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(OK, so maybe it doesn't quite work as a nod to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", but hopefully you got the idea.)
Once again the cheerful chaps at Badger GP have sprung some big screen Formula 1 goodness to end the 2012 season.
This weekend will see the irreverent badgers play host to up to 100 fans at the Roxy Bar and Screen near London Bridge, as the penultimate Grand Prix of the season plays out at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Not only will fans get to see the race in glorious high definition on a rather large screen, there will also be a post-race quiz with prizes for the top three teams, followed by a raffle and a forum.
Prizes consist of products from Band and Olufsen, Mercedes, Caterham, Red Bull Racing, Pirelli, Marussia, Octane Photos and Retro F1 amongst others…
Doors open from 3.30pm this Sunday (November 18th) with the event proper commencing at 4pm. Tickets are £8.50 and are available from this site; however should you buy up tickets for the US GP, you'll be sent a discount for the screening of the Brazilian Grand Prix, which takes place the following Sunday.
A second projector screen displaying live timing and tweets from the world of F1 will also be running throughout the event. Free WiFi is also available at the venue.
Get your tickets from this site: f1-usa.eventbrite.co.uk.


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I'm bursting with joy to tell you that our baby girl, Adriana, arrived Sunday September 21st at 1:34pm, weighing 7 pounds and 20 inches in length. She decided to arrive 1 day before her due date – fooling her mama entirely because by that point I was convinced she was coming a week late. Not long after I published my 39 week post on Saturday, I started going into early labour (I just didn't know that's what it was at the time!).
I never knew life could be so crazy happy (or crazy challenging, for that matter). It's like we've known her all our lives. I'm not normally a person who relaxes a great deal, but she's shown me how to live in the moment and enjoy the right now. I feel like my life has a new sense of meaning and purpose and I'm really excited to get to know her a bit more every day. One thing is for sure, she has a great dad and looks so much like him. I can't get over the hilarious facial expressions she makes. We have laughed so much in the 4 short days we've known her.
Ok, Adriana says it's feeding time once again! Back to it.
ps – I'm thinking about sharing our birth story on here, so let me know if that is something you'd be interested in.
Thank you for all your love and support!!

subset: commoncrawl


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Library Search
The NRFC Library is a collection of materials to build a knowledge base around fathers, fatherhood, and operating a Responsible Fatherhood program. It also houses all resources created by the NRFC, including fact sheets, PSAs, and past webinars.
Use the search options provided below to find resources that you are interested in.
This webinar highlighted new NRFC resources to promote the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. We provided an overview of the Ad Council's Responsible Fatherhood Campaign Toolkit, which provides access to Public Service Announcements (PSAs…


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I really, really love stuffing and gravy. So much so that I'd be perfectly content with making and consuming only these two dishes on Thanksgiving. Adding a generous dusting of dried rubbed sage during the cooking times here creates an amazing aroma once it hits the heat, and yields a rich and earthy flavor in each savory bite. I drench every inch of the stuffing I can with vegan butter and broth to produce a decadent and doughy stuffing, which pairs perfectly with this mushroom-packed and wine-kissed gravy.
Year after year for Thanksgiving, I make these two dishes without really paying attention to measurements. So when I decided to put them on the blog this year, it was a bit of a challenge to replicate them, simply because I had to stop and record each step with a timer and/or measuring device while I was making it, instead of just eyeballing, guessing and going by instinct—so the ingredients and method below are more of a guide than a recipe set in stone.Print
- Yield: 6-8 servings
for the gravy
- 1 TB Earth Balance
- 3/4 cup minced shallots
- 1 TB garlic, minced
- a few dashes of salt and black pepper
- 2 tsp dried rubbed sage, divided
- 1 1/2 cups bella or crimini mushrooms, roughly minced
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups Imagine brand No-Chicken broth
- 1 TB arrowroot powder, blended with 3 TB cold water
- 1 TB nutritional yeast (optional)
for the stuffing
- 2 loaves of cheap, white sandwich bread, sliced and diced, and spread out on cookie sheets to dry out overnight
- 2 TB olive oil
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3–4 tsp dried rubbed sage
- 1–2 cups Earth Balance, melted
- 3–4 cups Imagine brand No-Chicken broth
- salt and pepper
for the gravy
- Heat the Earth Balance over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add in the shallots and saute for a minute or two. Add in the garlic and saute for a minute more. Add in the salt and pepper, then 1 tsp of the dried sage. Stir well to combine.
- Add in the mushrooms and stir to coat. Saute for 2 minutes, then add in the tablespoon of olive oil and remaining 1 tsp of the dried sage. Allow to saute for 5-6 minutes, then increase the heat to high. Once it starts to sizzle, add in the white wine to deglaze the pan and allow to simmer for an additional minute or two.
- Now, add in the broth, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the arrowroot/cold water mixture, and stir until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and add in the nooch, if desired.
- Transfer immediately to a small crockpot and set to warm. Serve directly from the crockpot during dinner.
for the stuffing
- A note about the stuffing: I drizzle the stuffing with as much vegan butter as I can. In fact, I make sure that every single piece is coated with it, then drizzled and replenished with rich broth at a few intervals throughout the cooking time. If this isn't your thing, just cut back on the ratios and you'll still have a fabulous-tasting stuffing! If you don't have enough oven space or want to simplify your cooking to-do list on Thanksgiving day, you can also just throw the stuffing into a crockpot for 4-6 hours. Just use a shallow, wide crockpot instead of the thin, high kind, so the stuffing doesn't get squashed during cooking time.
to bake the stuffing in the oven
- Preheat your oven to 350. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add in the chopped onion and saute for 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of the dried sage and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Place the cubed bread into an extra-large tray (I use something like this). Sprinkle the onion evenly over the top. Now drizzle about half of the melted Earth Balance over the top. Using your hands, stir the bread cubes around to coat, then add more as needed.
- Next, drizzle two cups of the broth over the top. Distribute again with your hands, then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and stir again. Add 1 to 1 1/2 more cups of broth, stir and place back into the oven, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes more, stirring halfway through baking time. Remove from the oven, stir well, then place the foil back over the top until ready to serve.
to bake the stuffing in a crockpot
- You can also make this in a large oval crockpot. Saute the onions as instructed above, then add the bread to the crockpot, two cups at a time, drizzling with vegan butter and broth so all of the pieces are well-coated. Repeat until the crockpot is filled. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, replenishing with splashes of broth here and there as needed.


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Skip to comments.American Islamist Groups Shape Arab Revolutions
Posted on 07/31/2012 8:55:16 AM PDT by bayouranger
Illustrating that the jihadist enterprise transcends all borders, American Islamist groups typically preoccupied with remaking the U.S. have been leaving their fingerprints on the campaign to exchange secular authoritarianism for religious authoritarianism in the Middle East. As these organizations labor stateside to nudge the governing class to embrace Arab Islamists at the expense of liberals prompting Egyptian intellectual Essam Abdallah to lament that "the most dramatic oppression of the region's civil societies and the Arab Spring is led by the powerful Islamist lobbies in Washington" several of the groups' past and current officials have emerged as key players in the Middle East's new political landscape. The connections underscore that Islamists everywhere are united by a single goal: the imposition of Shari'a.
