Mod-Blog

Sad, But True

2009-11-25T12:48:00.001-05:00

Video Games inform the Battlefield

2009-11-25T06:41:00.003-05:00

I love shoot-em-ups, especially the ones where you have lots of armor and can really vent your frustrations without worrying too much about the enemies. But have you ever stopped to look at all the information your virtual warrior has at his disposal? Ammo remaining, armor remaining, life remaining. Wouldn't it be great if our soldiers on a real battlefield had access to that kind of life-saving data? The army is working on a way to make it happen!

"As a kid, everyone played those video games that showed you how much armor you had left as a percentage bar," said John Wray, a TARDEC contractor. "That's exactly what we're working on here and more."

Intelligent armor is based on piezoelectrics, or materials that generate a small voltage when bent. The reverse is also true: Apply a small voltage, and a piezoelectric material will bend...By measuring just how much energy is lost, the TARDEC scientists can determine how damaged the armor is.

And, of course, if you add this to a wireless ad hoc network that is linked back to the commander, he can see which areas of the battlefield are in the most trouble, and send help. It may be another way to multiply the effectiveness of our soldiers, and save lives.

Happy Day-Before-Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T05:43:00.002-05:00

On so-called "Climategate"

2009-11-24T12:51:00.001-05:00

I know many of my more-conservative (or more-partisan) friends may disagree with me, but I do not think the leaked e-mails from major climate scientists tell us much about Global Warming or Climate Change or whatever you want to call it. Rather, I think it is reminder to us that you should NEVER say anything on e-mail (or Twitter or Facebook or AOLIM or...) that you don't want on the front page of the New York Times. Even "private" communications on the Web can be hacked and published.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100017393/climategate-the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-of-anthropogenic-global-warming/

For those who see this as a smoking gun, imagine how badly you would look if your private conversations with your buddies were published out of context for all to read. I am guessing you'd look more cutthroat than you want to be viewed, because your friends know when you are joking or exaggerating for effect.

"Real" Unemployment at 17.5%?

2009-11-24T11:28:00.001-05:00

This is scary, but fits with what I am seeing in my church family. People who have been laid off are finding it increasingly difficult to find new jobs, even if those who have jobs feel more secure in them. Hopefully, as 2010 budgets are formally approved in December and January, the market will begin to grow the job pool again. But there are few signs for optimism at this point.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/34040009

Cell Processor EOL'd

2009-11-24T05:53:00.002-05:00

Do you remember the early days of the Playstation 3 hype? Central to that hype was IBM's new "Cell procesor" - a radical new design in CPUs which IBM and Sony promised would provide significantly higher performance than any normal design and would soon be the standard. Fast-forward to 2009, and Sony's Playstation 3 still has not shown a significant advantage to the XBox 360's more classical design, and the Cell processor is used in few applications other than the PS3. Finally, IBM is admitting the inevitable and has announced the end of the Cell processor.

It remains to be seen what CPU will drive the Playstation 4 (or whatever it is called in 2011).

Ultimate Nightmare: Paralyzed man misdiagnosed as "Coma"

2009-11-23T14:42:00.001-05:00

I don't know for sure that this is a common nightmare, but I often have a dream that I am trapped in bed, unable to move, with sinister things going on around me. It is a terrifying experience to be so absolutely helpless, while conscious of what is going on around me. Luckily, it is just a dream. But it was no dream for one man.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9C5DTGO3&show_article=1

I can't imagine what kind of horror this was - 23 long years! It is a miracle that he is still sane.

Post Office continues to lose ground/profits to e-mail

2009-11-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone knew that e-mail would have an impact on the Post Office, but after hundreds of years of adapting to technological change, it was hoped that the U.S. Mail would survive and thrive. Instead, it lost another $3.8 billion this year in addition to steady losses previous years.

The post office has been struggling to cope with a decline in mail volume caused by the shift to the Internet as well as the recession that resulted in a drop in advertising and other mail. Total mail volume was 177.1 billion pieces, compared to 202.7 billion pieces in 2008, a decline of almost 13 percent.
For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 the agency had income of $68.1 billion, $6.8 billion less than in 2008. Expenditures were down $5.9 billion to $71.8 billion.

The Postmaster General has a number of plans to reduce costs in 2010, including closing facilities and possibly reducing or eliminating Saturday delivery.

On the Mammogram Recommendation...

2009-11-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

From here.

So true, it hurts

2009-11-22T07:42:00.000-05:00

Trumbull Skies

2009-11-21T15:14:00.001-05:00

Trumbull Skies
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Biking Update - November 21, 2009

2009-11-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week I was finally over the infection and flu that has been knocking me back for several weeks now. Have not yet gotten back onto the bike, but it will happen shortly. And my weight has been maintaining at a reasonable level. Looking forward next week to a few Free Days around Thanksgiving however, which will likely have a negative impact on my weight. We shall see.

Happy Birthday, CRChair!

2009-11-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, CRChair! You're a great brother and an even better friend. May this upcoming year be one of great joy, and great achievement.

