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What is the best jury duty excuse you've used or heard?
I have the wonderful opportunity to serve my community by reporting for Jury Duty. I have heard various stories of excuses people used to NOT be considered for a case. What have you heard or used...maybe I can draw from them :)
26 Answers answer
"There's no point in sitting through 35 days of this crap if she still gets to walk out free after murdering her daughter! AND I'll miss the Woot-Off!"
I sat through a painfully long session to seat a jury and the best way to squirm out of your civic duty is to claim you don't like police. Keep in mind if the judge feels you are using a lame excuse just to avoid jury duty they can charge you with contempt of court.
if the police charged him, it's pretty obvious he's guilty
I am not comfortable judging another human.
I had a child born 10 weeks premature. That worked. Being in school also worked, so sign up for an online course at your local community college.
My friend wore a shirt that said, "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out."
He didn't get on the jury.
I answered, honestly (and in private, with just the judge, and both lawyers, able to hear me), that I felt the police were arresting too many people, and not shooting enough of them.
It was a case of assault and attempted armed robbery, where the two witnesses for the prosecution were the intended victim, and the arresting officer, who arrived in time to prevent the robbery, no witnesses for the defense, other than the perpetrator, and I am happy to state that the trial was half a day, he was found guilty (duh), and sent away for life (hooray for the 3 strikes law).
One lawyer looked at the judge and said I believe we can excuse this juror. The other lawyer agreed, and that was that.
I'd recommend strongly not voicing opinions like this other than in private, since you can (and should) be held in contempt of court.
[Footnote: I have been happy to serve on other juries. It was just that one I objected to.]
I sat on four civil trials many years ago and found them very interesting; the most recent time I was called for duty the court filled the necessary quota before getting to me.
Why do you want to skip out on your civic duty? In Florida, for most trials it's very difficult to get a pass from the judge.
@magic cave: I don't necessarily want to "skip out", it just happens to be that my experience so far has been pretty meh. One was to sit for 3 days hearing a trial, then the judge dismissed us because the prosecution admitted they were lying in order to get money from the defendant. Another time was to go through lengthy jury selection process while 8 months pregnant, and I indicated early on that it was not advised by my dr to sit so long to avoid blood clot problems that I was being monitored for, which I had a dr note, they didn't care.
I find it fascinating to hear the stories. I'll probably post some that I hear, if they are interesting enough.
Of course we all have busy lives, and I'll be spending more in child care and gas than what I'd earn in jury duty pay. So part of me doesn't want to serve, but the other part of me is truly intrigued by the process and cases.
If I reveal where I have to go, a majority of you might encourage me to skip out.
@mellielou: Back in the early 80's my sister was on a jury hearing a sexual assault case in which a young former Marine was charged with raping a young woman he'd met on the beach. She invited him to her family's beach-front home for a soft drink, and the end result was brutal and ugly. The initial round of juror votes was to acquit him, since (as two elderly jurors insisted) she invited him inside. My sister objected strenuously, noting that the defendant and the victim both knew the girl's family was expected home momentarily, that the girl's friends has testified she didn't even date yet, and that the man had beaten her quite viciously. Another juror then mentioned that his own son was a Marine, and they were heavily trained in assault tactics. Eventually the jury found the guy guilty.
(cont'd) The judge, however, thought he should get a second chance and sentenced him to a halfway-house facility. He walked away from there a month later, headed up north, and was later convicted of raping two other women and, if I recall correctly, killing one of them. The judge ended up being the first female justice on the Florida State Supreme Court.
Ever since that case, I have done my best to help competent, intelligent people understand how very important it is that they serve when called for jury duty.
My question to you was worded poorly, and I apologize for any insult I might have given. I'm just always curious why so many people try so hard to avoid jury duty, which to me is the foundation of our judicial system.
I said "No, sir. I have absolutely no problem with shooting an armed intruder who breaks into my home. Center of mass. Double tap."
And I look like such a nice girl too. I wasn't trying to get excused, but was trying to let the prosecution know I was on their side. In small town Florida, most people don't like it when someone breaks into their homes and will open fire without a problem.
@magic cave: Are you referring to Barkett? She was a nun in a former life. Kind of wonder if that altered her impractical outlook on thieves and murderers. I don't believe in legislating from the bench.
btw, this is a reason why this system does not work. everyone 'smart', busy, doctors etc find a way not to serve.
same with city counsils and other types for goverment meetings etc, normal people have jobs and families, most crazies make it to your city meetings voting and proposing craziest ordinances.
Not that it was on purpose or that this was even the cause, but I got deselected while waiting to go jury selection; I was reading a Tom Clancy novel.
I have been called once. It so happened that the time they wanted me, I had other plans already. In the county where I live, if you are called you get one free pass where you can delay your duty up to some number of months, so I asked to serve two months later which was granted.
Two months later I showed up and went through the jury selection process. They passed on me, having filled the pool before they reached a point where they needed to decide to accept or reject me. That was day one. Day two I just needed to call and see if they needed me, and I was told the answer was no, they thanked me and said I was done for this round. I did not need to call or appear again for that round of jury duty.
I think the case was something about a guy with existing warrants, pulled over for a routine stop, and had contraband on him (perhaps as parole violation). Not very exciting, and I never heard how it went. It only took two days for me to be excused.
I porked the judge in a stall of the bathroom in the Waffle House.
@lavikinga: I'm with you on this one. My default mode is to assume anyone in my home without an invitation plans to do me harm, and I fully expect to beat him to the draw. It might be genetic: a treasured family story is my mother, due to deliver my sister within the week, drawing down on a salesman with his foot in the doorway. He blustered that she wouldn't dare shoot. "Wanna bet?" sez she.
I'm a bleeding heart, do-gooder, card-carrying liberal with a fairly wide streak of pragmatism thrown into the mix. I still have her little Beretta, along with a couple of more useful weapons.
@lavikinga: I was indeed referring to Rosemary Barkett. The case to which I referred was very early in her time on the circuit court bench, and I'd like to think that her sentencing decision was part of her learning curve. (Damned tough way to learn, though, especially for the bstrd's subsequent victims.) I've been in concurrence with many or most of her decisions since then, but to this day my sister spits on the ground at the mention of Barkett's name.
I'm not a US citizen. Although that one won't work any more as of last summer.
Have been called to serve many times but only impaneled once... Civil case claimants lawyer decided my training and occupation would work against his case and used one of his get rid of a juror free cards...
Interesting to watch the selection process games...
@prosperouscheat: really? I was under the impression that jury pools are drawn from voter registrations.
@kamikazeken: Nope - drivers license records
My best excuse was I knew the prosecutor's witness and I would display favoritism since she grew up two doors down from me.
"The defendant is my brother, so I'm pretty sure he is guilty."
One word: Nullification.


