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Samsung Galaxy Gear Preview
Samsung Galaxy Gear: Smart Freedom
It's finally official. After numerous leaks (mostly inaccurate) and the recent admission to The Korea Times from Samsung itself, the maker of the highly popular Galaxy-branded smartphones has just unveiled the Galaxy Gear smart watch, alongside the other highly anticipated device of the year, the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 smartphone.
As - erhm - promised by Mr. Lee Young-hee, executive VP of Samsung's mobile business, the Galaxy Gear doesn't come with a flexible screen. Neither does it come with a ridiculously big 3-inch display. A contemporary-looking watch nonetheless, it has a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, an 800MHz processor, a rubber wrist band, a metal bezel, and a metal fold-over clasp. Only a single hardware button is found at the right side, and its task is to bring you back to the home screen. For storage, it comes with 4GB of internal memory; RAM is pegged at 512MB.
True to rumors though, the Galaxy Gear does come with a camera, but it only has a resolution of 1.9 megapixels. Meant to be a 'memographer', it's able to capture photos with audio, as well as short videos (up to 720p). Charging of its 315mAh Li-ion battery is done via micro-USB, but the port isn't on the watch itself. Instead, it's on this little charging case (comes bundled) that goes around the watch. The case has pogo pins that will align with the contacts at the back of the watch.
Expectedly, connection is done via wireless Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth 4.0 LE). But at launch, the Galaxy Gear will only work with the Galaxy Note 3. This is due to the additional transmission instructions that the current Galaxy S series smartphones lack. This can be solved via a firmware update to the master device (that is the phone), but Samsung isn't willing to give us a timeline. Our guess is that recent devices, like the Galaxy S4, will get it together with their Android 4.3 update.
Also, Samsung thinks the Galaxy Gear is best paired with a Galaxy smartphone. Case in point: It's not even designed to work with the new Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), the third device announced today.
Smart or Not?
Features-wise, the 73.8g Galaxy Gear is able to send and receive calls; in fact, it'd be a huge surprise if it isn't able to. It also does notifications (for calls, messages, email, and alerts), as well as something called Smart Relay. In essence, when you receive a notification on the smart watch, and go to pick up the phone, the content will automatically be shown. There's also Voice Memo, where you speak to the Galaxy Gear, and it sends the info back to the master device, and then send s back the final text to the watch. Then there's S-Voice, for hands-free launching of apps, creating of new calendar entries, setting of alarms, and checking of weather; a photo gallery; and a music playback control app for the master device. As mentioned above, the Memographer app is used for snapshots and short videos. And when you close Memographer, the data is transferred to the master device.
Another notable feature is that it can be used as a standalone pedometer. The watch has onboard accelerometer and gyroscope, but not GPS. Other features include a stopwatch, weather display, Auto Lock (not the watch, but the phone when the former is 1.5m away from the latter), Find My Device (you can have misplaced devices beep, illuminate, and vibrate), and clock faces (10 of them, no less, with more to be downloaded through Samsung Apps). Samsung is promising at least 70 optimized apps at launch via Samsung Apps, and these include popular ones like Evernote, Glympse, TripIt, ChatOn, eBay, RunKeeper, Pocket, Path, Line, Atooma, and Banjo.
The Galaxy Gear also has a great emergency feature. When you press the power button three times continuously, your location will be sent to a saved contact with a message.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear will be available in six colors, creatively known as: jet black, oatmeal beige, rose gold (with a beige band), wild orange, mocha gray, and lime green. Worldwide availability starts from 25th September, but there aren't any specifics on per-country roll-out (e.g. there's no launch date yet for the Philippines) or the price points at the point of publishing. Meanwhile, stay tuned to this space for more updates from HardwareZone.


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NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Junior Hywel Robinson (Bridgend, Wales) has been named captain of the 2012-13 Yale men's squash team. Robinson was chosen by his teammates in a vote last week, and will take over a team that was the nation's No. 1 squad at points in the 2011-12 season
"Being elected the captain is a huge honor." Robinson said. "Especially since I'm following in the footsteps of the three great captains I've had the chance to play under. If we can emulate anywhere near the culture and climate that we have had in previous years, I know we will have a successful year."
"All of us at Yale Squash are very excited about the selection by the team of Hywel Robinson as the captain of Yale Squash for the 2012-13 season," Head Coach Dave Talbott said. "Hywel is one of the top players in college wquash as well as one of the leaders of the Yale Squash program. Part of an exceptional senior class of Kenneth Chan, Richard Dodd, and Sam Haig, Hywel is one of the hardest workers and most focused players in the recent history of Yale Squash."
Robinson has been a rock at the top of the lineup for the Bulldogs since his arrival in New Haven. As a freshman, he posted a 15-3 record and reached the semifinals of the Division A CSA Individual Championship consolation draw. That success earned him first team All-American and first-team All Ivy honors.
As a sophomore, Robinson played at the No. 1 spot and garnered second team All-American honors for his 5-9 record. He was also an All-Ivy selection yet again, all while battling a leg injury that forced the former Welsh junior squash No. 1 to off-season surgery.
"We are losing four great players to graduation, and they are going to be greatly missed. However, the three incoming freshmen are exciting players who will do big things for us," Robinson said. "Our goals for next year are the same as they have been every year -- be competitive and win it all."
Coach Talbott believes Robinson and his classmates are more than suited to lead the Bulldogs in that direction.
"Hywel is the right one to lead the Yale men back to the top after winning the Ivy League the two previous years before this season's second-place finish. With the support of his three fellow seniors, Hywel will be an extremely effective captain through his work ethic, leadership skills, and respect that he has from everyone on the team."
Report filed by Chelsea Janes '12, Yale Sports Publicity

subset: commoncrawl


text: I'm with you, PA; if I chlorinate, it will be with the standard, cheaper chlorination unit. Dechlorination seems to usually be done with a charcoal filter; I can put one in the Big Blue canister I have, now; but I don't know if that will remove the haze I'm seeing, that gets through a 0.5 micron filter. If I get into a backwashing unit, it's more money, and cramps the space I have under the house in which to operate. Maybe one step at a time?


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BALTIMORE (AP) — First Mariner Bancorp, a holding company that owns 1st Mariner Bank, says it has filed for bankruptcy and plans to sell 1st Mariner to a group of investors.
First Mariner Bancorp filed for bankruptcy Monday afternoon in Baltimore, according to online court records.
The Daily Record reports that First Mariner Bancorp has less than $5.5 million in assets and more than $60.5 million in debts.
First Mariner Bancorp said in a statement that it will recapitalize 1st Mariner Bank with $100 million. The holding company says the bank will not file for bankruptcy and will operate separately from the holding company.
The bank says there will be no interruption in services to customers.
1st Mariner Bank operates 16 bank branches in central Maryland.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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I have no joke here, I just like saying, I work as a penetration tester
Heh, recommending a security tool that OpenBSD removed because the Ethereal team does not care about security [openbsd.org]
Mark it as BROKEN:
Right during 3.5, it had more than
a dozen remote holes being fixed, that we shipped with. Weeks later
things have not improved, and there continue to be problems reported
to bugtraq, and respective band-aids - but it is clear the ethereal
team does not care about security, as new protocols get added, and
nothing gets done about the many more holes that exist.
Just because something is open source does not imply that it's secure.
I was just thinking about structural ways to work around this in ethereal (like priv sep) -- in the meantime, I would point out that the biggest difference between ethereal and it's commercial equivalents is is that, with ethereal, you find out about the security problems quickly -- whereas with commercial equivalents, you might not find out for a while (if ever), and you'll probably end up paying for the upgrade to make it secure.
Another point is that it's most often the newer disectors that contain the holes. If you're worried about security and working in a 'hostile' environment, you're probably best to disable any disector that you're not intending to use. -- in fact, that might be a good idea to do in Ethereal, generally: Disable all but the most common dissectors and wait for the user to enable them explicitly.
Part of the nature of ethereal is that just about any hole is going to be a remot hole, since it is pretty much only dealing with remote (network) data. This is made worse by the fact that it's usually run as root and has no privelege separation (that I know of). OBSD, on the other hand has the luxury of separating remote holes from local holes when they carp about OpenBSD's security.
This, however, does not excuse the ethereal community
Why? It's not your job to see the problem. By hiding the implentation of the security software, its designers assumed responsibility for making it reliable.Telling your CEO "but the tool didn't see that problem" potentially makes you look just as dumb as the tool you paid for.
Passing the buck is standard corporate politics. It's true that this leads to a lot of dysfunctional organizations and bad decisions. But if you choose to fight this trend, you better be very good at what you do. And at covering your ass.
So you'd use inferior software just because you can point the finger at someone else when the software fails??? Wouldn't you rather use the best software for the job (even if it's cheaper)??grunt: Admiral! There's a missile comming our way, and the defence systems have just blue screened!
admiral: Thank god I can blame Microsoft for this!
missile: BOOM!
I mean, it's not like most commercial vendors take any responsibility for their software, anyways -- have you read your EULA's recently?
At least with open source software, you have the option of fixing any bugs yourself if the vendor refuses to. With Proprietary code, your only choice is to grin, bend over and wait for your bill.
You're new here, right?
I took the IDIC course a while back (i.e. my analyst number is less than 100) and noticed the same thing. The layout was a bit different then, but I caught myself thinking "why are we spending a day and a half reviewing TCP/IP?" After listening to
Wild idea. It'll never catch on.
Thank you very much for wasting my tax dollars, cretin! Seriously, I think this attitude that the "government has lots of money!" is going to be the downfall of the US... here's a subtle reminder: all the money is taken from hardworking citizens, at gunpoint if need be. Or borrowed against future taking from citizens...
Read your contract with your vendor. Fact is, most commercial software contracts don't protect against anything more than refunding the purchase price, even i
Having that phone number to call adds a much wanted security blanket, even if it's only a facade.
My first though on reading this was, "well their must be dozens of security firms that will offer support for such popular tools." I mean surely IBM if no on else will be happy to take your money and answer calls about nmap or snort or ethereal? So I did what anyone would do, and googled a bit. I could not find anyone in 2 minutes of searching. Perhaps my google-fu is weak. Is this really an untapped mark
Asking for comments on what's out there that's better than Open Source is one way to broaden your horizon. (and what better place to ask than SlashDot, where you'll probably get comments from people who work for, and/or use, much of the proprietary competition).
I'm thinking of writing a how-to for "penetration testers". It'll be titled "Locating Unprotected Backdoor Entrances" or more aptly, "Lube"
Don't forget a section on avoiding Trojans. Although they sometimes help with L.U.B.E., they can often get in the way of a successful test.
The one place I do not agree is with wireless security monitoring. I have not seen any open source offering, or combination of offerings, that can hold a candle to Airmagnet [airmagnet.com]. I test various open source offerings as I hear about them, and to date have seen nothing with the power and flexibility Airmagnet provides. It was worth every penny we paid for it.
"The pyramid is opening!" "Which one?" "The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" -- The Firesign Theatre


