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Lockergnome's Tech News Watch (448 unread)

The Public Relations Effort Over the Melamine Contamination

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 2:51pm EDT by forsythe

The melamine contamination in China could impact upon the profitability of international companies. One such example is Nestle, as the company mounts a security and public relations effort to control the quality and reputation of its products:

“The head of European food giant Nestle said Friday the company had mounted a “sizable effort” to ensure the safety of its dairy products in China, sending in scientists and specialized machines in the wake of the melamine contamination scandal.

“From the first moment, the first minute we heard about the problem, we mobilized quite a sizable effort,” CEO Paul Bulcke said at a news conference to inaugurate a research and development center in Beijing. “We mobilized close to 45-50 people worldwide to be part of the solution and containment of this problem.”"

link: Nestle sends experts for melamine tests in China

Nestle may have the appearance of good co-operation from the Chinese authorities. In the future, the Chinese government may have stringent checks of products before it reaches Nestle facilities. The same cannot be said for other manufacturers in China. The industrial structure in China is so vast that it may take years for adequate security controls to be implemented. The Chinese government may insist that the infrastructure is in place to guarantee product safety. However, the contaminated pet food, the contaminated milk, the contaminated eggs and other products provide contrary evidence to the government controlled reports.

Catherine Forsythe

Sea Urchin Yields A Key Secret Of Biomineralization

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 2:50pm EDT by Lockergnome

The teeth and bones of mammals, the protective shells of mollusks, and the needle-sharp spines of sea urchins and other marine creatures are made-from-scratch wonders of nature.

Used to crush food, for structural support and for defense, the materials of which shells, teeth and bones are composed are the strongest and most durable in the animal world, and scientists and engineers have long sought to mimic them.

Now, harnessing the process of biomineralization may be closer to reality as an international team of scientists has detailed a key and previously hidden mechanism to transform amorphous calcium carbonate into calcite, the stuff of seashells. The new insight promises to inform the development of new, superhard materials, microelectronics and micromechanical devices.

In a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a group led by University of Wisconsin-Madison physicist Pupa Gilbert describes how the lowly sea urchin transforms calcium carbonate — the same material that forms “lime” deposits in pipes and boilers — into the crystals that make up the flint-hard shells and spines of marine animals. The mechanism, the authors write, could “well represent a common strategy in biomineralization….”

“If we can harness these mechanisms, it will be fantastically important for technology,” argues Gilbert, a UW-Madison professor of physics. “This is nature’s bottom-up nanofabrication. Maybe one day we will be able to use it to build microelectronic or micromechanical devices.”

Gilbert, who worked with colleagues from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, used a novel microscope that employs the soft-X-rays produced by synchrotron radiation to observe how the sea urchin builds its spicules, the sharp crystalline “bones” that constitute the animal’s endoskeleton at the larval stage.

Similar to teeth and bones, the sea urchin spicule is a biomineral, a composite of organic material and mineral components that the animal synthesizes from scratch, using the most readily available elements in sea water: calcium, oxygen and carbon. The fully formed spicule is composed of a single crystal with an unusual morphology. It has no facets and within 48 hours of fertilization assumes a shape that looks very much like the Mercedes-Benz logo.

These crystal shapes, as those of tooth enamel, eggshells or snails, are very different from the familiar faceted crystals grown through non-biological processes in nature. “To achieve such unusual — and presumably more functional — morphologies, the organisms deposit a disordered amorphous mineral phase first, and then let it slowly transform into a crystal, in which the atoms are neatly aligned into a lattice with a specific and regular orientation, while maintaining the unusual morphology,” Gilbert notes.

The question the Wisconsin physicist and her colleagues sought to answer was how this amorphous-to-crystalline transition occurs. The sea urchin larval spicule is a model system for biominerals, and the first one in which the amorphous calcium carbonate precursor was discovered in 1997 by the same Israeli group co-authoring the current PNAS paper. A similar amorphous-to-crystalline transition has since been observed in adult sea urchin spines, in mollusk shells, in zebra fish bones and in tooth enamel. The resulting biominerals are extraordinarily hard and fracture resistant, compared to the minerals of which they are made.

“The amorphous minerals are deposited and they are completely disordered,” Gilbert explains. “So the question we addressed is ‘how does crystallinity propagate through the amorphous mineral?’”

To answer it, Gilbert and her colleagues observed spicule development in 2- to 3-day-old sea urchin larvae. The sea urchin spicule is formed inside a clump of specialized cells and begins as the animal lays down a single crystal of calcite in the form of a rhombohedral seed, from which the rest of the spicule is formed. Starting from the crystalline center, three arms extend at 120 degrees from each other, as in the hood ornament of a Mercedes-Benz. The three radii are initially amorphous calcium carbonate, but slowly convert to calcite.

“We tried to find evidence of a massive crystal growth, with a well defined growth front, propagating from the central crystal through the amorphous material, but we never observed anything like that,” Gilbert says. “What we found, instead, is that 40-100 nanometer amorphous calcium carbonate particles aggregate into the final morphology. One starts converting to crystalline calcite, then another immediately adjacent converts as well, and another, and so on in a three-dimensional domino effect. The pattern of crystallinity, however, is far from straight. It resembles a random walk, or a fractal, like lightning in the sky or water percolating through a porous medium,” explains Gilbert.

The new work, according to Gilbert, brings science a key step closer to a thorough understanding of how biominerals form and transform. Knowing the step-by-step process may permit researchers to develop new crystal structures that can be used in applications ranging from new microelectronic devices to medical applications.

[Pupa Gilbert @ University of Wisconsin-Madison]

Save $400 on a 50-inch Samsung Plasma HDTV

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 1:21pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Samsung PN50A450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV for as low as $998.99 shipped with free white glove delivery! (Up to 29% off!)

Samsung presents the next level of plasma HDTV technology and design. A 50-inch screen offers crisp, bold images and colors, thanks to 720p resolution, 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and FilterBright glare-reduction technology. Groundbreaking 3D capabilities let you enjoy 3D movies and games to their fullest. Select Game mode with the touch of a button for advanced videogame action; the ACE silhouette editor eliminates visual “noise” from the deepest dark tones. SRS TruSurround XT offers natural, lifelike HD sound. Connect all your peripherals with ease, courtesy of 3 HDMI inputs. And more efficient components result in significant power reduction.

When you purchase this TV from Amazon.com, it receives our special white-glove delivery service. After your purchase, an agent will call you within five days to arrange delivery. At your home, delivery experts will: carry your product to any accessible room in your home — including upstairs rooms — provided the package will fit; unpack your product and place it on assembled furniture; provide a setup checklist; and remove all packing materials from your home if you wish.

Considerations When Multi-Booting Windows Vista

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Diana Huggins

Multi-booting is the process of installing two or more operating systems on a single computer. Since there are some problems that can creep up in a multi-boot configuration, there are a few pointers you need to follow.

First consideration is the order of installation. It is generally recommended that you install the operating systems in a specific order. If you are multi-booting Windows Vista and an older version of Windows, the older version should be installed before Windows Vista. Generally, the rule of thumb to follow is: install the oldest version of Windows first followed by each newer version in order. So if you plan to multiboot Windows Vista and Windows 98, Windows 98 should be installed first.

You also need to consider compatibility issues. If you are multi-booting Windows Vista with an older platform such as Windows 95, you must address compatibility issues in regards to the file system. When you install Windows Vista, you can use either the FAT or NTFS file system. What you need to keep in mind is that NTFS is not supported by all versions of Windows. Therefore, any partitions that are formatted with NTFS may not be accessible when you boot under another operating system. For example, any NTFS partitions on the local computer will not be readable under Windows 95.

Yet another point to consider is basic and dynamic disks. Windows 2000 introduced the basic and dynamic disks which have been carried over to Windows Vista. Dynamic disks are not a feature that is supported by pre-Windows 2000 operating systems. When multi-booting any of these platforms with Windows Vista, they must be placed on a basic disk that is formatted with FAT. Also, any dynamic disks on the local computer will not be readable under these older versions of Windows.

So if you can remember these few points you should not run into any problems with multi-booting Windows Vista.

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Seeing Color In ‘Blindsight’

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 12:24pm EDT by Lockergnome

By manipulating the brain noninvasively in a new way with magnetic stimulation, researchers have shown that they can restore some experience of color where before there was no visual awareness whatsoever. They report their findings in the October 28th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

The researchers made their discovery while studying a patient known as GY, who lacks vision in half of his visual field as a result of damage in one hemisphere of the primary visual cortex (a brain region also known as V1). That part of the brain had been considered absolutely essential for visual awareness, a notion that is challenged by the current findings, according to Juha Silvanto of the University of Essex.

“The implication is that even though [lesions in this part of the brain] abolish visual awareness, it can be restored,” Silvanto said. “The neural processes that make V1 critical may be taken over by other brain regions — not automatically, but you can make it happen.”

In the portion of his visual field controlled by the damaged part of the brain, GY has a condition called blindsight. This phenomenon can occur when people do not consciously see as a consequence of a V1 lesion. However, when forced to guess which way a moving object they “observed” was traveling, for instance, they get it right most of the time. In other words, despite the fact that they do not experience vision, they nonetheless continue to detect things around them.

In the new study, the researchers applied a method called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to GY’s primary visual cortex. By stimulating both the normal and the damaged hemispheres of the brain, the method can induce visions of flashes of light (or phosphenes) in the blind fields of people like GY.

This method has previously been used in a general way to stimulate entire brain regions. In the new study, Silvanto’s team developed a more targeted method to activate particular neurons with TMS by taking advantage of a trend that had been seen before: TMS preferentially activates those neurons that were less active to begin with.

They asked GY to look at a screen in the color red for a time; this adapts the brain to the color red, leaving the neurons responsible for the experience of red to become less active. They then applied TMS to GY’s damaged and intact visual processing centers. The result: he saw the color red.

“This was the first time this patient [consciously] experienced a colored visual percept in his blind field,” Silvanto said.

“In summary,” the researchers wrote, “our results show that in the absence of V1, color perception may be possible via the intact hemisphere.”

The more targeted TMS method the team developed is also an important technical advance for cognitive neuroscience, Silvanto added. “Now we can target the stimulation at specific populations of neurons,” he said. “It makes the resolution of the technique much higher.”

[Cathleen Genova @ Cell Press]

Google Vs. The World: The Battle Of The Message Security Vendors

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 12:00pm EDT by Lockergnome

With such a powerful name behind it, Google Message Security stands out in a sea of products that do exactly the same thing — or so they say. So when it comes right down to it, how does the Google selection stack up against the rest of messaging security’s big guns? Find out in this report!

See how Google Message Security compares to 9 of the industry’s leading vendors and learn who comes out ahead on key points, including:

Ease of use
Management time
Customer satisfaction
Availability
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Get your free white paper, Google Vs. The World: The Battle Of The Message Security Vendors, today!

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Doggy Update - Day One

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 11:27am EDT by wiseoldgranny

It has been one day since I contacted the SPCA about Doggy. No action, but they did say they were busy. It snowed yesterday and, although the snow melted, it is cold and dreary today. We are puppy sitting for friends so there are three dogs out in the yard for a poop. Doggy dragged himself out of his house (the chain is very heavy) and moaned wistfully at them but he realizes he is much too far away to make contact.

I keep thinking about the moment when our owly neighbor comes over to demand, “Did you call the SPCA to complain about our dog?” Several possibilities present:

1. lie - “No”
2. dissemble - “Now why would you think it was me?”
3. lie, creatively - “I’m not going to tell you who called. Lots of people who walk by are worried about Doggy. Could be any of us. I’m not going to say.”
4. lie, white variety - “Would I do a thing like that?”
5. lie, black variety - “I wouldn’t do a thing like that”.
6. tell the truth, sort of - “Yes, it was me, because I was worried about Doggy’s health. The SPCA said they would send someone to assess the situation and talk to you, if necessary.
7. tell the truth, overkill - “Yes, it was me and I didn’t talk to you first because you are either a) to stupid to live, or b) totally evil. So what would be the point?”
8. tell the truth, heart of the matter - “Yes, I’m hoping that the threat of public humiliation will bring you to your senses.”
9. tell the truth, best I can think of - “Yes, it was me. I am very worried about Doggy. He is terribly lonely and he will die from exposure if he’s left out in the cold. I thought it was better to let the SPCA handle it quietly. We don’t want it to become an issue the whole town starts talking about.”

Still, like Donald Trump says, on firing people: no matter what you say, they hate you.

The Unique Perspective of Senator Ted Stevens

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 9:53am EDT by forsythe

Political perceptions often are confusing. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska had a trial by jury regarding the reporting of financial disclosures. The jury convicted him on seven counts. The verdict was ‘guilty’.

In the face of these court events, Senator Stevens has a unique perspective:

“…”I have not been convicted of anything,” he maintained during a Thursday night debate in Anchorage, only days before Tuesday’s election.

The debate, sponsored by Alaska Public Television, pitted Stevens, who is seeking re-election, against his opponent, Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, in a tight race.”

link: Sen. Stevens: I’m innocent and not convicted

Senator Stevens is standing for re-election to the Senate. The people of Alaska will indicate, by their vote, whether they share Senator Steven’s perception.

Catherine Forsythe

Contaminating the Food Chain in China

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 9:47am EDT by forsythe

The problem with the chemical melamine can to international attention when thousands of household pets died from contaminated food. Recently there has been concern about melamine being added to milk in China. Now comes reports that melamine is throughout the food chain:

“The toxic chemical melamine is probably being routinely added to Chinese animal feed, state media has reported.

Correspondents say the unusually frank reports in several news outlets are an admission that contamination could be widespread throughout the food chain.”

link: Chinese melamine scandal widens

This is obviously an international problem as well as a national crisis for China. Until China has stricter regulations that are enforced, it seems that all edible products that are animal derivative must be viewed as a possible source of contamination.

Catherine Forsythe

High School Dropout Rate - One in Four

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:49am EDT by forsythe

No matter what one’s political persuasion, one is hearing campaign rhetoric about cutting government spending. One area where spending cannot withstand further financial trimming is in education. The school system simply is failing. There is ample evidence of this in the student dropout rate, which has been called “outrageous”:

“High schools are coming under pressure from the federal government to improve the nation’s dismal dropout rate — one in four students.”

link: New rules address ‘outrageous’ dropout rates

There is something wrong when one quarter of the children do not finish high school. The burden that this places on the economy is enormous. Gone are the days when one can strike out and follow one’s dreams without a high school education. The odds against success are overwhelming for dropouts. The technological age changes the employment dynamics. Higher education is needed. Sadly, for one in four children, the ‘American Dream’ is effaced during the teen years.

Catherine Forsythe

Sony-made Laptop Batteries Recalled

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:43am EDT by forsythe

There is another recall of laptop batteries that may be a fire hazard:

“Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.”

link: Fire fear sparks battery recall

This may not be your laptop maker. However, one of your friends or members of your family may be using these batteries. There are concerns about some Dell, Acer and Lenovo products too. Please let people on your email list know.

Catherine Forsythe

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Google Tips & Tricks #1: Crazy image Search

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:42am EDT by comickey

While surfin’ the net today, I came across a nice tech blog by a blogger named Xavier Lur at Kid Tech Guru http://www.kidtechguru.blogspot.com/). The first post on his blog today was another cool trick that I am calling Crazy Image Search. This little easter egg has no point what-so-ever, except that it shows what a geek can do in his spare time when he is bored. From the Kid Tech Guru Blog:

I stumbled across a Google Image trick on YouTube and was excited to share with you guys. To start this trick, simply go to Google Image and search for a particular image. Click on ‘See full-size image’ and replace the URL in your address bar with the code below…and you’ll see something interesting…

javascript:R=0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI=document.getElementsByTagName(’img’); DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; i-DIL; i++){DIS=DI[ i ].style; DIS.position=’absolute’; DIS.left=(Math.sin(R*x1+i*x2+x3)*x4+x5)+’px’; DIS.top=(Math.cos(R*y1+i*y2+y3)*y4+y5)+’px’}R++}setInterval(’A()’,5); void(0);

Enjoy!

See more great content including videos, photos, web links, and more at:

http://www.DANIELVINING.com — Home of One Geek World!

Find me in the chat room at live.pirillo.com — Nick: Comickey

Financial Woes at the Washington Post

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 8:11am EDT by forsythe

It is a dramatic decline. The Washington Post Company is yet another newspaper organization that is struggling:

“The Washington Post Co. today reported an 86 percent decline in third-quarter earnings compared with the same period last year, as a significant loss at the flagship newspaper offset gains at the company’s education and cable divisions.”

link: Washington Post Co. Earnings Plummet in Third Quarter

Circulation is declining and advertising has gone to find more viewers online. This decline is significant. The Christian Science Monitor has made a decision to focus on its online publication. How soon will other newspapers follow that business model?

Catherine Forsythe

Google Sends Out Email About Advertising

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 6:56am EDT by Ron Schenone

I received this email from Google on Thursday afternoon:

Dear Publisher,

We understand that the recent economic turmoil has created a lot of uncertainty in the lives of AdSense publishers. During these difficult times, we’re continuing to invest in innovations that improve publisher monetization and advertiser value in the content network.

We’re focusing on further developing our product offerings and boosting ad performance for publishers. We recently announced advancements in AdSense for search and experiments to make ads more effective. We’re bringing DoubleClick technologies to AdSense publishers, and we’ll continue to launch new products and features. We’re also continuing to improve our offerings for AdWords advertisers, making it easier for them to target the Google content network. Features for advertisers, such as the new display ad builder, are designed to improve ad performance on AdSense publisher sites.

We’ll keep driving technological progress, but our best asset will always be our publisher partners. The strength of AdSense lies in the value of the content you bring to users and the quality of the sites you bring to advertisers. Our success is tied to yours. We look forward to partnering with you for the long term, and remain dedicated to helping you succeed.

Sincerely,

Kim Scott
Director AdSense Online Sales & Operations

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

I never gave it much thought about the possibility that advertising could plummet, but this email from Google has started me thinking. How much will advertisers pull back?

What do you think? Are we all headed for a huge economic down turn that will affect advertising? Or will ads just continue as usual?

Comments welcome.

Guitar Hero is Not Real Guitar

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 4:58am EDT by oztech

If you have played Guitar Hero or Rock Band or every talked about it, I’m sure you’re familiar with the following situation. You’re sitting there, eating your lunch while telling another person all about your Guitar Hero: World Tour purchase and how much you enjoy it. Then some douchebag has to try to inform you that your toy video game doesn’t teach you how to play real guitar. “You know, that game isn’t real guitar!”. Gee thanks Einstein! You mean my toy controller attached to my PS2 with the buttons and plastic flipper instead of strings isn’t real guitar? No way!

Despite the fact that people say this all the time, playing guitar in a game can teach you the difference between high and low notes. Now with drums added to the games, it really does teach you how to play drums. In fact they say if you can play drums on the Hard level of the game, you can play drums well in real life.

As for the other instruments, we all know it’s not real. It’s a game! We also know that when we play Metal Gear, we aren’t really a stealth soldier that goes around taking out enemies.

Acronis 2009 - Upgrade May Be Trial Version Key

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 3:34am EDT by Ron Schenone

Yesterday I received an email from reader Don Naphen referencing his experience after he upgrade to Acronis 2009. Don stated:

Hi Ron; Had quite the experience today. Called up my Acronis 2009 program, which is their latest version. Lo and behold, I get a nag screen informing me that the “trial version” has expired! This was a registered paid for upgrade! Went to their web page, and they have an option under tech support for a live chat session. Yes, a nice touch. Within 1 minute I was talking to a gal who, after seeing my problem directed me to 2 separate Acronis sites. One explained that for some reason, those who purchased the update were inadvertently given a Trial product key! LOL. I was then directed to another site that asked me to input the original key issued, and a new key was immediately generated for me. Once that was done everything was fine once again. If you wish, I can forward the email from Acronis so that you can share this info with your readers. The email contains the contents of the chat session BTW, which was another nice touch on their part. Of course, I’d appreciate it if you edited out my personal info if you decide to post it! Take care. Don

Thanks Don for sharing this with us. Hopefully this will assist those who may be experiencing a similar problem.

Brain Patents Beging Questioned

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 3:22am EDT by Ron Schenone

You may recall that Amazon wanted to patent the so called one click method to make a purchase on the Internet. I remember at the time thinking how ludcrious it was and that the patent should be rejected. It now seems at least one appeals court has come to their senses and is setting some standards as to what patents can and should be.

According to a recent press article, it stated that:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Thursday that the patent application at issue was not tied to a machine and did not result in a transformation, both standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court for patentability.

“I think there’s some narrowing of what you need to get a business method patent,” said Michael Bregenzer, an attorney with Reed Smith LLP.

The case is widely expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, something the appeals court acknowledged in its opinion.

Business methods were widely considered unpatentable until a 1998 ruling by the same appeals court. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued 1,330 such patents last year, up from 120 in 1997, according to figures on its website.

I personally believe that inventions should be protected. But when it comes to such things such as a ‘mouse click’, it seems that the system needs to be revamped. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Comments welcome.

Source.

Save up to $50 on PlayStation 3 40 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Kojima Bundle

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 3:08am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the PlayStation 3 40 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Kojima Bundle for as low as $399.96 (up to 11% off!)

As DVD playback made the PlayStation 2 more than just a game machine, hefty multi-media features make the Sony PlayStation 3 an even more versatile home entertainment machine. Features such as video chat, Internet access, digital photo viewing, and digital audio and video could make it the central component of your media set-up. Still, it is first and foremost a game console, and a powerful one at that. Now you can own this powerful console in a rare gun metal gray and you will get the Limited Edition of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots along with it.

Get the PlayStation 3 40 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Kojima Bundle with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Broken Android Applications

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 2:36am EDT by Matt Hartley

I believe that collectively, we all need to be realistic here. The fact is that the Android has just made its way onto a mainstream mobile device. So to find ourselves becoming shocked due to a few brand new applications designed for the platform that are not running up to snuff is rather silly.

In short, I think it will behoove all of us to realize that this is new territory for Google and to some extent, for those developing new applications for the phone while for many of the developers, the phone was not even out yet. That means developing on a emulator – definitely not the same thing.

As the article above points out, things are expected to improve. The trick is realizing that we all may need to be patient here as this new community continues their journey into undiscovered country.

VPN Maddness

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 1:32am EDT by Matt Hartley

I have to admit, this latest question that ended up on my desk through the grape vine honestly has me completely stumped. I do not know what to think about it? Here is what was asked initially.

My friends and I are using vpn programs to connect a virtual LAN over the internet. The current one I run is VPN-X server/client. It works for both mac and windows.

The problem is we connect, and can see each other, ping each other,
and view shared files. The problem I am having is if I or another
Mac hosts the game, warcraft 3, I can’t see the game or visa-versa. If
an XP hosts the game, all can see it. And we had problems with vista
hosting it, but i think we have nipped that in the butt. So the problem
is running mac osx and hosting the game, i can’t have another mac
“see” the game. If i am hosting the game, and an XP signs on, they
see it. Vista sees it. So i know i have the right ports open, i
just think there is something the mac does not want to do to “see” the
game when connected via vpn.

Side note for clarification. If i am on an actual LAN, and host a
game, any and all computers can see it. Macs included. Please help
if you can. Short of jumping over to the bootcamp, which does “solve”
the problem, its not a solution i prefer as i do not like having to
shut down all that i am multitasking just to play one game.

If you do read this and want to answer it, can you respond with a “i
will talk about it this day or under this title.” or simply just
respond here is best, unless you want to do it on the cam. thank you
for your time if you can help me. –Troubled VPN user

So here is a basic breakdown;

* VPN programs being used to connect to a virtial LAN.
* Each VPN participant can view and ping one another.
* Mac hosting WoW translates into visibility issues when connecting to the game.

This is where I am going to tap each of you, the Lockergnome collective. While I may not play WoW myself, I can understand how frustrating this situation must be for the person that wrote in above. Hopefully one of you out there, have some ideas you can share in the comments area to get the individual above back on the right track.

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Secure Computers With Internet Explorer 7’s Security Zones

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Diana Huggins

Malicious active content on the Internet has always been a cause for concern for the IT professional. The Security Zones feature of Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) is designed to protect users from inadvertently downloading this type of content from the Internet.

IE7 includes four predefined Security Zones:

Internet: The Internet zone is an all-inclusive zone designed to include all Web sites on the Internet.
Local Intranet: The Local Intranet zone is designed to include all computers that are connected to a local network.
Trusted Sites: The Trusted Sites zone can be configured to include any sites containing active content that you completely trust.
Restricted Sites: The Restricted Sites zone can be configured to include any sites containing active content that you absolutely do not trust.

