What's for Dinner?

It serves 125, takes eight hours to cook and is stuffed with 12 different birds ... now that really IS a Christmas dinner

Story Link Here

Powered by ScribeFire.

No Christmas Cards for Walter Reed

After having received a share of email, comments, and Google News alerts, on the matter of sending Christmas cards to Walter Reed Army Medical Center I have decided that a posted needed to be dedicated purely to the matter in question.

The easy answer is simply, DO NOT SEND ANY SOLDIER/WOUNDED WARRIOR/RECOVERING SOLDIER/AMERICAN HERO MAIL TO WALTER REED.

Story Link Here

Powered by ScribeFire.

Blendie

Blendie is the first of a series of voice interacting blenders made by the artist. Seeing is believing.

Link here

Life-sized whale!

Link here

Microsoft patches a 'critical' hole

Wed Nov 14, 7:41 AM ET

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. issued two security fixes in a regular monthly update Tuesday, including one that removes a dangerous bug in all versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft gave the serious security fix its most urgent "critical" rating. Hackers could exploit a vulnerability using Internet Explorer 7, and possibly other programs, and take over a user's computer for a variety of nefarious purposes, such as stealing passwords or pumping out spam.

Story Link Here

Security Pro Admits Infecting Thousands With Botnet Malware

John Schiefer has plead guilty to charges of spreading malware to thousands of computers and using them as botnets, ripping off users' passwords and eavesdropping on commercial transactions in order to steal personal information. Schiefer's case is the first time U.S. prosecutors have used federal wiretapping laws to charge someone in relation to botnet crimes.

A Los Angeles computer security consultant agreed Friday to plead guilty to using computer spyware that he planted in other people's computers to steal identities, U.S. federal prosecutors said.

John Schiefer, 26, was accused of using "botnets" -- armies of infected computers -- to steal the identities of victims across the country by extracting information from their personal computers and wiretapping their communications, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

Story Link Here

Do or Die - Inspirational Story

A fellow soldier was impaled by a live RPG. For medics and a helicopter crew, there was only one choice

*snip*

The 36-year-old’s surgical skill and command of his own nerves would be put to the ultimate test as, wearing helmet and body armor, he would operate to extract the ordnance from Moss’s booby-trapped body. One wrong move risked the lives of the patient, his own and those of the other members of the medical team.

Story Link Here

Vaccine company on verge of breakthrough

Brian Lowe is asking shareholders to have a little patience.

He believes his company is on the verge of a major breakthrough: a vaccine that eradicates cancerous tumours in mice that could eventually be used in humans.

...

Scientists initially injected the mice with cancer cells, which formed huge tumours and made them very ill. Within 14 days of receiving the vaccine, each one became tumour-free and perfectly healthy. The mice were re-injected and no new tumours formed. The trials were repeated three times with the same results.

Story Link here

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming.

Story Link Here

Stallone: Burma "a hellhole beyond your wildest dreams"

Researchers at the American Association for the Advancement of Science say they have used satellite images provided by the U.S. Government to confirm massive human rights abuses in eastern Burma: A new analysis of high-resolution satellite images -- completed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) -- pinpoints evidence consistent with village destruction, forced relocations, and a growing military presence at 25 sites across eastern Burma where eye-witnesses have reported human rights violations.

The research by AAAS, offers clear physical evidence to corroborate on-the-ground accounts of specific instances of destruction. It is believed to be the first demonstration of satellite image analysis to document human rights violations in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Story Link Here

iPods = iTraining

Workers wearing iPods on the job these days might not be listening to the latest tunes from Timbaland and Soulja Boy. Instead, they could be tuning in lessons on Spanish or watching a video iPod training program on how to make a bed or a burger.

--SNIP--

The iPods also had a side effect of boosting the company's applicants for jobs because people found out they were using iPods as training tools, Crosby said. On the job, Pal's saw a dramatic reduction in the amount of time it took to certify employees -- from three weeks to 12 days, Crosby said. Its customer-service satisfaction ratings rose, and customer complaints dropped.

Story Link Here

Not Exactly Technology...

...just a video that I found particularly important, and touching. All parents of young children should be aware of this resource, please share!

http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html

and

http://www.infantswim.com/home.html

Extreme Makeover?

What if you spent one year following every rule in the Bible? A. J. Jacobs did exactly that...

Story Link Here

Microsoft quietly unveils Vista-to-XP downgrade

Microsoft has reportedly begun offering a downgrade option to PC makers who want to allow their customers to have the option of using XP over the pre-installed Vista software.