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At WKU students are packing up and preparing for fall break, but one group of students won't be spending it on a beach or at a resort. They're headed east to West Liberty, Ky to rebuild the community devastated by tornadoes back in March.
"They had everything taken away, and they're starting from scratch, and not only is Habitat building them a home, but they're giving them these homes,"said WKU Habitat for Humanity student coordinator Jeffry Edwards.
Students and faculty from the WKU Habitat for Humanity chapter will be giving one family who lost their home during the tornadoes a new one.
"We could be doing everything from new construction, to roofing... putting in windows... siding... whatever is needed of us, we kind of just jump in and we finish the job," said WKU Habitat for Humanity faculty advisor Bryan Reaka.
Edwards says the building will also be energy-efficient.
"These homes are super-insulated, so not only are these homes for free, but they're going to be cost-efficient for the homeowners because on average, they're only going to be paying fifteen dollars a month on heating and electricity," said Edwards.
Students say helping a family so close to home makes their work even more worth-while.
"A big thing is the fact that it happened in Kentucky, so it's more personal, because this is my home state," said student volunteer Mary-Kate Smith.
"It kind of hits home, because there's people here in Kentucky that need our help, so we can't ignore them, you know, we have to go help them," said student volunteer and WKU Habitat for Humanity Leadership Committee member Missy Graehler.
Faculty members Bryan Reaka and students Jeffry Edwards, Missy Graehler, Cassie Kulig, and Mary-Kate Smith.
The WKU Habitat for Humanity chapter was named one of the top five chapters for Habitat Collegiate Challenges.
The group does projects during winter and spring break, and says it's not too late for others to get involved.
For more information on how you can get involved in future projects, go to https://www.wku.edu/habitat/.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Pratt Gators 6th grade boys basketball team traveled to St John over the weekend and took home the 1st place trophy.
The Gators won all four games against the following teams:. Pratt intensity 53-9, St. John Tigers 43-18, Southard Cyclones 53-33 and Skyline Thunder 50-17.
The Gator's next tournament is at the Blythe Fitness Center here in Pratt on January 19th and 20th.
Pictured are, back row from left: Grant Bolen, Zach Shanline, Wyatt Schrag, Kaden Evert, Coach Brian Schrag; and front row, from left: Caden Blankenship, Nate Kolm, Travis Theis, Kauy Kuhn.
Location, ST | website.com


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Back to Previous Page | Curriculum Home
LAS401: Speech (2010-2011)
CURRICULUM PROGRAM: English Language Arts
COURSE TITLE: Speech
COURSE LENGTH: 36 weeks
Major Concepts/Content: The speech course is designed to Prepare students to create speeches that reflect careful thought in planning, organization, and delivery. The content includes, but is not limited to, identifying the purpose and audience for the speech; selecting the general topic and refining to a specific topic; making a statement of the thesis; selecting appropriate resources and information; outlining; creating a bibliography; selecting main points and supporting information; preparing the appropriate visual aids; modifying information for a particular audience; writing introductions and conclusions; using appropriate delivery techniques; evaluating delivery, content, and pattern of organization using specified guidelines; delivering oral or written critiques; and evaluating a speech according to established criteria. When the school elects to offer the course for 36 weeks, the second semester will focus primarily on debate. Content includes, but is not limited to, learning to appreciate the value of debating and the skills needed for it; using proper debating technique, including three types of formal debate -Lincoln-Douglas, formal college debating, and formal debating with cross-examination; writing and delivering constructive speeches, rebuttals, and cross-examinations; and researching a topic thoroughly.
Major Instructional Activities: Instructional activities will be provided in a general classroom setting or in a theatre or auditorium when available. Student activities will include, but will not be limited to, reading, viewing, and listening extensively to find the purpose for a speech or debate; researching to Identify the intended audience; practicing the development of an argumentative thesis statement; applying research skills to gain ideas and collect supporting information on the topic; creating a bibliography; drafting and finalizing the speech; delivering the speech, evaluating the student's own speech and classmates' speeches and debates; critiquing speeches and debates orally or in writing; using AV media in critiquing speeches; and making suggestions for improvement of others' speeches and debates. Student activities may also include participation in dramatic and/or humorous interpretation, extemporaneous speaking, impromptu speaking, and storytelling.
Major Evaluative Techniques: Students will be evaluated primarily through the appraisal of their researching, composing, and delivering of speeches and debates. Students are also evaluated on participation in class activities and discussions and on reliability and depend-ability of participation in speech events, class activities, and speech performances.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of the speech course, students should be able to:
- Recognize the various ways of organizing and verbalizing logical thought processes.
- Participate in many kinds of speech presentations.
- Participate in critiques that focus on distinct, effective, and correct speech.


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Question: if f is analytical and $ |f(z)| < M $ for $ |z| =< R $ find an upper bound for $ |f('n)(z)|$ in $ |z| =< \rho < R $ (where $f('n)$ means the nth derivative of $f$).
So I cited Cauchy's Inequality, to find the bound $\frac{n!M_R} {R^n}$ , but since we have the additional limit of $\rho$ I think we should be able to find a better bound. The geometric interpretation is that the the circle of radius $\rho$ limits the radius of $|z|$. Is there further geometric intuition that I should see to solve this problem?


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I'd like to set up a virtual machine for my development so that I can keep the heavy weight of additional services and clunk separate from my "lighter" computing (browsing web, checking email, playing a game or two).
I've heard so much about the different virtual machine software available that I really don't know which way to go. I'd prefer not to pay for enterprise level software, but want something that's simple to set up and use, and allows me to backup my VM at points when I am happy with the state of it.
What VM software do you recommend, and why? This is for use on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC.


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GENESEO, N.Y. – More than 230 SUNY Geneseo student leaders are on campus for the fourth annual Student Leadership Symposium Aug. 22, which this year will focus on communication. The day-long training will include a keynote address by motivational speaker Chris Westfall, author of the book "The New Elevator Pitch," who will share his advice and tips on "Making Your Message Matter."
Residence hall assistants, athletic team captains, student government officers and leaders from Greek and other organizations will be among those participating in the symposium to kick off the academic year. Classes begin Aug. 26 at Geneseo.
The student leaders also will have the opportunity to choose among numerous Geneseo Opportunity for Leadership Development (GOLD) workshops, all focused on communication. GOLD programs are available to all Geneseo students throughout the year to complement their academic studies.
Media contact:
David Irwin
Media Relations Manager
(585) 245-5516


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DVS Shoe Company was established in 1995, Los Angeles, CA - USA. Back in 1995, a couple of skateboard shop owners and a pro skater named Tim Gavin had a vision to create a footwear brand designed specifically for skateboarding. DVS, as they originally named it, has today become a globally recognized force in the footwear market, producing skate shoes and clothing, yet the founding partners haven't wavered from the mantra the brand was built on - made for skaters, by skaters. While it now caters to the breadth of the board sports world, DVS remains focused and committed to sponsoring the best skateboarders, supporting the best events, and backing the best retail stores in the world.