There is actually a hidden, fifth zone, the My Computer zone, which includes most of the files on your computer. This special zone doesn’t appear in the dialog box with the others and can only be reconfigured by editing the registry or by using the Internet Explorer Administration Kit. As a general rule, the default security level in the My Computer zone is sufficient for most situations.

Each of these Security Zones is by default configured to use one of four predefined security levels. For example, the Restricted Sites zone is set at High, the Internet zone is set at Medium-high, the Local Intranet zone is set at Medium-low, and the Trusted Sites zone is set at Medium.

In most circumstances, these default Security Zone settings are sufficient, but you do have a lot of latitude — possibly more than you’re comfortable with. IE7’s Security Zone feature is highly customizable and gives you a mechanism for adjusting the amount of security in each of the Security Zones at a granular level. In other words, you can configure each and every active content feature that IE7 is capable of processing by choosing to enable or disable the feature and configuring Internet Explorer to prompt the user for a choice before accessing the active feature.

Secure Computers With Internet Explorer 7’s Security Zones

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Diana Huggins

IE7 includes four predefined Security Zones:

Internet: The Internet zone is an all-inclusive zone designed to include all Web sites on the Internet.
Local Intranet: The Local Intranet zone is designed to include all computers that are connected to a local network.
Trusted Sites: The Trusted Sites zone can be configured to include any sites containing active content that you completely trust.
Restricted Sites: The Restricted Sites zone can be configured to include any sites containing active content that you absolutely do not trust.

Total Telecom

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 12:00pm EDT by Lockergnome

Total Telecom is The Economist of the communications industry.

It provides expert commentary and authoritative analysis on the crucial issues affecting the global telecommunications and networking sectors; unique and comprehensive international analysis of both fixed and mobile communications services; exclusive insights; and powerful understanding of today’s business models in telecoms.

Get your free subscription to Total Telecom, today!

Is it Winter or Fall?

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 11:36am EDT by Melissa

I just posted a blog post over at my blog at www.purplestars.com. This post is how Winter has made an early appearance in Western NC this year and an update about my progress of keeping to my new years resolution of eating healthy and keeping fit is paying off.

“It’s feeling like Fall here in Western North Carolina. The nights are getting colder and the mornings are frosty. The leaves are changing to bright reds and golden yellows. Some of the mountain areas, here in NC yesterday even saw the first snow fall of the season. I woke up this morning to it being 28 degrees which is really chilly for NC this time of year. It feels more like Winter than Fall, around here, but it can only lead to one thing, our temps will get cold now, and be warm again for Christmas, which I hope it’s the not the case this year. I would love to see a nice snowy Winter this year, than a mild green Winter that we’ve saw years past.” read more…..

Is it Winter or Fall?

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 11:36am EDT by Melissa

Lamar Odom Blooper

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 10:35am EDT by forsythe

It is just game one of the 2008 - 2009 NBA season and Lamar Odom has provided a classic blooper. There is an assist from Sasha Vujacic, who was not in the game and who was standing on the sidelines:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/VYd0Z4J6dnQ" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]

Perhaps no one on the Lakers will stand when Lamar Odom is in the game.

Catherine

Vonage - Works Just Fine

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 10:32am EDT by Ron Schenone

I had previously mentioned in another post that I was considering giving Vonage a try and I received some great comments. So I ordered Vonage and thought I would share my experience with you. Thanks to Marc aka ‘the oracle’ for his advice. I did connect the Vonage modem to my wireless router and all worked just great. Also to Kevin who gave me the idea to connect Vonage to my home wiring. Two thunbs up! :-)

Vonage sent me the Motorola upgraded modem at no additional cost. The modem comes with a display screen so you can view who is calling and also keeps track of missed calls. I followed the directions exactly and in about ten minutes I had a dial tone. FWIW - I connected the modem directly to my wireless router and as Marc stated, it didn’t interfere with my wireless setup at all.

I ran this setup for a few days without any problems. So I decided to try what Kevin recommended. I disconnected my phone service at the junction box, and connected the Vonage modem directly to my home phone wiring. Perfect. The cordless phone in the kitchen we previously used on POTS worked immediately. Also the connection from my Dish Network also worked. This is a nice feature because when someone calls their number appears directly on our TV.

So there you have it. Vonage for me is working just fine.

Comments welcome.

A Nicolle Wallace Quote

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 9:45am EDT by forsythe

The blaming has started on the presidential campaign trail. There is the second guessing and the speculation. It is “could have - should have - would have” time. In what might become one of the classical quotes concerning large vehicles, there is this statement from Nicolle Wallace:

“If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honourable thing to do is to lie there.”

It is a zen-like approach.

Catherine Forsythe

Tuition Increases in a Bad Economy

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 9:11am EDT by forsythe

It is additional economic stress for families with university / college bound children. Tuition has increased and may rise again:

“Amid the economic turmoil, students and their families are getting little relief from rising college costs, which jumped 6.4 percent this fall, according to new figures out Wednesday.

And with states aggressively cutting budgets, big increases look almost certain next year, too — if not sooner…”

link: College prices up again as economy falters

This becomes a cyclical economic problem. With the increasing tuition fees in a faltering economy, some people simply will not be able to continue with their education. This, in turn, lowers the competitive abilities of the next generation and adds to the economic tensions as these non college people compete for employment in the technological age. These potential college students are the people expected to support social security, if the system survives that long.

Catherine Forsythe

Eggs Tainted with Melamine

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 8:51am EDT by forsythe

Melamine was the chemical implicated in the tainted milk scandal that has made thousands of children sick in China. Some children have died as a result. Now, melamine has been found in eggs:

“Authorities in a northeastern Chinese city on Wednesday vowed severe punishment for those responsible for melamine-tainted eggs turning up in Hong Kong, as the health scare spread to another city in eastern China.”

link: China vows penalties as melamine eggs scare spreads

This could implicate a myriad of products. Consider the number of products that are made with eggs. These egg products have domestic and international distribution. The recall could cover a spectrum of products. The frightening variable is that the full extent of the problem may not be known because of China’s close control of the media.

Catherine Forsythe

Up to 57% off Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Knife and LED Flashlight

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 8:23am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Knife and LED Flashlight for as low as $24.40 (up to 57% off!)

From the renowned company that created the Swiss Army Knife a century ago comes the Soldier knife/multi-tool with LED Flashlight set. The useful, 7-function multi-tool knife is the official standard knife issued to the Swiss Army. The Swiss Army regards the Victorinox multi-tool as part of a soldier’s personal survival kit. This pocket knife contains 7 stainless-steel tools that will be there when you need them, but not burden you with its size when you don’t. The standard tools include a large blade, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener with large locking screwdriver, wire stripper and reamer.

The Soldier comes partnered with the silver alox Victorinox LED AAA flashlight. This flashlight delivers the powerful, white LED beams that are up to 10 times more efficient at converting energy into light than regular incandescent lamp while still using conventional batteries. Single-point, diamond-turned optic reflectors enhance the LED lamps, which are protectively recessed in a patented stainless steel head with a high-impact polycarbonate window. The twist on/off mechanism and power control circuitry result in extended battery life and increased lumens.

As with all Victorinox items, the Soldier knife is made to exacting standards of construction in Ibach, Switzerland at the same factory that has made Swiss Army knives for the last century. Victorinox focuses on every detail–from selecting the finest materials to performing the final inspection. In addition, each individual tool has been hardened in a different way to stand up to its designated use.

Get the Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Knife and LED Flashlight with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Windows 7 - Same As Vista, Only Better?

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 5:26am EDT by Ron Schenone

Now that the preview of Vista’s replacement Windows 7 has been released, we should be hearing more about the new operating system during the next few weeks. I’ve downloaded the preview of Windows 7 and I am hoping to get the preview installed this evening. But in the mean time, Engadget already has posted what appears to be a screen shot of the new OS as well as a description of some of the new features.

One of the changes in Windows 7 is that the side bar is no longer present. Instead gadgets can be placed anywhere on the desktop. Also the taskbar has been changed by showing Icons only. UAC can be set to level control and access. Media Center can be tweaked.

Though it is way to early to tell what additional changes may be made to the operating system, the words of Steve Balmer echo loudly. ‘Windows 7 will be Vista, only better’. Which could mean they are going to move stuff around and provide some tweaks and change the name.

Only time will tell how this all plays out.

Comments welcome.

Source

Up to 43% off Playstation 3 Eye

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 3:09am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Playstation 3 Eye for as low as $22.98 (up to 43% off!)

Playstation Eye is set to revolutionize the experience of both interactive gaming and online communication on the Playstation Network.

Designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3, key features of the Playstation Eye include a sophisticated microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and focus on spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition, faster frame rate for improved tracking, responsiveness and smoothness, two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options, and EyeCreate editing software, which allows users to save, edit and add cool visual effects to photos, video and audio clips.

EyeCreate also enables user to capture videos and audio clips directly to your PS3’s hard disk drive and access a range of different capturing modes, including slow motion and time-lapse.

Get the Playstation 3 Eye with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Microsoft Web Apps

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 2:17am EDT by Matt Hartley

There is no question that using Google Apps is an acquired taste. The same might be said for using OpenOffice. But overall, people are finding that MS Office remains the standard as it is what people know. This being said, I am still not totally clear where Microsoft is headed in its new Office as a service idea?

Collaboration — sure, however others already do this and do it for free. So does Microsoft, with the understanding that the user is still using a paid local app on their desktop. And there is the rub — based on my understanding, in order to gain the full benefit, Microsoft is still pushing the local applications which believe cost entirely too much… still.

But never mind that, I am still working to find out why I am going to use MS Office products in the Web space as well as in the local space? Oh yeah, because it integrates nicely with the familiar. I can see value there.

So what do you think? Does Microsoft have a real shot at success with their online office concept? Hit the comments.

Microsoft Web Apps

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 2:17am EDT by Matt Hartley

So what do you think? Does Microsoft have a real shot at success with their online office concept? Hit the comments.

Google Settles Copyright Lawsuit

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:37am EDT by forsythe

Google can move forward with the digitalizing of millions of books. It is a costly settlement of a lawsuit for Google:

“Google is to pay $125m (€98m) to settle lawsuits filed in 2005 by authors and publishers that charged the web search group with “massive infringement”, challenging its book scanning project that digitised and offered excerpts of books without the permission of copyright holders.”

link: Google strikes deal with US publishers over online library

This has been a lingering obstacle for Google in moving forward with this project. The initial costs of this settlement may be considered a start up expense. The goal for Google remains to digitize and accumulate the world’s information. No doubt these short term costs will be offset by long term advertising profits.

Catherine Forsythe

Google Settles Copyright Lawsuit

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:37am EDT by forsythe

Google can move forward with the digitalizing of millions of books. It is a costly settlement of a lawsuit for Google:

link: Google strikes deal with US publishers over online library

Catherine Forsythe

$12.99 SanDisk 1GB USB Flash Drive

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:14am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive for as low as $12.99 (up to 75% off!)

SanDisk’s 1 GB Cruzer Micro USB drive is a super compact way to carry important data, music, and more on the go. The built-in retractable USB connector makes it easy to keep data safe from damage when traveling while the amber-colored LED clearly indicates when the drive is in use.

It’s also U3-enabled and comes with CruzerSync synchronization software, SignupShield password manager, Skype, and Avast antivirus software.

PC and Macintosh compatible, no drivers required for most systems (Windows 98SE driver available online)

Get the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

$12.99 SanDisk 1GB USB Flash Drive

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:14am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive for as low as $12.99 (up to 75% off!)

SanDisk’s 1 GB Cruzer Micro USB drive is a super compact way to carry important data, music, and more on the go. The built-in retractable USB connector makes it easy to keep data safe from damage when traveling while the amber-colored LED clearly indicates when the drive is in use.

It’s also U3-enabled and comes with CruzerSync synchronization software, SignupShield password manager, Skype, and Avast antivirus software.

PC and Macintosh compatible, no drivers required for most systems (Windows 98SE driver available online)

Get the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Cadco Systems Becomes HotSpotVPN Affiliate

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 12:27am EDT by cadcosystems

Cadco Systems has setup an affiliate partnership with HotSpotVPN to provide secure and encrypted VPN services. For more information about this service, check out our Services page.

Cadco Systems Becomes HotSpotVPN Affiliate

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 12:27am EDT by cadcosystems

Cadco Systems has setup an affiliate partnership with HotSpotVPN to provide secure and encrypted VPN services. For more information about this service, check out our Services page.

Tomb Raider: Underworld Demo Available Today On Xbox Live Marketplace

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 11:55pm EDT by Lockergnome

Eidos Interactive, creator of some of the world’s leading videogame properties, announces the demo for Tomb Raider: Underworld is now available for the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo is a chance to become a part of the epic adventure that awaits players when Tomb Raider: Underworld launches on November 18th in North America and November 21st in Europe.

The demo will have players travelling to the western coast of Thailand — the second destination in Tomb Raider: Underworld — to experience a taste of the adventure that is to come. Gamers can master steep coastal cliffs, navigate perilous and crumbling ruins, evade vicious wild animals and use state-of-the-art gear such as the grapple or the new Field Assistance System to create and uncover paths that will take players deep into the challenging wilds of Thailand.

Tomb Raider: Underworld will release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation2, Nintendo DS, and PC Games for Windows platforms. With development led by Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider: Underworld represents a new achievement in exploration-based gameplay. As the fearless adventurer Lara Croft, players will explore and solve the mysteries of exotic locations around the world — each created in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that create a truly believable world and deliver a new level of challenge and choice.

The Tomb Raider: Underworld demo is offered in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish and will also be available for the PC on October 31st. A series of additional exclusive downloadable chapters will also be made available on Xbox Live starting this holiday.

Left-Handed Schadenfraud

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 10:53pm EDT by leftystrat

Schadenfraud is taking delight in the misfortune of others. Let’s say Dick Cheney took George Bush hunting and neither of them came back. If we were to giggle or break out into dance and song, that would be schadenfraud. A less extreme example would be gleeful fascination with Britney Spears’ descent into the depths of No Life Stardom Hell.

This morning I heard about Alaska’s Senator Ted (Tubes) Stevens’ conviction on many counts of local thievery (as opposed to the normal variety in which he engages while in DC). I thought it was nice that one of the thieving buggers finally got caught at something other than being a politician (sorry for the bad word).

More surprising, however, was the reaction of Senator Stevens’ homey, Sarah Palin. She veritably leapt up from her perch (atop a very withered John McCain) and glowingly stated that this was a great thing for Alaska politics: it was a grand day because things were getting cleaned up. Fortunately Ms. Palin, having borrowed a few layers from Teflon Ronnie Reagan’s pan, won’t have to worry about her own part in making Alaska’s politics dirty.

Now, before you rabid republicans go frothing at the mouth that I’m liberal swine, there is no bias here whatsoever: I hate every single one of them - R and D. There is no partisanship here - just an observation.

Coworker Entitlement Strikes Again

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 10:52pm EDT by leftystrat

Every time I think I’ve seen it all in the Twilight Zone<tm> (work), they surprise me. Mostly unpleasantly.

Today started off like any other day, with my wife watching the local Fox news. Unlike most other days, they were in the midst of their wall-to-wall Phillies coverage. In fact, Fox is changing their slogan to “All Phillies, All the Time.” They found it somehow made a difference if they dispensed with any of the usual fluff as well as any actual news. It certainly made a difference to my wife. There she was, sitting and enjoying the Phillies coverage, when down comes her husband, noticing the Phillies-only `news’ and immediately screaming at the television, as if the Fox programmers could hear and feel his outrage. All the poor lady wanted to do was watch the Fox Phillies coverage… errr… news…. Instead she got a ranting husband, which is even uglier in the early morning.

“Thanks, Stacy. We’re here at Bob’s Bar in Philly, where the fans are showing their loyalty with a morning helping of Philly Red Beer.” [patrons all dressed in red Phillies regalia and hooting loudly before falling into their special red eggs]

“Thanks, Dawn. We’re across town from Stacy, at Mulligan’s Irish Pub, which has gone red for the day. I’ll bet you don’t know why, Bob. It’s because of the PHILLIES!!!” [more red-garbed drunks shouting " YO! PHILLIES NUMBER ONE. DOOD!!!!"]

“Well isn’t that something? I used to be a model but made the transition to news host because I wasn’t smart enough for modeling. But enough about me - let’s go to Danny in the Phillies Mobile Van.”

“Danny, are you there? Danny? DANNY.”

“Oh, hi, Bobbi. This is Danny, live with the Phillies Cam, and I’m standing directly in the middle of Roosevelt Boulevard (that’s Route One for you out-of-towners who came to see your team lose). I’m having a hard time hearing you because I’m literally standing on the Boulevard and the wind from the cars is wreaking havoc on my hair. I’m standing out here today in support of our Number One Phillies. I have a Honk if you’re for the Phillies t-shirt on and people have been honking at me all day! Some started honking even before I put the t-shirt on. Yes, anything can happen with the Phillies are in the World Series.”

“Yes, Danny, anything CAN happen. Or could happen, if we could ever get it to stop raining. Ha ha. Over to Jill with the Channel 97 Phillies Forecast. Jill - what can the Fightin’ Phils expect for their game tonight?”

“Well, Bobbi, I’m glad you asked. It’s going to be a great day for our Phillies to take the field tonight and GO ALL THE WAY!” [cut to shot of random groups of incoherently screaming red-clad sports fans]

“Jill…. I heard that it was going to rain starting last night and for the next three days.”

“Well that’s what YOU heard. We spoke with Mother Nature earlier. It turns out she’s a Phillies fan too, so we’re going to have great weather. And all weather is great weather when the Phils are in the Series!”

“Uh… Jill… it’s snowing outside.”

“Bobbi - I don’t like the tone of your voice. Who are YOU to rain (or snow) on the Phillies parade? What kind of a person are you? A Chicago import, perhaps?” [cut to shot of random mob in random bar, cheering but starting to look concerned]

“Bobbi - are you the kind of person who doesn’t LIKE the Phillies?” [crowd growing restless, somebody throws a bottle at the camera, somebody else shouts `HEY. SAVE THAT FOR THE GAME, IDIOT.']

“I get the idea you have a PROBLEM with them Phils. Do you know what we DO with people like you?” [mob chanting KILL HER - KILL HER!]

Pause for station identification.

[slightly bruised with too much makeup] “Welcome back to Fox News. We understand that people have been complaining about this newscast, stating that the only thing we talk about is the Phillies. This is patently untrue. In fact, let’s go to international news with Jon.”

“Thanks, Bobbi. In international news, several heads of foreign countries will convene at the White House tonight, where they will sit with President Bush and watch the Phillies win the World Series.” [crowd cheers]

“And today in financial news, we look at our sports stadiums. Yes, we all paid to have them built and yes, we never expect to get anything back on our investment but… but….. hey - how about them Phillies, eh?”

Where was I?

Oh yeah, I eventually made it to work safely. And good thing, too. Even the trees were celebrating the Phillies’ standing by sending random branches to the ground, if not entire trees. I swear I saw some newslady fly by in the wind, followed by an angry mob, but this was before my first pot of coffee.

I got stuck in meetings and generally not being productive (yes, same thing). All of the sudden one of my coworkers comes up to me to tell me something `very important.’ I feared the worst, but no, the coffee machine was working perfectly.

It would appear that some people `found out’ that their Department of Computer Geeks has programs that spy on them while they’re using their computers.

Let me stop here to explain that this was never a secret and `found out’ means four weeks after they watched it being done while repairing a user-inflicted problem on their pc, they realized it could be done.

But this was not enough for the folks to whom we provide service, no sir. Something needed to be done. Someone needed to call meetings. Someone else needed to escalate. A third one needed to involve Human Resources and a team of amateur lawyers, otherwise known as the Payroll Department.

The hue and cry was deafening. People were spoken at. Demands were made. They began gathering pitchforks and torches, only to discover that the torches kept setting off the fire alarms.

I suspect that within the next day or two, my entire department will be called to be put on the rack in front of the Executive Committee to explain this heinous abuse of power and tools.

Did I mention that our population has a certain sense of entitlement?

We will have no choice but to answer honestly. That Windows Remote Desktop, included with every copy of Windows, is the enabling technology and that if they’re sore over this, they need to complain to Bill Gates himself.

Then we’ll pull out the Big Guns<tm>. We will tell them how much time and money the company saves by using remote tools to repair and manage networks and desktops, including at remote sites. How green is that?

What they also fail to grasp, not for the lack of putting it out there, is that we have a strict No-Care Policy. We don’t care what people are doing, so long as the equipment and network are ok. Yes, we can read your mail. Yes, we can listen to your phone calls. But why in the known universe would we want to?
And where would we get the time to do all of this alleged eavesdropping? Who do they think we are - the NSA?

Imagine being so important that others try to spy on you :)

So that’s all from the Twilight Zone<tm> for tonight. I’ll be back soon, hopefully after Fox News forgets about the Phillies and instead finds something else to talk about instead of news.

The Christian Science Monitor Stops Its Print Edition

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 10:41pm EDT by forsythe

The Christian Science Monitor has had a longstanding reputation of excellence. It has garnered numerous Pulitzer Prizes. Now, the Christian Science Monitor will be available only on the internet:

“After a century of continuous publication, The Christian Science Monitor will abandon its weekday print edition and appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to largely give up on print.”

link: Christian Science Paper Ends Daily Print Edition

It seems inevitable, with circulation dropping and advertisers gravitating to internet sites. The Christian Science Monitor may portend a solution that other print publications may have to follow. Nevertheless, it ends a long tradition; and, for those who have an abiding affection for the printed dailies, it is a sad day.

Catherine Forsythe

Parking Dash

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 9:22pm EDT by Lockergnome

Meet Karma, Flo’s hip friend, whose life takes a dramatic turn when she’s contacted in her Donutville apartment about inherited property in DinerTown!

Flo intercedes before Karma can sell the tiny blacktop lot behind Flo’s Diner and encourages Karma to start her own business! You’ll have to be quick to click as you rack, track, and even stack automotive gems from every corner of DinerTown. Help Karma clean up the streets in this thoroughly entertaining mix of the familiar and the unique. Hop in now!

[Download free trial of Parking Dash]
[Buy Parking Dash]

Brain Stimulation Improves Dexterity

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 9:04pm EDT by Lockergnome

Applying electrical stimulation to the scalp and the underlying motor regions of the brain could make you more skilled at delicate tasks. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience shows that a non-invasive brain-stimulation technique, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is able to improve the use of a person’s non-dominant hand.

Drs. Gottfried Schlaug and Bradley Vines from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, tested the effects of using tDCS over one side or both sides of the brain on sixteen healthy, right-handed volunteers, as well as testing the effect of simply pretending to carry out the procedure. The volunteers were not aware of which of the three procedures they were receiving. The test involved using the fingers of the left hand to key in a series of numbers displayed on a computer screen.

The results were striking; stimulating the brain over both the right and left motor regions (’dual hemisphere’ tDCS) resulted in a 24% improvement in the subjects’ scores. This was significantly better than stimulating the brain only over one motor region or using the sham treatment (16% and 12% improvements, respectively).

tDCS involves attaching electrodes to the scalp and passing a weak direct current through the scalp and skull to alter the excitability of the underlying brain tissue. The treatment has two principal modes depending on the direction in which the current runs between the two electrodes. Brain tissue that underlies the positive electrode (anode) becomes more excitable and the reverse is true for brain tissue that underlies the negative electrode (cathode). No relevant negative side effects have been reported with this type of non-invasive brain stimulation. It is not to be confused with electroconvulsive therapy, which uses currents around a thousand times higher.

According to Schlaug, “The results of our study are relevant to clinical research on motor recovery after stroke. They point to the possibility that stimulating both sides of the brain simultaneously, using the effects of the direct current to block unwanted effects of one motor region while using the opposite effects of the direct current treatment on the other motor region to enhance and facilitate the function of that motor region might catalyze motor recovery.”

[Graeme Baldwin @ BioMed Central]

Tapping into Vista Dissatisfaction

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 7:20pm EDT by forsythe

Today there was a more detailed introduction to Microsoft’s Windows 7, the next offering of an operating system. During the keynote address, Steven Sinofsky was candid about some of the errors with Vista:

“…Sinofsky said Microsoft is learning its lessons from Vista, which was widely criticized by users and the press, and spoofed famously in humorous television advertisements by competitor Apple.

Sinofsky acknowledged that some of the criticism was deserved, particularly around Microsoft’s lack of preparing its hardware, software and peripheral partners for Vista’s release, even though it was more than five years in the making.”

link: Microsoft Vows Windows 7 Will Fix Vista Mistakes

A consequence of this presentation is that it has tapped into some of the anger and frustration of Vista users. Some openly wonder if Vista was some form of ‘beta’ for Windows 7. Vista has eroded consumer confidence in the product and some look with skepticism at the Windows 7 publicity. It seems that Microsoft has a public relations problem that still needs to be addressed. The wide acceptance of Windows 7 may depend upon that.

