparently, not so much.

The Soap and Detergent Association is out with an annual study of the hand-washing habits of men and women. The association sent people out into the field to watch the actual hand-washing habits of people (as opposed to what they claim in surveys). It found that while 92% of people said they washed up in public restrooms, only 77% were observed doing so.

The Turner Field connection? Only 57% of men using public restrooms washed their hands afterward, according to the association. Women did much better: 95% of women washed their hands at the baseball park.

You can read our coverage of the survey or just peruse it for yourself.

Study: Hispanic Teens Abuse More Drugs

2007-09-25T17:58:00.000-04:00

(CBS/AP) Hispanic teenagers used illegal drugs at greater rates than white and black teenagers, according to a report released Monday by a White House drug control policy office.

The report, Hispanic Teens & Drugs, warned that while overall illegal drug use among U.S. teens was down, Hispanic teens' use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine outpaced use by their white and black peers. The report blamed drug use among Hispanic teens, in part, on their adaptation to new culture in America.

Why do women read more than men?

2007-09-25T08:33:00.000-04:00

I find this to be true. From co-workers to significant other, women do read more than men. I'm not talking articles in a magazine. I'm talking about the novel. Once women stop reading the novel will die, says Ian McEwan. Read the NPR article.

"One thing is certain: Americans—of either gender—are reading fewer books today than in the past. A poll released last month by The Associated Press and Ipsos, a market-research firm, found that the typical American read only four books last year, and one in four adults read no books at all."

When it comes to fiction, the gender gap is at its widest. Men account for only 20 percent of the fiction market, according to surveys conducted in the U.S., Canada and Britain.

'What all of us are wondering is what will happen with this new generation that doesn't read much," says bookstore owner Carla Cohen. "What happens when they grow up?'"

Live like the rich folk do! (30 entries)

2007-09-24T06:28:00.000-04:00

On the Worth1000 photoshopping contest, "Fake It Till You Make It" -- photoshopped fakes. link

MISSPELLER

2007-09-24T06:18:00.000-04:00

John Maeda is something of a fanatic when it comes to spelling. He created this Misspeller to help cure his pet peeve. Check it out and write in anything in the box and watch it magically misspell.

What's the Right Stuff for the Future of Space?

2007-09-24T06:11:00.001-04:00

Popular Science
The first man-made object in orbit didn’t look like much. An aluminum sphere about 2 ft. across, it was filled with pressurized nitrogen and carried two small transmitters that beamed wavering radio signals to the planet below. On day 22, the batteries ran out and the satellite fell silent. A few weeks later, the craft most likely vaporized as it plunged back to Earth.

To Americans at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957, came as a shock—and a spur. The competition that would inevitably be known as the space race was on. Small orbs carrying transmitters were soon followed by larger ones carrying men. And, within a mere dozen years, human beings left footprints in the dust of the moon.

But then, after a handful of lunar missions, we lowered our sights. For the past 35 years, manned spaceflight has been limited to low Earth orbit. “Part of the problem is that, in the big picture, Apollo was premature,” Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin says. “It was a spurt of progress artificially stimulated by the race to beat the Russians.”

Today, with the Cold War long over and cooperation with Russia an everyday event in space, we are making bold plans again: private space missions, a lunar base and, ultimately, the long haul to Mars. And with those big ambitions come big questions: What is the proper balance between manned and unmanned exploration? Is long-term spaceflight too risky for humans? Is it worth the cost?

A Shock Felt Round The World

2007-09-24T06:04:00.000-04:00

Ledger
Call it the shock felt round the world: A disruptive, resisting student. Six police officers. A Taser gun. A thoroughly nonplussed U.S. senator. A dazed audience. Multiple video cameras capturing every excruciating moment.

And just like that, the University of Florida - the state's flagship university - is raw meat for every cable news commentator and every Internet blogger in the virtual world.

Wasting away in traffic

2007-09-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

The average American will spend almost a full work week in traffic, according to a new study by the Texas Transportation Institute. The 38 hours per year the average commuter spends stuck in their car every year means 26 extra gallons of gas and $710 per person. ::more

Philanthropist has secretly given away an estimated $4 billion

2007-09-20T10:03:00.000-04:00

MSNBC
LONDON - He wears a $15 watch, flies economy class and does not own a house or car. For years. few guessed that Chuck Feeney was one of the world's biggest philanthropists, secretly giving away his billionaire fortune.