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photo 1 of 47
Trevor Smith
TRAINING: My typical day of training starts with a meditation session and running / weights. Afternoons are usually my prime time for hard spar sessions. The evening is usually where I attend classes at Ring Demon and focus on improving technique and building muscle memory.
When and why did you start training for fighting? I always had a pedigree for fighting. I was a high school state champion and a college All-American on the wrestling mats. I started training for fighting a few years after graduating Iowa State University (about three years ago). Originally I started grappling just to stay in shape but within a few months I was hooked, not on just the grappling but the entire game of MMA. At the time I was using my business degree and working a sales job but I missed the physicality of athletics.
What ranks and titles have you held? I currently hold two belts. I am the Legends Casino Heavyweight Champion and the Cagesport Light Heavyweight Champion.
Do you have any heroes? As a child I was a G.I. Joe junkie. Now that I'm a grown man I can appreciate and respect all those who serve in our armed forces. My heroes are the American Special Forces, from Green Beret to Navy Seals. I have always respected and admired those who put their lives on the line for our country. I can relate more closely to Special Forces units because they put in an extra effort and commitment to be the best at what they do.
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? My first three years of MMA consisted of me getting my base education and the equivalent of my college degree. Fighting for the UFC is making it to the real world, nailing the interview and getting that dream job.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I went to Iowa State University and earned a Bachelor's Degree in marketing.
What was your job before you started fighting? I worked as an inside sales executive a corporation named House Values.
Favorite grappling technique: Guillotine choke
Favorite striking technique: Overhand right
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When the TV cameras showed the seats in the first two days of the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, UK fans have told me that they thought the New Orleans Arena was overrun with blue-clad members of Big Blue Nation.
A closer look showed that everything was blue, but it was empty seats with blue backs.
There weren't UK fans. The first several minutes the guys calling the game didn't mention all of the blue seats, but finally they did and said, "But don't worry, the Kentucky fans will be here tomorrow."
But with UK not playing until the third day, that meant a second day with very few fans. Apparently fans of other SEC teams were all at home thirsting for the start of spring football practice.
The Southeastern Conference was formed in 1933 and the first SEC tournament was held in Atlanta.
So few fans showed up that the SEC skipped a season and tried again for two years in Knoxville. Same story. This was football territory, Padnuh!
Another try two more years in Knoxville and the fans still weren't excited so the SEC decided to come to basketball country and assigned the 1940 tourney to Louisville.
The Jefferson County Armory, the biggest basketball house in the state, proved to be a big success.
Walnut Street (now Muhammad Ali Blvd.) and Fourth Street, had the Kentucky, the Watterson and Seelbach hotels just two blocks away filled with fans. So was the Brown at Fourth and Broadway. The YMCA at Third and Broadway was available for $1.25 a night!
Big hit in Louisville
Eleven consecutive years of successful tournaments were held in Louisville, which saved the event.
It is time for the SEC to give Louisville a chance to save the tournament one more time.
Jim Host,who headed the birth of UofL's KFC YUM! Center is on record as saying another SEC Tournament will never happen in Louisville. Period.
Now wait a minute! Lexington and Louisville officials are on record as saying that they will cooperate on bringing events and companies to both cities.
There's no reason that Louisville and Lexington can't make a successful bid to get consecutive SECs.
Here is some inside information that might help. The first available year is 2019 or 2020.
The most influential man in SEC basketball is C.M. Newton, the former player and athletic director at UK.
His position with the SEC is not full time. There is no reason that Louisville interests couldn't hire Newton as a lobbyist. No one connected with the SEC is more competent and respected than C.M.
Hall for Hall!
It's nice that Joe B. Hall has been honored by his election to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
The man who replaced a legend, Adolph Rupp as Kentucky's coach will be inducted Nov. 18 in Kansas City, Mo.
I'll never forget the day when Joe B. called me and invited me to a home in western Louisville the next morning and requested that I bring a photographer.
It turned out to an historic day when Rupp and Hall signed 7-foot Tom Payne of Shawnee High School.
It was clear that signing the first black basketball player at Kentucky was Hall's idea, not Rupp's.
When Payne married his high school sweetheart, Hall and his wife became surrogate parents, even cooking Thanksgiving dinner for them.
Host also honored
Jim Host also was voted into the college basketball hall of fame as a contributor. "Biggest surprise of my life," said Host, calling the honor "the culmination of my career."
Another honoree is Joe (String Music!) Dean, a New Albany High School graduate who was elected as a player at LSU, a TV analyst and director of athletics at his alma mater, LSU.


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Is it permissible to attend a non-frum event, such as a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah of a family member or friend?
Sign up
- Anybody can ask a question
- Anybody can answer
- The best answers are voted up and rise to the top
This is just my guess on things from what I've seen.
There can be a lot of issues going on in each case, so it's worth taking an honest assessment of the full situation, and talking with a rabbi who's both knowledgeable and understanding. If both you and the event host demonstrate genuine caring and communication, that can help a lot of things too.
I think the overarching principles here, in descending priority, are:
A.) We can't violate strict Halacha.
Otherwise, my guess is to respect C, D, and E above, so long as they don't violate A, B, and E. Examples that could potentially violate A, B, and E, and are thus more problematic:
If the hosts are making an effort to accommodate you, that can be a reason to attend (and not violate C, D, and E), but it has to be balanced with the above concerns.
One more note: Orthodox rabbis (even some fairly right-wing ones) are used to getting these questions. Otzar HaPoskim has the case of a BT woman attending her brother's wedding, at which she'll be expected to kiss him. (I guess it's just a huggy-kissy kind of family.) Answer: it's not so much Halachically prohibited as frowned upon, which gives some leniency. But better to explain the situation to him if you can.
This sounds like the sort of question that you really need to discuss with your Rabbi, since there are lots of different issues in play, and how they interact could vary a great deal, depending on the circumstances and on the people involved.
I'll enumerate some of the major issues that could come up. Note that I'm not saying that all of these are necessarily important issues in all situations.
The Gemara speaks harshly about those are invited to a Seudaat Mitzva (according to R' Mutzafi this means weddings or Beritot) and don't attent. However, HaRav Ovadia Yosef Shelit"a writes (Yabia Omer vol. 4 Yoreh Deah 19) that if there are going to be "Inshi Delo Maali" e.g. non-frum people it's better not to go. (I heard this from Rav Meir Eliyahu Shelit"a).


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Let $C_d(n)$ be the lattice cube consisting of the $n^d$ points with each of its $d$ coorindates in $\lbrace 1,2,\ldots,n \rbrace$. Define a blocking set for a lattice cube to be a set of points in the cube that meets every axis-parallel line through a lattice point of any facet of the cube. Let $b_d(n)$ be the minimum cardinality of a blocking set for $C_d(n)$.
Q1. What is the function $b_d(n)$?
For $d=2$, selecting the $n$ points on the diagonal through $(1,1)$ and $(n,n)$ suffices to block the $n$ lines through each facet/side of the cube/square; so $C_2(n)=n$. Because a facet consists of $n^{d-1}$ points, and a line orthogonal to the facet through each point must be blocked, $n^{d-1}$ is a lower bound on $b_d(n)$. A more specific version of Q1 is:
Q2. Can the lower bound be achieved? Is $b_d(n) = n^{d-1}$? If the lower bound cannot always be achieved, when can it be achieved?
For $C_3(3)$, the $\mathbb{Z}^3$-cube consisting of $27$ points, here is a blocking set $B$ with $|B|=10=n^2+1$:
Perhaps these questions have already been explored? If so, I would appreciate references. Thanks!
My interest in the above questions derive from the more geometrical question: What is the "minimal object'' that casts a (hyper)cube-shadow from parallel light rays in the $d$ coordinate directions? I defer this question until I understand the combinatorial version.
Addendum. As per Johan Wästlund and Eoin, indeed the lowerbound is achievable.
Here is a 9-point blocking set for $C_3(3)$:


