March 10, 2010

Imagine the contents by the covers (part 3)

Can I vote for Kate Beaton as the President of Drawing Things?

Hark, a vagrant: 252

March 09, 2010

Cisco invents God-tier Internet router, will alter reality

cisco says new router to "forever change the internet" the question is 'when': Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance

Cisco today announced a new version of its key routing system, which the networking giant said has a dozen times the traffic capacity of competitors and three times as much as the company’s previous version.

Cisco’s CEO John Chambers said the CRS-3 Carrier Routing System is aimed at the huge growth in video on the Internet, a trend that has also caused slowdowns.

Pankaj Patel, SVP and GM for the service provider business, claimed the system could in just a few minutes deliver all the movies ever made or allow everyone in China to make a video phone call at once.

It had better. The consumption of video online is growing like crazy and a constant bottleneck is likely without some relief.

“Video brings the Internet to life,” said Chambers. “You are moving from a messaging platform to a video platform.”

Along with Chambers and Patel, AT&T (T) Labs CEO and President Keith Cambron was on the call discussing deployment trials the telecom giant has been doing with the CRS-3. CRS-3 (pictured here) will be available within the calendar year, said the Cisco execs on a press and analyst call this morning.

Dude, I totally have to see this movie . . .

ze's page :: zefrank.com: Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

Dear conservative America: Fuck off.

t r u t h o u t | I Am Angry

I'm going to vomit if I hear the word "bipartisanship" one more time.

It was bipartisanship that gave us this activist, conservative Supreme Court, a Supreme Court that says money is free speech and corporations are persons except when real people try to hold them accountable for their greed and poisonous ways.

Bipartisanship gave us the Patriot Act and FISA and illegal wiretaps and two wars and "free speech zones" and "no fly" lists. God bless bipartisan America....

Yes, I can hear it now: "You are naïve and simplistic. These are complicated matters and require sophisticated solutions. Democrats are a big tent and strive for balance. But Republicans block our path at every turn. We are thinking and considering new ways to work in harmony with everyone."

Bite me....

Don't act so shocked, Democratic Party. Have you looked around lately?

You're losing the young vote that showed up to elect Obama. You're losing those old enough to remember real Democrats. Why? Because you don't talk to them anymore than you talk to me. You talk at me. You talk around me. You talk down to me. You talk about me. You don't talk with me. And you don't inspire and you don't champion and without that you are nothing more than an arbitrator of compromise and abdication.

You are facing a bully. Deal with it!

Like it? Sign the petition.

Being right don't make you happy: Toyota bosses ignored 2006 union safety concerns

Yeah, Toyota's fucked.

Toyota workers raised safety concerns with bosses in 2006 memo - latimes.com

All six Toyota veterans around the table agreed: The memo they were about to send to senior management could damage their careers.

The workers had recognized a troubling trend. In recent years, the automaker had kicked into high gear to fill the booming U.S. demand for smaller, more gas-efficient vehicles.

The union men had watched the company take what they believed were dangerous safety and manpower shortcuts to lower costs and boost production....

"They completely ignored us," recalled Tadao Wakatsuki, 62, a veteran assembly line worker who formed the union. "That's the Toyota way."

Coochie crash

Woman Arrested For Crashing Car While Shaving Private Parts | Hip-Hop Wired

A Florida woman is in police custody after officers say she caused a two-vehicle car crash trying to shave her private parts while driving.

Trailer: The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue

A Shaun of the Dead approach to Mole Men.

Who are the Tea Partiers? Boomers in crisis

Most 'tea party' followers are baby boomers reliving the '60s - latimes.com

Neither "average Americans," as they like to portray themselves, nor trailer-park "Deliverance" throwbacks, as their lefty detractors would have us believe, tea partyers are more highly educated and wealthier than the rest of America. Nearly 75% are college educated, and two-thirds earn more than $50,000.

More likely to be white and male than the general population, tea partyers also skew toward middle age or older. That's the tell. Most came of age in the 1960s, an era distinguished by widespread disrespect for government. In their wonder years, they learned that politics was about protesting the Establishment and shouting down the Man. No wonder they're doing that now.