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Thousands of federal employees in New Mexico are bracing for the possibility of furloughs and lost paychecks as the government scoots closer to the edge of a partial shutdown next week.
Unless Congress acts before Tuesday to fund federal spending, the gates to popular tourist destinations such as Carlsbad Caverns National Monument and other parks around New Mexico could also be closed.
Passport applications will be left unprocessed and work will be suspended at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other agencies.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall says a shutdown would be "incredibly destructive" to New Mexico.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a shutdown could affect paychecks for about 2,100 Pentagon-funded civilian employees at Kirtland Air Force Base and about 4,000 other workers at New Mexico military installations.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Jean-Pictet Competition - International Humanitarian Law
28-03-2011 Event
The Jean-Pictet Competition is a week long training event on international humanitarian law (IHL) intended for students (undergraduate or above in Law, Political Science, military academies, etc.). It consists in "taking law out of the books", by simulations and role plays, allowing the jury of the Competition to evaluate teams' theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of IHL.
Event Info
Where: Najac, France
When: 26.03.2011 - 02.04.2011
More on the Jean-Pictet Competition : www.concourspictet.org/index_en.htm


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Please select your meditation time
Start Meditating
Conclude Meditation
Children need them. We all form them constantly anew when circumstances change. They are a source of security and confidence in life. But we all want to escape them and be free – something we think we do in a controlled way in what we call holidays.
Where would we be without habits? At the mental level they give psychological stability (though often at the cost of feeling that we are trapped). Psychologically we repeat mental habits and patterns ad nauseam. We very rarely actually think because we are merely repeating old routines of emotional response dressed up as thought.
When I was in India recently one of our guides remarked that in addition to his knowledge of the place we were visiting he and his family were astrologers. It was not long before people were quietly approaching him and asking for their palms to be read. And there was the usual response – 'amazing how he knows...' etc.It's hard to deny ways of satisfying the curiosity we all have about our future and ourselves. Whatever you believe about the realism of this kind of knowledge, the curiosity is insatiable - and can easily become addictive.
The biblical companion for Lent is traditionally the Book of Exodus. It tells the story – or rather the founding myth – of the Israelites' escape from their oppression in Egypt. Historical records don't back up the literal story but it is one of the great meta-narratives of humanity. A different kind of truth.In the minds of the spiritual teachers of the tradition it became an allegory of the soul's journey from the small self to the true self. In the small self world we are oppressed by our own compulsions and fears. We are our own prison.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.The Christian forty days of Lent mirror the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, after his Baptism and before going public with his dangerous teaching. The triple temptations of the ego – pride, sensuality and power come at the end of his fasting - when he was hungry.
The third kind of practice that both expresses and deepens meditation during Lent – Giving.
True giving is a very rare achievement. Usually we give with invisible strings attached. We may be expecting something in return – another gift, recognition, reward, gratitude – or just enjoying the feeling that we are generous and nice people.
If we see we aren't getting the reward we feel is our due we become hurt or resentful.
The second kind of daily practice for Lent is to reduce or give up something.
Meditation is – as the word itself suggests – a middle way between extremes. The Buddha tried extreme ways to enlightenment and failed. St Benedict inspired a style of life that could be described as moderation in all things except moderation.
The Tao by definition is a middle way. This is the 'narrow way that leads to life' that Jesus taught.
The first practice for Lent – to strengthen or initiate a good habit.
If you don't meditate regularly, today is a propitious day to start. If you already meditate imagine that you are starting all over again. As the medieval mystics used to say – you know nothing, you want nothing, you have nothing. We meditate, as John Main said, without demands or expectations.
From the outset, then, there is an exhilarating glimpse of true freedom.
At a monastery I visited recently there is a successful month-long programme of recovery for drug addicts. I was struck by the vow they take at the beginning of their treatment. It is literally a vow to 'truth'.
It implies a commitment to go the whole course and not give up. Or – such is human nature – to start again if they do give up. This vow can be taken in the name of their own faith or to the universe. In whatever formula it is an act of trust in themselves, their own depth and transcendent dimension, and so in their capacity to be whole.


text:
The lights are on
It's easy to forget that much of the athleticism we see in games is rooted in human performance. Many titles emphasize showy combat that wouldn't often be seen in a real fight. Watch Dogs is going in another direction.
In a video posted on Ubisoft's new blog, we get a short look at the actor behind Watch Dogs protagonist Aiden Pearce. The combat is direct and brutal. There's no glitz, as it's all about taking down opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It's also interesting to learn about the challenges the team faced when figuring out how to make Aiden's hands-in-pocket casual walk fit within the constraints of motion capture. If you're interested in more Watch Dogs, we recently had the chance to preview the title and talk with members of the team.
Watch Dogs will be out on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U on November 19, 2013. Releases are also planned for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
[Source: UbiBlog]
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SANDUSKY — Sometimes trophy fish come about through pure happenstance. If there is such a thing as the stars being aligned, they create a map pinpointing the location of a finned monster, and provide the angler with just the right potion to seduce that giant.
On other occasions, that "right place, right time" adage is combined with the right bait and the right presentation, and magic results.
But the elite wall-hangers – the record book entries – can come about as the result of a calculated, methodical, relentless pursuit of that single genetic wonder. Toledo native Brent McGlone took that formula to the extreme last fall, and his prize was a state record buffalo sucker he took while bowfishing in the Sandusky Bay area.
PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view photos of local anglers.
DIGITAL MAGAZINE: Download a copy of this Toledo Magazine page
McGlone's 40.80-pound behemoth is one of the leaders in the impressive parade of 2013 trophies taken by area anglers, and it shattered a record that had stood for more than 30 years.
McGlone, who also holds the Ohio bowfishing record for a greater redhorse sucker he arrowed in the Maumee River in 2007, had a strong sense that a record buffalo was out there after taking other fish close to the existing mark. So from late spring through mid-October, he regularly made the two-hour commute from his job as a registered nurse in Marysville, Ohio, to search those rich waters on the Lake Erie periphery.
"I was pretty much draining myself," McGlone said about sleeping a few hours in his truck, then launching his boat after dark and searching for a trophy while bowfishing until dawn. "I was fishing two to six nights in a row, and not really resting much. I beat the heck out of my boat, my bows, my arrows, and my body."
The 38-year-old Springfield grad, who estimated that he spent considerably more than 400 hours on the water in pursuit of that one fish, said he passed up hundreds of trophy-class fish during his somewhat manic hegira. Sometimes he fished all night, but did not release a single arrow.
"There were stretches where I would literally run myself to exhaustion, stumbling around with my vision blurry and my motivation quickly fading," he said.
On the night he landed his record buffalo sucker, McGlone said the temperature was 45 degrees and he was freezing and dog tired, into the third day of a four-day marathon fishing stretch. His truck-cab nap lasted too long, and he panicked when he woke at 3 a.m., and rushed out on the water.
It was pushing 6 a.m. when he decided to try one location he had not fished before. McGlone saw a number of 20-pounders before a gargantuan buffalo squirted out from under the boat.
"I can't remember shooting, but I thought I'd missed it," he said. McGlone set his primary bow down and as he grabbed a second one, his first bow started scooting across the deck as the big fish took flight. It took 10 minutes to get the trophy in the boat, and on his scale it pushed 41 pounds — destroying the Ohio record of a 37-pound buffalo.
As the sky flickered with the first teases of daylight, an exhausted and numb McGlone allowed himself a solitary celebration.
"I let out a heck of a yell —they probably heard me over in Cleveland. I had given 150 percent all summer trying to get that record, and then it finally happened."