Catherine Forsythe

Buy 2 Essential Nintendo DS Games, Get the 3rd Free

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 7:08pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, Buy 2 select Nintendo DS Games, Get the 3rd Free.

Add three (3) qualifying games from the list below to your cart, make your purchase, and you will qualify for a free game. The game that you add to your cart with the lowest list price will be deducted from your total order at checkout. Each title in a qualifying order must be unique. Limit three per household. Taxes and shipping may apply. Promotion valid for a limited time while supplies last or until November 8, 2008 at 11:59 PST. Products must be sold and shipped by Amazon.com.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time for as low as $34.99
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for as low as $34.99
Professor Layton and the Curious Village for as low as $29.99
Crosswords DS for as low as $19.99
Mario Party DS for as low as $29.99
Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day for as low as $19.99
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! for as low as $19.99
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for as low as $19.99 (up to 33% off!)
Nintendogs Dalmatian & Friends for as low as $34.99
Clubhouse Games for as low as $19.99
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for as low as $34.99
New Super Mario Bros for as low as $34.99
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! for as low as $19.99
Mario Kart DS for as low as $34.99
Animal Crossing: Wild World for as low as $34.99
Nintendogs Labrador Retriever & Friends for as low as $29.99
Nintendogs Chihuahua & Friends for as low as $29.99
Nintendo DS Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends for as low as $29.99

Get the Nintendo DS Games with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

John McCain Wishes He Could Buy A Commercial

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 6:57pm EDT by the oracle

While on the stump today, John McCain was spewing all the usual rhetoric concerning Barack Obama, and then, out of nowhere, told the audience that he would never push back the beginning of a World Series game for an infomercial.

See title.

John McCain is only not doing it because he doesn’t have the money to do it, and, as it has been stated on CBS and NBC, the Obama campaign has bought up almost all available air time, as he has such huge sums of money to spend. {Who would have thought a Democrat could ever outspend a Republican? Certainly not this writer.}

Obviously, if McCain had wanted to go forth with a 30 minute address to the nation, he should have cut back on the negative and false attack ads. He certainly had enough money at the beginning of this month.

One thing about this, there has been more money spent – in total – on this campaign than any other in history. I believe this is wrong, and think that since we, the public, ostensibly own the airwaves, each candidate should be given a certain amount of airtime on every network – not a ridiculous amount – but perhaps just what Senator Obama has purchased, one 30 minute segment, to be given the week before the election. Guaranteed time on the public airwaves would make it much easier to sell the idea of limited campaign spending across the country.

I would also like to see ads that not only say ‘and I approve this ad’ but, ‘the assertions set forth in this ad have been verified by [insert fact checking mechanism here]’.

What do you think?

Quote of the Day:
For greed, all nature is too little.
–Seneca, Roman statesman and author

Technorati Tags: elections - exposure - political statements - campaign funding

WeatherBug On Your TV

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 5:30pm EDT by Matt Hartley

Did you know that WeatherBug provides weather to more than just Windows users? Outside of the various mobile efforts, WeatherBug also has a strong partnership broadcasters throughout the US. Popular networks such as NBC, CBS, FOX among others all have affiliate stations that have signed up to provide their viewers with the most accurate weather coverage possible.

Thanks to WeatherBug’s growing network of privately maintained weather stations throughout the States, TV stations that work in partnership with WeatherBug provide their following with immediate weather conditions up to the minute, often right their in their own neighborhoods - not relying exclusively on less timely data from the nearest airport for the locale.

Are there any local networks you may have heard of offering WeatherBug data? One network I know most of you have at least heard of, if not actually viewed at one time would be WGN in Chicago. And for those of you living in Washington State, Seattle’s own KING 5 is also providing you their local “SchoolNet” weather via WeatherBug’s physical weather station network.

So who is broadcasting in your area with WeatherBug’s neighborhood networked weather stations? Chances are, if you go through this list, you might just be surprised to see a local network affialiate in your area providing you with the most local, up to the minute live weather data available. Take a gander and see who is local for you!

Free case, free shipping, and up to 20% off Creative Labs Vado Pocket Video Camcorder

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 5:01pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Creative Labs Vado Pocket Video Camcorder for as low as $79.99 (up to 20% off) shipped and get a free carrying case.

Simply add your choice of Vado and carrying case to your Shopping Cart, and the price of the case will be automatically deducted at checkout. Offer details.

Creative Vado is a slim, lightweight pocket video cam that makes it easy to capture and share everyday life as it happens. Simply connect Vado to your PC with the flexible USB plug and the built-in software lets you save videos to your computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket. Since Vado is thinner than a deck of cards and as light as a cell phone, it fits into your pocket or purse and never weighs you down.

Free yourself from the hassle of the bulky camcorder bag. You’ll never miss a moment, with two hours of video capacity and one-button recording that makes capturing life on video effortless. With up to two hours of video capacity, you never need tapes, CDs or extra memory cards. With a 2x zoom and excellent low-light performance, you’ll get great video quality every time you press Record.

Just connect Vado to your computer with the flexible USB plug and the built-in software takes over. You can transfer your videos to your computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket, all at the click of a button. The rechargeable battery is removable so you can change out for a fresh one.

Built-in microphone and speaker Built-in flexible USB connector TV-output (Vado Audio/Video cable available separately) Anti-flicker support for adjustment to 50Hz or 60Hz Easy-to-use with great video quality at the touch of a button Slim, lightweight design that fits in your pocket or purse.

Get the Creative Labs Vado Pocket Video Camcorder with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

The Groundbreaking Science Behind What Aims To Be The Fastest Vehicle Of All Time

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 4:00pm EDT by Lockergnome

The world record bid again teams Andy, the current record holder and first man to drive a supersonic vehicle on land with Head of the Design Team and former world record holder Richard Noble. It is aiming to develop the first land speed vehicle that breaks the 1,000 mph barrier and will have its design underpinned through world-class research from some of the UK’s top laboratories.

The scientists at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have worked with the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and Fluid Gravity Engineering (FGE) to advise the world-record bid team on two of the most high-risk aspects of the world record attempt — wheel and rocket designs.

The wheels are arguably the most important design feature for the vehicle. To reach 1,000 mph they need to be able to rotate at 10,500 rpm without being damaged by the surface or any stones that they run over. They also need to be as light as possible to minimise steering and suspension forces, absorb all of the weight, down force loads and stresses and distribute this pressure without causing damage to the vehicle or the surface.

To make sure that none of these issues were a risk NPL spent the last year examining every aspect of the wheel design. Its materials experts researched the choice of metals and composites that could be used in the design, providing reports on titanium and aluminium alloys, and metal composites. This will help to advise the team on what materials are most compatible to the wheel size, brake and suspension requirements. NPL also worked with AWE and FGE in considering the effect that shockwaves would have on the wheel design, and advised on the best way to manufacture the wheels.

After advising on wheel designs, NPL and FGE then needed to examine how to provide the thrust and power to ensure that the wheels could rotate fast enough and sustain their speed — by thoroughly understanding the rocket design. The vehicle will have the first ever mixed powerplant of a hybrid rocket motor and a jet engine that is currently used on the Eurofighter Typhoon. It uses cutting edge jet technology to provide the initial thrust and the novel rocket impulse to achieve the 1,000 mph target.

As this is a totally new vehicle powerplant concept, NPL and FGE needed to develop a modelling tool to understand the hybrid combustion process and simulate the internal motor ballistics. This could then provide data for the design team to compare to their own tests done with 6 inch rocket firings and enable considerable developments to the basic hybrid design. This will help to optimise the injector design, oxidiser streams into the fuel grain, radiation transfer, regression rates and rocket motor exhaust. NPL also provided advice on the type of materials to be used in the rocket design, how high temperatures would affect them, what the best material would be for rocket nozzles and how all of these should be produced.

Brian Chapman, Project Leader for NPL, said:

“When you’re travelling at 1,000 mph you don’t want to be worrying about your motor holding out or whether your tyres are up to it. That’s why NPL — with FGE and AWE — have spent the last year looking at every eventuality for both the wheel and the rocket motor designs. We have been closely examining the effect that materials properties will have on the rocket performance, the size and weight the wheels need to be to sustain the speed, and environmental effects such as a high speed impact with a small piece of debris could have. We’re confident that our work will help to ensure that Richard and Andy are able to safely oversee another successful world record attempt for the UK, and go faster than ever before.”

Richard Noble, Project Director of The BLOODHOUND Project, said:

“On behalf of The BLOODHOUND Team, I would like to thank NPL, FGE, AWE and the MOD for undertaking this valuable work which has underpinned the rest of the early research for BLOODHOUND SSC and given us the confidence to proceed. With the help of experts like these we are sure that our world record attempt can be a success, and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in the UK.”

The analysis is now being assessed by the BLOODHOUND design team and the Ministry of Defence as the funding organisation.

[Joe Meaney @ National Physical Laboratory]

Linkmood

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:50pm EDT by Brandon Watts

People love Twitter because of its simplicity. It forces you to succinctly communicate your thoughts, and this brief exchange of messages is a welcome diversion from the sometimes lengthy messages of e-mail and other communication methods. Twitter and many of the other microblogging solutions want you to tell others what you’re doing, but what about how you’re feeling? Doesn’t that matter? Linkmood enables you to share the moods that you’re in with the public.

In addition to sharing the moods that you’re in and telling others how you feel, Linkmood also gives you a chance to talk about why you’re in the mood that you’re in. Your moods are archived, so you can track how they’ve changed over a period of time by looking at your profile. Now you can see just how unstable you really are. Other members can comment on your mood entries, and you can even search for people who share your moods so that you can connect with them and let them know that you understand how they feel.

Samantha Swift And The Hidden Roses Of Athena

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:49pm EDT by Lockergnome

Travel the globe to uncover the Roses of Athena!

Archeologist Samantha Swift has stumbled upon one of the greatest archeological finds in our lifetime!

Sam’s quest to piece together the mystery and artifacts of the Roses of Athena is not without obstacles — she’ll have to use her keen eyesight to pick out clues, while she outwits the greedy treasure hunter, Ravena Stryker, in this hidden object adventure!

[Download free trial of Samantha Swift And The Hidden Roses Of Athena]
[Buy Samantha Swift And The Hidden Roses Of Athena]

Permalink for 'Lockergnome_s_Tech_News_Watch/2008/10/28/Microsoft%e2%80%99s_Windows_7___Features_Released'

Microsoft’s Windows 7 - Features Released

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:42pm EDT by Ron Schenone

Microsoft on their privacy site has released the features that will be included in their new operating system which they call Windows 7.This doesn’t mean that very one of these features will make it to the final release. These additions are only for the Pre-release of Windows 7. When you take a look at the list you will notice that many of these features are already included in Vista. Which confirms what Steve Balmer has previously stated that Windows 7 will be Vista only better.

BitLocker™ Drive Encryption

What this feature does
BitLocker Drive Encryption (BitLocker) is available on computers running Windows 7 Enterprise Edition and Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. Should your computer be lost or stolen, BitLocker protects your data by helping to prevent offline software attacks. Turning on BitLocker encrypts the hard drive where Windows is installed, including all information that is stored on that drive.

Device Information Retrieval

What this feature does

Device Information Retrieval downloads information from Microsoft for your hardware devices and displays it in the Windows 7 Devices and Printers control panel, and when you first install and use a device, in the Device Stage.

Choice and control

If you choose the recommended settings during Windows 7 setup, you turn on Device Information Retrieval. You can turn this feature off by going to Devices and Printers in Control Panel. Right-click your computer icon, and then click Device Installation Settings. Select “No, let me choose what to do” and click to clear the “Display enhanced device icons…” check box.

Driver Protection

What this feature does

Driver Protection helps prevent the operating system from starting drivers that are known to cause stability problems. These drivers are listed in a Driver Protection List database that is stored on your computer. The Driver Protection List is updated through Windows Update and Dynamic Update (below). Driver Protection checks this database while the operating system is running. These checks are performed to determine whether to start a driver. For more information, see the Driver Protection List article online at the Microsoft website.

Dynamic Update

What this feature does

Dynamic Update enables Windows 7 to perform a one-time check with the Windows Update website to get the latest updates for your computer while Windows is being installed. If updates are found, Dynamic Update automatically downloads and installs them so your computer is up to date the first time that you log on or use it.

Gadgets

What this feature does

Gadgets are programs that run on the desktop and provide at-a-glance information, and easy access to frequently used tools.

Games Folder

What this feature does

You can also choose to check for updates to some games by right-clicking the game icon and selecting Scan for Update. Game version details and game identification numbers will be sent to Microsoft, and you will be notified of any updates that are available. You may choose to have Windows automatically scan and notify you about game updates from the options menu.

HomeGroup

What this feature does

A HomeGroup allows you to easily link Windows 7 computers on your home network so that you can share pictures, music, videos, documents and devices. It also makes them ready to stream media to devices on your home network such as a media extender. You can help protect your HomeGroup with a password, and you can choose what you want to share.

These are just some of the features listed by Microsoft. On their privacy site they list additional features that may be included on the right hand side of the site. Take a look and see what you think.

Comments welcome.

Microsoft Source.

Additional source.

Pause A PowerPoint Slide Show

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT by Diana Huggins

If you are in the middle of a PowerPoint slideshow, you can easily pause the show while it is on screen. When you do, the screen will turn black, giving you the opportunity to have the undivided attention of your audience. To accomplish this, press B while in your slideshow. To return to the presentation, simply press any key.

Alternatively, if you prefer the screen to turn white, press the W key instead. Again, press any key to return to your slideshow.

Pre-order The Sims 3, get $10 Amazon.com Gift Card

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:24pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, pre-order the The Sims 3 for as low as $49.99 and get a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card.

The Sims 3 lets you immerse truly unique Sims in an open, living neighborhood just outside their door! The freedom of The Sims 3 will inspire you with endless possibilities and amuse you with unexpected moments of surprise and mischief. Your Sims can roam throughout their neighborhood, visit neighbors’ homes, and explore the surroundings. They can stroll downtown to hang out with friends, meet someone new at the park, or run into colleagues on the street. If your Sims are in the right place at the right time, who knows what might happen?!

New easy-to-use design tools allow for unlimited customization to make truly individual Sims. Determine your Sims’ shape and size, from thin to full-figured to muscular—and everything in between! Choose your Sims’ facial features, their exact skin tone, hair eye shape and color and select their clothing and accessories. Create realistic Sims with distinctive personalities. Select from dozens of personality traits and combine them in fun ways. The combination of traits you choose—brave, artistic, loner, perfectionist, klepto, romantic, clumsy, paranoid, and much, much more—help shape the behavior of your Sims and how they interact with other Sims.

Your Sims can now rise above their basic set of every day needs. They are complex individuals with unique personalities. Build your dream house or design the ultimate home. Customize everything from floors to flowers, shirts to sofas, wallpaper to window shades. It’s fun and easy to change colors and patterns giving you endless personalization options. Or you can populate your Sims’ neighborhood with pre-designed buildings and furnishings. Which of your Sims will live in high-end mansions, cool bachelor pads, ultimate dream homes or low-cost cottages?

Get the The Sims 3 with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Homeless Voters Not Disenfranchised

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:22pm EDT by forsythe

A court ruling has not disenfranchised the homeless. Locations other than buildings can be used as addresses:

“A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren’t buildings as their addresses.”

link: Judge rules Ohio homeless voters may list park benches as addresses

While the court ruling speaks to the fairness of the voting system, it also opens up avenues of abuse. For example, can one list more than one park bench? Remember the old joke - ‘vote early and vote often‘.

Catherine Forsythe

Why Granny Believes in God

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:18pm EDT by wiseoldgranny

I didn’t, when I was a kid. The whole idea seemed absurd. Not that there couldn’t be something bigger than me in the universe. That was indeed possible. But being of (mostly) Scottish heritage, my idea of God was a “hairy thunderer”, doubtless based on the Norse god, Thor. Seemed ridiculous.

Along the way, though, my mind changed. The universe just didn’t seem empty. This was inconvenient because now I had to stay alert for whatever was instead of focusing entirely on my own interests. But, ever the sincere one, I began to watch and wait.

The moment came several thousand miles north of civilization. I was deeply embedded in a non-religious but nevertheless cult-like experience when the “cult” (for want of a better word, they would strenuously object to it, I’m sure) turned on me, unexpectedly, and for what political expediencies I know not. Don’t care, either, except out of intellectual curiosity.

So, I was out, and a guy from Sierra Leone (I think it was) was in. His name could was Goomba or something close to that. Never did see it written. He had my life, my home, my job. I was history. He was flavor of the month.

Of course, I asked why but the “cult” leaders mumbled a bit about timing (made no sense to me) and clearly expected me to suck it up.

Well, Granny’s illusions were shattered. Hardly the first time, but Granny is a slow learner about some things, one of them being the endless perfidy of human beings. Granny was also broke, out of luck, in deep shit, and profoundly depressed because of the unexpected and abrupt demise of her world.

So, when the going gets tough, Granny hightails it for the library. Cheaper and better outcomes than the bar, in my experience. I wandered around the stacks for a bit, deep in shock, then sat in a corner, closed my eyes, and prayed:

“Please God, if you are there, please help me. I’d really, really appreciate it.”

I opened my eyes and stared gloomily at the nearest shelf of books, certainly not expecting an answer. Instantly, a cover caught my eye, a drawing of a tiny, log cabin much like the one I was living in at the time. Behind the cabin, lurking nefariously, was a bear, which is exactly what happens in the north and quite typical of my little home. Soon to be in the possession of the guy from Africa. And the title was:

The Day the Bear Ate Goombaw

Well, holy shit, did Granny laugh. I didn’t stop for weeks, until I was long out of there, very glad to be down south again, and very aware that I had dodged a bullet. I was so freakin’ healed that I even found it in my heart to feel sorry for poor, silly Goomba.

While writing this, I googled the title and found a couple of people who have read the book but no other information. It was a real, freakin’ miracle, if you ask me. Okay, like any miracle, it is proof to me and not to you. But so what?

Blu-Ray Prices Cut - But Is It Enough?

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 2:26pm EDT by Ron Schenone

It seems that the prices of Blu-Ray players are dropping below $230 at some of the larger retailers. The predictions are that prices could fall below $150 as we approach Black Friday. But the question that is being asked, ‘is that low enough’ to attract buyers to the newest technology?

Blu-Ray technology renders moves at 1080 lines of resolution, which makes for better viewing than the standard 480 resolution produced by DVD’s. But the cost of the players, cost of the movies and the price of a new TV have kept many from switching over to the latest and greatest.

Now with economy going through rough times, it is unknown how many of the new players the public will purchase this holiday season. It addition according to the Wall Street Journal article, it states:

Industry analysts believe stores may have been overly optimistic in ordering Blu-ray players for the holiday season. That’s another factor behind the price cuts, especially since some older models in retailer inventories can’t connect to the Internet, which is necessary to tap interactive features on some Blu-ray discs.

There is another motive for the markdowns. Manufacturers and retailers want to speed the mass adoption of Blu-ray before digital-movie downloads and video on demand overtake movie disc sales and rentals — a looming development that already may be damping sales.

“Up to this point, the category has not performed to expectations, but manufacturers sense the urgency, and are making sure that they lower prices to the point that Blu-ray players will become irresistible to consumers this holiday season,” said Bruce Tripido, a vice president of marketing at Sharp Electronics Corp.

So the question is this. Will you be buying Blu-Ray this holiday season? Or do you believe that DVD’s are good enough?

Comments welcome.

Source

More Details on Windows 7

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 2:22pm EDT by forsythe

The initial problems of Microsoft’s Vista have been well documented. Millions of dollars in advertising are being spent in promoting Vista. However, a competing element against Vista is coming from within Microsoft itself. More details of the new Windows 7 operating system are being revealed:

“… Microsoft is focused on improving the time it takes for Windows to start up and shut down. In addition to its own work, Microsoft has been working directly with computer makers to address all of the factors that affect system performance.

As far as other features, Windows 7 features support for multitouch input and a new taskbar that makes it easier to manage multiple open Windows.”

link: Windows 7: A better Vista?

For those who have not become Vista users, the advent of Windows 7 will be further incentive to wait. It seems that Microsoft is working against itself with the timing of Windows 7, if it is the intent of the company to convert more customers to use Vista. If, on the other hand, there is a futility about Vista, then Windows 7 is a new opportunity to convert customers. Nevertheless, it simply raises more question about the Vista product line.

Catherine Forsythe

No Instant Rebates, No Mail in Rebates, Just Give Me The Price!

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 8:04am EDT by Ron Schenone

This message is for every online retailer in the entire world. Stop with the instant rebate, mail in rebate, hidden pricing crapola and just give us the price of the item. It is annoying to sift through the garbage to to find out how much I am going to pay. I for one refuse to play this silly game any longer.

What about you? Are you getting tired of trying to figure out how many rebate forms you will have to fill out to see any savings? Are you tired of not getting the rebate after going through all of the hoops and back flips trying to save a few bucks? Are you tired of having to check in the cart to see what the price is?

JUST GIVE ME THE PRICE!

Comments welcome.

Providing Toilets, Safe Water Is Top Route To Reducing World Poverty

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 6:50am EDT by Lockergnome

Simply installing toilets where needed throughout the world and ensuring safe water supplies would do more to end crippling poverty and improve world health than any other possible measure, according to an analysis released today by the United Nations University.

The analysis says better water and sanitation reduces poverty in three ways.

New service business opportunities are created for local entrepreneurs
Significant savings are achieved in the public health sector
Individual productivity is greater in contributing to local and national economies

UNU also calls on the world’s research community to help fill major knowledge gaps that impede progress in addressing the twin global scourges of unsafe water and poor sanitation.

Information gaps include such seemingly obvious measures as common definitions and worldwide maps to identify communities most vulnerable to health-related problems as a result of poor access to sanitation and safe water. UNU also calls for creation of a “tool-box” to help policy-makers choose between available options in local circumstances.

“Water problems, caused largely by an appalling absence of adequate toilets in many places, contribute tremendously to some of the world’s most punishing problems, foremost among them the inter-related afflictions of poor health and chronic poverty,” says Zafar Adeel, Director of the UN University’s Canadian-based International Network on Water, Environment and Health.

“It is astonishing that, despite all the attention these issues have received over decades, the world has not even properly mapped water and sanitation problems nor agreed on such terms as ’safe,’ or ‘adequate,’ or ‘accessible’ or ‘affordable,’ all of which are in daily use by officials and policy-makers.”

In the analysis, prepared for global policy makers and released Oct. 20 at the start of a two-day UNU-hosted international meeting in Hamilton, Canada, experts offer a prescription for policy reform.

Based on input of experts from several countries convened in Canada late last year, the analysis urges governments to adopt a more coordinated, integrated and interlinked approach to dealing with water and sanitation problems. Such efforts must be included in national economic development plans.

The UNU analysis identifies population growth, poverty, climate change, globalization and inappropriate policies on investment, urbanization, and intensification of agriculture as the five global trends most likely to exacerbate water supply and sanitation problems in years to come.

“The UN’s Millennium Development Goal, agreed in the year 2000, committed nations to halve by 2015 the number of people who lack safe water and adequate toilet facilities,” says Dr. Adeel, who will chair the meeting.

“As the International Year of Sanitation winds down, UNU invites and welcomes the help of all scientists who agree we can and must do more,” says Prof. Susan Elliott, a Senior Research Fellow at UNU-INWEH and a professor at McMaster University.

“Poor health, especially chronic illness, can force a household below the poverty threshold,” the analysis says.

This becomes self-perpetuating as a poverty-stricken household is more prone to ill health. Low education levels and lack of knowledge further maintain this cycle, as understanding links between hygiene and waterborne diseases tend to come more easily to households with higher education levels.

The results are significant, especially for women and girls, improving household health, reducing the time spent to collect water and providing a safe and dignified environment for practising sanitation. This means that there is more time to tend to crops and livestock, more time and resources to spend on improved food preparation, more time to attend school and, an opportunity to participate in the local economy; all mechanisms which work towards breaking the cycle of poverty.

The analysis warns that microbial and chemical contamination of water and other new threats are emerging - from pharmaceuticals in drinking water to exposure to avian influenza brought by wild birds inhabiting wetlands.

The “toolbox” idea would involve “a virtual library and database of educational materials, technologies, governance, models, etc. would facilitate information exchange of both established and innovative tools.”

“We need greater investment in the development of models to aid decision-making, reduce uncertainty and augment costly monitoring programmes,” says Dr. Corinne Wallace, a leading water-health researcher at UNU-INWEH. “Combining these efforts with a vulnerability map for water-associated diseases can form the basis for evidence-based policy development,” she adds.

As well, “validated models need to be developed that will predict the impact of climate change on water and wastewater infrastructure, water availability, water quality and waterborne / water-associated diseases.”