Look closely at the tea partyer and what you see is a famil- iar American genus: a solidly middle-class, college-educated boomer, endowed by his creator with possessions, opinions and certain inalienable rights, the most important of which is the right to make sure you hear what he has to say.

The tea party is a harbinger of midlife crisis, not political crisis. For men of a certain age, it offers a counterculture experience familiar from adolescence -- underground radio, esoteric tracts, consciousness-raising teach-ins and rallies replete with extroverted behavior to shock the squares -- all paid for with ample cash.

How to fix our schools: stop grading, don't flunk kids

Overcoming Bias : Hard Facts: Teaching

Yes, these are somewhat radical steps to take but our schools are pretty broken. The problems are partly financial, but partly structural.


Merit pay for teachers is an idea that is almost 100 years old ahd has been subject to much research. In one study conducted in 1918, “48 percent of U.S. school districts sampled used compensation systerms that they called merit pay.” … The evidence shows that merit-pay plans seldom last longer than five years and that merit pay consistently failes to improve student performance. … [Researchers] also showed that cheating [by teachers] was quite sensitive to the size of the incentives provided for enhancing student scores. … The same problems emerged when merit-pay systems were implemented in the 1980s. … “It is like policy makers suffer from amnesia.” (pp.22-24) …

The evidence strongly suggests that students learn better when they are not graded and certainly not when they are graded on a curve. … When drill instructors were tricked into believing that certain randomly selected soldiers would achieve superior performance, those soldiers subsequently performacned far better on tasks like firing weapons and reading maps. (p.38)

Ending social promotion harms students and schools, and the strongest negative effects are found in the best, most rigorous studies. At least 55 studies show that when flunked students are compared to socially promoted students, flunked students perform worse and drop out of school at higher rates. One of the most careful studies found that, after controlling for numberous alternative explanations indlucing race, gender, family income, and school characteristics, students held back one grade were 70 percent more likely to drop out of high school. (p.51)

Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

Perfect.


Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

Amazon glitch accidentally offered super discount on graphic novels

Amazon.com Glitch Offers Super Discounts on Graphic Novels - 2010-03-08 14:43:00 | Publishers Weekly

From what I've seen on twitter, everyone is finding their orders canceled. No apology has been forthcoming from Amazon.

In what is being described as a computer glitch, Amazon.com's Top 100 Book List was filled with comics and graphic novels after a computing error heavily discounted hundreds if not thousands of graphic novel titles. First reported over the weekend on the comics news blog Bleeding Cool, news of unbelievable bargains spread quickly on Twitter, and readers flocked to Amazon to place orders for graphic novels at wild discounts. Prices included high end boxed set hardcover collections, really priced at more than $100 but suddenly offered for $14.99 or less.

A source at Diamond Comic Distributors, which supplied the comics to Amazon, said the mispricing was a data error and that it was being fixed. It is unclear how many items were ordered during the period of mispricing although there is speculation that there were thousands of orders. It is also unclear how many—if any—of the orders Amazon will honor.

The Daily Show: The Oscars Big Moment

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Oscars Big Moment
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorHealth Care Reform

The Colbert Report: Best Foreign Language Film

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Best Foreign-Language Film Category
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorSkate Expectations

Found Object: Types of Bitches

#69. Pajamas Outside Bitches

And I Am Not Lying -- Types of Bitches


My friend’s cousin is a teacher at a charter school in Washington, D.C. She found this on the floor of a 3rd grade classroom and recognized it for the gold mine that it is — scanned it into a fax-to-PDF scanner immediately.

You’ll notice that according to this taxonomy, there are 90 types of bitches. However, there’s a page missing, so we are left to guess what bitch types 44-58 are. If you have any ideas, please do leave them in the comments.

I think it’s possible to be multiple types of bitch at once. I’ve met a number of people who are a combination of 5, 12, and 85-90. One could also evolve into and out of various categories as well. As one friend of mine said “I used to be #33, but now that I’ve grown up a little and my priorities have changed, I am solidly #37.”
. . .