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We are building a site now and are considering adding a "brand" to the data section in the center of the layout with a subtle background image. There is some concern that with different browser settings the "brand image' might be either so light in contrast as to be un-defined or too dark and render the text above it hard to read. Is this a workable idea or something best left undone?
While it's true that there is variation in colour between computers and browsers, the differences have been dramatically reduced in the last two or so years:
Now, the main thing that affects colour consistency across users is the users' own hardware. The quality of monitors, backlight type and brightness and type (LCD vs CRT) can have a profound impact on colour fidelity. While there's no way to really be sure of how every user will experience your site, you can at least test the design on machines that have not been properly calibrated, and ideally on low-quality screens (where colours such as light grey often get "blown out" to white).
A brief search on google brings up some interesting articles on how color is rendered in browsers and what are the subtle differences
A Brief Comparison of Font and Background Colors Rendered Across Major Browsers in Mac OS X
To quote what the site says
However I am not sure if the above information is applicable to your case since I have no idea about the color of the text you are using and the corresponding background image.However with regards to images you must remember that the color intensity of the pic can vary greatly depending on the color profile of the image. So while rendering your backgound images,that is something you will need to test.
Another consideration you will have to consider is that certain monitors display color more vividly than others and you should check to see how your text is rendered against the images in that case.
In closing ,I know I havent given you a yes or no answer :),but if your design requirements need such branding do ensure you cover all the possible bases before going for it
This is a workable idea and a commendable one at that.
It may not have been pursued actively by most UI designers because of the constraints you already noted. However, with careful design, it can certainly work and provide a decent visual experience without being either distracting/disruptive or interfering with the foreground text.
One other point would be discretionary use. Avoid using it more than once on a page; for cases where the text is crucial and clarity/accuracy is very important. This is because a character can appear to be another, when seen against a background image, leading to misinterpretation.
Finally, I believe the concept is not new in regular graphic design.
I'm going to go against the grain here and say
Don't do it. It adds nothing to the user experience, and potentially could detract from readability/usability.
We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer; explain why your answer is right, ideally with citations. Answers that don't include explanations may be removed.


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Loved it! But the salsa I used was farrrr too spicy! Watch out! This chili's a scorcher!
Beef & Bean Chile Verde
From EatingWell: January/February 2008
Chile Verde, usually a slow-cooked stew of pork, jalapeños and tomatillos, becomes an easy weeknight meal with quick-cooking ground beef and store-bought green salsa. Make it a Meal: Serve with fresh cilantro, red onion and Monterey Jack. Add your favorite hot sauce.
97 Reviews for Beef & Bean Chile Verde
Love it's simple ingredients and yet amazing flavors!! oh and healthy!
I always have salsa verde in my pantry after making this!
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing..I followed the recipe ALMOST exactly, i substituted ground turkey instead and i added as a small can of baked beans. It was a fantastic mix and the perfect amount of spicy. I cannot say enough great things about this recipe.
Very thick and filling. I felt that one can of beans left the chili rather sparse (I'm a big bean fan), so I put in two cans of beans. I tried it both as plain chili, and wrapped in whole grain soft shell tortillas. I personally prefer it served in tortillas. Very delicious!!
Wonderful! I made it with no meat and three cans of beans. I also added some frozen white corn and a can of tomatoes. I will make this many, many times!


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Published March 07, 2013
Ocean waves crash over a seawall and into houses along the coast in Scituate, Massachusetts, USA.
An Afghan woman looks out from a helicopter window at the International Airport in Kabul. Afghan women take a tour around Kabul to mark International Women's Day.
Fishermen in Kuakata bring the last net of the day under a fire like sunset in Bangladesh. (Photo by Dennis Cohen/UK submitted to VOA Photo Contest)
Electricians check the electricity pylon situated amid farmland in Chuzhou, Anhui province, China.
Chilean riot policemen protect themselves with shields during clashes with students who demand the government of President Sebastián Piñera to improve the public education system, in Santiago.
A fish trader carries dried fish skeletons at the Obunga "mgongo-wazi" fish frying market in Kenya's western town of Kisumu, 350km (218 miles) from the capital Nairobi.
A man throws a burning effigy depicting outgoing Czech President Vaclav Klaus from the medieval Charles Bridge during a celebration rally for the end of Klaus' presidency in Prague.
The image shows the Earth-facing surface of the Sun on Feb. 28, 2013, as observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. HMI observed just a few small sunspots on an otherwise clean face, which is usually riddl
Indian salt worker Walbai Ayyubbhai, 70, carries a rake at a salt pan in the Santalpur region of Little Rann of Kutch, some 240 kms from Ahmedabad, India.
Bailey Bear, a Golden Labradoodle, sits in front of a picture of a cat during the first day of the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, central England.
Qi Guangpu of China competes in the Men's Aerials competition at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Voss, Norway.


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I'm creating a plugin which counts social scores on various sites. It uses the various API's available on the web to determine a "count" of shares or likes across facebook, twitter, delicious, linkedin, stumbleupon, digg etc.
Many of you are probably familiar with javascript widgets for these sites. I'm frustrated with the overhead which this brings (multiple javascript calls, so I'm building something to work this out and store natively within Wordpress). This will also give scope for designers creating their own buttons with HTML, and a shortcode will show the share count.
My problem lies in the speed of the response for the networks. They can be slow, so I'm looking for architecture / design advice. I was thinking of creating a table which holds POST_ID and a collection of scores which is updated often via WP-CRON.. and updates when a user clicks the share button as well to keep it in synch. Sound like a valid idea? Or any other ideas?
If you are still confused, take a look at the new share button on the BBC. I want to bring this to Wordpress, minus the speed overhead.