The results can be used for policy development, intervention, adaptation and mitigation purposes as well as the effect on achieving MDGs and global migration patterns.

Background

Diseases due to poor water, sanitation and hygiene account for an estimated 10% of the total global burden of illness.

An investment by developed countries estimated at US 4c per capita per day would allow the developing world to reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goal for water and sanitation by 2015.

Simply improving domestic water supply, sanitation and hand washing with soap can reduce illness rates by more than 25%.

Globally, almost 900 million people lack access to safe water supplies and 2.5 billion people live without access to improved sanitation, at least 80% of whom live in rural areas.

In 2002, the total number of deaths attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene was over 3.5 million.

Each year, estimated 4 billion people contract diarrhoeal diseases.

Some 1.4 million children (half a million of them under age 5) die as a result of diarrhea. Chronic diarrhoea can also result in child malnutrition, making them susceptible to other diseases and resulting in 860,000 deaths per year.

Some 94% of diarrhoea cases are preventable.

There are 300 million clinical cases of, and 1 million deaths from, malaria recorded per year.

Some 50 to 100 million people in Asia consume water containing unsafe levels of arsenic.

Providing sanitation in some places is made difficult by tradition and culture - the stigma and embarrassment associated with talking and teaching about sanitation.

Climate change

Climate change is expected to bring more frequent and intense rain to many places, leading to floods and shallow sub surface water flow which can mobilize pathogens and other contaminants.

Higher temperature could change the rates of reproduction, survival and infectivity of various pathogens.

Flooding can also impact chemical storage and sewage facilities, compromising water supply quality. And drinking and wastewater infrastructure systems will be overwhelmed more often.

Sea-level rise will affect groundwater aquifers in coastal areas and flood low-lying areas, reducing freshwater availability.

By 2030 it is estimated that the risk of diarrhoea will be up to 10% higher in some countries due to climate change.

With the advent of climate change, pathogens may become endemic in altered ecologies. Even if not directly linked to health, these threats can have a devastating effect on the ecosystem, indirectly threatening water supplies.

Due to greater migration, diseases will be transported to other regions where they may or may not be able to survive, potentially exposing host communities to new diseases.

[Terry Collins @ United Nations University]

Up to 74% off Victorinox Swiss Army Champion Plus Pocket Knife

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 4:38am EDT by usrbingeek

Here’s a great gift that won’t break the bank. Today only and while supplies last, order the Victorinox Swiss Army Champion Plus Pocket Knife for as low as $19.99 (up to 74% off!)

From the renowned company that created the Swiss Army Knife a century ago comes the Champion Plus, a complete set of tools for campers, hikers, hunters, fishers, picnic enthusiasts, and people all trades–all neatly contained in a single implement. Measuring just 3-1/2 inches long, the Champion Plus is stylishly cased in the famous red Swiss Army body that’s recognized around the world. More importantly, the pocket knife contains 30 stainless-steel tools appropriate for just about any occasion.

The standard camping tools include a large blade, a small blade, a corkscrew, a can opener, a bottle opener, a small screwdriver, a large screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, scissors, tweezers, and a toothpick. And that’s just the beginning, as the Champion Plus also offers a punch reamer, multipurpose hook, wood saw, fish scaler, and hook disgorger. In short, there’s no better accessory for camping, hunting, and fishing trips.

Get the Victorinox Swiss Army Champion Plus Pocket Knife with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Big Savings and Free Shipping on Shoes and Handbags

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 3:27am EDT by usrbingeek

Endless.com offers free overnight shipping and free returning shipping on thousands of top brand name shoes & handbags and a 100% price match guarantee.

To start off the holiday shopping season Endless.com is offering these deals through November 25:

Save $20 on $80 orders of select slippers for the whole family including brands such as Acorn, Slippers International, and Dearfoams.
Save $25 on $125 orders of select handbag including top brands such as Big Buddha, B. Makowsky, Latico, and others.
Save 20% on select boots when you order two pairs including top brands such as Dolce Vita, Jessica Simpson, Timberland, Sorel, and dozens more fashion and outdoor brands.
Save $20 on $100 orders of select handbag including top brands such as Big Buddha, B. Makowsky, Latico, and others.

Nikon D700 as low as $2519

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 2:39am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) for as low as $2,519.97! None of the other trustworthy photography retailers (B&H, Adorama, Calumet) come close. Jiminy Cricket! This deal is extremely tempting for me!

The new D700 digital SLR camera featuring a 12.1-effective megapixel Nikon FX-format sensor that measures 23.9 x 36mm, which is nearly identical to the size of 35mm film. Benefiting from Nikon’s legacy of imaging technology innovation, the D700 offers both advanced and professional photographers stunning image quality, accurate color reproduction and revolutionary low light performance.

Building on the immense success of the Nikon D3 professional D-SLR camera, the D700 offers pro-level performance and an extensive array of features and innovations in a comfortably nimble platform. In addition to the Nikon-original FX-format CMOS sensor, the D700 incorporates Nikon’s EXPEED Image Processing System, Nikon’s renowned 51-point auto focus system with 3D Focus Tracking and two Live View shooting modes that allow photographers to frame a shot using the camera’s three-inch high-resolution LCD monitor. The D700 also features Nikon’s sophisticated Scene Recognition System and a new active dust reduction system.

Nikon’s flagship FX and DX-format cameras, the D3 and D300 respectively, established new benchmarks for digital image quality, speed, and unmatched ISO performance. The D700 maintains this new measure with exceptional overall image quality, broad tonal range and depth, and extremely low noise throughout its native ISO range of 200 to 6400.

Get the Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Hands On - Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 12:58am EDT by Toastpaint

I had the wonderful opportunity of getting hands on with the Latitude XT, Dell’s competitive entry into the tablet PC market. With the introduction of in-built tablet PC support in all editions of Windows Vista, the market for tablet hardware has been steadily growing.

I was introduced to the XT during a tendering process, comparing a Fujitsu/Acer, a Lenovo, and the XT. I am hoping to post reviews of all three of them, when time allows.

The XT started off on the right mark from the word ‘go.’ It is a very beautiful piece of hardware. It is a plastic casing that imitates brushed steel — WITHOUT the fingerprints. Its overall size allows it to sit, portrait, between your elbow and hand, and allows you to use it easily, as if it was an exercise book. The weight of it also adds to its brilliance in the way of portability. This would have to be the smallest laptop (not a Netbook), with tablet functionality, that I have ever seen on the market. Its portability is complemented by its digitizer/touch capability.

The XT comes with a digitizer pen, which is stored discreetly in the back of the laptop, next to the battery. The only problem with the type of digitizing hardware that Dell has included is that, a) It isn’t Wacom and b) It isn’t competitively sensitive. You have to be touching the actual screen before it will recognize the input. This makes it seem like a stylus, more than an EM (Electromagnetic) Pen. On competing tablets, such as the Thinkpad X61 tablet, you can be 2-3 cm from the screen, and it will continue to notice its movement. This may seem a bit gimicky, but until you have used a tablet, you won’t understand that you want to know where the cursor is, just as you would with a mouse. If you have to touch the screen to do this, it can get annoying. It isn’t a huge minus, but could be seen as a way Dell is attempting to cut corners.

The EM pen is grouped in the tablet functionality features, by multi-touch finger input capability. It is pretty accurate, even with centimetre-wide fingers like myself, allowing you to navigate through menus, text, and lists easily. Rather than it being a one-finger input system, like on most tablets, it allows for multi-touch inputs (more than one finger at once). Unfortunately, Windows Vista’s support in the section is lacklustre. It does allow for the stereotypical gestures, such as pinching photos (zooming in and out), but doesn’t have the variety that the MacBook’s Trackpad does. This will hopefully be expanded on with updates, third-party add-ons, or we hope, Windows 7, which Microsoft has been using to ‘flaunt’ its multi-touch support.

Now on to the stuff that matters. Performance, networking, and battery life.

The XT features the Intel Core 2 Duo ULV U7600, which is rated at 1.20Ghz. This is less powerful than in its competitor, the ThinkPad X61T, which has the LV U7500 1.60 GHz. As you should notice, Intel loves to confuse with its model numbers. The processor in the XT is ultra low voltage, meaning its impact on battery life is much, much less than the average processor, either in the full-sized laptop, or in the average PC. We’ll move on, if that really matters in this case, further down the page. If you follow the specification sheet, it also cuts down on other areas, such as the speed (MHz) of the RAM. It has 2 GB, as most laptops do, to perform well under the Vista environment, but is a step down from the X61t, at 533 MHz, compared to 667 MHz.

A lot of people ask, what about graphics? It is a confusing ares in the portable computing markets. There are three main competitors for laptop graphics in the market, such as ATI, Intel, and NVidia. All three have their problems. One thing to remember about Laptops, is what they are, and what they were designed for. One failed attempt at “Good Graphics” in Portable Computers, would be the Acer TravelMate C210. The horror with these things is that they feature an NVidia GeForce 7300 Go. This is almost like putting rocket fuel into a build-yourself motorbike distributed by Volvo. In other words, it melts everything around it, including the silicon making up the main circuit board in the tablet. Not good. The XT seems to have better heat control with its ATI Chipset.

The XT has one of the best wireless networking chips, the Dell Wireless 1490, combined with the antenna design on the XT, allows for a wide connectivity range. However, with almost all wireless cards, with decent range, battery drain is a symptom.

I didn’t get a hold of the XT for long enough to get the full ‘real’ battery life, but I was able to get a general feel of the battery life it would hold, and it wasn’t as good as competitors. Other reviewers have stated that they got five hours of standard use, and much less with full graphics utilization. Its not that bad when you consider the size of the battery, and the amount of time you are going to use it without needing a charger pack.

Overall, it is a great device, with many feature, and LOTS of potential, when Windows gets off its arse and adds more features. It would almost make it perfect if Dell had chosen Wacom to provide the the digitizing and multi-touch features. It would be WAY more sensitive, and more driver supportive.

The Latitude XT is currently available to small business, institutional, and higher organisations ONLY, which is a shame. The average price for the mid-range model is $2,099 Australian.

If you own one of these, or a similar tablet model, I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments section below.

Fisher-Price Elmo Live, in stock, $65 shipped!

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 12:46am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the hard to get and popular Fisher-Price Elmo Live for as low as $64.87!

It’s expected to be a very hot item these holidays as every child has it on their list.

In this truly life-like creation, for the first time ever, Elmo seems to actually be speaking as his mouth opens and closes just like the real muppet, Elmo, from Sesame Street. His mannerisms are right on target as his head bobbles back and forth as he speaks. He waves his arms, sits and stands, even crosses his legs all the while telling stories and jokes, singing songs and playing games. Children can activate the magic with a tickle or a squeeze of Elmo’s foot, tummy, back or nose.

Get the Fisher-Price Elmo Live with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

Does Microsoft Surface Know When To Cut You Off?

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:54pm EDT by Matt Hartley

Seems clever enough, using the new Microsoft Surface tables to enable bartenders to keep the spirits flowing. But one must ask if the table will be programmed to also take into account when the receipient of the refreshment might need to be cut off due to enjoying happy hour just a bit too much?

Think about it. Is the bar tender alerted as to how many drinks the patron has had after Surface alerts the waitress that another round is clearly in order or instead, do we leave this up to technology entirely?

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/DG3_2lvoL8A" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]

As far as I am concerned, I think the video pretty much says it all. The technology, while amazing, should be coupled by intelligent individuals to ensure that if Surface is one day used for such a thing, is backed up by people who will make sure no one is getting heavily intoxicated thanks in part to an interactive table.

Managed Services - Which Is Best

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:38pm EDT by Matt Hartley

I have been doing some recent research on different sources for managed services and basically, what I find most IT personnel are looking for is:

Software Deployment and System Management
Help Desk and Ticketing system
Network monitoring with real time alerts
Various forms of asset innovatory, etc

Clearly, there are no shortage of options in this field. Great choices from both the expensive to the cheap are available with relatively little research needed. However I do believe that overall, doing some research can save you a LOT of money. Case in point, Spiceworks.

Unlike Kasesya, HoundDog among others, Spiceworks appears to offer most if not all of the same services for get this - free. Yes, it is completely free and Spiceworks has even taken it upon themselves to refer to their efforts as the ‘iTunes’ of IT applications. Not sure about that, but I do think that they have a solid business model as they are using Google’s ad model to support their efforts. It’s actually pretty clever, really.

Wait, so am I saying that Spiceworks is adware? If your definition of adware is a program, such as AIM or other advertising supported software that generates revenue from ads with the software operator’s permission, then yes, that is what Spiceworks actually is. This being said, like many other advertising supported products, you have an ad-free choice - pony up the cash for a GREAT product. But this again, brings up an interesting perception on freely available software. People actually work to disable the ads for programs such as Spiceworks despite the fact that they are totally up front about the fact that this is how they generate revenue. Does this seem fair to you? Did it seem fair when users used to do the same thing with AIM and other ad supported programs in the past? And when is something going from ad supported to adware? Malware, spyware, sure - obvious enough. But to label something as adware to me, in my mind, would indicate that I was somehow mislead about the revenue generation of the said app. What do you think? Are we looking at double standards here? If not, why not then?

The Unconventional Story of How I Met my Wife

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:27pm EDT by leftystrat

A lot of people meet in bars. I don’t drink, so I’m not a lot of fun in bars. Even if I did drink, I wouldn’t be a lot of fun in bars. Since I’ve been performing for a long time, I had a strict policy of not being in bars unless I was being paid to be there. Not a bad job if you can get it. Oddly enough, I never attended college, but I’ve been to more of them than any ten people.

I just bumped into a lot of my female friends, so to speak. Things worked out and we were together, at least until such time as we weren’t together. As I’ve mentioned, I was severely lacking in Opposite Sex Skills<tm>. Not much has changed, except that I don’t have to suffer because of it anymore (some would say my wife suffers for it).

I did eight years in a doctor’s office as a medical biller and fledgling computer geek. The office was in a medical building with many offices. As a result, I was the lone male in the building, except for the doctors (talk about the odds being stacked….). I attempted to use this to my advantage.

With little in the way of Opposite Sex Skills and nothing in the way of looks, I needed to find something to make myself less repulsive to women. The next time somebody tells you that women find a sense of humor very important in a man, you can tell them to their face that they’re full of excrement. This little bit of untruth is right up there next to the one that says guitar players get all the girls. If that were true, there’s a very large backlog of women somewhere, all waiting for me. My wife has a great sense of humor (she married me, after all), but it does not extend to a very large backlog of women somewhere, all waiting for me to come along. I keep telling her it’s ok, I don’t want to marry any of them, but somehow this does nothing to comfort her.

Totally by mistake, I discovered something that proved nothing short of a Chick Magnet. And that something was chocolate. Because that’s my drug of choice, I always had a drawer full of chocolate, candy, cookies, and whatever else I felt necessary to get me through the long work day. Not being possessed of looks, I learned to make friends with the people in the building by making them laugh and by the sheer magnificence of chocolate.

I became known as the Candy Man. I’d visit other offices and the others would come visit me, all for the love of chocolate. It was sheer hell :)

My best friends in the building worked for an oncologist on another floor. We ate lunch together and were in and out of each other’s offices all day. One day the nurse, a really nice lady about my age, announced she was leaving. She had the nerve to tell me she had to go anyway after I told her she couldn’t leave.

I had an hour to think about this further when I decided the oncologist needed my help in the selection of a replacement nurse. I quickly put my requirements to paper and faxed it to his office (one floor away).

A few weeks later I got the call to come visit the oncology office to meet their new addition. It was starting to snow and I needed to order some lunch. The ladies in the office kept pushing the new nurse to call me because maybe she could order with me. I met her and we ordered lunch.

The building in which we worked was very poorly maintained. Among other things, the heat was so dry that as soon as it came on, you would shock yourself on everything you touched. When I walked in with lunch, the new nurse got a shock from static electricity as I handed her a sandwich.

Within days we became inseparable. Within a year we moved in together.

Because I had the Candy Drawer of Death, I received many visitors. I would direct them to the drawer and let them take whatever they wanted. As a result, I was fairly popular. My new nurse friend would also come by.

I wasn’t the first person to realize I really liked the new nurse.; I had to find out from a coworker. She looked at me and giggled, saying that she knew we were an item. Since I hadn’t said anything and wasn’t fully aware of it myself, I asked her what she was talking about. Her extremely keen observation was that when New Nurse came by for candy, I didn’t move out of the way. I allowed her in my `personal space.’

This was the first time I had heard the term but it made sense. Now I have an acknowledged personal space radius of thirty feet in all directions but I didn’t recognize it then. I went home and thought about what my coworker told me and realize she was right - I liked New Nurse.

It’s a damn good thing I have people around to tell me how I feel. Otherwise I might never know.

Here’s the fun part. The oncologist was stunningly smart and clever to boot. When I faxed my requirements for his new nurse, he thought it would be amusing to present the list to New Nurse after he hired her.

What were my requirements?

Short (my wife is 5′8″), dark-skinned Italian (pale-skinned German), petite (not petite), brunette with big hair (blonde straight hair) and not too top-heavy (several sizes larger than requested).

My wife told me about this years later. When she got the fax, she was livid. She wanted to know what kind of [expletive deleted] would send something like this. This person must be an absolute ass and if she ever came across him, she was going to tell him to his face. What nerve.

If I hadn’t zapped her with the electricity of love (the static electricity during lunch), I would have had a very difficult time getting past that fax.

It’s been fourteen years. Whatever it was, I count myself lucky. I still have a drawer full of chocolate at work, which I share with everybody in the vicinity. But now it’s just chocolate - nothing else.

Save 25% on cool Photo Frame Speakers

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 10:35pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order these unique Photo Frame Speakers for as low as $29.95 (up to 25% off!)

Replace your ordinary desktop speakers with great sound and two favorite photos–all in a slim, space-saving design. Simply plug our photo frame speakers into your computer’s USB port (cables included) and enjoy rich sound for music, videos and other audio. Each frame holds one 4′ x 6′ photo. Windows Vista/XP compatible.

No, I Am Not Getting Old…

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 10:34pm EDT by leftystrat

In one of my past lives, I was a medical biller for a private physician. I got to behold all sorts of people and episodes of lunacy. It was an odd time for me; kind of a bridge between my late teens and actually deciding to act like an adult (I’m still not very good at it but I practice a lot).

I got the job through what you might refer to as nepotism (my mother was the office manager). The appearance of nepotism stopped there though. I was my own man and soon had the place marching to my beat. Plus I never listened to my mom at home, so why start at work?

One of the interesting things I saw was a mother and daughter coming in for visits. They scheduled them on the same day. I thought it was a little odd but at least they were getting good care. The mother was on Medicare (I remember weird stuff).

Part of the fun of making the place my own was establishing a manly presence. The doctor wasn’t always around and didn’t exactly behave like the ape from which we allegedly sprung. SInce I was the only male in a building full of females, I used it to the best advantage of which I was capable (even if I wasn’t all that capable).

One of the lovely people I worked with was a few years younger but married. This lady simply did not get sex. She understood the mechanics but did not understand the fuss over it. It was just something her husband really enjoyed that she let him have every now and then.

This lady was a really great person to work with but I spent her entire tenure trying to figure out where the disconnect was in reference to sex. She told me that a bunch of her girlfriends came over one night and gave her the whole treatment: makeup, lingerie, and whatever else in preparation for her husband. She said it was ‘nice’ but that was it.

Part of the fun of working with my mother was having her see me experimenting to find out what I could get away with in the office (or overall). One day while in pursuit of the non-sex coworker answer, I managed to get her to take her top off (I have no recall how I managed to make this happen).

My mother is standing in the doorway as Medical Theater<tm> is playing itself out. When the top comes off, her mouth drops a bit. I shoot her the old Eyebrow, which was a signal for ‘don’t say anything - let me see how far I can go with this.’

At this point you’re probably wondering exactly what kind of doctor’s office this was, where the male biller got the receptionist to take her shirt off, in full view of the office manager.

It was my office - that’s what kind.

So my interest was rising (moreso) at this point. All I had to do was get her to take off her bra. Along with failing to get sex, she failed to get why I wanted to look at her without her shirt. Unfortunately she didn’t want to take off her bra, which really frustrated me.

It’s not what you’re thinking… at this point it was an intellectual challenge of my abilities. I just wanted to see how far she would go. It wasn’t about seeing naked breasts.

Of course I’m lying out my backside. I did want to see if I could get her to take off her bra, but the primary reason was to see if I could. The naked breasts were just the icing.

Unfortunately things went no further, in spite of the fact that cake is merely a vehicle to carry the icing. And I was Howard Stern long before I heard him :)

I discovered one of the biggest Chick Magnets ever: chocolate. I maintained an entire drawer full of chocolate and candy, becoming known as the Candy Man throughout the building. All sorts of people would drop by for a piece. When you’re short of Opposite Sex Skills, candy is a great facilitator. And heaven knows I was short of Opposite Sex Skills. Not much has changed.

The doctor’s specialty was gastroenterology. I wondered aloud if he had a subspecialty in psych because the majority of his patients were nuts (that’s a medical term). Unsatisfied with just my own damn near medical opinion, I went in search of others. I asked the people in the hospitals where the doctor had privileges. They assured me that his patients were absolutely and completely insane. Normal gastro patients are nuts to begin with but ours were a step above.

After further consultation with the doctor, during which I let him know what the hospital people thought about his patients, I asked if craziness bred ulcers or ulcers bred craziness. I never got a real answer from him. He had a thing about not giving actual answers. He’d mumble a bit, say something that was completely unrelated to the topic, and walk out of the room.

Aside from that, the doctor had a few other ‘interesting’ traits. He was a control freak, the likes of which I have not seen since. He would not lease a postage machine because people would send things out before he saw them. Oh yeah, and he’d have to pay for it. He really didn’t like paying for things. It was borderline pathological with him, the dear boy. While setting up his office, the furniture hadn’t arrived so he convinced the hospital to lend him a few chairs til his arrived. I think the delivery truck got lost about twenty years ago because those same hospital chairs are still in the waiting room. I wonder what they told the families of the truck driver… alien abduction, perhaps?

Another tiny foible of the doctor’s was time. I know, I know… you’re shocked that a doctor would keep any patient waiting, but unfortunately this was also pathological. To this day the problem has never been diagnosed, no less solved. The patients had to wait from day one. The only thing that changed was the length of the wait. When I started it was up to thirty minutes. Eight years later when I left it was an hour and a half on the average, but could go past two hours if he was really in the mood. No one had any idea what he did while keeping people waiting for two hours but the wait was guaranteed.

The office staff tried to outsmart the doctor by booking hours later in the day. They were no match for a medical doctor though - he just came in later too. The next tactic was telling patients to show up half an hour after their appointment time. Doctor invalidated this by continuing to be later. Then they told the patients to call on the phone and we could tell them how far behind he was really running. If by some strange coincidence the doctor came into the office and didn’t see a waiting and waiting room full of people, he’d either leave the office again or take a brief nap (we were to wake him in twenty minutes).

The obvious question here is why did the patients tolerate this. The unobvious answer is that when people leave the house, they sometimes forget their brains (assuming there was anything to forget in the first place). Another factor that amplifies the brain situation is that when people get in front of a rushed doctor, they tend to shake their head in agreement a lot and not do any critical thinking. Even if they swore before they left the house that they’d ask the question about that funny growth on their back that has started speaking to them in Russian, the moment they get near the doctor, they forget. This is made more unpleasant by the fact that the growth has started yelling louder and is getting more abusive by the day. People are beginning to talk. It’s not like the old days, when a growth could engage you in conversation for weeks without anybody interrupting. I used to take the bus with a fellow who would have animated full length conversations with various body parts. Fortunately whatever he had never got bad enough to have conversations with anybody else’s body parts - that would have been just plain weird.

The patients were forever forgetting something, whether it was their referrals, their copayments, or their appointments. My favorite excuse ever was the patient that couldn’t come to the doctor’s office because she was sick.

The doctor’s office is where I began my fascination with computers. After some minor pleading (5 years worth) the doctor decided to computerize the practice. After much salesman abuse, he finally coughed up the money to bring in a network.

I stayed late on installation evening in case I was needed. Good thing too, as I was needed (not to mention curious). We managed to get the system up by morning. It ran on a Novell network, which I had never seen before. I spent a lot of time figuring out how it worked, which consisted largely of poking at things until they broke, then seeing if I could fix them. Fortunately for me, I proved to be competent.

The doctor, upon seeing the whole installation for the first time, stood there for a few moments, looked around, and said, “The tv screen. It doesn’t match the computer. Can’t they get us one that matches?”

He was not what you’d call tech savvy. In fact it would be more accurate to refer to him as tech-terrified. For the years that system was in use, he literally never touched it. He paid to have a terminal in his office but it served mostly to be in the way and as a stand for papers and other detritus.