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The author of "The Secret Life of Bees" has a novel coming next year, her first since 2005.
Viking announced Tuesday that Sue Monk Kidd's "The Invention of Wings" is scheduled for release Jan. 7. Kidd's novel will follow the parallel lives of urban slave Hetty "Handful" Grimke and the girl for whom she serves as a handmaid, Sarah Grimke, a real-life historical figure who grew up to become a feminist and abolitionist.
The novel is set in Charleston in the 19th century. It begins when Sarah is 11 and Hetty, an invented character, is 10.
"The Secret Life of Bees," published in 2002, has sold more than 6 million copies. Kidd's second novel, "The Mermaid Chair," was a best-seller published in 2005.
Michael Douglas' son is speaking out from behind bars, calling for treatment rather than jail time for non-violent drug offenders.
Cameron Douglas wrote in an essay published Tuesday by the Huffington Post that United States laws impose tougher penalties on addicts than on violent criminals. The 34-year-old is serving a 9½-year prison sentence after various drug violations.
Douglas was first convicted in 2010 of selling methamphetamine, and a judge nearly doubled that sentence after he was found guilty of repeatedly breaking prison rules by arranging to get drugs.
Donald Trump's Miss USA pageant will be judged by experts in cooking, fashion and looking hot.
Pageant officials announced this week that Betsey Johnson, the over-the-top fashion designer, and Bob Harper, star of the weight-loss reality show "The Biggest Loser," will be among the celebrity judges at the 62st annual pageant on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Cooking channel host and panelist on NPR's `Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" Mo Rocca also will help name the next Miss USA.
The winner goes on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.
Real housewife NeNe Leakes, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and "Duck Dynasty" personality Jessica Robertson round out the judging panel.
Paramedics were dispatched to Paris Jackson's home on a report that the 15-year-old had taken 20 Motrin pills and cut herself with a kitchen knife, audio of an emergency dispatch released Tuesday shows.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department released audio of a call describing the need for paramedics between one of its dispatchers and a sheriff's department dispatcher who was relaying information from the home.
Paris is the only daughter of pop superstar Michael Jackson and was hospitalized after the June 5 incident.
Environmental activist and movie namesake Erin Brockovich will face a misdemeanor charge of operating a boat while intoxicated at Lake Mead, the district attorney in Las Vegas decided Tuesday.
Brockovich, 52, has an Oct. 7 court date in Henderson Justice Court stemming from her arrest Friday evening at a marina on the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam, said Tess Driver, an aide to Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.
A Nevada state game warden reported that Brockovich appeared to argue on the 26-foot Cobra motor boat with her husband, Eric Ellis, and threw a cellphone into the water before having trouble mooring the vessel at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor.
The warden said he had to help Brockovich dock the boat, and said two breath tests measured her blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
Wire report


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Part Three: Realizing a Vision
In Part Two, I said that if someone hasn't had the opportunity to explore different media and materials to see what they do, he or she will have no idea how to achieve the desired goal. Learning new skills is both exciting on its own and a means to an end; sometimes it begins as one of those and progresses to the other. Do you want to re-create somebody else's vision, or know how to express your own? I want to do the latter, and I want my kids to be able to do the latter, too. I learned embroidery because I wanted to embroider poetry on my jeans, but in the process it became another way for me to express myself, and while I embroidered some commercial patterns at the beginning, while I was learning, I can't see doing that anymore, because I'd rather use embroidery as part of my own artwork.
My 8yo, who already knew embroidery's properties so well from having watched me, and already knowing how to sew, decided to learn how to embroider so he could make his aunt a snowflake ornament, based on his own vision of the finished project. I helped him with the angles of the snowflake and transferred it onto the felt for him, but the idea was all his. And we didn't have an example of "this is what your felt snowflake ornament should look like," either. It was all his own thought process and design.
Following directions give us the skills to re-create somebody else's vision. There is nothing essentially wrong with that. I have no problem with knitting a sweater somebody else designed if I like it and want to wear it. It saves me the trouble of doing the design work myself. But if I have an idea in my head, I appreciate having the ability to make it a reality, rather than trying to find somebody else's vision that sort of approximates my own. Following directions is certainly a useful skill to have, and prevents any of us from having to re-invent the wheel. But exposure to process-based activity is essential to gain the skills and confidence to realize our own unique vision.
"Just messing around" with materials allows the space for accidents to happen, for unexpected results, for discoveries, and that is when we learn. If something unexpected happens when the goal is to re-create a predetermined end product, it can be perceived as a disaster. If it happens during a process-focused exploration of a material or technique, it is a delightful discovery, leading to knowledge that is filed away for future use. When and if we have an idea that requires that particular effect, we know how to obtain it. Process-based art is not pressure-filled. It is fun. It is play. It is essential, for children and adults.
We cannot expect children to be creative, original thinkers if we only present them with so-called "art activities" that involve following directions to reproduce an end product. They deserve (as we all do) the space and time to develop the confidence and skills to determine their own end product, and then figure out how to get there. When I said, "I'm going to knit a stocking," having never knit before, nobody was around to tell me I couldn't. When my child says, "I'm going to make a snowflake ornament out of felt and embroidery," even though he's never embroidered before, I'm not going to say, "You can't do that." I don't even say, "Let's look and see what patterns you can follow." My response is: "Let's practice embroidery so you know how to do it. Sketch out what you're thinking. You can totally do this."
The process of looking for an already-existing project that meets your criteria versus creating the project you have in your head is so very different. Children who only have experience in following directions to produce a version of somebody else's vision may not ever make the leap into realizing they can create the steps to produce their own vision. It takes more work on the adult's part to mentor a child's individual vision. It is harder to have a room full of children interpreting new materials or techniques in different ways, rather than following directions all at the same time. I see my job as facilitator, and I am on my toes when we're in the studio, especially if we're doing something new. But this sort of mentoring is essential, because the ability to have an idea and realize that idea is essential. And one way to raise children who have the confidence and skills to not only realize their ideas but to have the idea in the first place is to provide plenty of exposure to process-based art.


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Clint Eastwood, Angelina Jolie and Bradley Cooper were snubbed in the Golden Globe nominations, which suggest it will be a "Birdman" vs. "Boyhood" race for the Oscars.
Eastwood, Cooper and their "American Sniper" were ignored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when the nominations were announced Thursday.
So were Jolie and her well-publicized "Unbroken." In a year filled with bios about great men, Globe nominators decided that "Unbroken" was not as worthy as "The Theory of Everything," "Selma" and "The Imitation Game."
Those three films will compete for best film drama with...


text: An Interest Meeting for prospective foster and adoptive families is held on the first and third Thursday of each month. The meetings are held from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at the Department of Social Services located at 741 Highland Avenue in Winston-Salem. Refreshments are served at each meeting. For additional information, contact Sharon D. Porter at (336) 703-CHILD(2445).