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Crown Victoria Project Update - Build a Panther, Part Three: The PaintjobWritten by John McGann on June 26, 2011 Contributors: Canon Timer
Though this is the third part in our series, the paintjob was actually the first thing I did to the car after buying it. To recap, this is the '03 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor I bought from Ken Porter Auctions in Gardena, California, for the paltry sum of $1,500. While the body of the car wasn't bashed up, the paint was scruffy looking. I thought I would be able to drive it around without caring what it looked like, but those who know me would have pointed out my flawed thinking. I'm the guy who washes his car religiously—once a week at least. So it only took about two days of looking at the dull, furry-looking finish, complete with hastily applied, aerosol-black on the doors and roof before I was scratching all that stuff off. From start to finish, the whole job took five weeks, working nights and weekends. There are things I wish I had done better, but the car looks pretty decent now. There are lots of pictures here, so let's get to it.
|3/4-inch masking tape, 3 rolls
|1 1/2-inch masking tape
|3M trim masking tape
|Fine line tape
|18-inch green masking paper, 2 rolls
|Top Guns
|14' x 350' plastic sheeting
|Ask for it
|PRE Painting Prep
|Epoxy primer kit, 1 quart
|1 OT mixing cups, set of five
|Dura-Block, 7-piece kit
|Indasa 80-grit adhesive-backed sandpaper roll
|Indasa 120-grit adhesive-backed sandpaper roll
|Indasa 220-grit adhesive backed sandpaper roll
|Indasa 400-grit adhesive-backed sandpaper roll
|Rhynalox 6-inch adhesive-backed 80-grit DA paper, 100 disc roll
|Rhynalox 6-inch adhesive-backed 120-grit DA paper, 100 disc roll
|Valspar SunCryl acrylic enamel, 1 quart
|Ask for it
|Top Guns
|Mar-Hyde acrylid enamel activator
|Ask for it
|Top Guns
|Universal reducer
|Ask for it
|Top Guns
|Hammer and dolly set
|Slapper hammer
|TM Technologies
|SEM EZ Coat primer
|Top Guns
|Evercoat Metal Glaze 30-oz pump bottle
|Mixing board
|Body filler spreader four-pack
|Top Guns
|DeVilbiss Starting Line spray gun kit
|PCL gun-cleaning solvent (Don't call me lacquer thinner!), 1 gallon
|Ask for it
|Top Guns
|Valspar DTM 200 tintable primer, 1 gallon plus reducer and activator
|Top Guns
|Nason Ful-Thanne single-stage urethane, 1 gallon plus reducer and activator (281.00 per gallon, needed 2 gallons to complete)
|Ask for it
|3 meters WetOrDry sandpaper, 1500-grit
|Top Guns
|3 meters WetOrDry sandpaper, 2000-grit
|Top Guns
|3M Perfect-It compounding pad
|Top Guns
|3M Perfect-It polishing pad
|Top Guns
|3M rubbing compound, 1 quart
|Top Guns
|Motor Guard flexible sanding block
|Top Guns
|Makita rotary buffer
|Somewhere in Cleveland
|3M Hook-It Back-up pad
|Top Guns
|Meguiars Swirl Free polish
|Top Guns
|Liquid Carnauba wax
|Jax Wax
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
Often, the dilemma when contemplating a paintjob is whether to strip the old paint or just scuff it before spraying the new stuff. I did a combination of the two. This car was wearing its original paint, black with a white roof and white front doors, but the white paint was peeling off. I've heard from some cops that they have the same problem—the factory white is especially susceptible to sun damage. I scraped all the loose white paint off the roof with a razor blade.The light bar had been secured to the roof with sheetmetal screws behind the weatherstripping just above the B-pillar. I welded the holes closed using our TIG welder, rather than a MIG because it generates fewer sparks.Even so, if you weld anywhere near a car's interior, keep a fire extinguisher close and be absolutely sure that any sparks that may have fallen inside the car are completely cooled. We've heard horror stories of cars burning to the ground because a stray spark dropped somewhere deep in the bowels of an interior panel where things like insulation and sound deadening material can smolder for a while before erupting into a towering inferno. I ran a bunch of compressed air through each hole and avoided singeing my headliner, but in hindsight, it would have been safer to remove it prior to welding.I figured painting just the roof first would be a good test of my ability to spray a decent black paintjob. Here is the roof stripped of all the loose paint, leaving behind the still-good factory primer. The remaining white areas were where the paint was shielded from the sun under the light bar and under the car's number decals. This was a cool find because Santa Barbara County had removed these roof numbers before sending the car to auction. Judging by the shapes, mine was car 418. This remaining paint still had a strong bond to the primer, so there was no need to sand it all off. Just be sure to sand the transition between the primer and the paint. This technique is known as featheredge sanding and it removes the ridge between the primer and the paint on top of it. To do this, I used 220-grit on a DA followed by 400 on a sanding block, sanding until I could no longer feel a difference between where the paint stopped and started. Once masked, blow the surface with compressed air and wipe with degreaser.Epoxy primer is a good general-purpose primer. It can be applied to bare metal and, unlike a surface primer, it resists moisture once it's cured. This is beneficial if you don't have time to spray the topcoat right away; you can leave your car outside in epoxy primer and it won't absorb water if it gets wet. Usually epoxy primers are available in light grey, neutral grey, and dark grey. Obviously, it's best to use a light primer if your topcoat is a light color.When spraying something tall and relatively flat, it's good to make (or buy) a platform that allows you to move the length of the surface. Standing on a ladder like this, your passes with the gun become arc-shaped, especially toward the center of the roof. This can cause thin, uneven coverage—not so critical for primer, but bad for the topcoat.To keep the costs down, I used a single-stage acrylic urethane rather than a more expensive basecoat/clearcoat paintjob. To do the roof, I tried a couple of different brands, one from one of those "supercheapcarpaintsforonedollar" online stores on the roof itself, and this Valspar enamel on the driprail moldings.Charitably speaking, the results were less than optimal. The glitterlike effect on the roof is actually solvent pop. Imagine if you could flash-freeze a glass of Coke, suspending the bubbles of fizz in place as they rise from the bottom of the glass. The effect is similar here; the paint cured as the solvents used to thin the paint were still evaporating out. Usually this is an indicator of an improper mix ratio or using too fast an activator. The Valspar paint on the driprail moldings (the L-shaped pieces between the roof/back window and the quarter-panel) came out better, which was interesting because I sprayed them at the same time and with the same gun settings as the roof. To be fair, the roof paint was nearly a year old, and I had to thin it out more than the recommended amount just to get it to flow through the gun, but the Valspar paint was not quite as old. Paint and its additives definitely have shelf lives.After my experiment with the roof, I got to work in earnest on the rest of the car, stripping away the aerosol-black on the doors and block-sanding the entire body with 150- and 220-grit sandpaper on our Durablock sanding blocks (seen in the grille opening). I originally planned to tape off the window trim and door handles but ultimately decided to remove all the window trim, door glass, window felts, door handles bumper covers and exterior lamps. That was extra work, but the finished job looks more professional as a result. The window trim, glass, and door handles are all secured by rivets. Make sure you've got a drill sharpener.