One of the prominent figures to embody these ties is Bassem Khafagi, who in March announced his intention to run for president of Egypt on behalf of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to resurrect the caliphate and achieve "mastership of the world." He failed to get the nod, but his back story is intriguing nonetheless. Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer has pointed out that Khafagi once worked for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and is among its most notorious alumni. While serving as CAIR's community affairs director, Khafagi was arrested in 2003 as part of a terrorism support and recruitment probe targeting the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA), of which he was a founder. The government deported Khafagi after he pleaded guilty to bank and visa fraud.
Khafagi's election platform was the essence of Islamism: "complete the implementation of Islamic law in Egypt." He also remarked that he "never loved" America, an "infidel country" that "constitutes a criminal element in this world." Moreover, Khafagi boasted about being "the first to expose the notion of 'moderate Islam,' which is used as a means to canonize a 'non-Islamic Islam.' This 'moderation' means violation [of the laws] of Islam." Khafagi's views help explain his attraction to CAIR, with its Muslim Brotherhood origins, promotion of Islamic rule, criticism of America, and links to terrorism, especially through its status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the successful trial of the Hamas-funding Holy Land Foundation (HLF). Indeed, his words would be an embarrassment for CAIR if the mainstream media deigned to notice. Though Khafagi has faded from the spotlight for now, there is no telling what impact he could have on Egypt's undoubtedly turbulent future.
Tentacles from American Islamist organizations also reach into the Syrian National Council (SNC), the U.S.-favored civilian umbrella group opposing dictator Bashar al-Assad. The SNC is widely understood to be stacked with Islamists, so these radicals fit right in.
Heading the roster is Louay Safi, a central figure in the SNC and increasingly its public face. Safi may be most familiar, however, as a longtime official with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), serving as executive director of the ISNA Leadership Development Center from 2004 to 2008 and becoming ISNA's director of communications and leadership development in 2009. A document composed by the Brotherhood lists ISNA as one of "our organizations and the organizations of our friends" that can advance the "grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within." Like CAIR, it was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF case. Safi's résumé also includes past senior positions with the Virginia-based International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), which has been the focus of investigations into terror funding, and the D.C.-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), which reformist Muslims have dubbed "a front for some of the most obnoxious members of the 'Wahhabi lobby' in America."
An excellent Dallas Morning News piece, published amid the controversy over Safi's training of U.S. military personnel at Fort Hood, compiles further evidence of his radicalism. For example, Safi was an unindicted co-conspirator in the prosecution of Sami al-Arian, the professor who pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiring to aid Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Al-Arian's think tank reportedly received considerable funding from IIIT, where Safi was executive director and later research director. The FBI intercepted a 1995 conversation between Safi and al-Arian in which they discussed whether an executive order banning financial transactions with terrorists would inhibit al-Arian's work with PIJ. In the course of the call, Safi agreed with al-Arian that "Zionists" were controlling Washington.
Equally troubling are Safi's musings on the Shari'a-mandated execution of those who leave Islam. On the one hand, during the international uproar over charges levied against Afghan convert Abdul Rahman in 2006, Safi wrote an article voicing platitudes about individual religious liberty under Islam while laughably blaming Western imperialism for the barbaric apostasy laws in various Muslim countries, where converts can face penalties that include death. Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes described himself as "surprised, even wondrous, at the lack of shame." On the other hand, a monograph published by Safi a few years earlier, when there was much less media scrutiny of the subject, takes a harder line, concluding that although "a quiet desertion of personal Islamic duties is not a sufficient reason for inflicting death on a person," execution is "just punishment" if "the individual's desertion of Islam is used as a political tool for instigating a state of disorder, or revolting against the law of Islam." Along with the rest of his radical history, these contradictory pronouncements standard fare whenever Islamists address the public on uncomfortable matters should cast doubt on any claims made by Safi, particularly his soothing assurances that Syria's future will be characterized by "equal rights and freedoms of all people."
CAIR has its own man in the SNC: Yaser Tabbara, a founding member of the Syrian resistance group. After helping launch CAIR's Chicago office, Tabbara served as its executive director until 2006; he currently sits on its board. Tabbara's time at the helm of CAIR-Chicago was marked by multiple controversies. He played a major role in the successful drive to get Thomas Klocek dismissed from his post as an adjunct professor at DePaul University, following an out-of-classroom argument in which Klocek defended Israel against the smears of pro-Palestinian students. Tabbara also led CAIR-Chicago's efforts to circle the Islamist wagons when the family of an American teenager murdered by Hamas sued U.S. charities believed to fund such terrorists. He called the trial a "lynching and a mockery of justice," but a jury awarded the plaintiffs $156 million. Around the same period, the FBI accused CAIR-Chicago of having "compromised or impeded" an investigation into an alleged hate crime by ignoring the bureau's request not to issue a premature press release about it.
Yet another important SNC member is Najib Ghadbian, a University of Arkansas professor who recently sat on the CSID board. Ghadbian's 1997 book classifies Muslim Brotherhood theorists, including Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, as "moderate" Islamists who favor democracy, inspiring Daniel Pipes to observe that "there are no 'moderate' Islamists, only deluded analysts who try to convince of their existence." As the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report notes, Ghadbian has long advocated that the U.S. government reach out to Syria's Brotherhood, desiring it to have a place at the post-Assad table. Wielding significant influence these days as part of the SNC's inner circle, Ghadbian was among its representatives at a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva last December. Three months prior, he spoke at an Anaheim town hall beside a State Department official; the event was endorsed by CAIR and hosted by the Syrian American Council (SAC), in which both Safi and Tabbara have held leadership positions.
As the above individuals and probably others affiliated with American Islamist groups toil on the front lines of Middle Eastern conflicts, the organizations themselves are working domestically to legitimize and bolster the ascendant radicals of the Arab world. From one revolution to the next, they have demanded and cheered the overthrow of secular autocrats, cried out for Islamists to be included in the subsequent political processes, and celebrated when those Islamists have attained some degree of power.
Take Egypt. While CAIR-Chicago's Ahmed Rehab was in Tahrir Square last year protesting for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad was on Iranian-controlled television calling for the same. Once Mubarak fell, American Islamist groups hailed his departure with talk of liberty. Yet as a statement from another Islamist organization, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), made clear, "freedom" apparently would require the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood whose dream of ruling by Shari'a is the antithesis of freedom. "We urge President Obama and his administration to facilitate and support a representative government with full representation of key opposition groups," ICNA declared. "As Mohamed ElBaradei notes, this representation must extend to the Muslim Brotherhood." When Islamist Mohamed Morsi was named the winner of Egypt's recent presidential election, CAIR could hardly contain its glee. "We congratulate the Egyptian people and their new president on this great achievement in Egypt's struggle for freedom," Awad said, while CAIR-New York board member Lamis Deek lauded what she sees as the country's liberation from America's "proxy-imperialist (colonialist) wrath."
Islamist groups also have rolled out the red carpet for Arab radicals during their frequent propaganda trips to the U.S. Rachid Ghannouchi, the ideological brain of the Ennahda Party that was victorious in Tunisia's post-revolutionary October election, has been especially well feted. The Islamists of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) hosted a dinner for Ghannouchi in Washington last November, advertising him as "one of the most important figures in modern Islamic political thought and theory." According to an MPAC account, he "discussed the beauty of democratic principles being able to uplift and promote religious freedom and practice for all." Of course, there was no mention of his previous comments blessing the mothers of suicide bombers, predicting Israel's demise, and referring to Hamas-led Gaza as "the model of freedom today." Next up for Ghannouchi: speaking at ISNA's convention this summer.
