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Vince Carter scored 14 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks held off a late surge by the New York Knicks to earn a 114-111 win at American Airlines Center.
Carter drained 5-of-10 from behind the arc and O.J. Mayo scored a game-high 27 points for the Mavericks, who bounced back after losing to Golden State in overtime on Monday. Darren Collison added 19 points and seven assists in the win.
"Tonight my shot felt good and my body felt better," said Carter. "I'm a little banged up, but at the same time I felt a little better and just let my shot fly."
In their second loss of the season, Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 23 points, but missed a jumper in the final seconds that would have given New York the lead.
"They did a good job, especially on that last play," said Knicks center Tyson Chandler. "I tried to get them off of Carmelo, but they played excellent defense. They really forced us into some tough shots down the stretch."
In his return to Dallas, New York's Jason Kidd notched a season-best 17 points. He also finished with six rebounds, five assists and five steals.
"Dallas has the best fans and this is a great sports town," said Kidd. "A warm welcoming is always appreciated, but I know they were cheering for us to lose. It's always good to come back to Dallas."
Chandler and Raymond Felton each recorded double-doubles. Chandler finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Felton added 18 points and 11 assists in the defeat.
The Knicks carried a 54-49 lead into the second half, but thanks to Mayo's 12 and Collison's 10, Dallas outscored New York by nine in the third to take a 84-80 advantage going into the final period.
The Mavericks created separation just over four minutes into the fourth, as Jae Crowder and Carter each converted on a pair of threes to give Dallas a 12- point edge at 100-88.
But after his third three-point play of the quarter, Chandler cut the Knicks' deficit to 112-109 before Kidd added two free throws to bring New York within one.
Collison's air ball led to a 24-second shot clock violation, but Anthony's double-cluch jump shot fell short with 3.3 seconds to go.
Collison then sank a pair of free throws to give the Mavs a three-point lead, and with no timeouts remaining, Felton miss-fired on a half-court heave.
"Even though the Knicks had a great first half we still knew we had a chance to still win the game," said Collison. "We knew we were going to come around and we did and stuck with it tonight."
The Mavericks shot 49.4 percent from the field and connected on 13-of-29 from long-range. Their 114 points were the most the Knicks have allowed all season.
Game Notes
The Knicks have won in Dallas just once in their last 13 visits ... Troy Murphy started for Dallas, but did not play in the second half, as he was battling a respiratory illness. He finished with two points and five rebounds ... The Knicks played just eight players tonight, with six of them scoring in double-figures.


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One Pepperoni With Extra Dazzle
What happens when the Cullen brothers get a job at a pizza parlor? Props to Alice Clone for the hilarious idea! Aaaaaaand for the sake of hilarity, let's just say they don't have their super-human speed and absolute perfection anymore! Oooooh yeah, how d'you like THAT crusty marinara sauce? Mmmmmmmm goooood!
Props to Alice Clone for the hilarious idea! Aaaaaaand for the sake of hilarity, let's just say they don't have their super-human speed and absolute perfection anymore! Oooooh yeah, how d'you like THAT crusty marinara sauce? Mmmmmmmm goooood!
1. Chapter 1; Challenge Extended
Rating 5/5 Word Count 754 Review this Chapter
I pulled into the hidden driveway of the Cullen residence, slightly irritable and smelling of onions. I'd been at my job at the Pizza Palace for almost three months, and I still couldn't get over the nasty feeling of grease on my hands, and I was sure that somewhere in my hair, there was a large colony of cheese, dodging my fingers during the three shampooings, because I could always smell the awkward scent of mozzarella.
As my old red truck came to a growling halt, Edward was already there, and all thoughts of rampant, hair-dwelling cheese colonies slipped away unnoticed. He opened my door and pulled me quickly into his arms, bringing his face close to mine
"I missed you," he murmured, rubbing his nose against mine. I closed my eyes and I could feel his long lashes brushing my cheeks.
"I missed you too." He pulled back so we could walk up to the house. His face was confused, as though there was a complication. "What? What is it?" He turned his eyes to me. They were getting darker. He'd have to leave me to go hunting soon.
"I still just don't understand why you need to get a job…and at the Pizza Palace at that. We can easily pay for any expenses you would have and more." I pulled my eyebrows together.
"I don't like taking money from you. It just doesn't feel right."
"You're one of the family. What's ours is yours."
"It's just not fair. You give me everything and anything, and I can't give you anything in return." He pulled me to him, catching my chin in his cold perfect fingers.
"You've given me your heart. That's all I could ever want and more." He let his lips lightly press against mine, and I momentarily forgot what I was so aggravated about. But when he pulled away I remembered once again.
"Well I also like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I come home from work without tripping and beheading a decorative plant. Of course you wouldn't know what I was talking about…" I trailed my voice off as we walked into the living room. Alice and Jasper sat on one of the couches, watching some old film, but they looked up as we came in the door.
"What do you mean I wouldn't know what you were talking about?" He narrowed his eyes, his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
"Well, being as rich and pampered as you are…You probably haven't had a job in what…fifty years? And even then it was probably a nice office job, huh?"
"Ooooh, Bella," Alice was at my side in a flash, her eyes glittering with excitement. "I like where you're going with this." I grinned back. I liked where this was going too.
"I don't think you'd make it in a low-down job like the Pizza Palace," I challenged. He cocked his head to the side.
"I accept your challenge, but on what grounds?"
"Well…" I hadn't thought of an actual deal, but Alice piped up.
"From what I can see, Edward won't be the only one knee-deep in pizza sauce." She grinned wickedly at Jasper who was standing slowly and giving her a arrogant grin.
"I suppose I can take time out of my busy schedule to whip your butts," he said, yawning.
"Oh, but it won't be just you two," continued Alice.
"YESSS! I ACCEPT! I ACCEPT!" Emmett was already tumbling down the stairs. Eavesdrop much?
"So now what is the full deal?" asked Jasper, looking at his nails, keeping up the 'I couldn't care less' façade.
"You three are going to apply for jobs at the Pizza Palace. If you can work there for one week without quitting, I'll…," I turned to Alice for help.
"We'll let you decide what you want…to a certain extent," she said, waving her hand in the air as though it meant nothing. "However. If you loose, which I can see is pretty likely." She winked at me. "You'll have to give us a day to do whatever we want with you."
"And you can't bug me about having my job anymore!" I added quickly. They stared blankly at us for a moment before Emmett spoke.
"So…you're saying that we can't win?"
"Hmmmm…Yeah…I think that's what I was going for." Alice smiled sweetly. Edward and Jasper scoffed.
"Ha, I highly doubt three fully grown vampires could be out done by a bunch of fast-food industry employees." Jasper rolled his eyes.
"Well, then, is it a deal?" Alice and I extended our hands, and Jasper, Emmett and Edward each shook both our hands quickly, their faces smug.
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subset: commoncrawl


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He is never going to last until 9.
And I will cry my eyes out if they trade Revis and use the pick to move up for him.
oh yeah ... wait ...
Dump Again.
Jets were also impressed with Freeman and Heyward Bey back when we drafted Sanchez.
Teams get "interested" and "impressed" with players all the time. Most of it doesn't mean a thing ... it's just smokescreens to hide who they are actually interested in. Or to try to get that guy picked so that another guy is available at your spot. And so on.
Next week you'll probably read about another top pick that we're "impressed" with.
maybe we can trade up using the # 9 pick and Sanchez ha I wish..
I would love for the Jets to take Barkley. It's so dumb from you all when you think you know every USC QB is going to suck.
Need I inform you that different people go to school there? Just because we got one sh*t QB from USC does not mean all of them will be that way.
C'mon... if you wanted to trade back - what story would you leak? This one. It's that time folks. Smoke and Mirrors.
go back another 20 years and you have these NFL gems
Rob Johnson
The QB from USC whose had a decent career out of all those QB's is Palmer. So they've had one good QB in the NFL in the last 30 years. So I think it's fair to say it's not a smart idea to draft a QB from USC


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COLUMBUS — Police in Columbus are investigating a fatal shooting on the city's south side.
It happened Sunday afternoon. Police say officers responding to a reported shooting at a residence on Linwood Avenue found a man on the porch with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The man's name has not been released. Investigators believe he was shot during a fight with at his apartment.
Police tell the Columbus Dispatch witnesses reported hearing an argument, and three men were seen leaving.
No one has been arrested.
It's the city's fifth homicide this year.