Computer manufacturers including Fujitsu, Lenovo, and HP now mainly offer PCs exclusively with Vista pre-installed. Customers who would prefer to have XP can request a downgrade disc for computers that come with Vista Business and Vista Ultimate. These two versions allow downgrading as part of the software licensing, but the process is difficult without a specifically coded disc.

Story Link Here

Extreme Rich-Poor Divisions

Here’s a quick selection of shocking photos / google maps links to start the day. they all illustrate an extreme degree of wealth divide in different parts of the world.

Story Link Here

The Degree Confluence Project

The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, and stories about the visits, will then be posted here.

The project is an organized sampling of the world. There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you're on the surface of Earth. We've discounted confluences in the oceans and some near the poles, but there are still 11,033 to be found.

Story Link Here

Pennies - Common Cents?

Hi, I'm Mitch Fincher and these pages are from a talk I gave while a Civil Engineering student at Texas Tech University.

The following is the basic pattern for building cantilevered structures with Pennies. Although it looks trivial, we can build amazing structures with these pillars. All penny columns are ten high, a "stack". Two side-by-side pennies held in place by a penny above them is called a "triad".

Story Link Here

A Natural History of the @ Sign: Part One

The "@" symbol. . . used by grocers and accountants throughout the English-speaking world to indicate a rate, or cost per unit, as in "10 gal @ $3.95/gal" [ten gallons at three dollars and ninety-five cents per gallon] has become the de facto delimiter in e-mail addresses, separating the user's name from the domain name.

Story Link Here

Powered by ScribeFire.

Apple to iPhoners: Hacking Kills

Did you dare to hack your iPhone? If so, you may want to think twice before installing any software updates. Apple has officially warned users that installing any of the several programs available to make the iPhone run on a network other than AT&T could conflict with future updates, possibly turning the device into a $400 skipping stone.

Story Link Here

Printing In 3-D ~ Tech News Watch

It is a simple matter to print an ebook or other document directly from your computer, whether that document is on your hard drive, at a Web site or in an email. But, imagine being able to ‘print’ solid objects, a piece of sports equipment, say, or a kitchen utensil, or even a prototype car design for wind tunnel tests. US researchers suggest such 3-D printer technology will soon enter the mainstream once a killer application emerges.

Link here

Official prototype of kilogram mysteriously losing weight

A kilogram just isn't what it used to be.

Physicist Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures with the reference kilogram.

The 118-year-old cylinder that is the international prototype for the metric mass, kept tightly under lock and key outside Paris, is mysteriously losing weight -- if ever so slightly.
Story Link here

Technology News: IBM Gives Back to the OpenOffice Community

Link here

The announcement suggests a win-win for IBM and OpenOffice.org, a seven-year-old project created by Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) Latest News about Sun Microsystems and widely recognized as the open source contender to proprietary office software.
"With downloads of more than 100 million, this is the first real competitive grassroots office productivity suite that rivals proprietary alternatives," Sun spokesperson Terri Molini told LinuxInsider.

Technology News: iPhone: Rubbing Users Raw With Handcuffed Devices

On the plus side, the U.S. system gives Americans super-cheap phones. Contracts help stabilize carrier revenue; that, in turn, helps keep monthly service prices cheap. On the downside, U.S. cell phones are not as feature-rich as phones in other parts of the world, says Muzib Khan, vice president of management and engineering for phone maker Samsung Latest News about Samsung. To keep costs low, manufacturers tend to "build to the lowest common denominator" for the U.S. market. That's why there isn't much variety here, he says. To blur the lack of features on U.S. devices, carriers tout ring tones, face plates and slim design -- "things that one could say probably aren't very useful," Kahn says. Because U.S. consumers pay so little for their phones, Khan says, they aren't as "motivated" to learn how to use them properly. As a result, he says, they don't get all the benefits. "It's an endless loop," Samsung's engineering chief says. "Until some changes are made, (U.S. consumers) will be in that loop forever."

Link here

N.J. Teen Unlocks iPhone For Use On Other Carriers

wcbstv.com - N.J. Teen Unlocks iPhone For Use On Other Carriers

CBS) GLEN ROCK, N.J. A New Jersey teenager's accomplishment is getting major play in the tech and business world.

He managed to unlock the wildly popular iPhone, freeing the unit from its exclusive relationship with cell phone carrier AT&T.