Born in New Jersey during the Depression to a blue-collar Irish-American family, Feeney co-founded Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), the world's largest duty-free retail chain. He liked making money but not having it, and gave it away for years in strict secrecy.

Journalist Conor O'Clery's new book "The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune" (Public Affairs $26.95), reveals that Feeney may be destined to go down in history as one of the greatest American philanthropists.

Witty, self-deprecating, frugal and astute, Feeney was listed by Forbes Magazine in 1988 as the 23rd richest American alive and worth $1.3 billion, richer than Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump. He wasn't.

Four years earlier, Feeney had placed most of his money in charitable foundations.

Leadership through women's history

2007-09-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

Rebecca Rush is leading the effort behind "Border Women’s Heritage and Leadership Center," a nonprofit that aims to celebrate the stories of local women during the Civil War.

Rush wants to use the lessons learned from women’s experiences in border states like Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and establish a leadership development program.

The leadership program would help communities work together during crises, handle emergencies, and learn character development.

National Innovation Award Program launched

2007-09-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

The Olympus Innovation Award Program, now in its fourth year, represents Olympus' ongoing commitment to technological innovation and education. The program includes three awards, the Olympus Innovation Award, the Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award and the Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award.

Prizes range from $10,000 for the Innovator award to $1,000 for the emerging educational leader.

visit http://www.olympusamerica.com
And for some redundancy:
Olympus Launches National Innovation Award Program for 2008

London is afraid of Islam

2007-09-20T08:26:00.000-04:00

Two good buddies from London are moving to Miami soon.
Their main reason: They are afraid of another terrorist attack in London.
They say that radical Muslims have too much freedom and their government is afraid to offend anyone, ever since the Danish cartoon incidents. They also point to the doctors who attempted car bombings in July (07).

I think that we need to be more tolerant of people we don't know or understand.
I also think that anything that is done to any extreme/radicalism is detrimental for all people.
So my message is: Back off everyone. Live and let live.
Link to "Islamophobia" on the rise in Europe

Change of seasons play out on nature's grandest stages

2007-09-18T06:08:00.001-04:00

In Miami we are blessed/cursed with two seasons: Summer and Winter. That's why it's such a big deal when we see snow, or see trees changing colors (palm trees turn brown when they hit the ground).

So when I got this list that Ian Wilker of Gorp.com came with of the top 10 Autumn escapes: Fall's best forests. I had to share.

To the true insiders — people who live and work in one corner or another of the great North American forest — it's pretty much a given that autumn's the best time of year to be out in the woods.

1. Willamette National Forest,OR
2. Inyo National Forest, CA
3. Coconino National Forest,AZ
4. Gunnison National Forest, CO
5. Chequamegon-Nicolet N.F., WI
6. Mark Twain National Forest, MO
7. Pisgah National Forest, NC
8. Allegheny National Forest, PA
9. Green Mountain National Forest, VT
10. White Mountain N.F.,NH - ME

Dams and Genocide in Guatemala

2007-09-18T06:05:00.000-04:00

During the last week of July, 2007, Rights Action organized a delegation comprised of activists from Mexico, Canada, and the United States who immerged themselves in the municipality of Rabinal so as to become informed on the continuously arduous struggle in search of justice and healing due to one of the most atrocious cases of human extermination prompted by so-called economic development.

The cheapest family

2007-09-17T19:15:00.000-04:00

With gas and grocery prices soaring, Americans could learn from one Arizona family that has been beating the high cost of living for years.

Watch the VIDEO >> A fascinating glance at the frugal family of seven who live on less than $35,000 a year. They call themselves "the Warren Buffet of groceries." (Warning: you have to sit through a commercial to watch the clip.)
Read the ARTICLE >>
Frugal family reveals how they save money

Constitution? What's that?