Because of his fear of the computer, he naturally assumed everyone else was terrified too. This proved amusing when one day some labels got caught in the printer. The only way to get the printer back in operation was to take it apart and remove the errant labels. Or send it away to Tokyo. I decided on the former, which apparently was not what he had in mind. He walked in one day (late, as usual) and saw me with many printer pieces strewn about my desk. I thought the poor guy was going to lose control of his bowels. He started stammering and asking what I was doing. Did I know anything about this equipment? Didn’t anyone call service? What if I broke it? What would we do? Heavens!

So I fixed it and put the thing back together. Unfortunately for him, the cat was out of the bag with reference to his terror at seeing me taking things apart. This meant that whenever possible, it became my duty (moreso) to take things apart. One day I cleaned out the computer, which was full of dust and dirt. The look on his face was priceless. I had to try really hard not to laugh while I told him that I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing and didn’t know if I could put the case back together.

I learned a lot about computers. I got the doctor to agree to send me to Novell classes. Unfortunately I got an education by immersion. A few weeks after the technician put in the network, he had a heart attack and died. I thought they were playing a joke on me when I called his house and they told me he had left us. Poor guy hadn’t hit forty.

After a while I got bored and started looking for computer work. One thing that hammered itself home during every job I held was that it was much better to work with computers than with people. One could say I was uniquely suited for this even before I discovered computers. There are some people who are born to be in retail or customer service. I am not one of them. I secured a job as a computer technician for almost twice what I was making as a biller.

In a stroke of sheer irony, I occasionally do some computer consulting for the doctor. The last time I was in his office, I saw a claim form from two old patients. It was the mother and the daughter that I met years before. This time both the mother and the daughter were on Medicare.

No, I am not getting old.

Alan Greenspan Folds Like a Cheap Suit

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 9:56pm EDT by the oracle

It seems that that darling of the market economy, the pied piper of the monetary policy, the ultimate hero of the greedy produce-nothing-and-make-obscene-profits-while-doing-it nation of free marketeers, Alan Greenspan, when brought before Congress today, to answer for his part in the disaster that is the U.S. economy, could only sputter and moan about the unforeseen changes that made it too difficult to predict the meltdown.

Remind me, yet again, why we pay idiots like this?

How can someone be the cat’s meow of monetary prognosticators, and then simply shrug and say that ‘there appeared to be a flaw in my understanding of how markets worked’? I know I don’t understand all the nuance of the economy, and the principles of macroeconomics, but then, I don’t profess to either.

Perhaps this, more than any other piece of evidence extant, shows what is wrong with the United States. We allow people like Greenspan to become the ultimate arbiter of monetary policy, changing lives of more people, in the stroke of the pen, than the devastation brought about by any weapon of mass destruction.

What kind of process is involved in the vetting of people at this level of ‘service’? It clearly does not work.

While we are at it, this also functions as a long, cold look at the policies of the last eight years. There is a sticking point, for me, when I think about the economic bailout, that was put into effect a couple of weeks ago. It amazes me, that the same people who talk so highly of the ultimate self-regulation of the market economy are the first to state that government needed to intercede when the market was in freefall.

One man’s bailout is another greedy bastard’s handout. They should have let it crash, and then perhaps the market would have righted itself, and taken care of the avaricious and economically cretinous, like Mr. Greenspan.

Quote of the day:

What this country needs is more free speech worth listening to. - Hansell B. Duckett

Technorati Tags: economics - Alan Greenspan - free market economic policy - macroeconomics - stock market

Pre-Order The Last Remnant For Unlockable Content

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 9:42pm EDT by Lockergnome

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces exclusive unlockable content is now available with pre-orders for The Last Remnant with selected retail partners. The Last Remnant will be released across all PAL territories on 20th November, 2008, on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

The Last Remnant is a completely original adventure title, benefiting from the finest creative talent to build a lush, real-time fantasy world. The game’s battle system has been carefully crafted to deliver a brand-new experience for gamers, as they control forces in massive cinematic battles.

Pre-order The Last Remnant now to receive three special unlockable formations (Scatterswarm, Goblet and Catapult) that will boost your tactical strength during battle.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “The Last Remnant represents a significant step in bringing our titles to a global audience and to make each new release a global event. I hope fans enjoy this exciting new adventure that delivers a thrilling gaming experience.”

Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 9:20pm EDT by Lockergnome

Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets is an interactive seek and find adventure game filled with thrilling discoveries, potentially paranormal activity, and sordid secrets!

This story-driven plot delivers an exciting and hair-raising journey.

Explore breathtaking backgrounds and beautiful scenery as you face challenging investigations, mind-boggling puzzles and strong opposition from locals, unwilling to relinquish their belief in a spiritual presence (and the tourism it provides)!

[Download free trial of Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets]
[Buy Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets]

Algorithms In A Nutshell

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 8:10pm EDT by Lockergnome

Creating robust software requires the use of efficient algorithms, but programmers seldom think about them until a problem occurs. Algorithms in a Nutshell by George Heineman, Gary Pollice, and Stanley Selkow, describes existing algorithms for solving a variety of problems, and helps you select and implement the right algorithm for your needs — with just enough math to let you understand and analyze algorithm performance.

“We intend this book to be used frequently by experienced programmers looking for appropriate solutions to their problems,” write the authors. “Here you will find solutions to the problems you must overcome as a programmer veery day. You will learn what decisions lead to an improved performance of key algorithms that are essential for the success of your software applications. You will find real code that can be adapted to your needs and solution methods that you can learn.”

Heineman, Pollice, and Selkow rigorously followed a set of principles as they designed, implemented and wrote this book. These were:

Use real code, not pseudocode
Separate the algorithm from the problem being solved
Introduce just enough mathematics
Support mathematical analysis empirically

“If these principles are meaningful to you,” they add, “then you will find this book useful.”

With its focus on application, rather than theory, Algorithms in a Nutshell provides efficient code solutions in several programming languages that you can easily adapt to a specific project. Each algorithm is presented in the style of a design pattern that includes information to help you understand why and when the algorithm is appropriate. With this book, you will:

Solve a particular coding problem or improve on the performance of an existing solution
Quickly locate algorithms that relate to the problems you want to solve, and determine why a particular algorithm is the right one to use
Get algorithmic solutions in C, C++, Java, and Ruby with implementation tips
Learn the expected performance of an algorithm, and the conditions it needs to perform at its best
Discover the impact that similar design decisions have on different algorithms
Learn advanced data structures to improve the efficiency of algorithms

With Algorithms in a Nutshell you’ll learn how to improve the performance of key algorithms essential for the success of your software applications.

Branding to Multiple Audiences: How to Retool Your Existing Content

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 6:21pm EDT by Dina Giolitto

A Web site selling wholesale breakfast foods that are quick and easy features a picture of a smiling Caucasian woman and her two Caucasian children. To some this may be the perfect representation of what an all-American family stands for, but in a country where this is not the only “all-American” family, is the messaging turning off customers? While some products or services were created for a certain niche of the market, many products have the ability to stretch across several audiences, so how can you rework your existing content to make sure that the right message reaches the right audiences?

Be cognizant of the differences

The first step in accomplishing this goal is to be aware of what the differences in your audiences are. Based on this information, you can easily determine how you can rework your content. For example, Wachovia bank has a marketing campaign about how customers should expect more out of their bank — and of course how it meets these expectations. Their campaigns run in English and in Spanish. The wording is exactly the same for both campaigns (except the Spanish campaigns are written in Spanish). The difference is in the visual representation. The English campaigns show Caucasians, African Americans, or Asians, while the Spanish ads use Hispanic subjects.

It may be as simple as translating the message and using a visual representation that your audience can relate to that allows to you to reach multiple audiences.

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS)

One of the key marketing concepts applies when marketing over a wide range of audiences. The last thing you want to do is alienate a portion of your audience by speaking over their heads. When you are creating content for your brochures, Web sites, or other marketing material keep it as basic and simple as you can. Use common words instead of jargon. Use pictures with ethnic diversity represented. So if you know, or if you suspect, that your audience is diverse, be inclusive of all your audiences when you are creating content. This may require that you consult with people who fall in these audiences because your perspective may be different from those who represent the audience you are targeting.

For example, a financial services company has the same Web site copy for all of its audiences. Its pictures include groups with men and women of various ethnicities. Instead of translating and creating different versions for different audiences, they have covered all of their audiences in one shot.

Create different versions

You may have seen in firsthand. You go to a Web site and you see a little link at the top that says something in a different language. When you click on it out of curiosity, you see that the whole Web site switches over to a foreign language. This is a company responding to the fact that they have many different audiences. A German or Latino family may be just as interested as an English speaking person to buy your product, so do you really want to alienate them and lose their business because they can’t read your Web site? The answer here is no and if it all it takes is some minor tweaking and translating copy, then spend the money or take the time to do it.

It may not be a cultural marketing snafu either. It may be a gender snafu. While there are products that are specifically used by certain genders, there are also products that are gender neutral. But if all of your campaigns and marketing materials feature women, are you alienating your male audiences? Maybe. So when thinking of your audiences, be sure to think of all of the variations including gender, age, ethnicity, income brackets, etc.

So do you have to run out and create a completely different brand, mission, Web site, or brochure for each audience you market or sell to? Not necessarily, but you do need to be aware of the differences between your audiences before making this decision. It may be as simple as changing out a few pictures on your Web site. It may be as simple as rewording your copy to make it easy to understand by native speakers and non-native speakers of English. Knowing your audience is the first step to determining how you can tweak the content you already have to get their attention.

Liked this article? Have more of the same emailed to your inbox each month. Sign up for the Copywriting and Marketing Ezine from Wordfeeder.com today.

Train engineer probably put a load in his shorts

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 6:18pm EDT by thirteen

Watch this video to get a perspective on what train engineers have to deal with on a daily basis.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/we_MmdNOAJE" width="320" height="240" wmode="transparent" /]

That Old CD Might Be Worth A SecondSpin

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 5:02pm EDT by Lockergnome

Looking to buy used music, games, or movies at bargain basement prices (but without the bargain basement risk of defective merchandise)? Or maybe you’re trying to get rid of your used music, games, or movies and will only accept top dollar. In either case, SecondSpin.com is your best option!

SecondSpin.com has been online since August, 1996.

In June, 1998, the first SecondSpin.com retail store opened in Sherman Oaks, California. Since then, stores have opened in Costa Mesa, California, Santa Monica, California, and the 12,000 sq. ft. superstore in Denver, Colorado.

Products on the SecondSpin.com site come from three sources: the Internet, the retail stores, and from brokers around the country. This gives SecondSpin.com a much wider variety of music and movies than other used sites. Strict quality control keeps the defect rate to less than 1%, so everything is 100% guaranteed.

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Mary King’s Riding School 2 Coming For Wii

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 4:50pm EDT by Lockergnome

Established game publisher Ghostlight Ltd. returns to the stables with the sequel to hit Nintendo DS title Mary King’s Riding School. Following the success of the first installment, Mary King’s Riding School 2 has been developed in association with Dancing Dot Studios and Laughing Jackal on the hugely popular Nintendo Wii format. Due for release in Q1 2009, Mary King’s Riding School 2 gives players the unique opportunity to train with world ranking equestrian, Mary King, and become a 3 day eventing champion.

Mary King has become an equestrian superstar over the course of her illustrious 24 year career, winning no less than four team gold medals at World Equestrian Games and European Championships. She has been British Champion four times, more than anyone to date, and represented Britain in five Olympic Games: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008, winning silver in Athens and bronze in China.

Mary King’s involvement in the game has been exceptional, working extensively with the Laughing Jackal development team on several hours of scripted audio recordings written exclusively for the game. Players will also be treated to hands-on training from Mary King, taking them through intrinsic dressage routines, challenging show jumping circuits and exhilarating cross-country courses. Once you have mastered the training you can begin your journey through the equestrian ranks, competing at famous events across the globe, earning cash and unlocking new accessories and equipment for rider and horse.

Marketing Account Manager, Adrian Clews comments “Mary King is a leading figure in the equestrian world and we’re proud to have an Olympic medal winning rider licensed to the game. Mary has been heavily involved in the production of the game, providing guidance on events, supplying technical advice and even recording voice-overs which has been the key to developing the most realistic horse simulator on the market.”

Mary King’s Riding School 2 allows players to customise male and female characters, choose from a whole stable of horses and compete in over 1000 competitions worldwide. All delivered with stunning graphics, challenging events and an intuitive control system incorporating the Wii’s unique remote functionality. Don’t miss the opportunity to join Mary King at the greatest riding school in world with Mary King’s Riding School 2.

New Solar Energy Material Captures Every Color Of The Rainbow

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 6:44am EDT by Lockergnome

Researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.

Ohio State University chemists and their colleagues combined electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium to create the hybrid material.

“There are other such hybrids out there, but the advantage of our material is that we can cover the entire range of the solar spectrum,” explained Malcolm Chisholm, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Ohio State.

The study appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Sunlight contains the entire spectrum of colors that can be seen with the naked eye — all the colors of the rainbow. What our eyes interpret as color are really different energy levels, or frequencies of light. Today’s solar cell materials can only capture a small range of frequencies, so they can only capture a small fraction of the energy contained in sunlight.

This new material is the first that can absorb all the energy contained in visible light at once.

The material generates electricity just like other solar cell materials do: light energizes the atoms of the material, and some of the electrons in those atoms are knocked loose.

Ideally, the electrons flow out of the device as electrical current, but this is where most solar cells run into trouble. The electrons only stay loose for a tiny fraction of a second before they sink back into the atoms from which they came. The electrons must be captured during the short time they are free, and this task, called charge separation, is difficult.

In the new hybrid material, electrons remain free much longer than ever before.

To design the hybrid material, the chemists explored different molecular configurations on a computer at the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Then, with colleagues at National Taiwan University, they synthesized molecules of the new material in a liquid solution, measured the frequencies of light the molecules absorbed, and also measured the length of time that excited electrons remained free in the molecules.

They saw something very unusual. The molecules didn’t just fluoresce as some solar cell materials do. They phosphoresced as well. Both luminous effects are caused by a material absorbing and emitting energy, but phosphorescence lasts much longer.

To their surprise, the chemists found that the new material was emitting electrons in two different energy states — one called a singlet state, and the other a triplet state. Both energy states are useful for solar cell applications, and the triplet state lasts much longer than the singlet state.

Electrons in the singlet state stayed free for up to 12 picoseconds, or trillionths of a second — not unusual compared to some solar cell materials. But electrons in the triplet state stayed free 7 million times longer — up to 83 microseconds, or millionths of a second.

When they deposited the molecules in a thin film, similar to how they might be arranged in an actual solar cell, the triplet states lasted even longer: 200 microseconds.

“This long-lived excited state should allow us to better manipulate charge separation,” Chisholm said.

At this point, the material is years from commercial development, but he added that this experiment provides a proof of concept — that hybrid solar cell materials such as this one can offer unusual properties.

The project was funded by the National Science Foundation and Ohio State’s Institute for Materials Research.

Chisholm is working with Arthur J. Epstein, Distinguished University Professor of chemistry and physics; Paul Berger, professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics; and Nitin Padture, professor of materials science and engineering to develop the material further. That work is part of the Advanced Materials Initiative, one Ohio State’s Targeted Investment in Excellence (TIE) programs.

The TIE program targets some of society’s most pressing challenges with a major investment of university resources in programs with a potential for significant impact in their fields. The university has committed more than $100 million over the next five years to support 10 high-impact, mostly interdisciplinary programs.

Co-authors on the PNAS paper from Ohio State included: Gotard Burdzinski, a postdoctoral researcher; Yi-Hsuan Chou, a postdoctoral researcher; Florian Fiel, a former postdoctoral researcher; Judith Gallucci, a senior research associate; Yagnaseni Ghosh, a graduate student; Terry Gustafson, a professor; Yao Liu, a postdoctoral researcher; Ramkrishna Ramnauth, a former postdoctoral researcher; and Claudia Turro, a professor; all of the Department of Chemistry. They collaborated with Pi-Tai Chou and Mei-Lin Ho of National Taiwan University.

[Malcolm Chisholm @ Ohio State University]

Everything Comes Back Full Circle

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 5:23am EDT by Matt Hartley

It is truly crazy, but it seems like there is no limit to how easily things can come back full circle. Backup solutions are a great example. I have explored yet again, a wide variety of options available to me and no matter how hard I might try, I keep coming back to CrashPlan. There is just no escaping it. From the fact that it eliminates viruses from being bundled into the backup itself to the fact that the data is encrypted BEFORE it is sent over the pipes for a remote backup, all of the bases are covered.

I am running a backup right now to another PC on-site and will also be having it perform an off-site backup here shortly. You have to love that it can backup the data to an off site location automatically! And of course, the backups are setup to be incremental & differential, which is a real time saver.

Throttle the CPU usage, setup the program to either keep things backed up all the time or just warn you when you are due. The choice depends on the price point you are comfortable with. Oh, it does have a fee involved. And the fee schedule everything considering is actually quite reasonable considering it is one time for the ability to backup or monthly for off-site backup hosting through CrashPlan itself. I myself use the one time fee and that allows me to do off site with friends and on-site with my own network. Overall, I do not think I will be using other open source alternatives as they to date have failed badly with giving me restored data that is as intact as it should be. It’s my data, I do not need surprises. And being cross platform is a real bonus as well…especially backing up all three platforms.

The DNS Flaw In Detail

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 3:58am EDT by Marc Erickson

Remember the news stories a few months ago about the flaw in DNS that was discovered by Dan Kaminsky? This article from MIT’s Technology Review magazine explains the discovery and the decisions taken to patch and explain the vulnerability in an article that is a good overview of what happened.

Dan Kaminsky, uncharacteristically, was not looking for bugs earlier this year when he happened upon a flaw at the core of the Internet. The security researcher was using his knowledge of Internet infrastructure to come up with a better way to stream videos to users. Kaminsky’s expertise is in the Internet’s domain name system (DNS), the protocol responsible for matching websites’ URLs with the numeric addresses of the servers that host them. The same content can be hosted by multiple servers with several addresses, and Kaminsky thought he had a great trick for directing users to the servers best able to handle their requests at any given moment.

The rest of the article is here.

Gears of War 2 pre-order Bonuses

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 3:22am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, pre-order the much anticipated Xbox 360 game, Gears of War 2 for as low as $59.99 and get a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card.

The wait is over, Gears of War 2 has arrived. Ever since the original was released, fans have clamored for this sequel. Developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games, Gears of War 2, which has already garnered several awards, picks up six months after the events of the blockbuster original Gears of War.

Players are thrown back into the role of Marcus Fenix, leading the battle for humankind’s survival against the Locust Horde. With innovative third-person tactical action gameplay and unsurpassed high-definition graphics, Gears of War 2 is a must-have game for the Xbox 360.

Also available is an Amazon.com Exclusive Gears of War 2 Lancer Bundle. Pre-order the Amazon.com Exclusive Lancer and get the Standard Edition of Gears of War 2 free or upgrade your order to the Limited Edition for an extra $10.

Get the Gears of War 2 with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

IT Department Getting you Down?

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 2:47am EDT by Toastpaint

*Please note, this was a repost from Geeks.Pirillo.com, dated September 12, 2008 at 4:16pm*

Article from mX
This was an article I found in the Brisbane Commuters’ Newspaper “mX”. (Brisbane, Australia).
I think it is very true, but that people need to realize that if it is Windows, funnily enough, a restart does the job. Simply closing the program and starting it up again doesn’t always do that job. Sometimes the framework (all of those wonderful SYSTEM processes and explorer.exe) needs to be restarted. People also need to understand that if it is a big company, the IT staff will attempt to try the things that normally fix it, like restarting. The University I study at has 2 staff for the whole campus, and the first thing you will hear as you stand at the door explaining your problem, is “Have you restarted it?”.

The fact is, there isn’t enough time for every support technician to run around to every problem, and trawl through files and registry keys, to find the exact problem and rectify it. If it doesn’t fix itself after a restart, they will do a quick search for any known problems, and Google it. If that doesn’t work, its Re-Ghost time! (Ghosting is basically where a program called Norton Ghost is used to extract a premade image file (of a premade hard-drives computer) onto your computer.) Ghost is a lifesaver, as it can have a fully working computer, with Administrative permissions, programs, and settings all configured, in less than the time it takes to install windows in the first place! A godsend!

So to all you Desk lackeys being weighed down by long wait times, Computers are almost always an experimental art. The more you support the technicians, and are patient with them, the faster you can get back to work. ;)

Les Schwab Tire Centers: Customer Loyalty for $.75

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 2:28am EDT by kentlewis

Ever since I first heard stories and read articles about Les Schwab Tire Centers, I’ve been fascinated by the man and the company. Les Schwab set out to re-invent the tire service business in 1952, and his legacy goes well beyond 410 stores and $1.6 billion in annual revenues. He created a remarkable experience that would make Seth Godin proud.

While a very small number of customers have managed to sneak through the system with a less than stellar experience, I can say first hand that Les Schwab lives up to it’s name and reputation. A year or so ago, I stopped by their NW store, and they found an repaired a slow leak for me within an hour, and charged me nothing for it, which is standard policy.

Two days ago, that small investment in me reaped a $1,000 reward as I returned to see if they could identify and repair another slow leak. Turns out my tires were dangerously bald, and I needed new tires. Having built a relationship with me, I trusted them enough to slap a new site of high performance tires on my car, which they did.

The real secret came at the end of my call, when I asked jokingly if I’d be getting any “free beef” with my purchase. The representative on the other end of the line apologized that the “free beef” program usually runs in February, and the beef was long gone. I asked if they maybe had a pepperoni stick or maybe even a package of M&Ms instead. She replied, “I’ll see what I can do.”

When I went in to pay for my new tires and pick up the car, they gave me my key and receipt and directed me to my car parked out front. When I got into my car, there was a package of M&Ms sitting on the dashboard. I have to say, the .75 package of M&Ms went a long way with me that day. For a small investment (much less than the free beef offer to be sure) they helped me both feel better about my huge purchase, and get me to talk about my experience.

If more companies understood what the employees at Les Schwab understand, from tire changer to CEO, this world would be a better place. I guarantee that Les Schwab’s profits are greater than most, because they instill a level of caring and service that has redefined the tire industry, let alone the service industry. For more on Les Schwab’s philosophy, check out his book, Pride in Performance.

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Arien O’Connell Given a Real Stupid Answer

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 2:03am EDT by forsythe

It’s unfair. In a race - a marathon nonetheless - the person who runs the course the fastest should be declared the winner. It really is not that complicated - run faster than anyone else and that person wins the race. Alas, it is not so at the Nike’s Woman’s Marathon in San Francisco:

“…While O’Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course faster than any woman, she was told she couldn’t be declared the winner because she didn’t run with the “elite” group who were given a 20-minute head start.”

link: At Women’s Marathon, fastest time didn’t win

It is an inane rule. That means that no one except the elite runners are allowed to win. It does not matter that someone like Arien O’Connell can run a sensational race - that person will not be recognized. How is that even called a competition? Other than the elite group, the rules of the Nike Women’s Marathon have dictated that all the other runners are just so much “window decoration”. How can Nike, one of the world’s premier athletic companies, abide by such utter nonsense?

Nike, Arien O’Connell won - make it right!

Catherine Forsythe

OpenDNS

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 12:34am EDT by Toastpaint

**Please note, this is a repost from Geeks.Pirillo.com, dated September 26, 2008 at 12:25am**

Yesterday, on the unofficial Geeks.Pirillo.Com Ventrilo Server, I found out about something.
A Friend of mine, called Chronidus, directed me to a service called OpenDNS.

DNS stands for ‘Domain Name Server’.
Basically, when your Internet Browser, goes to a webpage, such as “http://Geeks.Pirillo.com/”, it contacts your ISPs (Internet Service Provider, like Comcast, or FiOS) DNS. The DNS then proceeds to translate that text address http://Geeks.Pirillo.Com/) and change it to an IP Address. (In this case, this site is hosted at “http://8.6.19.68/”.
Once your computer has that IP Address, it can directly communicate with that site. Think of it as the White Pages of the Internet. You look for Aaronson A, you get his phone number 01234567. You call him directly.

Normally, unless you have a super cool ISP from Space, your ISP will have a pretty Grey-Box like DNS. It might offer extra features, but normally at an extra, monthly, cost. For free, It will just do its job. Full stop.

OpenDNS is different. It is a free service, that allows you to, instead of using your ISPs DNS, (or WhitePages), you can use OpenDNSs. It adds extra features, such as Phishing Protection. OpenDNS uses an online index called PhishTank, which is the biggest list of known Phishing Sites available on the internet. Now, rather than buying software that chews up memory, or paying your ISP extra for that protection, you can run through OpenDNS, and get it done for free.