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Quality and Excellence in Steel Fabrication
Cherubini Metal Works main focus of construction is related to heavy and light structural steel, bridges, platework, pressure vessels, transmission towers and miscellaneous fabrications. Operating since 1967, Cherubini Metal Works is annually listed on the Atlantic Progress listing of the Top 101 Companies of Atlantic Canada.
News view all »
Cherubini Starts Work on "The Big Lift" of the Macdonald Bridge
Posted on August 20, 2014
New Fabrication Facility Opened!
Posted on November 14, 2013
Cherubini Awarded Ductwork Contract
Posted on May 15, 2012


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Thank you Scott Parker. The Tottenham Hotspur terrier provided for us all on Thursday night one of those rare moments of pleasure and hilarity.
Spurs were under the cosh against a very impressive Basel side in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash at White Hart Lane but Emmanuel Adebayor's equaliser had given them a boost.
It was 2-1 and heading towards half time when Lewis Holtby broke through the Swiss defence and was well blocked.
It shouldn't have mattered though, as Parker was following up to pick up any scraps.
However, to the horror of the England international and home crowd, the gaping open goal that was presented was not taken and Parker, somehow, managed to miss the target from all of five yards.
Some will argue over a deflection off of Holtby but GMF aren't having that; he had time to take a touch, scratch his posterior and roll it in – have another look here.
As is ever the case, seeing such calamitous execution of a straightforward got GMF thinking of previous, similar instances.
We came up with five of them and here they are…
Nwankwo Kanu
Arsenal fans will always love and remember Kanu for his incredible match-winning hat-trick against Chelsea, where he showed amazing skill to bury the winner from a tight angle.
None of that skill was present, however, when he somehow managed to miss from two yards out when playing for West Brom against Middlesbrough.
It wasn't even an air shot, the Nigerian made contact and incredibly scooped the ball up and over the bar – he couldn't do it again if he tried.
Ryan Giggs
A miss is bad enough but against your fierce title rivals in an FA Cup tie and when you have just gone behind is worse. That is exactly what Giggs did in the fifth round clash with Arsenal.
Edu had only just given the Gunners the lead when Giggs pounced on a defensive mistake, went past David Seaman and left Sol Campbell on his behind to keave himself an open goal.
Giggs is a Premier League legend and top class player, so nobody would have expected what followed: the Welsh winger amazingly floated his tame shot straight over the bar. Giggs' will have been feeling bad enough but it will have been compounded by Arsenal scoring a second and dumping United out of the cup.
Hamza Abourazzouk
A little known Moroccan striker gained internet fame earlier this year when he made one of the worst open goal blunders GMF had ever seen.
Abourazzouk was turning out for Raja Casablanca against Al Arabi when he was presented with an easy chance after the goalkeeper had committed himself.
He hit the post when he should have scored with his eyes closed but was, luckily, given another chance….yep, you guessed it: he hit the post again from even closer in. Absolutely shocking.
Fernando Torres
Poor Nando! He was having a hard time of it at Chelsea since his £50million move from Liverpool and his confidence was shot.
His problems appeared to be drifting away, however, when he scored beauty to reduce the half-time deficit of 3-0 to two. An improved performance had many hoping the old Torres was returning, but his demons came flooding back with only a few minutes left.
El Nino was played in by a brilliant Ramires pass and glided past David de Gea to surely take the deficit down to one? No. Torres did everything right except put the ball in the net; instead he produced a stunted poke at the ball and sent it wide.
Fahad Khalfan
Easily a candidate for worst miss ever seen on a football pitch, Fahad Khalfan's blunder is hard to explain. Scott Parker was criticised for taking a touch; Khalfan did that and still missed.
What makes it even worse was that it was 0-0 in the 91st minute of a 2010 Asian Games match would have surely won the game.
We should be talking about a silly keeper trying a stupid dribble in his area when he should have cleared it. Instead we are talking about Khlafan robbing him, dribbling to within three yards of the gaping net and unbelievably scuffing the shot across the goal ands against the post. Only one thing can be said: where's your right foot?!
What do you think are the worse misses ever? What do you think of the example above? Leave a comment below to let us know…
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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FA charges Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson over Tottenham comments
The FA has charged Sir Alex Ferguson over comments he made following Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
Last Updated: 02/02/13 5:12pm
The United boss was incensed by referee Chris Foy's decision not to award a penalty to Wayne Rooney, although it was assistant referee Simon Beck who drew most of Ferguson's ire.
Ferguson said after the match: "There was no way the linesman was going to give that - he gave them everything.
"It was a clear decision. And he was 10, maybe 12 yards away from the incident and he doesn't give it. And yet he gave everything else."
Ferguson also alluded to a previous incident involving Beck, when he allowed a Didier Drogba goal to stand despite the player appearing to be offside when United were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in April 2010.
Ferguson submitted his observations about the case on Friday and now the FA
have decided there is sufficient evidence to call the United boss to account.
A statement on the FA website read: "The FA has charged Sir Alex Ferguson in relation to post-match media comments made following Manchester United's game at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 20 January 2013.
"It is alleged the Manchester United manager breached FA Rule E3 in that he implied that the match official was motivated by bias.
"Ferguson has until 4pm on Friday 1 February 2013 to respond to the charge."


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White House, Mazzoni Center Host LGBT Health Care Panel
The White House, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Mazzoni Center hosted the first in a series of panel discussions on LGBT-specific issues at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia on Feb. 16.
The gathering on LGBT health included panelists Kathy Greenlee, Howard Koh and Ken Choe and remarks from Mayor Michael Nutter and Dr. Robert Barchi, president of Thomas Jefferson University. This panel is the first of several gatherings that will take place across the country through June that will focus on issues that directly impact LGBT Americans.
"The goal of these conferences is to empower and inform advocates and organizations on the ground and interested members of the public with information, resources and opportunities that the Obama administration has to offer," said Gautam Raghavan, associate director of the White House Office for Public Engagement. "We want to know what's working, what's not working and what we can do better."
More than 300 students, community leaders and LGBT Philadelphians gathered inside the auditorium in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building. They asked the panel a variety of questions about the lack of visibility of transgender and intersex people, the inclusion of gay couples in Medicare and other topics.
The panelists pointed out to the audience that the Obama administration has been "sensitive" to these issues, pointing to recent non-discrimination policies that include both sexual orientation and gender identity as examples.
The panel also touched upon the understanding that each sub-group within the broader LGBT community does not have the same needs, and must be catered to differently.
"One of the things that we do in our engagement with the public, with the health stakeholders that meet with us on a regular basis, is make sure we distinguish and talk about each separate community," said Greenlee. "As we then set our policy priorities, we also look through our list and say, 'What are we doing with regard to the health issues of transgendered people?'"
She further stressed that HHS continues to gauge the needs of the community.
"Much of the focus has been basic conversation about data collection," said Greenlee. "We have been looking at the specific difference to find a commonality because when we find a commonality we can push for it all together, but also clearly see the distinctions."
John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, focused on the need for inclusivity within the health care system.
"Change does not come fast, nor does it come easy, we've got to work to make it better," he said. "When I say work, I mean together... local, state and national."
Though the LGBT community has made positive strides within the health care system, Barchi stated that the rates of illnesses remain disproportionately high compared to those among their heterosexual counterparts.
"Despite the progress and tolerance in healthcare access, members of the LGBT community continue to experience worse health outcomes than heterosexual individuals including higher rates of cancer, substance abuse, stress and other serious illnesses," he said.
The confab also offered workshops on aging, working with the Obama administration, sports and physical education, lesbian health and intersex issues.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is expected to attend the next conference that is scheduled to take place in Detroit on March 9.


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Joy and pain of the log-in, log-out worker
Long hours, constant deliverables and no guarantee that they'll still be in work a week from tomorrow. Life as an ICT contractor is not without its challenges.
In a high-tech job market that's limping rather than loping along, many face the prospect of months on the bench if they're not prepared to lower their rates to meet a bargain-hunting market or move to wherever the work is this week.
Given the nature of the game, ICT contractors are a remarkably sanguine lot. In fact, according to organisational psychologist Julie West, they're more chilled than the full-timers they work alongside, job insecurity notwithstanding.
West's Canberra-based consultancy, Workplace Research Associates, conducts regular staff surveys for large organisations, including federal agencies which collectively employ thousands of ICT contractors.
"They differ from the full-timers in that they're usually happier," West said. "They get paid more and they don't take home baggage after work. They say their work/life balance is better and they're happier about their pay."
Bruce Quilley, an ICT contractor at the Adelaide ISP NuSkope, seems the exception that proves this rule. The 29-year old pleaded guilty in court recently after a rampage which saw him destroy company servers, delete emails and threaten his employer with an axe.
The only area in which contractors scored lower than their permanent counterparts was in their feeling of engagement with the organisation, West said. That's the flip side of being able to sign off at six and leave it all behind.
Around 40 per cent of the country's 220,000-strong ICT workforce are contractors, according to job agency Peoplebank. They're in service in 68 per cent of companies employing over 200 staff and comprise 18 per cent of the Australian Computer Society's membership base of 22,000. One in ten have reported a period of unemployment in the past 12 months, while those on the job worked an average of 42.4 hours per week during that period, according to ACS surveys.
ACS chief executive Alan Patterson said ICT contractors were a resilient and stoic breed with confidence that came from considerable know-how and years of dealing with the cut and thrust.
"According to our research, those within the industry who are self-employed and engaged as independent contractors hold the highest levels of professional ICT experience," Patterson said.
Consensus in the sector is that reluctant conscripts are few. Those who stick to contracting long term do so because it's a modus operandi that agrees with them, while others return to the full-time ranks after a brief dabble.
The executive general manager of the high-tech recruitment agency Candle, Linda Trevor, says some of the potential sources of stress, such as intense project work and frequent interstate and overseas moves, are part of the attraction for many.
"Most contractors have chosen to contract because of the high hourly and daily rates, the freedom and the variety of work," she said.
A recent joinee at SAP Australia, senior technical quality manager Stuart Avery is a long-time contractor-turned-permanent, after 13 years on projects in Australia and overseas. He says there's a definite personality type suited to contracting: one which thrives on frustration.
It's not a game for the faint hearted, and those who do well long term guard their reputations jealously and never burn bridges.
"You're only as good as your last job and you have to be careful how you leave," Avery said.
Concerns about long-term job security were considerably less for those who didn't have the millstone of a large mortgage, or mouths to feed, he added.
"It's not for everyone. If it's your first or second job and you have no commitments financially, it can work well."
Do you have the contractor personality type? Or would you prefer to swap seats with a full-time colleague?
Morning & Afternoon Newsletter
Delivered Mon–Fri.