Block-sanding the paint quickly reveals any imperfections in the sheetmetal. As stated earlier, the body was in good shape, with only a few small dents in the decklid and quarter-panel likely caused during the cuffing and stuffing of a few perps. I was able to straighten these out with a slapper hammer and dolly.The dolly is doing most of the work on the backside of the dent. Push hard on the dolly while lightly hitting around the crater with the slapper to shock the metal back into shape. A regular body hammer would work OK here, but I prefer the slapper because it spreads the impact force over a larger area.Check your progress by running a long sanding block across the repair. The low spot has diminished, but I uncovered the high spot that was created when the dent was formed. By concentrating your hammer strikes on the high spot, while still pushing out with the dolly, you can move the metal from the high spot back to the low spot.The dent is fixed when the sanding marks are uniform across the repair area. This is a good way to visually check your work. While it's easy to feel high and low spots in sheetmetal, very small irregularities can be tough to read by touch. That's why guys spray a guidecoat over primer before block-sanding it. When the guidecoat sands off evenly, you know the panel is straight.Newer cars have flush-mount glass but finished with a metal-backed rubber channel. I tried to peel this out, but the backing started to deform and I didn't want to have to replace it if it broke. However, you can't just mask this channel off, as it will leave a hard tape line at the transition between the channel and the roof. 3M sells the solution to this problem—trim tape. The exposed blue section is a semirigid plastic that you feed under the rubber trim.With the tape in place, peel off the backing to expose the adhesive and fold the tape over tightly, in this case, folding it forward onto the windshield.Folding the tape forward pulls the plastic edge up, pulling the rubber trim away from the panel, which opens just enough of a gap to spray paint behind it. When you pull the tape off, your new paintjob will extend past the trim and look factory correct.Masking a car is a huge job. I decided to tape off the door openings so I could keep the doors opened and blend in the door jambs. Here is the car just before I began spraying. Again, thoroughly blow the car with compressed air and wipe it with a wax and grease remover. Tech tip: masking tape does not stick to tires. I tried to tape that painter's plastic to the tires, but the tape came undone several times throughout the job and once blew the plastic into my paint. Fortunately, it stuck to the inside of the wheel lip and didn't leave any external marks. It would have been better to cover the tires with something heavier like old towels (watch out for lint, though), moving blankets, or a set of canvas wheel masks to look like a real pro. Or you could just paint the car with crap wheels and tires on it.This is Valspar's Direct To Metal 2000 series tintable primer. It's the same stuff we used to paint Editor Glad's El Guapo El Camino in the Dec. '08 issue. We had good luck with it then, so I bought another gallon from Top Guns in Gardena, asking them to tint it as dark as possible. The mix ratio is 4:1:1 (primer, reducer, activator), and I sprayed two coats with our DeVilbiss Starting Line gun using a 1.8mm tip. You can topcoat over this primer after 30 minutes of cure time, but if it sits longer than 24 hours, you need to sand it prior to topcoating.
I painted the car a couple of days later with three coats of Nason Ful-Thane single-stage urethane, again using our DeVilbiss Starting Line spray gun with a 1.4mm tip. The paint was a generic black mixed by Meza Autobody supply, also in Gardena, and was mixed 8:2:1 with 441-21 medium- temperature reducer and 483-15 activator. Though I used only a gallon of primer on the car, it took almost two full gallons of paint to cover it. Another reason to spray a test panel—you can gauge how much material it will take to complete the job.I painted the bumpers separately from the car. Though you can mix flex additives into the paint before spraying flexible parts like these, modern paint is already pretty flexible, so I skipped it. They have held up fine since then. For extra fun, see the Apr. '09 issue on how to repair plastic bumpers.Tech tip: Support plastic bumper covers fully across their widest part to prevent them from bending. If the paint dries with a weird bend in it, it could crack when you put it back on the car. Also, check that the material you're coating them with is compatible with the type of plastic you're working with. Some bumpers need a specific primer, otherwise the two will react.My paintjob was less than stellar for two reasons, and both of them were my fault. First, sand scratches were visible through the paint; second, the finish had a lot of orange peel. I put the scratches in there when I sanded the primer prior to painting the car by attacking it with 400-grit dry paper. My belief was that 400-grit would give the topcoat more tooth to stick to. But this primer does not sand well and it clogged the paper. Dragging the clogs across the surface left gouges in the primer. Again, this was my fault, not the primer's. According to Valspar's instructions, if it is mixed with more reducer, it acts like a smooth-sanding filler primer. But mixed with less reducer, it acts like a sealer, giving it a harder surface that does not sand easily. What I should have done initially was scuff the primer with a Scotch-Brite pad—not 400-grit dry sandpaper—then painted it. However, once the damage from the 400- grit was done, I should have wet-sanded the car (because wet-sanding prevents clogging).Orange peel was my second problem. It is caused by several factors: too much air pressure, holding the gun too far from the surface, under-reduced paint, or using the wrong temperature reducer. Because I used the correct reducer, I can't use that as an excuse. In hindsight, I probably didn't reduce the paint enough. The fix for both the orange peel and the sand scratches was to wet-sand the car, and this is what you need for that job.3M recommends soaking the paper for about 10 minutes prior to using it. This makes the paper more flexible so you don't have a sharp edge when you fold it.Use a flexible sanding block and fold the sandpaper around it. The block will apply even pressure to your car's various bends and creases. Keep the surface wet, too. This prevents the paper from clogging. I'm using a spray bottle filled with water and a small amount of car-wash soap to make the surface a little more slippery. Start with 1,000-grit and work down to 2,000-grit. As with block-sanding, when the surface is uniformly dull, you are finished.You'll have to buff the paint to make it shiny again, and here's what you need. The white pad is more aggressive and is used with rubbing compound. Use the black pad and polish to remove the swirl marks left by the compound. You can wax the paint at this point and be done with it, but I added an extra application of glaze before wax. Tech tip: you can apply the swirl-free polish with a low-speed random orbital machine. Rubbing compound must be applied with a high-speed buffer, though. Put some tape on body lines and panel edges—it's easiest to burn through the paint there. After buffing, remove the tape and apply rubbing compound by hand on those areas.Buff one panel at a time, working your way around the car. Here you can see the finished door next to the unbuffed quarter-panel. Also note the masking tape on the edge of the quarter-panel to keep from burning through the paint in this area. For extra safety, I propped open the doors with a roll of tape so there was no chance of the buffer touching the panel next to them.
Nearly all the sand scratches and orange peel were fixed during the wet-sanding and buffing process, but it took me two days to do all that work. Here is the car going back together.