Other Islamists have enjoyed comparable treatment. CSID held a debate involving Hamadi Jebali, Ennahda's secretary general and now Tunisia's prime minister, in May 2011. Following the election, Jebali proclaimed, "We are in the sixth caliphate, God willing," and promised the conquest of Jerusalem. Undeterred, IIIT and CSID collaborated on a panel discussion with Tunisian Islamist leaders in May 2012. MPAC had planned a similar dialogue with an FJP delegation this past April, but it was canceled.
By championing Arab Islamists as legitimate voices and partners, these supposedly "moderate" Muslim organizations strive to make them palatable to Washington and the public at large. Simultaneously, in the words of Essam Abdallah, they are "waging political and media wars on the liberal Arabs and Middle Eastern figures and groups in America," so as to marginalize competing viewpoints. Given the Obama administration's increasingly enthusiastic engagement with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and the recent report that an Egyptian parliamentarian visited the White House despite his membership in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, a terrorist entity, Islamists must be glowing with satisfaction. Policies match their objectives to such a degree that five congressmen have asked for investigations into the influence of suspected Brotherhood sympathizers inside the federal government a perfectly reasonable request, considering the stakes.
The Muslim Brotherhood directly or indirectly gave life to many of the Islamist groups spearheading the "grand jihad" to reshape America. Thus, it is natural to see those organizations aiding the Brotherhood and its ideological allies in the effort to build a new Middle East based not on freedom, but on the tyranny of radical Islam. Nor should their officials' emergence as leaders in Arab revolutionary movements be surprising. Just as violent Islamists flock to the sites of military jihad worldwide, nonviolent Islamists gravitate to political crisis zones where more subtle skills can contribute to the victory of Shari'a.
Unfortunately, the rise of Middle Eastern Islamists will only embolden their brethren in the U.S., particularly if CAIR, ISNA, and others play a role in Arab developments. There is, however, a potential silver lining. Past experience demonstrates that when Islamists take the reins of a nation, it inevitably succumbs to political, economic, and social decay that is impossible to conceal. If America's Islamists wish to stamp their names on these approaching Arab calamities, so be it. The disasters will open more eyes to the ultimate trajectory of their plans for the United States, thus improving our chances of defeating them.
David J. Rusin is a research fellow at Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.
Interesting that we have a complicit President. Does our government not see this?
bump for later
The White House Islamist group is shaping the Arab uprisings. This is new?
In a sane country, members of CAIR would have been treated like members of the German-American Bund in 1942. Instead that twit Bush, followed the advice of Grover al Norquist and legitimized them and other Islamist groups right after 9/11. It wasn't the Obama regime that called Anwar al Awlaki a moderate and invited him to the Pentagon, it was Bush.
Someone should sit down and do a 1 page Analyst Notebook Link chart — it would be damning to "somebody's" re-election campaign!
I keep telling people - they have a plan and are moving straight forward. They brag about it - don't hide it - and yet the vast majority don't care. I think it's over alot of people's head - and they just don't take the time to learn about this threat.
Of course, once you do - it's like overusing fiber! Every morning something big comes out!!!
Another interesting article about Free Speech:
Seems that only Islam is being targeted for their beliefs...all the violence being conducted against a religion is that of Islam...I guess Moslems never attack anyone for their beliefs....geez....
Rep. Trent Frank (R-AZ) is on the wall for sure.
Check out this press release:
Consequently, in spite of the din of politically correct voices urging us all to look the other way, I cannot retreat one inch from pushing back on Muslim Brotherhood influence inside the United States Government.
This is a start.
It's not just the M/B - it's Islam at it's very core.
This threat has been emerging and has escalated after oil was discovered in the M/E.
This is the time to halt it's advancement - waiting will only cause further damage and lost of life. This was their choice - they choose to be this way - and we now need to respond to this encroaching evil!
Great link — I shared it with everyone I know through Google +.
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Great Controversy
Acts of the Apostles
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Illustration ©
Pacific Press Publ. Assoc.
In the second letter addressed by Peter to those who had
obtained "like precious faith" with himself, the apostle sets forth
the divine plan for the development of Christian character. He writes: {AA 529.1}
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust. {AA
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and
abound, [530]
they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ." {AA 529.3}
These words are full of instruction, and strike the keynote
of victory. The apostle presents before the believers the ladder of Christian
progress, every step of which represents advancement in the knowledge of God,
and in the climbing of which there is to be no standstill. Faith, virtue,
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are
the rounds of the ladder. We are saved by climbing round after round, mounting
step after step, to the height of Christ's ideal for us. Thus He is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. {AA 530.1}
God has called His people to glory and virtue, and these
will be manifest in the lives of all who are truly connected with Him. Having
become partakers of the heavenly gift, they are to go on unto perfection, being
"kept by the power of God through faith." 1 Peter 1:5. It is the
glory of God to give His virtue to His children. He desires to see men and
women reaching the highest standard; and when by faith they lay hold of the
power of Christ, when they plead His unfailing promises, and claim them as
their own, when with an importunity that will not be denied they seek for the
power of the Holy Spirit, they will be made complete in Him. {AA 530.2}
Having received the faith of the gospel, the next work of
the believer is to add to his character virtue, and thus cleanse the heart and
prepare the mind for the reception of the knowledge of God. This knowledge is
the foundation [531] of all true education and of all
true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation; and it is this
alone that can make one like God in character. Through the knowledge of God and
of His Son Jesus Christ, are given to the believer "all things that
pertain unto life and godliness." No good gift is withheld from him who
sincerely desires to obtain the righteousness of God. {AA 530.3}
"This is life eternal," Christ said, "that
they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast
sent." John 17:3. And the prophet Jeremiah declared: "Let not the
wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise
loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things
I delight, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23, 24. Scarcely can the human mind
comprehend the breadth and depth and height of the spiritual attainments of him
who gains this knowledge. {AA
None need fail of attaining, in his sphere, to perfection of
Christian character. By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for
the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God
calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection and places before us the
example of Christ's character. In His humanity, perfected by a life of constant
resistance of evil, the Saviour showed that through co-operation with Divinity,
human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character. This is God's
assurance to us that we, too, may obtain complete victory. [532] {AA 531.2}
Before the believer is held out the wonderful possibility of
being like Christ, obedient to all the principles of the law. But of himself
man is utterly unable to reach this condition. The holiness that God's word
declares he must have before he can be saved is the result of the working of
divine grace as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining
influences of the Spirit of truth. Man's obedience can be made perfect only by
the incense of Christ's righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every
act of obedience. The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every
fault. Constantly he is to pray to the Saviour to heal the disorders of his
sin-sick soul. He has not the wisdom or the strength to overcome; these belong
to the Lord, and He bestows them on those who in humiliation and contrition
seek Him for help. {AA
The work of transformation from unholiness to holiness is a
continuous one. Day by day God labors for man's sanctification, and man is to
co-operate with Him, putting forth persevering efforts in the cultivation of
right habits. He is to add grace to grace; and as he thus works on the plan of
addition, God works for him on the plan of multiplication. Our Saviour is
always ready to hear and answer the prayer of the contrite heart, and grace and
peace are multiplied to His faithful ones. Gladly He grants them the blessings
they need in their struggle against the evils that beset them. {AA 532.2}
There are those who attempt to ascend the ladder of
Christian progress; but as they advance they begin to put their trust in the
power of man, and soon lose sight of Jesus, [533] the
Author and Finisher of their faith. The result is failure—the loss of
all that has been gained. Sad indeed is the condition of those who, becoming
weary of the way, allow the enemy of souls to rob them of the Christian graces
that have been developing in their hearts and lives. "He that lacketh
these things," declares the apostle, "is blind, and cannot see afar
off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." {AA 532.3}
The apostle Peter had had a long experience in the things of
God. His faith in God's power to save had strengthened with the years, until he