2007-09-17T09:48:00.000-04:00

A Knight Foundation study found that:

More than half of all high school students say they have not heard of Constitution Day, mandated by federal law since 2004 to be the day the Constitution is taught in schools. Just 1 in 10 remember how their high school celebrated the day last year.
Despite increases in the number of First Amendment classes from 2004 through 2006, nearly three-fourths of students still don’t know how they feel about the First Amendment, or take it for granted.
Students support individual free expression rights that directly affect or interest them; they’re less supportive of rights that are less relevant to their lives.
Parents, not teachers, have the greatest influence on students’ choice of news sources.
More students are turning to the Internet to find their news. Their definition of news isn’t much different than that of their parents.

Today in History:
On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Short-term use of mobile phone not linked with brain tumor

2007-09-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

Now here's something that will have people talking. All right, we all can't stop talking on our cell phones. Oh, life in 1995, things were simple and I was unreachable. The deal is that I've been hearing reports that cell phones cause brain cancer for as long as I can remember, but now here's the counter articles that say otherwise. I wonder why INDUSTRY is in all caps... hmmm. Kind of reminds me of cigarette era studies that said they were good for you.
Food Consumer
A recent UK study funded by the government and INDUSTRY sources found no evidence to suggest that use of mobile phone for a few years was linked to elevated risk of brain cancer.
Mobiles, cancer link inconclusive The Age
Mobile Phones Do No Harm, UK Report Medical News Today

100 Q&A about Arab Americans

2007-09-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

Like all people, Arab Americans are too often described in simplistic terms. Although the Arab culture is one of the oldest on Earth, it is, in many parts of the United States, misunderstood. There are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers.

Culture, language and religion are distinct qualities that act in different ways to connect Arabs, and to distinguish them from one another. The differences that seem to separate Arab Americans from non-Arabs can be much smaller than the variations that at times differentiate them from one another. It takes time to learn the issues and to understand them, but it is essential and rewarding for us to do that. Misunderstanding ultimately hurts each one of us.
Read more

Senses Challenge

2007-09-14T06:37:00.000-04:00

This is a really interesting test: brain teaser, entertaining and educational link. Try it.

Here's how to eliminate flight delays

2007-09-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Click image to enlarge:

IBM avatar turns words into sign language

2007-09-13T07:52:00.000-04:00

AP
Here's a productive twist on the animated characters known as avatars that carry out fantasies in virtual computer worlds. IBM Corp. researchers have developed an avatar that can translate spoken words into sign language.
LINK >>

Here's how you become a citizen journalist

2007-09-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

Link >>>

Intelligence Community is getting social

2007-09-12T08:35:00.000-04:00

Spyspace, Spookbook, and MySpy are just few of the names that the blogosphere has been jokingly throwing around about the new CIA “A-Space” project. A-Space, in case you haven’t heard of it yet, is the intelligence community’s first (?) foray into social networking. Lots of ink has been spilled about the project [1] [2] [3] [4], and we’ve seen lots of silly comments about the project, like questions of flirting and dating vs. data analysis improvements.

Community Pays to Install its Own Pay Phone

2007-09-12T08:29:00.000-04:00

Elena Tyrrell, postmistress of Canyon, Calif., organized her town in the Oakland Hills area near San Francisco to buy a pay phone for the community after AT&T removed its phone.

Keeping your teeth clean could help prevent a heart attack

2007-09-12T08:23:00.000-04:00

Here's another reason to brush your dirty teeth. Dentists are now saying what the headline of this blog just told you. What they found was that those with the worst blockages in their arteries had the most severe gum disease. Surprised? Well even if you don't brush, or floss, your gums become irritated. And in case you forgot, or need a "gentle" reminder. Here's a guide to...

How to Brush Your Teeth

It is very important to brush your teeth at least once a day. Brushing cleans the teeth, makes the breath smell fresh, and wards off serious illnesses that occur when you have gum disease.

Use a mouthwash rinse first so as to kill most of the bacteria before rubbing them around the rest of your mouth.
Floss before brushing, so that there isn't a large barrier of bacterial plaque between the brush and your teeth.
Wet your toothbrush slightly.
Squeeze a pea-size amount of toothpaste onto a soft-bristled toothbrush. Your toothpaste should contain fluoride and bear the American Dental Association (ADA) seal.
Use short, back-and-forth brushing motions to clean the outside and inside surfaces of the teeth, as well as the chewing surfaces. Follow with up-and-down motions to clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth.
Brush along the gum line. This is extremely important, as gum disease starts here. Brush gently to avoid damaging your gums. Make sure to brush your back molars, where bacteria like to hide.
Open your jaws, and brush the tops and back of your teeth. Make sure you clean all of your teeth.
Brush your tongue to remove bacteria that cause bad breath.
Spit into a sink.
Wash your mouth out with water to remove all remaining toothpaste.

