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2012-02-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

For Kids, Self-Control Factors Into Future Success : NPR

2012-01-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

For Kids, Self-Control Factors Into Future Success : NPR:

'via Blog this'

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133629477/for-kids-self-control-factors-into-future-success

Story:

February 14, 2011

Self-control keeps us from eating a whole bag of chips or from running up the credit card. A new study says that self-control makes the difference between getting a good job or going to jail — and we learn it in preschool.

"Children who had the greatest self-control in primary school and preschool ages were most likely to have fewer health problems when they reached their 30s," says Terrie Moffitt, a professor of psychology at Duke University and King's College London.

Moffitt and a team of researchers studied a group of 1,000 people born in New Zealand in 1972 and 1973, tracking them from birth to age 32. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the best evidence yet on the payoff for learning self-discipline early on.

The researchers define self-control as having skills like conscientiousness, self-discipline and perseverance, as well as being able to consider the consequences of actions in making decisions.

The children who struggled with self-control as preschoolers were three times as likely to have problems as young adults. They were more prone to have a criminal record; more likely to be poor or have financial problems; and they were more likely to be single parents.

This study doesn't prove that the lack of self-control in childhood caused these problems, but the large size of the study, and the fact that it followed one group of people over many years, makes a good case for an effect.

Teaching Control

Economists and public health officials want to know whether teaching self-control could improve a population's physical and financial health and reduce crime. Three factors appear to be key to a person's success in life: intelligence, family's socioeconomic status and self-control. Moffitt's study found that self-control predicted adult success, even after accounting for the participants' differences in social status and IQ.

EnlargeMaggie Starbard/NPR

Cathie Morton, a teacher at the Clara Barton Center for Children, leads the kids in a clapping exercise to signal that it is time to shift gears and start cleaning up.

IQ and social status are hard to change. But Moffitt says there is evidence that self-control can be learned.

"Identical twins are not identical on self-control," she says. "That tells us that it is something they have learned, not something they have inherited."

Teaching self-control has become a big focus for early childhood education. At the Clara Barton Center for Children in Cabin John, Md., it starts with expecting a 4-year-old to hang up her coat without being asked.

Director Linda Owen says the children are expected to be responsible for a series of actions when they arrive at school each morning, without help from Mom and Dad. The children sign in, put away their lunches, hang up their own clothes, wash their hands before they can play, and then choose activities in the classroom.

"All those things help with self-management," Owen says.

Mediating Conflict

Of course, not all 4-year-olds are ready to manage that, so the classroom is loaded with cues and clues to help the preschoolers make their own decisions and be responsible.

EnlargeMaggie Starbard/NPR

Liya Pomfret and Rowan Miller demonstrate how they use the "solutions kit" to resolve conflicts.

A series of seven photos over the sink shows the correct sequence for hand washing. A "solutions kit" poster shows techniques the children can use to resolve disagreements themselves, like sharing or playing with another toy. The two teachers give the children multiple cues when it's time to clean up: Lights flash, a bell rings and the children clap and count to 100. That makes it easier to switch gears without a meltdown.

If a child has problems with self-management, the teachers make a customized "visual cue" card, with photos of the four play choices in the room, to make the decision easier.

And teachers Cathie Morton and Daniela Capbert don't just supervise — they're in the thick of the children's play so that when the inevitable conflicts arise, they can redirect the children into other activities or help them talk through their feelings.

When things do go wrong, there are consequences. Timeouts and apologies don't mean much to children at this age, Owen says, so the teachers try to match consequences to the deed. When one of the children accidentally knocks over a 2-foot-tall tower of blocks that several children had spent half the morning building, the teachers ask the builders what should happen next. "Help fix it," one boy says. And, with a little prompting from the adults, they all pitch in and rebuild.

Self-Control At Home

Parents can help their children learn self-control. Mary Alvord is a clinical psychologist in Silver Spring, Md., whose new book, Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents, teaches self-control strategies. Take small steps, she says. For example, preschoolers can learn that they don't always get what they want immediately; they may need to wait for that treat.

"I call it Grandma's rule," Alvord says. "No dessert until you finish your dinner."

Parents can help teenagers learn self-control by making sure the family has clear rules for things like curfew or finishing homework before they have screen time. Teenager who have problems with impulsivity may benefit from special driving classes that let them practice controlling the car in difficult conditions on a racetrack. For all teens, clear rules such as curfews help them regulate themselves.

Though self-control can be improved throughout life, Moffitt says the earlier children can learn these skills of self-discipline and perseverance, the better. "The later you wait in life to try to learn self-control skills, the more problems you have to reverse and overcome."

All the more reason to start picking up blocks when you're very young.

Transcript:

text size A A A

Heard on Morning Edition

February 14, 2011 - RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

OK. Let's move beyond the dinner table. A new study says that self-control in childhood makes the difference between getting a good job or going to jail in adulthood. And we learn it back in preschool. NPR's Nancy Shute reports.

NANCY SHUTE: Four-year-olds aren't known for the self-control, so when you walk into this classroom at the Clara Barton Children's Center in Cabin John, Maryland, you'll hear 16 very young children very busy playing. And you won't hear hitting or whining or yelling. They've got it under control.

Unidentified Child: But by accident I did it.

SHUTE: Social scientists say three things matter for success in life: I.Q. family socio-economic status, and self-control. Only one of those things is easy to change, and it's self-control. A child who has self-control at age four is more likely to be happy and healthy as an adult. That's what Terrie Moffitt says. She's a professor of psychology at Duke University. She studied a group of 1,000 young people since birth.

Professor TERRIE MOFFITT (Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University): Children who had the greatest self-control in primary school and preschool ages were most likely to have fewer health problems and least likely to be addicted to any kind of a substance when they reached their 30s.

SHUTE: But the children who struggled with self-control had problems as young adults.

Prof. MOFFITT: We found that they were more likely to have a criminal conviction record.

SHUTE: They were also more likely to be poor or to be single parents.

Prof. MOFFITT: And finally, we found that the children with low self-control had great difficulty in their 30s with financial planning.

SHUTE: That means they were more likely to be in debt, have bad credit or have declared the bankruptcy.

Moffitt's study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the best evidence yet on the payoff for learning self-discipline early on and it can be taught.

Prof. MOFFITT: Identical twins are not identical on self-control. And that tells us that it is something that they have learned, not something that they have inherited.

SHUTE: Teaching self-control has become a big focus for early childhood education. At the Clara Barton preschool, it starts with expecting a four-year-old to hang up her coat.

Linda Owen is the center's director.

Ms. LINDA OWEN (Executive Director, Clara Barton Center for Children): The very fact that they have to put away their lunches, hang up their own clothes, then choose where they're going to play, all those things help with self-management.

SHUTE: Of course, not all four-year-olds can manage that, but this classroom has been setup to help them manage themselves. They are all sorts of cues and clues to help them make independent decisions.

(Soundbite of children talking)

Ms. EDEN ARANOFF: The first step.

SHUTE: When Eden Aranoff washes her hands, she sees seven pictures that show her just what to do.

Ms. ARANOFF: Soap on your hands, turn on the water, scrub.

SHUTE: When the children disagree, they can turn to the solution kit. It's a poster that shows them 10 different ways to end the argument. Rowan Miller and Miles Gordon name a few.

Mr. ROWAN MILLER: Sincere.

Ms. OWEN: Yeah.

Mr. MILES GORDON: Of sharing.

Ms. OWEN: Good, good one.

Mr. GORDON: Play together.

SHUTE: And when things do go wrong there are consequences.

Linda Owen points to a group of children building a huge tower of blocks.

Ms. OWEN: If one of our children who we know has impulse control problems, came by and kicked that over right now, the consequence would be they would need to come back and help rebuild it.

(Soundbite of building blocks)

Unidentified Child: Oopsie.

SHUTE: Sure enough, those blocks get bumped over and with a little prompting, the children work together to rebuild it.

Unidentified Child: Okay, how do you want me to build it?

SHUTE: Parents also can help their children learn self-control.

Mary Alvord is a clinical psychologist in Silver Spring, Maryland. She says start with one simple thing...

Dr. MARY ALVORD (Clinical Psychologist; Author, "Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents"): Learn delay of gratification, which means simply that you don't get what you want immediately and you may have to wait a little while.

SHUTE: Teenagers can learn better self-control too.

Dr. ALVORD: You can't have any screen time until your homework is done.

SHUTE: But researcher Terrie Moffitt says the earlier children can learn these skills of self-discipline and perseverance, the better.

Prof. MOFFITT: The later you wait in life to try to learn self-control skills, the more problems you have to reverse and overcome.

SHUTE: All the more reason to start picking up blocks when you're very young.

Nancy Shute, NPR News.

(Soundbite of music)

MONTAGNE: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.

Baked Ziti III Recipe

2012-01-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

Baked Ziti III Recipe - Allrecipes.com

From Allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Ziti-III/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf

Prep Time:20 Min
Cook Time:30 Min
Ready In:50 Min

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.
Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

DETAILED NUTRITION
Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving

Calories 761
Calories from Fat 310

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 34.4g
53 %
Saturated Fat 17.3g
86 %
Cholesterol 96mg
32 %
Sodium 1258mg
50 %
Potassium 954mg
27 %
Total Carbohydrates 74.9g
24 %
Dietary Fiber 7.9g
32 %
Protein 36.2g
72 %
Sugars 19.4g
Vitamin A
32 %
Vitamin C
9 %
Calcium
55 %
Iron
45 %
** Thiamin
44 %
Niacin
153 %
Vitamin B6
36 %
Magnesium
34 %
Folate
80 %

*
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**
Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

Parents lose custody of girl for naming her Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii | Life and style | guardian.co.uk

2012-01-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Parents lose custody of girl for naming her Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii | Life and style | guardian.co.uk:

'via Blog this'

Crazy.

NFL Recap - Texans oust Bengals for first playoff win

2012-01-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

NFL Recap - Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans - Jan 07, 2012 - CBSSports.com Game Recap:

'via Blog this'

I'm so glad I didn't watch this. I would have been revved up after the first half, then mostly pissed from that point on when the started messing up.

Time for the mantra:

"Oh well, there's always next year."

From the CBSSports.com website

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/recap/NFL_20120107_CIN@HOU

Texans oust Bengals for first playoff win

CBSSports.com wire reports
Jan. 7, 2012

HOUSTON -- Andre Johnson hugged his coach at the end of Houston's first playoff victory -- a moment a decade in the making.

"This is something not just for me, but for the whole organization," the Texans star receiver said. "It's a very special feeling. That's probably the most I've smiled in a long time."

As well he should.

Johnson, the face of this 10-year old franchise, scored on a 40-yard pass that powered the Texans to a 31-10 victory over the bungling Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday in an AFC wild-card game.

Johnson had plenty of help, too, from rookies J.J. Watt and T.J. Yates to running back Arian Foster's two touchdowns and 153 yards.

Watt came through with a leaping interception return for a touchdown late in the first half, Yates threw a pinpoint pass to Johnson in the third quarter and Foster followed with his second touchdown -- a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter -- to finish off the Bengals (9-8).

More on Bengals-Texans
Column
Mike Freeman Dalton, Bengals feel the pressure from dangerous Texans defense
Postgame reports
Bengals \| Texans
NFL coverage on the go
On iTunes \| Subscribe to newsletter

Houston will play at Baltimore (12-4) next Sunday, a rematch of a regular-season game won by the Ravens.