had proved beyond question that there is no possibility of failure before the
one who, advancing by faith, ascends round by round, ever upward and onward, to
the topmost round of the ladder that reaches even to the portals of heaven. {AA 533.1}
For many years Peter had been urging upon the believers the
necessity of a constant growth in grace and in a knowledge of the truth; and
now, knowing that soon he would be called to suffer martyrdom for his faith, he
once more drew attention to the precious privileges within the reach of every
believer. In the full assurance of his faith the aged disciple exhorted his
brethren to steadfastness of purpose in the Christian life. "Give
diligence," he pleaded, "to make your calling and election sure: for
if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ." Precious assurance! Glorious is the hope before the
believer as he advances by faith toward the heights of Christian perfection! [534]
"I will not be negligent," the apostle continued,
"to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them,
and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am
in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that
shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath
showed me. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to
have these things always in remembrance." {AA 534.1}
The apostle was well qualified to speak of the purposes of
God concerning the human race; for during the earthly ministry of Christ he had
seen and heard much that pertained to the kingdom of God. "We have not
followed cunningly devised fables," he reminded the believers, "when
we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and
glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven
we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount." {AA 534.2}
Yet convincing as was this evidence of the certainty of the
believers' hope, there was another still more convincing in the witness of
prophecy, through which the faith of all might be confirmed and securely
anchored. "We have also," Peter declared, "a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise [535] in
your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any
private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." {AA 534.3}
While exalting the "sure word of prophecy" as a
safe guide in times of peril, the apostle solemnly warned the church against
the torch of false prophecy, which would be uplifted by "false
teachers," who would privily bring in "damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord." These false teachers, arising in the church and
accounted true by many of their brethren in the faith, the apostle compared to
"wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the
mist of darkness is reserved forever." "The latter end is worse with
them," he declared, "than the beginning. For it had been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known
it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." {AA 535.1}
Looking down through the ages to the close of time, Peter
was inspired to outline conditions that would exist in the world just prior to
the second coming of Christ. "There shall come in the last days
scoffers," he wrote, "walking after their own lusts, and saying,
Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." But
"when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh
upon them." 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Not all, however, would be ensnared by
the enemy's devices. As the end of all things earthly should approach, there [536]
would be faithful ones able to discern the signs of the times. While a large
number of professing believers would deny their faith by their works, there
would be a remnant who would endure to the end. {AA 535.2}
Peter kept alive in his heart the hope of Christ's return,
and he assured the church of the certain fulfillment of the Saviour's promise,
"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto Myself." John 14:3. To the tried and faithful ones the coming might
seem long delayed, but the apostle assured them: "The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to
usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned
up. {AA 536.1}
"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. {AA 536.2}
"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and
blameless. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even
as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written [537]
unto you. . . . Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things
before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall
from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." {AA 536.3}
In the providence of God, Peter was permitted to close his
ministry in Rome, where his imprisonment was ordered by the emperor Nero about
the time of Paul's final arrest. Thus the two veteran apostles, who for many
years had been widely separated in their labors, were to bear their last
witness for Christ in the world's metropolis, and upon its soil to shed their
blood as the seed of a vast harvest of saints and martyrs. {AA 537.1}
Since his reinstatement after his denial of Christ, Peter
had unflinchingly braved danger and had shown a noble courage in preaching a
crucified, risen, and ascended Saviour. As he lay in his cell he called to mind
the words that Christ had spoken to him: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou
wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and
another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." John
21:18. Thus Jesus had made known to the disciple the very manner of his death,
and even foretold the stretching of his hands upon the cross. {AA 537.2}
Peter, as a Jew and a foreigner, was condemned to be
scourged and crucified. In prospect of this fearful death, the apostle
remembered his great sin in denying Jesus in the hour of His trial. Once so
unready to acknowledge the [538] cross, he now counted it a joy
to yield up his life for the gospel, feeling only that, for him who had denied
his Lord, to die in the same manner as his Master died was too great an honor.
Peter had sincerely repented of that sin and had been forgiven by Christ, as is
shown by the high commission given him to feed the sheep and lambs of the
flock. But he could never forgive himself. Not even the thought of the agonies
of the last terrible scene could lessen the bitterness of his sorrow and
repentance. As a last favor he entreated his executioners that he might be
nailed to the cross with his head downward. The request was granted, and in
this manner died the great apostle Peter. {AA 537.3}
Site published byAdventWeb


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A MacFixIt reader had a very interesting email exchange from Psystar's support, who told him that they don't want customers installing Leopard themselves. Here's the quote from the support team:
We absolutely do not support customers attempting to install the Leopard operating system on our Open Computer themselves. This is due to a difficult process that we go through to get Leopard to function on our computers. We encourage you to purchase an open computer, and select the option to have Leopard Pre-installed. Currently, (shipping the computer back to us) is the only option available. If the HDD dies, you can ship it to us for $50 plus shipping, so we can replace it for you.
If we look at the only viable way to install a Leopard on a vanilla OS X machine right now, which is using a hacked version of the OS, this decision makes sense. Psystar can't very well distribute hacked versions of Leopard with every computer. The most they can do is give out copies of the real Leopard, which is uninstallable as-is. But that's not what they said before.
Back when we first heard about them, they claimed this:
The highly extensible OpenMac is a configuration of PC hardware capable of running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels. If you purchase Leopard with your OpenMac we will not only include the actual Leopard retail package with genuine installation disc, but we also include a Psystar restore disc for your OpenMac and we will preinstall Leopard for free so you can begin to use your computer right out of the box.
What happened here? Are they still going to include a restore disc? If so, that might run afoul of Apple and/or the guys who came up with the hacking method in the first place. If you're going to have to mail your hard drive in every time there's a problem, this might be too much trouble for the money you save. [Macfixit]


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Are you a bourbon connoisseur and enjoy attending exclusive Bourbon events? If so, you may need to know the secret knock. Some distilleries have created special programs for their loyal customers and avid bourbon drinkers, but may not make them well known. These Bourbon Societies offer exclusive benefits to those who are in the know. If you want to receive invitations to private events, tastings, and tours as well as some occasional free swag, you should join some of these free clubs.
Heaven Hill's Bardstown Bourbon Society
The Four Roses Mellow Moments Club
Wild Turkey Rare Breed Society
The following societies have been organized by individuals and are not sponsored by any one distillery They may also charge a fee to become a member or participate in events. They offer discussions, meetings and tastings with fellow enthusiasts. Some are online forums that allow you to connect with others that share the same interests as you in Bourbon. There may be other small and regional clubs that promote a sense of community within the Bourbon world. Also check out the Events Calendar for more details about specific events. Let us know if you know of any clubs that have been left out or would like your event added to the calendar.


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Expert's Rating
- Lets you buy and download e-books wirelessly
- Improved screen text, and a slimmer profile
- Joystick nav and buttons are stiff and awkward
- Need to use menu to disable wireless
At half the thickness of Amazon's first e-book reader, the Amazon Kindle 2 ($359 as of March 5, 2009) is pretty inviting–it's a, sleek, curved tablet that you can easily hold in your hands. But while Amazon has made some successful enhancements to its e-book reader, other tweaks fall flat or miss the mark entirely. And the company has done little to advance the gadget beyond its single trick: reading digital books.