Going online remains risky

2007-09-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

Consumer Report
The lone-wolf geek you imagine hunched over a computer in his basement isn't the only one out to steal your identity on the Internet.

Cybercriminals increasingly operate in an elaborate networked underworld of Web sites and chat rooms, where they sell one another stolen account numbers, tools for making credit cards, scanners to pick up card numbers and PINs from ATMs, and viruses and other malicious software.

Ad Nauseam

2007-09-11T08:17:00.000-04:00

When advertising companies team up with pharmaceutical companies, the result can be sickening. For example, when the sleep drug Lunesta hit the market, so did an epidemic of sleeplessness. In her new book, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, Shannon Brownlee deconstructs direct-to-consumer drug marketing.

click here to listen: Run time 07:45 minutes

From business to social change

2007-09-11T08:16:00.000-04:00

The Innovators in Social Responsibility Awards Gala will take place in New York City next week.

What all the Innovators being honored have in common is that they got their start in the business world. And they are now using the business acumen they gained from top jobs on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley to make a social impact. The honorees have started social enterprises that create jobs in the Middle East, offer credit to the global poor, ensure children have access to clean water, and reduce our carbon footprint.

United Nations to Build Cell Networks in Africa

2007-09-11T08:15:00.000-04:00

While the One Laptop per Child project is busy kitting out the third world with computers, the smart money in the West is pushing towards integrated devices, and a move away from PC type computers. There's something screwy there, right?

For the developing world, a cellular network can make a much bigger difference to everyday life, and it's cheaper, too. The UN knows this, and is busy enabling half a million more people to use cellphones in Africa. The networks will cover 79 villages in 10 countries.

Atacama Desert, Chile, 2003

2007-09-10T08:18:00.001-04:00

National Geographic picture of the day.

A vizcacha, close relative of the chinchilla, rests on an outcropping in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Ellis Island site helps search for historic treasure

2007-09-10T08:11:00.000-04:00

More than 22 million passengers and members of ships' crews entered the United States through Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924. Information about each person was written down in ships' passenger lists, known as 'manifests.' Manifests were used to examine immigrants upon arrival in the United States. Now you can search these millions of records for information on individual Ellis Island passengers.

For MTV, the best may have been off-camera

2007-09-10T08:09:00.000-04:00

MTV has always tried to pump up its annual Video Music Awards with momentous live performances. But in an era when fans can watch concerts on their cellphones and spy on hours-old gigs by way of YouTube, it’s harder than ever to arrange a performance that feels like a big deal.

Hot news: Polar meltdown predicted

2007-09-10T08:02:00.000-04:00

BBC
Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century, says a US government agency.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) says parts of the Arctic are losing summer ice so fast that no bears will be able to live there within several decades.

Justice D.A.N.C.E.

2007-09-07T08:15:00.000-04:00

Just a fun song and great video.

MTV article about this video

"Justice and I did the concept based on record covers I've done for Ed Banger. Then we met with [directors] Jonas & Francois to discuss the key moments that had to be in the shooting. Like when Gaspard shakes Xavier, the letters fall down off his T-shirt; or when the girl plays the keyboard on her shirt and the keyboard falls to the ground," So Me said. "Those needed to be done because you can't go back and do that later, and there were like five or six really important instances like that."

A new sponsor for journalism in China

2007-09-07T08:10:00.000-04:00

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has become a sponsor of a business journalism program that launches on Sept. 17 at Tsinghua University. The goal of this initiative, run by the university and the Washington-based International Center for Journalists, is to create business journalists able to produce insightful, balanced coverage of China’s markets and the global economy. Deloitte Touche joins the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Merrill Lynch and Bloomberg who were founding sponsors of the program.

My brother feels a little better about his iPhone

2007-09-07T06:10:00.000-04:00

Can you hear me now?
After getting numerous complaints for knocking down the price of the iPhone, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs announced that he'll give every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week, he said in a letter to customers.