"I'm just very proud of all the guys, and the job they did," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "Hopefully, there are some more to come."

The Bengals were in the playoffs for the third time in seven seasons, but haven't advanced since beating the Houston Oilers following the 1990 season. They were done in this time by mistakes and a lack of pass protection.

Watt returned the first of rookie Andy Dalton's three interceptions 29 yards for a score that broke a 10-all tie with 52 seconds left in the half. It sent the full house of 71,725 fans at Reliant Stadium into a tizzy, and the Texans into the locker room with all the momentum.

Dalton was 24 of 42 for 257 yards, while Yates was 11 of 20 for 159 yards in the first playoff game in the Super Bowl era matching two rookie quarterbacks. Foster scored on an 8-yard run in the first quarter.

The Texans' second-ranked defense had its best performance in several weeks, sacking Dalton four times. Houston also forced four turnovers.

"We got back to our type of football," Kubiak said, "and that was the key."

Houston used six draft picks on defensive players. The Texans took Watt with the 11th overall pick, a cornerstone for the reconstruction of the defense. He started all 16 games and led the team with 13 tackles for loss.

But he'd never picked off a pass.

CBSSports.com Grades
Cincinnati Bengals
D-	There were chances to take control of the game, all of which disappeared (along with their season) when Andy Dalton's interception to J.J. Watt gave the Texans the lead for good and deflated the offense, which had no run game to speak of. The run defense, which was a disaster last week, cratered in the second half under the weight of Pro Bowler Arian Foster's performance.
Houston Texans
A-	Feeding off their crowd, the Texans shook off the early jitters of playing in their first postseason game and looked a lot like the team that ripped off seven straight wins at one point. RB Arian Foster (153 yards, two touchdowns) powered the offense, while the "Bulls on Parade" defense gored the Bengals with three interceptions and four sacks.
By Brandon Williams RapidReports Correspondent

Watt saw this one coming, measuring his jump when Dalton dropped back and snatching the ball with both hands. He sprinted to the end zone as the capacity crowd erupted, and he raised both hands after reaching the end zone.

"I was really just trying to put my hands up and get in the way of the passing lane," the 6-foot-5 Watt said. "It happened to kind of stick. I realized I had the ball so I just ran to the end zone just trying not to fall down."

Watt became the sixth defensive linemen to return an interception for a touchdown in postseason history - excluding the Super Bowl - and the first rookie to do it.

"It changed the momentum of the game," Houston linebacker Brian Cushing said.

Dalton rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked to the Cincinnati bench and watched the replay on the giant scoreboard. It was just his second interception in his last seven games.

"We feel like we have a bright future," Dalton said. "It's still unfortunate that it ended this way."

The Bengals outplayed the Texans for most of the first half before that, holding down Houston's offense and controlling time of possession.

Late in the third quarter, Yates got away with a pass that safety Chris Crocker simply dropped. Three plays later, Johnson broke free from cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones and caught Yates' pass down the sideline to put Houston up 24-10.

"It was a touchdown if I would have caught it," Crocker said. "They made those big plays and we didn't and that's why they're moving on."

As Johnson rested on the bench, Foster walked up to him and gave him a bow, the running back's customary celebration after a touchdown. Foster has said that the bow is a Hindu gesture of respect.

The Texans rallied past the Bengals on Dec. 11 in Cincinnati to earn their first playoff berth. But they didn't look like they'd last very long after dropping their last three regular-season games.

Johnson said the losing streak proved to be beneficial.

"Everybody was riding high, the city was going crazy, we were in the playoffs for the first time," Johnson said. "Over those last three weeks, that brought us back down to reality and let us know what we needed to do."

Notes

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell chatted with fans and posed for photographs on the field about 30 minutes before kickoff.
Actor Dennis Quaid, a Houston native, wore a blue DeMeco Ryans jersey as he mingled on the sideline before the game. Quaid shook hands with former Oilers coachBum Phillips, who wore his trademark cowboy hat, a black shirt and blue jeans. The 88-year-old Phillips led the Texans out of their tunnel and tipped his hat to the cheering fans.
The announced attendance was 71,725, a Reliant Stadium record for any event.

Bengals vs Patriots Jan 2012

2012-01-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Gasper's look at the potential Patriots opponents playing this weekend

I don't know how to embed videos, or even if it allows it anymore.

LIBERTY AIR HOME - San Antonio Air Conditioning Contractor - Top rated AC company in San Antonio!

2011-12-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

LIBERTY AIR HOME - San Antonio Air Conditioning Contractor - Top rated AC company in San Antonio!:

'via Blog this'

They came out and fixed the furnace right after Christmas.

Great job, done fast, at a great price.

Which means I could afford to have heat again.

Another Test.

2011-12-27T10:44:00.001-08:00

Test part2

Yes, that is what the last days are for.

Test Post for Google-y Thing

2011-12-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Test.

This is a test of some Google thing that I might try.

This is only a test.

In case of an actual thing, then it would probably be something different.

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Whatever happened to the good old BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP?

google-site-verification: google15eb16dd15a98343.html

NFL Recap - Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals - Dec 24, 2011 - CBSSports.com Game Recap

2011-12-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

NFL Recap - Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals - Dec 24, 2011 - CBSSports.com Game Recap:

'via Blog this'

Go Bengals!! You can do it!!

Bengals survive Cards, stay in hunt

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

CINCINNATI -- The stadium was only two-thirds full again. The Cardinals were on another one of their incredible comebacks, threatening to derail the Cincinnati Bengals surprising playoff surge.

A pair of tangled up feet made the difference.

The Bengals moved one win away from the playoffs Saturday, holding on for a 23-16 victory over Arizona that secured only their third winning record in the past 21 years.

Cincinnati (9-6) can clinch the final AFC wild card berth by beating Baltimore at Paul Brown Stadium next Sunday. The Bengals moved a game ahead of the Jets, who fell to 8-7 with a 29-14 loss to the Giants on Saturday.

"It's been a big year for me and for this team," rookie quarterback Andy Dalton said. "It's something we believed we had a chance to do. We weren't getting much credit from outside. We'll find out next week."

More on Cardinals-Bengals
Related links
Cards rookie Peterson injures Achilles
Postgame reports
Cardinals \| Bengals
NFL coverage on the go
On iTunes \| Subscribe to newsletter

Dalton threw two more touchdown passes, becoming only the fourth rookie to have 20 in a season, and Cincinnati got a break when the NFL's top comeback team tripped itself up in the closing minutes.

Wide-open receiver Early Doucettripped at the goal line and went down, letting a fourth-down pass fall incomplete with 1:12 left. The Cardinals (7-8) got the ball one more time, but the clock ran out after a completion.

A few minutes later, the Jets' loss put the Bengals in position to reach the playoffs. New York would have won the tiebreaker if both teams won out.

"We started this quite a while ago -- seems like just yesterday," coach Marvin Lewis said. "But now we're right where we want to be at the end."

Their rookie quarterback put them in position.

Dalton threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham and a 19-yarder to Jerome Simpson, who did a somersault over a defender and landed on both feet in the end zone.

Dalton joined Peyton Manning (26), Charlie Conerly (22) and Dan Marino (20) as the only NFL rookies to throw 20 touchdown passes.

CBSSports.com Grades
Arizona Cardinals
D	With slim playoff chances on the line, the Cards offense was brutal for three quarters. QB John Skelton threw three INTs, was sacked five times and completed fewer than half of his passes. RB Beanie Wells (53 yards) was held in check. The Cards tried to rally with 16 fourth-quarter points, but it was too little, too late. The defense was on the field far too long, gave up 165 rushing yards and enough big plays to help the Bengals open an insurmountable lead.
Cincinnati Bengals
B-	Cincinnati's first three quarters were so good, they overshadowed a near-epic meltdown in the final quarter vs. the Cardinals. In a must-win scenario, however, the final result was all that mattered. The Bengals must find a way to play with the lead, but at least for one more week, those plays will matter in the playoff chase.
By Paul Dehner RapidReports Correspondent

Down 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the NFL's best comeback team nearly pulled off its most improbable one yet. Arizona took advantage of Cedric Benson's two fumbles, getting a pair of touchdown passes by John Skelton and Jay Feely's field goal with 3:16 left.

The Cardinals then had their chance to pull even. The Bengals ran an all-out blitz on fourth down from the Cincinnati 17-yard line, and Doucet wound up uncovered at the goal line. Skelton lofted the ball into the end zone, but Doucet tripped and fell.

"It was a blitz and nobody was there," Doucet said. "It was one of those deals where I hadn't hooked it up and my feet got tangled. It's a play I should've made. It was my fault. That's a play I normally make."

The Cardinals had their four-game winning streak snapped and were eliminated from playoff contention.

Cincinnati's defense dominated the first three quarters. Arizona didn't cross midfield until Skelton completed a pass with 13:25 to go, but piled up 208 yards in the final quarter.

Skelton started for the second consecutive week in place of Kevin Kolb, who hasn't fully recovered from a concussion. Skelton was 23 of 44 for 297 yards with three interceptions and five sacks that helped the Bengals get the 23-0 lead.

It could have been worse. Mike Nugent, the NFL's most accurate kicker, missed field goals of 35 and 48 yards in the first half.

Arizona has rallied from fourth-quarter deficits six times this season, one shy of the NFL record. The Cardinals have won three games in overtime, tying the league record.

They couldn't do it one more time.

"Yeah, we're a second-half team," Skelton said. "That's how it has been all year. But in the end, it was too little, too late."

Dalton was 18 of 31 for 154 yards and two touchdowns on a sunny, 39-degree afternoon in front of only 41,273 fans. The Bengals have sold out only one of their seven home games, when the Steelers brought thousands of fans.

Dalton's second touchdown pass had a highlight finish.

Simpson got open for a catch-and-run to the goal line. With Daryl Washington between him and the end zone, Simpson jumped and twirled past the linebacker, landing on both feet in the end zone and raising both arms like a triumphant gymnast.

"One of the key parts for me was I stuck the landing," Simpson said. "I stuck the landing like a gymnast. That was probably one of the most surprising of all the plays in my career. It was pretty awesome, I thought."

For most of the game, the Cardinals couldn't do anything right. Rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson picked off a Dalton pass in the third quarter, but the interception was nullified by Arizona's second roughing-the-passer penalty of the game.

Worse, Peterson hurt his left hamstring on the play, pulling up on the return. The first-round pick left the game and didn't return. He wore a protective boot after the game.

"He's got a strain, it's not a tear," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We're fortunate that it doesn't appear to anything long term."

Notes

Beanie Wells became the first Cardinal to run for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in a season.
After the game, the Bengals made a buy-one, get-one-free offer to season ticket holders, trying to fill the stadium for the final game.
A.J. Green, playing with a strained right shoulder, had two catches for 25 yards. He passed Cris Collinsworth's club record for a rookie with 1,013 yards on the season.

Troopers: Suggestion Box

2011-11-18T15:45:00.001-08:00

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6604086/troopers-suggestion-box

2011-11-11T10:20:00.001-08:00

Saw this at the bottom of one of
the Groupon Daily deals.
Kind of funny.