Click through for the whole thing.

*Thanks, Elena!*

Trailer: Tron Legacy

Yessssssssss!



March 08, 2010

Poor Mojo's Almanac(k)
Issue #476 - Thurs., March 4, 2010

This post will remain here for one day. Scroll down for new news.

"Lo! Men have become the tools of their tool." -HDT

Giant Squid: Ask the Giant Squid: The Bloop by the Giant Squid

... Let me warn you, according to Japanese custom it is frowned upon to watch this videotape alone, for without a loved one, faux loved, or remunerated companion, it has been rumored that by listening to The Bloop full through, one might develop . . . <shudder> . . .

... a small canker at the corner of the mouth.

Also, undead girl-children with snaking, computer generated hair have been know to present lone Bloop-Listneres with soggy nigiri. If you find the nigiri ill prepared, the girl will smile noncommittally and back slowly out of the room. There are no refunds, and negative comment cards mysteriously disappear from the "Suggestions" box unread.

Also, you might die instantly. ...

Fiction: Hollow Edge by Simon Groth
... To my left, again concealed under soil and grass, a faded sign breathlessly informed me there were sites still available at Hollow Edge.

Welcome to Hollow Edge. A desert Oasis! A new quality of life! A perfect blend of city and bush! A great tourist attraction! A wonderful investment in your future! Town water coming soon!

As strange as that was, what really caught my eye was the warning spray-painted in red over the top.

GET FUCKED ALL OF YOU! ...

Poetry: Her Space by D. Kalteis
... Victoria called the decorator
decided on fabric
decided on paint
Peacock Plume
pomegranate accents
and animal prints
all cheating beigeness of him gone

After the tradesmen
after the delivery men
after the transformation
Victoria vowed with stone eyes
he would never step a sour sneaker
in her space
ever again ...

Rant: The Raid: Is Social Security Being Robbed by Congress? by Fritz Swanson
... So, when you approach Social Security you need to be clear about what you actually want to be different. Do you object to the benefit? Do you object to the tax? Or are you worried that the program might be discontinued?

That is, do you object to the program, or do you want to preserve the program?

Debates about government need to first be focused on results. What do we want as a result of government? After that, the debate should focus on achieving that goal in the most efficient, and fairest way possible.

When we argue based on fear and confusion, we get no where. ...

Sinead O'Connor -- She Moved Through the Fair

A serial killer on the Dating Game

Bachelor #1 is Rodney Alcala.

Serial Killer Rodney Alcala on the 'Dating Game'

Hand sanitizers do nothing against the flu

Can hand sanitizers like Purell really stop people from getting the flu? - By Darshak Sanghavi - Slate Magazine

And their efficacy against other diseases is suspect as well.


Yet the data tell a less compelling story about sanitizers like Purell. In 2005, Boston-based doctors published the very first clinical trial of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in homes and enrolled about 300 families with young children in day care. For five months, half the families got free hand sanitizer and a "vigorous hand-hygiene" curriculum. But the spread of respiratory infections in homes didn't budge, a result that "somewhat surprised" the researchers. A Columbia University study also found no reduction in common infections among inner-city families given free antibacterial hand soap, detergent, and cleaning supplies. The same year, University of Michigan epidemiologist Allison Aiello summarized data on hand hygiene for the FDA and pointed out that three out of four studies showed that alcohol-based hand sanitizers didn't prevent respiratory infections. Then, in 2008, the Boston group repeated the study—this time in elementary schools—and threw in free Clorox disinfecting wipes for classrooms. Again, the rate of respiratory infections remained unchanged, though the rate of gastrointestinal infections, which are less common than respiratory infections, did fall slightly. Finally, last October, a report ordered by the Public Health Agency of Canada concluded that there is no good evidence that vigorous hand hygiene practices prevent flu transmission.