Popcorn Lung patient ate two bags a day

2007-09-06T19:48:00.000-04:00

CBS News
Wayne Watson loved microwave popcorn so much he would eat at least two bags each night, breathing in the steam from the just-opened package, until doctors told him it may have made him sick.

Watson, whose case of "popcorn lung" is the sole reported case of the disease in a non-factory worker, said he is convinced his heavy consumption of popcorn caused his health problems.

More Links >>
First Consumer Case of 'Popcorn Lung' Raises Concerns About ... Wired News
Popcorn May Cause Lung Disease ABC News
Additive to microwave popcorn could make you sick MSNBC
Baltimore Sun - HULIQ
all 1,084 news articles » CAG

My brother is angry at his iPhone

2007-09-06T10:51:00.000-04:00

Apple announced recently that it would drop the price of the super hyped iPhone, after the release of the iPod touch. I warned my brother not to break the bank a few months ago, but he was one of millions that had to jump when Apple said jump. I understood that it was first generation and besides - 8 GB - that's a child's hard-drive. I say you waited this long. Keep waiting. During Christmas the price will drop and by next summer they will be giving it out for free with a two-year contract.

Need a Loan? Usury for Beginners

2007-09-05T07:16:00.000-04:00

Great article about Prosper.com, the writer creates an account and explores the site, which is all about lending money, being neighborly and taking financial risks.
WSJ
By JONATHAN V. LAST
Of all the wonders that the Internet has brought us, none is as special as Web 2.0. The next generation of Internet empowers you, me -- some might say We, the People -- to click our way to self-actualization. We're an Army of Davids, taking the world back from the corporate Goliaths, one Web site at a time. The new Internet lets us be who we've always wanted to be.

Yes, we all have lofty goals, like helping the infirm, reaching out to shut-ins or starting a catering service. But what we've always wanted to be may seem, to some, a bit less commendable. For instance, I've always wanted to be a loan shark. There's something luridly poetic about outlaw lending: Getting the juice ticking at 30% on some hard-luck mope; making profits off of the backs of the union guy who lost it all at the race track or the stock broker with the expensive drug habit; sending minions like "Bobby Bats" out to do collections. It's like being a banker, only cooler.

Link >>>>>

One Vote Under God

2007-09-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

Faith in presidential campaign: this is a great feature done by the NEWS 21 students.
By Ben Branham, John McDermott

The following is an interactive matrix examining the intersection of faith and politics on the stump as presidential hopefuls line up for their chance to win the White House in 2008. Issues range from abortion and public education to religious history and gay rights. Every candidate so far declared for office has been thoroughly researched for any mention of faith and its impact on their decision to reach a particular stance. Use the following matrix to explore how faith has been invoked as a part of their respective campaigns.

Click here for the interactive presentation

COMMENTS

GPS in taxis: Big Brother or boon?

2007-09-04T08:52:00.000-04:00

InfoWorld

New York City cabbies don't like the idea of being tracked by satellite. But what alternative do any of us really have?

I feel badly for New York City cab drivers, but I'm inclined to be philosophical about their plight. What they are going through is a precursor to what all of us face as technology gets deeper and deeper under our skin.

Where exactly do we draw the line between technology and expediency? Or more specifically: Where do we draw the line between our rights as individuals versus the ability of technology to strip away almost all of our freedom to behave like humans?

Futurist sees way to end world woes

2007-09-04T08:48:00.000-04:00

The Age AU
Businesses will need to rethink their approach to growth and focus more on sustainability and innovation to save the planet, says futurist and author Thomas Homer-Dixon.

"I know if I were a CEO or a president, then I would be trying to maximise shareholder value and that means adopting the best technology and adopting the philosophy of growing the company in the best way possible," he said.

"The larger consequence of increasing carbon dioxide output is going to be a disaster. Part of it is not being so fixated on efficiency and productivity and more fixated on resilience and innovation."

Homer-Dixon is a Professor at the University of Toronto – he specializes in Peace and Conflict Studies and is the author of several books on a variety of associate issues.