Groupon Guide to: Vital Signs

Each time you visit a doctor, the physician will run a series of 47 basic tests to quickly determine how alive you are. Here are some tips for passing four of the examinations you'll be subjected to at your next checkup:

Breathing Test: Doctor makes you blow into a brown paper bag for two minutes.How to Pass: When the doctor hands you a lunch-size bag, tear it up and tell a story about how you could probably inflate a 30-gallon plastic trash bag with your mouth if someone made you.

Temperature Test: Doctor makes you sit in a bathtub full of ice and tracks how long it takes you to melt the cubes. How to Pass: Speed up the process. Either lower the melting point of water by filling your pockets with something salty, such as ballpark pretzels, or increase your body temperature by asking the doctor to hug you.

Hair Growth Test: Doctor has you stand against wall, where he or she has marked off the length of your hair at your last visit. How to Pass: Impress the doctor by growing your hair right in front of him or her. Just train a long-haired animal to sit perfectly still on your head and slowly inch backward when the measurement is taken.

Pulse Test: Doctor counts your heartbeats by simultaneously pressing his or her ear against your chest, and his or her fingers against your neck and wrist, where your two smaller hearts rest. How to Pass: Slow down your heart rate until it is completely undetectable. The doctor will be left with no choice but to pass you because admitting failure is one of a doctor's greatest fears, in addition to horses that eat people.

Community - Remedial Chaos Theory - Video - NBC.com

2011-11-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Community - Remedial Chaos Theory - Video - NBC.com

A good episode to explain alternate timelines, and, like the show title, remedial chaos theory.

Australia DeMotivated Poster

2011-10-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Australia DeMotivated Poster:

'via Blog this'

http://demotivatedposters.com/Posters/22e3ceea6fa74d86bb5d2b651178832e/Australia/Where-Spiders-are-so-big--they-have-health-bars

For some reason, I really like the whole demotivational line of posters, even user created ones if they are funny.

Considering I love online games, this one was great!

Stressed-out mothers juggling home, work and love lives are more likely to have girls | Mail Online

2011-10-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Stressed-out mothers juggling home, work and love lives are more likely to have girls Mail Online

From the Mail Online:

Why stressed-out women are more likely to have girls

by: By Fiona Macrae
October 17, 2011

Women who are stressed while trying for a baby are more likely to have girls, research suggests.
A study found that those who were under pressure at home, work or in their love life in the weeks or months before becoming pregnant had higher than usual odds of giving birth to a daughter rather than a son.
The finding, by Oxford University and U.S. researchers, means the economic downturn could see more women give birth to daughters. The study follows others that have shown the number of baby boys goes down following major upheavals.
For instance, in the months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the number of boys born in New York plunged, while the economic chaos that followed the collapse of the Berlin Wall saw far fewer boys born than expected in the former East Germany in 1991.
But the latest study is the first to link the phenomenon to the stresses and strains of everyday life and to rising levels of stress hormones.
Some 338 women from around the UK who were trying to get pregnant kept diaries about their lives and sex lives and filled in questionnaires about how stressed they felt. Levels of stress hormones including cortisol were measured in the months before pregnancy.
Of the babies born, 58 were boys and 72 were girls. Normally, in Britain 105 boys are born for every 100 girls.
When all the women were put together – stressed and calm – the result could have been due to chance.
But among the 50 per cent of the women who had the highest amounts of cortisol before pregnancy, the sex ratio was clearly skewed towards girls, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual conference heard.
The most stressed women were up to 75 per cent less likely to have boys than the least stressed, the conference in Orlando, Florida, was told. Cortisol levels rise when people suffer long-term stress such as pressure at work and bad relationships.
Money worries may also play a part, said Oxford University researcher Dr Cecilia Pyper.
It isn’t known why high levels of cortisol appear to cut the odds of having a boy.
The gender of a baby is determined by the chromosomes in the father’s sperm and so is set at conception.
But it is possible that high levels of cortisol somehow make it more difficult for male embryos to implant in the womb.
In addition, male babies may be more fragile and so more likely to be miscarried when cortisol levels are high, leading to more girls being born.
Dr Pyper and her co-researchers, from the U.S. government’s health research arm, only studied a small number of women and more work is needed to confirm the finding.
But, if the link is firmed up, would-be mothers may be told about the benefits of relaxation, in the same way as they are now advised to take care of their health in other ways.
Previous work by Dr Pyper has blamed stress for lengthening the time it takes to conceive.
Dr Allan Pacey, a Sheffield University fertility expert, described the results as ‘intriguing’ but said that stress need not necessarily be behind the lack of boys born.
For instance, nutrition or simple biology may play a part. Past research has shown that dominant women are more likely to have sons – perhaps because their higher levels of testosterone ‘prime’ their eggs to make fertilisation with male sperm more likely.

Literal Videos: Better Than the Original?

2011-10-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

My friend showed me the literal video version of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" a few years ago. I thought it was funny and very well done, especially because the singer sounded just like Bonnie, except the words were what the video was about.

Apparently it has been blocked by some group (Sony?) for some unknown reason.

However, here is an article about some of them.
And you can also google them now and watch them, but the quality has been reduced due to the whole copyright issue.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/03/the-7-best-literal-music_n_249976.html

Read Between the Lines

2011-10-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Read Between the Lines:

'via Blog this'

Books, books, and more books!

A blog of book reviews.

Andrea Lampros: Parent Regrets: Why I Wish We Never Had Gone to See Taylor Swift

2011-08-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Andrea Lampros: Parent Regrets: Why I Wish We Never Had Gone to See Taylor Swift

I took Victoria to see Weird Al a few years ago, but it was nothing like this. Of course it was better, but I can't wait for him to come to San Antonio again.

Fan Art from Alien Loves Predator

2011-08-03T13:23:00.001-07:00

Alien Loves Predator

2011-07-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Found a new (new to me at least) webcomic, Alien Loves Predator.

Only four panels in but it's milk-out-the-nose funny.

Alien Loves Predator: First Post

Netflix Gets Greedy

2011-07-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Netflix currently offers a plan where you can get streaming Netflix movies for $8.99 a month. Then, for $1.00 more, you can get 1 DVD at a time through the mail. So, $9.99 for all you can watch online and about 1 DVD a week.

Then, I get this email today.

We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans to better reflect the costs of each. Now our members have a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan, or both.

Your current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming) for $7.99 a month

Your price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). You don't need to do anything to continue your memberships for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.

These prices will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.

You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.

We realize you have many choices for home entertainment, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-357-1516.

–The Netflix Team

I'm not sure of the marketing genius that came up with this, but I can think of no other reason than greed. Unless you are into really obscure DVDs that only Netflix carries, it very not worth it to continue the plan. It's cheaper to use Redbox, Blockbuster, or just borrow it from a friend or watch it at your brother's house.

Blockbuster did something similar. It had a mail-to-you service where you could return the mailed DVD at a store and check out a movie free while you waited for the next one. It was $14.99 for three at a time. Then it became two at a time. Then, the movie you rented from the store counted against the ones to be mailed to you, so no new movie would be sent until the store rented one was returned. At that point, it was no longer worth the money.

Netflix looks to be trying to outdo Blockbuster by making two separate packages. I want to say that consumers won't stand for this, but they will. They just won't bother to notice their bill changed until months later. At that point, they'll shrug their shoulders, mutter "You bastards", and keep right on paying it.

Actual Work? That's Crazy Talk

2011-06-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite Dilbert punchlines.

Children speak 'universal language' with art - San Antonio Express-News

2011-06-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Children speak 'universal language' with art - San Antonio Express-News

A child's vision of living in a world united by diverse languages and cultures was showcased Monday in an art show sponsored by Catholic Charities Refugee Services.

More than 70 people attended the show, which featured art and essays by refugee and American students in honor of World Refugee Day.

Master of ceremonies Jennifer Yanez-Alaniz said the children were asked to create art showing how they could learn from each other.

Steve Saldaña, president of Catholic Charities, said the children spoke a “universal language” through “art that we can understand.”

Local artists Adan Hernandez, Lauren Browning, Seth Camm, Jacinto Guevara and Safa Al Rubaye judged the artwork and selected 18 paintings from 300 submissions to show at the event.

Paula Walker, Catholic Charities' director of refugee programs, said the day, sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, encouraged the public to do one thing through the year. “It would change their lives and welcome them to our community,” Walker said.

Walker said Catholic Charities will auction the artwork at its gala in October, which benefits the refugee community.

“It's amazing how the schools adjusted to it,” Walker said. “There wasn't any red tape; just a beautiful thing, not just refugee children, but American children coming together.”

Slideshow images flashed on the front wall of creations from students in the Northside Independent School District. Drawings of foreign flags followed people wearing festive garb.

Bianca Bohne, 11, read her essay, which included a line that called the day an opportunity to “be in the shoes of a refugee.”

“I think it was pretty cool to write about World Refugee Day,” Bianca said. “I liked how everything came together and we shared everything.”

Jeddy Thang Val, 6, from Myanmar held one of the dozen certificates handed out to the young artists by refugee Lateef Mutleg, who fled his country to pursue his artwork.

Browning, one of the judges who picked the piece by second-grader Ernest Dusengimana, from Burundi, as Best in Show, said she was moved working with refugee children.

“Art has a power to heal,” Browning said, “and teach compassion and camaraderie. It's an amazing thing.”

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/article/Refugee-American-children-create-art-for-World-1432603.php#ixzz1PvVKwYpG

Best book series: Grades 4-6 - Peter and the Starcatchers | GreatSchools

2011-06-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Best book series: Grades 4-6 - Peter and the Starcatchers | GreatSchools

Had this in my drafts for some reason, so it's probably incomplete. But still good, and since I don't remember why I didn't post it, here it is.

Peter and the Starcatchers By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Tells how Peter Pan became Peter Pan.

Cirque Du Freak By Darren Shan
Like the movie

Artemis Fowl By Eoin Colfer
12 year old Evil Genius

Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
Well-written scary stories for kids.
They made a few into shows. The scariest one to me was the one where on Halloween, everyone wearing a mask became whatever mask they were wearing. Creepy good fun! :-)

Maximum Ride By James Patterson
I remember reading the ARC edition of this that Victoria brought home. It was pretty good. Bought her the next in the series.
Also recently read the “adult” version that starts the series by Patterson. Ill Wind Blows or something.
Like three in the series. More mature kids could read the two starting novels, When the Ill Wind Blows and The Lake House.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid By Jeff Kinney
Grat book, good movie. Might as well read all 5.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The movie covered the first three books (you know, sort of). The books, of course, are even better.

Little House By Laura Ingalls Wilder
At some point, all kids should read these. They’re not hard reads, and are good historical fiction.

His Dark Materials Trilogy By Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass and the rest of the books. The movie was great, so the book is probably better.

The Chronicles of Narnia By C.S. Lewis
I re-read these every few years, because the stories are just that good.

Fund Comparision Website

2011-06-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

You have to be a USAA member and you can get to the Morningstar Fund site through the USAA site, but it's really good for finding a mutual fund that meets your needs.

https://awrd.morningstar.com/SB/USAASB/USAAScreener.asp#

Unicorns and Unicrons

2011-05-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

What is the difference between unicorns and unicrons?