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2 Disabled Mass. Adults Left For Hours in Van
Police and officials of a Massachusetts day program for the disabled are investigating after two adults were left in a van for a few hours in the July heat in Kingston.
Mike Eddy, transportation director of the Habilitation Assistance Corp., said program officials are investigating how the two people could have been left in the van after they were driven from a nursing home to the day program's parking lot Friday morning.
Police and paramedics were called when the passengers were found. They were treated at a hospital and later released. Temperatures on Friday reached the low 90s with high humidity.
Eddy said the program has rules to prevent such things, but they apparently weren't followed. He said the driver has been suspended.
Kingston police said they are investigating.
[Associated Press]


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Free tagging:
26 miles of natural yellow
26 miles of natural yellow eternally sprouting every spring along the marathon route is a fitting memorial and a giant middle finger towards those which only want to inflict death.
How is it fitting?
I don't get how specifically daffodils equate to a giant middle finger or why a giant middle finger is a good memorial.
They are yellow (gold) like
They are yellow (gold) like the main color of the BAA logo and will continue to sprout every spring as a symbol of eternal life.
A figurative middle finger but a giant one nonetheless
"Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them . . . those who reject our signs we shall soon cast into the fire . . . those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads . . . as to the deviators, they are the fuel of hell." -- The Holy Koran
I won't speak for Love it on Mon, but I like the middle finger comment. When viewed from their point of origin (above), sure, the jihadists killed four disbelievers and maimed dozens of others but this region's response, from the Muslim terrorists being brought to swift justice to last night's Norden brother's fundraiser at the Forum, to the daffodils next year and everything in between, sends a strong message (middle finger) to other jihadists who would do us further harm. They'll be back, no doubt but probably not here for a while.
Love this idea! Way to turn
Love this idea! Way to turn something horrific into something beautiful. Let's hope they bloom on time!
Shouldn't they be...
"Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
I wondered what all those
I wondered what all those people were doing digging along Beacon St last weekend. I think it's great. I can't wait to see them bloom next spring. I can't wait for next spring. Are we there yet?


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Talk:Breaking the Bank at Caligula's
| This talk page is for discussing the Breaking the Bank at Caligula's article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
It's OK Though?
Zero blows the charges at the dam, and the electricity goes out. It's okay though, Carl has night vision goggles which he puts on.
Who put this? It's OK though? We're not worried. I want to remove it. Anyone disagree?--LuisFernandoLopez 16:41, 30 May 2009 (UTC)
- I agree - mission walkthroughs are supposed to be written in a third-person perspective, but there are several instances where this walkthrough directly addresses the reader. If you spot any other statements like the one you mentioned in any other articles, feel free to remove them. Hardrock182 17:30, 30 May 2009 (UTC)
this mission is so cool, I made two saves so I could do it again. (--GTAddict 14:38, 4 July 2009 (UTC))
landing on the roof with diffuiculty... can it really be classed as a glitch?


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Wow, so our latest scapegoat for our flaws has been demoted, before it was all Shotty who was the goat...Now, I ask you who's next? Because someone has always gotta take the blame for our weaknesses...
A) Sanchez
B) Rex
c) Tanny
D) Fill in the blank
You know our Wide receiver core is less than mediocre...it makes me miss Justin McCareins...
Insanity I tell you. Insanity
The media.
Sanchez is the next one to be replaced.
Hunter wasn't just a scapegoat, he was a genuine steaming turd.
George W. Bush
Everything is that guy's fault
wait...Schotty was the Greatest Of All Time?


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PC Game Developer Pirates Own Game As Promotion
from the nice-work dept
A bunch of folks sent in stories about the decision by smaller, indie PC game developer RedLynx to put its own "pirated" game on BitTorrent the same day as it released the game. The one difference is that it removed one feature (a leaderboard, which the company describes as "the soul" of the game) from the "pirated" version, hoping that those who got the game that way would eventually agree to upgrade to the full version later. The company's CEO explained:
Of course, not everyone agrees that putting any content up was a good idea. Over at Escapist Magazine, they drag this guy over the coals for even admitting that piracy exists:
"Piracy is here, so how can we take advantage of that? What we did actually, on day one, we put that game immediately on all the torrent networks ourselves..."I'm of mixed opinions when it comes to disabling features in "free" versions, but it appears to be working for RedLynx. It's certainly better than freaking out and complaining about "piracy."
Of course, not everyone agrees that putting any content up was a good idea. Over at Escapist Magazine, they drag this guy over the coals for even admitting that piracy exists:
In my mind, posting even a gimped version of your game to pirate sites is counterproductive to attempting to earn money developing said games. Doing so implies that piracy is tolerable, which it isn't. Plus, any traffic which the game may or may not generate to such torrent sites may facilitate users downloading other pirate games which legitimate companies did not leak.This makes no sense at all to me. The CEO is correct. Piracy exists. Piracy of this game is going to happen either way. Figuring out ways to take advantage of it as a promotional tool is the smartest thing you could do. It's not implying that piracy is "tolerable," it's saying that piracy is here, it's not going away, and there are ways to take advantage of it. In many ways it's the reverse of saying it's "tolerable." It's saying that there are benefits to using it to your advantage. Apparently, the folks at Escapist think the proper business strategy is to put your head in the sand. Can't see how that helps at all. As for questioning why he would tell people about it -- again, that's not so complex. By telling people about it, he again is getting a lot more attention for his game and doing so in a way that shows he respects users, rather than thinks that they're all criminals. He trusts that some of those who play the pirated version will decide to upgrade to the full version. And why should he care if others in the industry don't like it? His job, as CEO, is to get more people to pay for his game. If he's found that this method works, what's the problem?
Even if RedLynx made the unscrupulous decision to post their game to a torrent sites, why in the name of Jehovah would the CEO tell anyone about it? I see no advantage for that information to be made public and, conversely, there is a huge possibility for an industry-wide backlash.


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Amanda Alles
Rebels Suffer Tough Loss To #12 Rams
UNLV volleyball fought back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth frame against Colorado State on Thursday.
Rebels Ready For Sunday's Graduation
Student-Athletes to be well represented in UNLV's 50th Commencement Ceremony.
It's A Wrap
The UNLV Rebels concluded their season in the Mountain West Volleyball Championship.
Rebels Hit The Road For Final Regular-Season Matches
UNLV closes out regular season with trips to Air Force, Boise State.
Lobos Claim Senior Day Decision
UNLV's rally falls short against New Mexico in 3-1 loss.
2010: Played in 30 matches and 111 sets ... Had three double-doubles (two assist-dig combinations, one assist-block combination) ... Had a total of 58 kills with a season-high six vs. Saint Mary's (Aug. 27) ... Had one match with a hitting efficiency above .300 (minimum five kills) with a season-high .444 outing (5-1-9) vs. UMKC (Oct. 24) ... Had a total of 619 assists with 24 matches of 10 or more assists, including a season-high 50 vs. Rutgers (Aug. 28) ... Had a total of 11 aces with a season-high two on two occasions: vs. Rutgers (Aug. 28) and Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 10) ... Had a total of 100 digs with two matches of 10 or more digs, including a season-high 13 vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Sept. 4) ... Had a total of 58 blocks (13 solo, 45 assisted) with a season-high 11 total blocks (six solo, five assisted) vs. Utah (Nov. 13) ... Had a season-high six solo blocks vs. Utah (Nov. 13) ... Had a season-high five assisted blocks on two occasions.
2009: Played in 23 matches and 63 sets ... Had a total of 12 kills with a season-high three coming on three occasions ... Had a total of 345 assists with 12 matches of 10 or more assists, including a season-high 50 at San Diego State (Sept. 26) ... Had a total of five aces ... Had a total of 64 digs with a season-high six on three occasions ... Had a total of 12 blocks (two solo, 10 assisted) with a season-high three assisted blocks on two occasions and four total blocks at Long Beach State (Nov. 27).
2008: Played in 12 matches and 24 sets ... Had one kill vs. Georgia State (Sept. 20) ... Had a total of 65 assists with a season-high 12 at Air Force (Sept. 18) ... Had a total of three aces...Had a total of eight digs with a season-high two coming on three occasions ... Had a total of five blocks (all assisted) with a season-high two coming at Denver (Sept. 19).
High School: A 2008 graduate of Hunterdon Central Regional High School ... Lettered three years in volleyball ... During her junior and senior seasons, she helped the Red Devils to two Group IV State Championships, two Tournament of Champions second-place finishes, two Skyland Conference championships and two county championships ... Individually, she was named New Jersey's Gatorade Player of the Year, the Star-Ledger's Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and the Courier News and Times Player of the Year in 2006 ... She was a two-time all-state and all-conference honoree, while adding a first team selection as All-Hunterdon County in 2008 ... In 2006, she was a Group IV First Team selection improving from the third team in 2005.
Personal: Born on April 9, 1990, in Somerville, N.J. ... Daughter of Terri and Tim Alles ... Has one sister, Jen ... Majoring in kinesiology.