Why, then, do so many people think widespread use of hand sanitizers like Purell are the cornerstone of flu prevention? To be sure, hand-washing can save lives in medical settings. In 1847, Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that washing one's hands with chlorine between deliveries practically eliminated fatal infections among laboring women. (His colleagues ignored him and later committed him to a mental hospital, where he was beaten to death by guards.) Today, numerous modern studies show that in randomized trials, meticulous hand-washing, when coupled with other infection control measures like surgical draping and universal gloving, reduce the rate of life-threatening infections during surgery and intensive care unit stays.

But in hospitals, outside of these clinical trials, just half of doctors and nurses regularly clean their hands before patient care, despite widespread publicity. More worrisome: In hospitals where massive educational efforts have increased hand-washing rates from 40 percent up to 70 percent, there has been no overall reduction in infection rates. Even in highly regulated places like hospitals, the promising benefits of hand-washing remain largely unrealized.

Democratic congresswoman proposes pay cut for members of Congress

Think Progress -- Democratic congresswoman proposes pay cut for members of Congress.

“Families across the country are getting by on lower wages…so why shouldn’t senators and representatives have to feel the same pinch?” Kirkpatrick said. The cut would be the first since the Great Depression:

The first-term congresswoman said she’s hopeful, given the enormous fiscal challenges facing the country, the measure can pass. She said she’s already started handing over 5 percent of her pay every month — or $870 — to help chisel away at the national debt. The monthly payment would have been less, but Kirkpatrick is, according to her office, paying extra to make up for the two months of 2010 she missed.

“I’m putting my money where my mouth is. I’m leading by example and I hope my colleagues will join me,” she said. [...]

“The last time Congress took a cut in pay was 77 years ago. I don’t know anyone who has not had a pay cut in 77 years.”

Members of Congress are currently paid $174,000 — leaders earn more — and Kirkpatrick’s office estimates the proposal would save $4.66 million a year. “Though it’s slight compared with the $12.5 trillion debt,” Kirkpatrick argued that it’s hard to justify the automatic pay increases in the current economic situation. So far, 21 lawmakers from both parties have signed on as co-sponsors and the measure is being considered in two House committees.

An interview with the cast of Misfits

Misfits is easily the best superhero tv show ever. It's real and brutal and dirty and hilarious. The story is that five teenagers who are serving community service get hit by an event that gives them (and others) weird powers. But the approach is less Heroes and more gritty and full of pathos.

Utah has a Final Solution for homosexuals

Joe. My. God.: Utah's Final Solution: Patriot Group Announces Bill To Force All Homosexuals Out Of The State, Arrest Fugitives

It smells like a hoax to me, but you never can tell these days.

Also in civil rights news today, the Virginia AG has told universities in VA that they can't offer legal protections to gay people. And Florida is considering a tax boon to movie studios, but only if they make "family friendly" films that contain little sex, gore or gay.


Hoax or real? Calling it "Utah's Fair Solution", a group called Patriots For A Moral Utah is holding a press conference today to announce legislation that would force all homosexuals to leave the state. The bill would create a transportation system for shipping all gays out of the state and would criminalize any Utah citizen who "harbors a remaining homosexual." Here's the press release they sent out yesterday:

Patriots For A Moral Utah are pleased to announce a press conference tomorrow, at which time we will announce a new bill which outlining a solution to the problem of homosexuality in Utah. In the past 5 years it has become increasingly difficult and troublesome for the stead-fast and moral citizens of Utah to live their lives and their faith in peace, while the homosexuals continually force their choices and behaviors on us. This new legislation, titled the "Utah Fair Solution," will offer a peaceful but effective end to the tribulation in our blessed state. Despite promises from the homosexual activists to be out in force at the press conference, our President Nora Young has scheduled the announcement for 1pm in the Capitol Rotunda (March 8th). Please Join us.

Is "Stay the Hell Off Our Yard!!!" a Stable Foreign Policy Strategy?