While waiting in line at Half Price Books, there was book titled Unicorns on one of the main display islands. Since I often see it misspelled (and often mistype it myself), I asked Olivia if she knows about unicrons, and pointed out the book to her. She corrected me that it was indeed unicorns, and not unicrons.

So, I asked the difference between a unicorn and a unicron.
(Because come on, let's face it, a unicron sounds pretty cool too. Like some sort of supercomputer unicorn or something. "All Hail the Mighty Unicron!")

So, it was explained to me that a unicorn is a horse with a horn on it's head, and a unicron is a pony with a horn on it's head. A pony is like a horse, but smaller.

I can't very well argue that she's wrong, so that's what a unicron now is.

Programming Robots

2011-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

What is teach box? Definition from WhatIs.com

What is teach box? Definition from WhatIs.com

teach box
A teach box is a device that registers and memorizes mechanical motions or processes for later recall and execution by an electronic or computer system. The term especially applies to programmable robots.

Robot programming can be divided into levels, starting with the least complex and progressing to the equivalent of human intelligence. The table shows a four-level scheme.

Programming Level Description
4 Human intelligence
3 Complete tasks
2 Sequences of motions or operations
1 Single motions or operations

An example of a level-1 teach box is a remote-control for the doors of a car. When the wireless receiver gets the signal from the remote unit, it locks or unlocks the doors. Another example of a level-1 teach box is the remote box that controls a hi-fi sound system or videocassette recorder (VCR).

An example of a level-2 teach box is the microcomputer that controls a telephone answering machine. When a call comes in, the sequence of operations is recalled from memory. The machine answers the phone, makes an announcement, takes the message, and resets for the next incoming call.

Level-3 teach boxes are used in aerospace, miliatary, and industrial applications. Level 3, just below human-equivalent artificial intelligence ( AI ), is called task-level programming. Programs at level 3 can instruct a robot to execute complete operations, such as shoveling the snow from a driveway or flying an aircraft on a reconnaissance mission.

The intended movements of a robot are entered into memory by pressing buttons or guiding a joystick or other three-dimensional control device. The robot's path, variations in speed, rotations, and gripping/grasping movements are all programmed. Then, when the memory is recalled, the robot reproduces these movements in the exact sequence, and to the exact extent and speed in all dimensions.

Also see artificial intelligence and robotics .

Gravestone Generator, Tombstone Maker & Creator - Satisfaction

2011-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Gravestone Generator

May Day

2011-05-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

When I was in third grade, my grandmother helped me to make May Day baskets. They were tiny baskets filled with candy, toys, etc. But tiny ones.
Together we made enough for all of the kids in the class, so I could take them to school and pass them out.
I had never heard of this before, but I like the idea, and I think that I might try it for my kids next year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day#United_States

Max Barry | he writes things

2011-04-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Max Barry | he writes things

http://maxbarry.com/2011/03/23/news.html

I wrote some code to embed my tweets on my website. There’s a statement that would have made no sense in 1990. Actually, it barely makes sense now. But I did it. I’m proud of my site. I built it myself. Occasionally I get an email saying, “What software do you use to run your site and how do I get it?” I think the answer is: receive a Commodore 64 for your tenth birthday and no good games.

But that’s not why I’m writing. I’m writing because I decided to grow my own vegetables. A few people I knew were growing their own vegetables, and they kept yakking about how wonderful it was, not depending on manufactured supermarket vegetables, which are evil for some reason, so I thought what the hell.

For a while I was intimidated by the idea of growing vegetables. When I reach for a vegetable, I usually just want to eat it. I don’t want to be intimately involved with its creation. I worried I would end up spending more time tending to the health of fragile, overly complicated peas than eating them.

Then I saw an ad for genetically modified seeds. These promised to take the hassle out of growing vegetables, which seemed pretty intriguing. The tomatoes would be big and red and I wouldn’t have to do anything. So I got those.

This upset my hippy friends. Especially when I started having problems. My frankenfruit was supposed to be simple but after a few weeks the whole garden stopped growing. My cabbages were flaccid. My carrots were anemic. My spinach wouldn’t self-seed. It wasn’t supposed to self-seed. The genetics company had engineered it not to, so I’d have to buy new seeds each season. But I thought there should be a way around that.

I asked my hippy friends for help. Well! You’d think I asked for a kidney. They kept bringing up the fact that I was using GM seeds. Eventually they all got together and said, “Max… we can’t help you any more. We want to. But you brought these problems on yourself. And the thing is, when you ask for help, you’re actually asking us to use our skills and knowledge to prop up a corporatized product that’s not just practically inferior to the free alternative you ignored, but actually bad for the world. We just can’t do that.”

And that was how I taught them to stop asking me for help with Windows.

Are aging Baby Boomers taking your IT wisdom with them in retirement? - CIO Symmetry

2011-04-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Are aging Baby Boomers taking your IT wisdom with them in retirement? - CIO Symmetry

You have to laugh at the conference room thing.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that retiring Baby Boomers will leave a record number of jobs open when they retire — by the time 2018 rolls around, we’ll be looking at a hard-core worker shortage. According to the attendees at FusionCIO conference last month, it’s happening already in IT.

One CIO who asked not to be named said that out of his 72 employees, more than a third (24 workers) could retire at any moment. And he was stressed about the fact that they could all walk at the same time, basically putting him in a solid state of hiring mode for months. The problem isn’t limited to just his team: He laughed and said the company literally had to issue a memo forbidding the use of conference rooms for retirement parties because his office had so many people retiring that it couldn’t find space for actual meetings.

The Baby Boomers gave birth to the Information Age. We are so focused on looking toward the future at new technology that sometimes we miss the importance of history. There’s the old cherry of never really knowing what you’ve until it’s gone: If you looked around your office right now, how many of your graying IT workers do what they do so competently that you never get to see how crucial their functions are, or how their absence might lead to a catastrophic failure of the process?

At my last employer, one IT guru had retired in May 2009, but he was still working in a consulting role as of February (making five times what he did as a regular employee). During his career, everyone knew that he was amazing, but no one had ever thought about how much pivoted around the information that was trapped inside one guy’s brain. They didn’t see that many processes literally could not function without his constant vigilance. In theory, he was brought back to mentor, but the mentees were so green that half of the information he was imparting flew totally over their heads. Every time he finished up his mentoring and left, a few months later some crisis would arise or the replacement quit and he’d be called back. And each return took more incentive for him to leave retirement life and return to the cubicle gulag.

Mentoring is critical as our aging Baby Boomers prepare to make the transition to retirement. With something as blatant and predictable as seniority, there’s no excuse for being taken by surprise by a retiring Baby Boomer.

What mentoring and knowledge transfer programs are in place in your organization? What are you doing to ensure that your brilliant fiftysomething IT professional that you rely on daily isn’t going to leave you and take with her all the magic that makes your legacy systems or installed base programs function?

GM's Chevy Volt Vs. Nissan Leaf Review

2011-03-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

I'm really interested in getting an electric car. I like the all-electricness of the Leaf, but what happens if you run out of juice? Perhaps an increase on the solar panels may help.
The Volt looks better, but the battery only gets you 40 miles? Can they use the Volt battery instead of the one they have in there now?
Well, we'll see how this plays out eventually.

GM's Chevy Volt Vs. Nissan Leaf Review

GM’s Chevy Volt Vs. Nissan Leaf: The Mass-Market Electric Vehicle Wars Begin
Submitted by G.E. Miller on Monday, August 2, 201015 Comments.
5EmailThe Mass-Market Electric Vehicle Wars Commence
The GM Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf will both enter showrooms at the tail end of this year. And with GM announcing the Chevy Volt price this week, you can finally find out how much each would set you back to live the “the green dream”. I’ll give a brief run-down of the price, specs, and features of each vehicle and try to decipher which might be the better buy. It turns out that they might not be as far out of your league as you may have initially thought…

Chevy Volt

■Chevy Volt Price: GM announced yesterday that the Chevy Volt purchase price would be $41,000.
■Electric Vehicle Tax Credit for the Chevy Volt: The Volt qualifies for a full electric vehicle federal tax credit of $7,500 (bringing cost down to $33,500). It might be eligible for state credits as well, depending on the state (note: Oregon is offering $1,500 off, Georgia is offering $5,000).
■Volt Lease Price: $350/month, 36 months, $2,500 down.
■Luxury Standard Features: Just about everything, including 8 airbags, 5 years of OnStar, Bluetooth capability, 30 GB hard-drive for music storage, 6 speaker Bose sound system with subwoofer, remote start, navigation with voice recognition.
■Warranty: 8 years, 100,000 miles on all electric components.
■Mileage Range: 40 miles electric (gas and emission free) + 300 miles on internal gas engine to power electric drive.

Nissan Leaf

■Nissan Leaf Price: $32,780.
■Electric Vehicle Tax Credit for the Nissan Leaf: The Leaf qualifies for a full electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 (bringing cost down to $25,280). It might be eligible for state credits as well, depending on the state (note: California offers a $5,000 credit for the leaf, and not the Volt).
■Leaf Lease Price: $350/month, 36 months, $2,000 down.
■Luxury Standard Features: Bluetooth, navigation system.
■Warranty: 8 years, 100,000 miles on all electric components.
■Mileage Range: 100 miles electric (gas and emission free). No internal gas engine for extended range.
Chevy Volt Versus Nissan Leaf Review
I have been clamoring for electric vehicles for a long time now. The Tesla Roadster (out of most mortal humans price range at $108,000) and the unreleased Tesla Model S (a more modest $49,000 before incentives) both get 300 miles on a charge. So the technology is there to provide a 100% electric vehicle that can take you just about anywhere in a day. But neither the Volt or Leaf were able to come anywhere near that range.

So, I’m conflicted. I like the fact that the Leaf is 100% electric (no emissions). However, the range pretty much makes it a commuter car only, unless you have friends every 90 miles or so that you would allow you to charge up your car on an extended trip.

For that reason, I like the Volt’s extended range capabilities. However, the 40 miles on one charge is not jaw-dropping impressive, especially when you consider than the older lead-acid batteries on the EV1 had a range of 70-100 miles, back in 1996. For anyone with a decent commute, you wouldn’t be able to go 100% electric on the round trip unless you had somewhere at work to plug in. If GM could have just pushed it up to 60 or 80 miles on a charge, it would have provided a lot more convenience.

Both vehicles are cheaper than I was expecting them to be, when the tax credit is factored in (and much cheaper than the EV1 that GM leased in 1996, which was $400-$550/month). If you can nab an extra $5k state tax credit, you’re looking at a $20,000 cost on a new electric Leaf. Not bad for an all electric right out of the gate! The purchasing tax incentives and lower sticker price lead to the Leaf being the better deal of the two for buyers.

With GM subsidizing the Volt’s lease price to make it equal to the Leaf (excluding a + $500 on the down payment), it makes it the better leasing option because of the super standard options and extended range. Plus, it’s easier on the eyes.

If either GM or Nissan read this and would like to let me indefinitely “borrow” either vehicle, I might be able to review in more detail. Make a believer out of me. (Note to GM: I’m in the Detroit area).

Not that either is more cost efficient than buying a used Honda Civic, so don’t blast me on that. But which of the two would you buy?

2600Online.com - Adventure - Online Atari Games - 2600 Games - Pac-Man - Ms. Pac-Man - Berzerk - Yars Revenge - Classic Games - VCS

2011-03-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

2600Online.com - Adventure - Online Atari Games - 2600 Games - Pac-Man - Ms. Pac-Man - Berzerk - Yars Revenge - Classic Games - VCS

What can be cooler than playing your old Atari 2600 games online?