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|2006-10-18, 07:49
|Link #22
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Inside of frog
Actually, SP is stupid otaku Anime.it is the one for otaku guys, from otaku manga magazine.I think this is a fatal fault as yuri thing. don't you think so? and,on reconsidering MariMite, this is the one plainly for girls, from yaoi(boys love) magazine.AND, it is neatly contextual.(unlike 'go well-otaku anime)
|2006-10-22, 16:10
|Link #24
Join Date: Jan 2006
I'm rather surprised that so many people find marimite and SP to be so similar.
marimite is a dramatic series based on relations very similar to real life. Every character has their specific traits and relations with the other characters and as a viewer you get to take part of their little world. Everything about marimite is about setting up this scenario, with the way of animation, with the extremely great soundtrack.
marimite is definatly not yuri, and the shoujo ai most people talk about is mostly limited to the admiration between two girls.
Strawberry panic on the other hand is really just your average highschool anime with lesbian tendencies. It doesn't have to be classy or realistic, and it doesn't try to be. SP is more based on humour with splashes of drama, and generally just a more casual setting. I did have higher hopes for sp, but then again, I probably wouldn't have watched sp if I wasn't so fond of marimite.
|2006-11-03, 09:26
|Link #25
"Show it to me"
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: In solitude, where we are least alone
If you look at this way, Marimite has broader audience and the story is pretty much okay for everyone. Strawberry Panic on the otherhand, mostly focus on younger teens to adults...you know, from all those things going on there. In any case, I like them both
|2006-12-09, 19:17
|Link #28
Senior Member
I say Maria-sama's success is based on its ending theme, which is just a beautiful piece in and of itself. XD
Kidding aside, I enjoyed both, but Maria-sama's deeper intonations give it more credibility for a rewatch than SP. I enjoyed SP for what it was, but MM has class.
Then there's Chikaru, who's a phenomenon that has made it to my all-time favorite anime characters list while no one from MM made it. *shrugs*
|2006-12-10, 14:48
|Link #29
Courageous Guardian
Honestly, I don't find SP and Marimite to be so similair.
I loved both series but Marimite's tone and atmosphere was more to my liking so I obviously found it more appealing. Regardless I enjoyed SP and glad I was able to follow it.
|2006-12-10, 23:29
|Link #30
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Yuri Land
Age: 31
Marimite rules the Shoujo-ai department...no doubts about it. I have seen both, although i havent read the novels or the manga of any. Strawberry Panic is fun and pretty enjoyable, since it s a good fan service. On the other hand Marimite is not about fan-service, but the elegance and the emotions. It makes u feel what the characters feel, and u feel they are real.
How should i say??? Strawberry Panic is a Yuri, but Marimite is a Shoujo-ai. Maria-sama is a hit because of its story line, characters and the Elegance. Strawberry Panic on the other hand is pure fan service for Yuri fans. Strawberry Panic, lacks the character design and the elegance of Maria-sama.
Not that i dont like Strawberry Panic. I liked it pretty much, but Maria-Sama is just of a way higher class
|2006-12-22, 08:54
|Link #31
Join Date: Dec 2005
Since the topic starter mentioned about DVD sales between the two titles, here are the numbers as of late November (I figured the timing was good enough since the figures for the Marimite OVA came out).
Release Date Sales Title
2004/04/02 12,372 Maria-sama ga Miteru 1 (One episode only)
2004/05/13 *2,650 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 1 (One episode only)
2004/05/13 *6,861 Maria-sama ga Miteru 2 (Two episodes up to Vol. 7)
2004/06/04 *2,513 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 2
2004/06/04 *4,918 Maria-sama ga Miteru 3
2004/07/09 *2,232 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 3
2004/07/09 *3,737 Maria-sama ga Miteru 4
2004/08/06 *2,219 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 4
2004/08/06 *3,633 Maria-sama ga Miteru 5
2004/09/10 *3,073 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 5
2004/09/10 *5,348 Maria-sama ga Miteru 6
2004/10/08 *3,070 Maria-sama ga Miteru Collector's Edition 6
2004/10/08 *5,328 Maria-sama ga Miteru 7
2004/10/22 *3,803 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 1 (Two episodes up to Vol. 5)
2004/10/22 *2,836 Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 1
2004/11/25 *3,992 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 2
2004/11/25 *2,591 Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 2
2004/12/22 *3,868 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 3
2004/12/22 --------- Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 3
2005/02/09 *3,733 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 4
2005/02/09 *2,369 Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 4
2005/02/25 *3,396 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 5
2005/02/25 *2,160 Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 5
2005/03/25 --------- Maria-sama ga Miteru Recap
2005/03/25 *2,835 Maria-sama ga Miteru Recap Limited Edition
2005/04/01 *2,997 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ 6 (Three episodes)
2005/04/01 *2,210 Maria-sama ga Miteru =Haru~ Collector's Edition 6 (Three episodes)
2006/03/24 *2,020 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ Fan Disk Rosa Chinensis
2006/05/25 *1,866 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ Fan Disk Rosa Gigantea
2006/07/21 *1,587 Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Haru~ Fan Disk Rosa Foetida
2006/11/29 *1,883 Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA 1 Kohitsuji-tachi no Kyuuka
2006/11/29 *3,445 Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA Collector's Edition 1 Kohitsuji-tachi no Kyuuka
Release Date Sales Title
2006/06/23 *1,918 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box I (Two episodes)
2006/07/25 *2,814 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box II (Three episodes up to Vol. IX)
2006/08/25 *2,464 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box III
2006/09/22 *2,074 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box IV
2006/10/25 *2,595 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box V
2006/11/24 *2,146 Strawberry Panic Special Limited Box VI
Interestingly enough, until the OVA, Marimite sales concentrated on the regular edition (mostly because the limited editions for the first series were sold a month later), which I construe to be a sign the female dominated sales target don't care much for the extras, whereas the male dominated Stopani customers want the full feature (none of the Stopani standard version volumes have charted in the weekly top 100).
Actually, the 5,000+ sales for the Marimite OVA was sort of disappointing, considering Mai Otome Zwei sold 12,000 and Shakugan no Shana OVA sold 10,000 copies respectively. I suppose the long interval from the TV anime had some effect.
|2006-12-22, 22:57
|Link #32
Join Date: Nov 2003
|2007-04-06, 12:28
|Link #34
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
I think both of them were worth watching but, Marimite simply rules the department. For anyone wondering how they are alike, PM me. Marimite is just flat out classy. It has an excellent plot, EXCELLENT character development, drama, humor, wonderful art, etc. SP lacks in comparison, in terms of art and character development, but it was still a pretty decent series. I probably wouldn't compare them because it seems as though Marimite would show off SP by a considerable amount.
|2007-04-08, 21:42
|Link #35
Thread Killer
Join Date: Feb 2006
It's pretty simple as to why a lot of people like Marimite more than StoPani. The characters are simply more interesting and have significantly more depth to them. Marimite is also written with a certain level of class and dignity, which seems to be lacking in StoPani. How many times were there casual fanservice scenes in StoPani? These things just served to take away from the more serious moments in the show, or the potential drama that the writers were trying to build. Marimite incorporated its elements much more seemlessly and combined them into a more complete package than StoPani.
As for the comparisons, the two shows are somewhat similar in that there are situations that are common between them. Important meetings in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary, two main characters bonding over playing the piano, a student council member supporting another in the pursuit of a love interest despite their own personal feelings (Miyuki -> Shizuma -> Kaori vs Youko -> Sei -> Shiori). These are just some examples of common occurrences between the two, but I'm not really saying they are the same. YMMV.
Oh, and the StoPani characters at times look hella thin.
|2007-04-10, 11:52
|Link #36
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
I've watched the both anime recently and I'll have to agree with everyone that Marimite is better than SP, but it's jsut that Marimite is more delicate and there's more attention to the characters, their past and so on... as far as for SP it's at times a bit hilarious and very unrealistic I mean the whole Lilim school is just something that can't exsist (though I like Chikaru a lot) and also those love triangles and wanting to rape Hikari? I mean it's a bit too much we one thing I liked it was the story, we way it was between Nagisa and Shizuma, it showed a lot of saddness, a need to be with eachother I mean it was kinda touching I think it would also be great series (I don't mind it being yuri as long as it's not hentai) if it was more realistic and the stories were not so short because the ending cam really too fast...
|2007-04-15, 12:22
|Link #37
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: In a world all my own
Personally, I would say that SP! fails where Marimite succeeds just becuase Marimite is a better anime in almost every way. Better art, better stories, and better characters all add up to a win for Marimite.
|2008-01-19, 23:47
|Link #38
Junior Member
I'll probably get much hate for resurrecting an old thread, and actually being a woman who LIKED Strawberry Panic. I was delightfully pleased by it, it's wasn't over serious like Marimite can be, granted, it was a but angsty after the summer vacation, but it's a show set in an all-girls' school.
Yes, I know there was a lot of fan-service, but that's not unrealistic for a boarding school. I was a teenager in the late 80's/early 90's (probably when most of you people were born), I went to a Catholic school (St. Mary of the Divine, in central Ohio). It was a 10 month on/ 2 month off boarding school. It wasn't uncommon for us to wander in and out of each others' rooms in next to nothing. It really irritates me how people will blow stuff off because of an almost Puritanical view of sexuality.
Honestly, I found the characters in SP! more reminiscent of girls I went to school with (granted, as far as I know, no one tried to rape anyone after a lecture on global warming) than most of the characters in Marimite. Yes, you can call them stereotypical, but you can't tell me that even in public school, there aren't people JUST LIKE the characters.
Maybe I'm taking this too personally, as I am a gay woman, who truly identified with one of the characters in the show (Shizuma). I remember how hard losing someone I loved more than life itself was. Marimite, just seems too, safe, for my taste. Even with that said, I enjoy it, and I rewatch it, just not as much as SP!.
And yes, I ugly cry a LOT watching them.
Sorry for resurrecting this thread, it won't happen again.
PS: Oh and what measures success? I don't think SP! was ever intended to be more than 26 episodes. That aside; SP! was licensed across the board. Seven Seas got the Light Novels and Manga. Animeworks is releasing the anime (I know this as I've preordered it).
Last edited by Skottichan; 2008-01-20 at 00:30.
|2008-01-20, 11:03
|Link #39
†Mizore Shirayuki†
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Dream
Strawberry Panic! didn't fail, nor MariMite "overwhelms" it in every aspects.
One is "esu," one is "yuri."
I believe the majority of people doesn't like watching "yuri," and chose MariMite instead.
Not all people are able to tolerate lesbianism, and it's a fact. MariMite has a "sisterhood" relationship, naturally more people would prefer it compared to SP!
It all comes down to your mindset and way of life.
Fortunately for me, I love both of these 2 anime.
I have the rights to call them "trash," because I followed both totally (Unlike those who dropped halfway, you people shouldn't even comment. Just skip and watch other things. Unless you stayed throughout 26 episodes of SP! and the three seasons of MariMite, be silent.). Yet, I am not going to do so. Words like "excellent" are used.
|Thread Tools