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Zimmer will face state Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. in the election, which will be held Nov. 5. Ramos is running on the Vision for Hoboken slate, along with council-at-large candidates Laura Miani, Joe Mindak, and Eduardo Gonzalez. Zimmer has not officially announced her ticket. The city's current sitting councilmen-at-large, Ravi Bhalla and David Mello, have both expressed interest in joining the mayor's slate again, but have come just short of declaring their candidacy. The mayor is expected to reveal her slate, which may include a third candidate to fill a currently empty seat, at the event.
The event at Little Town NJ will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The restaurant is co-owned by Albie and Chris Manzo of the reality show "Real Housewives of New Jersey." – Dean DeChiaro


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The Good, The Bad, And The Chucky / Granny's Pet Pla
series: Wordgirl
air date: 5/08/13 3:30 PM
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CHUCKY - Chuck is finally fulfilling is dream and selling grilled cheese sandwiches out of the back of his station wagon -- a totally legitimate, non-villainous plan. But when Dr. Two-Brains smells cheese, he can't resist. Will Chuck be able to pursue his dream or will it be foiled by Dr. Two-Brains? Vocabulary Words: Pursue, Yearn. GRANNY'S PET PLAN - It seems as though Granny May has given up a life of crime to knit cute little scarves for pets. But when everyone in the city begins to misplace their things, will WordGirl be able to figure out if people are really misplacing things or if someone else is responsible? Vocabulary Words: Accessory, Misplace(d).
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Prof. Chodakiewicz's review of David Satter's book republished in Albanian journal
Prof. Marek Chodakiewicz's review of David Satter's latest book - It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012) - originally published on the website of the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research, has been republished in English on pages 28-29 of issue no. 69 (November 2012) of the Albanian-language cultural journal Kuq e Zi: Reviste Kulturore Euro-Shqiptare.
A short synthesis of the review was posted on the IWP website.
To view the journal, please see: Kuq e Zi: Reviste Kulturore Euro-Shqiptare, Issue 69


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Bill West at West in New England gave a challenge in his posting 49 Genealogy Uses for a Flutaphone on Parade,
It's the Genealogist's Parade and you have a float in it. It can be on anything or anyone in your family tree or it can reflect your heritage. It can be serious or humorous.
I don't think my relatives would be on a float; they would be marching with Grandpa as Bandmaster and he'd be playing the cornet.
Why would he be bandmaster?
William began playing cornet as a boy of 14 in England and he soon joined a Salvation Army Band. When he came to Canada, he reorganized the Salvation Army Band in Owen Sound. He was its leader for over 20 years. In the 6 August 1988 and 3 February 1990 issues of the War Cry (a Salvation Army newspaper), Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Wood ( R ) shared his memories of William Iles as the band leader in 1914.
In World War I, William enlisted with the 76 battalion and went overseas in March 1916. He was a bandsman and a stretcher bearer. He arrived home on 24 April 1919. When he returned home at the train station, he was met by his friends and relatives and the Salvation Army Band. In 1924, he took over leadership of the Canadian Legion Band. The band was later taken over by the municipality and it became the Owen Sound City Band. He led it for many years and was later deputy bandmaster. He played until he was 76 years old.
Now who else would be in this band? Through the magic of time and space, I would not limit the band members to those of his generation. Of course, his brothers Emmanuel and Harold would be marching along playing their trombones. His six sons along with his nephews. grand-nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren along with a few in-laws who would be playing their chosen instrument -- a partial list would include, Wilf on sousaphone, Cliff on alto horns, Don on drums, Dave on mellaphone, Bob on alto saxophone, Bob and Merv and Harold on baritone saxophones, Greg, Don, Ray and Ken on trumpets, Heather on cornet, Dennis and Clarence on euphoniums, Frank and Jack on trombones, Corrine on flute, Christine on clarinet, with Ann on E flat alto horn.


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Hello, hello.... anybody out there?
This week, I was delighted to get not one but two sweet emails from former readers inquiring as to whether or not I was still, well, alive and all that. It was totally, completely heartwarming to hear from old blog friends, and felt hardly deserved. It's been a good long time since I've posted on my blog, and I am rarely able to comment on all the bazillions of blogs I spend the wee hours of the night/morning poring over (I always want to comment, but I am usually on my phone and juggling a baby with my other hand. I am silently following along though!!). I basically up and disappeared and am really sorry to my blog friends and readers for that. It was never my intention. I blame these guys:
Just kidding. But, I thought a stop in with a quick hello was long overdue.
I am not back to regular blogging. This is more of a pop-in visit to with a bit of an update. I hope to get back to blogging one day, but not just yet. Fingers crossed that one of these days I get it together though.
First things first -- a few personal updates. Regular readers might be wondering about the pic at the top of this post. When I last posted, Violet was still a newborn. A lot has changed. When Violet was a year old (13 months to be exact), we welcomed our third baby! Meet our little Tessa Shannon, who was born summer 2014.
She has been such a gift and brings me so much joy. Her big brother and sister adore her, too.
All the kids are doing great. Benjamin is a thriving, chatty, hilarious little man who at age 3 is as fascinating and wonderful as can be. Violet will turn 2 in May and is growing into a fearless, funny, affectionate little lady who I just can't get enough of. I'm running around like mad just trying to keep up with all of them. I've also been lucky to have another nephew and two new nieces since my last post. The kids are truly beginning to outnumber us, but I couldn't be happier about their adorable little crew. At 3.5, Ben is the oldest of the seven!
The house is coming along well, too. I hope to share some updates soon -- so many projects have been worked on, completed, and dreamed up since I last updated. But that will have to wait for another rainy (freezing rain, currently) day. Matt and I have loved working on this house and really making it our home. I'm still loving the process and hope I will get the chance to share the nitty gritty of it with you all.
Anyway, this is all a very long-winded, rambling way of saying hello and that I miss you. I miss blogging and being part of this wonderful big network of like-minded people. No one in my day-to-day life is nearly as interested in talking about Ikea's new kitchen line, spray paint techniques, or tile trends as I would like (Matt really does try, god bless him). So if you are reading this (which, frankly, seems unlikely) please know how grateful I am. Thank you for keeping your wonderful blogs going to get me through seemingly endless strings of sleepless nights and keep me motivated as I work away at our own little home.
See you soon!
Jenny xo


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WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University seniors Ezra Bernstein of Buffalo, N.Y., and Marianne Specker of South Windsor, Conn., been named to the Capital One Division III Academic All-District team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA). Both will now be eligible for Academic All-American honors.
Bernstein, a member of the men's tennis team, carried a perfect 4.00 grade-point average in biology into his final semester. This is his first Academic All-District selection. Bernstein went 4-13 in singles action and 6-11 in doubles for the Judges. In a 5-4 loss to 24th-ranked Trinity College on April 17, he earned two of the Judges' four points, earning an 8-5 win in doubles and a 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 win at No. 4 singles, taking the third set in a super tie-breaker. For his career, Bernstein recorded 35 wins (13 singles, 22 doubles) in three years after transferring from SUNY-Buffalo. Academically, Bernstein earned three Academic All-University Athletic Association selections, earned Dean's List every semester and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He served as a teacher's assistant for organic chemistry. Bernstein will be attending medical school next fall.
Specker, who earned Capital One Academic All-District and All-America first-team honors last year, had an outstanding year for the Brandeis softball team. She was a first-team All-UAA selection as an infielder and a third-team All-New England selection. She finished tied for the UAA lead with 41 RBI and was among the top five in the league in batting average (.401) and hits (59) as well. Specker finished among the Judges' career top 10 in hits (184, 3rd), games played (166, 4th), games started (161, 4th) RBI (111, 4th), total bases (242, 6th) and doubles (34, 8th). In the classroom, she finished with a 3.92 GPA in psychology headed into her final semester. Specker was also a Phi Beta Kappa member and vice president of Brandeis's chapter of the Psi Chi psychology honor society. She was a seven-time Dean's List and three-time Academic All-UAA selection who was named Brandeis's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Specker will attend Boston University's Ph.D program in sports psychology next year.
Bernstein is a 2007 graduate of City Honors School.
Specker is a 2008 graduate of the Westminster School.


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The ass-covering can't happen fast enough. via U.S. embracing new Syrian opposition group – The Washington Post.
The Obama administration is taking a calculated risk that embracing chosen leaders of Syria's fragmented rebels will speed the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, moving this week to recognize a slate of opposition figures whose pledges of democracy Washington can do little to enforce.
The administration is expected to announce the recognition of a relatively new Syrian opposition group Wednesday when American, European and Arab diplomats meet with its leaders in Morocco.
The action is part of fast-moving diplomacy to try to guard against chaos and collapse in Syria if rebel forces succeed in ousting or killing Assad. International efforts to support moderates as successors to Assad have taken on new urgency as rebels gain ground militarily.
In a further attempt to bolster moderates and marginalize extremists in the opposition, the State Department plans to designate a leading Syrian militant group as a terrorist organization. The designation, to be announced Tuesday, identifies Jabhat al-Nusra as a global terrorist organization and an affiliate of the group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The two steps are aimed at building a broader and more moderate coalition for a post-Assad Syria. But the Obama administration remains opposed to U.S. military intervention in Syria or providing arms directly to the rebels.
We know this is a lie because a) Clinton threatened intervention last week, and b) the NYT stated Obama secretly approved weapons transfer to the rebels, knew within weeks they were going to terrorist groups and worse – urged the emirates to ship weapons to Libya that could not be traced to the United States.
Notice of the designation was published Monday in the Federal Register. The notice indicated the paperwork was signed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Nov. 20. In separate amendments under the Immigration Act and an existing executive order, the designation prohibits Americans from having any financial dealings with the group and freezes any of its assets under U.S. control.
This all fits too nicely into place – fund terrorists, allow Muslims in America to fund them, then ban one terrorist group – after the fact. Coincidence that the NYT ran a piece seemingly critical of the Obama administration specifically on the same group we know find out was banned on November 20?
Update: This could get uglier, faster: The Syrian rebels (again, funded and armed by Obama, funneled through Qatar and Saudi Arabia by CIA) are in full support of the now banned al Nusra:
A total of 29 opposition groups, including fighting "brigades" and civilian committees, have signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group which the White House believes is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"The people are not going to accept intervention by the West now. You were watching us die, and now that we close to victory you want to intervene? You are not welcome."
And who did the US back as the chosen rebel leaders?
Many are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or even more radical Salafi movements, but are thought to be men with whom the West "can do business".