Nothing.

More on this later...

'Wimpy Kid' Author Keeps Day Job on Kids' Website - ABC News

2011-03-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

'Wimpy Kid' Author Keeps Day Job on Kids' Website - ABC News

I like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and I've seen the movie, and I like Poptropica too. I didn't know Kinney worked on the website, so that makes him and both of these things even cooler.

Also, just found out that the next movie Roderick Rules will be out March 25, 2011!!

Kick ass!!

Mafia Party Game Online

2011-03-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

There is a party game called Mafia (or Werewolves or sometimes other things) that is also played online in forums. I just recently started playing it, and enjoy it a lot. It combines logic and analysis, and is usually a lot of un.

A cool site for learning the basics of the Mafia game, it includes roles and how to play. The links take you to Mafiascum.net, but I like playing at Paranoia Paradise.

I mostly play here:

http://community.wizards.com/paranoia/go/forum/viewcategory/76625/Mafia_is_Serious_Business

20 TV Pilots We Hope Get Made Into Series - TV.com

2011-03-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

20 TV Pilots We Hope Get Made Into Series - TV.com

Some of these seem OK, some seem like a total waste of time and effort.

Hey, why not just bring back Heroes?!!

Wheel of Time Re-Read Index | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts

2011-03-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Wheel of Time Re-Read Index | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts

Since I plan to do this when the last book comes out, I want this link to be available. I can then compare mine to hers!

YouTube - Borderlands Soundtrack (Intro Song)

2011-02-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

YouTube - Borderlands Soundtrack (Intro Song)

Cool song. Even cooler game.

NISD Fundraising Night

2011-02-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

A Fundraising Night
for N.I.S.D. Gifted &Talented/Enrichment
Advisory Council
Thursday, March 10, 2011
4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
A Family Night Out

Dine at Fuddruckers (Colonnade or Ingram Location)
and play a game at Laser Quest!

Funds will be donated to the Northside Education
Foundation fund helping teachers and
students with innovative projects and activities.

NISD GT Advisory Council

March. 10 , 4 - 9 pm
6759 NW Loop 410 (Ingram)
and
9845 W. IH-10 (Colonnade)

AmericanHeritage.com / Blog: S. M. Stirling’s Strange World of Alternate History

2011-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

AmericanHeritage.com / Blog: S. M. Stirling’s Strange World of Alternate History

I like this author, and have most of these books.

2011-02-11T14:55:00.001-08:00

Tales of Symphonia Mafia Game

Migraines, Headaches, and Caffeine

2011-02-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Migraines, Headaches, and Caffeine
Reprinted from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/triggers-caffeine

Caffeine can be both beneficial and harmful for a headache sufferer. It can serve as a treatment or, in some cases, can cause withdrawal or rebound headaches.

What Is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a commonly used drug that increases alertness, decreases fatigue, and improves muscle coordination. Though coffee comes to mind as the most common source of caffeine, it's also naturally found in tea and chocolate, and it is often added to soft drinks and non-prescription drugs like pain-relievers and cold remedies. People vary in their sensitivity to caffeine. If used excessively, caffeine can be too stimulating and cause anxiety, sleep problems, muscle twitching, or abdominal pain.

How Does Caffeine Treat Headaches?
Caffeine is a common ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter headache medications (see list below). Caffeine additives make pain relievers 40% more effective in treating headaches. Caffeine also helps the body absorb headache drugs more quickly, bringing faster relief. By adding caffeine and, in turn, taking less medication, you can reduce the risk for potential side effects and possible drug addiction.

I used a generic "Pain Away" medication one time. It got me through a bout with sinus infection. Later, I wondered how to get some more, so I looked up the ingredients and found acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. I thought the caffeine sounded odd, so I looked it up, and sure enough, it's used in headache pain relievers.
(turned out the Pain Away was a generic Excedrin)

The Internet Explodes As Egypt’s Dictator Finally Quits | Danger Room | Wired.com

2011-02-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

The Internet Explodes As Egypt’s Dictator Finally Quits Danger Room Wired.com

It's been in the news since my wife came back from Egypt.

Looks like Mubarak finally stepped down. Hope things get better for Egypt.

Is There An iPhone App for That?

2011-02-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

Reposted from:
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/cio/is-there-an-iphone-business-app-for-that/?track=NL-973&ad=812010&asrc=EM_NLN_13256537&uid=1674416

Feb 3 2011 7:35PM GMT
Is there an iPhone business app for that?Posted by: Christina Torode
I’ve had an iPhone 4 for a few months now and I haven’t even begun to tap all the things I can do, and I’m nowhere near taking advantage of all the iPhone business apps.
I know this because the salesperson over at the Apple store gave me a funny look when I asked him to check if I had a defective battery. ‘Gee, you haven’t downloaded much. I have 3,000 songs on my iPhone and…hmmm you’re on an older version of the OS. Do you sync your phone up with your computer to get the latest updates? Have you checked out the App store? There are apps that you can use for work too, and you can make your own apps.’
What I’ve discovered so far is songs that I haven’t heard for years, Angry Birds (yes the game is as addictive as everyone says) and that you can scratch your iPhone screen (despite the car key test the Apple store employees show you before you buy one). All it takes is walking away from your phone for a few minutes while a puppy intent on eating your iPhone bumper is in the room.
As for business applications, I have it synced up with my work email account and I downloaded a scanner application to input receipts in my company’s travel and expense system. That’s it. It’s pitiful I know, but I have been checking out other iPhone business apps lately.
If I were a salesperson I could track leads and view invoices, and if I were a sys admin I could remotely update desktops. Actually, there are a lot of useful iPhone apps for IT admins like Rove Virtual Machine Manager and NiceTrace.There’s also apps that let you view financial reports and see how well a marketing campaign is doing.
And in this economy, who couldn’t use a few good networking apps. On the retail side I think it’s pretty cool that credit card transactions can now be swiped on the iPhone, even if I’m switching topics here to hardware advancements.
I know I’m glossing over a lot of other applications, but what I’m looking for is iPhone business apps that appeal to a more general audience, and what is more general than the use of Microsoft Office. I haven’t tried these out yet so this is by no means a plug, but according to their Website, DataViz makes Documents to Go, an application that lets you view and edit word documents and sync mail and documents with your Exchange Server. QuickOffice also has a suite of applications, one of which lets you create and edit Office files on your iPhone.
I’m not the only one on the look out for useful, general purpose mobile business apps. A lot of IT executives are putting mobile application development at the top of their priority list. The consensus at a Society for Information Management panel at the annual SIM conference this past October was that the developer community isn’t making many useful business applications, but instead ones that appeal to younger consumers. And this group of consumers find business applications “boring.”
“We, as enterprise architects of our organizations, have to understand that feature sets are going to be driven by consumer demand, not by what we in the business would like to see,” said panelist Chuck Musciano, vice president and CIO of construction material supplier Martin Marietta Materials Inc., at the time.
If this is true, then it will be up to internal IT departments to come up with ways to connect apps that the business needs to mobile devices, as is the case already at many Midmarket companies.
Let us know what you think about this blog post; email Christina Torode, News Director.

Because I one day hope to own an iPhone, but even more so an iPad!!

Mirrodin Besieged Pre-Release

2011-01-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

The new Magic set Mirrodin Beseiged is coming out tonight at midnight.

You can go here for a visual spoiler of the cards:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/mirrodinbesieged/spoiler#

The biggest thing to me is the infect creatures have grown BIG, and white now has infect.

Not sure how I feel about the faction packs just yet. I'll rpobably do one of each, then go from there.

I like the new Myrs. Can't wait to add them to standard.

Kelley Williams-Bolar: Mom jailed for wanting to give kids a better life - Education - Salon.com

2011-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Kelley Williams-Bolar: Mom jailed for wanting to give kids a better life - Education - Salon.com

This has hit the news, and I understand both sides.

She broke the law, she deserved it.
She was only doing the best for her kids.

Being a parent, and a citizen who enjoys the laws that protect me, I believe I can see both sides of the issue. And with the full faith and power of Parent and American, I can say:

Bullshit.

There's the legal bullshit-
A felony? For completing paperwork that states your children have a right to go to the school? I think anyone could come up with 10 felonies off the top of their head, and none of them would start with "When completing school enrollment forms..."
Also, her father lived in the district. He paid property taxes. If he has no kids that attend school, does he still pay taxes? Yes. So, if his granddaughters attend, why the hell would the judge think making the mom pay $30,000 is anywhere remotely fair?
At some point, when our laws no are no longer providing for a better way of life, they should be examined and changed, so that they do provide that. This is one of those laws.

There's the moral point-
A single mom moved her kids to the best school that she had access to. She didn't drive around until she found the best. She didn't target the best. No, she sent her kids to the district where her Dad lived. So that they would receive the best education possible in the best environment possible. If we're going to start punishing people for being good parents, then we need to take a closer look at ourselves.

Now, interestingly enough, this looks to have been settled, at least in mom's eyes:

http://education.ohio.com/2011/01/copley-wins-residency-fight/

Yet somehow, the school crops back up again? And once again, the kids grandfather lived in the district, so taxes were already being paid.

There are some that would argue that she broke the law and deserved the punishment. Actually, the law she broke would be about on par with crossing an empty street outside of the crosswalk when the "Don't Walk" sign was lit. Or, sneaking candy into the movie theatre. Find your punishment for those "crimes", and that's the most she might deserve.

YouTube - Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

2011-01-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

YouTube - Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

Pretty awesome use of digitalization and overlay graphics. In addition to the coolness of the statistics themselves.

Kolache Stop Bakery and Cafe | Kolache Stop

2011-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Kolache Stop Bakery and Cafe Kolache Stop

Today was the grand opening!!

Well, luckily I got there after the rush, but ordered the bacon, egg, and cheese kolache, an omelet kolache (it has egg, cheese, tomato, and bell pepper), a cinnamon twist (for later), a fruit cup (blueberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew), and some really good coffee in a Kolache Stop travel mug.

For the grand opening, also got a free sausage kolache. Not a big sausage fan, but really liked the egg ones.

And since I've previewed the chicken fajita kolaches for lunch, I highly recommend those. They are almost too good!! I definitely want to try the rest of the lunch menu.

And the coffee was really good. There is a medium roast, and dark medium, and decaffeinated. I normally find the dark roasts too bitter, but I did about a 60/40 dark to medium mix, and the result was very good. I finished it before I left the parking lot! Jamie attributes it to the press they use. Fair enough, since I'm not really a connoisseur, I just know what tastes good to me.

They are located at the corner of Vance Jackson and Huebner, across from Hobby Middle School and across from the vet's office. If you check it out leave a comment about what you think.

Reviews: Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater | LibraryThing

2011-01-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Reviews: Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater LibraryThing

I read Mr. Popper's Penguins while waiting for the League of Legends games to load. It was a fast read and decent book. Probably very good for those that aren't big fans of reading and/or want a change from the Diary of a Wimpy kid or Harry Potter series.

I posted my review here, on LibraryThing.