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Here's an idea for a new set of badges:
- Conversation Starter (Bronze): received comments from five different people (in total across all answers)
- Catalyst (Silver) : received comments from five different people on a single answer
both can be awarded only once.
Update: for both only count comments on answers, not on questions, because for questions there are usually lot of "did you mean?" comments.
Another Update: it seems that people are worried that most comments would be just pointing out how wrong the answer is. That is a sad (but maybe appropriate) view. I think it can be amended by only counting comments on answers with no downvotes.


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New revelations are treated like gold. A news article last month about the final typescript of the last four chapters of the book being at a Southport, Conn., library shot through the Windies community at least a minority of which is more dedicated to the book than the movie.
At some gatherings, actors from the film show up and offer autographs, sometimes for sale. Of course, most of the notable stars have died, most recently Cammie King Conlon, who as a child played Bonnie Blue Butler.
Her name wasn't actually Bonnie Blue Butler, but let it pass.


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Given a function $f\in\mathscr C^n([a,b])$ and a point $x_0\in [a,b]$, to what extent is the n-th taylor polynomial $T_n(x,x_0)=\sum_{k=0}^n\frac{f^{(k)}(x_0)}{k!}(x-x_0)^k$ the best polynomial approximation of $f$ in $[a,b]$ ? This may seem to be dumb question, but is there a metric $\rho$ on $ C^n([a,b])$ so that $\rho(T_n(x,x_0),f)=\min\{\rho(p,f)\mid \text{p is a polynomial function} \}$ ? Thank you
Here is a norm on $\mathscr C^n(a,b)$ for which $T_{n}(\cdot,x_0)$ is the best approximation to $f$: $$\|f\|_* = \sum_{k=0}^{n} |f^{(k)}(x_0)|+ \sup_{x\in[a,b]}|f^{(n)}(x)-f^{(n)}(x_0)|$$ This is a reasonable norm, which is equivalent to the more usual norms. For any polynomial $p$ of degree at most $n$ we have $$\|f-p\|_* = \sum_{k=0}^{n} |f^{(k)}(x_0)-p^{(k)}(x_0)|+ \sup_{x\in[a,b]}|f^{(n)}(x)-f^{(n)}(x_0)|$$ which is minimized exactly when $p=T_{n}(\cdot,x_0)$.
The answer is that the Taylor polynomial is not a very good approximation on the whole of $[a,b]$ in general. Indeed, the rest of the Taylor series converges to 0 on $[a,b]$ if and only if $f$ is analytic, which of course is not always the case. The intuition is that local information near $x_0$ only has no chance of being sufficient for a good approximation on $[a,b]$.
We know that a continuous function can be approximated uniformly on a segment by polynomials, but it is a bit tricky to find which polynomials exactly. Another natural candidate would be interpolation polynomials, but it turns out that they are no good as well (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runge%27s_phenomenon). The answer is Bernstein's polynomials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernstein%27s_polynomial_theorem).
$T_n(x, x_0)$ is the only polynomial of degree less than or equal to $n$ such that
$$ T_n(x, x_0) - f(x) \in o((x - x_0)^n) $$
or in terms of limits,
$$ \lim_{x \to x_0} \frac{T_n(x, x_0) - f(x)}{(x - x_0)^n} = 0$$


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Friday, August 24, 2001
8:30 a.m.
Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel
(I-95 & Griffin Road)
Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne will announce the first recipient of the Charles Bingham Award and honor several other School Resource Officers for their outstanding contributions. Winners will be announced at the Annual BSO School Resource Officers' Awards breakfast on Friday, August 24th , at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel starting at 8: 30 a.m.
This special award is in honor of the late BSO Lt. Charles "Charlie" Bingham, a longtime supervisor of the SRO program. Bingham was a proponent of the SRO program and a strong believer of community policing. His distinguished 31-year career ended at BSO on May 7, 2000, when he died unexpectedly. Lt. Bingham not only left a strong impression on BSO, but he was well known for his service to his Lauderhill community. Earlier this year (February 2001), northwest 49 Avenue in Lauderhill was renamed Charles Bingham Avenue.
The recipient of the Charles Bingham Award will be given $1,000 to use toward his or her child's college education. This award is open to all Broward County SRO's.
The Broward Sheriff's Office recognizes the vital role School Resource Officers play in the lives of children. SRO's provide a safe environment for learning, act as role models, counsel at-risk students, and work closely with families to ensure the children will stay out of trouble. They also participate in a variety of public events and functions to promote a positive relationship between law enforcement and the entire community.
Posted At: 08/21/2001 05:18 PM
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I have been really staring for a while in a MP-Beiser book and I totally disagree with a statement he does there. On a page 85 he states that photons act as they have a mass $m$. He derives this by stating that:
$$ \begin{split} p &= m v\\ \frac{h\nu}{c} &= m c\\ m&= \frac{h \nu}{c^2} \end{split} $$
But I totally disagree with this. We have learned and derived that momentum of a particle is:
$$ \begin{split} p &= m v \gamma (v)\\ \frac{h \nu}{c} &= m c \gamma{(c)}\\ m &= \frac{h \nu}{c^2 \underbrace{\gamma(c)}_{=0}}\\ m &= 0 \end{split} $$
Something here is totally wrong, but what? How can an author state what he does? I know that on Harvard they did an experiment resulting in different $\nu$ of a photons falling in a gravitational field, but they must have been wrong or something... Please someone explain.