In the e-book universe, the Kindle retains a significant edge. Offering built-in Sprint 3G wireless (at no extra cost to users) and tight integration with Amazon's shopping engine, the Kindle handheld delivers a cohesive reading and shopping experience (even the Kindle for iPhone application doesn't allow you to shop within the app itself). Its nearest competitor, Sony's PRS-700 Reader, can't come close: Amazon's library of Kindle e-books, all available for immediate delivery, gives new meaning to the concept of instant gratification.
I have to admit, however, that the Kindle 2 is disappointing in some ways. Yes, the polished new design looks great, as does the new screen. And yes, the redesigned paging buttons correct some issues that hampered the first-gen model. But I had hoped for more from the second-gen Kindle. I was annoyed to find that the Web browser remains a "beta" buried under the Experimental menu option–along with MP3 playback and the new, highly touted text-to-speech feature. Equally as frustrating: You still have to e-mail documents and PDFs to yourself at your personal Kindle e-mail address for the files to be readable on the device, even though you can directly transfer files to the Kindle 2 via USB.
Now, on to what the Kindle continues to do right. The first-generation Kindle weighed 10.3 ounces and offered a paperlike E-Ink display that keeps eyestrain at bay (as compared with the backlit displays of cell phones and other mobile devices). The first Kindle was readable in sunlight; it also had long battery life and allowed you to look up words on the fly, as well as to take notes and highlight passages at will.
The Kindle 2 retains all of those capabilities, in a slimmer form (it's 0.36 inch thick). I appreciated the thinner profile: In my tests with the device, it felt easier to hold, especially one-handed. And the slim form made it easier to pack alongside my ultraportable laptop and other devices in my gear bag. At just 10.2 ounces, the device's weight is virtually the same as before.
The Kindle 2's screen is the same size as the first Kindle's–6 inches, with 600 by 800 resolution–but its refreshed E-Ink technology provides 16 shades of gray, as opposed to the original Kindle's 4 shades of gray.
When I compared the two screens under ambient lighting, side by side with identical content, I saw a distinct difference. I found text on the Kindle 2 slightly finer; letterforms appeared crisp, with less ink-like bleed-in to the virtual page than with the first Kindle. The real difference was evident in images, which had far greater gradations. Another observation: Before, the background of the screen seemed to have a slight texture, almost like newspaper, but now the surface is completely smooth.
Amazon says that the new screen technology boasts a faster refresh rate. In my tests, though, I couldn't verify the company's claim that the Kindle 2 turns pages 20 percent faster than the original Kindle does. Whenever I pressed the Next button on both units simultaneously, the Kindle 2 redrew the page a shade faster than the Kindle 1 did, but the difference was tough to detect–in fact, the Kindle 2's screen tended to frustrate me, often flickering a few times after I changed screens.
The faster refresh allows you to navigate the screen in real time, at least. The earlier Kindle had a column to the right of the screen, with a sliver of silver denoting which line you were about to select. Now, the E-Ink screen technology is speedy enough to enable the joystick to move through options directly on the display, highlighting your selection as you go along–a huge improvement.
The unit's sleek design is only one component of the Kindle's new look. The power switch has moved to a more convenient location at the top (previously it was on the back–an awful place for a power switch). The volume buttons are no longer positioned awkwardly on the bottom of the device; instead, a rocker switch sits on the right spine. Unfortunately, the handy wireless-off switch, which was also on the back of the first Kindle, is gone entirely; now you must turn off the wireless radio in the Home menu (annoying for us frequent flyers who will need to do so far too often).
The navigation keys have been completely redone. At the left are Previous and Next buttons, with the former half the length of the latter; at the right are a Home button and another Next button. The new buttons depress inward, toward the screen–unlike the Kindle 1's buttons, which pressed outward (and made turning the page inadvertently too easy). Regrettably, over time I found the new buttons to be a mixed bag. For one thing, their mechanism had a fair amount of resistance and required a firm press. And while the right side's Next button ran the length of my thumb and was comfortably situated in relation to where my hand rested while holding the device at its midsection, my hand tired more quickly on this device than it did with the Kindle 1, particularly because I had to hover my finger in a specific place just to turn the page.
On top of that, the more I used the Kindle 2, the more I disliked the new, stumpy five-way navigation joystick. It was stiff to maneuver, and its location was awkward relative to where my hand fell for the paging buttons. The scroll wheel of the first Kindle moved much more smoothly, and I've used other joystick designs that operate more cleanly than the one on the Kindle 2 does.
The completely redesigned keyboard more closely resembles what you'd see on a cell phone with a QWERTY layout. I found the circular keys easy to press and incredibly handy. In my testing, the closer spacing worked better than the angled spacing and more-rectangular shape of the Kindle 1's keys.
One addition is text-to-speech capability. This feature, powered by technology from Nuance (makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking) and accessible either via a menu option or a keyboard shortcut, offers two digital voices–Tom and Samantha–and up to 3X reading speed, in case you're fast-forwarding. The voices are clearly computerized but tolerable; I could see using the feature in a pinch, such as if you're following a recipe or in need of being lulled to sleep. Your opportunities to use it may be limited, however: After the Kindle 2 launch, Amazon announced that it would allow publishers to control the use of text-to-speech.
The Kindle 2 powers up from USB–a boon for all of us who hated carrying an extra charger with the original handheld. The micro-USB port at the bottom works not only for power but also for allowing the Kindle 2 to act as a USB mass-storage device, in the event you want to drag and drop files to it. Personally, though, I'd have preferred to see the Kindle 2 get a mini-USB port (so that I could plug in the same cable I use to charge a portable battery pack, or access a portable hard drive or memory card reader).
In lieu of the first-gen device's SD Card slot, the Kindle 2 has 2GB of integrated storage. Per Amazon's estimates, a typical audiobook ranges from 40MB to 80MB, but a typical Kindle e-book ranges from 700KB to 800KB. Amazon claims that the Kindle 2 will hold over 1500 e-books. Your selections are stored on Amazon's servers, so if you ever have to erase something to free up space on the unit, you can redownload e-books later as needed. You can also synchronize e-books you've purchased with mobile devices, such as via the Kindle for iPhone app.
You don't get a case in the package anymore. Instead, the Kindle 2 has two holes on its right edge that allow the unit to snap into any of a selection of third-party cases. The design effectively creates a hinge, which makes handling the encased Kindle 2 easy. Amazon's no-frills leather case will sell for about $30.
In the end, Amazon will need to do more with the next version to make waves. But even with its flaws and foibles, the Kindle 2 is a good reader's companion, as evidenced by its tenacious grip on a spot in our Top 5 E-Book Readers chart despite a wave of newer challengers.


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Google I/O 2010
Part 5: Android 2.2 "Froyo"
While Day 1 of the Google I/O 2010 conference touched on a number of topics, Day 2 focused on just two subjects. But they are both big deals. The first, Android 2.2--codenamed "Froyo"--is a major update to Google's smart phone platform, one that is already outselling Apple's supposedly unassailable iPhone in the US, and will surpass the iPhone worldwide by the end of 2010 or early 2011. Important? You bet.