End of the Year 2010

2010-12-31T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's the final day of 2010. Since I still find it amusing, I'm piosting the Auto-Tune the News: Backin' up song!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjYSERaXEGI&list=SL

Here's the original news interview. I think it always make the song more enjoyable. There is part of the song, but not the full i-tunes version like the link above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8oXSIQ2mmI&playnext=1&list=PL105DFC50723AF277&index=4

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
See you in 2011!!

Research Links Personality Traits to TV Viewing Habits - Advertising Age - News

2010-12-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Research Links Personality Traits to TV Viewing Habits - Advertising Age - News

Although I don't believe personality defines what we buy, I think it can influence what we watch and what we want to buy.

D&D Children's' Books

2010-12-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

D&D Children's' Books

Although I really liked the Choose Your Own Adventures books, it would be nice if there were some D&D books for kids again.

14 Fatal Resume Mistakes

2010-10-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's a good idea to update your resume every once in a while. Here is a list of mistakes to avoid from www.salary.com.

14 Fatal Resume Mistakes

Hospital Compare

2010-10-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

The U.S. government has put up a website that lets you check up on surveys from various hospitals close to you and compare their quality of care.

I checked up on Methodist, University, and Santa Rosa. And the results were a little surprising.

Also, all three seemed to do only about as well as the state and national average. I guess I expected more.

Medicare Hospital Compare Quality of Care

Tombstone Generator

2010-10-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

How many times have you thought to yourself, "That needs to go on my tombstone. Or better yet, their tombstone."
Now your wish can come true.

Tombstone Generator

Scars of Mirrodin Pre-Release

2010-09-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the Scars of Mirrodin pre-release!! A few places are starting at midnight.

I can't wait!!

Magic the Gathering In San Antonio, TX

2010-09-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've started getting into playing Magic:The Gathering again. It's been a while (10+ years), but the kdis are getting of an age where they might like it. We've played, and they enjoyed it well enough, but I figured I'd try the tournaments, which is entirely new to me.

To that end, I had to find out where to play. The Wizards of the Coast website has a locater where you can find places to play and buy cards and participate in organized and/or DCI sanctioned events. Also, some places have casual or EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) play on different nights. So, this post is an effort to make sense of it all, or at least make sense of what I learned.

Monday
7:00 pm - Dragon's Lair
Casual & EDH

Tuesday
Nothing I can find so far. But, I'm going to keep looking

Wednesday
6:00 pm - Gamelot
Casual & EDH

Thursday
6:00 pm - Cards & Crafts
Casual
7:00 pm - Heroes & Fantasies (Pat Booker)
Booster Draft

Friday
7:00 pm - Dragon's Lair
7:00 pm - Cards & Crafts
7:00 pm - Heroes & Fantasies (Pat Booker, Summit Pkwy, Bitters)
7:00 pm - Gamelot
Friday Night Magic
This is usually Standard constructed (bring your own), but some places do booster drafts.
Also, most places charge up to $5, but Gamelot has a free tournament that starts around 8pm.

Saturday
5:00 pm - Heroes & Fantasies (Summit Pkwy)
Constructed

Sunday
12:00 noon - Cards & Crafts
Booster draft

There is also qualifying events for the big magic tournaments that happen occasionally, as well as product release and pre-release events.

Generally, some places have pre-release events at midnight of the day of release. Others have events at noon of the release day (Saturday). Others have events Sunday. Some have both Saturday and Sunday, some have both midnight and noon events. In all cases, call first, that way you can get the information updated and straight from the source.

Plastic to oil fantastic, Japan | OurWorld 2.0

2010-08-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Plastic to oil fantastic, Japan OurWorld 2.0

Very cool article (and video) about a machine a man invented to turn plastic into oil. It happened years ago, but great news in terms of recycling.

Here is the article.

Here is the video.

Washing Machine Failure

2010-07-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

New Washing Machine

My old machine is now leaking slightly from the bottom, and the bearing is going out so every load is accompanied by a THUMP THUMP THUMP during spin. And it is only getting worse.
I called an appliance repair place and described the problem, and they said yes, it would be more expensive to repair it than to replace it.

So, while looking around, I came across a "Buying Guide" for washing machines. I don't really need it, but a response (included below) made me realize that that is probably what happened to our machine.

Thanks, David, for your research and testing, and clear reporting of the results.

(From the website: http://www.appliance.net/2009/washing-machine-shopping-guide-1403)
David Field on Oct 11th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Some of the front load machines have aluminium (Al) spiders connecting the spin drum to the drive pulley.
Aluminium is corroded by, amongst other things, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) otherwise known as ‘bleach’, Sodium carbonate, Sodium percarbonate, (these later two I found listed on the contents of a popular laundry aid), sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) (this one is sometimes used as a stabiliser in ‘bleach’ but I did not find it listed on the two containers of ‘bleach’ I found in our house).

To demonstrate what ‘bleach’ can do to aluminium just find a piece of scrap aluminium, without any coating, or remove the coating and let it sit in air for a couple of days to develop the naturally occurring oxide coating, then put one drop of ‘bleach’, straight from the bottle, onto the aluminium and leave it overnight. The following morning you should have a nice little pile of corrosion products on your aluminium. This is what can happen to aluminium components in your washer, albeit at a much slower rate because the ‘bleach’ is diluted.

To check if any of your laundry products are harmful to aluminium perform an Internet search for the material safety data sheet for the chemical concerned (e.g. Sodium Hydroxide Material Safety data Sheet).

I know these spiders are fitted to some ‘Kenmore’ (manufactured by Frigidaire) machines, some Frigidaire machines sold under their own name, and some GE machines. Very likely there are many others. Additionally any aluminium component in the water area is susceptible to corrosion.

This information has been passed to Sears and Frigidaire.
Sears advise that the information ‘will be passed to the appropriate departments’ but have refused to pass any further information on to us.
Frigidaire have assured us that they use only the best quality materials and that they will pass on the information to their design engineers, the very people who would have specified aluminium in the first place. Hardly re-assuring.

My wife and I have two Sears ‘Kenmore’ washing machines built by Frigidaire.
I recently had to tear down the old one (8 years old) because of bearing failure. Nothing to fantastic there, those bearings take one heck of a pounding. In addition to the failed bearings and failed ‘spider shaft’ seal, likely caused by the bearing failure, the brass sleeve on which the lips of the seal run was scored, by the spring in the seal, rendering it unserviceable.
What I also found on dismantling the machine was a build up of a deposit, resembling powdered detergent that had got damp and ‘clumped’ adhering, quite strongly, to the spider (a shaft [of steel], and aluminium hub with three spokes) which attaches to the stainless steel inner drum and the driving pulley. This ‘deposit’ would not flush away, as powdered detergent, being soluble in water, would have. I took my pressure washer to ours but still did not get it completely clean. Whereupon I discovered that the aluminium portion of the spider was quite heavily corroded towards the centre with almost no corrosion towards the outer third of the spokes.

At first I thought this was galvanic corrosion caused by the steel of the shaft and the aluminium of the hub. There is quite an informative paper on Galvanic Corrosion, use ‘Yahoo’ and search for ‘UN1001 Reactor Chemistry and Corrosion’ and open the link that gives ‘un1001_Galvanic Corrosion’, the authors are Lister and Cook. The ‘deposit’ though had me puzzled until I researched corrosion of aluminium and discovered that it is normally corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH value below about 4.0 or above about 8.0 (nitric acid is apparently an exception). Common household bleach (sodium hypochlorite NaOCl) is a strong alkali. I placed a drop of bleach, straight from the bottle, on an undamaged section of a spoke from my spider and a drop of vinegar (acid), which my wife favours, on another arm and left them overnight. The following morning there was nothing left of the vinegar and no signs of damage to the spider. Where the bleach had been was a small pile of a whitish powder, which resembled the ‘deposit’ and was also, for the portion immediately adjacent to the spider, quite difficult to remove.

Numerous detergents are alkaline, they have to be or they would not work, also alkaline are numerous other laundry aids. Reference to the ‘contents’ labels on the containers and the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on the Internet will give more insight. In addition to ‘bleach’ I have found sodium carbonate and sodium percarbonate in laundry products in our house. Sodium hydroxide, which is sometimes used to stabilize ‘bleach’, is also strongly alkaline, and corrosive to aluminium, it was not listed however on the two ‘brands’ of bleach I found in our house.

For some time prior to the bearing failure my wife had been complaining of a ‘moldy mildewey smell’ coming from the washer and leaving an odour on our laundry, particularly the towels. After I rebuilt the washer, new drum and spider, they are not available separately, together with new bearings and seal, it ran a lot quieter, no surprise, but here is the kicker, according to my wife ‘no smell’. Conclusion, the only thing different is no ‘deposit’. Now does the ‘deposit’ itself cause the ‘smell’ or does it collect undesirable compounds that cause the offensive aromas? I don’t know but it is certainly ‘food for thought’ particularly when I found two references on the Internet to people stripping their washers down and getting ride of ‘deposits’ which cured their ‘smell’. The odours, I fear, will return unless the owners alter their laundry habits.

To see what corrosion of aluminium can do perform an Internet search “Why Kenmore Front Loading Washers Fail” and watch the short video. I do not agree with the comment that it is galvanic corrosion between the spider and the stainless steel drum, should this have been the case one would have expected the spider to be corroded adjacent to its connection to the drum. Neither do I believe the deposit the gentleman showed to be caked detergent for the reason stated above (mine would not flush away).

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David Blaine Street Magic - Cool Creations videos from MEview | Metro.co.uk

2010-06-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

David Blaine Street Magic - Cool Creations videos from MEview | Metro.co.uk

I never knew who David Blaine was, but now I know.

Some of the best street magic I've ever seen.

THE RAVEN FILM

2010-06-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

THE RAVEN FILM

Pretty cool short film. Good action, story, and special effects, better than some longer, big budget films.

Check it out.

Streaker Scores Goal during Pro Football (Soccer) Match

2010-06-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Streaker Scores Goal during Pro Footballl Match - Funny videos from MEview | Metro.co.uk

Today's Document (Illustrated)

2010-06-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today's Document (Illustrated)

A little bit of history as records from the National Archives are examined, studied, and translated.

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

2010-06-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Of course....

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz
The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others.
Left Brain Dominance:	(16)
Right Brain Dominance:	(16)
Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

Tor.com / Science fiction and fantasy / Blog posts / Star Trek TOS Re-watch: Introductory Post

2010-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Tor.com / Science fiction and fantasy / Blog posts / Star Trek TOS Re-watch: Introductory Post

Sometimes I don't get to watch classic episodes of Star Trek, so this is the next best thing: an episdoe by episode breakdown of what happened, and then Eugene Myers and Tori Atkinson's comments on it.

They also point out the edits that have been made from the original.

Take a look at it here.

The Empire Strikes Back Vintage Movie Trailer

2010-05-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Empire Strikes Back Vintage Movie Trailer

I think it's pretty cool to re-imagine the Empire Strikes Back as a 50's movie. This link takes you to the website with all of the thought behind it, and the video is below.

Monstrous Collection of Cool Rules | Squarefour.org

2010-05-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Monstrous Collection of Cool Rules | Squarefour.org

We played four square a few months ago at the school, and the kids didn't seem to know the special rules that could be called. I found a list, and most of them seem to be on there, even if the name appears to be different.

So, even though it's been a while, I am posting my variations of the special rules.