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When the Internet isn't neutral
"Neutrality" is a principle built into the whole idea of the Internet, an almost creed-like notion set out by the pioneers of the technology and devotedly intoned (sometimes proclaimed) by their legions of descendants worldwide. The idea that the smallest, least-followed blog or smallest local-business website should be available as quickly and easily, to any user, as are Google, Amazon, or CNN seems so basic, so true, to our understanding of how online information can be accessed and shared that it would barely dawn on us to consider it another way.
Which is maybe part of the problem. Anyone surprised by the decision Tuesday of a federal appeals court to strike down the concept of "net neutrality" – and many people are – probably thought little or nothing of the FCC's decision in 2002 to classify the web as an "information" service and not as a telecommunications service like telephone, thus consigning it to a different regulatory category. Phone companies are obligated to place calls between parties without any roadblocks, and the same free and open flow of communications came to be an accepted characteristic of the Internet. For a while, the spirit of neutrality obtained—even to the point of "Net Neutrality" rules being enacted at the federal level in 2010. But the regulatory distinction between utilities and information services, an important one, was always clear to Internet service providers, which have long sought freedom from government limits on how they can use, and make money from, the networks they've built.
Fact is, the service providers are right, at least on the legal point – something the appeal judges were said to have noted somewhat ruefully in their decision (for this reason, the case doesn't seem likely to go to the Supreme Court). Had the FCC simply categorized web service as a telephone-like utility back in 2002, people might not be so worried about what they woke up to today.
Which is what, exactly?
Major service providers like Verizon (a main challenger of neutrality rules) would be free to charge different prices to different content providers. The popular example to use is a media-streaming service like Netflix, which might find itself paying higher fees to Internet service providers to ensure its movies are delivered quickly, reliably, and without disruption to customers. Of course, it's not hard to imagine other content providers also being forced to pay more to make sure their content is easily available—not just the biggest ones, but also the more modestly sized ones, and on down the line to the smallest. If there's something unfortunately extortionate about the pricing models likely to emerge, there's also something unfortunately familiar about what will transpire: Those that can afford to pay first-class will pay. As for those that can't, their content will be relegated to second-, third-, or some as yet undefined lower class of travel. Think of all the things you like to watch and read and how fast you can get to them; now think of the organizations that provide them. How many are as deep-pocketed as a Google, Facebook, or Fox News?
Even easier to imagine is who the costs of higher-tiered services will ultimately be passed on to: consumers. And again, it will transpire that those with the ability to pay for the best will do just that. Some years ago, the term "digital divide" was used to rally support for providing basic computer technology and broadband service to schools and communities—urban and rural—that were least able to get it. The aim was to help the people in these communities keep pace with their better-connected fellow citizens not only in computer literacy, but also in access to the goods, services, and information increasingly made available, in some cases exclusively, online. The worry now, and it seems like a real one, is that a new divide is about to open, one caused not by accident of location or physical and technological barriers, but by—as is so typically the case—market forces. And it will be yet another way for the haves, already girded with various preferred-customer, premium-flyer, express-lane advantages, to assert their status, purchasing power, and political might over the have-nots.
Ah, yes, the political. Something, if not much, has been made of the fact that Michael Powell, a Republican appointee, was head of the FCC when it classified Internet providers as it did in 2002. Something more has been made of the fact that the current head of the FCC, Obama appointee Tom Wheeler, has worked as a lobbyist for the cable and wireless phone industries. Wheeler could theoretically reclassify Internet service providers as common carriers like phone companies, and he has said he's not opposed to neutrality. What he's also said is that he's willing to let Internet companies experiment with new ways of delivering service, which in any language seems to mean: Let the market have its way.
As for the more direly specific ramifications, they're posited by Juan Cole. And frankly, none of this strikes me as especially paranoid:
I am hoping that Barack Obama knows that he got elected in 2008 in part because of the free Internet. I am hoping he knows that Fox Cable News could be the future of information if corrupt billionaires like Rupert Murdoch (whose companies have been implicated in spying on large numbers of peoples' telephone answering machines) are allowed to buy the internet after they already bought the people's airwaves. I am hoping that working people and the middle classes know that there are corporations that would buy and sell them if they could (some 2,000 large corporations account for half of the US GDP of about $16 trillion annually, or $8 trillion). I hope environmentalists understand that the Koch brothers' disinformation campaign about climate change, the most serious issue facing humankind, would become a cake walk if they could just pay for the fast-loading sites and refuse to let scientific information appear on them, with science breakthroughs being relegated to pitiful five-minute waits on university YouTube channels.
An era could be coming to an end.
About the Author
Dominic Preziosi is Commonweal's digital editor.
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This is very scary. Unfortunately, the technology is a bit complex, so we can't figure out for ourselves exactly what the unintended consequences will be. But this has been in the works since that 2002 decision. What such an internet system would probably lead to is a semi- Orwellian communications system in which our Big Brother corporations provide our only newpapers and TV news programs, and they will tell us only what they want us to know and they will slant the news towards what they want us to think. Sort of wall-to-wall Fox News.
Moral: when asked on the net to sign petitions going to Congress about this issue, be sure to sign them. Tell your representatives what your opinion is. When they hear from enough of us it sometimes sways their votes.
Another victory for the capitalist monopolizers. I hope there's a technofix for this. Possibly an openmesh concept, where wifi routers could link up and bucket brigade information from one position to another, without a central provider. This could certainly work within a densely populated region. Problem is how to get from city to city. It would be nice to see Verizon go the way of Blockbuster. They deserve corporate death.
As a counterpoint to Coles' disaster-is-looming scenarios (which, I have to say, I do find pretty paranoid), here is former FCC commissioner Robert McDowell in the Wall Street Journal.
the FCC should drop its pursuit of net-neutrality rules altogether. The regulations are a bad idea for many reasons, but especially because they radically depart from—and endanger—the highly successful, nongovernmental, private-sector-led, "multi-stakeholder" process for resolving the Internet's technical challenges. Under this loose structure, engineers, academics and users from all over the world work individually to keep a borderless "network of networks" open and thriving. The flat and dispersed architecture of the Internet defies centralized and top-down control: No government is capable of keeping up with the Web's warp-speed evolution. The nimble multi-stakeholder structure of Internet governance, which enjoyed broad bipartisan and international support during the Clinton and Bush administrations, has made the Internet the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.
As a result of this framework for innovation, Internet usage has penetrated faster than any technology in history. Rapid adoption of Internet-enabled mobile devices is profoundly improving the lives of billions of people, especially in the developing world. It is also helping to change their political expectations as it strengthens the sovereignty of the individual by providing fast and inexpensive access to the world's information. Authoritarian regimes feel threatened by unfettered Internet access. That's why they've embarked on a patient diplomatic strategy to accrue power over its on-ramps
The internet was not desigend for the massive amount of information now circulating, and I have sevral times heard communications engineers worry that it was not sustainable and was bound to break down. I have heard differentiated services (and pricing) proposed as a way to try to prevent those problems. One example: say your child is playing a computer game. You have an accident and need to call 911 on the internet, but you can't, because the game is occupying the entire bandwidth: that's the wrong way to prioritize. Instead of every packet being treated equally, calls to 911 ought to have priority.
The US Pirate Party, in addition to having a cool name, has always made net neutrality one of its central planks. Maybe they were on to something.
If a service provider offered net neutrality as a part of the service, and all the other things were about equal, I would pick them because of it. Unfortunately where I live there is only one high speed provider and that's Charter. They're priced pretty high, but so are the others and they're significantly slower.


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Yoshi's New Island launch trailer showcases both familiar and fresh elementsWritten by: / / 5 Comments
If you're old enough to remember Super Mario World 2 then chances are Nintendo's latest trailer for the upcoming 3DS release Yoshi's New Island will induce a wave of nostalgia thanks to its familiar background music, sound effects and egg-tossing gameplay. The game operates at a slower, more deliberate pace than most platformers and encourages you to explore every possible route through a particular level while using your wits to solve environmental puzzles.
Here's the launch trailer for Yoshi's New Island showcasing some of the game's familiar and fresh elements and modes:
Yoshi's New Island will be released later this week on March 14th in both North America and European territories. Head over here for El33tonline's previous coverage of this colourful 3DS exclusive.
Tags: nintendo, trailer, yoshisnewisland


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I think if you are talking performance like efficiency of HTML generated, speed the page is returned, etc., it doesn't matter which framework you choose. It matters which developers are on the project. You can make a speedy website with either framework, and you can make a horrifically slow website with either framework.
That said, I believe MVC makes you a little more aware of the content you are generating, and the tasks you are performing on the server, and this awareness might make the developers more likely to pay attention to performance, thus resulting in a faster site. But this is a side effect.
I have seen many aps.net web forms suffer from Viewstate bloat which severely affects performance. Using MVC take the problem of Viewstate away which will increase performance - however both web forms and MVC suffer when bad designs or developers are at the helm.
ASP.Net MVC is ASP.Net - they're the same thing. MVC is one set of handlers, WebForms is another or you could even write your own.
In terms of raw performance they'll be exactly the same, deep down ASP.Net is doing the same actions regardless of the handler.
However, in general MVC apps tend to be much quicker. This is because WebForms abstracts away the underlying HTTP model - developers are thinking in terms of components and their events, rather than in terms of HTTP request and response. It hides parts of the web model that are inconvenient, for instance the lack of actual state model is hidden by WebForms having a massive
However all that keeps WebForms apps easy. Desktop developers can build a page, drag in buttons and controls, subscribe their click events and so on using the UI.
MVC deals much more directly with the HTTP pattern, so developers deal in links launching URL actions (which is what the web does), rather than components firing events (which is an abstraction hooked up as the response is processed). You're far less likely to have large hidden form variables and huge scripts added to the page by components, but they also tend (at least at first) to be more work.
So MVC apps are more simple. IMHO that generally means quicker and much more maintainable, but it also means more of a barrier to getting started, especially for desktop devs. They need to understand the request/response model pretty well, there's no decent WYSIWYG UI and they'll spend as much time in Javascript as they do in C#/VB.Net.
All that said nothing matters as much as how good your devs are.
I would say that a site that has a lot of dynamic content based on displaying/editing database content (like StackExchange apps and blogs, etc.) will be a good choice to use MVC, while more advanced applications, where you don't have a simple template for how things will look, but has many buttons that will cause anything strange to happen... well morle like a desktop application than a web site, you will rather use asp.net