Google vice president Vic Gundotra opened the keynote with some awkward talk about a party the night before, but thankfully quickly moved to the meat of the presentation. He spoke of meeting smart phone pioneer Andy Rubin on his first day at Google; Rubin, of course, founded Danger, later acquired by Microsoft, and then Android, which was acquired by Google to form the basis for that company's smart phone product line. Gundotra says that he didn't get it, why was Google creating yet another smart phone platform? Google, he said quite correctly, was about advertising. (And I'm amazed he said this so plainly, given how the company prefers to play up its other, unprofitable but more interesting projects.) Shouldn't Google, he asked Rubin, just be on every phone?
Variety is the spice of life
Rubin's response was interesting. He told Gundotra that a free, open smart phone operating system would enable innovation at every level of the stack. Partners would be free to build all kinds of devices, "with keyboards, without keyboards, with front-facing cameras, two inches, three inches, four inches." Mobile operators would be "free to compete on the strength and coverage of their network, 2G, 3G, 4G, LTP, CDMA," whatever. With innovation "coming at every layer," the consumer would benefit by being able to get the best device on the best network for them.
We should step back for one moment here to note that this is exactly the strategy that Microsoft pursued with Windows Mobile. And while Windows Mobile did in fact win the battle it was designed to fight--i.e. to wrest market share away from Palm--it was woefully unprepared to meet the next major challenger, Apple. And by the time Apple did show up in this market, Windows Mobile was bifurcated and hobbled by the sheer number of device types, each with their own special properties, including different hardware, different screen types and resolutions, and different software capabilities.
Google is making the same mistake with Android, and by not adhering to more stringent requirements for Android-based hardware, Google is sacrificing control over its future for the benefit of rapid early adoption. The software updating issues that plagued (and ultimately doomed) Windows Mobile are not quite as severe on Android; that said, each Android device is updated independently, and Google can't simply deliver an over-the-air version of the next software update, like version 2.2, that will automatically update all Android devices. This is going to be a problem down the road, methinks, especially as the variety of different Android devices grows.
The only company that can stop Apple
But back to Gundotra's talk. Rubin's second point to him involves an interesting bit of controversy, where Google for the first time offers up publicly some surprisingly aggressive talk about Android's most obvious competitor, Apple and its iPhone. According to Gundotra, if Google didn't "act," it faced a "Draconian future where one man, one company, one carrier, would be [their] only choice." His voice rose as he said these words and laughter in the audience quickly swelled to applause as the people watching this speech realized he was speaking of Steve Jobs, Apple, and AT&T.
And then the poster flashed onstage, with its obvious reference to Apple's own iconic "1984" ad, in which a hammer-wielding athlete attempts to disrupt a speech by Big Brother (IBM) and inform the world that there is an alternative (the Mac). Many have noted that Apple has trampled all over its early idealistic days by becoming the Big Brother of today, with the most closed and inscrutable mobile platform on earth. Google's jab was only the latest in a long series of claims. But it came from Google, once Apple's biggest and friendliest partner. Consider the gauntlet thrown down.
The crowd goes nuts. In fact, I don't think I've heard an audience at a technology talk react in such an exuberant fashion since, well, pick your Apple event of choice.
"That's a future WE DON'T WANT," Gundotra exclaimed. "So if you believe in openness, if you believe in choice, if you believe in innovation from everyone, then welcome to Android."
Some of the less insightful pundits on the web have used this talk to frame the competition in the smart phone market as boiling down to Android vs. iPhone, with a shrinking group of other companies--RIM, Nokia, Microsoft, Palm/HP--being relegated to the side. I don't see it this way at all. I see this more as Android vs. everyone, with Apple and its iPhone being relegated to side show status along with everyone else. In fact, unless Apple seriously ramps up its product line--and the stale iPad UI and iPhone OS 4.0 being introduced this year do not cut it--then it's in trouble. Products like Windows Phone 7 offer far more innovative takes on the future of mobility than any Apple is offering for the foreseeable future. With this week's talk, Google has firmly established itself as the company to beat in the mobile space. And Apple, like other mobile companies, can now only hope to pick up the pieces.
Don't believe me? Ask Apple. When confronted by the fact that Android had outsold iPhone in North America in the first quarter of 2010, Apple's response wasn't to refute the claim--because it's true--but rather to point out that the iPhone installed based was still larger. And that's true, for now. But installed base is the past. Market share--that is, the actually number of units sold in a given time frame--is now. And as of now, the iPhone just suffered its first major setback at the hands of a major competitor which, I should be noted, has virtually unlimited funds, dozens of partners, and products available from every major wireless operator on earth. And when you look at the future, as noted before, Android surpasses iPhone around the world as soon as this very year.
Android momentum
To put this all in perspective, Gundotra moved on to discuss this specifics of Android momentum. In just 18 months, or half the time the iPhone has been in the market, Android has racked up some impressive stats. There are over 60 Android-based devices currently in the market, and as Gundotra pointed out, these companies aren't all Chinese makers of knock-offs. (Well. He actually said "people you haven't heard of," but that's what he meant.) Many of these partners are leading consumer electronics makers, like HTC, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. In all, Android has 21 hardware partners in 48 countries and over 59 wireless operators offering these products.
Of course, just making products available doesn't guarantee success. Fortunately for Google, the adoption rate for Android is nothing short of astounding. Late last year, Google announced that users were activating over 30,000 Android-based devices every single day, a figure that roughly represents daily unit sales. (If anything it's low, as not all Android devices need to be activated with a wireless carrier.) By February 2010, this number had increased to 60,000 units a day. At Google I/O, Gundotra announced that Android activations had reached an astonishing 100,000 units per day. These are the types of numbers that Apple--or any other smart phone OS maker--would kill for. "Go Android," Gundotra cheered.
So Android is now second in smart phone sales, to RIM, in North America, and ahead of Apple. They're ahead of Apple in other ways, too. In total web and app usage, or what we might think of solely as "usage," Android is the number one smart phone platform, ahead of Apple, and well ahead of RIM and WebOS. (This is in the US.) And Android users have navigated over 1 billion miles with the system's turn by turn navigation feature in under 6 months, Gundotra noted.
Steve Jobs said that users don't use web search on mobile phones. "Well, we're a company driven by data, not by opinions," Gundotra said, taking another jab at Apple. "And you know what the data shows? The data shows that we've seen a 5x growth [in mobile search] in the past two years. And that's not just on Android. That's across all smartphone categories." Here, I think, Google is on to something very important. Jobs and Apple have a history of ignoring or downplaying those features or technologies for which they do not have a solution. And since there is no Apple search engine, people don't search the web on their phones, truth be damned.
(Looked at another way, Google makes a search engine and Apple doesn't, so it makes sense to highlight a growth figure that doesn't include actual numbers of searches, or break those down per device. If there were 17 web searches on iPhone in 2008, and 1000 in 2010, that's big growth. But it may not mean anything in the wider scheme of things since the overall search number is small.)
Android is also chipping away at one of Apple's true advantages: the iPhone app store. There are now over 50,000 apps in the Android Market. This compares to 200,000 iPhone/iPod touch apps (and 5,000 iPad apps), but is more favorable than the 4:1 deficit suggests. It's important to remember that Google doesn't need to equal the sheer number of apps in the iPhone app store, it just needs to equal the number of first-tier, high quality apps. And arguably, at this point, they have.
Google also boasts of over 180,000 developers creating software for the Android platform. It would be interesting to compare this figure to the developer numbers for other major platforms like Windows, or for major smart phone competitors, like iPhone. I'm still researching that, however. I suspect accurate numbers are hard to gauge or not reported for a reason.