text:
The Council of Agriculture's provisional freeze on animal experiments that it had previously deemed "necessary" shows its perfunctory attitude toward the subject and a lack of adequate assessment and deliberation before decisionmaking, the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) said yesterday.
Under public pressure, the Central Epidemic Command Center released a statement on Monday saying that the need to conduct an experiment that involves infecting 14 beagles with rabies would be reconsidered following further consultation with domestic and foreign experts.
"This sudden change of attitude shows that the council had not been taking animal experiments seriously until the plan was criticized," EAST director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) said.
The society called on the council to make public its application for the experiment and have an external investigation team composed of relevant experts and animal protection group evaluate, in accordance with the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) and the "Three Rs" principle of animal experimentation — replacement, reduction and refinement — the necessity and effectiveness of the experiment for disease prevention.
"Is the experiment really 'a necessary evil' for disease prevention? Who is to judge how reasonable and necessary the experiment is? And who is going to conduct post-approval monitoring to ensure animal welfare and experiment quality?" Chen asked.
Chen said that between 2002 and 2010, more than 10 million animals were used in experiments, of which rodents were the majority, at about 8.3 million. Two-hundred-thousand rabbits, 4,000 dogs and cats and 639 primates were also used.
"This exorbitant number makes us wonder how many of them were actually unnecessary deaths," EAST director-general Chu Tseng-hung (朱增宏) said.
There are several institutional deficiencies in the management of animal experiments in Taiwan, Chu added.
Absent a third-party or external investigation mechanism, the assessment of animal experimentation projects is an insiders' game, Chu said.
"Although every project must be applied for in accordance with the Act, most research institutes' institutional animal care and use committees are composed of people from their own institutions," Chu said.
"The project is therefore often not properly scrutinizd d by the committee, and is passed even when the need for the experiments is left unexplained or when it fails to specify if or when the animals would be anesthetized or euthanized," Chu said.
Most laboratories, of which there are about 200 in the country, are not staffed with veterinarians and lack post-approval monitoring programs, Chu said.
"And the experimental animal breeding facilities are not subject to any kind of supervision and assessment," Chu added.
The organization urged the government to follow the lead of the UK, where not only do institutions have their own animal welfare and ethical review bodies, but licenses are required for experiment projects, experimental institutions and people carrying out procedures on animals, and most institutions are inspected more than once by government inspectors.
Animal Protection section chief Lin Tsung-yi (林宗毅) said the rules governing the care and use of institutional animals have just been revised and will soon be announced, adding that the authority will step up its review of experiments proposed by such institutions.
Tseng Chun-hsien (曾俊憲), an associate research fellow at the council's Animal Health Research Institute, said that the council tried its best to lower the number of the experimental animals to be used in the proposed experiment.
"Following the US CDC's [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] advice, we would have used between 150 and 180 mice for the first stage of the experiment and 42 beagles for the second stage, but we found ways to reduce the numbers to about 100 mice and 14 beagles," Tseng said.


text: My Dream Is to give the poor homeless Kids In my community hope. I want to change the mindset of my people like Martin Luther King Jr. did. My dream Is to change the world and help the less fortinate In need. If we all learned how to love each other This world would be better Place.


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text:
December 28, 2007
"We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen."
ADDED: "It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," said one militant leader. But note, it wasn't the bullets that killed Butto: "Bhutto was killed when she tried to duck back into the vehicle, and the shock waves from the blast knocked her head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull."
26 comments:
- George said...
15 paragraphs of newspeak and government gibberish, all to say that a thug in a cave is a killer.
- tjl said...
"Claims credit" is an offensive turn of phrase to use for murder. Why not "announces its guilt?"
- rhhardin said...
It keeps happening until enough of the population opposes them so that ratting them out is fairly safe to do.
Until then things run as organized crime.
A few thugs are in charge.
Which is why the foundation of the rule of law isn't the rule of law but violence on its behalf.
It only looks self-supporting.
- PatCA said...
"You love life; we love death."
- hawkeyedjb said...
Agree with tjl; 'confesses to murder' would be more appropriate than 'claims credit.'
- Cedarford said...
hawkeyedjbAgree with tjl; 'confesses to murder' would be more appropriate than 'claims credit.'
Because it is a stupid exercise in wishful thinking to cling to a law enforcement mentality and model of response - that all movements that use violence in warfare designed to advance their cause - are criminal.
And only corrective mechanism society should use is some magical trial with lawyers dressed in robes and a stern jail sentence will set the equilibrium of the universe right and deter Jihadis.
No deterrent at all. No Jihadi thinks of himself as a criminal, and while of course hoping they won't get caught by law enforcement anymore than being caught in the open by an Apache helicopter gunship - accept the risk and the price they might pay.
Assassinations end when assassins are considered with revulsion by a larger society. That feel support or denial of support of a politician or famous figure is a collective right, not to be usurped and taken away by one asshole or a small group of assholes. When assassins are seen as usurpers taking away decisions that are the prerogative of a larger society, the change they wish to effect is thwarted, the motive to assassinate is also thwarted.
In recent years, two groups with great courage defeated targeted assassinations. Columbian society and Hezbollah.
The Columbians resisted the narcoterror campaign to intimidate Columbians through killings of judges and politicians. Instead of weaker and more compliant leaders, all the narcoterrorists got was sterner, more resolute people in their place.
The Zionists tried targeted assassinations of Hez leaders. What they got was Darwinian self-selection as the younger, nimbler, more intelligent mid-level leaders avoided death and formed a more competent Hezbollah senior leadership under Nazrallah who himself - a formidable man - is only at the top because the Zionists helped clear away obstacles to his rise.
- Cedarford said...
It is to the Pakistanis to see the radical Islamist assassinations and bombings as the same as the military's spates of imprisoning many and executing some of their opposition --
As a usurpation of their collective will they will not tolerate.
If the Bhutto assassination is widely condemned, it will turn counterproductive to the Jihadis and THEN and only then would a trial affirming the people's will have any impact.
To get there, the US should be engaging in constructive talks with the Saudi financiers and with Musharaff's military command that whole sectors of Pakistani society need to come forth and denounce Bhuttos death as an attack on the whole nation. The military itself, the head of ISI, the nations most prominent Mullahs lined up and told it is expected that the death will be denounced in the Mosques and madrassahs with a call for AQ to leave all areas of Pakistan. Or the Mullahs and Pashtun tribal leaders who fail to will be arrested by military forces.
Pakistan must demonstrate it is serious, or it will degenerate into civil war. Then the urge of India or the US to "take out" Pakistan's threat will of course rise, and the lives of millions hang in the balance.
- Pogo said...
I am begininning to believe that the only constructive talk we can have with Islamofascists at this point is Incoming !.
- Middle Class Guy said...
The Zionists tried targeted assassinations of Hez leaders. What they got was Darwinian self-selection as the younger, nimbler, more intelligent mid-level leaders avoided death and formed a more competent Hezbollah senior leadership under Nazrallah who himself - a formidable man - is only at the top because the Zionists helped clear away obstacles to his rise.
The Jews only made one mistake vis a vis the Hez terrorist criminals; they did not kill enough of them and let too many get away to Lebanon. They made the same mistake when they did not kill the criminal Yasir Arafat over thrity years ago.
- hdhouse said...
pogo....there is no such thing as an islamofascist. there is no such word. it is oxymoronic.
please stop.
- Pogo said...
....there is no such thing as an islamofascist. there is no such word.
I picture you rocking yourself in a corner, thumbsucking, mumbling this phrase over and over and over.
Hint: covering your eyes does not make you disappear.
- Pogo said...
Or if not that, I hope your brief stay on our planet has been a useful one.
- John Stodder said...
When did it become acceptable to refer to the Israeli government or its military as "the Jews" or "the Zionists?"
Are we all now unconsciously adopting the far left's narrative about foreign policy in the Middle East, i.e. that if it weren't for the oil companies and the Jews, America wouldn't feel compelled to get involved there?
This feeds into the perception that Islamic terrorism is primarily aimed at Jews and Zionist fellow-travelers. This view would have it that the "global war on terror" is an overreaction fostered by Jews to what is merely a religious conflict. If America declined to take sides in this religious war, our troops wouldn't have to die and we could spend all our tax money domestically.
That's the kind of stuff I hear and see the left saying. It is as pernicious as the America First movement during WWII.
So it seems to me that while Middle Class Guy and Cedarford's points are correct, the use of the words "Jews" or "Zionists" in that context should be avoided. At best, it is imprecise. I don't personally know any Jews who are making decisions about Israeli military policy, nor are decisions on this matter coming from the synagogues. Out here in LA there are a few friends I would describe as "Zionists," but they're not getting the memos either.
Israel is a country fighting for its safety and survival. If the US supports them in this fight, it's not because they are Jews and it's not because Zionists influence our government. It's because Israel is an ally.
It's just as important to note that if the Islamic radicals successfully "wiped Israel off the map," as they've pledged to do, the jihad would not be over. The US would be even more vulnerable to Islamic radical attacks in such a circumstance. The people who think Israel's location creates problems for the US have it exactly backward. We are fortunate to have a brave, well-equipped ally in a forward position, and we don't give them near enough credit for it.
- Middle Class Guy said...
Mr. Stodder,
It has been acceptable to refer to Israelis a Jews since the establishment of Israel. They refr to themselves as Jews.
Many of my friends are Jewish and they refer to the people of Israel as the Jews. I did not use the word in a negative context. I truly beleive that the Jews should have wiped out the terrorists and all who supported them a long time ago.
If I used the word Israeli, you would accuse me of using a code word for Jews. This PC nonsense has just gone too far.
- TMink said...
Zionist is not tied to being a descendent of the Hebrew tribes. Many Christians view themselves as Zionist.
- John Stodder said...
Not trying to be politically correct. The "political correctness" charge is a poor summary of what I was trying to articulate.
In short, I've detected a yearning by the left to find a way to characterize the Islamic jihad as something we can get out of. According to this line of reasoning, the jihadists are terrible and horrible, but they are not our problem, or at least they wouldn't be, if:
a) Jews weren't disproportionately influential on foreign policy, and/or;
b) We would fund a "Manhattan Project" to discover a cleaner energy alternative so we wouldn't need Middle East oil.
Both are fantasies, but one or the other is proferred in every argument I get into with people who oppose the emphasis on combatting terrorism in our foreign policy.
MCG, I'm not associating you with these positions, but your use of "the Jews" in that context jumped out at me as supporting this fantasy-narrative of the Islamic jihad to which the left subscribes.
- Steven said...
I find the claim that "Islamofascist" is an oxymoron downright fascinating.
Using the useful definition of Columbia Professor Robert O. Paxton, "Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
"Islamofascism", then, would be a case where the nation in the above definition is defined as the Islamic Ummah (a word that can translate as either community or nation). Oh, the actions of an Islamofascist might have nothing to do with the teachings of Muhammad, any more than those of an American fascist have to do with the founding principles of the United States of America. The point is that the nation he considers himself to be a member of is defined by its "Islamic" character.
An Islamofascist would, then, dwell on humiliations and victimzations of the Ummah, such as the Crusades, the Reconquista of Spain, British and French occupations of the Middle East, Israeli military victories over Muslim armies, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia to defend it from Iraq, or American victories over Iraqi forces and an occupation of Iraq.
Then these militants would pursue "redemptive" violence for the ends of internal cleansing and external expansion without legal or ethical restraints, like, oh, crashing planes into skyscrapers, with the promise that those engaged in the act would automatically gain admittance to Paradise.
- Revenant said...
.there is no such thing as an islamofascist. there is no such word. it is oxymoronic.
Fascism and Islam aren't inherently opposed, so obviously "islamofacism" isn't an oxymoron. As for saying "there is no such word", any word that people use and understand the meaning of is a word. So yes, "islamofascism "is a word.
As Wikipedia notes, the integral parts of fascism are nationalism, statism, militarism, totalitarianism, anti-communism, corporatism, populism, collectivism, and opposition to political and economic liberalism. Al Qaeda, the Iranian mullahs, and the other groups labeled as "islamofascist" embody all of those traits, with the caveat that the "nation-state" they are "nationalistic" and "statist" about is the Islamic Ummah. But obviously they aren't 100% identical to facists, or we'd simply call them "fascists".
You might as well argue that there's no such thing as "gay marriage", since marriage has always been heterosexual.
- hdhouse said...
revenant and to a degree pogo:
The FACT remains that islamofascists isn't a word and you can count angels on the head of a pin all day long and it doesn't make it so. Yes it is oxymoronic and yes the a fascist is oil/water to religion.
Islamo isn't a word. This in itself makes the supposed compound word islamofascist a non-starter. But for the sake of argument islamo is meant to convey something to do with Islam (a religious movement)then you are stuck with fascist...one who believes or sympathizes with fascism. So a supporter of fascism.
So now we are down to a relgion that supports fascism. Hmmmm. I can be generous up to a point but you have supported the idea that a religion or a philosophy or general body of belief takes on the guise of a collective group of individuals (rather than the other way around) and they endorse fascism which is, last time i looked, defined as "a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism".
And this has to do with Islam how? Right. Not at all. No more than it would have to do with Catholicism or Lutheranism. It is a purely non-sensical connection thus an oxymoron.
Because Mr. Bush uses it (he also uses nuklar and duh a lot too)doesn't make it so Because it is wrong and idiots with no other way of expressing themselves use it doesn't make it right. They are still wrong.
there is NO SUCH WORD.
- Steven said...
hdhouse, have you ever studied historical examples of fascism? Catholic fascism is a well-documented phenomenon, usually called "clerical fascism".
- Paco Wové said...
Islamofascism, from the New York Times:
"The O.E.D. has a half-dozen citations of the Islamo combining form dating to 1906, from IslamoArab to Islamocentrist. Why the connective "o" and not a divisive "ic"? Euphony; the Greek construction flows more easily. That's why Islamofascism may have legs: the compound defines those terrorists who profess a religious mission while embracing totalitarian methods and helps separate them from devout Muslims who want no part of terrorist means."
- hdhouse said...
i study words a lot. i sudy how they morph and i study how they are misused and eventually by sheer weight finally make it into the codified langauge.
i use the term "shitforbrains" a lot too. I read some awkward defense on here and I am apt to scream it.
that catholic fascism was used or coined or otherwise bastardized into usage is regretable. That islamofascist is used at all is deplorable. it isn't a word. it just isn't. not yet and hope to God there is still time to stop it.
- hdhouse said...
Steven said... "I find the claim that "Islamofascist" is an oxymoron downright fascinating.
Using the useful definition of Columbia Professor Robert O. Paxton, "Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline....." yada yada yada
well Steve, I find it fascinating that Prof. Paxton invents definitions. my wife finds it fascinating that i define conservatives as "tarbrains or having grey matter the consistancy of mashed potations, yet sticky and smelly and flammable". Now if I define them as some sort of combustable complex hydrocarbon i sure know what it means but if Mr. Paxton desires to define fascism as he does, he will be preaching to an audience of one.
islamofascism is no different. it is a made up word that doesn't play on the scrabble board of life.
- Fen said...
That islamofascist is used at all is deplorable. it isn't a word. it just isn't. not yet and hope to God there is still time to stop it.
Wow. If only you could get that worked up about stopping Islamofascism itself...
- Gary Rosen said...
John Stodder:
Welcome to the world of C-fudd. Of course there's nothing wrong with referring to Israelis as Jews or Zionists, it's just that C-fudd, sitting and sweating in his little flophouse room, has to indulge his neurotic antisemitic compulsion no matter how off-topic he is. That's why he performed his little blog fellatio dance on Hizbullah.
C-fudd was derided off the very fine Belmont Club blog because even posters not particularly sympathetic to Israel were nauseated by his creepy addiction to off-topic bigotry. As a Jew of course it doesn't bother me much, since it just goes to show how antisemites invariably turn out to be nitwits, misfucks and born losers.
- Paco Wové said...
I find hdhouse's hissy-fit about the I-word fascinating. It's sort of like sprinkling holy water on a vampire.