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The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 1 results:Sort by: Author Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Woodward, F.I. [Clear All Filters]
The fraction of expanding to expanded leaves determines the biomass response of Populus to elevated CO2", Oecologia, vol. 121, p. 193-200, 1999., "


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series: Wild Kratts
air date: 7/31/13 4:00 PM
When Martin's and Chris' Creature Power Suits unexpectedly get jammed in Proboscis monkey mode and the top monkey of the troop is injured protecting a youngster from a crocodile, the Kratt brothers find themselves stepping into the injured monkey's role. While Aviva nurses the monkey back to health, Chris and Martin must keep the troop together and soon discover the important communication function of the proboscis monkeys strangest feature - his huge, droopy, bulbous nose! They uncover some of the different methods animals utilize to communicate important information to each other.
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|2009-08-05, 01:18
|Link #61
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
Realistically, all of them are going to fall anyway, so why not let Mihawk take down one of the big names.
That being said, some pics of the other division leaders are out. Pretty sweet.
Spoiler for size...:
Obviously, the guy in the middle (in the pic on the right) with the pockets stitched to his mouth, and the guy with the DF Ball and Chain (in the pic on the left) are the most noticable, but there seems to be 2 or 3 women also amongst Whitebeard's commanders. Pretty cool.
Last edited by james0246; 2009-08-05 at 01:47.
|2009-08-05, 02:10
|Link #62
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
OH SNAP!!! ONIGUMO'S A ZOAN!!!!! AND DOBERMAN...!!!! *massive fangasms*
Er.... sorry about that. Anyways, Onigumo's a spider Zoan! You have no idea how happy this makes me! And did I mention that Doberman's there?
Oh, and that big dude next to Momonga reminds me of Killer. I have no idea who the guy standing between Doberman and Oniguno is, but he looks badass, too. The only thing that would make that VA spread even more perfect than it is would be if Comil and John Giant were present, but I don't see them there. Oh well, the spread is still badass enough as it is.
As for the commanders spread, it looks like I may have been right in guessing that one of the nurses was a commander. My wish for the top hat guy being a commander came true, as well. And is it just me, or.... is a sky islander even one of the commanders? All I know is that he looks like a Robin Hood with wings. I also like that dude with the chains and (I assume) white dreadlocks. Man, this war is going to be so badass......
Edit: Okay, since james0246 posted the commander spread, I'll do the VA one:
And once again I must point out that ONIGUMO's A ZOAN!!! It's great to see him live up to his namesake!
Bah, Moria ain't no fodder. He'll unleash an unstoppable army of zombei cyborgs on the unsuspecting pirates next chapter, you mark my words.
Last edited by marvelB; 2009-08-05 at 02:28.
|2009-08-05, 02:30
|Link #65
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
Also, in the background behind Doberman there is a figure obscured by the mist who is wearing a hat very similar to the hat Bogart wears. Then again, I just think it would be cool for Bogart to be among the Vice-Admirals....
|2009-08-05, 02:30
|Link #66
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
I think he's more likely to be a Paramecia. Like I said before, his fruit basically makes him Daz 2.0.
Spiders are arachnids, not insects, but yeah, it's still a welcome addition all the same. I'm really interested in seeing how he'll use his webs as a weapon.....
Yeah, that does kinda look like Bogart's hat, now that I take a closer look. I certainly do hope that we'll see him in action during this war, because we barely see enough of him in general. As Garp's right-hand man, he should make a nice opponent for the commanders/NW captains, as well.
|2009-08-05, 02:36
|Link #67
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
But if he is merely Paramecia, his body shouldn't be changing like that.
Now let's say if Mr. 1 is Steel Logia, his body would become metallic looking, but since he is Paramecia, he still looks like a normal person but with steel-like skin. It's true that Mr. 1's limbs does change into blades when attacking, but his whole body never actually changed.
On the other hand, Jozu's body becomes shiny and glittering like real diamond. If it was Paramecia, it would be the same as Mr. 1, not much visible changes.
|2009-08-05, 02:43
|Link #68
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
^To me, it just seems like Jozu created an outer "shell" to protect his body, somewhat like how Mr. 3 has his Candle Champion armor. If he were Logia, then we'd see his body shatter into shards of diamonds or something since Logias can change shape that way. So as it stands, I'd still say that Jozu's a Paramecia. I'm also still pretty convinced that Marco's one as well, at that matter (still crossing my fingers for that "sparkman" theory to hold true)......
|2009-08-05, 04:06
|Link #71
|2009-08-05, 04:12
|Link #72
But in a fight on land, it doesn't really make that much of a difference.
Also depends what you think haki means. If we use CA's definition, then WB's crew have very strong haki as well.
|2009-08-05, 04:54
|Link #73
Ultra noob
Join Date: Dec 2004
does mihawk's words mean that white beard is definitely stronger than him?
Or that whitebeard used to be very much stronger than him and he wants to find out how much he has closed the gap/ whether WB is still stronger?
Both seem to make sense.
|2009-08-05, 05:33
|Link #74
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Grand Line
Some spoilers says that Mihawk is former second division commander of Whitebeard pirates and he and Jozo has a little chat where Mihawk says he dont have time to remember old times and he want to test himself against strongest and Jozo says that Whitebeards have been missing swordsman since Mihawk left and he cant get piece of king straight off.
Also Mihawks slash is NOT worlds strongest its just some random marine fanboy yelling, Mihawk himself dont say anything during attack.
But seriosly there are sooooo many intresting inviduals already introduced in this battle, if this war would be showned as Bleach style where 'war' is fought by random 1vs1 battles then we would be stuck for this war for 2020 since we have huge amount of material for it already.
Cant wait for chapter release and I have to get some self-control and avoid spoiling myself any further and save some suprises for chapter itself.
|2009-08-05, 05:58
|Link #75
BTW GARPs a hyena devil fruit. :O
|2009-08-05, 08:43
|Link #76
Senior Member
Momonga looks bad ass to me for some reason, and Whitebeared has some female commanders! I'm loving that VA spread right now. I've always been a fan of the Marines. With all thats happening, is all of this still being broadcasted to the entire world? If so this would make for some good TV.
|2009-08-05, 08:52
|Link #77
Master of The Sword
Join Date: Dec 2005
No spoilers say that. If you were reading arlongpark, then what you read was some fake conversation some user made up for Chapter 554. He wasn't serious.
|2009-08-05, 09:03
|Link #78
Is Your Daddy & Its True
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: In the Sky with the Birds
|2009-08-05, 09:10
|Link #79
I might be wrong though.
Check it out yourself: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5195/552480.jpg
|2009-08-05, 09:53
|Link #80
Is Your Daddy & Its True
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: In the Sky with the Birds
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NO ONE IS *insert snot spewing sob* FUNDING ME! --Nnaemeka
Nnaemeka you're a potential demulcent. I'm sure there's billions to be made from people rubbing bits of you on bits of them.
Essentially, this is the same complaint as people talking about how we do not have enough STEM talent
From what I've seen, almost all the people who complain that we don't have enough STEM talents are also people who, themselves, are not in STEM fields. If they think it's so important, why didn't they go into it?
Basically, it's because the people complaining want a larger STEM workforce to make money from, but they don't work in it because they can't make nearly as much money in it as whatever they're doing. So they want other people to work their asses off for mediocre pay.
Lawyerly politicians whining about need for more STEM is exactly what both Heinlein, in Starship Troopers, and Niven, in The Mote In God's Eye were sarcastically describing.
In Starship Troopers (the book anyway), the bugs were non-sentient. But every time a colony was distressed, the workers bred this "brain bug", and then the problem would magically go away. Then the brain bug became irrelevant to it again.
In The Mote In God's Eye, the Moties are led by a political caste, with other castes obeying them, as they went about their political machinacions and wars. The Engineer caste was ungodly brilliant, but otherwise completely mute, and specifically he juxtaposed it against the yabbering schemes of the political class.
I hope some of you wake up to the memes of both parties guiding and directing you. You are disposable.
My point: This guy's bleat is a whine from the political class to come save them from their own idiocies, then shut the hell up once they take credit for breeding brain bugs to solve problems. Do it, but leave them in control.
Vernor Vinge gets even more sarcastic in A Deepness In The Sky, the sequel to the phenomenal A Fire Upon The Deep, wherein the bad guys use a drug that makes you find whatever it is impossibly seductive and pleasurable. If you do art, you will focus on it and produce world-class works. If science or engineering, phenomenal feats. And so on.
But you won't dream of resisting their control because you get to do what you want...that it's to your overlord's benefit doesn't enter into it.
In Starship Troopers (the book anyway), the bugs were non-sentient. But every time a colony was distressed, the workers bred this "brain bug", and then the problem would magically go away. Then the brain bug became irrelevant to it again.
Might want to reread the book, if you think that was part of it.
Hint: it wasn't. Wasn't part of the movie, either, by the by.
In The Mote In God's Eye, the Moties are led by a political caste, with other castes obeying them, as they went about their political machinacions and wars. The Engineer caste was ungodly brilliant, but otherwise completely mute, and specifically he juxtaposed it against the yabbering schemes of the political class.
Might want to reread Mote in God's Eye, also.
The groups you describe as "castes" were actually subspecies. And the Ruler subspecies didn't do the machinations and politics stuff, their Negotiator subspecies did that part.
Note, for reference, that the Negotiator subspecies was actually a hybrid of the Ruler and Engineer subspecies...
Come to that, the Engineer wasn't especially brilliant - "idiot-savant" was a description used more than once about them.
To be fair, one can look at it as a balance issue. The most capable people tend to shift their focus to the things society values the most, and right now we place a high social value on getting rich quick through finding some narcissistic niche and building something that appeals to it.
As you note, capable people focus on things that society values most. "Getting rich quick" is the result of producing what society values most, *not* the thing that society values most. So you make Facebook and get rich because society wants Facebook, not because it wants you to be rich.
So I don't see what Nnaemeka wants to happen: society to invest more money in the underclass, or people to altruistically forgo riches to serve the underclass. Either one may be a noble goal, but he should at least articulate what he wants: he complains about us being to urban-focused, but over 80% of people in America live in an urban environment! And tech apps work better in a dense environment: seamless.com, etc, isn't a business model for a farm community; the big stuff has already been done (amazon.com, youporn.com.)
The most capable people tend to shift their focus to the things society values the most,
What? I don't know about you, but I'm interested in getting rich because I want to have money, so I don't have to work for other people anymore AND can spend my time working on my own projects.
I don't care at all about 'social value', they're all a bunch of idiots. But getting rich has some real, tangible, objective value.
How is this funny? He is not trolling. If you read the article what he is getting at is that we are not solving the problem that move society forward. Case in point tumblr. Wow, what a piece of effen work! Yippeee! Or look at all of those one day camps of ideas. All related to simplistic systems, where the business model falls into, "lets make this so that we can get bought out." These days the idea is not about actually building a business that makes money.
Case in point Ubuntu. This is a company that does try to push the boundary and does try to help, all while trying to make a business about it. Same thing with Redhat. Yet are they rewarded like say a Tumblr? I just crack up laughing that a TUmblr is worth a tenth of Redhat. you know a business that is actually making money and solving problems.
Where is the real innovation? The uniqueness? Where are the plans that drive real businesses? I think that is a valid question.
Why aren't they making the world better the way I think it should be done?!
Because the industrial and economic policies of their governments are shifting them into increasingly valueless industries.
Why aren't they making the world better the way I think it should be done?!
Because the industrial and economic policies of their governments are shifting them into increasingly valueless industries.
It's easy to throw stones and walk away. It's harder to propose solutions. What do you propose?
"The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. "
Many younger people are simply interested in innovative and original ideas?
it's the vc's fault for giving money for dumb ideas. the young people just need the work, dumb or not.
Skimmed through TFA, it doesn't seem like he has any suggestions on what to focus on, as long as it's not everyone dogpiling on one thing.
But the way things are going, maybe we should all be working on building these:
http://www.designboom.com/design/mobile-homeless-shelter/ [designboom.com]
I thought those were called "travel trailers", or "mobile homes"?
Well, looks like that's not Nnaemeka's problem, given that it's an old dude making it, not some young guy. Still, I have some concerns. In no particular order