Black Magic- Allows you to "spin" or "twist" the ball into a square. This will usually cause it to hit at an angle that is hard to return.

Bubbles- Allows you to "juggle" the ball without holding it. It must be constantly in motion. There is no time limit, unless Bubbles is declared with a number. That number is the maximum time your Bubbles can continue.

Bus Stop- Allows you to stop the ball mid-air to cause it to drop into your square. Still cannot catch it, but can act as a basketball backboard to cause it to fall into your square.

Catches- Allows you to catch and hold the ball. However the ball is still in play. Catches with a number limits the catch time to the number to seconds. Catches 10 means each catch can has to last less than 10 seconds.

Corners- A warning that corners of a square may be targeted. When not called, if it goes into a corner but touches a line, the benefit of the doubt is given to the defender. With Corners called, the benefit of the doubt goes to the attacker.

Doubles- The ball MUST bounce in a square twice before leaving the square.

Triples- The ball MUST bounce in a square 3 times before leaving a square.

Grand Slam- Allows the ball to be thrown HARD into another persons square. This will usually send the ball bouncing above the other persons head. Without Grand Slam being called, throwing the ball is not legal.

Leg- The ball must touch the leg of the player before leaving their square. Can also be used with other body parts.

Line In- Hits to any line are considered "in bounds" and playable. Line hits are in favor of the server.

Line Out- Hits to any line are considered "out of bounds". On inner lines, this indicates that line hits count against the server.

Same- The rules are the same as they were called last time.

Time Outs- Allows anyone with possession of the ball to call a time out, for no reason other that they want to.

1. Rules can be called by the A square when they have the ball and it is not in play.
2. All rules apply to all squares.

Let me know if I'm missing any. :-)

New Finance Blog

2010-05-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Found a new blog about Finance.

http://www.experiglot.com/

Website Gives Away Free Books

2010-04-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

My company has started a website which gives away a book every time you read one. It's children's books, and the books go to support literacy and reading campaigns worldwide.

You can register or just help out anonymously at We Give Books.org

You can let kids read straight from the website, or you can read out loud to them. It's easy to do, and it's for a great cause- free books!!

Jim C. Hines » Fundraising for Rape Crisis Centers

2010-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Support rape crisis centers and enter to win an Advance Copy of Red Hood’s Revenge, by Jim C. Hines.

You can also go to Jim's website to read more about, and then spread the word yourself!!

Making the Case for iPad E-Book Prices - NYTimes.com

2010-03-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

Making the Case for iPad E-Book Prices - NYTimes.com

Article talking about how the costs relate to the prices for ebooks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/business/media/01ebooks.html?pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1267718807-b8q6Bdjs1JyFu1CUot4CVg

Not sure if I am ready to jump into the "paperless book" just yet. I read online, and can read from a screen, and have read ebooks before also. But, there is no $300 unit you have to buy, no additional costs for the material inside the covers, no batteries to worry about, no damage to worry about.

We'll see. Maybe I'll get a Kindle or iPad for Christmas and change my tune.

(hint, hint)

Peregrine Falcon Acting Pretty Cocky Since Being Taken Off Endangered Species List | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2010-03-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is so topical, and of the utmost newsworthiness, so today I will discuss my namesake.

Peregrine Falcon Acting Pretty Cocky Since Being Taken Off Endangered Species List The Onion - America's Finest News Source

I also want to mention what a beautiful picture it is.

Twitter & Blackberry Bibles

2010-03-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Good to have.

http://www.cio.com/article/330964/BlackBerry_Bible_Everything_You_Need_to_Know_About_Your_RIM_Smartphone

and

http://www.cio.com/article/492019/Twitter_Bible_Everything_You_Need_To_Know_About_Twitter

Economic Reports

2010-03-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

On my Investor Word of the Day, found this: 10 Major Economic Reports (http://www.investorwords.com/slides/economic_reports/intro.html).

Jobless rates are weekly.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is monthly.
Payroll data (for 80% of US employees) is monthly.
Producer Price Index (PPI) is monthly.
Beige book is published 8 times a year. It is a report on conditions within each region of the Federal Reserve Board.
Consumer Confidence Index is monthly.
Durable goods orders is monthly.
Gross Domestic Product is quarterly.
Retail Sales Index is monthly.
Housing starts are generally monthly.

Cell Phones

2010-03-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Got a TechTarget email about the 12 types of annoying cell phone users. While I don't find them annoying in general, every once in a while I get a "Grrrrrr" moment.

That led to me the slide show of the Mobile Phone in pictures at http://www.cio.com/article/504135/The_Mobile_Phone_A_History_in_Pictures. Since it's a flash to the past to see all the old cell phones and try to remember "Did I ever have that one?", I'm putting up the link to it too.

Debt Collector Harassment

2010-03-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Googled a random phone number and found a site where a poster had posted some good advice. The bulk of it appears to have been taken from the Federal Trade Commission website, but as long as it's correct, then a big thank you to the poster.

None of the links have been verified or scanned at all. Please, as always, investigate at your own risk.

File complaints with

Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

Your State Attorney General is in every state they have offices
Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org

If you or they are located in NY – use this SPECIAL Link www.NYDebtHelp.com

Also report your calls and contacts with debt collectors at http://www.budhibbs.com/index.html
If the company is listed under agencies – report there. If not on the list YET, click on Watchlist! and add to the list.
You can also post here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum2/index.php?board=2.0

Dealing with Debt Collectors http://www.budhibbs.com/start.html

Statute of Limitations by State – always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm

Recording calls from Debt Collectors - always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Websitehttp://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm

From Federal Trade Commission Website –
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you’re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor’s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?T
he Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn’t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they’re told (orally or in writing) that you’re not allowed to get calls there.

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter – even if you don’t think you owe the debt, can’t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don’t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector – in writing – to stop contacting you. Here’s how to do that:Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people – but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don’t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don’t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact.
For example, they may not:

use threats of violence or harm;
publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
use obscene or profane language; or
repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt.

For example, they may not:

falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
misrepresent the amount you owe;
indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren’t; or
indicate that papers they send to you aren’t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

you will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt;
they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action.

Debt collectors may not:

give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn’t; or
use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt.

For example, they may not:

try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt – or your state law – allows the charge;
deposit a post-dated check early;
take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
contact you by postcard.

Can I control which debts my payments apply to?

Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don’t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?

If you don’t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.

Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don’t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?

Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:

Social Security Benefits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
Veterans’ Benefits
Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
Service Members’ Pay
Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits
Student Assistance
Railroad Retirement Benefits
Merchant Seamen Wages
Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Death and Disability Benefits
Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance

But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?

You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?

If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?

Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General’s office can help you determine your rights under your state’s law.

For More InformationTo learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government’s portal to financial education.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Happy Parent? Count Me In!

2010-03-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

Two Simple Ways to Be a Happier Parent

Good starter article by Nancy Shute on how to be a happier parent.

http://health.yahoo.com/featured/84/two-simple-ways-to-be-a-happier-parent/

Reducing the stress caused by the stressful things you go through with your kids is one of them. Mornings being the toughest, it makes sense to get as much done the night before as possible.
-Have the kids lay out the clothes they want to wear. It reduces scrambling for them in the morning.
-Plan breakfast, whether at home or at school. Eggs take longer to make than cereal, so the parent has to plan for that, and give the kids time to eat.
-Have shoes, backpacks, homework, and signed goods in one spot ready to go. The kids can pick the spot. It just helps to have it all done the night before.

Of course, if the alarm doesn't go off, or people oversleep, then it will still be a stressful morning. But, having everything ready will make it less so.

And of course eating dinner together is better. If possible, let the kids help with the whole setup, preparation, and cleanup afterwards. They need to learn to cook, and to clean up after themselves. The hardest part about this is the short attention span kids have, the danger of hot cookware, and the frustration as kids get on your nerves while you’re trying to cook.
-Let them help where they can. Some things are not age appropriate. But, if it is, then let them do it. In this case what parents need is patience. Patience will lead to happiness.
-Let them do dishes while you cook. You share the kitchen and the experience, and have less to do later.
-Let them set the table. You can show the right way, then your way. :-)
-Some families do buffet style. Others have a central server who gets all of the plates ready. I prefer more of the “food-on-the-table” approach. This lets kids provide their own portions while being monitored, but still lets them do it themselves.
-Dinner together is a good way to teach manners. Not everyone will eat at the same speed. Kids can learn to be considerate of each other just by eating dinner and making it pleasant for everyone, just like they want their own experience to be pleasant.

If all else fails and they are running around underfoot while you're trying to make dinner, then have them play in their room, read a book, or watch TV.

Happy Anniversary

2010-02-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

Just finished 9 years at the same company. Besides being a personal record (previouly was 7 1/2), it marks the 9th anniversay.

Feel free to send all pottery, leather, and tickets to Cancun over to me to commemorate my nine years.

:-)

9th WORK ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Pottery
Modern Anniversary Gift: Leather
Travel Anniversary Gift Ideas: Mexico

http://honeymoons.about.com/cs/shopping/a/anniversarygift.htm

Self-described wolf woman severed lost dog's head

2010-02-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Whoa.

Too weird.

And by that, I mean I don't know where to begin.

Self-described wolf woman severed lost dog's head

Brenda Herber

2009-09-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Brenda is looking for a new job. To that end, she has created a pretty cool resume.

Even better, though, she has put it online. On the World Wide Web. Her very own page.

And it looks good.....

Check out Brenda's homepage!

So anyone with a REAL sales job that can use someone to do an OUTSTANDING job, drop her a line.

Where Have They All Gone?

2009-07-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Is the end near for mankind? Or at least for man?

In the movie Last Man on Planet Earth men destroy themselves and are re-created by a scientist.

Well, it seems a scientist in England has found a way to create sperm cells from stem cells. This seems to have cut out the middleman, as men may no longer be needed to continue the species.

While some women may rejoice, there may be a few out there that actually like us.

Let's hope.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8142104.stm

For Your Health

2009-07-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

I was looking for some exercise tips, and came across this health forum at http://www.natmedtalk.com/.

Now, I wouln't generally take the advice of complete strangers, especially on medical related issues, but fortunately I don't have to. Since the site is about natural alternatives to regular treatment (like drug therapy), it has advice that you are able to take with a grain of salt, but also possibly use.

I strongly believe that some conditions are best treated with medication. But, since I try to use it as a last resort, any sort of information I can find on other remedies is great.

Now, if I can just work up the nerve to try acupuncture.... (maybe even the DIY kit! :-))

National data privacy law coming; Big Brother, already here

2009-06-30T09:36:00.001-07:00

National data privacy law coming; Big Brother, already here

It would be nice to be able to contact companies and ask "What information do you have about me?" It would be nicer still to also be able to say "Yeah, you don't need to be keeping that. Delete it."

And if it doesn't become the law to be able to do that, it'll make a great business!

Shared via AddThis

Excel Recalculates Zero

2009-06-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Excel has recalculated the value of zero.

Zero is now equal to 3.55271E-14.

Not always. And I can't tell you why except it has to do with how the calculated cell is formatted.

If you sort it, it acts like zero.

But, it is not zero. Zero looks like this: "0"

Good 'ole Excel.

Changing the way we see the world.