California Hurts Brick And Mortar TV Sellers

2009-11-20T14:03:00.004-05:00

One great thing about living in California is that we're big enough to do our own thing. One not so great thing about living in California is that we're big enough to do our own thing. The California Energy Commission has passed (unanimously) new energy efficiency requirements on all televisions up to 58 inches that are sold in the state of California. This does not apply to companies such as Amazon shipping into California or prohibit consumers buying out of state. The effect they hope to have? Efficiency in what accounts for 2% of electricity use across the state. Combined with the highest sales tax rate, look to see more California retailers struggling and closing their doors as they have to sell more expensive televisions or have less selection to sell. The real kicker will be if 59 inch televisions become cheaper than their energy efficient counterparts.

Reid fails to thread the needle on Abortion

2009-11-20T12:14:00.001-05:00

The Health Care Reform effort is again at risk due to the contentious abortion issue. Not satisfied with the House's ban on abortion coverage for any public option, Majority Leader Harry Reid has attempted to craft language that maintains the status quo on abortion (i.e. no Federal funds, but states can offer and individual premiums can cover). But Catholic Bishops view the bill as completely unacceptable to the Pro-Life side.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091120/D9C39JS81.html

This is only a minor preview to the next decade of morality debates as part of the Health Care debate. Once the government controls heath care - and individuals view it as a "right" rather than a product - everything becomes a moral/philosophical issue.

Tax Dollars at Work

2009-11-20T02:08:00.000-05:00

From Greg Waddle (via Boortz.com)

Irony, Thy Name is Human Nature

2009-11-20T02:07:00.000-05:00

Do they have an App for THAT?

2009-11-19T05:54:00.001-05:00

T-Mobile staff sold customer data

2009-11-18T09:15:00.000-05:00

Identity theft is a major problem of the modern age. We are all scared of the prospects of unknown criminals using our personal information to impersonate us. But what happens when the identity theft is done by the very people we trust to protect it? Watch for some serious repercussions here.

Staff at mobile phone company T-Mobile passed on millions of records from thousands of customers to third party brokers, the firm has confirmed...

Christopher Graham said brokers had sold the data to other phone firms, who then cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire.

Amazing!

2009-11-18T05:50:00.001-05:00

Thanks to @spdean for pointing out this amazing video. My back hurts just looking at some of these moves, and I am greatly humbled. But also inspired to see what is possible for a true master of the bicycle.

Posted via email from The Bike Nomad

Only single men buy underwear

2009-11-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

There are some facts strange enough to be entirely unforeseen, but also seem obvious once stated. I think a new department store study of men falls into that category.

According to a department store, men buy pants for a mere 17 years of their lives, with the women in their life shopping for male underwear most of the time...

A survey of Debenham shoppers suggested that throughout their childhood and teenage years boys rely on their mothers to pick out their underwear. After a brief period of independence between the ages of 19 and 36 when men chose their own boxers or briefs, they then settle down and hand over the responsibilities to their girlfriends or wives.

Do my married friends find this to be one of the great advantages of wedded bliss? I will admit that it is not one of the aspects that makes me look forward to it for myself.

More on the Mysterious Ukraine Epidemic

2009-11-17T12:29:00.001-05:00

For a few weeks now, news has been leaking out of the Ukraine about a mystery illness which has infected a million people, and killed 189 which was first diagnosed as "the Plague" (i.e. an airborne version of the Black Plague), then diagnosed as H1N1, and now has been diagnosed as a new mutation of influenza never seen before. The illness is ravaging the country and has put enough people out of work that there is speculation about postponing the January presidential elections.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/140492/Million-hit-by-plague-worse-than-swine-flu-

Samples have allegedly been sent to the Bristish Institutes of Health and the CDC for analysis. Hopefully, this is not one more worry to add to the winter of 2010. I don't know about our readers' experiences, but my work has seen an almost-100% infection rate for various colds, flus, and infections over the last 3 weeks.

Guaranteed to Make You Smile (and maybe cry)

2009-11-17T11:35:00.003-05:00

Want to see true unadulterated joy? Check out this site which has videos of soldiers coming home from war and see how happy their dogs are to see them. You'll be guaranteed to smile and you might even cry a little bit. The is a reason why dogs are called "Man's best friend". Here is a sample.

Conference Bike?!

2009-11-17T05:50:00.001-05:00

This is amazing. Looks great for a business meeting, but can't imagine trying to ride a straight line on it.

Posted via email from The Bike Nomad

Senate explores taxes, taxes, and more taxes to pay for Health Care Reform

2009-11-17T05:08:00.000-05:00

The Obama administration keeps pledging that Health Care Reform will wind up saving Americans money. But every time we hear back from Congress, the tax bill for it keeps going up. Now, the Senate is exploring new and interesting ways to tax hiring in the middle of the Great Recession.

The versions leaked so far would add as much as 0.5% on workers who earn more than $200,000. If assessed on both the worker and employer, this would increase the Medicare tax rate to 3.9% from 2.9% today. It would also create the first progressive payroll tax in American history, with wealthier workers paying a higher Medicare payroll tax rate than lower income workers...

In another trial balloon, Mr. Reid would impose the payroll tax on all income, not just wages and salaries. This means applying the tax to capital gains, dividends and other investment income. This would convert the Medicare levy into a de facto version of the income tax.

For those keeping score at home, that includes both taxes that punish investing (which creates jobs) and hiring (which gets people into jobs). Anyone out there think that will have a positive effect on Unemployment?

I am still amazed that the Democrats seem to think Unemployment is unimportant compared to all of their other priorities.