text:
They want to see your underwear, that's why.
Now i know what "Intel Inside" really meant. Bastards.
Some electricity companies in the UK have sent digital power meters to customers -- the one my parents received has a large LCD showing the total power use for the home (in watts). The display is portable, the sensor is wrapped around the main power cable.
(I think they're forced to send them to some people to encourage energy efficiency.)
***Really, "A lot of people"? I do not personally know anyone who does.***
Some will in the future I think. My local hardware store has grown a couple of bubble wrapped Kill-A-Watt devices on a peg a few feet over from the network cables at the other end of the aisle from the PVC pipe fittings.
Wrt to the technology itself. Is there some reason this couldn't be done over the power line using X-10 or something similar? I do not, repeat NOT, want to run network cables to my washing machine. Neither do
But kill-a-watts are becoming more mainstream.
I've had friends who would never have looked at it until they had trouble with power bills > $500.
As devices like this appear:
http://www.belkin.com/conserve/insight/ [belkin.com]
that just have a money readout, it will make more sense to non-nerds.
And hopefully one day: kids.
The price point has to be lower, and there is no reason it cannot be.
I "kill-A-Watt" includes a good amount of unnecessary hardware, like it's own LCD screen. As does this joke of an offering from the OP.
All that's needed is a wireless chip attached to a relay and a couple sensor inputs. That's like 1/50th of a cell phone worth of electronics. And I'm not talking about a smart phone here. The end nodes should be under $5, The central "station" should be doable for under $30.
Why exactly would I want to spend, even say $200 (a very low price for a system given the cost of a kill-a-watt), for a system that might save me $10 a year on electricity and sometimes annoy me for hours on end.
I signed up for PowerSmart Pricing [powersmartpricing.org] for free. Which has hourly rates instead of a monthly flat rate. I've cut a good chunk of my bill by shifting most electricity to off hours.
Coupled with a free eSmart [actonenergy.com] programmable thermostat. I can set temperatures from the internet. I also have it setup to kill my AC during peak hours. I did have to give them ability to kill my AC remotely, however 1) I'm not home anyway. 2) It's only 6 times between June and September. Meaning all of 2 days per week.
I'd love to figure out the protocol that it uses and set up some scripting, but for now it works.
Initial cost out of pocket: $0
Savings per month: $20-$50 (compared to previous year)
Oh man...I wish our power company offered something like that (we live in Maryland, ~30 minutes outside of DC)
Oh man...I wish our power company offered something like that (we live in Maryland, ~30 minutes outside of DC)
I agree, and ever since the Maryland Government went away from regulation, energy prices are going to be like California soon. It's really gotten out of hand IMO. BGE is just paying for the poor investments that Constellation Energy made over the last few years. It's really a lot of BS IMO.
I'm with Pepco, in MoCo, and they have the thermostat program (I'm on it) but not the tiered pricing. Still, it was easy to get them to put in the thermostat, so it's a start.
Hey hey, a fellow Monkey County resident! We're in downtown Rockville, and we have our electric through Pepco as well. What's this thermostat program you speak of?
That is really cool! Sadly CL&P doesn't seem to offer anything near that. In fact, the way I'm billed, it doesn't seem to matter what time of the day I use the power...it's the same rate. The off/peak power billing plan only makes sense for people who use a ton of power. Despite all my computers, fish tank, tortoise house...still under 800 Killowatt hours a month. Maybe it's time to review their offerings.
That is really cool! Sadly CL&P doesn't seem to offer anything near that. In fact, the way I'm billed, it doesn't seem to matter what time of the day I use the power...it's the same rate. The off/peak power billing plan only makes sense for people who use a ton of power. Despite all my computers, fish tank, tortoise house...still under 800 Killowatt hours a month. Maybe it's time to review their offerings.
Variable Peak Pricing requires me to buy my electricity from CL&P instead of from the company that uses all renewable tech to generate.
Oh well, take one for the team and all that.
I've seen some new hotels with some interesting energy saving stuff.. If it doesn't sense anyone in the room, it shuts off the heat/AC, turns off lights, TV, etc.
Personally, I would love something like that at home, or just a big frickin red button near each door to the house (especially the door to the garage) that would kill all non-essential outlets in the house, turn off lights (except maybe one or two on a timer) and knock the thermostat down (or up in summer)
Why is Intel working on this at the power s
I've seen one of these in the flesh - they're very shiny indeed.
There's no earthly reason it has to be used for power monitoring - it could, for instance, provide a pretty UI to a fullblown home automation system. AFAICT, the only reason Intel are specifically making a thing about the power monitoring is because with ever-increasing electricity prices they think it's a sexy marketing feature.
Yes, it's high time that home appliances of all sort got a standardized remote control interface.
My primary interest is for home theatre equipment but this could be useful for the entire house.
Any device should be standardized and self documenting so that it's easy with simple tools to figure
out what the device supports so you can automate it. There could even be standardized commands for
some things along the lines of the AT command set.
Worse than little benefit, the sum of the power used by the monitoring will exceed by a factor of ten the power saved by reminding you to turn off your dryer before leaving home.
The built in timer will turn off said dryer for next to nothing.
Eh, don't be so sure. Along with simple monitoring some of these devices can come with remote controls, and I don't mean like... a remote control like a Wii mote... I mean... like controlling it remotely... English needs more words. Anyways.
So my Uncle is a tech Savvy programmer who made his millions working on the code that stitches pictures from multiple cameras together and lets you pan it around. So, doing well when virtual tours came along, made a ton when Google Street view came along, he's pretty muc
Obviously there is little benefit of indoor plumbing, especially in the south where it seldom gets cold and the rain it not that big of impediment, and there is space. The added cost of indoor plumbing does set a huge impediment to ownership of houses, and some may choose to not have it in order to have a protection from t
This'll be a great idea if it can be built so cheaply that the money I save from using it is greater than the money I'd save by not buying it.
Not sure I see that happening all that soon.
People like to bring this out, but it isn't always that simple. Time is money. The most aggrivating thing to me when I was a kid was my dad driving 6 miles out of his way to get gas for 10c/gallon cheaper. So you drove 12 miles, consuming half a gallon, costing you 50c at $1.00/gallon. You saved $1.50, netting you $1.00. You also wasted 15 mins....do you like working for $4.00/hr on weekends? I'll change my own brakes/shocks and save $100-$200 for 2 hours of work, THAT is worth my time.
I know this is
People buy electric clothes dryers out of convenience in the first place. A clothesline offers a significant reduction in both up front and ongoing costs, but far less convenience.
Put this monitor in someone's house and pop up a message that it will cost an extra dollar to dry clothes now versus waiting 6 hours, I think most people will spend the dollar.
Yeah.... You could already buy a "Kill-a-watt" meter and hook it up to a device to see how much power it draws. Most people probably haven't bothered, even though it only costs $20 or so.
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU [amazon.com]
The thing is, beyond taking steps to simply reduce usage of the device in question, or alter your usage patterns so you use it more at night (or otherwise deemed "off peak" electrical usage hours), you can't do anything else to make it cost les
...they come up with a way to detect that monster that keeps eating my fucking socks. I'm sick and tired of wearing mismatching socks! DAMMIT, FIND THAT BASTARD!!!
Just put them back in the dryer. They'll make their way back.
Assume for a second that they are going to start selling these systems tomorrow. What would their cost be? $100? $300? $500?
Now, how much would you stand to save per year in reduced energy use from a device like this monitoring and potentially powering off unused devices? $50? $100?
I'm already pretty good at keeping things off when I'm not using them so I'm skeptical that a device like this is going to save me any money after you figure in the cost of the device and the ironic cost of powering the device.
In theory a device like this sounds good but the very people who are worried about their energy use (and would purchase a device like this) are probably the people who least need it.
No... probably more in the order of 5-10 euro.
A very decent payback time. All it is, is a bunch of amp-meters, a number of switches, a display and a wireless system. I can find phones that can do a lot more for 20 euro.
I don't want to run a network drop to my laundry room.
Is it going to add more than $10 to the cost of the dryer? If yes, and unless it's going to save me more than $10 in the first year; again, don't bother.
Way to be altruistic there, buddy.
Why bother buying a hybrid then? Why seek out alternative energy sources? We could keep driving our beat up Suburbans and keep using our coal mines simply because it's cheaper and switching wont give us instant gratification.
Think long term and think of everyone but you.
I guess it's snarky day here on
In that vein, altruism and $1.78 gets me a coffee at Starbucks.
The carbon footprint of me continuing to drive my existing car -- no, it's not a Chevy Suburban -- is much lower than me replacing it with a Prius out of some misguided altruism.
ZigBee, which, as the article states is the key to this system, is a protocol that runs over a wireless mesh network. I use XNet ZB modules [digi.com] for my tinkering.
My highly advanced clothes-line technology comes with an implicit display of its power consumption - zero.
A lot of people live in small city apartments, many of which simply have no space for clothes lines...
Also using clothes drying racks inside the house tends to increase the moisture in the air which can encourage mould to grow which is highly undesirable.
That's just because there's this silly perception that having clothes lines outside the window is something that only happens in third world countries.
Yeah I tried that. After the third load that got covered in dirt from the wind unexpectedly picking up, I said screw it. It wasn't worth spending all that extra time only to have to rewash the load.
I don't see the appeal. It looks like it's over-engineering a solution to something that can be done with common sense.
Then again, I love tech and gadgets and I guess most of that is an over-engineered solution to something or another.
The only reason I would care about this is if I realized I left something *dangerous* on before I left for work and could turn it off remotely. I don't use a curling iron, but I know for some that would be a big deal. A stove / oven / toaster oven / etc would be dangerous as well, and while I never left one on before leaving the house I know that's a concern for some. Though I imagine only electric stoves and ovens would apply unless there was a way to electronically turn off the gas reliably.
As for the power draw, I would just care enough about it to know in the beginning "how much does X" use via one of those little gadgets you can temporarily plug between the device and outlet. Then decide for myself if I should monitor how much I use device X.
Personally, I'm in the mind-set of "turn if off when not in use."
- Not watching or listening to the TV, turn it off.
- Not in that room across the house, turn off the main light.
I shouldn't need a device to remind me.
Here in the UK we're seeing a lot of devices that you place around the incoming electricity feed (via a loop you put around the cable) that has a wireless transmitter to a LCD display of current overall power usage (and some historical stats). They're quite cool, some can be connected to your PC, like the CurrentCost Envi [currentcost.com]. The idea is you can see how much power those hungry devices use as you see the meter spike up when you turn them on.
The government has set a policy for monitoring meters, and the electricity companies (and Sky TV for some reason) are offering subsidised units (I got mine cheap off ebay from someone who had one of these).
You can get these things in the US and Australia/NZ [currentcost.co.uk] too, and even Google is getting involved as these things will upload to Google Powermeter [google.com].
So, adding a wireless usage transmitter to every plug sounds expensive (but cool) but it wouldn't provide that much more information than you can get currently. However, the CurrentCost devices talk to each other (and you can set up multiple meters) so if their comms protocol was a standard (it might be, they advertise it as C2), then additional transmitters could fit into an existing power-usage network without fuss.
While I think that idea is inevitable and even responsible, it also seems like a serious vulnerability. I don't want someone getting in and turning my washer, dryer, stove, AC on while I am away, let alone my neighbor's constantly open wrt54g with a default password of "admin".
If we think planes crashing into buildings are scary how about massive rolling black outs at 8:01 AM every morning.
So the Government (or the egacorporation acting on the govt's behalf) can turn off your appliance, and only let you use it during certain predetermined times. i.e. Rationing of electricity usage.
Yeah I know..... you think I'm a nutter for saying that, but then again I've studied government history. If they CAN do a thing, they will do that thing. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.
"or the [mega]corporation acting on the govt's behalf" - Also known as fascism (old term) or Corporatism (new term) where the government motto moves from "We the People" to "We the Corporations".
What's to stop them from doing that already? The rolling brownouts could be planned, man!
jaykay, jaykay
The rolling brownouts could be planned, man!
jaykay, jaykay
Thanks but though laundry is the topic we don't want to discuss the state of your underwear.
Thanks but though laundry is the topic we don't want to discuss the state of your underwear.
Strange. My wife always tells me the same thing...
what's the impact on my power bill of a bunch of these little things?
Nothing significant. I have a PowerMeter that I use to measure various devices like my TV, computer, or air conditioner and I was curious to see how much energy the gadget uses, and it was unmeasurable. Probably 0.1 watt or so. Even if I had 10 of these power-monitoring devices in my applicances, that's only 1 W * 24 hours * 30 days == 0.7 kilowatt-hours, or 79 cents added to my bill.
My DTV converter is also unmeasurable when put in "standby" mode. It doesn't take much energy to run embedded CPU devic
Was my thought too, aren't we supposed to be trying to do away with standby power devices?
That way people would be less inclined to switch on their power-hungry TVs and would do something (hopefully less energy consuming) instead.
....whenever I move around the house I turn lights off, turn off radios, unplug anything with a goddamn LED on when the device is off (I'm looking at you toaster!), and firmly but politely as the other people in the house to turn things off when they aren't using it.
I'm not "green" I'm cheap!
"Green" means spending money on this monitoring device, it means buying a new car when the old one could just use a good tune up, it means feeling good but not accomplishing anything. Being cheap means that I actually h
Or how about go back to traditional hard off switches, instead of the software controlled standby switches most appliances have these days?
I recently shopped in a high-end major appliance store and the salesman told me about a frig that has the ability to contact the manufacturer if something goes wrong. The system figures out what parts are needed and sends them to the local repair center so that they are on hand when the repair person comes to your house. While that is pretty slick and efficient the darker side is that information could potentially be used by the nanny state to turn down your frig settings. Thus proving a major axiom: Any
This idea of appliances calling in for their own repairs has been somebody's wet dream for a long time, and they even made a TV commercial showing supposedly how it would be a good thing for a repairman showing up at the door unannounced. That's not what I want, and I don't see why this idea has such legs.
It would be maybe interesting if the appliance could send just me a report, then I could shop it around for estimates, but having it automatically contact somebody without going through me first is unappea
Our flying cars are just around the corner.
I have heard about the intelligent home all my life. So did my parents AND their parents. Look up some old reels from a "visions of the future" style problem. Where you see some housewife in black&white use robots we still don't have. 50+ years and the toaster still doesn't work right.
Okay, so the dryer is networked. What now? Report its power drain? I know it drains power, I can hear it running. How much? Well, I know how much thank you, I can see it on the bill. If I don't care about the money I sure as hell don't care about the environment OR that it will brownout the district.
If I do care about the environment and bill, then I would hardly want to ADD to the polution and cost by installing electronic devices I don't need.
This belongs in the category of the fridge that scans your food. The gadget is called a wife. They can see straight through metal and can detect rotting food a mile away. The gadget for saving electricity is called a dad. Try it. Get a wife with the optional extra of a kiddy or two (odd enough you don't get a discount for bulk buying) and you soon will be the most efficient energy saver on the planet.
Correct, its about monitoring the citizens even further. Expect gen 2 to report back to the government to see if you are washing too often.
I don't think we need the added complexity or the flood of daily metrics. Instead of fitting all of these appliances with their own power-monitoring and networking features, just buy one Kill-A-Watt, measure each appliance once in their typical usage pattern(s), and make some decisions. If you think they will deteriorate over time, measure them again in six months. Of course Intel wants to sell more chips, but I don't really want to turn my house into the NORAD Crystal Palace with all of the metrics-gath
Yahoo and HP will want to try to buy adspace on the dryer's LCD display.
Just get a killawatt [google.com], plug it in, turn the drier on for a cycle, and you've got its usage. Do this for your other appliances and you'll have all the data you will ever need.
There is no reason to have on-going monitoring in your house, as appliances don't change their electrical usage over time. However, the simplest solution won't lead to profits for Intel. In fact, you'll use more energy constantly powering the monitoring device hob, the sensors, the Ethernet network, etc... All these parasitic monitors
A killawatt can't turn the freezer to -21C (as opposed to the usual -18C) for a couple of hours with strong winds (and therefore close to free electricity).
Of course that requires variable electricity prices, but I can't imagine that there will be many civilized places without them in 10 years.
Anything that I own that is worth running off hours, namely the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher already has the ability to dial in the number of hours before it starts.
The only one I ever use is the dishwasher, and that's more because I don't want to listen to it while I'm up. I tend to do 2-4 loads of clothes at a time which makes it rather hard to schedule running at off peak hours. Your money is better spent on a higher spin cycle which reduces dry times. A lot of my clothes come out so that they
I work in the AMI/ Smart Grid field and I am just finishing up a study on HAN devices for a municipality. This is the way to go, with a ZigBee enabled device to communicate with power monitoring adapters that all of your electrical loads plug into. If it also supported an internet LAN connection back up to the utility AMI MMS (meter management system) it could incorporate the latest billing rate information and any data collected from the AMI meter outside the house.
There are some solutions out there that are closed-proprietary but I believe that a standards-based solution is the right way to go. HAN needs to get to the point where you can go into your local home improvement store and buy devices that can associate to a central device. Right now the price-point is too high at around $100 a device and it can cost $300-$400 to equip a home with a IHD (in home dislay), programmable thermostat and a communications gateway.
I hope that Intel can apply pressure to the marketplace so this technology can become ubiquitous.
I bet they want to inflate the system with a dual core atom rather than a low power solution like ARM. Something designed to monitor power consumption with the intention of saving energy really should be extremely efficient in itself.
Wouldn't it be easier to make the Breaker box smarter and it would KNOW that my Clothes dryer is the high amp draw on circuit 12, the HVAC is the high draw on Circuit 10, the TV is Circuit 15, etc. Even if it can't ID them right away, it could learn the devices by asking you what you just turned on, no need for them all to have smartchips and wifi.
My blender, toaster and can opener all plug in at the same place in the kitchen and have different draw patterns than say the Microwave or the Stove, Oven, Fridge
"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:
From the beloved classics to the edgy-cool things that are beyond description, KLRU Collective is all about the arts.
Our goal is to present some of the unique, interesting and creative things taking place in Austin. We will never be able to showcase all of them as this is one of the most creativity rich communities in the world. But we will give you a glimpse – a quick peek – at what is being envisioned here. We'll also throw in a few episodes of Masterpiece Theater and Great Performances because, well, we're PBS.
You can be a part of the Collective by tagging your Flickr photos of art or artists at work with KLRUcollective. Or send us an email at email@example.com with your suggestions for arts to cover.
Visit the Website: http://www.klru.org/collective/