New Doll for Girls

2009-06-10T09:48:00.001-07:00

Once again the Onion leads with breaking news that's good for you.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/new_homely_doll_to_improve_self

Obama Changes Goals for Americans

2009-06-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

From the Onion:

Obama Drastically Scales Back Goals For America After Visiting Denny's

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, and this will be the first blog post for 2009. It's also the first post from a mobile device. Hurray for me.
I could do one of those things were I talk about every little thing I do, but give me a break. That ain't gonna happen. I could have a specific theme that I stick to, but that ain't gonna happen either. Instead, I'll probably just post whatever the hell I want whenever I want to.
Yeah, that's what I'll do.
Welcome to 2009, and Troy says hello to eveyone.

State Constitutions

2008-09-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

I just found out that some states may have had more than one Constitution. I'm not sure why this surprises me, but I guess I also figured that if a constitution needed to be changed, it could always be amended. But, now that I think about it, the U.S. went from the Articles of Confederation to the U.S. Constitution, so it shouldn't be that surprising.

It does show that you can learn something new every day.

Ice Cream

2008-09-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

I scream. You scream. We all scream.
For ice cream.

The Next Version of Windows?

2008-09-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't been hearing nice things about Windows Vista. It's a resource hog and doesn't work as well XP, and why would anyone want to upgrade to something that is not as good as what we already have? Not to mention (unless this has changed), Vista was requiring an "always-on" internet connection to validate your use of it. If you have to leave your TV on all the time, then it would be just like George Orwell's 1984.

It seems that some companies are trying to entice companies to try something else. IBM, Red Hat, Novell, and Canonical are working together to come up with a Microsoft-free package that will be less expensive than Vista.

Check it out here at Techtarget.com: IBM, Friends Push 'Microsoft-free' World

Love...Is a Wonderful Thing....

2008-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone has seen shows and heard about how being in love makes you feel. Sure, when you're a kid and life is big and confusing and emotions are new and confusing and the world is so unfair and confusing and you're just confused and don't know what to do or how you feel or-

Wait.

It seems that in order to be truly safe, if you are experiencing the symptoms of "love", you better head on over to your doctor (or the free clinic), and get yourself checked. That's right, it might not be love at all, but one of ten diseases which could be mistaken for love.

Courtesy of the Office of Strategic Influence blog.

Wi-Fi Joins the Mile High Club

2008-08-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Delta will be offering internet service soon for it's flying passengers, making all that pesky sleep and readin time much more productive. I think it's great that technology is finally catching up to what we expect it to do.

On the other hand, what will happen when a passenger starts looking at websites that offend their fellow passenger, or airline employees? Will it be banned, blocked or censored by the airline, although a customer is paying for the right to access whatever content they desire on the internet? Although most people would find it embarrasing to access pornographic websites in public, at some point someone will do so if only to test the system.

Music

2008-07-23T10:47:00.001-07:00

I am what's known as "musically illiterate", in that I am highly unfamiliar with bands, band members, song names, etc. I will sometimes remember (and definitely misremember) song lyrics, and I can generally tell if I like a song or not, but that’s about it.

In the interest of trying to enjoy music more, I’ve been looking out for new music that I like or might like. Since the mainstream stuff is repeated ad nauseum on the radio, I usually am looking for music that is off the beaten path. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Rockstar song and the Delilah song, but most of them just get annoying after the 100th time it’s played.

I am a fan of the “classic rock” genre, and the kids have me listening to the “kiddie pop” on Radio Disney, but I’m looking for something more recent. While that may not work out, exactly, I figure I’ll address music with at least one blog post.

He hasn’t released a full CD yet, but is working on it. For now, I listen to Freddy on the Kidd Kraddick morning show. His songs tell stories, and I like my songs to do that. He’s got a single out, but iTunes and Quicktime annoyed me last time I downloaded it, so I’m just gonna wait for now. You can hear Freddy's songs on his website, and I think he will only get better.

Kidd also had a guest band that was not generally known, but happened to be in Bermuda when they were doing the show there. After hearing the song they played, I looked them up. They’ve come a ways since then, but I’m still waiting for them to put out a regular type CD also. They are called I Nine and are based out of South Carolina. They have also released some songs to iTunes, but until the CD, you can listen to them here.

Also, as soon as I have the time and actually do it, I’m going to get the soundtrack from the movie Juno. While teenage pregnancy is not one of my favorite topics being a dad and all, I liked most of the songs when I watched the movie. You can download the album (together or song-by-song) from Amazon, which also has a 30 second preview of each one, or just buy the CD.

On the little more adult side, the music from the new(!) Harold & Kumar movie has some funny songs. Being a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan (finally saw him in concert last year, and yes, I bought the T-Shirt), I always appreciate funny songs. So while the material is not suitable for children, it’s on my list to get…eventually.

So, that’s my attempts to “update” my musical inclinations. I’ll post again when I find more.

Man Takes Over San Francisco Computer Network

2008-07-16T08:46:00.001-07:00

Sounds like a movie waiting to happen. Apparently the network administrator for San Francisco's new wireless Wide-Area-Network has decided to lock out all of the other administrators. He refuses to give up the password, thereby making the entire network his own private domain.

It doesn't appear that users are locked out, so the city isn't shutting down or anything. But, it can't be accessed for admin purposes.

It's not taking over all the computers in the world ala Stormbreaker, but it's a start.

"This network is mine!!!"

Electric Car Four in Four Years

2008-07-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

Tesla is saying they will have an ell-electric car inside of 4 years, as battery technology improves and the costs of parts decrease. They are also talking of it costing under $30,000.

If you compare that to what's available now, it's either a motorcyle-type electric car that can barely go 20 miles, or some kind of sports car that tops in at over $100,000.

We'll see.

Future of Space Exploration

2008-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of continued space exploration, and of the technological benefits that the industry brings to people. It looks like Popular Mechanics has published an article about the Future of Space.

Captial of Texas Triathlon Finish

2008-06-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Ran it in!

How Movies Affect the Brain

2008-06-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Jun. 9, 2008) — Using advanced functional imaging methods, New York University neuroscientists have found that certain motion pictures can exert considerable control over brain activity. Moreover, the impact of films varies according to movie content, editing, and directing style. Because the study, which appears in Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, offers a quantitative neuroscientific assessment of the impact of different styles of filmmaking on viewers' brains, it may serve as a valuable method for the film industry to better assess its products and offer a new method for exploring how the brain works.

The study's authors are: Uri Hasson, Barbara Knappmeyer, Nava Rubin, and David Heeger, who hold appointments in NYU's Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, as well as Ohad Landesman, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and Ignacio Vallines, a research scientist at the University of Munich.
The researchers relied on two methodological tools in their study: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis. fMRI utilizes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner--like that routinely used for clinical evaluation of human anatomy. But it is reprogrammed to get a time-series of three-dimensional images of brain activity. In a typical fMRI experiment, a time-series of brain activity images is collected while a stimulus or cognitive task is varied. ISC analysis is employed to measure similarities in brain activity across viewers--in this case, it compared the response in each brain region from one viewer to the response in the same brain region from other viewers. Because all viewers were exposed to the same films, computing ISC on a region-by-region basis identified brain regions in which the responses were similar across viewers.

"In cinema, some films lead most viewers through a similar sequence of perceptual, emotional, and cognitive states," the researchers wrote. "Such a tight grip on viewers' minds will be reflected in the similarity of the brain activity--or high ISC--across most viewers. By contrast, other films exert--either intentionally or unintentionally--less control over viewers' responses during movie watching. In such cases we expect that there will be less control over viewers' brain activity, resulting in low ISC."

To stimulate subjects' brain activity, the researchers showed them three motion picture clips: thirty minutes of Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Bang! You're Dead"; and an episode of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." To establish a baseline, subjects viewed a clip of unstructured reality: a 10-minute, unedited, one-shot video filmed during a concert in New York City's Washington Square Park.
The results showed that ISC of responses in subjects' neocortex--the portion of the brain responsible for perception and cognition--differed across the four movies:
The Hitchcock episode evoked similar responses across all viewers in over 65 percent of the neocortex, indicating a high level of control on viewers' minds;
High ISC was also extensive (45 percent) for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly";
Lower ISC was recorded for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (18 percent) and for the Washington Square Park, or unstructured reality, clip (less than 5 percent)
"Our data suggest that achieving a tight control over viewers' brains during a movie requires, in most cases, intentional construction of the film's sequence through aesthetic means," the researchers wrote. "The fact that Hitchcock was able to orchestrate the responses of so many different brain regions, turning them on and off at the same time across all viewers, may provide neuroscientific evidence for his notoriously famous ability to master and manipulate viewers' minds. Hitchcock often liked to tell interviewers that for him 'creation is based on an exact science of audience reactions.' "

However, the researchers emphasized that low and high ISC does not necessarily imply that the viewers were not attentive to or not engaged with the events in those films.
"ISC measures only the ability of the filmmaker to evoke similar responses across all viewers," they wrote. "Similar brain activity across viewers, or high ISC, can be taken as an indication that all viewers process and perceive the movie in a similar manner. Variability in the brain activity across viewers--that is, low ISC--can be due to either a less engaged processing of the incoming information, which occurs when daydreaming, or due to an intensely engaged but variable processing of a movie sequence."
For example, they add, an art film may demand an intense intellectual effort from viewers that differs from one viewer to the next, resulting in differences in neural activity.

Apart from the findings, the study points to a new method--inter-subject correlation (ISC) of brain activity--for measuring the effect of films on viewers' minds, which may pave the way to an innovative approach the researchers label "neurocinematic" studies. While they add that a cognitive science analysis of film is not new, functional imaging methods may be of use to both film theorists and the film industry by providing a quantitative, neuroscientific assessment of viewers' engagement with a film.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm

New York University (2008, June 9). Film Content, Editing, And Directing Style Affect Brain Activity, Neuroscientists Show. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm

How to Be Cool

2008-04-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

On the way home from school, I was talking to Bianca and the subject of earrings and ear piercing came up. I told her the story about how her uncle pierced his own ear, and that he did it in a way that didn't hurt. Bianca then told me that I should get my ear pierced. I brought up the alternative of maybe peircing my eyebrow, lip, or nose.

No, if I got my ear pierced, I would be cool.

Anything else and I would not be cool.

Staying uncool for now.....

Northwest Response

2008-04-07T08:39:00.001-07:00

In the interest of balance, the response from Northwest.

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding your recent trip to
Albany. On behalf of everyone at Northwest Airlines, I sincerely
apologize for the inconvenience that was caused when you checked in for
your flight online and did not print your boarding passes.

We appreciate your comments regarding the lack of service you
experienced from our agents when you appeared at check in without your
boarding passes. After reading your remarks, I certainly understand why
you wanted to bring this matter to our attention.

I am sorry that in this instance you did not receive the service you
expected and should have received from our ticket counter employees, as
we expect our employees to be helpful and professional at all times.
Please know that I will be sharing your comments with our Customer
Service and Airport Operations leadership team for internal follow up.
Thank you for taking the time to share this disappointing experience
with us.

For future reference, since boarding passes are issued when you check in
online, it is a good idea to have a printer available to print them.

I hope I have been able to address any concerns you have about your
trip. Your business is important to us and given the opportunity of
serving you in the future, I am confident Northwest will not only meet
but exceed your expectations.

Sincerely,

Carl Tast
Customer Care
Northwest/KLM Airlines