1. Many homeless people in the USA are homeless because of mental problems. Treating said problems is necessary because otherwise they can't take care of themselves, fancy rolling shelter or not. Many will DESTROY said shelter in days, if not hours.
2. Stove inside is just asking for fire.
3. Is water shortage really a problem for homeless
1. Many homeless people in the USA are homeless because of mental problems. Treating said problems is necessary because otherwise they can't take care of themselves, fancy rolling shelter or not. Many will DESTROY said shelter in days, if not hours.
It's not very brilliant, but it's a matter of law that both drug abusers and the mentally ill have a right to refuse treatment, and unless you can pin a sufficient criminal act on the former, or demonstrate a danger to society of the latter, then there's no way to force treatment.
It's also one thing to take a mentally ill person and medicate them to the point that they are stable enough that you are required to release them, and entirely another to implant them with a Norplant-type device to continue to administer corrective drugs after they've been released from protective custody. The second one is illegal enforcement of treatment after termination of medical power of attorney.
How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb? One. But the lightbulb has to want to change.
Skimmed through TFA, it doesn't seem like he has any suggestions on what to focus on, as long as it's not everyone dogpiling on one thing.
But the way things are going, maybe we should all be working on building these:
http://www.designboom.com/design/mobile-homeless-shelter/ [designboom.com]
that's not a homeless shelter realistically. a true homeless person would sell it for booze.
to who? some guy who needs it for camping(stick to the back of a pickup) or as a rock festival sleeping area. for that it looks nice and you could make a mint renting those for that. the laptop area in the sketch is just funny - it's certainly meant for some different kind of nonexistant type of homeless person.
when was the last time you saw something truely original or innovative?
Smart Phones
Self Driving Cars
Private space flight
Crowd funding
Growing body parts from stem cells
Mars exploration
Discovery of planets around other stars
I wonder how boring a life would be to not recognize these things as new and wonderful.
Any smart person who is not also a strong idealist is most likely going to go where the money is. This could be on Wall Street, in online advertising, in going to the Moon, or in curing cancer. It is not their responsibility to do something to better the world. The people spending their money in the economy and electing officials who directly or indirectly decide where the money is going to go.
All this talk about training more people in STEM misses the entire benefit of being in a capitalistic economy. I
Where does writing inane, self-centric books fit in Nnaemeka's weltanschlung?
Exactly... what's worse than someone wasting their talents on a dumb idea? Someone wasting their talents writing about someone wasting their talents on a dumb idea...
Or they don't shout it from the roof tops everytime they take a longer than usual piss. Not everyone have a need to be heard like Nnaemeka.
... there are no groups that need help that nobody does
Where'd you get the rose coloured glasses?
the "best and brightest" will just go back to feed the money machine. After all, they are competent and they also need to eat when they`re bankrupt. VCs have money to spare and they will benefit either way.
the "best and brightest" will just go back to feed the money machine. After all, they are competent and they also need to eat when they`re bankrupt. VCs have money to spare and they will benefit either way.
the money machine is the dumb ideas.
that's why they're chasing dumb ideas. because vc's pay them to. because she told them to.
so the smart people are implementing dumb ideas because that's what pays their living.
The smart people don't really want to help the lower class. Ugh, have you actually met any of them? Shudder. If anything they should be vexed even more than they are already.
What the smart people want is to be seen as helping the lower class. This gives you fantastic social status (among other smart people, naturally) and ensures that you will be invited to all the right parties. The lower class will themselves not be attending these parties. Again, a five minute conversation with any of them is quite
Money for nothing and their checks for free.
I wanted to be a rock star with hot and cold running chicks.
I became a technologist and I have hot and cold running robots.
I am happy.
But we've already won.
I think that's the point of the article. Some of us have won. Some of us are losing badly.
Even the homeless and destitute in the US enjoy a standard of living far above that of the average human even a century ago.
The average human a century ago had a home, which might not have been fancy but still better than nothing, therefore your claim is absurd.
We simply don't care about social-issue-X as much as we value cheap tasty calories and cheap immersive entertainment.
This has always been the case. Ever heard of the term "bread and circuses"? It has nothing to do with having "already won" and ever
You mean companies are hiring smart people to design what other people want to buy?
Oh, the humanity! The humanity!
There's more to it than that.
You're right, there are a lot of problems that could be helped by new tech. Just look at transportation for instance: we spend a ton of money on it in the US, and it sucks: it's slow, we spend lots of time idling in traffic or at stoplights, our cars are driven by oil-burning, pollution-spewing horrifically inefficient engines, and 50,000 people die every year in auto accidents.
Tech could solve a lot of problems outside the online world, but the problem is that you have to have a good government that invests wisely in R&D, or at least you need a regulatory scheme that makes it possible for new tech to improve the situation. Why deal with all that government red tape when you can spend all your time working on a "hit app", Google Maps, a new handheld electronic device, etc.? All those things don't have much red tape at all: you build whatever you want, you put it out in the market, and you make money with it right away. You don't have to deal with all kinds of governmental problems with them.
Suppose I want to solve the transportation problem. An idea already exists: Personal Rapid Transit, such as SkyTran. It wouldn't be that hard to build; the passive maglev rails have already been built and proven to work, the computer/software tech needed for the cars to be autonomous is somewhat trivial compared to Google's infrastructure, and the cars themselves would be dirt-cheap compared to a modern car (gas or electric like Tesla). However, even if you could get funding for the initial R&D and production, there's more to building and deploying such a system than just getting a factory and building them: you have to get governments at all levels (federal down to local) to agree on it, to standardize on one system (so they can all link up), and new regulation set up to police it all and make sure it's safe, to secure right-of-way, etc. Add to that that it competes with existing technologies (namely GM, Ford, etc.), who have lobbyists who will try to shoot down anything that competes with privately-owned automobiles, just like they've done with various public transit systems in the past.
Or how about aviation? Think you can invent a better aircraft? Good luck getting past the FAA.
It's simply much easier to just sit at your computer and write a new software app. You don't have to deal with government regulators (who are applying decades-old regulations to brand-new ideas) when you do that.
It's simply much easier to just sit at your computer and write a new software app. You don't have to deal with government regulators (who are applying decades-old regulations to brand-new ideas) when you do that.
This in a nutshell. Sure, you can solve a lot of those big problems technically. But that's not the real issue. After all, we here at Slashdot have solved the world's problems many times over. In fact, we do it each week.
But the problems still remain - it's POLITICS folks. To solve societal ills we're talking about capital that dwarfs Bill Gates, Warren, Elon and Micheal Bloomberg together. Getting that capital requires a political will that simply doesn't exist. At least in terms of 'solving societi
Not getting corrupted is easy. I'm sure I could pull that off. You just have to not be a sociopath or someone with a poor moral compass.
The problem is that if the kind of person who can't be corrupted, the likelihood of you getting elected is almost zero. The voters don't want such people as leaders, they want people who tell them what they want to hear and fool them with lies. So sociopaths get elected because they're good at lying and deception.
But yes, your point is correct: the problem with many pro
You're right, there are a lot of problems that could be helped by new tech. Just look at transportation for instance: we spend a ton of money on it in the US, and it sucks: it's slow, we spend lots of time idling in traffic or at stoplights, our cars are driven by oil-burning, pollution-spewing horrifically inefficient engines, and 50,000 people die every year in auto accidents.
New tech isn't going to solve transportation problems. We already know how to solve transportation problems and it comes down to
New tech isn't going to solve transportation problems. We already know how to solve transportation problems and it comes down to money for building new infrastructure, e.g, subways, light rail, high-speed heavy-rail, and transit-only lanes. All that is hugely expensive.
Wrong: those things don't solve transportation problems, because they're all 19th-century technology. Subways only work in extremely dense areas like Manhattan and SanFran, not in Louisville KY or Ames IA. Light rail sucks; it's slow and v
In the USA, it is all about credit (the ability to go into debt for the purpose of buying things) and what you have bought. When we see each other, we assess largely on what they are wearing, driving or have in their possession. Additionally, every time we hear about rich people in trouble or otherwise doing something stupid, we instictively react with "I thought they were [better than us]!!" It's not the presumption that they are just like anyone else and often times dumber, it's the opposite because we pedestrians have been taught to succeed we must be smart or skilled and to work hard. Interestingly, those are the characteristics which keep those "valuable human capital assets" in the trenches where they belong.
All the money circulates around consumerism. That is where the money is. That is what people study to join in to get a share of.
Yes, this is NOT a sustainable model. This is why we are in trouble now.
The author seems quite intent on blaming individuals for what is a structural malaise.
There's money in the kinds of fields the author talks about, and it seems a bit harsh to criticize people for trying to make a living. Agreed, Angry Birds isn't pushing the boundaries of human evolution towards a fairer, more peaceful world, but this isn't the 50's - the teet of government research is drying up through constant cuts and marginalisation. Academia and the public sector doesn't seem to have the clout it used to, and as a result long term humanitarian projects are dying off. The death of the public sector is the real reason we've never gone back to the moon. That's neoliberalism for you.
As for the "underclass" (a word I despise), I've been wondering recently whether we're witnessing the technological trend futurists warned us about; persistently lowering labour requirements. Figures certainly seem to point that way.
Outside of tech and Wall Street, making a living is quickly becoming harder and harder. There simply isn't the amount of work there was forty years ago. We're looking at genuine human tragedy if the situation is not resolved.
I feel the only cure is a guaranteed minimum income. Let us solve all these problems at once, forever.
I feel the only cure is a guaranteed minimum income. Let us solve all these problems at once, forever.
Wasn't a society like this depicted in "Judge Dredd" (or rather the newer "Dredd" movie)? 98+% unemployment, everyone living in gigantic public housing buildings, crime rates out of control with ultraviolent gangs controlling things, etc.
Western Europe is already a society like this, and the crime rates seem to be well in hand. And before anyone starts talking about Greece or Spain, the Scandinavian countries are more socialised than almost anywhere and are doing just fine.
And the small, relatively monolithic, stable social democracies are, unfortunately, not a very practical role model for the Rest of the World. Maybe in a couple of hundred years, if we make it that long.
Look, the big problem globally is that there are to many of us for the planet to handle it gracefully for any length of time. But the planet will indeed handle it. Most of "us" won't like that, but then again, the Universe doesn't give a shit.
And the small, relatively monolithic, stable social democracies are, unfortunately, not a very practical role model for the Rest of the World. Maybe in a couple of hundred years, if we make it that long.
Why? Other than Norway with its massive oil reserves (the proceeds from which it invests incidentally, rather than pumping them back into the local economy), what's so special about these countries?
Look, the big problem globally is that there are to many of us for the planet to handle it gracefully for any length of time. But the planet will indeed handle it. Most of "us" won't like that, but then again, the Universe doesn't give a shit.
Again, why? We have more than enough food, energy is literally falling from the sky, fresh water ceases to become a problem even for areas massively overrepresented visibility-wise like California for that reason, we will see the end of fossil fuel powered vehicles within our lifetimes, all in all the future look
well she is (or was) part of the structure.
the less fortunate is that you can't make any money off of them. Guys like Bill Gates, with all the money in the world, can afford to focus on that portion of the human population because they don't have to make money off of them. The rest of us have to eat and feed our families and send our kids to school.
That is complete bullshit, and you know it! There are many people who manage to eat, feed their families and send their kids to school, an in general make their living while helping what you call the less fortunate. It is hard work, it is often frustrating because it may often seem like it does not make any difference, but it is entirely possible. Of course, you may not be able to afford your huge house, new car, the newest TV and cable, but it is entirely possible to "make a living" that way.