Android 2.2
One of Android's biggest strengths, I think, is the rapid pace at which new features and functionality have been added to the platform. In this area, Google outdoes even Apple, but I would also point out that it's more important to provide rapid updates when you're starting from scratch, since the first releases are going to have major functional holes. (This is advice I also provide to Microsoft when it comes to Windows Phone 7: It's not enough to just ship this OS in late 2010. The company will need to update, and update often, both to stay relevant and to reassure users that their investment is as important to Microsoft as it is to them.)
How prolific has Google been? It has shipped 7 Android releases in just 18 months, an impressive figure even when you realize it's padded somewhat by a succession of fairly minor updates. This past week, Google announced the next update, Android 2.2, codenamed "Froyo." (Which Gundotra curiously mispronounced as "Froy-oh" for some reason.)
Gundotra revealed several major areas of investment in Android 2.2. These are:
Performance. The Android platform is built on a virtual machine, which seems somewhat anachronistic but which Google claims "future proofs" Android apps. The idea here is that Android will be ported to multiple hardware architectures going forward and that as the OS moves to this new hardware so, too, will your apps. This couldn't happen if Android apps were written in native code. The virtual machine in Android, called Dalvik, has been significantly updated in Android 2.2 with a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, which Google says provides a 2- to 5-times performance boost on the same hardware. Demonstrations ensued, but you get the idea: Android 2.2 is faster.
More enterprise features. It's funny to me that today's most interesting smart phone platforms--iPhone, Android, and, soon, Windows Phone--are all very much consumer devices and yet their makers are also spending a lot of time (too much time?) worrying about business usage as well. The reasoning here, I think, is that consumers want to use their favorite phones at work, and if these devices can find their way into highly managed corporate environments, they will experience a new round of unit sales growth. So iPhone adds Exchange compatibility and, over time, more enterprise features. Android, for whatever it's worth, has been steadily improving its applicability to the workplace since the first release. (It already supports multiple Exchange accounts, for example.) And in 2.2, it's gaining over 20 new enterprise-oriented features, including remote wipe, auto-discovery, global address book lookup and security policy support for Exchange, device administration APIs, and more.
New services for developers. Google has added a number of new services that developers can target in their own application. These include application data backup , cloud-to-device messaging, tethering and portable hot spot support (the former is a curious omission in the current Android release), and more.
The cloud-to-device messaging API provided Gundotra with yet another chance to skewer Apple for the technical limitations its iPhone platform. "Let me be clear here," he said. "The cloud-to-device messaging API is not designed to compensate for the lack of basic functionality like multitasking in the operating system." Cue laughter and applause. (In case you're curious, this API is about pushing whatever you're doing on the PC--looking at a map, reading an article--to your Android mobile device, so you can get up and pick up where you were while on the go.)
And speaking of Apple jabs, the portable hot spot demo provided another chance at a bit of fun at Apple's expense: They used an iPad ("another device that doesn't have connectivity") as an example of a device that "comes with yet another bill" and simply piggybacked off the Android phone's 3G connection. And again, laughter and applause ensued.
(Post-Froyo, Android will also take advantages of emerging HTML 5 technologies like the ability to target hardware device capabilities such as the accelerometer, magnetometer, the camera, and speech. This isn't relevant to the current release, so I won't spend any time on this.)
Gundotra also announced support for the Flash Player 10.1 public beta (and related AIR developer pre-release) in Android, eliciting more applause from a crowd already awash in anti-Apple sentiments. "We are not only committed to having the world's fastest browser, we are also committed to having the world's most comprehensive browser," he said. "It turns out that, on the Internet, people use Flash!" [Laughter] "And part of being opens means you're inclusive rather than exclusive, and you're open to innovation ... It's really nice to work with other people in the ecosystem to meet the needs of users. Much nicer than just saying no." (Cue Steve Jobs facial tic.)
Android Marketplace improvements, including (finally) music support. Google's Android Market is, of course, the Android version of the App Store on the iPhone. It provides a device-centric way to browse and find the available free and commercial apps that are available for the platform, download them over the air, and install them. In 2.2, the marketplace and supporting app infrastructure is being improved dramatically. It's easier to find new apps, search inside of apps, move apps securely to SD card memory (overcoming a major limitation in today's devices), and auto-update apps and update all apps with a single tap. (Today, you must update each application one at a time.) These are all pretty straightforward improvements.
If the Android platform has one major limitation compared to the iPhone--and it does--it is multimedia support. Where the iPhone is supported by the number one digital content store, iTunes, the Android has, well, basically nothing. There's built-in support for the Amazon MP3 store, which is OK. But no real way to do anything sophisticate with digital media between your PC--where this content is currently located--and the device. To address this, somewhat, the Android Marketplace is being augmented to support music as well as apps. (Unlike Apple, which has an "iTunes Store," Google chose a good general name for its own store.)
But Google isn't just adding support for music, it's adding capabilities that simply aren't present on the iPhone. You can browse the store from a PC-based web browser and songs, over the air, directly to your device. And through a recent acquisition of Simplified Media, Google is working on PC-based software that will make all of your locally stored music content available to the device. gTunes? Sounds like it.
In the demo, the PC-based music was streamed to the Android device (another feature iPhone lacks), which is OK. More important, I think, is true downloading and media management. And while there is some basic functionality in Android, Google needs to go further in this area. And it needs to do more around video and pictures too, not just music.
Advertising. Taking a direct stab at Apple's iAd efforts, Gundotra noted that Google knows advertising, has hundreds of thousands of advertisers and is, of course, the biggest advertising platform on the web. I don't think I need to spend a lot of time on this--and I certainly don't want to--but let's just say that Google has tremendous advertising experience. And Apple does not.
Wrapping Up
Finishing up his Android update, Gundotra discussed the HTC EVO, the first 4G phone with a theoretical 10 mbps download speed, which Google provided to all attendees of Google I/O. (I'm trying to remember the last time Apple handed out free devices at one its events. Still trying...) "Thank you for voting on the side of openness and choice," he said. "Please keep building those great apps."
Looking back over the day's announcements, it's hard not to come away with the notion that Google is on to something here with Android. I have doubts about the future bifurcation of this platform, and how it will manage future features that only work on certain classes of devices, an issue that could cause messy problems going forward. But it's pretty clear that Google's "shock and awe" strategy is having an effect. As quickly as Apple rose to prominence in the smart phone market, Google is now eclipsing them and will soon relegate them to also-ran status unless Apple moves very quickly. But Apple, as demonstrated very clearly in its iPad and iPhone OS 4.0 announcements, is in a holding pattern. They're protecting what they have.
This will ultimately help Windows Phone as well. Microsoft is innovating unlike any other company in the mobile space--Google included--with the Metro UI, a UI that will work far better on new form factors (like tablets) than the me-too UIs on Android and iPhone. And it will work better than Palm's WebOS, which is also heading to tablets.
There are other companies to consider--RIM in the US, Nokia worldwide, though I feel that Nokia arguably doesn't even make smart phones by any modern definition--but ultimately I think the smart phone market of the future will come down to four players: Android as the mass market, iPhone as the Mac-like high-end device, RIM for businesses, and Windows Phone for those who are looking for a far more personal experience than is offered anywhere else. Google's announcements this week point to an Android-dominated future, and I do think that is likely. The rest of the market is open to everyone else and is Apple's to lose. Their action--lack of action, really--suggests they are doing just that.