text:
The world is still paying, after all, for the 2008 financial crisis, which was triggered by securitization schemes tied to irresponsible mortgage lending.
When it comes to mismanagement in the banking industry, nothing should be a surprise anymore. The world is still paying, after all, for the 2008 financial crisis, which was triggered by securitization schemes tied to irresponsible mortgage lending.
Still, one is taken aback all over again by this week's news series "Breaking the Banks" — a look at some of the 68 Florida community banks that went bust in recent years — by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and also published by The Ledger.
The series detailed the fiscally risky habits of several of these fallen banks. It noted that agencies in charge of oversight were sometimes slow to halt the mismanagement, even when they were aware of it.
While Polk County is home to solid community banks, two failed in 2010: Community National Bank at Bartow and Olde Cypress Community Bank, which was based in Clewiston but had one of its four offices in Winter Haven. Risky loans undermined both banks.
Dozens of institutions played fast and loose under the very noses of their watchers and directors.
The faulty practices detailed in the series include:
■ Imprudent lending (including millions of dollars for people with criminal pasts).
■ Too many loans to fellow bank officials.
■ Nepotism.
■ Wasteful spending.
■ Asset deals that sometimes put insiders' interests before the overall health of the bank.
■ Sales and loans that obfuscated a bank's bottom-line weakness.
Whether the actions were fraudulent is debatable, but their destructive impact is not.
How do such practices affect the public?
Heedless lending standards — especially in the case of riskier loans for large commercial projects — can spur overdevelopment and sprawl, followed by foreclosures and price declines.
Bank failures lead to other problems, including:
■ Higher systemic banking costs.
■ Localized joblessness.
■ Dried-up credit for businesses that need such an operational lifeline.
In the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, U.S. taxpayers had to bail out several "too big to fail" financial institutions. By contrast, in the collapse of small community banks, insurance premiums paid by the industry — not taxpayers — are supposed to cover most losses.
But those premiums don't cover repairs to the concept of justice, which suffers serious damage when no one is held accountable for wrongdoing. Too often the financial misdeeds go unprosecuted — at banks large and small.