OK, I see you're a literalist. Let me put it this way: if you're trying to sell a product or service that costs $10, how much effort will it take to get $10 from a poor person who has to work for a couple hours to earn $10 (in the US anyway) vs getting $10 from someone who makes $10 in a couple minutes? It is harder to get a poor person to part with their money than a relatively rich person.
Slick Willie Sutton summed it up nicely when someone asked why he robbed banks: "that's where the money is".
I have no patience with people who take it upon themselves to tell other people what they should be choosing to do with their lives and their businesses. If someone wants to write silly phone apps and there are enough people willing to shell out their own hard-earned money to buy them, then the existence of the customer base is enough justification for the existence of the apps. Apparently enough people find enough value in them to make them profitable. If not, well, then the "best and brightest" will go fi
His entire rant is a string of strawmen, ad hominems, non sequiturs, and question-begging. The problems he mentioned are all either social or political in nature. Otherwise, he's piling a lot of abuse and loaded words on people doing what they want to do: write programs.
The weird thing is, he identified the sources of the problems right in his rant. Single mothers living at or below the poverty line? The jobs they have don't pay well, are inflexible, and provide no relief for raising kids while trying to ea
I think her point is exactly that these are problems that are "social and political in nature," and that our brightest minds are mostly writing inane apps instead of tackling them.
The solutions are simple, he just doesn't like them: more privatization, more competition, more personal responsibility, fewer government benefits.
I'm not sure what Nnaemeka is expecting either.
We live in a capitalist society. If no one is willing to pay for these important problems to be solved, then no one is going to solve them. And even if someone is willing to pay, they will most likely completely screw over the person/people responsible for coming up with the solution anyway. Capitalism is not about solving the world's problems, it's about making money by any means necessary.
Maybe when that changes and the world collectively starts working toget
From TFA: C.Z. Nnaemeka studied Philosophy at Wellesley; logically, she has spent most of her time in finance, beginning at Goldman Sachs. Born in Manhattan to Nigerian parents, she attended French schools, graduating from the Lycée FranÃais de New York. Since then she has alternated between writing, banking, and consulting to startups in Europe, Latin America, and Australia. Previously, she lived in Paris where she founded a political discussion group and was a foreign affairs commentator for the conservative newspaper, Le Figaro. She graduated from MIT in 2010, focusing on Entrepreneurship + Innovation.
Don't be stupid. If you don't bother to read, don't assume gender in your response.
I found this article courageous interesting, though it bogs down in examples it stands apart from a great many rants I see day after day.
The author is NOT just attacking "silly things"... but referring to a decline of interest in building, maintaining and improving physical infrastructure. That complacency is real, it is dangerous and ultimately fatal.
Physical infrastructure is the entirety of things that make a comfortable existence possible. Safe drinking water and the system that delivers it, affordable
Thank you, where do I find the groups that understand global warming exists but are pushing actual technical solutions rather than moronic and unsustainable cut back and use less messages? Until this grassroots movement starts I'll have to advocate for the deniers. Without real push for nuclear and new hydro electric dams I wont take it serious.
VC's want to invest in the next Angry Birds app... short term return, not 20 year return on the creation of a drug that'll cure XYZ disease.
So where do the 20somethings want to go? Do they want to spend their time sitting in a lab somewhere at Big Pharma researching a drug? Or working for Cisco trying to create 1Tb Ethernet? Nope. Not sexy. Nobody is going IPO there.
The startup industry has dramatically changed over the years.
In the 80s and before, the purpose of a startup was to build a successful, long
People who went to university are not smart. They have some more education, and some of them are even brilliant in their distinct field, but beside that, they are morons like everyone else. If you want to help the lower and middle classes, first, you have to provide a decent social security system, like Danmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and similar countries. Second, you have to train people in a way so that they can find a purpose in life. That purpose is more important, than above minimal-income income. Third, there are people who really are not able to decide what they want in life. They need guidance. SO we as a society have to deliver that. But most prominently, we have to change the primary attitude in society or at least in economy: ME FIRST!
I'd expect nothing less from a 1st world culture in general that says "do what YOU want to do," "find YOUR dream," "YOU're the most important to YOU." Reading the comments on this thread so far, it is evident that we'd rather remain blissfully ignorant and shift the burden elsewhere.
It's gruelling work to sort out the world's problems, and with no one-right-answer, fraught with the possibility of failure, as some commenters here can attest: one commenter demonstrates the core attitudinal problem - it takes
We measure success with money and we assume that people are really smart because they figured out how to make money.
Despite the fact that the author is whining about people not doing what *he* thinks they should be doing, he is assuming that a person with the skill set to create a popular internet application of the year has the same skill set needed to solve real world problems.
Perhaps smart people just realize that the progressive refrain of "the sky is falling" and "we so many problems" is bullshit.
The problems we do have are largely self-inflicted and within people's own control. For example, you can't fix single motherood with an app, entrepreneurship, or government programs. The only way you get fewer single mothers in poverty is if women stop having kids outside of marriage.
And entrepreneurs can't fix what's wrong with government benefits, retirement plans, or the medical sy
Lets look at two examples put forth by TFA: An app that provides restaurant recommendations based on your blood type. The Department of Veteransâ(TM) Affairs processes 97% of its claims by hand, stacking them in heaps on tables and in cabinets.
The first one is virgin territory, in development terms. Sure, it might be silly. But if it pays off (think Angry Birds) its all yours.
The second one is already someone's turf. Sure, I could go in with a team and clean up the VA. Or the IRS, FBI, whatever. B
Not really relevant to the topic; just wanted to point this out since a lot of people are referring to the author as "he".
I developed a very serious mobile app back way in the mid-90s for public health and disease surveillance. Let me tell you from experience why an app that people rely upon every day for critical work is no way to strike it rich. People *need* a lot of support for that kind of app. Support equals labor, and labor is expensive. Businesses with high expenses don't get rich unless they can command huge prices.
When smartphones came along, my partner used to gnash his teeth at stories of developers scoring windfalls with ringtones or stupid little games, and here we were doing *important* work and only making an OK living. I pointed out that if somebody pays $1.99 for something to amuse himself, he's never going to call tech support. When something represents a total investment of fifty to a hundred thousand dollars in hardware, software and system integration services, he damn well is going to call tech support. But 50K isn't really that much money if you include hardware, third party software licenses, QC'ing the client's existing data and converting it, training the administrators and end uses, and negotiating with IT gatekeepers. That's what you have to face when you do work that everyone agrees is important. Yes, people are willing to spend real money on important problems, but they also subject you to higher standards, intense scrutiny, and exacting ongoing demands, and those things eat into your profits. And the only way to get rich in business is to generate profits -- and salary you pay yourself for your labor IS AN EXPENSE.
That's why the $1.99 app somebody buys on a whim to amuse himself is bound to be more profitable than *important* software that somebody relies on to do something important -- no matter how much you charge for that software. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. Software that is a cheaper, more convenient alternative to something someone already has (e.g. Skype) is practical because what it does may be important, but that software itself is at first dispensable.
Look at the vast amounts of cash going into develop "social media"; it is no accident that most of it goes to support is so trivia. Trivia is profitable. It's easier to try radical new things in the trivial. A lot more people have an early adopter stance towards a service like Facebook than they do to towards things they regard as critical. They take convincing and hand-holding. That's why something like Google Wave couldn't get off the ground, you have to approach something as important as collaboration much more conservatively, usually working around how people already do things (e.g. Sharepoint).
People who will change society by orders of magnitude a few decades or centuries down the road are considered borderline insane today.
Actually, by the usual measure they often _are_ borderline insane. RMS is a great example. His ragging on about GNU/Linux instead of Linux etc., his appalling table manners (I've heard first hand that they are bound to make you throw up), etc. are mannerisms that cloud the greatness of the ideals he holds dearest. His deed of introducing the GPL and putting is power where his mouth is ang giving us the GPL and the GNU Toolkit will have more positive consequences for humanity further down the road than a Mark Zuckerberg could only dream of. And every expert knows this.
It's quite common that people really helping humanity move forward become famous only after they've died - if at all - and society gradually grows to see what they did for us all or what they saw coming (Ada Livingston, Tesla,
That all been said, I have to second the initial claim that there basically is a solid measure of decadence, especially in the field of IT, that is leading us nowhere. I've spent my recent years scrum mastering for browsergames, fiddling with FOSS CMSes (and we all agree that the world surely does not need any more of those) and now techleading the development of travel booking sites. With all the power as a developer and IT expert at my hands today nothing to brag about, really.
However, I *do* have a daughter and she needs to be put well on her way, and if assigning tickets to webdevs for the next generic webapp is what helps me follow through with my responsibility, I guess I'll have to swallow my pride until she's out of the house and on her own. Then I might actually finally drop IT as a main career all together and put my skills into action for some greater cause, such as protecting/defending the environment or pushing for some advancement in womans rights somewhere or something.
My 2 cents.
The simple answer to all of this is choice, and the consequences of choice. I consider myself one of the "best and brightest" and why don't I go out and do what author is describing? Simple, myself subscribed to the philosophy that I needed to make a decent living (aka, I made a choice to live comfortably). I then chose to have a child with a woman who eventually split with me. I chose to get full custody of my son. Based on those choices, I was then told by society (a judge) that I had to live in central Indiana, and not in Washington, if I was to have my son live with me. Now Tell me how I can sit here with all those choices, and tell me how my life is going to work out.
I cannot work on the coasts, I cannot travel, I have to be home every night at 5-6pm, I want to live comfortably, I have to work in central Indiana. Tell me what a highly intelligent person is to do if they want to "change the world" or "help the underprivileged". Straw men such as the original author stated only work when things can work out for the person doing the work's favor.
Lets go with another example. Smart person wants to do a company which helps people. Great. They need money. They go out and they have to get into bed with VC or some angel will give them money for costs. This is great until said money giver now wants a return or worse yet, profit. So they have to find a way to make money. Giving things away does not make money (as poor, disadvantaged don't have a lot of excess cash to pay for things). So that means, companies who have altruistic intentions, must create a marketable application/device/item/widget and then sell that, make money, pay back the original shareholders, pay expenses/taxes, invest in R/D, and then finally with what ever is left, give money away for the original altruistic intentions were to begin with.
I cannot stamp my feet in the street and say "I want millions of dollars to create a company to help poor people, with no chance of paying back the original investors." The only way I can see that is if you hit the lottery.
The author has a point. A shorter version is from Jeff Hammerbacher at Facebook: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks." I've been to venture capital presentations, and too many of them are for incredibly banal applications. I've heard a pitch for a social network for cats. (It wasn't funded.) Even venture capitalists are unhappy with this situation.
As the social networking boom collapses (Facebook traffic and ad revenue peaked a year ago, and everybody else is in worse shape) we'll see a change in that. But it's not clear what comes next.
The problems of poor education and inefficient military bureaucracy are not solvable by a clever program or a nifty piece of hardware. Entrepreneurship is not a welcome trait in many facets of our society. These are deep cultural differences.
Solving these types of problems takes a lot more than 2-3 years of work, no matter how inspired it may be. The young people getting into civil service today have 10 years before they're going to be able to make changes. It's going to take patience, stubbornness and a superhuman resistance to cynicism for these young staffers and bureaucrats to solve these problems.
"I shall expect a chemical cure for psychopathic behavior by 10 A.M. tomorrow, or I'll have your guts for spaghetti." -- a comic panel by Cotham