text:
Economic reports will be the prime focus for the stock market Tuesday, and so far they've had a lukewarm reception by investors.
U.S. stock futures were down slightly ahead of the opening bell.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.5% in December, which was better than expected but not an impressive jump. Retail sales were led by an improvement in auto sales.
Producer prices for December came in lower than expected, falling 0.2%. And the index measuring manufacturing activity in New York State came in negative for the six straight month in January, the New York Federal Reserve Bank reported.
The next scheduled economic report will come from the Census Bureau at 10 a.m. ET, when it will release data on business inventories for November.
Homebuilder Lennar (LEN) reported earnings that beat expectations, although shares fell 1% in premarket trading. Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will report results Wednesday, while Intel (INTC), Bank of America (BAC) and General Electric (GE)are due later in the week.
Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 2.4% for the last three months of 2012, according to FactSet Research. Excluding the financial sector, however, growth for these firms is expected to be just 0.2%.
Dell (DELL) shares were up more than 4% in premarket trading, a day after reports that the computer maker could be taken private.
Related: Dell buoyed by buyout talk
Shares of Facebook (FB) were up 1% in anticipation of its mystery announcement, scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. ET at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
U.S. stocks finished mostly flat Monday.
Overseas, European markets were mixed in morning trading, with the DAX slightly weaker. Germany's economy grew by just 0.7% in 2012, down from 3% the previous year, the government said Tuesday.
Asian markets also ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.7% after being closed Monday for a holiday. The Shanghai Composite added 0.6%, while the Hang Seng declined 0.1%.


text:
Planning Council/March 02 2011
|Meeting Title:
|Planning Council Conference Call
|Date & Time:
|Wednesday, March 02, 2011, at 1200 Eastern
|For the call-in numbers, see the "Project Review" number on Foundation Portal page.
PMC (and Strategic) Reps
Strategic Reps
- ?
Maintenance Schedule
Helios SR2
bug 338310 - eclipse.ini missing after Helios SR2 upgrade; fails to launch
Please comment in bug, soon, if thoughts on which option. Leaning towards Option 2 (hand edit) as being the least risky
No definitive explanation, yet, as to what happened to cause this change in case.
- Too many typos!
Indigo Status
- M6 (and EclipseCon!) coming up ... any issues?
- any exceptions to discuss?
- RTP (see Chris's request) (approved via mailing list, no discussion at meeting)
- Libra: (see Kaloyan's request) (approved, Markus and Chris supporting explicitly, after brief overview by Kaloyan).
Indigo Plan and Schedule
- ongoing reminder to aggregate project tracking, IP logs, docuware, etc., and update project meta-data as Wayne requested in cross-project note.
- recently announced EMO dates for Indigo release: (I have added these to our Planning Calendar for convenience).
February 11, 2011 - Last day to enter CQs for Indigo projects May 18, 2011 - Please submit your IP Logs June 1, 2011 - Review documentation submitted to EMO for release review June 1-8, 2011 - Review period.
Other business
- Name that release. Indigo+1.
- Progress? (Pascal)
Pascal not at meeting. About time to have online vote?
ToDo Items
- How is the RoadMap coming along? (Wayne)
- Progress, but slow. Wayne still working with individual projects that have not provided one (and maybe didn't even know they needed one ... so, sounds like some PMC/mentoring guidance needed?).
- Wayne would like to "extend" the meaning and use of some fields in project meta-data so there projects could summarize their release, etc., instead of sending email or making part of docuware. More could be automated then. Overall summaries provided, etc. Wayne will (likely) send note to cross-project soon with this request.
- New project release tools. Some ready. Some near ready? (Wayne)
- Sounds like Wayne's made some excellent tools to ease and improve the quality of the process. He'll be posting more notes soon (approximately Friday).
- Please encourage your projects to add links to "central" Indigo wiki for New and Noteworthy and Migration Guides.
- TODO: Platform needs to have their own central page, like WTP does ... or, update this wiki every milestone. It currently points to M4 N&N.
- TODO (from previous meeting): dw to add/create add a FAQ item around "what to handle 3.7 vs. 4.1". Will draw from previous working notes.
Next Meeting
- EclipseCon Meetings: Sunday, March 20, At Hyatt, Napa Room.
- 3-4 (Pacific Time) Planning Council face-to-face meeting
- 4-5 (Pacific Time) Joint Councils Meeting (See Donald's note to list).
- April 6, 2011 (regular "first Wednesday" meeting).


text:
After listening to an episode of the Nighttime Podcast about the Bell Island Boom from April 23, 2016, I went perusing the YouTube for an old CBC news broadcast from 1978 about mysterious booms and a massive unexplained explosion that damaged property and made a substantial impact on the residents of Bell IslandContinue reading "The Bell Island Boom – 41 Years Later"
Tag: sonic boom
More Mystery Booms in Wilmington, North Carolina
This is an "ear-witness" account of the fabled "Seneca guns," the common name used to describe mysterious booms now reported from around the world. My father sent me this report after hearing the booms while working on his house in Wilmington, NC, not far from Cape Fear, where these strange booms have been heard before. He contacted me a few times to comment and provide some more information, his story is presented here in the order it was received…
It was about 2 this afternoon and I was outside up on the ladder painting trim when the world shook for about 2 seconds with a loud boom, I could feel the ladder shake. Mom came running out thinking I had fallen off the ladder. I knew what it was… The Seneca Guns. These booms have been reported here since the 1800's and nobody knows what they are. Over the years I have read investigative reports but they can not figure it out. No seismic record, no military exercises and certainly not airplanes. Weather was clear and bright with mid 60's temp.
The term Seneca Guns came from James Fennimore Cooper in a short story he wrote in the 1800's about unexplained booms heard around Lake Seneca in New York.
I have heard the noise about five times since we moved here. Interesting, with absolutely no explanation. There was no echo or follow up sounds. Just one big boom and tremor that lasted about two to three seconds. As I said, I have been through this at least five times in the last 15 years and the next day discussion is always the same.
The newspaper had a nice article about it today. Same old story, same old theories. Nobody knows for sure but they said that they checked the seismic records for yesterday and there was nothing. One theory is that it was a massive slide of the continental shelf but I would think that if it was related to land slides in the Atlantic there would have been a seismic tremor.
There was an interesting posting on the Weather Underground, one of my favorite sites for weather, about this with some good links.
The Next Day…
Friends of ours said that about 10:30 this morning (Saturday, 11/6) their apartment shook and there was a loud boom. All the neighbors were out trying to see what it was. I was here at my desk at that time and heard or felt nothing. When I mentioned the boom yesterday (Friday) at 2 they said they were in the condo and did not hear or feel a thing. It is a distance of about 10 miles.
Here is a report from a guy south of us who heard both booms and a third also:
"I felt a large one yesterday (11-5-2010) in Kure Beach around 2:15pm, large enough to rattle the front door and just felt another smaller one today (11-6-2010) around 10:10am, much smaller than yesterdays but still noticeable, then a smaller rumble around 10:20. I was just Googling to try and find out what it was and stumbled upon this article. Interesting phenomenon for sure."
The two today were of a lower intensity which would explain why I did not hear them.
Other related articles online:
Star News Online: Booms rattle Southeastern NC residents for second time…
Scientists hear Mystery Boom from Space
Star News Online: Mysterious Booms rock Cape Fear region
Seneca Guns or Mistpouffers on Wikipedia
So, what do you think? Sonic booms? Geological? Atmospheric? Non-disclosed military exercises?