Another cool feature, that I have never seen included or offered at any ISP, is Typo-Correction. I am a self confessed fast typer, and occasionally miss a key or two. For example, if I typed http://Geeks.Pirillo.cm/, I would normally get an error. With OpenDNS, it sees my typo, and sends me to the correct address! I see it as a really handy feature, that makes using the Internet even more seamless. They have extended on this Typo feature, by allowing you to add your own ‘Shortcuts’. For example, one I have added, allows me to just type ‘geeks’ into the address bar, and press enter. (For you Sysadmins, thats http://geeks/) This sends me straight to http://Geeks.Pirillo.com/. Love it.

If you live with a family, OpenDNS also offers Parental Control, that is Fully Customisable, and it kept healthy, as OpenDNS runs a community that keeps each Category up to date. (For example, Pornography, Dating, etc).

The best thing I love about OpenDNS is that it is self-customisable. On the error pages presented if you reach a blocked or phishing site, you can set a Logo to be displayed. Have Custom Error messages, and contact details.

When I first looked at this, I saw where the DNS servers are located. Only in the US and Europe. I almost turned away right then. My Internet was already slow enough in Australia, without being funneled down a pipe, towards the Northern Hemisphere. I decided, however, to give it a go. I noticed immediately that my Internet is faster. Not KB/s wise, but the amount of time it takes to translate the sites address, and connect me, has dramatically lowered to a point where, my entire network now uses it.

If you think OpenDNS is right for you, go to http://www.OpenDNS.com/ and follow the instructions. They have instructions on how to set it up for almost every Operating System and Router available.

Rocking A New Spam Filtering Server

Posted: October 22nd, 2008, 12:15am EDT by Matt Hartley

If there is one thing I hate, it is spam. New laws and random enforcement is fine, for all of ten nano-seconds, while stronger control over what ends up in my inbox lasts for ever. This is largely what drove me away from the flailing mess known as Spam Assassin. While it might make a good tool for some, I simply can not take the missed email anymore. In short, it sucks and even with the Bayesian training addition, it still fails to do anything right.

This brought me back to POPFile. However unlike last time where I found myself being frustrated with trying to train and maintain multiple installations on multiple machines, I instead opted to do this right. Seeing as I already have a dedicated Linux server for video streaming and other non-mission critical stuff, I decided to put POPFile to work on it, rather than limiting myself with multiple POPFile installations yet again.

Another thing I was bent on was making sure I would be able to tap the POPFile server, even when I am away from home. This was key for me. But I also needed to protect my POP mail password by using the existing SSL provided by my email provider. I may not feel the need to protect the contents of my email messages, but I will be darned if I am going to broadcast my POP mail password with each mail check!

Setup my POPFile server. I keep two networks here at the house. One that is completely cut off from the Internet and another that is not. I used a dedicated server (code for really old PC with Ubuntu on it). I installed POPFile which was as easy as I remembered. I then rebooted the server box and made sure that 127.0.0.1:7070 was coming up in my browser (Windows users might find the needed port as :8080, but I forget).
Open up some ports on the server. In my case, using Gufw makes this a snap. I simply made sure I had opened up 7070, 7070 and 995. Obviously this is not needed for a local POPFile install, but it is to use POPFile as a server with a firewall (IPTables in my case).
Static local IPs or reserving them, router magic. Some will argue that this is unneeded, but I find it makes life massively easier. Thankfully my router is not all that bad with regard to features, so I was able to reserve the IP address currently used for my POPFile server. From here, I head over over to my router’s virtual server settings. I then create a setting called POPFile, set it to use the local IP I reserved currently assigned by DHCP from my router and set it to watch for port 7070 on both public and private, for TCP. And yes, based on the fact that I keep my other machines well insulated, I set it to “allow all” on that machine only.
DynDNS - it is a wonderful thing. I head on over to DynDNS.com and created a free account. I setup a host by choosing to Add a host service. Get something like jimbob.dyndns.net or whatever, then I am ready to rock. (Note - it seems that I am not needing to install any client solutions for this service as DynDNS appears to keep an eye on my everchanging external IP address for me.)
Checking things out. Before even bothering to set anything up, it is time to check a few things: first, goto the http://the-internal-ip-address-for-your-server-pc:7070 - you should be able to connect -and see the web admin interface? Great, now goto http://your-new-dyndns-url:7071 . On Ubuntu based servers, you should see something like:

+OK POP3 POPFile (v1.0.0) server ready
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR unknown command or bad syntax
-ERR no response from mail server

Email client setup. Due to the fact that there are countless email clients, I am only giving the info on what to enter. Where to enter that info is up to you. Here is how I did it:

Server - your-new-dyndns-url:7071 (note the lack of http here)

Username - (non SSL) mail.whatever.com:me@whatever.com.com (note the : and note that the username is now the ISP mail server followed by the user name of that account)

Username - (w/SSL) mail.whatever.com:995:me@whatever.com.com:ssl (in the mail client, the SSL setting provided as a pull down MUST BE off or the “:ssl” setting will not work)

Windows server users: read up here as there are differences in the server settings. Never tested this with a Windows box, so other than the web admin interface using port 8080 instead of 7070, I am not sure how your username is to be setup for SSL on a Windows server box.

Here is why this rocks. First, I can now use this server on a Windows, Mac or Linux client - it really should not matter. Overall, the basic mail client settings should remain true. I do not believe there will be any differences in setting up the server and username settings as outlined above as the ports and server address remains a constant on all client platforms since the server platform is Linux.

You will want to train POPFile first, before taking it out on the road. Why? Because I purposely never setup a DynDNS link for the web admin - it is not encrypted and frankly, the password protection is simply too weak to use outside of a firewalled LAN. Do the bulk of your POPFile server training before taking the laptop on the road. It learns very quickly if you stick to minimal buckets. What is a bucket? learn more about the app here.

The second reason this rocks is that I no longer need to worry about keeping my spam filtering in sync in between PCs - yes, it can mix email client accounts just fine. Yeah, I could use someone else’s server solution, but what fun would that be?

Sony HD Flash Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom $600 shipped!

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 11:19pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Sony HDR-CX7 AVCHD 6.1MP High Definition Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom for as low as $599.97! Lowest price we’ve seen by $100!

For the first time ever, record high definition directly to Memory Stick PRO Duo media. The compact size of this camcorder combined with its minuscule recording media make the HDR-CX7 high definition Handycam camcorder a joy to use. Ultra-lightweight and easy to carry, it features a professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens and Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization for stunningly sharp high definition video. Plus, its large, 2.7″ wide Clear Photo LCD Plus display featuring touch panel SwivelScreen technology makes it simple to view what you’re recording - at almost any angle.

Get the Sony HD Flash Memory Camcorder with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

FDA Monitoring Pet Food Problems

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 10:25pm EDT by forsythe

In the November edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), the Food and Drug Administration is asking that members of the Association to monitor pet food complaints:

“The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine is encouraging AVMA members to report complaints about pet food directly to the FDA, particularly in light of last year’s adverse events following contamination of ingredients with melamine.”

link: FDA asks veterinarians to report pet food complaints

Melamine is the chemical linked with the contaminated pet food scandal last year. It is also the chemical implicated in the present tainted milk fiasco in China. It is a positive step that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking with veterinarians. However, the FDA also could provide an online website and a toll free telephone number for the general public to report suspicions on questionable quality in pet food. The pet owners are the first to notice such problems.

This would be an additional security measure for pets. The problem is that, at the moment, the FDA is understaffed and underfunded. Such a suggestion for data collection from pet owners would fall into the “perhaps” category - and that is unfortunate.

Catherine Forsythe

PC Connection Extends Free Shipping Offer

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 10:00pm EDT by Lockergnome

Whether you need a GPS navigation system, an external hard drive, an LCD monitor, a memory card, or a whole new computer, PC Connection’s got a deal for free shipping on orders over $99 through Halloween (October 31st)!

This excludes taxes, and must be shipped within the contiguous 48 states via standard ground service.

Reader Needs Help With HP Computer

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 8:25pm EDT by Ron Schenone

Reader Angelo Molarit stated:

Hi Ron, the previous do not apply to me, but maybe you can direct me to a solution.
This morning my HP m8100y shot down and when I got it on, it gave me the HP blue screen with choices to hit :
Esc= Boot menu (it freezes saying “loading boot menu”),
F10 = setup (freezes saying “loading setup”) or
F11 = System recovery (Nothing happens, with or without the recovery disk inserted).
I am willing to reformat bu how do I access the recovery disks?

Hello Angelo,
I went to HP’s site and found this link:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00899280&lc=en&dlc=tr&cc=tr&lang=tr&rule=1373&product=3463405

Note this: Make sure there are no USB devices, CD/DVD’s or other devices connected to the system and try booting again following the info on this page.

I’ll also post your request for help in an article and see what we get.

Suggestions? Ideas? All are welcome.

Permalink for 'Lockergnome_s_Tech_News_Watch/2008/10/21/10_deals_you_can%e2%80%99t_afford_to_miss_'

10 deals you can’t afford to miss!

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 8:19pm EDT by usrbingeek

I’m re-highlighting these popular deals that were published over the last few weeks just in case you missed them when Lockergnome was experiencing down time because of the server moves.

Yahoo Eliminated More Jobs

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 7:53pm EDT by forsythe

Earlier in the week, there was speculation that Yahoo would eliminate about a thousand jobs. The speculation was an under-estimate. Yahoo will terminate fifteen hundred (1,500) positions:

“Yahoo announced Tuesday that it plans to cut at least 10% of its workforce, or more than 1,500 employees, in the fourth quarter in an effort reduce costs.”

link: Yahoo slashes 10% of workforce

Jerry Yang noted that Yahoo must reduce costs. He further noted that initiatives will “enhance productivity”. Can reducing the company’s work force by ten per cent go hand-in-hand with enhancing productivity? Microsoft will be watching.

Catherine Forsythe

The Online Flu Epidemic of 2008

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 7:50pm EDT by leftystrat

More than 4,500 people received free flu shots Saturday at Bucks County’s third annual Pandemic Flu Drill.

Come on down!! Barbecue and free flu shots! It’s our third year anniversary! Free masks and duct tape!!!

The National Retail Federation wants to help retailers prepare for the worst.

Emergency officials tested the county’s Points of Dispensing System, or PODS, for mass distribution of medications in emergency conditions, (Indiana)

The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District is asking residents of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties to roll down their car windows and roll up their sleeves for an emergency preparedness drill that will test the efficiency of mass drive-through vaccinations. Participants will receive a free flu shot.

State urges Vermonters to prepare for pandemic

You don’t think somebody’s trying to tell us something, do you? That’s an awful lot of states doing the same thing at the same times…

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on Sunday guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months

Boy, you’d almost think he knew something was up. I wonder if it’s related to..I dunno… the FLU? Or something.

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel: Console Versions Due Early 2009

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 7:50pm EDT by Lockergnome

Ascaron, one of the leading manufacturers and developers of games software, and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announced the release date for the console versions of Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel. Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel is being developed for PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and will be released in the first quarter of 2009.

“We have committed ourselves to offering gamers nothing but top quality. In order to be able to further optimize the online components of the console versions, and ensure a simultaneous release world-wide, we have chosen to aim for this release date for the console versions,” says Heiko tom Felde, CEO of ASCARON.

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel offers action RPG fans an elaborate new development with numerous new features and extensions of the popular game mechanics. In Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel, the player gradually discovers a huge, freely explorable world with tons of details and top-notch graphics. Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel captivates players with a thrilling storyline that may be experienced in two completely different ways (light and shadow campaigns).

The world of Ancaria has no level limits and can be explored without loading times. Through its great attention to detail and high-quality graphics, Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel will enchant gamers around the globe.

The History of the Future | Notes on Interface Architecture

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 7:25pm EDT by caseorganic

The History of the Future was a big coffee-table book, and thus it sat on my family’s coffee-table for six years or so before it succumbed to a number of popular science and Wired magazines that forced it to a retirement on the bookshelf. What made the book extraordinary is that it contained within its pages a vast tome of images of what people in the 19th century conceived the year 2000 to be like. Among the premonitions was an image of a woman in a dark factory that sat on a sort of throne with a metal device on the top of her head. At her feet lay a long conveyor-belt of newborns stretching into infinity, as factory workers packaged them and sent them off in trucks.

Other, less radical images were much closer to the reality we have today. One showcased a man sitting in a comfortable chair looking up at a projection of some dancers on his living room wall. The caption went something like, “with the help of phono-vision, you can finally enjoy the pleasures of the can-can from the comfort of your own home”. This was a prediction made in 1888, or something like that, so I’ll call it impressive. Others had moon villages, and dystopic robots lacerating poor human victims.
I was eight years old when the book was shelved out of my memory, when the year 2000 arrived, I was older. Fourteen! To celebrate, I dusted off The History of the Future again and was able to read it this time instead of merely looking at the pictures. It inspired me to take all sorts of other books from different time periods and compare their contents to today’s technological results. If The History of the Future compared the 19th century to the 20th, then I wanted to compare the ’60s to the ’00s, or even the ’80s. What patterns might I find? What forgotten utopic visions, or dyspeptic nihilisms might I run into?

Searching for the right books wasn’t difficult. I’d watched the data of the public library move more and more to the computer, and thus as time went on, the bookstacks began to collect dust. I began to recognize a ’60s book from a ’70s or ’80s and so on.

Books from the 60’s were the best. They were so optimistic and projectionary. They were always set Arial font with bolded Arial for titles, as if the world were simple, and so was solving problems. Pictures were generally black and while, but every once in a while, you’d run across a book with a greyscale streaked with a monotone yellow or pink or shocking blue. Books with more somber subjects resembled green computer screens.

Comments and Excerpts from Urban Structure, 1968. Paul Elek. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. The Interfaces (Page 76-77).

“An interface may be described as a common boundary between two systems. The interface between transportation systems is the most neglected element that the passenger is force to tolerate. The attitude of transportation system operators seems to be, ‘leave the driving to us but how you get aboard and where you go when you get off is your problem’. Improvement in the attraction and holding of riders is needed more than anything else except frequent service.”

“The one ability that ninety-nine out of a hundred of the human race has that makes mass transit possible is that ability to walk. Why do we attempt to eliminate it as if it were unnatural? We seen to accept the walking required to use vertical transportation in buildings. We walk from our car or bus into the building, walk to the escalator, something even walk on it as it moves up, walk to the elevator, walk in, walk out, and walk to our desk. Why do we accept this? Because we are always moving towards our destination. The only wait is for the elevator and this is very short, and the interfaces are convenient, comfortable and pleasant, as much so as the building itself. Similar qualities of environment can be had in horizontal transportation.”

“Let us assume you live in suburbia, 25 miles from the centre of the town. You own two cars. Five minutes in one direction is the entrance to the freeway. Five minutes in another direction is the station for the suburban rapid transit. The freeway is belted around the town centre, requiring you to use the streets to reach the parking garage a block from your office building. The suburban rapid transit station is 12 minutes’ walk from your office building but connects directly with the CBD distributor which has a station in your parking garage. Let us compare the trip:

By Automobile

-Drive to freeway
-5 minutes
-25 miles on freeway
-15 miles at 60 mph 15
-6 miles at 45 mph
-4 miles at 15 mph 16 (on good morning - no bad weather -no accidents or breakdowns -no Christmas season rush, ect.)
-0.5 miles downtown at 9 mph 3.5
-Parking, elevator trip and walk to office building 3.5

Total Travel Time: 51 minutes By auto and mass transit:

-Drive to station 5 minutes
-Park and walk to platform 1
-Average wait time (5 minute headway) 2.5
-25 miles on train at average speed of 50 mph 30
(all weather - all seasons)
-Transfer to distributor 1.5
(1 minute headway and change level)
-Distributor trip time at average 3
-Speed of 12 mph
-Change level and walk to office building

Total Travel Time: 45 minutes If you use the building described above your drive-in trip requires the following interface changes and walking:

-Walk to garage
-Change into car
-Change out of car
-Walk to parking garage elevator
-Change into elevator
-Change out of elevator
-Walk to office building
-Change on to escalator
-Change off of escalator
-Walk to elevator
-Change on to elevator
-Change out of elevator
-Walk to office

Total 5 walks and 8 interface changes If you take the transit:

-Walk to garage
-Change into car
-Change out of car
-Walk to train platform
-Change into train
-Change out of train
-Walk to escalator
-Change on to escalator
-Change off escalator
-Walk to distributor system
-Change into distributor
-Change out of distributor
-Walk to escalator
-Change on to escalator
-Change off escalator
-Walk to office building
-Change on to escalator
-Change off escalator
-Walk to elevator
-Change into elevator
-Change out of elevator
-Walk to office

Total 8 walks and 14 interface changes

The point is that our daily existence is normally filled with short walks and passing through interfaces. It is not the number that we remember but rather the poor quality of them and the time spent in moving through them

-Several things must be done. Transit service must be improved to eliminate waiting times for all practical purposes at all hours.

-Interference interchanges must be fast, convenient, comfortable, without undue effort in a controlled environment.

The interface between two systems is a meter of performance to the passenger. And its performance depends on the expertness of the plan and its execution as well as the performance of the two systems which share it.

Other pages:

“The car as an extension of the foot instead of the car as a satellite part of the home: or the tendency for appliances to impose their presence as against the psychological need for ‘cosy’ or ‘friendly’ objects” (127).

(A Note here: that I’ve seen online in development of objects, and that is the tendency for objects in the lower class to be not be benign companions, and those for creative culturals to be designed to be companions; to be benign. The same is with vehicles. As a vehicle ages, it becomes less of a friend to it’s driver, and more of a liability. It needs to be replaced, because it turns against its owner.

In this way, technology is not man’s best friend, but man’s worst double-edged pet. It is a beautiful toy one minute, and next year is a shameful disgrace that no longer works. How easily this happens to the machine and the product! How more and more quickly these things turn on us!

We could make maps of ‘the psychology of space’ onto a shaped, gridded blob:

-”Social Zone”
-”Interchange Zone”
-”Quiet Zone”
-”Bed Capsule”

“A whole entirety of architectural plans that include electric vehicle tracks and future projections for robot implementation within the household. Text in overlays on the grid-work and planning of the new buildings” (131).

“Car expands to become place”, “floor can be re-formed instantly”, “private enclosures by now are also tunable” (1988).

Likelihoods….1990+ “Enclosures free-up”, “environment can be simulated - seen but not really there”, “demarcation between one persons domain and another becomes more pliable”.

So I feel like modular living is a very interesting concept to imagine.

Page 133 hosts an essay called ‘Drive-In Housing’, “A Proposition by David Greene and Michael Webb. In the first paragraph, the house is described in such a way, that “it can also be a mobile room which can plug itself into a drive-in bank and become extra floor area of that bank” (133).

This is back in 1968, before the widespread adoption of the Internet, of course, but that was my immediate thought when I read the above sentence. just this morning I accessed my bank account from the comfort of my room. The interface I used was the computer, and my transaction went as such:

Digitally:

-Walk to desk
-Remove chair
-Sit down
-Pull out laptop from drawer
-Turn on laptop
-Wait for laptop to load
-Click on ‘firefox’ internet client
-Enter username and password for college student network
-Enter bank address online
-Type in username and password for banking website
-Check account balances
-Click on transfer balances
-Enter in the account to transfer money from
-Enter the amount
-Transfer the amount
-Confirmation screen
-Log out of the website
-Close internet browser window
-Close laptop
-Remove self from chair

Non-digitally:

-Walk to bus stop
-Enter bus
-Leave bus
-Walk one block to bank
-Open bank door
-Wait in line for teller
-Greet teller
-Slide bank card to verify identity
-Ask teller to transfer money
-Wait
-Take receipt
-Walk one block to bus stop
-Enter bus
-Leave bus
-Walk back to dorm

In the first one, my computer did act as a modular interface that allowed my location to meld with the bank’s location. The act of drive-in housing that Greene and Webb talk about has been achieved by the Internet, and whose actual mechanical rumblings probably would look very similar to a mechanized real-life version of drive-in housing, were they to be mapped out.

Greene and Webb then go on to point out two intrinsic parts of architectural space. The inner space would be that of the “service unit, where space is at a premium, stuffed to the lid with the mechanics of the kitchen, the chancel, office or cinema serving Hamburgers, God, money or films to a lavishly planned and styled up consumer space; a restaurant, name, banking hall or auditorium. But this consumer space is, of course, made up of a series of mobile human containers - cars” (Elek, 133).

“In a drive-in home, the volume at any moment is directly proportional to the number of people in it; when the family is away at the seaside the house consists only of folded-up storage units; during a party as many as 30 mobile containers might gather around a unit to form a big space.”

Now, coming from the side of the intellectual, this is a very innovative and surprising view. But coming from the side of the common man, this is a very Arkansas model - the mobile home and mobile lifestyle. I am not suggesting that the entire state functions in this way, but I was told by a friend who lived there for a while that the lowest strata of Arkansas residents would move their mobile homes around in this way; not for parties, but for marriage. The trailer of the son or daughter’s partner would join the housing collective and form one big unit.

Besides, this model is used in order to gain entertainment from the Internet or the television. The resident does not have to move at all, and the hidden 4th dimensional magic does the shifting. Life could get confusing with all of that Tetris, like having to wait in line for the bank. If you brought part of your house with you, and all of the mobile bank ports were already filled, you’d block the street with your vehicle. If not, you’d wait in the mobile unit parking lot and take up space, just like regular cars do, but if your living space was lavish you’d probably take up more space than a car would.

And, if you were away at the seaside, what would prevent some lunatic from running away with your folded up house? Could you fold up your house and put it inside the rest of your house?

What if you had a dinner party and one of your guests had a terribly messy house, or a terrible cat that snuck into your section One could write a tragically amusing story about a mobile dinner party gone wrong, especially if one of the guests decided too long, like a month, and the host house had no way of detaching them. An if a mother-in-law showed up for a weekend, not only she would arrive, but her house too! Although if you met someone at a bar you wouldn’t have to invite them over to your place, because they’d already be there.

Of course the article is somewhat of a joke, because the authors go on to dissect their opening paragraph and go on to things or a more wild character.

Architecture is fun. This was my experiment with it.

——-

Amber Case is a Cyborg Anthropologist and Social Media Consultant from Portland, Oregon. You can follow her online @caseorganic.

RuneScape PvP Worlds

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 6:48pm EDT by Jeffkumba

On December 10, 2007, Jagex announced that they were no longer going to make the wilderness PvP and that instead, they would give non members access to the duel arena which was the only other main area for PvP. A few days ago, on October 15, 2008, Jagex announced that they had released whole PvP worlds similar to those PvP worlds in the popular game World of Warcraft. The only difference is that in the PvP worlds in RuneScape, anybody will be able to attack anybody anywhere and in World of Warcraft, only the Horde and Alliance can fight each other.

The only non-PvP areas in RuneScape PvP worlds are “banks, respawn points, and some guilds.” I think that the PvP areas are a great idea because they give people a lot of area to fight and you won’t have to worry too much about people running away because there is nowhere to run. What do you think about the recent update of PvP worlds?

Google Spooks Your Energy Costs

Posted: October 21st, 2008, 6:42pm EDT by Ron Schenone

Google has setup an energy savings web site. Consumers can see the savings they will incur when converting over to energy savings devices. Also on the web site is how many pounds of CO2 will be eliminated as well. On their site Google states:

Halloween is nearly here, and the days are getting shorter. Does the prospect of high energy prices this winter make your blood run cold? Check out how much you can save by taking the following simple steps.

There is also an additional page which includes advanced tips as well. Check out how much money you can save and also how to help the environment at the same time.

Comments welcome.

Source

Motorola Jumps On Google Android Bandwagon

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 10:24am EDT by Ron Schenone

The folks at Motorola are jumping on the Google bandwagon and are developing a clone iPhone using Android. The new Motorola phone is scheduled for release in the 2nd quarter of 2009. The new smartphone will be a semi Apple iPhone clone and it will be Motorola’s attempt to unseat Apple’s premier phone. According to BusinessWeek, it states that:

The Android handset will feature a touch screen about the size of those on Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, people familiar with the phone say. While it takes some of the design cues from Krave ZN4, the first touch-screen phone from Motorola launched with Verizon Wireless on Oct. 14, it’s not certain whether the Android phone screen will feature Krave’s distinctive and interactive clear flip screen.

Like the world’s first Android phone, from HTC, Motorola’s Android-based device will offer a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. People who’ve seen the pictures and spec sheets for the device say it looks like a higher-end version of the HTC phone, called the T-Mobile G1. But it’s expected to sell for less, at prices similar to the Krave, which is available for $150 with a two-year contract. After carrier subsidies, the G1 will retail for $180 with a two-year contract.

So is a Android phone in your future? Let us know what your opinion is.

Comments welcome.