text:
In writing this series, I hope to make amends with my grandmother's spirit. I was 24 years old when she left us for her reward, and up to that point in my life, I didn't have the knowledge, nor the maturity, to empathize with what her life must have been like, after experiencing the loss of three husbands, and then, ultimately, living out her last 36 years as a widow. Being a person who always reaches out and tries to understand and connect with others, I feel just awful for not knowing her better, seeing her more clearly, and/or loving her more dearly. In my grown-up, intellectual mind, I know that really have no fault, especially since I was never told of her hardships; but the sentimental, emotionally-connected part of me is heavy-laden with a feeling of guilt, every time I think about how I distanced myself from this grandmother, in favor of my paternal one. Mary Thomas' outer-shell was deservedly hardened. I imagine she must have lived each day that I knew her constantly protecting and shielding her heart from further pain.
I know nothing about my maternal grandparent's marriage except that it happened, and that they had two children together; my uncle, Howell Webster, born in 1931 and my mother, Maryanne, in 1934. However, this third article from the Journal & Guide at least hints at the fact that my grandmother may have been living a happy life. She was already active in the church she was a member of, and funeralized in 53 years later. Her son was winning baby contests, and she would, just two months after this, conceive my mother with her husband, Daniel.
At some point, the happy days ended for Daniel and Mary. For whatever the reason(s), my grandfather abandoned his wife and children when my mother was just four years old. The family never saw or heard from him again, and I, in my 14 years of research, have been unable to track him down to find out where he went, or what happened to him. In a recent interview with my uncle who only vaguely remembers having a father, he recalled Daniel Hill as being a "mean man". My mother doesn't remember her father at all, and neither of them have a clue what he even looked like.
So, for my grandmother, this was blow #2. Another marriage dissipated, but for a completely different reason. This time, she was left with two children to raise. She'd just lost her father (in 1936), but thankfully, had her mother there to help her. Though she was saddened by this loss, she was not broken. Help (and another chance at love) was on the way. Stay tuned for Part III...