text:
How do you Get Linux to Recognize ATA Drives Larger than 8G?
Alan Wild needs help with this problem: "I have an IBM DTTA-3714400 14.4G hard drive. I cannot get Linux fdisk to recognize the whole drive, only the first 8gig. My BIOS (in autoconfigure mode) will see the whole drive but I had to load special 'busmastering' drivers to 'see' past the 8Gig barrier under NT. Does anyone know if this is a kernel or an fdisk limitation? What are other people doing?"


text:
The new head coach, according to McNair, has a way with words.
"The main thing that I've noticed is that he is very easy to communicate with," the Texans' founder/chairman/CEO said on Friday. "Sometimes coaches are a little guarded when they talk with me but he isn't. He just tells me what he thinks and we have discussions about things and it's a very productive and healthy relationship."
"I think part of it is he's very confident in what he's doing, number one," McNair said. "He's a smart individual and I think as a result of that, he thinks things through very carefully."
Along with general manager Rick Smith, O'Brien and McNair are the three main decision makers for the franchise. Even though it's O'Brien's first go-round as a head coach at the professional level, McNair is impressed.
In addition to interiviewing candidates for assistant positions on the new coaching staff, O'Brien also had the opportunity to take a few brief breaks. On Wednesday evening he attended a Rockets game with Smith, and on Thursday afternoon he, his wife Colleen, and McNair joined President George H.W. Bush for lunch.