Mojonaut Milt writes:

: Apropos of nothing, I saw a story on CNN about how a tribe in India had gone extinct with the death of its last member:

Ancient tribe becomes extinct as last member dies - CNN.com

They spoke about another tribe, the Sentinelese; I became curious and Googled them up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese_people

The Sentinelese are actively hostile to unknown intruders, requiring frequent shows of peaceful intent before allowing outsiders to come into arrow range. Attempts to leave them material goods from the late 1960s have resulted in household ware and metal objects being utilized, coconuts being eaten but not planted (no local population of Cocos nucifera appeared to exist before the planting of saplings in 1987), pigs are not eaten but shot and buried, as was a doll. Red buckets were taken with apparent delight, while green ones were rejected.

Probably anyone who ever took an anthropology class already knows their story, but it was new to me. I think its awesome that they just hate all outsiders and spear anyone who comes near. Good for them, I wish them luck.

As do we, Milt; as do we all.

*thanks milt!*

Study links racism to religious dogmatism

Racism is linked to Religious dogmatism | Center for Inquiry



Religious people can be racist, and that's not news. But are they more likely to be racist than non-religious people? A new study now confirms this hypothesis.

The February issue of Personality and Social Psychology Review has published a meta-analysis of 55 independent studies conducted in the United States which considers surveys of over 20,000 mostly Christian participants. Religious congregations generally express more prejudiced views towards other races. Furthermore, the more devout the community, the greater the racism.

We also read this additional fascinating conclusion from the authors' summary:

"The authors failed to find that racial tolerance arises from humanitarian values, consistent with the idea that religious humanitarianism is largely expressed to in-group members. Only religious agnostics were racially tolerant."

Democratic strategists using crowd-sourcing to dig up political dirt

Site asks public to share dirt on Meg Whitman

Thought the risk of bullshit and false positives seems high, I expect this will be a great idea.


The hard work of digging up dirt on a political opponent - more politely known as opposition research - has traditionally been done in the dark recesses of a campaign operation.

But analysts say a labor-union-funded independent campaign aimed at billionaire Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman breaks new ground in how it conducts "oppo research."

Wikimeg.com invites the rest of the world to shake the bushes for information about Whitman and enables their new research assistants to post the results on the Internet, Wikipedia-style. But this self-described "experiment in community research and information gathering" comes with potential risks in how that information is vetted.

Zach Galifianakis hosted SNL and killed the monologue

Two Poor Mojo's Editors Snark Simultaneously, Despite Being Separated by Thousands of Miles

(see the following two posts--also, it's Mojo's birthday; wish him a happy nativity or FACE THE TERRIFYING CONSEQUENCES, Mojonauts!!!)

Palin lets slip that she used to sneak across the border for Canadian health care

Calgary audience fans of former U.S. VP candidate Sarah Palin? You betcha! | Medicine Hat News

She gave a meandering speech in Calgary that stopped long enough to say this:


The vocal opponent of health care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse.

"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," she said. "And I think now, isn't that ironic."

Oh, C'mon! There's More to Life Than Being Either the Fish or the Barrel, Sarah!

Calgary audience fans of former U.S. VP candidate Sarah Palin? You betcha! | Medicine Hat News

The vocal opponent of health care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse.

"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," she said. "And I think now, isn't that ironic."

You'd Think It'd Be Really Easy to Come Up with a Pithy Title for this One . . .

But I've got nuthin:

Agatha Christie Fortune 'Sold By Accident' - Yahoo! News UK

Ms Grant had not tried to open the small locked box inside the trunk until recently. She said: "When I received it, I realised it contained a locked strongbox, but the auctioneer had no knowledge of a key. "It was a talking point at dinner parties for years but I never thought there might be anything in it." Eventually, curiosity got the better of her and she asked a builder who was working on her house to prise it open with a crow bar. Inside lay 35 gold coins in a small bag, a diamond engagement ring and a buckle-shaped jewelled brooch. "I was thrilled that I had something that touched Agatha Christie's life," Ms Grant said.

The real shocker here is that, evidently, in the UK, if the auction catalog doesn't list the *contents* of an item, those contents aren't neccesarily considered a part of the auction contract. Is that crazy, or does it just seem crazy to me, as an American, where private property law trumps all?