New Search Engine Ranks Tables By Title, Document Content, Text Reference

New Search Engine Ranks Table

Penn State researchers have developed a search engine — TableSeer —
which not only can identify and extract tables from PDF documents but
also can index and rank the search results using factors including the
table’s title, text references to the table, and date of publication.

The engine’s innovative ranking algorithm, TableRank, also can
identify tables found in frequently cited documents and weigh that
factor as well in the search results, said Prasenjit Mitra, an
assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences
and Technology (IST) and one of the lead researchers in the development
of the search engine.

Netizens Blast AT&T for Jamming Pearl Jam's Bush Bashing

Netizens Blast AT&T for Jamming Pearl Jam's Bush Bashing

Attendees of the Lollapalooza music festival this week may have heard Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder sing a few Bush-bashing lyrics during the band's set -- but those watching the show live on AT&T's Blue Room webcast didn't. The audio cut out at a rather suspicious point in the performance, prompting accusations of censorship that bring up the issue of network neutrality.

Strong words. Wonder why?

"Network Associates [McAfee] has shown that it is willing to compromise its integrity by selling intentionally faulty products. For this reason, it is no longer appropriate or wise for those concerned about the security of their networks, systems or confidential data to use them."

Link: http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/11/48648

Tangible display makes 3D images touchable

A system that makes three dimensional images solid enough to grasp has been unveiled by Japanese firm NTT. It could let businesspeople shake hands from across the globe or allow museum visitors to feel precious exhibits that are normally out of reach, the company says.

The prototype Tangible 3D system combines a 3D display with a "haptic glove". The display creates lifelike images appear in just in front of a flat screen. It creates the illusion of depth by showing slightly different images to each of the viewer's eyes. This means no special glasses are needed...

Click here to read article

Office 2007: Why the New File Formats?

Office 2007 File Converters and Viewers

If you have Word 2007, and you want to share documents with people who have an older version of Word (or a different word processor)you have two choices. The first is to do nothing. Just keep cranking out your fancy new DOCX files, and tell your friends and colleagues toupgrade to Office 2007, install a converter, or get a viewer.

Users of Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 can download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats,which will add the ability to open, edit, and save files using the new file formats. You'll have to make sure your Office software is up to
date before installing the Compatibility Pack.

For those who just want to view or print Office 2007 files (no editing or saving), there are viewers available. The PowerPoint Viewer 2007 is a standalone viewer for files created by PowerPoint 97 through PowerPoint 2007. Both Word Viewer 2003 and Excel Viewer 2003 will allow you to view or print Word or Excel files, but they require the Compatibility Pack mentioned above.

Just be aware that these converters and viewers may not do a perfect
job of rendering all aspects of an Office 2007 document. Some special
formatting and images may not survive or look exactly as in the
original. So it's best to compare the document in both versions to be
sure nothing is missing or altered. Microsoft's website continues to
provide updates on known problems and help files have been added to
explain how to get updates and what known problems exist during
conversion.

http://askbobrankin.com/office_format_converters.html

Inte Quirky discipline rules that work

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/parenting/06/21/par.quirky.discipline/index.html