Source

Gingrich says GOP can gain if Obama wins

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 8:42am EDT by Chris Short

Jeff Quinton over at Inside Charm City would like to point out this astute observation by Newt Gingrich (by way of WBAL.com):

He hasn’t given up on John McCain winning this year’s presidential election, but former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says Republicans could gain future election victories, if Barack Obama wins next month, and Congressional Democrats expand their majority in the U.S. House and Senate.Speaking on WBAL’s “Kendel and Bob Show” Saturday, Gingrich said he sees potential parallels between this year’s election and the 1964 presidential election.

[…]

Gingrich pointed out that in 1966, Republicans gained a number of Congressional seats, and then won back the White House in 1968.

Gingrich said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid represent the “most liberal leadership Congress has ever had.”

Gingrich adds that if Obama as president enacts an agenda similar to those of the Congressional leaders, he suspects, ” an enormous Republican comeback in 2010, and probably a new Republican president in 2012.”

Gingrich said that if Obama, as president works with Republicans and conservative Democrats, he risks alienating the labor unions and activist groups that have supported his campaign.

Gingrich said the race is much closer than polls indicate, and he says McCain can still win, if he stresses differences with Obama over how to improve the economy.

[…]

“I think that if he drives very hard, at the idea that you don’t want politicians taking your taxes to give away to their friends…I think the country would in fact repudiate the idea that Senator Obama would want to ’spread the wealth,’ ” Gingrich said.

Gingrich led the Republicans to their takeover of Congress after the 1994 election.

Among the freshmen Republicans elected that year, Robert Ehrlich, who was later elected governor, and who now co-hosts the WBAL talk show with his wife.

[…]

Audio clips of the show are available.

Tesla Electric Roadster Is On Hold

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 7:40am EDT by Ron Schenone

I have been following the Tesla electric car every since it was shown by the builders back in 2006, at Monterey, CA. The introduction of the electric roadster caused some excitement and also attracted the likes of Gov. Arnie of movie fame as well as the founders of Google. Pre orders were taken and the pricey vehicle of $100k + seemed like it was well on its way to production. The company even opened a showroom to show off the electric wonder.

Another model was also introduced called the Tesla S with a lower price tag of $60k + and was hopefully going to add to the orders. But it now seems that a very bad economy and Tesla layoffs may have doomed the vehicle for now. According to the article it states that:

Tesla is trying to raise $100 million to add to the $146 million it has already raised. Backers include Tesla is also waiting for a low-interest loan from the Energy Department, which the company cannot use until it passes an environmental review. Tesla will focus its efforts on making the Roadster, which has a one-year waiting list. It will also increase power-train sales to other car companies, a business that Mr. Musk said was profitable.

This makes one wonder how GM is coming with its electric vehicle called the Volt and whether or not GM will have the funds to produce the car. The economic downturn, which most of us know is really a recession, is most likely to kick our economy right in the butt.

GM has already received $25 Billion from us taxpayers. But that amount may not be enough to cover the cost of the new car. Only time will tell.

Comments welcome.

Source.

Permalink for 'Lockergnome_s_Tech_News_Watch/2008/10/20/Classic_Experiments_Give_New_Insight_On_Life%e2%80%99s_Origin'

Classic Experiments Give New Insight On Life’s Origin

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 6:30am EDT by Lockergnome

The building blocks of life may have emerged in volcanic eruptions on the early Earth, according to a new analysis of classic experiments performed more than fifty years ago. Using modern techniques to examine samples from the original experiments, researchers discovered previously undetectable organic compounds. The results, reported in the October 17 issue of Science, point to the possible contribution of volcanism to the beginning of life on Earth.

The original experiments, performed by Stanley Miller at the University of Chicago in 1953 and 1954 (Miller died in 2007), were the first to demonstrate that the basic molecules of life could be synthesized by subjecting hydrogen-rich gases (such as methane and ammonia) to an electric spark, simulating lightning in the primordial atmosphere. Scientists no longer think that the primordial atmosphere as a whole had the make-up assumed by Miller’s experiments, but the clouds of gases emitted during volcanic eruptions do have a hydrogen-rich composition. Volcanic eruptions may have been very common during the planet’s hot, early stages.

“It turns out that some of the experiments Miller performed simulated the steam from volcanic eruptions, in addition to the more famous experiments that simulated a hydrogen-rich atmosphere,” says H. James Cleaves, of the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory, one of the paper’s co-authors and Miller’s last graduate student. “And when we analyzed samples left over from these volcanic experiments, they contained the most varied mixture of compounds.”

Cleaves points out that lighting is very commonly associated with volcanic clouds, and could have been an abundant source of energy to convert simple compounds into organic molecules.

[Jim Cleaves @ Carnegie Institution]

Apple MacBook Pro $1,444 after rebate!

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 4:06am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A 15.4-inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) for as low as $1,594.00 and as low as $1,444.00 after mail-in rebate.

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3 MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed, Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
2 GB RAM (two SO-DIMM) 677 MHz DDR2 SD-RAM (PC2-5300), 200 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, slot load 8x Super Drive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit); built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
15.4-inch (diagonal), 1440 by 900 resolution, matte TFT LED widescreen display with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory and dual-link DVI

Also order the AppleCare Protection Plan MA515LL/A for MacBook Pro for as low as $299.99!

Find more deals and rebates on other models of Apple MacBook Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Air notebooks.

Get the Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A 15.4-inch Laptop with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

400-Watt Portable Power Inverter $35 shipped!

Posted: October 20th, 2008, 12:54am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Xantrex Technology 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter for as low as $35.99 (up to 42% off!)

The Xantrex Technologies XPower Plus 400-watt inverter provides portable power for trucks, RVs, boats, and minivans. By plugging the inverter directly into your vehicle’s 12-volt cigarette lighter, you can turn your vehicle into a mobile office and operate devices such as a 27-inch TV or 20-inch TV/DVD combo, a camcorder, and a laptop computer.

This compact, lightweight unit automatically senses low battery voltage so you never have to worry about a depleted battery. It’s a quiet alternative to noisy, gas-powered generators; it will provide hours of emergency power during snowstorms or blackouts. The high-efficiency design transfers 90-percent of the battery’s power to your equipment, providing 400 watts for 5 minutes, 600 watts surge for easy startups, and 300 watts continuous power for operating appliances.

An automatic shutdown mechanism protects against overload, over-temperature and low battery conditions. The inverter is equipped with two 3-prong grounded AC outlets, a DC outlet and hardwire applications.

Get the Xantrex Technology 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Ratchet Is En Route

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 11:17pm EDT by forsythe

It seems that this story might have a positive conclusion. Associated Press is reporting that Ratchet is on a flight - ultimately bound for the United States:

“…Ratchet was loaded onto a charter flight, which took off Sunday night for Kuwait. He’s due in Minnesota later this week.

It was the third try by Operation Baghdad Pups to get Ratchet out of the country on behalf of Beberg, who says she couldn’t have made it through her 13-month deployment without the affectionate mutt.”

link: Iraqi puppy adopted by soldier en route to US

link: Soldier’s adopted dog finally leaves Iraq for U.S.

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying that “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Kudos to all the people who made this happen and gave a dog a chance at having a real home.

Catherine Forsythe

Have You Heard of DisplayPort?

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 10:30pm EDT by Matt Smith

Apple's miniaturized version of DisplayPort, dubbed "Mini DisplayPort". Mini DisplayPort will be featured in all new Apple computers.

When Steve Jobs introduced the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros in Apple’s most recent media event, a new term was added to the repertoire of Mac users: DisplayPort. All new Apple computers from this point forward will include a Mini DisplayPort port for audio and video transmission.

I have never been a huge fan of DisplayPort. HDMI is THE industry standard, and I’ve always believed that another proprietary connector doesn’t need to be thrown into the mix. However, Apple’s daring move to include this initiative in their product line might force reconsideration on my behalf. I did some research on the DisplayPort project, and was, to say the least, surprised at the inaccuracy of my knowledge.

Unlike HDMI, DisplayPort is royalty free - which could be a major plus in keeping costs at a minimum. The connector that Apple is using, Mini DisplayPort, is much smaller than DVI or HDMI, which allows for more space and flexibility in a product. This standard also requires substantially less power than HDMI, yet it can still support resolutions up to 2560×1600.

Apple is not the first company to embrace DisplayPort. Dell, HP, and Samsung are all lined up with supposed support. However, the fact still remains that HDMI dominates the majority of consumer electronics. A push to convert all TVs, computers, set-tops, and monitors to DisplayPort would be a long shot.

What are your thoughts? Is DisplayPort the wave of the future?

President Nicolas Sarkozy Hacked

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 8:10pm EDT by forsythe

Some hackers have lofty goals. French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s bank account was hacked and money was stolen:

“…The unknown hackers removed several small sums of money from the account after obtaining Sarkozy’s online access codes. An inquiry was launched after the president noticed the transactions and complained to the police, said a government spokesman.”

link: Bank hackers steal from Sarkozy

Perhaps internet crime and security has risen suddenly as a priority item on the French legislative agenda.

Catherine Forsythe

Windows Vista Ultimate For $169.99 or less…

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 8:09pm EDT by Ron Schenone

I was surfing looking for a barebones system for a group of teens I mentor, when I stumbled upon Vista Ultimate being offered for $199.99. I haven’t kept tabs on Vista pricing lately so the price seemed below what Microsoft had originally reduced the operating system to, after the orinal and ridiculous price of $399 for the full version. So I did some more checking and found even cheaper versions were available.

Over at Newegg they were selling the system builder version of Vista Ultimate for $169.99. But hold on. Over at TrustPrice they had a copy of Vista upgrade for $120 which indicated it was a student discount. Interesting.

So how low can one go? Well if you are a student in California attending a community college you can get a copy of Vista Business upgrade for $45.00 + CA. tax. Check out the Foundation of California Community Colleges for details.

So how low can you go?

Comments welcome.

Newegg

TrustPrice

Weaknesses with the IRS Computer System

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 7:23pm EDT by forsythe

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) processes confidential information on individuals and businesses. It is part of the United States Department of Treasury. Because it is such a vital part of government operations, one would assume that the IRS computer systems would have the highest security and seek to be impenetrable. However, such is not the case:

“Two new IRS computer systems that will eventually cost taxpayers almost $2 billion are being put into service despite known security and privacy vulnerabilities, a Treasury watchdog said in a report coming out Thursday.

The office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Internal Revenue Service officials failed to ensure that identified weaknesses had been addressed before putting the new systems into use.”

link: Treasury office faults IRS computer security

Imagine what damage a nation hostile to the United States could do if the security of the IRS was breached. It is unthinkable that a computer system would be implemented at this level without the highest level of security. There should be no identifiable weaknesses.

Catherine Forsythe

Permalink for 'Lockergnome_s_Tech_News_Watch/2008/10/19/%e2%80%98W%e2%80%99_and_the_Oliver_Stone_Perspective'

‘W’ and the Oliver Stone Perspective

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 6:54pm EDT by the oracle

Last night, I had occasion to see a movie.

That in itself is enough to write a column. You see, since about 2003, I have really only rarely seen a new movie during its run in the theaters. I’m not exactly sure why – I guess it’s an amalgam, comprised of equal parts disgust with the general rancor I feel when I go and have to deal with all the bad behavior, from adults and children, who have not learned the simple manners of the group situation, to the physical discomfort of a place that once could be counted upon to be cool and comfortable, no matter what the thermometer showed outside.

Nonetheless, there I was, at the grandiose edifice known as the Krikorian, to view Oliver Stone’s latest offering.

It was, and after reflection, is, amazing.

As someone predisposed to the belief that the overall tenor of the movie could be nothing less than a scathing indictment of the 43rd holder of the top executive position in this country, along with a lampooning of his buffoonery, I was surprised. The story is generally less humorous than I suspected, and also is a bit less smooth than other films the director has produced. I suspect this may have to do with the urge to get the movie out before the election – but that may only be my take on it.

Stone has chosen to use the disjointed method of telling the story of George W. Bush, which can be an effective style, but also must be done carefully to keep the viewer engaged through the many jumps in time. Although never getting lost in the time line, the transitions are not close to seamless, as some other Stone productions have been.

The most revealing thing about this movie is the way in which Stone weaves the various historical blunders with an effort to explain – no, almost forgive, the shortcomings of the man. I came away with the view that while Stone has a genuine distaste for the sitting president, he also believes that circumstances beyond control forced his personal story to be so sad and disappointing.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who left the theater with a different view of ‘W’. I’m sure that was the point of the exercise.

Quote of the day:
It isn’t necessary to have relatives in Kansas City in order to be unhappy. - Groucho Marx

Technorati Tags: ‘W’,George W. Bush,43rd president,Oliver Stone,biopic

The Dog is Dying

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 5:22pm EDT by wiseoldgranny

Granny’s neighbors bought a lovely bull mastiff puppy, a couple of years ago, because they wanted their son to be able to play safely in the backyard and thought that Doggy could protect him from passing child molesters. Someday I will rant out too much information ruining a kid’s life, but that’s not the topic, today.

Granny talked to Mr. Neighbor about the possibility of letting Doggy play with her dogs but he didn’t want that. Mrs. Neighbor doesn’t talk. Granny once got sick of this and stood on the back porch staring at her for a good five minutes until she lifted her eyes. Then, Granny said, “Hi.” Mrs. Neighbor scurried off without a word. Mrs. Neighbor is clearly nuts.

At first, things were not so bad except the kid was petrified of Doggy, of course. He wouldn’t stay in the backyard for fear of being trampled or loved to death. Smart kid. But sometimes the whole family was out and they usually took Doggy into the house overnight. He wasn’t getting anywhere near the exercise such a big guy needs but neither do the rest of us.

This summer, Doggy stayed home, tied up, while the family went on holiday. Someone came by to give him food and water but did not stay to play. At the end of two weeks, they came home for a few days, then left again. There were weekend camping trips and family picnics, too, but Doggy didn’t go. Altogether a dismal summer for a dog.

Doggy didn’t like being left, of course, and became depressed. But what could he do? He tried to entertain, himself. The cat came by once or twice a week. Occasionally, Granny’s dogs offered to rip his face off but that seemed to be more fun for them than for him. He is a gentle soul but a job is a job so he made a great to do of threatening anyone who walked by. In short, he coped as well as he could.

His depression deepened. Then, his family came home and, oh, the joy. They even built him a nice, new dog house. Things seemed to be looking up. But, now, the family had made the decision to move. Hubby had recently been promoted and needed to be able to entertain which meant a much bigger house. Wifey didn’t want to move and certainly didn’t want to entertain. Big fights ensued. Note to apartment dwellers: there is a hell of a lot more privacy in most apartment buildings than in the average suburb.

Doggy was not invited back inside, ever, even for the briefest of visits. Perhaps, he had done something unspeakable (giant poop comes to mind) and, anyway, the house was being prepped for sale. But why not visit with him outside? Who knows? Clearly, he was no longer part of the family.

This situation has gone on for months and the dog is dying. He has lost all his muscle definition (highly visible on a bull mastiff) from lack of exercise. He won’t even turn his head to talk to granny and we used to get such a bang out of each other. He just sleeps in his house or, if awake, faces away from the yard with the happy dogs. Granny hasn’t seen him eat anything in several weeks.

It used to be that whenever someone talked to him, he would jump around and look toward his house with expectation. This is because the neighbors would take him in if anyone tried to interact with him. Now, they don’t bother, but he still glances woefully at their windows, hoping.

Our town has the usual complement of activists who try to rescue dogs in Doggy’s situation. Why, you ask, doesn’t Granny give them a call to complain about this poor guy, dying, in the backyard next door?

Mostly because the law is pretty clear. You can kill a dog with boredom and inactivity and loneliness. It’s perfectly legal. Granny does not believe that turning the neighbors in will accomplish a damn thing. A visit from the activists will simply annoy them and, in case of the wife, since she’s nuts, make her even more paranoid.

Granny is getting desperate. She has resorted to prayer which (big surprise) has not resulted in any visible change in Doggy’s situation. She is thinking of a midnight raid but, to tell the truth, is afraid Doggy may not be the friendly creature he once was. Stumbling around in the dark trying to untie a bull mastiff that may have been driven over the edge is well beyond granny’s comfort zone. Not to mention, the silly thing would probably hang around instead running off down the street in search of new owners.

What to do? Soon, it will be winter and Doggy is very thin coated. It gets cold, here, and dogs like Doggy need to be inside most of the time. Then, Granny can complain to the SPCA and have a chance of them doing something. Not much of a chance, but a chance.

Meanwhile, it sucks.

Hamfest, Sociology, and Fake Boobs

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 4:53pm EDT by leftystrat

Well, as you can guess it’s been an interesting day.

Up at 6am for the hamfest. I have no idea why this is, especially as I’ve spent most of my life staying in bed late. The hamfest is not what you think either. It’s a sort of flea market for amateur radio, electronics, and computer geeks. It’s a manly place, where men are overweight, women are scarce, and the fun starts before 7am.

Since I don’t get out much (really, lefty?), I manage to hit a few of these per year. I typically don’t come home with much, but I suppose it’s a way to get me out of the house and picking up some tubes or something. I really need some more Boatanchors (old, HEAVY tube radios) but I can’t pick them up as well anymore. I like my radios by the pound, you know?

The people and equipment were out today. My wife’s favorite was a pair of 50’s(?) radios in large, heavy furniture cabinets. The radio worked in the smaller one but the seller wasn’t sure about the larger one. Wife didn’t care - she liked it as furniture. The odds of me fixing a broken radio aren’t all that hot, unless it’s something pretty simple, so we did a role-reversal and I told her no while she kept trying to buy it.

I got some tubes (this blog is called ThermionicEmissions for a reason) from a vendor who had more tubes than Pelosi has excuses. I think some of the dirt on the tubes was even older than me. I also picked up some test gear and assorted parts. By the way, It’s cold at that hour of the morning.

Since we were in the general vicinity and decided we could use the sociology experiment, we headed off to Q Mart. How to describe Q Mart….. well, the truth is that you can’t describe Q Mart adequately but I’ll give it a go.

Q Mart is possibly the last place on earth where it’s legal to smoke indoors. That probably should be enough to explain it as-is but I feel it necessary to go further. The parking lot, as it is, is very long and narrow. When you manage to park, you notice the flea market. It seems to suck up half of the township with only two long lanes of vendors. I had no idea flea markets (that weren’t hamfests) were still running mid-October but you live and learn.

My wife was immediately attracted to the first vendor, who had a humongous table full of puzzles and models. The puzzles were of the variety that cause men to stand far away while their wives were looking at them. We’re talking puppies, clowns, and baby Jesus. The models were a shade less juvenile but not enough to keep my attention (no less the attention of a real man). Ten bucks later the vendor was one puppy puzzle shorter. I agreed to carry it, but only after it was bagged.

Apparently today was just the right day to be at a flea market for kids. My wife hasn’t been out in almost as long as I haven’t been out so it was a bunch of kids in a candy store. Every time I turned around I had to stop and look for her. She was twenty feet back, mesmerized by Real Imitation Asian Hand-Fans<tm>, bunches of Real Cotton socks, and purple moon boots. I had to keep herding her forward, forward, forward. Right after stop, stop, stop. This constant rhythm was only broken by delighted squeals and requests (demands) for money (but I left my pocketbook in the trunk).

I’m not kidding about the purple moon boots either. That’s about the only way I can describe them. Of course, being a man, I am unable to distinguish the hottest thing on the market from purple moon boots. I was informed, after the fact, that I was assisted in distinguishing $125 from $25 though, for which I’m pretty happy.

Even if it was for purple moon boots.

After navigating the frozen flea market, I declared hunger and we proceeded into Q Mart proper. Imagine a shed. Now imagine a shed two blocks long, with two aisles and shops separated by hanging cloth or tent material. The place looks like it has been there since right after they figured out how to make sheds out of thin metal.

It’s an interesting sociology experiement but first there are the stores/shops/tents. If you’re tired of the malls, with their One Store Fits All motif, this might be the place for you. You certainly won’t have to worry about the pristine walkways, bumping into maintenance men sweeping, and clean air of the malls.

Let’s start with what you will find. There are a number of Pennsylvania Dutch-type meat shops, which is always a bit of a shock to someone who thinks meat comes from the supermarket on a platter. There are a few bakeries, with gorgeous looking confections that could probably cause a heart attack by simply smelling them. And health stores, which are the antithesis of the meat and bakery shops.

Then the vacuum repair/sales shops. Where in the world do you see these in a mall, not to mention a smoking mall? They have a guitar store, which is always a nice thing for me, but naturally free of left-handed guitars. The auto stereo store was a bit of an education. Full of helpful folks, including a young gentleman who had more metal in his face and ears than I have in my car. I swear you could put a quarter through the holes in his ears. Maybe that’s the way he made a living - I didn’t think to ask because I didn’t want to know. They probably have to keep him on the other side of the store from the receivers so he doesn’t affect reception.

One can find a very well-stocked used book and magazine store, where you can pay almost list price for the used magazines. Perhaps that’s why they’re so well-stocked. There was a large sneaker store with hundreds of sneakers and nary a brand name.

One of the real treats was the eateries. This shed not being a very wide shed, there wasn’t a lot of room for actual seats so this made things that much more interesting. We passed a Kenyan Cafe (you’re asking why in the world we’d pass the Kenyan Cafe) but we weren’t feeling that brave. Continuing the theme, we passed a Puerto Rican cafe, a Deep-Fried Everything Chicken stand, several hot dog emporiums, and we finally settled on a place that looked vaguely family-like. I neglected to mention to the wife that the reason it looked family-like was because they were all related (not in a good way), but I was tired and hungry.

My wife loved her blue cheeseburger and said I would love it too, except for the blue cheese. What she doesn’t remember is when I went to the cafe next to my old employer for lunch. I hit the salad bar for something halfway decent and sat down. OH MY GOD was that hideous. I felt really badly but needed to let them know. I took it to the manager and told her the dressing had gone horribly bad. She might want to get rid of it before someone got sick.

She took a sniff and looked at me quizzically. Apparently I had gone for Ranch dressing and instead wound up with blue cheese.

“You mean it’s supposed to taste like this?” I asked, thinking of marinated gym socks.

Needless to say, I avoid blue cheese like the plague for which it is named.

Two burgers later we were back in our little sociology experiment. What truly makes this place complete is the denizens. It is a spectacular place for people-watching. You are likely to find your high-end shoppers, as the place is situated among $500k+ houses, but they’re nowhere near as much fun as the punks, mullets, bikers, and other assorted clientele, no doubt bused in from Oz or areas north.

There was an interesting place called Urban Wear. You would be hard-pressed to find this store in a mall. You would be hard-pressed to find this store in a war zone. My wife said everyone would recognize this as Ghetto Fabulous. It was right next to the humongous Cheap and Tacky Furniture Shop.

My wife found a new favorite place; an As Seen on TV store. I have no idea what it is but my wife loves those tv commercials. She also believes what they tell her, which is a bit off-putting for me. I’m looking around for a twelve step program that helps people with a Billy Mays addiction. Our house looks like a tv commercial, complete with crazy yelling hosts. Oddly enough, with all those no-fail cleaning tools, the house is still a mess. Go figure.

I normally have a hard time finding something I like in this place (except for fudge and coffee beans). This was remedied during this trip by the appearance of a hot sauce shop. It looked a lot like most of the other hot sauce shops we’ve seen (both of them) except for the flying bat. It was one of those airplane-like toys that hang from the ceiling and fly around in circles. I kept wondering which one of my pets would like it and which would be terrified of it.

The lady running the place was very knowledgeable. This came as quite a shock to me, not because of the Mart but because I rarely ever find knowledgeable people in a retail outlet. I asked for something with medium heat but maximum flavor, that didn’t taste like vinegar. This is normally a pretty tall order but she delivered in seconds, producing a sample of a pretty hot sauce. I asked for something a bit sweeter and POOF, there it was. I bought it before they stopped making it (they follow me around and find out what I buy, then stop making it).

We’re talking heat and location when she starts talking about the Mart being a great place to people watch. She mentioned that she never knew how interesting things were until she put herself on the vendor side of the counter, where she could just stand there all day and watch. We got a real education.

Her favorite story was about some lady in her fifties who was walking around in short-shorts, complete with parts of her falling out of the bottom of the shorts, flapping in the breeze. She allowed as to how this was not entirely appropriate for a woman in her fifties, even though she was fifty-four and wearing tight jeans. Since the topic was brought up and she was in my line of vision, I assured her that she could wear tight jeans (as opposed to those who can’t or just plain shouldn’t).

She said it was mostly the work of forty-some thousand dollars of surgery. I wasn’t about to ask, fearing some sort of horrible accident or disease story. My wife talked about the negative effects of gravity and age, to which our new friend countered with the knowledge that part of the forty-some thousand dollars involved the boobs, which she pushed up to punctuate her point (heavy black sweatshirt - don’t get all excited).