*Link >>>

Listening for Better Leadership

2007-09-04T08:45:00.000-04:00

CIO
You've gone into your boss's office hoping to talk about something that's troubling you. When you begin to speak, your boss looks toward his BlackBerry, picks it up, then starts to compose a message. You slow your talking, not sure if he's hearing anything you're saying until he motions you to continue. When he's done e-mailing he jerks his chin up a few times in a "let's get on with this" move and before you can finish talking, cuts you off by going into his advice mode. Instead of hearing what you have to say, he gives you a long speech about all the things you need to do to fix the situation, which he gets wrong because he has not understood the situation. Then he tells you abruptly he has another appointment.

What would you do?

Poetry in emotion

2007-09-04T08:40:00.000-04:00

Yorkshire Post UK
Poetry is often seen as high-brow, something eccentric that you might associate with old ladies or bow-tie wearing professors. Yet it can provide comfort to many of us during our darkest hours.

*Link >>>>

Second life? get a life

2007-09-03T11:09:00.000-04:00

I can find a lot of things that are wrong with Second Life. Especially when people don't spend enough time in the real world and get lost in their created fantasy land, or island. The WSJ (8/10/07) found the perfect specimen.

Take Ric Hoogestraat, who is married to Sue and works at a call center in the Phoenix area but spends 30-plus hours a week inside the online Second Life video game, pretending that he is the digitally drawn Dutch Hoorenbeek, a 6-foot-9, muscular babe magnet who lives on his own island.

That unnerves Sue, especially since Dutch recently "married" a digital woman and set up housekeeping with their two digital dogs. (The real-life creator of the new Mrs. Hoorenbeek has never met Ric and says she never will.)

Dutch and his online wife spend hours shopping and motorcycling together, leaving Ric little time for real-life wife Sue. "Is this man cheating on his wife (meaning Sue)?" the Journal asked. Sue says: "You try to talk to (Ric) or bring (him) a drink, and (he)'ll be having sex with a cartoon."

Beach offers artists cheap rent

2007-09-02T17:23:00.000-04:00

Miami Herald

Artists may not have to struggle with expensive rents in Miami Beach in the future. The Miami Beach City Commission is expected to give preliminary approval for incentives to create affordable housing in an area to be designated as the Cultural Arts Neighborhood Overlay or CANDO.

A final vote on CANDO is expected in October. If it passes, Miami Beach would be the first city in Miami-Dade to offer such a program.

CANDO is the brainchild of Mayor David Dermer, who announced in April 2006 his intention to bring new artists to the city and lure back artists who have left the Beach because of gentrification and escalating rents; and to encourage new arts-related businesses to open up there.

A few can catch a liar

2007-09-02T10:06:00.000-04:00

Research suggests that most people cannot tell from demeanor when others are lying. Such poor performance is typical not only of laypeople but also of most professionals concerned with lying. In this study, three professional groups with special interest or skill in deception, two law-enforcement groups and a select group of clinical psychologists, obtained high accuracy in judging videotapes of people who were lying or telling the truth about their opinions.

These findings strengthen earlier evidence that some professional lie catchers are highly accurate, and that behavioral clues to lying are detectable in real time. This study also provides the first evidence that some psychologists can achieve high accuracy in catching lies.
A Few Can Catch a Liar.
Psychological Science, 10.
Download PDF Version

Google Earth’s Hidden Surprise: A Flight Simulator

2007-09-02T09:42:00.000-04:00

Hidden inside Google Earth is a secret Flight Simulator that takes full advantage of Google’s extensive satellite imagery.

To access the hidden feature, open Google Earth and hit Command+Option+A (note it must be capital A) or Ctrl+Alt+A if you’re using a Windows Machine.

The Google Earth Flight Simulator comes with two aircraft options, a F16 Viper and the more manageable SR22 4 seater. Players have the option of commencing the game from their current location in Google Earth or can pick from a list of pre-determined runways. Control instructions can be found here.

Overall the game play is fairly simple in terms of control, but the striking difference is flying over real pictures of locations. I took a quick flight from San Francisco International, headed North to the Golden Gate then turn back over the city before heading towards the Valley. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as good visually as the paid Microsoft Flight Simulator, and in terms of actually presenting real objects it was better.

Thanks to Marco for the how-to.