Test Scribefire

Resources, courtesy of H-NET.MSU.EDU



Art, General



Art In the Picture

http://www.artinthepicture.com/



ARTnatomy

http://www.artnatomia.net/



Drawspace

http://www.drawspace.com/



Art History Resources

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ARTH/arthistresources.html



ASU Art History Resources

http://www.asu.edu/lib/hayden/ref/art/arthist.html



Green Museum

http://greenmuseum.org/



How to Draw It

http://www.howtodrawit.com/



Art and Architecture

http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/index.html



Internet Resources for Art History

http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/arth/internet/



Mother of All Art and Art History Links Page

http://www.art-design.umich.edu/mother/index.html



Paint By Number

http://americanhistory.si.edu/paint/



Pop Life Art

http://www.poplifeart.com/



Rutgers Art History Links

http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/art/ar

t_lib/periods_and_subjects.shtml



The Master Crayola Artist

http://home.att.net/~hideaway_today/t034/master.htm



Brazilian Artists

http://www.brazilianartists.net/index.htm





Photography



Ashes and Snow

http://www.ashesandsnow.org/



Panoramas

http://www.panoramas.dk/



Peter Garfield

http://petergarfield.net/





Paleo Art





Douglas Henderson

http://gallery.in-tch.com/~earthhistory/



Azhdarcho

http://www.azhdarcho.com/Art/artgallery.htm



Dynasties of Stone

http://www.keltationsart.com/



Opus: Dinosaur

http://www.bowdoin.edu/%7Edbensen/Welcome.html



Gallery of Paleo Art

http://www.dinosauriaong.hpg.ig.com.br/gpal/palg.htm

beware popups



Critter's Pixel Shack

http://critters.pixel-shack.com/index.htm



Heinrich Harder

http://www.copyrightexpired.com/Heinrich_Harder/index.html



The Dinosauricon

http://dino.lm.com



Adam Stuart Smith

http://www.plesiosauria.com/dinosaurs.html



Steve White

http://thunderlizard.gn.apc.org/biog.html



Bizarre Beasts

http://www.staabstudios.com/bb.html

Tech Integration Resources

National Educational Technology Standards for Students

Connecting Curriculum and Technology

http://www.iste.org/inhouse/nets/cnets/students/s_book.html



Apple Learner Interchange

http://ali.apple.com/ali/uops.php



The WebQuest Portal

http://www.webquest.org/

Harrumph! I was checking web stats for various and sundry sites over a cuppa this morning, and again was struck by the number of people who still use AOHell. A grand example of the power market saturation, at the expense of landfills-full quantities of CDs...

Excited about possibilities for a new service I'll be offering my clients--easy remote assistance! Doesn't require any prior setup, works as long as they have a browser/web connection available, and isn't perturbed in the least with firewalls. Recently ran it through the ropes and came through with flying colors, so now I know I'll can still be getting people out of their computer problems when I can no longer afford the gas to get to their offices. Worked great as a training tool, and I see a lot of potential for teachers/trainers - check it out: Copiliot

Teacher Resource of the Moment: BTB Teacher Resources "Teacher tools, references and online resources. For teachers, by teachers." An eclectic mix, for sure, but lots of fun sites to play with and integrate into your classes. Updated regularly.

The Sky is Falling...

...or so some said 8 years ago, as the dreaded Y2K effect was anticipated. Doom and ruin were to cover the land, as computers everywhere lost their digital minds and trashed everything from VCR to the corner stoplight; from the world financial market to the nuclear weapons of the major super powers. And, truth be told, many of those things might have happened, if not for the terrific efforts of countless IT professionals.

(sometimes Contrary Old Coots take a while to get to the point... get over it)

The flashback above was courtesy of today's headlines - "Daylight-saving bug could foil computers" wherein the following fact is discussed: that millions of computer operating systems aren't hip to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which effectively and retroactively created a "bug" for the system clock. Come March, those with pre-Vista systems should check their computer clock times very carefully before scheduling multinational coordinated e-surgery.

Teacher Resource of the Moment: pbwiki.com What's a pbwiki?
"PBwiki lets you quickly set up your own free, hosted, password-protected wiki to edit and share information. It's as easy as a peanut butter sandwich!"

I'm very excited about the prospects for our school's pbwiki, and have floated a number of ideas among our staff for integrating this particular technology into their curricula. We'll see if this gets off the ground... I'll keep you posted.

Away and Back

Nasty weather for the trip both ways yesterday... whiteout conditions several times. Nevertheless, was a nice visit. Watched the Lady 'Cats finish their regular season with a 30-0 record; phenomenal athlete/scholars graduating this year. Godspeed on your tournament journey!

Then off to the Mart of Wals for a quick refill of the necessities of college life, followed by an enjoyable dinner at Applebees - a perfect Club sandwich for myself; the offspring had the House Sirloin and Roasted Garlic & Asiago Chicken with which she seemed well-satisfied.

Teacher Resource of the Moment: The Breathing Earth
"Breathing Earth is a visual, real-time simulation of the CO2 emission rates, birth rates and death rates of every country in the world."

Blog of the Moment: Wendy's Blog: Musings of a techie lawyer
Wendy takes on the NFL's draconian use of the DMCA and Google's role in the matter; follow her battle as she takes on 2 Goliaths at once.

Life's A Beach

Tough week.

Monday, well... one good can you ever say of Mondays?

Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday... snow days!

Then back to work for a day, just in time for a 3-day weekend!

Off to visit the Apple of My Eye For Whom I Bear A Wallet, tomorrow. Fun times!

The Dayton Underground

Blog of the Moment: The Dayton Underground
Quirky sense of humor, with an honest approach. Really liked his Things That Make Life Worth Living post. Recommended by MP.

Mandatory Birth Statement

"I post thoughts, therefore I am."