Since she brought it up, I felt the need to ask her if she still had feeling there, which she did. I only asked for the sake of knowledge, as I’m told that a large percentage of women who get breast implants lose sensation in their nipples. I was merely showing concern for her well-being. She told me she was over fifty, she didn’t care about them having feeling; she wanted to get her jollies and he could roll off and go take out the trash and buy her some stuff.

Well, there’s a lot to say for subtlety, as well as bluntness and honesty. She said that forty grand of boobs was about vanity, which absolutely trumps feeling. I’m sure they were very nice.

If I had stayed there much longer, things would have gotten even more interesting, but we were tired and sore from walking all morning. Next time we’re going back and bringing some friends to help us experience the entire Mart Show.

Alas, it became time to go home. We were not happy to bid the fudge, the fresh baked chocolate covered bear claws (made with real bear), and the smoked sheep intestine goodbye, but one does what one has to do.

[besides.... I'd always be afraid to break them... you know?]

Wherecamp PDX | Paul Bissett on Illuminating the Dark Geoweb

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 4:39pm EDT by caseorganic

These are notes from the WhereCamp Portland morning session on dark content and the geoweb. It was led by Paul Bissett, CEO of WeoGeo. About 15 people were at the session, and brought up some very interesting points.

Event Summary:

What is the state of the Geoweb? One of the major problems is that relevant informaton is locked away from being indexed by search engines. We call this dark content because it is unlit and unsearchable.

How much dark content it out there?

~800 Terabytes of data is currently unsearchable online.

~91,000 Terabytes is inaccessible. It’s non-searched, non-indexed digital content.

What does that mean? It means that less than a percent of the digital knowledge we’ve collected and stored online is not availabile for our use.

That means there’s no indexing, no searching, and no synergistic use of that content because it’s not being indexed.

This makes it an enormous productivity sink to everyone involved to access, verify and collect data from the limited sources that are available. Only relatively ill-equipped, uninformed decisions can be made.

What can we do?

Things need to be indexed.

Say we want to buy a house, but we want to make sure we are purchasing a house in a safe area. You can look at a map that has earthquake zones, and one with tsunami zone, and you can even overlay all these maps to see intersections of data. Those are information layers.

But imagine doing that for every decision you make. Having layer maps for everything you do, and ever choice you make.
Now, this probably doesn’t matter as much if you’re making a decision about going to Starbucks, but when you’re deciding where to put a water purification plant, or a park or recreation system, it becomes very important.

How do we do this?

The good thing is that ever since Google Earth launched, geography has become cool.
But it’s one thing to use the data, and another to contribute to it to make it more rich and usable.

The other problem is that most of these data sets are not text based. They require a series of information unwrapping protocols to dissect them into usable content.

You need the tools to be able to do this. You can find a file, but then you must also be able to get into it.

There are also decision processes surrounding that data. Each file is different, that’s why a lot of it stays in the dark. The processing systems become as important as the data when data is so seperate and stuck in silos.

There is no metadata standard/standards that would at least allow for cross indexing of different data and content. This is essential for the sharing of processing of data.

Existing metadata standards are cumbersome and there is limited motivation to use/decipher them.
There’s also the scalability of data sets. Large data sets are difficult to break down into usable chunks.

The openness of data is based on different cultures. Government data has a different culture around it than Myspace. One company has the right to create something, and it is very expensive to get access to it.

All data should be sharable — so that people can build upon each other’s work.

Resources:

You can find out more about WhereCamp Portland here.

—–

Amber Case is a Cyborg Anthropologist and Social Media Consultant from Portland, Oregon. You can follow her online at @caseorganic.

Leatherman Micra Multitool today only $15.00

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 11:07am EDT by usrbingeek

Today only and while supplies last, order the Leatherman 64010103K Micra Multitool for as low as $15.00 (up to 48% off) or the Leatherman 830996 Kick Multi-tool with Micra for as low as $28.00 (up to 44% off!)

The Leatherman Micra multitool is crafted from 100-percent stainless steel, engineered to the optimum hardness for each individual tool. At a mere 2-1/2 inches when folded closed, this wee masterpiece offers super-sharp spring-action scissors, along with nine additional personal-care features. It’s just the right size for key rings or belt loops, so it’s always right at hand for speedy access and quick fixes.

Don’t let the size fool you. The Micra is tough, sturdy, and truly unique. Good things come in small packages, and this amazing little tool is no exception. It comes in a variety of colors to suit your personal style, or a standard brushed stainless steel finish (this model). This useful item makes a superb stocking stuffer, birthday surprise, or thoughtful present for any occasion.

All Leatherman products are covered by a 25-year limited warranty. If within 25 years from the purchase date of your genuine Leatherman tool you find any defect in material or workmanship, you can count on the manufacturer to make it right with fast warranty service. To obtain warranty service, return your tool to Leatherman Tool Group. Depending on the tool defect, they will decide whether to repair your tool or replace it with a product of equal or greater value. No variations, upgrades or refunds are offered.

Get the Leatherman Micra Multitool or the Leatherman Kick Multi-tool with Micra with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Welcome to our new blog

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 10:17am EDT by thedailytech

Hello,

I would like to thank Chris Pirillo for this great opportunity. I hope to post on this blog daily; I would rather post good quality posts rather than five or more a day of… well, rubbish (sorry, that’s my opinion). The main theme of this blog will be technology but I might throw in some posts about my life every now and again.

If you would like to contribute to the blog, email me at Kyle-mcc@live.co.uk and I will give you a trial account for posting. If you write some good entries, I will allow you to continue posting. You can write about technology in general, but it would be helpful if you specialize in a certain area, such as iPhones, Vista, etc. That’s about everything I have to say for just now. Looking forward to posting; keep visiting! Thanks.

Kyle McCann

Security Updates As Of October 19, 2008

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 9:00am EDT by Ron Schenone

Make sure your system is up to date and has the latest protections in place.

AVG anti-virus: 10/19/08
Avast: 10/16/08
Norton anti-virus: 10/15/08
McAfee anti-virus: 10/15/08
Lavasoft Ad-Aware: 10/17/08
Spybot Search and Destroy: 10/15/08
Microsoft Windows Defender: 10/15/08
Nod32: 10/17/08

Updates as of October 19. 2008 6:00am CDT.

William Warner won the free copy of Norton Internet Security 2009. Thanks to all of you who entered into the contest.

PS3 and PSP Firmware Updates

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 2:00am EDT by Zero

Last week both the Playstation 3 and the Playstation Portable got there firmware updated. The PSP firmware update 5.0 was to add the Playstation Store to the PSP, so now if you wanted to get a demo for your PSP you will be able to get it right from your PSP, you will just have to Sign Up for a Playstation Network ID if you already don’t have one, anyone with a PS3 ID can use that one on your PSP as well. This is a great update for anyone that doesn’t have a PS3 to get the demo’s or anyone that didn’t have a Windows PC since the PC Playstation Store only worked for Windows but the website will still works and you can also still get demo’s from the PS3 Playstation Store if you still want to. Now the PS3 firmware update 2.5 added support for the new official PS3 Bluetooth so that it will sound the best when using it, especially in the game SOCOM that it came with but you can buy it by itself if you don’t like SOCOM. The firmware also updated the Trophies system to make it more easier to compare trophies with your friends and also how far along your level is. They updated the friends system allowing you to see when your friends were last on kinda like on Xbox Live, they also updates playback on the videos, a update to the Playstation Store that will allow you to redeem codes on the main page, the PSP Store has that too, Power Saving Settings to allow you to save some power when you leave your system for a while, the option to turn off your PS3 after a download has finished, and finally the ability to take in game screen shots if the game allows it. There are some great updates for the PS3 but one that will make some people happy is the Flash update to the Web Browser on the PS3 that will allow you to be able to watch videos from other sites that you couldn’t before since the Flash version was old. Great updates for both systems now you can get some games on your PSP without any problems and you can now do a lot more with your PS3 if you haven’t downloaded the firmware yet you should update it and check it out, also if you want to check out a video of how the Playstation Store looks like on the PSP click here to see a video from the Playstation Blog.

Phun: 2-D Physics Sandbox

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 1:56am EDT by arinlares

Phun is an easy-to-use physics simulator, simply allowing you to draw what you want in the virtual world, and play with it accordingly. The amazing part is, Phun is free, and cross platform, working on Windows 32/64 bit (2000 and above), Linux 32/64 bit, and Mac Intel and Power PC architectures. I’ve used it since its release, back in February, 2008.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/0H5g9VS0ENM" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]

As you can see in the video, and as I mentioned earlier, Phun is really easy to use. It doesn’t require a very powerful computer (I have a 3.06 single-core processor and 512MB of RAM, have had no issues yet), and it looks simple and uncluttered. Phun is available for download at Phun’s official website.

The Office, Battlestar Galactica, House, Heroes: $5 a season

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 1:15am EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time, get the full seasons of some of the most popular TV shows for as low as $5 a season. If you think you might want them, you’d better jump, because this price won’t last long.

Choose from The Office, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, House, and/or Eureka.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions may be subject to availability and restrictions.

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Deep Fried Pepsi… Are You Serious?

Posted: October 19th, 2008, 12:51am EDT by Griff

A lot of people claim you can deep fry anything and it’ll be good. Apparently they were serious when they said EVERYTHING. Even the disgusting sounding stuff.

Last year the new Deep Fried Pepsi was introduced to county fair fans, as well as a number of ball parks. The recipe for Deep Fried Pepsi? It’s truly a one-of-a-kind snack that features Pepsi flavored batter shaped into spheres, deep fried, and drizzled with Pepsi syrup and Pepsi flavored frosting topped with whip cream.

Sounds absolutely disgusting! I don’t know about you, but something THAT sweet shouldn’t exist! Some people say it kinda does taste like Pepsi… kinda. In order to like it, you would have to be one of those people that likes 6 spoonfuls of sugar in their coffee. Again, no thank you.

UPDATE: To answer a question in the comments, deep fried means they take whatever (in this case a piece of dough) and cook it in HOT oil bath, like French Fries or onion rings.

Would you ever get this because it sounded good to you? I hope not! This is the LAST thing people should be eating!

My first blog (and series) ever.

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 11:22pm EDT by alicia

I know that this is kind of a heavy topic for a first blog, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’m trying to figure out who I want to vote for. I’ve done political compasses. I’ve done candidate issue quizzes. The last time I checked, I am 66% in agreement with McCain…AND 66% in agreement with Obama. I’m confused, to say the least.
So, I’ve decided that I’m going to watch all three presidential debates, all at once (or as close to as possible), and I’m going to react to everything through this series of blog posts. I’ll break it up, simply because of the length I’m sure it will be, but it will be my thoughts as I watch. Mind you, I’ve only seen the vice presidential debate, and I haven’t been able to keep on top of things as much as I would have liked. So this is my first series of Lockergnome posts. Please enjoy.

Do you even know what a wurzel is?

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 10:15pm EDT by wiseoldgranny

Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe The Plumber, is a total riot, in Granny’s opinion. First, he is SO cute it’s ridiculous. Makes granny’s withered libido sit up and BEG, my dears.

Second, his ideas are cute, too, if you like last century serf fantasy.

Third, the man’s name is Wurzelbacher. If that got any cuter it would be dressed in tiny, blue booties. I may one of the few people on this earth who knows what a wurzel actually is. Not because I’m old, but because I googled it.

Wurzel is another word for the mangold, a large yellow beet used as cattle feed, and also in the venerable sport of mangold hurling. Learn more at this too funny web site which begins, “Thank you for your interest in ballistic root vegetables.”

And bach (in German, of course) means “brook” or “river” which isn’t funny but granny thought you would like to know.

Rightswatch

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 10:11pm EDT by leftystrat

Telecom Spying Amnesty Unconstitutional, EFF Tells Court

Gee, we didn’t know that.

New Spytech Agency Already Facing Conflict of Interest Allegation

Good to see that nothing has changed…

‘Net filters “required” for all Australians, no opt-out

Were told it would be ok, then they couldn’t opt-out of everything.

IRS Rolls Out Risky Tax Processing Systems

“..despite known security issues, the IRS has decided to roll out..”

China To Photograph All Internet Cafe Customers

Don’t you wish we could have it first???

Tool To Allow ISPs To Scan Every File You Transmit

How long till your ISP uses it? Are they already using it?

FBI Warns of Sweeping Global Threat To US Cybersecurity

We had better let them spy on our email then…

Every Email In UK To Be Monitored

It’s only a matter of time, folks…

Bailout bill loops in green tech, IRS snooping

It will be much easier to list the agencies that can’t snoop on you…

Bill would limit Homeland Security laptop searches

by the same idiots who allowed it in the first place…

Rememberance of Friends Past

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 10:10pm EDT by Bill

I was at one of those meetings tonight where things just seem to fall into place. There was hardly anyone there because of a memorial service for Jere, about whom I wrote a few weeks ago. (I chose not to go; said goodbye already). The two speakers failed to show as well, so the chair — a woman with about a year and a half — and another guy with about 4 years shared instead. Naturally, since neither of them had a chance to think about it, their sharing was spontaneous and completely from the heart. Really nice.

Both spoke of their early lives; of remembering how it felt to never know “the rules,” the isolation, the discovery of their new best friend, better living through chemistry. I remembered along with them.

One of the interesting things that I recalled a few years ago came back to me. When I was about 16, I came into possession of a half bottle of liquor — I think it may have been Johnnie Walker Red, based on what I recall of the appearance. At the time, I didn’t drink at all. I had probably had a total of maybe two beers in my life, and maybe a sip of altar wine as an altar boy (I’m not even sure of that). I pretty-much figured I couldn’t get away with drinking it, and I sure didn’t want to bring it home with me, so I buried it out in an orange grove, where it stayed for several months.

I never drank it; ended up giving it to an older guy. But I remember the good feeling it gave me to know it was there. That I had a stash. That I could drink it if I wanted to — the same warm feeling I got some years later whenever I’d contemplate a new, unopened bottle of booze, or whatever other collection of chemicals I might have managed to acquire. That feeling of being secure with my best friend.

I don’t ever want to forget that feeling, because as long as I can bring it to mind, it’s one more reminder that I’m still an addict, and the stuff is still out there.

Waiting for me.

AIG Being Completely Shameless

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 10:00pm EDT by forsythe

AIG is being rescued by the federal government and taxpayer dollars. And some AIG executives are on a partridge hunt in the English countryside:

“Four top AIG executives flipped U.S. taxpayers the bird by spending $86,000 on a partridge hunt at an English country manor as the feds gave their struggling firm billions to stay afloat.”

link: AIG’s lords and lady of the hunt may find themselves under attack after luxury trip

The executives were “relaxing”. - It is unbelievably cavalier. If it is not criminal, it should be. This is illustrative of the corporate attitude that allowed this economic crisis fester. There should be consequences - severely unpleasant consequences for such executives.

Catherine Forsythe

Living Cheap is the New Rich

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 9:29pm EDT by wiseoldgranny

Bankergonebroke.com is a new blog by one of those guys who used to work for Bear Stearns and JP Morgan. I heard about him, a couple of minutes ago, on a CNN: Special Investigations into the greed on Wall Street that led to the present dung heap we used to call an economy.

This guy says one topic he addresses is how to live on far less money than you ever thought possible. In other words, like the rest of the world, how to eat Mud cookies.

Give granny a freakin’ break. We have no idea, 99% of us, what it means to be really poor. Are we going to find out? Heavens forfend. It can’t possibly happen to us. We are just too — um, precious, for anything like that. We are, after all, Americans (or Canadians, Brits, or whatever exploiter nation we belong to) which makes us the ones who watch the kids who eat the mud cookies, not the ones who feed them to our babies.

Y’think? Somebody want to exchange insults with Granny on this issue of why we are entitled to the riches we waste? Step up, punks, and tell me how precious you are because you are not Haitian.

There, granny feels better and looks forward to hearing from you. Meanwhile, the topic is how to live cheap. Here are granny’s suggestions:
- cut up your credit cards
- move home or get a roomie
- learn to cook
- cut back 90% on whatever means treats to you; pay cash for the 10% you decide to keep
- make saving your hobby, not dollars, but gold and silver coins
- prepare to move out of the city, grow a garden, build a fall out shelter, get spiritual, make friends get along with neighbors, kiss your ass goodbye.

Of course, you are probably not going to do any of the above because, um, you don’t want to. Except kiss your ass goodbye. Eventually, whether you are poor or rich, you will do that.

My Social

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 9:19pm EDT by computerwhiz1

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/bNN985KcQHk" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]
My Social is a very basic Twitter and Friendfeed program that simply gives you a tabbed interface in order to view both your Twitter and Friendfeed timelines. Watch the video to find out more. You can download My Social here: Download.

Great savings plus mail-in rebates on Top Tamron Lenses

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 8:37pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, get great savings plus mail-in rebates on top Tamron Lenses.

For example get the fast Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) with Built-In AF Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras for as low as $378.53 or the Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon Digital SLR Cameras for as low as $345.99 (up to 46% off!) Both have a $10 mail-in rebate available. Also find ultra wide angle lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, and macro lenses.

Get the great savings plus mail-in rebates on top Tamron Lenses with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Animation?

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 7:38pm EDT by timhanson

I figuered for my first post I would tell you what animation is, some people think it’s just cartoons, well, you’re right, but you’re also wrong.

“I’ve seen all the Shrek films” I hear you say, well good for you, so have I, but it doesn’t mean you know what animation is, feel free to google it, I’ll wait, I have time. Well done, you found out that animation is an illusion, that’s correct, animation doesn’t exist, not at all. So what am I writing about? I’ll explain.

Animation is the illusion of movement, what you are really seeing is a series of picture, images if you like, one after the other in quick succession, all corresponding to the one after it, and the one before it. If these images go too slowly, we see the movement, but we also see the space inbetween them, and this we don’t want. The images need to change at with a rate of 20 a second, this is the frame rate, 20fps-20 frames a second. Most animations move at a frame rate of 33fps, this is ideal as the eye has no chance of seeing the dead space in between images, and the movement and actions flow, like water.

So far so good, we know what animation consists of, yay, pat yourself on the back, but we have yet to go through what makes an animation, all the techniques. I myself only know a few at the moment, but next September in 2009, I go to university to study animation for four years, and I’ll be sure to update. That’s some time away though, so I’ll go through what I know until then, and give what I can to help others, and see what is happening in the world of animation.

Man Kills Wife After Facebook Profile Change

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 4:49pm EDT by Ron Schenone

This unfortunate incident occurred in the UK after a man found out that after he left, his wife changed her Facebook profile from married to single. The husband got drunk and high on cocaine and took her life after a very brutal assault against her person. According to the article is also stated that:

He beat her, tore out clumps of her hair, and repeatedly stabbed her in the head and neck.

Neighbours were woken up by her screams. They found him sitting outside the house covered in blood and called the police.

The court heard Forrester thought his wife, a payroll administrator, was having an affair and had threatened to kill her.

The couple, who had been together for 15 years, had a “volatile” marriage, jurors were told.

This unfortunate event and tragic loss of life fully demonstrates the battered wife syndrome. This woman paid with her life as a result of her staying with an abuser. Sad.

Source

Governor Sarah Palin: On Record Pace

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 3:03pm EDT by forsythe

It is seventeen days from election day, November 4th. Is it possible that Governor Palin will stand for election with Senator John McCain without ever having has a full fledge news conference with the national / international media? If Governor Palin can achieve that, it would be absolutely unprecedented. She will have done what no other vice presidential candidate has managed - to run for the election for the second highest office in the country while not having one single news conference.

Governor Palin has had some one-on-one interviews with television news people, like Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric. There is a scheduled appearance by Governor Palin on Saturday Night Live. However, there is no hint of a open news conference where the media can ask questions and have Governor Palin’s answers clarified by follow-up questions.

Will the American people go to vote on November 4th with one of the candidates for Vice President never having faced open policy questions from the national media? Governor Palin is on a record setting pace to do just that.

Catherine Forsythe

Great savings and deep discounts on Headphones

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 12:32pm EDT by usrbingeek

While supplies last, get great savings and deep discounts on top brand headphones. Move fast–once these deals are gone, they’re gone, so get yours before they run out.

Choose from noise canceling, noise reducing, in the ear, or over the ear headphones from JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Sennheiser and more!

Get the Top 10 Deals in Headphones Right Now with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

HP 8.9-Inch Mini-Note PC $367 shipped!

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 12:24pm EDT by usrbingeek

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the HP 2133-KR922UT 8.9-Inch Mini-Note PC (C7-M 1.0 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash Drive, Linux) for as low as $366.99 (up to 27% off!)

Also for a limited time and while supplies last, save up to $100 off other HP Mini-Note netbooks and find more savings on Notebooks in the Laptops Outlet.

Small but mighty, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (model KR922UT) offers you a full-function laptop that weighs just 2.8 pounds. Designed to go where you go without weighing you down, it’s perfect for young students in your home, and robust enough to handle demanding business applications for road warriors. Despite its size, it features an 8.9-inch scratch-resistant display with a WXGA resolution and a nearly full-size keyboard (92 percent). A durable all-aluminum case encompasses the top and bottom of the notebook, while an internal magnesium alloy support structure helps protect sensitive components from damage.

The HP DuraKeys have a clear coating applied over the notebook keyboard to protect the finish and printed letters and characters. It’s powered by the VIA C7-M ULV processor, which provides a 1.0 GHz clock speed and excellent power management capabilities. And because it uses solid state hard drive memory instead of a spinning hard disk drive (with 4 GB of storage), the Mini-Note is optimal for weathering rough handling and sharing space in overstuffed bags. Other features include 512 MB of installed RAM (2 GB maximum), 54g Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11b/g), lightning quick Gigabit Ethernet, VGA webcam built into the screen’s bezel for video chats, and up to 2.25 hours of battery life. This model comes pre-installed with the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 operating system.

Get the HP 2133-KR922UT 8.9-Inch Mini-Note PC (C7-M 1.0 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash Drive, Linux) with Two-Day shipping for FREE or Overnight shipping for $3.99 with Amazon Prime or get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Four Browsers That Rock

Posted: October 18th, 2008, 10:54am EDT by Matt Ryan

As more of our programs and content move to the cloud and off our local drives, we become more and more dependent on our browsers to be stable, fast, and compatible with the many sites out there. The question everyone has before them is not only which sites to trust your information with, but which browser to trust your experience to. I have assembled four browsers that I believe deserve enough recognition for their efforts in keeping with current trends and technology.

You’ll note that Internet Explorer is NOT listed here, and for a very good reason. Internet Explorer has gone with Microsoft’s typical mentality of creating their own standards as far as page rendering is concerned that they purposely ignore the needs of many of their users. As a result, pages and sites fail to render properly on a regular basis. I can’t say enough how much I recommend against using Internet Explorer as your primary browser. The following is a list of browsers that I will give my recommendation to.

Mozilla Firefox has earned top credit for being the most popular alternative to Internet Explorer and as such has become the cats pajamas for most geeks out there. The platform is open and as such creates an abundant platform for third party add-ons that add a new variety of features. For example, this blog post is being made using ScribeFire, while checking my Twitter status using TwitterFox, and so on and so forth. This browser has been vetted and continues to improve with version 3.1 that is being released presently in beta 1.

Google Chrome hit the scene with an unpresedented amount of buzz due to its being the first browser released by cloud computing giant Google. Google is arguably the most powerful tech company out there due to being not only the most popular search engine, but a host to many of the most popular web applications online today. Whether you’re using Google Maps to get directions to your next stop, or Google Docs to keep you and your co-contributors up to date on the sales figures of your startup, or even enjoying a video on YouTube and

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Posted: October 31st, 2008, 2:51pm EDT by forsythe

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 2:50pm EDT by Lockergnome

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Posted: October 31st, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Diana Huggins

Posted: October 31st, 2008, 12:24pm EDT by Lockergnome

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Posted: October 31st, 2008, 11:27am EDT by wiseoldgranny

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Posted: October 29th, 2008, 1:00pm EDT by Diana Huggins

Posted: October 29th, 2008, 12:00pm EDT by Lockergnome

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Posted: October 29th, 2008, 2:17am EDT by Matt Hartley

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Posted: October 29th, 2008, 12:27am EDT by cadcosystems

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Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:40pm EDT by Diana Huggins

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Posted: October 28th, 2008, 3:18pm EDT by wiseoldgranny

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 2:26pm EDT by Ron Schenone

Posted: October 28th, 2008, 2:22pm EDT by forsythe

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 8:04am EDT by Ron Schenone

Posted: October 24th, 2008, 6:50am EDT by Lockergnome

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Posted: October 24th, 2008, 12:46am EDT by usrbingeek

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:54pm EDT by Matt Hartley

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:38pm EDT by Matt Hartley

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 11:27pm EDT by leftystrat

Posted: October 23rd, 2008, 10:35pm EDT by usrbingeek